No, I took an unlikely journey to one of the viaducts behind the theater. Early in the century, when the automobile was becoming popular, there was a struggle for space between cars and trains. So they built viaducts that would allow trains to travel underneath and cars to travel above. But to create these passages they merely built a new city on top of the old one. The railways were abandoned long ago, but they have just rediscovered intact and forgotten buildings inside the tunnels of the viaduct. Tanneries, blacksmiths, barbershops, and saloons—there’s an entire city underneath the one we occupy. I am not a historian, I only recently became aware of it, but to me the thought of an underground city is compelling. Two worlds coexisting—one hidden, one seen. Despite the progress and might of the living world, the buried one remains, waiting like lava to reemerge. The next day, Count requests my presence at court. I’ve been avoiding the place intentionally. I did all I could with Gant, but I don’t want the blame if Count’s crude attempt at blackmail doesn’t pay off.
