Chapter XIX

It required careful work, and jumping with a magnifier against one eye and the other eye closed truly was a leap of faith. There would be a total of twelve jumps, with each one taking him closer into Lorraine-held territory, but he had charted a course that avoided the buildings that would be occupied by Lorraine soldiers, and the sight lines of the main Lorraine towers.

It was a pity that Lucia could not see him coming towards her in the fading light of day, leaping across the rooftops like one of the ancients, but he had to approach the Lorraine household from the rear if he were to reach it. He was certain she could feel him getting closer though, just as he could feel her through the flutter in his chest the nearer he got. He had already made nine jumps and could feel the apprehension in his chest building as he approached. It was like this when he had climbed the tower to Lucia’s chamber. The closer he got, the more dangerous it was, but also the more thrilling it was, as he knew he was getting nearer to her with each step and hand-reach. He had entered her chamber with his arms feeling like lead. He supposed it was the effort of the climb, but he was feeling something similar now in his limbs again. Particularly, his right hand, which had a single metal gauntlet on it. Unlike the gloves that he had used to climb to Lucia’s tower, this one was made of copper bands, set with and springs and cogs.

He turned his attention back to the roof top he was standing on. It was red-tiled like most in the Walled City, but the roof across the street ahead of him was flat-topped, with a small wall around it. He scanned it carefully to make sure there was no door to the roof that soldiers could come pouring out of to attack him. That would be a major setback to his careful plans. He could not see all of the roof because of a set of chimneys, but it looked clear. Then he peered down into the street below. There was nobody there to see him. The streets of the Walled City were more often empty than not these days. It was dangerous to be about if you did not have an armed guard.

Lorenzo gauged the amount of steps he needed for a run-off and then placed the magnifier to his eye with his left hand. The distance closed up and he could see the rooftop just a long leap away from him. He moved the magnifier away from his eye and watched the distance restore, and then took four fast steps and thrust the magnifier back to his eye on the last step. The roof top was right in front of him and he felt himself launching through the air and then landing heavily. He almost dropped the magnifier as he stumbled and fell with a thump, knocking the wind from himself. He clutched the precious device to his chest to protect it. If he were to break it he would not be able to continue, and Galileo would be furious with him. The only thing worse would be if it were to fall into the hands of the Lorraines.

He rolled to one side to get back to his feet and saw four guards staring at him with surprised looks on their faces. They all wore thin moustaches, and had been sitting there boredly behind the chimneys. Probably getting some warmth from them to make the long lonely guard vigil a little more bearable. Lorenzo and the guards all tried to get to their feet at the same time. Lorenzo knew he would have to jump back or onward again quickly. He was so close. Only a few more jumps. But his limbs were too slow to respond. They were stiff and awkward. He should have had time to escape while they fumbled for their pikes, but he could only wriggle away from them, trying to get to his feet again. The closest guardsman stepped across to him and prodded him with the butt of his pike. Lorenzo got to one knee and punched at him with the metal glove and its force sent the man flying across the roof. The other guardsmen immediately became more cautious. Keeping back and pointing their pikes at him. He needed more time. But he had that as well. He reached into a pouch around his neck and pulled out the chronometer, winding it as the guardsmen circled him with their pikes at the ready.

“Who are you?” one of them demanded.

“He’s a Medici spy,” another said.

“Or an assassin,” said a third.

“Kill him,” said the first. “There’ll be a reward in it for us whoever he is.”

Lorenzo held the chronometer out before him on the flat of his gloved hand, waiting for time to slow around him, waiting to see the guardsmen move like they were half-asleep, giving him time to jump away. But nothing changed. The first one said, “Eh… What’s that?” cautiously, as if unsure if Lorenzo were offering them something valuable or was threatening them with it.

“Kill him and then find out,” said the second.

Lorenzo looked down at the chronometer and saw that it was not ticking. Something was wrong with it. He must have knocked something out of alignment when he fell. “No,” he said. “Wait!” But the men didn’t look interested in waiting. They moved their pikes closer to his chest and he scrambled back until he touched the small wall around the rooftop. So, he thought, he could stand up and be tipped off the roof top to the streets below, or he could stay there and be run through. Trying desperately to think of something to say that would save him, all he could think of was Lucia – holding out a hand to him.

“Lucia!” he said.

“Lucia Lorraine?” one of the guards asked, and lowered his pike a little.

“Yes,” he said. “Lucia Lorraine. I have an important message for her.”

“Who are you?” one of the other guards asked, not lowering his pike at all.

“It’s important,” said Lorenzo. He could see at least one of the guards was wavering, not sure if they should kill him or not. If he could just say the right thing to him, he might be saved. But before he could say anything else a dark figure landed on the rooftop behind the soldiers. He had jumped across the wider gap to the south and he landed in a rolling motion, coming up next to the closest soldier. The man barely had time to register his presence before the figure struck him heavily in the throat and he fell with a gurgling sound. Lorenzo saw the dark figure was wearing a cape and hood as he rolled under the pike of the second guard and came up heavily under his chin, knocking his head back as he struck him. The guard fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Lorenzo watched the two remaining guards looking around them as if they were being attacked from all sides. The figure moved so fast they might as well have been. In close their pikes were too clumsy to be of much use and the third guard fell while trying to bring it down on the dark figure’s head. The fourth guard had the presence of mind to drop his pike and pull a small sword that he had at his belt. The caped figure stood before him, not moving and the guard advanced on him, waving his sword menacingly. “Prepare to die,” the guard hissed.

“Neither of us dies this evening,” the figure said and then suddenly stepped to one side as the guard slashed at him, missing, and then the caped figure reached out one hand as fast as a snake, appeared just to touch the guard on the neck and he fell to the ground. “Although,” he said to his opponent, “you might look a lot less ugly and more peaceful if you were dead.”

Lorenzo looked at the tilt of the fallen man’s head and the way his eyeballs were rolled back in his sockets. “I think he is dead,” he said.

The caped man bent down and put his fingers against the fallen man’s neck. “Sorry,” he said to the dead guard. “That wasn’t meant to happen.” He stood back up and gave Lorenzo a shrug. Lorenzo stared back at the strange figure and then at the four guards and asked, “Who are you?”

“It’s always, ‘Who are you?’” said the dark figure. “Never, ‘How did you do that?’”

“How did you do that?” asked Lorenzo.

“Too late,” said the dark figure. “You only get one question. I’m a friend.”

“But… but… are you in the employ of the Medicis?”

“Only one question,” said the figure. Then he held out his arms and said, “Ah, you don’t remember me, do you.”

Lorenzo shook his head. He was certain he had never met this man before.

“Well, you were very young at the time. Just a child really.”

Lorenzo blinked. “I don’t understand,” he said.

“But I will tell you that I am not employed by the Medicis,” the man said. “As I said, I am a friend. A friend of horny young men who ought to know better than to be chasing a bit of skirt across the rooftops of the city with a broken chronometer.”

Lorenzo reddened a little. “You insult my lady’s honour.” Then he looked at the chronometer in his hand. “You know what this is?”

The figure laughed. “I know many things. Some I suspect you don’t know, such as the cost of using this. Or the fact that it won’t work while in your gloved hand.”

“But how?”

“No more questions,” the dark figure said. “I’m sorry but you will not be visiting your fair lady this evening.”

Lorenzo glared at the man and said, “And who will stop me?”

“Commonsense will stop you,” he replied. “You will see her again soon, but not tonight.”

“How do you know this?” Lorenzo asked.

“It is written,” said the man enigmatically. “Now you must be very silent and very obedient.”

Lorenzo considered this. He looked at his gloved hand a moment and then nodded. Almost reluctantly.

“Good man. First take off these men’s trousers and undergarments.”

“What?” asked Lorenzo.

“Then throw them to the street below.”

“But why?” he asked.

“Think about it. They won’t know quite what to report.”

Lorenzo did as he was bidden while the dark figure watched on silently. Then he said, “Now follow me.”

“Where to?” asked Lorenzo.

“You’ve used up all your extra questions,” the man said, and then in a tone that brooked no disagreement, “Come. You must leave. And put away those devices before you hurt yourself.”

But Lorenzo could not help himself from asking just one more time, even though he knew he would not get an answer, “Who are you?”