21
Death

Kate felt warm and
peaceful. Time stretched around her and sounds faded into silence
as her thoughts travelled deep into the veil, slowly leaving her
life behind. She could feel the gentle emptiness of the current
spreading around her, but there was no pain, no struggle, no
thought beyond the certainty that what was happening was right. The
current could have carried her forever and she would have been
completely at peace.
But there, in the
midst of it all, something distracted her.
Da’ru was beside her,
battling against death, fighting against it with all her strength,
so desperate was she to return to life. Kate tried to forget her
and let her mind become empty once again, but then something
happened that she did not expect. Something moved close by: a dark
shape surrounded by an empty void of black. Death drew back from it
as it forced its way into the flow and Silas stepped into the
current, as immovable as a rock in the face of a
storm.
‘Silas!’ Da’ru
reached out when she saw him. ‘Help me, Silas!’
Silas looked at the
glass locket hanging from her neck, its surface stained with his
dead crow’s drying blood. ‘After everything you have done,’ he
said. ‘You still think I would help you?’
‘You have no
choice!’
‘Yes,’ said Silas. ‘I
do.’ He grabbed the locket and snapped the chain from around
Da’ru’s neck.
‘No!’ she cried.
‘Stop!’
Something moved
beside Kate. A shade, darker than the rest, crept past her and
started wrapping itself around Da’ru, holding her like a spider
binding a fly.
‘Life is too good to
waste on you,’ said Silas. ‘Your life is over and death is a
pleasure you will never know.’
Da’ru struggled to
free herself as the shade clung tight, gaining clearer form
whenever it moved close to Silas. For one brief moment, Kate was
sure she saw grey eyes within its darkness and then she knew what
she was looking at. Silas’s broken spirit - the part of him that
had been left behind within the half-life - had joined them in the
current.
‘Silas!’ Da’ru cried,
her voice echoing out across the city square. ‘You cannot do this!
You are bound to me, Silas!’
‘The ways of death
are familiar to me now,’ said Silas. ‘Because of you, I can never
know the peace of it. You betrayed me, as you have betrayed
hundreds more.’
He held the locket in
his scarred hand. The fire in his palm had burned away, but the old
mark left by Da’ru’s blade was still deep and dark.
‘Twelve years ago,
you made a mistake,’ he said. ‘You made an enemy of me and now you
will feel the emptiness I have known for yourself. Your soul will
scream and no one will hear you. It is over, Da’ru. I will make the
half-life your prison for as long as I live. And as you said:
immortality lasts a long, long time.’
The shade smothered
Da’ru like an oily web, capturing her spirit and dragging it out
into the empty void of the half-life. Silas watched Da’ru’s body
release its final breath and the shade pulled her spirit down
through the stony ground, into a deep level of the veil that the
circle could not reach.
The last few members
of the crowd who had dared to stay in their seats now fled with the
rest, pushing themselves up against the outer divide, desperate to
escape before they faced the same fate, and Kate felt her
connection to her own body start to weaken and break. The sudden
feeling of separation took her by surprise. Her spirit caught upon
the gentle flow of the current and her body fell to the ground,
detached, empty and still.
Silas saw Kate fall
and he crouched down beside her, brushing a strand of hair from her
half-closed eyes. It looked as if all the life had gone from her,
but he knew better. Da’ru was gone, yet the circle was still
active. Kate’s spirit was not lost yet.
Silas lifted Kate up
in his arms. Every step was a struggle and with every inch he
gained, death willed him more powerfully to turn back. Its promise
of peace overwhelmed his thoughts and smothered his senses, but
still he walked forward, knowing better than to listen to something
that could never be his. Da’ru was right. No matter how much he
longed for it, death did not want him.
With one last immense
effort, Silas broke out of the current and into the half-life,
carrying Kate’s body through the veil and hesitating on the edge of
the central circle just long enough to hear Da’ru’s screams echo
distantly upon the air. For twelve years he had longed to hear that
sound, to finally be able to repay her for what she had done to
him. He had always known it would be worth it. He had been
right.
Silas closed his
eyes, allowing the call of death to tempt him one last time, then
he opened his hand and let Da’ru’s glass locket fall to the ground.
The little sphere fell slowly, as if all those years of waiting had
been crushed into those last few moments and, with the quietest of
tiny sounds, it smashed.
A patch of blood
stained the ground among the broken shards and a thin trail of
white rose out of it, twisting and splitting into many separate
threads, snaking up to link with some of the shades around Silas
before each thread snapped and faded away. His may have been the
only spirit Da’ru had bound into a cursed life, but it was not the
only one who had been denied the path into death. Whatever bond
that blood had created between Da’ru and them, it was broken
now.
Shouts of surprise
spread around the crowd as the candles in their hands illuminated
one by one. Each one had been carried there to remember a life that
had been lost, and the spirits who had lived those lives drew
closer to those who were remembering them, relighting the flames
and showing them that there was no reason to be
afraid.
Many in the crowd
stopped trying to run and reached out to the spirits of their
ancestors, to lost parents, children and friends. The current of
death continued its journey through the half-life, shining with
inner light as the freed souls drifted peacefully into it,
completing their journeys at last. And for a short time the Night
of Souls was what it was always meant to be: a time of peace,
remembrance and joy.
Kate’s skin was
deathly cold and her lips touched with blue as Silas carried her
out of the mist and into the central circle. The call of death
severed from him at once as his feet touched the symbols, and the
pressure of the living world returned to him like an iron weight
dropped upon his shoulders. Kate’s energy spread through his blood
like hot needles, connecting with the circle until its light faded
and died. The circle’s energies collapsed, reconnecting the city
square with its rightful place in time. The mist dispersed and the
bonfire blazed suddenly back to life.
With the shades gone,
the crowd overran the few remaining wardens, tearing open the upper
doors and pouring out into the city like ants. One of the
councilmen stood up to speak to the fleeing people, but his voice
was lost among the frenzy of stampeding bodies and Silas caught
only three words of what he had said. Three words that were set to
shape his future.
Silas Dane. Traitor.
Silas laid Kate
carefully on the ground. There was movement around the table as
Edgar and Tom ran to free Artemis from his ropes, and he limped
straight over to her, sending Silas’s hand instinctively to his
blade.
‘Stay back!’ said
Silas. ‘This is no time for you.’
Artemis stopped, not
daring to move any closer. ‘Is she all right?’
Silas ignored him,
pulled a bloodstained cloak from the shoulders of a dead warden and
covered Kate with it.
‘What happened?’
Artemis asked.
Silas glared up at
him in fury. ‘If you want this girl to die, keep asking foolish
questions. If not, get out of my sight.’
Edgar stepped
forward, holding the book of Wintercraft out for Silas to take. ‘I don’t know if
it’ll help,’ he said quietly. ‘But … here.’
Silas took the book
from him, and Edgar took hold of Artemis’s arm.
‘What is he doing?’
demanded Artemis.
‘It’s all right,’
said Edgar. ‘We can trust him.’
‘Trust him? After
everything that’s happened? Why should we trust him?’
There were many
things Silas could have said to a man who had allowed himself to be
taken prisoner, relied upon his niece to help him escape and then
dared to complain at her not being unscathed at the end of it.
Instead he shot Artemis a look that would have made anyone wither.
Edgar led the limping man away.
‘You did well, Kate,’
said Silas, as he pressed a hand against her forehead, using the
veil’s energy to call her spirit back into life. ‘There are few
people who could have done what you did tonight. Your idiot uncle
will never understand it, but you should be proud of yourself. You
did many souls a great service today.’
Silas looked over at
what was left of the High Council. They were talking amongst
themselves, no doubt discussing how best to make a dignified
retreat. Some of them were smiling deviously, despite the gruesome
scene of death around them, and Silas realised that it would be so
easy for him to end them all right there. In just a few moments he
could rid Albion of its greatest threat.
He considered it
carefully, noticing the thinly-disguised fear in the men’s eyes as
they made their way out of the circle.
No, he decided. Now
was not the time.
Gradually, the colour
started to return to Kate’s skin. She opened her eyes and Silas
lifted his hand gently from her head.
‘Silas?’
‘It appears I am not
the only one who can look into the face of death and survive,’ he
said. ‘I was starting to believe you had gone too
far.’
‘Where’s Artemis?’
asked Kate, sitting up. ‘And Edgar?’
‘They are here. We
have both done as we promised. I may not be dead, but I am free of
Da’ru and your uncle is still alive. My honour is satisfied, as is
yours. As of this moment, we owe each other nothing.’
Silas held
Wintercraft tightly. The book’s ancient
leather felt rough against his fingertips as he passed it to Kate,
and he felt a warm flood of energy rush across his skin as the new
blood within him reacted to her being close by. ‘This book is as
much responsible for my situation as Da’ru herself,’ he said. ‘It
has made me what I am and I do not want anything more to do with
it. It belongs with you now. Keep it safe. Let no one know that you
have it, and do not be afraid. You will become used to the veil in
time.’
Kate looked down at
the book, not knowing what to say.
‘Many souls are free
because of what you have done tonight,’ said Silas. ‘Da’ru never
could have opened this circle on her own. If it belonged to her it
would have died when she did, but she was not in command of it. You
were. Your energy created this circle and your link to it acted as
a beacon when you fell into death, allowing lost souls to pass
freely into death’s current and letting them finally find peace.
You have a rare gift, Kate. Do not turn your back upon
it.’
Silas stood up.
‘There is no place for me in this city any more,’ he said. ‘I
suggest you leave here as soon as you can. Hundreds of people saw
your face here today. Many of them will fear you, and there are
those who will hunt you for what you can do. You must disappear. Do
not let them find you and, more than anything else, be careful of
whom you trust.’
Silas turned to walk
away and Kate called after him.
‘Goodbye,’ she said.
‘And thank you … for what you did.’
Silas looked back and
nodded once. ‘Goodbye, Kate.’
Then he stepped out
of sight behind one of the council carriages, and was
gone.
‘Kate!’ Edgar ran up
to her with Artemis and Tom close behind, and Artemis pulled her
into a crushing hug.
‘You’re alive!’ he
said, almost squeezing the life back out of her. ‘I thought you
were gone. I thought …’
Edgar hung back
awkwardly as Artemis took his time and, when he finally let her go,
Kate hid Wintercraft under her coat
before letting Edgar help her up.
‘Things got a bit
crazy out there, didn’t they?’ said Edgar. ‘Silas is gone, so it
looks like everything’s … Hey! What happened to your
eyes?’
‘Why?’ said Kate.
‘What’s wrong with them?’
‘Nothing’s
wrong, exactly. They’re just a bit …
different.’
Kate headed to the
nearest carriage and looked at her reflection in the dark window.
Her eyes were a completely different colour; her irises were rings
of deep black, edged with blue, and her pupils were glazed with a
sheen of silver that could only be seen when the light caught them
a certain way.
‘Most of the Skilled
spend years looking into the veil before it affects them like
that,’ said Edgar. ‘But I’ve never seen silver in anyone’s eyes
before.’
Kate looked towards
one of the lower gates just in time to see Silas riding a stolen
carriage horse out of the square.
‘Do you feel all
right?’ asked Edgar.
‘I’m fine,’ said
Kate, not wanting to admit that her eyes felt like she had been
staring too long at the sun, and when she looked down at the ground
the symbols closest to her feet still looked like they were glowing
with gentle light.
‘The wardens won’t
just let us go, not after all of this,’ said Artemis nervously.
‘Edgar, can you drive a carriage?’
‘Tom’s a better
driver than I am. Why?’
‘I think we should
take one and find somewhere safe before the council send their men
back here to find us.’
‘If we need a place
to hide, we should go to the Skilled,’ said Edgar. ‘Tom and I know
the way. They trust us.’
‘No!’ said Kate. ‘I
can’t go back there. Silas killed two people while I was with them.
They’ll think I did it!’
‘Then we’ll just have
to put them right, won’t we? Those eyes of yours will definitely
give them something to think about. They won’t turn us
away.’
‘The Skilled it is
then,’ said Artemis, nodding with the wariness of someone not used
to making big decisions.
‘Kate?’ Edgar said
carefully. ‘Are you sure you’re OK?’
Kate was looking up
at the galleries as the last few people trickled out of the city
square. Even though it was no longer active, she could see the
symbols around the edge of the enormous listening circle as clearly
as when it was linked to the veil. She could see traces of hidden
energy sealed within its central stones and as she walked over the
symbols she could feel it too, like gentle vibrations beneath her
feet. If this was what Silas had been talking about, he was right,
it was definitely going to take some getting used to.
The moon hid briefly
behind a bank of purple cloud and the stars shone down upon the
glowing circle. The energy was so clear, Kate did not know how she
could have missed it before. And she was not the only one attracted
to its light. A large black bird flew smoothly across the empty
square, spread its wings and soared powerfully over her head,
swooping down to land upon the bloodstained table.
‘Can you see that?’
she asked, as the bird perched beside the body of the dead
crow.
‘See what?’ asked
Edgar.
Kate walked slowly up
to the bird, not wanting to scare it away and when she got closer
she realised that she could see right through it. Its feathers had
no substance and it passed in and out of sight, watching her all
the time.
‘It’s Silas’s bird,’
she said.
‘Yeah, I know,’ said
Edgar, thinking she was talking about the body on the table. ‘It’s
a shame, I suppose. Who wouldn’t want a crazy feathered thing
flying around taking orders from a madman? If you ask me, it got
off lightly. Who’d want to spend all their time with someone like
Silas? It’s probably relieved to be free of him. I know I
am.’
Kate stood beside the
crow’s body and watched its bloodied feathers ruffling in the wind.
Silas had saved her life. He had spared Edgar and saved Artemis,
and that bird meant something to him. If its spirit was there,
maybe it had not yet gone fully over into death. If there was any
way to thank Silas for what he had done, surely this was
it.
Gently, she picked up
the body - it was lighter than she had expected - and balanced it
carefully between her hands, concentrating upon healing the wound,
just like she had done with the man in the river. Nothing happened
and she was worried the bird might have been dead too long. But
then, like a subtle heat growing from her bones, she felt the
energy of the veil pass softly through her hands, spread into the
crow’s delicate body and out across its skin, healing the muscles
and binding the flesh until the faint throb of a heartbeat
fluttered against her palm.
The crow’s spirit
gathered into a thin grey wisp and sank like smoke back down into
its body. Kate waited, hoping that the heartbeat would last … until
one limp wing flapped back into life, then the other, striking the
air and sending the crow tumbling out of her hands and on to the
table. It scrabbled drunkenly up on to its feet and shook its
feathers before screeching out a call that echoed loudly across the
city square.
‘Go to your master,’
said Kate, picking up the crow and holding it high in the air. ‘Go
to Silas!’
The bird took flight,
swooping across the square and soaring out over the city, calling
out victoriously into the night.
‘Come on,’ said
Artemis, climbing into a carriage as everyone else watched the bird
fly away. ‘We’re wasting time here.’
With everyone safely
on board, Tom steered the horses expertly through the square’s
lower doors and out into the streets. The roads outside were
littered with the remains of the night’s celebrations and, despite
what had happened in the city square, there were still hundreds of
people dancing together, sharing stories of what they had seen,
determined to keep celebrating until the sun rose
again.
Edgar sat next to
Kate, his hands and face cut by the broken window during the warden
attack, and Artemis sat opposite them, his leg stretched on the
seat beside him, his forehead wrinkled with thought. Kate wanted to
heal them both, but she knew she did not have the strength. Using
the circles had left her weak and tired, and healing the bird had
taken the very last piece of energy she had. All she could do was
sit there, watching the city pass by, feeling the secret weight of
Wintercraft hidden safely beneath her
coat.
‘Don’t worry,’ said
Edgar. ‘The Skilled will help us. I’m sure everything will be all
right.’
After all that had
happened, Kate wasn’t so sure about that. All she had at that
moment was the brief safety of the carriage and the rhythmic rumble
of its wheels as it carried her on towards an uncertain future in
an unfamiliar city.
‘I hope you’re
right,’ she said.
Halfway across the
city Silas and his stolen horse thundered along the streets, racing
towards the southern gate and the freedom of the wild counties
beyond. Silas knew every inch of that city and most of the City
Below, but Fume was no longer his home. To him, its walls had been
a cage for too long. Now he was free.
The gate guards saw
him coming long before he reached them, his grey eyes gleaming
fiercely in the dark. They unbolted the gate without waiting for
his command, letting the horse and its rider gallop out into the
wilds, leaving Fume and all its history behind. Silas carried with
him questions the city could never answer and an ambition the city
could never help him reach. As a traitor he would be a hunted man,
so he would find a ship and travel to the Continent, far away from
Albion and the High Council, its laws and its men. Kate Winters had
allowed him to take revenge against his greatest enemy and she had
given him his freedom. The rest he was going to find on his
own.
Silas followed a
gravel road running alongside the red train’s tracks and he came
across an old signpost marking a trader’s path that was long
overgrown. There, sitting on top of the sign was a crow exactly
like his own, except for a short line of white feathers running
right down the centre of its chest. A spark of familiar
intelligence shone in its eyes and Silas slowed his horse to a stop
beneath it.
‘Crow?’
The bird sat still,
its eyes still fixed upon the path.
Silas was about to
snap the reins, cursing his mistake, when the crow looked at him,
spread its wings and circled him once before flying down to take
its place upon his shoulder. Silas ran his fingers down the bird’s
white feathers where the wound from Da’ru’s blade should have
been.
‘Well, Miss Winters,’
he said, looking back at the city one last time. ‘It seems I do owe
you something after all.’