Summary

Chapter 23 marks the beginning of Section III, in which Crivano is the protagonist in Venice, Italy in 1592. The chapter starts with a priest opening a book in a basilica. Although it is the middle of the night, he can hear people passing in the aisles. To the south, a man walks along the cobblestoned path, staring at the ground below him. He is described as “gaunt and sinewy, around thirty-five years old, wearing the long black robe of a Bolognese doctor” (165). He has “a strangeness to his aspect, a detachment,” that cannot be explained by his scholarly pursuits or world travels.

The priest begins chanting within the church. The cloaked man shivers and turns to leave. The Chapter concludes with the revelation that the cloaked man is Crivano, The Mirror Thief.

When Chapter 24 begins, Crivano leaves the church and asks a young man...