‘A believer.’
XI
SILVER HEELS
‘THE STAR WAS still lancing through the dark as I slipped from the Library, and in my heart, I felt a strange sense of hope. I wasn’t certain if I believed in this portent as deeply as Chloe, or if we were God-fated to meet as she said. But I admit the sisternovice’s fervour was contagious. I was only a peasant boy, like I said. But more, perhaps for the first time since I’d come to San Michon, I felt I’d found people I truly belonged with.
‘Not brothers. But friends.
‘Snow was falling from the burning heavens as I stole across the monastery. I could see lights in the windows about me, folk silhouetted against the glass as they peered skywards. It was still an hour until I’d start my stablework, and I wanted nothing more than to get back to bed. But as I drew near Barracks, I froze, as still as the angelic statues in the Cathedral cloister.
‘In the gloom ahead, I’d seen another figure.
‘A lad in a black cloak was sneaking from the Armoury doors. As I ducked out of sight near the Gauntlet, he looked to the marvel above, and I recognized him by its holy light.
‘Aaron de Coste.
‘Initiates weren’t allowed out after evebells, and though I was guilty of the exact same crime, my hackles were up as I watched Aaron pull his hood low and sneak back to Barracks. Our brawl in the Gauntlet was fresh in my mind. His warning that I should watch my back ringing in my skull. Why was this insufferable prick faffing about in the Armoury?
‘I checked the Armoury doors and found them locked. Listening within, I heard no sound, pondering now what to do. If de Coste was only just sneaking back to bed, he’d never miss me doing the same, and he’d squeal about it for certain. And so, I decided to seek shelter elsewhere while I waited out the hour.
‘The Cathedral.
‘I crept through the double doors in the east wall – the doors for the living and the dawn, taking shelter in an alcove by the votive candles. I always felt at peace within the Cathedral, breathing deep of the still and whispering a prayer to the Almighty. I looked to the great sevenstar window above, the Martyrs etched in stained glass. My eyes fell on Michon; armour-clad, the Grail held high in her hand as she led her army of the faithful. My mind was still on that falling star. And then, I heard it. Soft in the dark. A sound that told me I wasn’t alone.
‘The sound of weeping.
‘I squinted in the gloom, illuminated by the harbinger’s pale light. And down by the altar, I saw a figure knelt in the front row. Though I couldn’t see her face, my paleblood senses recognized her auburn curls, the tune of her voice.
‘It was Sister Aoife. Seraph Talon’s aide.
‘Her head was bowed, sobs echoing on dark stone. I knew not what made the young sister weep, and she sounded heartsick with it. But though she’d been ever kind to me, to ask her troubles was to reveal the fact I was out of Barracks. So instead, I held still and listened to her cry. Only once in that whole hour’s weeping did she speak; a plaintive prayer to a statue near the altar. Her arms wrapped tight around herself as she whispered, “Oh blessed Mothermaid, show me truth. Be this curse or blessing you’ve gifted me?”
‘I sat still in the dark, silent as graves. Finally, the belfry rang to rouse the cooks to the kitchen. Sister Aoife smoothed her curls and tried to find some measure of calm. Before she could spot me, I slipped out the doors and into the night outside. Skirting the fountain of angels, I stole away from the Cathedral, finding Keeper Logan by the sky platform.
‘The thin man’s eyes were fixed on the faint light still above. “D’ye see it, boi?”
‘“Oui.” Once more, I looked to that harbinger tumbling from heaven. “I see it.”
‘“D’ye fancy it bodes for good or ill?”
‘I thought of Sister Aoife weeping in the Cathedral, Chloe’s proclamation that all this was ordained, the light of that falling star playing on the curve of Astrid’s cheek.
‘“All on earth below and hea’en above is the work of my hand,” I said.
‘“An’ all the work o’ my hand is in accord with my plan.” Logan made the sign of the wheel as he finished the Testaments quote. “Well said, laddie.”
‘“I have my moments.”
‘The keeper looked at me from the corner of his eye, smiling fondly. “You know, you’re not half the snivelling backwater scab the other lads make ye oot to be, de León. I quite like ye, in fact. For a Nordish-born prettyboy sheepfucker, like.”
‘“… Merci, good Keeper.”
‘Logan winked. “Too right, laddie.”
‘Just like every morn before, the stables were dark, my faithful shovel and barrow awaiting me at the gates. The horses were skittish, which I put down to the star tumbling from above. I left my barrow and lantern near the first pen, and wandering down the row, I arrived at my Justice, the horse snuffing and stomping at the sight of me. I gifted him a sugar cube and a hug, pressing my smooth cheek to his shaggy one.
‘“Fairdawn, boy.”
‘Justice nickered and sniffled at my tunic, and I laughed and gave him another hidden cube. Wheeling my barrow into the main pen, I cast a wary glance at the two wretched suspended from the ceiling, wrapped in their silver chains. The pair were kept here to get the steeds used to the presence of the Dead, but that didn’t mean the horses liked them, and in truth, working underneath them the last fortnight had my hackles up too. Both were male, one a portly older corpse, the other a thin scrap, maybe seventeen when he was murdered. Their hungry eyes were fixed upon my throat as I hauled off my tunic, hefted my shovel, and got to it. Each pen was rife with shite, and I had to work swift – my punishment would only worsen if I missed dawnmass.
‘I was seven barrows into it when the vampire hit me.
‘This story would have been a far shorter one had I not been given warning. But as the shadow flew at my back through the stable gates, Justice shied and shuddered enough for me to turn my head. And so, as the monster crashed into my back and bore me down to the ground, her fangs tore a gouge through my shoulder instead of my throat. Roaring and lashing out with my fists, I realized who’d struck me.
‘Vivienne La Cour.
‘The vampire bit deeper, teeth sinking into my flesh. I bellowed again, slamming my elbow back into her head as we rolled in the dirt. She was in a frenzy, claws locked about my neck. I tried to throw her off, but mighty God, she was strong, pushing my face into the muck as she gulped another mouthful of my blood. The rapture of the Kiss rushed through me then, my skin thrilling, veins singing, and I realized how easy it would be to close my eyes and let it take me, drown me, swallow me whole.
‘It was a tempting thought. To die in bliss instead of pain.
‘Could I? I wondered.
‘Would I?
‘I heard a wet thud, the crack of splitting bone. La Cour shrieked as she was flung backwards, rolling to rest against one of the stable’s pillars. Opening my eyes, I saw Justice above me, nostrils flared, eyes wild – he’d smashed clean through his pen to save me, delivered a pummelling kick to the vampire’s ribs. The awful bliss of her kiss faded, and I realized how close I’d come to death. And as I staggered to my feet, blood streaming down my chest, I found that red heaven replaced with my oldest, dearest friend.