I thought about Aiden (if that really was his name) constantly for the next week. I went out of my way to find books and manuscripts that supported my position on Alighieri's approach to the afterlife. What I really should have been doing was tackling the pile of books on my desk, but I needed to do something else—anything else—to distract me from thinking about him; about what had happened in that narrow spiral staircase. Anyone could have seen us, and part of me had wanted to be discovered.

My cock twitched and I tried to focus on the book in front of me. I’d read the spine half a dozen times, and still not registered what it was or where it should be catalogued. I imagined Aiden standing behind me, chuckling at how flustered I was… at how easily I was distracted thinking about him.

Ridiculous.

He hadn’t been back to the library in days, but I didn’t know how many had passed. Was he avoiding me? Should I be feeling more ashamed than I actually was for how badly I’d wanted to act on my dreams? Was this even about me? Ugh.

Signore de Sarno had been curiously talkative since I’d given Aiden the book he’d ordered, and he seemed particularly excited about a large package that had arrived that needed his special attention.

“Come, Gideon,” he said one day. “Guarda qui, I have a challenge for you.” He beckoned me over to his ink-stained desk so I could look more closely at the contents of the package. My mouth dropped open as he unwrapped the books.

“But, Signore, they’re burned… how are we supposed to repair these?” I asked. “Some of these are too damaged… who would do such a thing?”

Signore de Sarno chuckled and set one of the damaged books gently in front of himself. His desk had come from the scriptorium of a monastery that had been destroyed by an earthquake decades ago, and it was a particular quirk of his to sit at this desk to work on his most important, or challenging in this case, projects. He had never let me sit at it, but I hoped that would change one day…

“From what I have been told, this was the revenge of a jealous wife… she accused him of loving his books more than he loved her…”

“Let me guess, she was right?”

My mentor chuckled and opened the book. I gasped to see the damage the fire had done. “What are we supposed to do? I can re-stitch a broken spine and repair split leather, but this…”

“Our patron has asked us to become monks, Gideon,” he replied with a smile.

“What does that mean,” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for monastic life…”

Signore de Sarno laughed heartily and clapped me on the back. “No, no, Gideon. You are meant for much bigger things. What I mean to say is that our patron has requested that the manuscripts be copied and illuminated, just as the monks used to do.”

I stared at the pile of scorched books with wide eyes. “All of them?”

“Come dici,” he said with a smile. “There are many long nights ahead of us, I think. Enough to keep even you out of trouble.” He winked at me and I felt my cheeks heating just a little. What did he mean by that? Oh, god, what if he’d seen—

I cleared my throat and tried to bring the subject back to the books. To say that I wasn’t looking forward to this challenge would be a lie; it was just… daunting. “Who is our patron, signore? You’ve never said his name.”

“Signore Agesander,” he replied. “He comes from a very old family… ancient you might say. They have been great patrons of the library since the very beginning.” Signore de Sarno set his glasses upon his wild white hair and leaned back in his chair. He gestured vaguely at the records that lined the walls around us. “If you go back in the Vallicelliana’s archives, you will see that there is an Agesander present at every secret meeting... and every formal one too. When I started my apprenticeship here, I was younger than you, Gideon. I knew his grandfather at the very end, his father, and now the torch has passed to him. It is very rare to find a family so dedicated to something so richly rewarding for all mankind…”

“Yes, very rare,” I murmured.

Signore de Sarno and I spent many long hours poring over the books and discussing how best to approach the restoration of those that could be saved, and the painstaking work that would have to go into the duplication of the others. I was given three to repair; their covers were only lightly scorched, and it would take some time, but I would be able to bring the leather back to its original luster and re-lay the gold leaf that had been damaged.

“These books… they are all from the same library?” I asked unnecessarily as the signore locked the archive room door.   

“Ovviamente,” he replied with a chuckle. “Did you notice the subject matter of each book as well?”

I nodded. “The French translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses is the one that intrigues me the most. I think I’ll be able to repair it without too much difficulty. The pages that are the most heavily damaged seem to only be marred with soot and can be easily cleaned…”

“Buona. Molto bene. He will be glad to hear it.”

“When will he be back at the library, signore?” I asked, blushing just a little as he turned a curious eye upon me. “I’m just curious about the fire, and his collection. These are very fine books… and if his family has been a part of the Vallicelliana since the earliest days… I can only imagine what his personal library looks like.”

The signore smiled and shook his head. “La troppa curiosità spinge l'uccello nella rete,” he said as he shook a finger at me. I blinked at him for a moment, trying to translate what he’d said in my head. He noticed my confusion and patted me on the shoulder. “Curiosity killed the cat, my young friend.”  

I laughed awkwardly and lifted my bag onto my shoulder. “Right. I’m still slow with idioms, signore.” Was that supposed to be a warning? What did he know that he wasn’t telling me?

We parted ways at the black door once more and I watched the signore make his way through the piazza towards the river before turning towards my apartment. I walked the same way every day, why should tonight be any different? But something was pulling me towards the river too, and before I knew what was happening, my feet had carried me along the same path as my mentor and I stood at the edge of the St. Angelo Bridge, staring out over the Tiber and at the walls of the holy fortress of Vatican City.

Most people I knew complained about the smell of the river, but they’d never smelled downtown Boston on a hot day. It had been too long since I’d sat near the water, and it was obviously high time I corrected that. The sun was setting slowly over my shoulder and the brightly painted sky was reflected in the river. I sank down onto the stones of the walkway with something like a happy sigh and let my feet dangle over the edge. The soles of my shoes barely touched the water and I let them float there lightly and watched the ripples disturb the surface.

It was strangely quiet for a weeknight. Usually the river was busy with boats and barges, and the streets full of honking cars, the buzz of mopeds, and the occasional roar of a motorcycle ripping through the Vatican City precinct.    

I pulled a small book out of my bag and opened it to a page I’d marked before I left the library. I had been telling Signore de Sarno the truth; the copy of Metamorphoses that had found its way onto my restoration desk intrigued me.   

“I suppose I should not be surprised to find you with your nose buried in a book even outside of your usual duties.”

I looked up and came face to face with the muzzle of a very large, very black dog. I tried to slide back, but I was stopped by a deep growl that came from behind me. I froze and stared up at the black shape above me and gritted my teeth as I was able to place the chuckle that followed my discomfort. Three black dogs, tall and lean, examined me closely, and I tried to ignore the chills that ran up my spine as their cold breath hit my skin. I couldn’t help the way my heart pounded when the red light of the sunset illuminated Aiden’s face.

“Are you following me now?” I asked, keeping a wary eye on the dogs who hadn’t paused in their examination of me. They were taller than any dog I’d ever seen before. Their coats were black and shone like obsidian—blacker than anything in this world.

I’d never owned a dog, but I’d always wanted one, and the temptation to touch them, regardless of how terrifying they were, was almost impossible to deny. I reached out a tentative hand towards the pointed muzzle nearest to me. If its massive jaws snapped over my fingers, I’d never repair a manuscript ever again, but the temptation was too great. I had to know.

La troppa curiosità spinge l'uccello nella rete—Signore de Sarno would laugh at me now. But I didn’t care.

The hellhound, for it very well could have been, sniffed at my hand, a growl bubbling in its wide chest.

“Careful…” Aiden’s voice was cold and I was frozen in place until the massive dog surprised me by stepping closer and bathing my face with a broad pink tongue. The second dog, just as massive as the first, whined happily and jumped at me, snuffling into my hair and the collar of my shirt. I yelped at the coldness of his nose. The third dog tugged the book out of my hand, growling playfully as he held it in his massive jaws.

“Hey!” I laughed as the first two dogs crashed into me, licking and barking happily. Through the tangle of canine limbs I looked up to see Aiden as he took the book out of his dog’s mouth and opened it to the page I’d been reading. He looked at it with a raised eyebrow and then back at me. A smile flitted across his face and it chilled me just a little. He looked surprised, but I didn’t know what had caused it.

He pulled the dogs away, but they seemed eager for my affection and I rubbed each set of dark ears. “What’s his name?” I asked, pointing at the largest of the three.

In reply, Aiden held up the book his dog had stolen from me. “Why are you reading this?”

I scrambled to my feet and pulled my bag over my shoulder. “Why not? Who are you to judge what I choose to read in my private time… besides, I’m working on the books you sent us and I was reminded that I hadn’t read any Ovid since college.” I tried to snatch the book out of his hand, but his grip was tight. I wrestled with him briefly until he finally released it and I shoved the book deep into my bag.

I glared at him and tugged my jacket tighter around my chest. “Are you going to say anything about what happened?”

“What happened?” he said.

I gritted my teeth and narrowed my eyes. One of the dogs licked my palm, distracting me from my anger just a little. “You know exactly what happened.”

“Ah, that.”

“Yes, that!”

“What do you want me to say?”

“I…” my words froze in my throat as his pale eyes held mine unwaveringly.

“You want me to say that I’ve been thinking about you… that I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind… is that it, librarian?”

I swallowed thickly. That was exactly what I wanted to hear, but I’d never say it. He didn’t deserve that.

“I see,” he said. His smile was cruel and sent a shiver up my spine. The last time I’d seen that smile I’d been choking under his grip and loving every second of it.

“You didn’t answer my question,” I said.

“Didn’t I?”

“No.” I pointed at the dogs. “What are their names?”

“Spot,” he said.

“Seriously… and the other two?”

Aiden whistled through his teeth at the dogs, and they pulled themselves reluctantly away from me. “Spot,” he said over his shoulder.

“That’s stupid,” I shouted at his back. He didn’t turn, but one of the dogs looked back at me, his tongue lolling out of his mouth in a goofy expression that made me smile. A terrifying animal when I’d first met him; nothing but a puppy looking for affection after all.

It was almost dark, and I knew I should go home, but running into Aiden like that had set my teeth on edge. I wanted him… but this one-sided bullshit wasn’t my style. I didn’t have a problem pursuing, but there had to be something there. But was there?

I was almost home, and my path took me past a narrow street full of bars that only opened after the sun went down. I usually passed quickly, but tonight when the seats were full and the lights blazed warmly, I felt the pull a little more strongly.

“Gideon! Gideon! Oh. My. God!”

A full tackle accompanied the familiar shout as Emilie flew out of one of the bars and flung herself at me. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and squeezed me tightly. “You can’t escape, I’ve caught you!” she cried triumphantly. “Now you have to come and have a drink with me!”

“Fine… fine, fine… one drink,” I laughed. Emilie’s friends cheered their approval as she dragged me back to their table and I was introduced to a gaggle of people whose names I would never remember under torture. Laughing faces and bad jokes, accents from all over the world. Backpackers, I assumed, people she knew from her travels and maybe even a roommate or former lover or three. Guys and girls, they all crowded around to ask me questions.

“What do you do?”

“How long have you lived in Rome?”

“Don’t you miss American food?”

I answered them as quickly as I could, but their questions overlapped my responses and soon the noise level had all but drowned out any other conversation as the speakers in the bar blared the newest (or maybe I was just out of touch) EuroPop hits to encourage patrons to dance and howl lyrics they could barely pronounce, let alone understand.

“So, Gideon… tell me about that guy.” Emilie’s voice cut through the noise like a dagger and I tried to focus on her.

“What? What guy?”

Her eyes were dark, almost as black as her hair in the strange light of the bar, and I blinked to try and clear my vision.

“You know what guy,” she said with a sly smile. She slid closer to me and pushed a perspiring glass of dark beer towards me. “The one with the tattoos… do you think he’s tattooed everywhere?”

I wish I knew.

I laughed instead. “That’s a silly question. And I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know exactly who I’m talking about. Vittorio told me he’s a patron of the library… very rich, very influential. Very sexy,” she said with a wink.

“Uhhh… I guess,” I said warily.

“Don’t be shy, Gideon, you can tell me.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” I said. That was a lie. I took a quick sip of the beer in front of me and Emilie smiled.

“Come on, Gid… Vittorio told me everything.”

I raised an eyebrow and pushed the beer away. “Oh, really?”

Emilie nodded. “Yup. He’s seen you two talking… How did he describe it? Oh, yes… a heated argument. A lover’s quarrel perhaps? You can tell me, Gideon. You know how much I love juicy gossip. A rich patron dallying with a lowly librarian? It’s practically ripped straight out of a romance novel! Except, he’s married and you’re… well… you’re you.”    

I bristled at that. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t take it personally,” she said in a rush. “I just mean that it all sounds a little... ridiculous, don’t you think?”

It did sound ridiculous. But I didn’t need to hear that from her to know that it was true. That same word had floated through my mind repeatedly over the last few weeks. One strange event after another… all of them with one common denominator, they were all ridiculous.

“Has he said anything to you?” Emilie asked, breaking through my trance once again.

“Said anything?” I swallowed hard and hoped she wouldn’t notice. He’d said lots of things… things I didn’t dare repeat. “Like what?”

Emilie’s black eyes sparkled in the dim light. “I dunno… anything weird? Rich people are always so eccentric. He looks like the eccentric type, don’t you think?”

I shook my head. “Nope… sorry to disappoint you. Nothing weird. He’s just a guy who likes books.”

Emilie pouted just a little and opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could speak, I felt a cold hand close over my arm.