City of Lost Dreams

THIRTY-TWO

“Max. Max, wake up.”

“Is it morning?”

“It is almost evening,” said the little man. “You slept all day. We have work to do. Wake up.”

“The folio?” Max muttered.

“Fascinating. In Ferdinand’s own hand, with later notations by Edward Kelley.”

“Kelley?”

“Kelley had access to all of Rudolf’s manuscripts. How it came to end up in your family library is another story.”

“So what’s it all about?”

“The notations are instructions. And in some cases, spells. To be used in one location only, the Star Summer Palace.”

“To do what?”

“Precisely. It has always been a mysterious building. No one was ever clear precisely what went on there. Or why Ferdinand designed it the way he did. They thought he was building a folly, or a love nest. But now I think the entire structure was designed for a specific purpose.”

“Well?”

Before Nico could answer, Jose came barreling through the door, hair wild.

“It’s Pollina,” he said. “She send me text not to disturb her so I don’t but finally I worried and—” A strangled cry came from his throat. “She’s gone.”