Marcella tugged up the sleeves of her tight black cardigan and picked up her espresso again. "Why would you need a negotiator with thestregheat all? You are well-known in magical circles. You didn't think to maybe send them an email?"
"I was taught that's not the best way to approach them because they are secretive. I wanted to be as polite as possible," Cosimo replied. He drained his own coffee, wishing he had ordered wine instead.
"And who taught you that?" Marcella asked.
"My mother. She was a Gallo from Vincenza," Cosimo admitted, not bothering with a lie. She may unnerve him, but he had to think of his sister's plight.
"Ah, that explains it," Marcella said with a small smile. "Your magical aura is very mixed but powerful."
Cosimo shifted in his chair. "Isn't it a bit rude to read a man's aura when you first meet?"
"You're not a man." Marcella ran her eyes over him, leaving a burning sensation along his skin. "Not all of you, anyway. You're a magician, and I've learned to read your type from a mile away."
"There are no types like me,signora," Cosimo said, an edge in his voice. She wanted to spar, and he was done being prodded.
"It'ssignorina, and being one of a kind is what all you men like to claim." Marcella tapped her nails on the tabletop again. "What do I get if I help you? And don't waste my time by saying something like 'undying gratitude.' That will just piss me off, and I don't work for free."
Cosimo thought about it. Originally, he was going to offer money, but she had that. He wasn't stupid enough to owe another magical being a favor. It was too dangerous with all his family's resources.
"We like the same books, and I have a hunch that we are circling the same research topics. I'm sure we could find something in my collection that you would want," Cosimo replied smoothly.
"Hmm, like what?"
"I have a first edition of Dante'sDivine Comedy," Cosimo began.
"So do I..."
"But was your edition owned by a mad monk who thought that Dante was a magician and was decoding each stanza into a spell?"
Marcella smiled, her first genuine one. Cosimo felt it hit him like a blow. "Which mad monk?"
"Father Alfonzo from Ravenna. It is rumored that he was a spiritual advisor to Caterina Sforza. She's an ancestor of yours, no?"
Marcella fluttered her lashes. "And what makes you say that?"
"Besides the fact that you share the same last name? How about how you wield your beauty like a weapon, dazzling everyone around you, so you get your own way, and no one suspects how dangerous or clever you really are?" Cosimo replied, his promise of politeness forgotten.
"You think I'm beautiful?" she asked, teasingly innocent.
"Yes, and so would every person who sees you. That waiter is young enough to be your son, by the way," he said, looking pointedly at the number written on the napkin.
Marcella's chuckle was soft and lethal. "And the waiter flirting with me is the reason you think I'm related to Caterina?"
"If you are, I can see exactly why the Medici family and every other powerful man of her age had so much trouble with her."
Marcella's soft laugh turned loud and delighted. "Well, that's a compliment I'll take. You are much more interesting when you're not pretending to be so polite, Greatdrakes."
"You can call me Cosimo," he said, smiling despite their sparring.
"I know," she replied and re-crossed her legs in a smooth movement. "I'd like to know why you need permission to enterstregaterritory before I agree to help you. And do be honest. I hate liars."
Charmed despite himself, Cosimo told her all about Maria, her disappearance, what she was looking for, and finally her reappearance and warning about witches.
"A temple of Minerva? Fascinating," Marcella mused, tapping her lips with her index finger in a distracting way. "Unlikely, but also not impossible. Forli was a Roman settlement, and they have recently found a beautiful temple south of there at Sarsina that was dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva."
"And your people are from Forli. You never heard of an old temple or an argument with an Irish magician?" Cosimo asked.
"Mine is not the only family there, and they fight with each other and all other magic users like feral cats."
