XIV

Leonardo sat by the window to catch the best light as he turned the peculiar arrow over and over in his hands. It was made of a type of metal that he was unfamiliar with. It was dark and light, but incredibly strong. The point had a vicious barb in it that had required a lot of work to remove from the cook’s assistant’s skull. That it had gone in so deeply suggested it had been fired with great force. That was something that he had been contemplating an experiment to test. What type of force would be needed to have the arrow puncture a pig or sheep’s skull to the same depth?

The length of the arrow, however – barely over a full handspan long – meant it could only have been fired from a small device, which would limit the force that could be applied. He had studied crossbows often enough to know the size and force needed to puncture armour, and knew that such a small arrow from a similarly small device could not have had the force that this one was fired with.

He also knew that this was unlikely to be something of Galileo’s doing. His rival was skilled with metal work, but primarily in the manufacture of cogs and so on. He had seen no evidence of him experimenting with new metals. And that begged the question: who had created this?

He turned it over again and looked for any signs that it had been damaged upon impact. But there were none of the signs he would have expected to see. A flattened tip. A bend somewhere. This looked like it had never been fired. He lay it down on the bench top before him and considered the possibilities. The one he most disliked was the thought of another scientist in the city. It was work enough for him and Galileo to prevent the warring between the two Houses from getting out of hand while still providing their masters with the wonderful inventions they perpetually craved.

He placed his fingertip against the tip of the arrow and felt that if he pressed just a little harder a prick of blood would certainly appear. He would have done it just to confirm the amount of force needed and then written it down with his other notes. Every observation was a step towards greater understanding. But he also knew that there was a possibility that the arrow tip was poisoned. He left it lying on the bench top and stood up. He had preparations to make. They were going to be putting on a demonstration that would impress Galileo and would make the Medicis tremble. He would have to ponder this mysterious arrow later, and if not, he might have it sent to Galileo and let him consider its mystery, and taunt him into believing it something he had developed.