“You won’t remember me,” she said quietly, “but I know you. Or rather, I will know you in the future.” She hitched up her satchel on her shoulder, wishing she’d brought something with her that could serve as proof of her statement. Alas, she had nothing.
Cosimo turned, his expression guarded. Then his eyes widened almost imperceptibly. He leaned closer, inhaling deeply.
“The bloodstone,” he whispered. “I can almost smell its residue on you. How is this possible? Tell me when and where you are from.”
Zani’s pulse quickened, and her eyes widened. She had not expected him to accept her story so quickly. “You believe me?”
“Come.” She allowed him to pull her toward a secluded alcove in the garden. Once they were alone, his demeanor changed entirely. “It was you in the laboratory that day with Nostradamus, wasn’t it? How did you get here? And how are you here now? When will we meet?” His eyes studied her with a cold, hard intensity as he interrogated her. The hand that rested on her arm sat there lightly. But she could feel its cold, hard presence pressing into her flesh.
“We will meet in the future,” Zani explained. “You will help me steal back the bloodstone amulet.” She didn’t mention her suspicions about what would transpire later on the train.
Cosimo’s eyes narrowed. “That’s impossible. I threw the bloodstone amulet into the ocean years ago. I have finally freed myself from the burden of keeping watch over that cursed stone.”
“It won’t stay there.” Zani held his gaze. “Someone else will find it. Perhaps they already have. You helped me take it, but?—”
“But what?” Cosimo’s eyes flashed dangerously as he leaned back to study her. “Has its dark magic already infected you? Are you here to threaten me and try to do me harm?” He bared sharp fangs. “Do you really think you can?”
“No.” Zani edged away, wishing she had her stakes, or at the very least, some of the stupefying potion. “I was going to say someone else stole it from me.”
“I’m so sorry!” Cosimo placed his hands on top of his head and turned his back to her. He took a few steps away, growling slightly. When he spun back around, his entire demeanor was changed. His regret for threatening her was obvious. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. You just startled me, and the scent of that stone! It clings to you. It muddles my mind.” Cosimo paced the small space, still clearly agitated. “Why are you even seeking it? What could compel you to chase such danger?”
“At first, I just wanted to get it as a sort of trophy,” Zani said. “But if I’m being honest, I think I really wanted it to see if I could reverse its curse.” She swallowed. “I thought if I could just get a hold of the bloodstone and perform a few spells, I could free myself from the shadow it’s cast over my life.”
He studied her for a long moment. And then he laughed, a little bitterly. “Do you really think it’s that simple? The stone is not what you believe it to be.”
“What is it, then?” Zani folded her arms across her chest. Ancient vampire or no, she didn’t like the way he was speaking to her. “I know it started out as something else. I saw the blue stone you were holding in your laboratory. That was a Celestial Sapphire, wasn’t it?”
“So you aren’t entirely ignorant?” Cosimo studied her once more, reconsidering. “What you saw in Catherine’s time was an ancient wisdom stone. Rare and precious. It granted crystal clear vision and some luck to its bearer. It certainly helped me rise in the ranks of her court. But the stone you seek now is not the same. It is that gem’s corrupt twin. The bloodstone offers power, yes, but at a terrible cost. There are no spells to undo the curse it leaves behind. I can still smell it upon you, even though you no longer possess it. It has already marked you.”
“You knew this when you helped me steal it,” Zani pointed out, fuming. “And you still went through with it.”
“Then I am a fool in your time and mine.” Cosimo sighed heavily. “I threw it into the sea, hoping to end its influence, but I fear I’ve only shifted its course. The Merfolk have been at war with the sirens ever since I unburdened myself. The oceans rage with their battles.”
“I actually think it’s you who stole it from me,” Zani said bluntly. “Or who will steal it back from me.”
Cosimo looked genuinely surprised. “Why would I reclaim something I tried so desperately to discard?”
“I don’t know. All you told me was that you wanted to borrow it for some kind of ritual during the upcoming eclipse. I was supposed to keep the stone in a lead-lined case and meet you on Catalina Island with it, just before the eclipse happened.”
“Eclipse?” Cosimo’s eyes widened with interest, then narrowed with suspicion. “But where is this Catalina Island? I do not know of any such place.”
Zani realized she had misspoken. The island off the coast of modern day California wouldn’t be known to this man.
“It’s a small island off the west coast of the New World,” Zani corrected herself. “But none of this matters now.” She felt the weight of her situation anew. “I can’t travel back to my time without a porter. And neither one of us has the stone. Maybe this is my curse. I’m trapped here. With you.”
Try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to recall what had been so attractive about Cosimo in the future. The man standing beside her had none of the wisdom and compassion. He was hard and cold. She wished only for Will and his warm embrace. She longed for his steady and reliable protection. Will would never have encouraged her to steal a stone that would curse her for life like this.
She hated this Cosimo, and were it not for his fangs and his obvious command of magic of his own, she would have been tempted to hex him. Perhaps she still would find a way. If the wards allowed it.
“This is one thing I can do for you, witch.” Cosimo shook his head sadly, staring at her as if she were a lost cause, and this was the least he could do. “And that is to tell you the story of how that cursed stone came to be. Perhaps then you will understand the depths of my depravity, as well as my despair—for it was I who brought that cursed stone to life. It holds the last of my lifeblood. It is my curse as well.”
Item No. 118-F | For encounters that feel like déjà vu and destiny
Flora’s Friend-Finder Charm
It was in Budapest that I first watched one of our signature Friend Finder Charms in action. Tucked beneath the collar of a young woman’s coat, the butterfly-shaped trinket sparkled, its amber wings slowly deepening to sapphire as she neared the door of a quiet bookshop. The proprietor noticed at once. They spoke tentatively at first, then with the ease of old friends. I left them still talking as the shop closed.
The charm itself is crafted from a rare iridescent alloy, almost weightless, and catches the light with a kind of deliberate grace. It can be worn on a chain, a lapel, the corner of a scarf, or even clipped onto a satchel’s clasp.
