Piranesi(35)

16 contemplated the Statues for several minutes. Then he turned the light away from the Walls and walked to a Door that led to the Sixth North-Western Hall. He checked the Jamb to reassure himself that the chalk mark he had made was still there and he passed through. I followed and hid Myself in the next Doorway.

In the Sixth North-Western Hall, 16 was shining his torch on the message that I had written. He stood motionless for a long moment. I had told him to reflect on his wickedness. Was that what he was doing? Suddenly he knelt and began to write rapidly.

No one has ever written to me before.

16 wrote for a long time, which in some obscure way pleased me. But then I thought: Why are you pleased? Why does it matter if the message is long or short? You know you may not read it. If you read it, you will go mad. Part of me (a very foolish part) felt that it would almost be worth going mad in order to read the message.

The Darkness in front of 16 coalesced into two wild black shapes that flapped and beat the Air. Startled, 16 leapt up with a cry of alarm.

It was only two rooks who had been awakened by the unusual activity and had come to see what was happening.

‘Piss off!’ cried 16. ‘Piss off! Go away! I’m busy!’

16’s voice was not at all what I was expecting.

I departed as silently as I had come. I made my way back to the Third Northern Hall and lay down on my bed. But my mind was too full for sleep.

I erase a message from 16

SECOND ENTRY FOR THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF THE NINTH MONTH IN THE YEAR THE ALBATROSS CAME TO THE SOUTH-WESTERN HALLS

As soon as the Sun rose I fetched my Index and my Journals. I opened the Index at R, but there was no entry for ‘Raphael’.

I quickly ate some food and thanked the House for its Beneficence. I had a question that I needed to put to the Other but today was not one of the days when the Other and I meet, so I knew my question must wait.

I set off for the Sixth North-Western Hall. The rooks greeted me noisily, but I had no time to talk to them today. 16’s message covered an area of the Pavement approximately 60 centimetres by 80 centimetres.

My heart beat fast in my chest. I glanced down:

I saw the words:

MY NAME IS …

I saw the words:

… LAURENCE ARNE-SAYLES …

I saw the words:

… ROOM WITH THE STATUES OF MINOTAURS …

What should I do? I knew that as long as the message existed I would experience a strong urge to read it. I decided that my only option was to destroy it.

I ran back to the Third Northern Hall and fetched an old shirt and some chalk. I say ‘shirt’; in fact, the garment was so ragged that it scarcely deserved the name. I tore it in two. Then I ran back to the Sixth North-Western Hall. I tied one half of the shirt around my eyes as a blindfold. Holding the other half in my hand, I knelt down and began to sweep it over the surface of the Pavement, erasing 16’s words.

After a couple of minutes, I removed the blindfold and looked. Bits of the message remained here and there.

COMPREHENSIBLE? MY





NAME


LICE OFFI

READ THE FILES ON

IS VALENTINE

YOUR DIS

KETTER





RTAINLY


GROOMED OTHER POTENTIAL VICTIMS AND I

A DISCIPLE OF THE OCCULTIST LAURENCE





ARNE-SAY


NK HE KNOWS THAT I HAVE PENETRATED TH

EN HERE FOR ALMOST SIX YEARS, DID YO





WAY OUT IS


LOCATE


NED ME THAT YOU MAY BE SUFFERING





FROM


As none of this made much sense – at least at first glance – I was hopeful that it would not affect me. (So far I feel fine.) I knelt down and wrote a reply.

DEAR 16

AS LONG AS YOU REMAIN IN OUR HALLS THEN THE OTHER WILL TRY TO KILL YOU. HE HAS A GUN!

I HAVE ERASED YOUR MESSAGE WITHOUT READING IT. YOUR WORDS HAVE NOT TOUCHED ME. YOU HAVE NOT MADE ME MAD. YOUR PLAN HAS FAILED.

PLEASE! RETURN TO THE FAR-DISTANT HALLS WHENCE YOU CAME!

PIRANESI

I question the Other

ENTRY FOR THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF THE NINTH MONTH IN THE YEAR THE ALBATROSS CAME TO THE SOUTH-WESTERN HALLS

Today at ten o’clock I went to the Second South-Western Hall to meet the Other.

He was standing by the Empty Plinth. He wore a suit of dark brown wool and a shirt of dark olive. His gleaming shoes were a chestnut colour.

‘I want to ask you something,’ I said.

‘OK.’

‘Why have you not been honest with me?’

The Other put on a cold look. ‘I am always honest with you,’ he said.

‘No,’ I said. ‘You are not. Why did you not tell me that 16 is a woman?’

The expression on the Other’s face flickered from haughty denial, to irritation, to reluctant acquiescence in the space of about half a second. ‘OK,’ he conceded. ‘I suppose that’s fair enough. But I never said that she wasn’t a woman.’

I rolled my eyes at this extraordinarily weak defence. ‘I have been referring to 16 as “he” for months,’ I said, ‘and you have not corrected me – not once. Why not?’

The Other sighed. ‘OK. The reason I didn’t say anything is that I know you, Piranesi. You’re a romantic. Oh, you talk about being a scientist and a disciple of reason – and most of the time you are. But you’re also a romantic. I knew it was going to be hard enough as it was to convince you of the threat that 16 poses. But I thought it would be even harder once you knew she was a woman. You would be so much more interested in a woman. I thought you might even fall in love with her. I certainly didn’t think you’d be able to stop yourself from talking to her. I know you may find this difficult to believe but I was actually looking out for you. It was so important that you didn’t trust 16, because 16 is fundamentally untrustworthy. Do you see?’