‘The blood of lions flows in you, my son. I ask you to be brave a month or two longer. Then you will know all you need to, and more.
‘With all my love
‘Mama
‘I finished reading with a dark scowl on my brow, my fangs stirring in my gums as the anger swelled. I could understand a letter was no place for so heavy a truth. But still, being left without answers was a bitter draught, and the sting of wanting something I couldn’t have was becoming all too familiar.
‘“Not the news you were hoping for?” Astrid murmured.
‘I breathed deep to calm myself. “Just more questions,” I sighed.
‘“Well, then. We have one answer, at least.” Chloe stood and fished about the dusty shelves. “Though we’ve had little fortune searching for daysdeath lore, Azzie and I have met some success on your task.”
‘I looked up, belly thrilling. “You found word of the fifth line? Why didn’t you say so?”
‘“She just did, Gabriel,” Astrid said, her voice muffled by her kerchief. “All this blood is rather fortuitous, actually.”
‘“See here.” From among the stacks, Chloe produced an ancient book, edged in tarnished brass and bound in pale, cracked leather. The title was embossed upon the spine in golden writing, almost completely faded with age.
‘“I can’t read it,” I confessed.
‘“There aren’t many who can. It’s a dialect of Old Talhostic, predating the Wars of the Faith. It took me days to translate a few fragments. But this book is a bestiary. Written by a vampire scholar named L?zil. Or L?sille. We’re not sure which.”
‘Chloe opened the pages almost reverently. They were yellowed with age, creaking as she turned them. I saw anatomical illustrations of horrifying beasts, some entirely fictional, others variants of the faekin and duskdancers and fallen I knew full well to be real. The book seemed half folklore, half fact, all madness.
‘“Strange vellum,” I remarked, touching the page.
‘“We think it’s human skin,” Astrid murmured.
‘“Sweet Mothermaid …”
‘“Here. Here it is.” Chloe turned the book towards me. I saw heraldic crests in an archaic style, representing the four vampire bloodlines: the golden-crowned white raven of Blood Voss, the roses and serpents of the Ilon, the twin wolves and moons of Chastain, the bear and broken shield of the Dyvok. But the language was unreadable.
‘“What does all this say? Does it mention the fifth line?”
‘Astrid turned to the final page, blank and parched with age. “It appears not.”
‘I gritted my teeth, frustration rising. “Then why are you showing me this, Astrid?”
‘“Because, Gabriel, appearances can be deceiving.” She took her kerchief away, and leaning over the book, snorted hard. Blood began to drip, drip, drip onto the blank page.
‘“What are y—”
‘Chloe held up her hand, eyes shining with excitement. “Just watch.”
‘I sat mute, trying to ignore the perfume of Astrid’s blood, trying not to imagine how it might taste, silken and sticky-smooth upon my tongue. It gleamed like dark rubies across that dusty page, sweet as poison. And then my belly did a slow roll, my eyes widening.
‘The blood was moving.
‘Slow at first. Trembling. But oui, as if by some dark chymistrie, the blood took on a will of its own, sinking into the vellum as if it were a sponge. The stain spread, forming into unreadable words surrounding a sigil, much like the heraldry of the other bloodlines.
‘Two skulls, facing each other upon an ornate shield.
‘“Great Redeemer,” I whispered. “What does it say?”
‘“Last, and verily, most contemptible of all Courts of the Blood,” Chloe read. “A broken line of sorcerers and cannibals, damned even among the damned. Spit their name from thy tongue as thou wouldst the blood of pigs, and guard thine own blood lest they wrest it from thy veins.”
‘Astrid pointed to a name scribed beneath the skulls.
‘“Esani,” she said. “The Faithless.”
‘“Esani …” I whispered.
‘Astrid nodded at the page. “Courtesans pass messages like this. They use lemon juice or milk, painted onto parchment. The writing is invisible, but when held to flame, the juice chars and the letters become legible. We called it ‘fire writing’ in the Golden Halls.”
‘“I’d no idea ancient kith communicated this way.”
‘“I don’t think anyone did. I was flipping through the pages when my nose started gushing. I saw the writing while I was trying to clean up the fucking mess. And within the hour, it had faded again.”
‘“Angel Fortuna smiles upon us …”
‘“No, not the Angel of Fortune,” Chloe said, her eyes shining. “Don’t you see? It’s just as I said the night that star fell from heaven! All this was ordained. This is the answer.” She stabbed at the fading writing with her finger. “Somewhere in this Library, somewhere among these books, is the solution to daysdeath!”
‘Astrid shrugged. “If it’s hidden suchlike, it’d explain why nobody’s found it yet.”
‘“But how will you find it? You can’t bleed on every book.”
‘“I’m not certain.” Astrid sucked her lip. “But perhaps Chloe’s right …”
‘“I am right,” Chloe insisted. “You were meant to set us to this task, Gabriel. Astrid was meant to find this bloodscript, and through it, the way to bring back the sun. I know it.”
‘The fervour in Chloe’s eyes was contagious. I swear I could sense the presence of God in that room with us, and looking at the bloody writing fading from that page, I found it easy to believe all this was ordained.
‘“We should speak to the abbot about this,” I ventured.
‘“Are you completely mad?” Astrid waved about us. “Forbidden section, remember?”
‘“There’s too many books in here for you to test alone. If there is an answer to daysdeath hidden in these pages, you’re going to need help finding it.”
‘“We’re going to need help putting the flesh back on our bones if the prioress learns we’ve been sneaking out of an eve. Some of us don’t heal quick as others, Gabe.”
‘“I’ll tell Khalid, then. I needn’t mention you two at all.”
‘“Oh, really?” Chloe asked. “You can read Old Talhostic, can you?”
‘I looked at the fading writing on the page, lips pursed.
‘“Archivist Adamo would never allow either of us back into the Library if he knew we’d been reading these books without permission,” Astrid said. “If we’d something definitive to show, silver might outweigh blood. But I’ve no intention of having the skin flayed off my back just yet, merci.”
‘“And Abbot Khalid’s mind is set on the defence of Avinbourg, anyway,” Chloe said.
‘I nodded reluctantly. They were right, of course – the whole monastery was bent on stopping the Forever King. “The Empress herself is en route to San Michon.”