Scorpia
Chapter One
THE WIDOW'S PALACE
That afternoon, the two boys stood in front of yet another grand palace in the heart of Venice.
"It's called the Contarini del Bovolo," Alex said, consulting his guidebook. "It says here that the
staircase is shaped a bit like the shell of a snail. And bovolo is the Venetian word for 'snail shell'."
Tom stifled a yawn. "That's fascinating, Alex," he said. "But if I see one more palace, one more
church, or one more canal, I think I'm going to throw myself under a bus."
"There aren't any buses in Venice," Alex reminded him.
"A water bus, then. If it doesn't hit me, maybe I'll get lucky and drown." He sighed. "You know the
trouble with this place? The entire city's like a museum. A bloody great museum. I feel like I've
been here half my life."
Alex couldn't bring himself to agree. He had never been anywhere quite like Venice-but then there
was nowhere in the world remotely like it with its narrow streets and dark canals twisting around
each other in an intricate, amazing knot. Every building seemed to compete with its neighbor to be
more ornate and more spec ... read full excerpt from Scorpia (Alex Rider Adventure) ebook
