Page 54 of In the Garden of Monsters

“Maybe I’ll just stay down here,” Gala joked.

Another flash of lightning and the main lights went out, leaving the room once more bathed in the pale flames from the candelabras.

“Then again, maybe I won’t,” she said, scrambling out from under the table and into Jack’s arms.

“Where is Ignazio?” Dalí asked. “IGNAZIO,” he bellowed.

I knew our host wasn’t going to return. He was absolutely furious with me for thwarting him.

Dalí and Gala exchanged exasperated glances, their irritation palpable as they discussed Ignazio’s sudden absence and the premature end of the night’s revelries. Gala’s voice was tinged with disdain. “This is simply intolerable,” she muttered. “Such a lack of decorum, and now the party ends so abruptly.”

Jack glanced nervously at Lillian’s unsteady form. “Perhaps it’s for the best,” he suggested. “The storm outside is getting worse, and Lillian seems...quite affected by the wine.”

“We should get Lillian back to her room.” Paolo gestured toward the candelabras. “Let’s take the candles.”

I took one, the flame casting a dim, flickering light that barely penetrated the darkness of the palazzo. With the candle in my left hand, I reached out with my right to support Lillian, who leaned heavily against me, the effects of the alcohol increasingly evident. “We need to put you to bed,” I told her, motioning to Paolo for help.

We made our way down the hall and up the stairs. The palazzo was creepy enough during the day, but at night, without any interior lighting and a storm raging, it was downright terrifying.

“The thunder and lightning... It’s not moving away,” Jack said as we reached the top of the landing. “It’s just hovering over us.”

“This storm is a humdinger!” Lillian yelled, her voice echoing through the palazzo between the claps of thunder. She was very drunk, and Paolo had his hands full keeping her upright.

Gala swept past us, her voice sharp. “Enough of this. Salvador, Jack, come with me. This night has lost its charm.”

“Lemmee just sit on down here,” Lillian slurred as their figures made their way along the hall, toward the safety of Dalí’s room. She started to slide down the wall.

“No, no, Lillian, my room is just up ahead. You can sit there.” I struggled to keep the candle steady, its light flickering as I helped Paolo lift Lillian back to her feet.

“This Paolo guy,” she said, poking her finger at his chest. “He’s a dreamboat.” She gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek. “You could... You...you could stay with me tonight.”

“No, signorina. Not tonight,” he said. “You are adorable, buttroppo alticcia.”

He was being kind. She was downright drunk, not tipsy. “I’m sorry, Paolo.” I sighed as he helped me get Lillian into my room and onto the bed. While I wasn’t thrilled about my friend’s drunken state, I was glad for her company, though she passed out as soon as I took off her shoes and tucked her in, clothes and all.

“This is my fault,” I said as we watched her sleep.

Paolo shook his head. “No. I saw how she drank down the wine. She didn’t know how powerful it is.”

“She only drank it down like that because it was my glass, and I had spit a pomegranate seed into the goblet.”

“So, you did have a seed. I wondered how you managed to play the game and not get one,” he marveled.

“I think Ignazio knew I didn’t eat it. You didn’t see the way he looked at me, right before he left in a huff. This might sound ridiculous, but I think he caused this storm. It started at the exact moment that Lillian drank down that seed.”

“Merda,”Paolo cursed. “I thought thistempestaseemed unnatural. But controlling the weather?”

“I know what it sounds like. But I think that’s why he didn’t come to help us when the lights went out.”

“We have seen some strange things, but I feel like that is...how do you say?...a stretch?”

“I hope you are right. I also don’t think I won the game, either... I wasn’t moving as fast as the rest of you, so how can I have eaten the most? He must have rigged it, but why? But I’m going to share my winnings with you and Lillian. It’s only fair.”

His laugh was rueful. “Signorina, if you are the one that is right, and Ignazio can control the weather, we have bigger problems. If you make it out of here alive, you deserve all that money.”

15

Lillian woke me by opening the curtains and letting the bright sunlight wash over me.

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