“In fact it didn’t and it was only with difficulty that I absorbed the reality that I would never see ‘the light of day’ again.

“He saw the trouble in my face. He said, ‘Look back on nothing. I’ll take you out to hunt now. You’re my apprentice for the evening.’

“ ‘And so I’ve disappointed her,’ I asked, ‘and she’ll have nothing further to do with me?’

“ ‘No,’ he said with a short honest laugh. ‘She’s eager to see you. But it happens that she’s a miserable teacher. And so I’ve told her no, and that I’ll take you out, and so we’ll hunt the cafés and the clubs of Napoli.’

“He was dressed informally tonight in a black silk shirt open at the neck and a finely cut jacket of dark red silk and a pair of sleek trousers.

“He took me to a room where the young mortal boy waited to help me select a similar suit of clothes, which I did hastily. Once again, I thanked him for his kindness.

“ ‘If I had any money,’ I said, ‘I’d give it to you.’

“He smiled at me. And I patted his shoulder.

“Then we were off to the cafés and bars for more lessons.

“We moved through all manner of crowds, taking the Little Drink over and over until I was very skilled at it, and then, cornering for ourselves two ‘perfect killers,’ we had our fill of them in a back alley in the oldest part of Naples. We left their bodies because Arion said it didn’t matter there, but there would be other times when it did and the bodies had to be disposed of. As it was, he slashed the throats of the two so it would seem they had bled to death.

“ ‘To thrive without killing,’ he said, ‘that is everything. If you can live without bringing death, you will endure. But now and then the urge to kill will overrule—you’ll want the burning bitter heart—and so I’ve taught you how to do it.’

“I was exhilarated all this while, and the elegant figure of Arion constantly thrilled me. I imitated his grace. I wanted him for my model in everything. And in some ways he is my model to this very moment. He had a feline way of moving and speaking in a hushed tone that commanded respect and loyalty of me.

“His skin was so black that under the lights of the cafés and bars it had a bluish tinge to it, and his deep yellow eyes had tiny flecks of brown and green in them. His teeth were powerfully white, and his lips small for his face, and his smile very smooth and loving.