Some time later, I was creeping along the Canal in a boat that I had stolen without thinking at the nearest bridge. I was all sweat and tried to dip the paddle into the water without making a sound. Every shadow on the beach was a threat. I was hoping to avoid the dangerous area where the guards were scurrying like woken hornets, and then reach the felucca. Paurozo disappeared under the water, leaving her rolled-up cloak on the bow of the boat. Unlike me, she didn’t have to be afraid of morrays. When the narrow strip of water widened to merge with another channel, I held the boat a little. I had to be extra careful here. The Venettian nobles liked to have late-night parties, and I didn’t want to be an unexpected guest at one of them. But everything was quiet. The water shimmered like a dark mirror, and the sleeping houses floated past, looking equally gray in the darkness. I stared at one of the mansions that looked vaguely familiar. A thought flashed through my mind: that was the Granacci’s Palazzo! The house where I had to put on a show last time. The oar felt heavy, and I thought that the Venetta channels had played a trick on me by bringing me here!

Apart from the torch burning on the dock, there was not a single spark of light in the house. Gritting my teeth, I moved on. If Julia was there, she could help, but it was unthinkable to barge in on her like this, in the middle of the night, with a squad of guards on your tail! Don Ricardo would drown me in the canal if I brought the sky down upon their heads!

Suddenly there was a splash and someone’s muffled laughter nearby. Hastily paddling, I pressed the boat to the bank, where the deepest shadow was, and lay still. From the sounds of it, a gondola was landing somewhere nearby. Maybe someone was returning from a night promenade. I remembered Ricardo going on dates with Bianca every night, and I was terribly jealous of him. What a fool I was. I hardly knew Alessandro back then…

Suddenly an orange flash lit up the sky as if it was the Night of the Thousand Lights. Then came an explosion…

I almost fell into the canal, frightened to death. There was a thin, unpleasant ringing in my ears, as if I’d been diving too long. People’s panicked screams cut through the silence. Lights flickered in the windows, and one by one the stars of torches lit up on the docks. I stared blankly at the reddish glow rising over the island of Olivolo in the eastern part of the city. What happened? Was there a fire?! Anyway, I needed a shelter right away. The whole city was about to spill out into the streets! This boat I was sitting in was probably already searched for.

"Fabrizio! Fabrizio!"

What a familiar voice…

Leaning forward cautiously, I saw a small figure on the dock of Granacci’s house, wrapped in a velvet cloak.

"Julia!" I whispered.

She paused, then walked slowly to the water’s edge. The light from the torch burning on the dock turned her face into a golden mask.

"It can’t be!" she said in surprise. "Francesca?"

"Hush!"

Somehow, Julia helped me pull the boat up to the stilts and onto solid ground. The long cloak covered her figure, but I noticed that Julia was about to become a mother. Madonna, how long had it been since we last met?!

Grabbing my elbow, she pulled me closer to the torch and looked into my face.

"It’s really you! But how… How?!"

Her mouth dropped open when she saw that I was all shaking from tip to toe and my dress was smeared with mud and mud.

"No one should know I’m here!" I begged. "Please!"

Julia might have been a bit of a featherhead, but she was the most reliable person when it came to saving someone’s life. She nodded and, without saying a word, pulled me into the house. In the hall, she released my hand and put her finger to her lips.

"Sshh! Bianca sleeps like a cat! It’s rather strange that she hasn’t woken up yet!"

At the same time, a voice came from somewhere in the courtyard.

"Julia! Are you here? Is that you?"

As we whirled up the stairs, Julia and I bumped shoulders in the doorway of her room.

"Stay here!" my friend blurted out, out of breath. "She won’t come in here!"

"Julia?" the voice came again from below. I put my ear to the locked door, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

"I’m here! What’s happened? Is there a fire?"

"Can’t you see it yourself? I think it’s in Olivolo. Fabrizio’s just gone there to ask the guards. Where is Lucia? Where is she? By all the saints, this girl will drive me mad!"

I was sitting as still as a mouse while Bianca, Ricardo’s wife, continued to grumble. It seemed that she kept the servants in a tight grip! I dared not look out of the window, because the neighbors could see me. The time was dragging on like a toothache. A watery dawn reluctantly painted the sky pale yellow. I thanked Madonna again for meeting Julia at such a good time. I wondered what happened in Olivolo? Did Manriolo manage to escape? Why on earth did we go to the Golden Palace tonight?!

As soon as I heard heavy footsteps and Fabrizio’s bass voice below, I ran back to the door. This time I didn’t have to stick my ear to the keyhole, because the gondolier’s excited voice echoed through the whole house.

"There’s a fire in the Arsenal, signora! They say a powder magazine exploded. Yes, it’s been almost extinguished, but so many houses were destroyed! No, I didn’t get to the dockyard, the guards wouldn’t let me in. They sort out the rubbles. The houses next to the of Saint Giovanni’s Church were badly damaged. Luckily no one from arsenalotti was in the shipyards at night! They say it was the Duke of Rovergio’s men who set fire to the warehouse. May his soul burn in hell!"

Fabrizio continued to say something in response to Bianca’s agitated questions, but I didn’t hear them anymore.

A powder magazine…

I remembered the incident in Picene and shuddered. And then Alessandro’s last words came back to me. And my heart fell. The Arsenal! Alessandro was there too!

A few historical facts: in March 1509, an explosion was heard in the Venetian Arsenal at a distance of a quarter of a mile from the Palazzo Ducale. It happened in the afternoon, right during a meeting of the Grand Council. It was said that a random spark caused the powder magazine to explode. The shock wave destroyed homes in sestiere Castello, leaving many residents injured and homeless. There were rumors of sabotage. Agents of the French king Louis were suspected of the crime. At this time, Venice was in conflict with France, as well as with the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. The Pope was also angry with Venice for his failure to get Venetian lands in the Romagna. The so-called Cambrai League was formed against Venice and covered up with religious motives (the conquest of Venice was supposed to be the first step in the war with the Turks), but the real goal of the allies was to steal the Venetian lands.