A Shadow Bright and Burning (31 page)

“I can help,” he whispered, his pale eyes shining with a hazy light. “I need something precious to Rook to make a connection, but I could see where he is.”

“Oh, Lambe, could you? We should go to his room and look for something to use.” I'd no idea what, of course. They'd destroyed everything.

“It needs to be precious to him. If you don't mind, Howel, I have to do this.” He gripped my hand in both of his, bowed his head, and closed his eyes. I flushed, but before I could object, something tugged at the edge of my consciousness. It felt as though I were falling backward.

Rook lay on something cold, shivering, with his hands bound on his stomach. He was disoriented, almost sick. They had given him something. A black gate was to his left, separating him from the rest of the crypt. Palehook smiled, lighting candles while he spoke to someone. They'd tied rosemary in the ropes around Rook's wrists, and Palehook dipped his thumb into a small bowl and touched Rook on the forehead. It was cold, and when some of the liquid dripped onto Rook's stomach, he saw that it was blood.

“Where is the moon? I tell you, if I can't perform it quickly, the split will occur—”

Lambe released me. We sank to the floor, and the others hovered around us.

“Howel, are you hurt?” Magnus said, helping me to my feet.

“I know where they are,” I said. Lambe lay back in Wolff's arms. Wolff stroked the boy's pale hair with a surprising amount of affection.

“Where?” Magnus said.

Lambe raised his hand like we were in the schoolroom. “St. Paul's Cathedral, on Christopher Wren's grave.”

“Perfect.” Mickelmas looked surprised. “Why didn't I think of it? It's an obsidian slab in the center of town and underneath a dome, which gives the energy something to mold itself after. Well done, my dear boy. Finally, a sorcerer with a useful power.” He clapped Lambe on the shoulder. “We've one advantage. The moon's hidden behind the clouds, probably because of Korozoth. They can't kill Rook until the sky is clear, or the power won't take. So to save your boy, we must fly. It may not be too late.”

Agrippa stepped forward. He'd been so silent I'd nearly forgotten he was present. “If you do this,” he cried as the boys ran from the room, “the ward may snap. Korozoth could destroy us all.”

“I might as well add,” Mickelmas said, “that Palehook can easily ward the entire city. He's chosen not to in order to provide his sacrificial slab with victims.” At this, Agrippa sank to his knees, all his power to persuade gone.

“Thank you,” I said to Agrippa as Mickelmas followed the boys out the door.

“For what?”

“I believed that sorcerers were England's great hope against her enemies. I believed that you were better and kinder than other men.” There was no emotion in my voice. I was beyond feeling. “Thank you for teaching me not to believe in anything.”

I turned my back on him and went to rescue Rook.

We dropped out of the sky before the steps to St. Paul's. The enormous entrance was, of course, locked.

“Damn,” Magnus said as the moon appeared from behind the clouds. Above us, dark shapes skimmed the dome, leaving bright yellow streaks.

“What are they doing?” Wolff said, turning in a circle as he watched them.

“The ward is thin, my young friends. They're looking for a way in, but they won't find one yet.” Mickelmas cleared his throat.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Agrippa had a point. You realize that if we save Rook, the ward will likely fall. If you do this, you could be executed for treason.” Murmurs passed among the boys. They hadn't considered that.

“I don't care,” I said.

“Of course not. You're attached to the boy. For my part, I'm willing to do it as a way of atonement. But the young gentlemen must understand.” He turned to them. “This isn't a game. Are you prepared for what you may unleash tonight?”

The boys looked at each other, wide-eyed. Even knowing what Agrippa had said, they'd not thought about this in their zeal to help Rook. Truth be told, I hadn't really thought it through myself. The idea of all those creatures descending on the people asleep in their beds left me cold.

Blackwood broke the silence. “The outside's lain vulnerable for years. People have been murdered.” He caught my eye and nodded. “No one innocent life is worth more than another. Ever.” We all murmured our agreement. Every one of us felt the weight of the moment on our backs.

Magnus blasted the wooden door, which opened with a splintering crack. We raced down the echoing nave toward the crypt. I slowed to run alongside a wheezing Mickelmas.

“Are you all right?”

“I'm not in the great condition I once was. Come to think of it, I was never in the great condition I once was.”

“Thank you for coming back for me.”

“I had to. It was the only way to find my cloak and chest.”

“Oh.”

“I suppose I didn't want you to die, either. There's something I still must tell you about—”

Blackwood hushed us as we entered the crypt and paced between the pillars. Voices rose and fell ahead of us. We found them by Christopher Wren's tomb.

Four boys, all wearing their new sorcerers' robes, stood guard outside the gate. Hemphill was among them. They had their staves out, prepared to defend what was going on within.

Inside the tomb, Palehook stood before Rook, who lay bound and gagged on the obsidian slab. He convulsed while Palehook murmured,
“The moon rounds in her virgin glow, the blood is on the stone, both separate the body's soul from body's flesh and bone.”
A white mist rose out of Rook and hovered in the air. He arched his back, caught in a torturous fit as the mist grew. Palehook leaned forward, a gleeful smile on his face.

“His life force,” Mickelmas whispered.

“Stop!” I ran forward.

Hemphill whistled softly as I entered the room, my friends at my back. “They're here, Master. First visitors we've ever had.” The guards laughed.

Palehook snarled and leaned over Rook, like a perverted version of a mother protecting her child. “Keep them away. They have no idea what has to happen tonight.”

“Let Rook go.” I understood what I had seen. Palehook had used words in his magic. “You can perform magician's work. You're like me, aren't you? A hybrid.”

Palehook's face twisted in fury. “I'm nothing like you, girl,” he growled, every word soaked in self-loathing. “I'd only pollute myself with magician trickery to save this city. Do you want to sacrifice the whole of London to save your worthless little friend?”

“You mean the chosen parts of London,” I said.

“My wife and children live in those chosen parts. If you think I'll let you open them up to slaughter, you're mistaken. Stay back,” he said as I took a step forward. At Palehook's command, the four guards readied themselves for an attack. “You've received commendation, haven't you? You can't kill a fellow sorcerer now, not unless you want to join him in death.”

Palehook was right. Behind me, the boys whispered to each other. They sounded concerned.

“I'm not commended,” I said, refusing to back away.

“Nor I. I'm not even a sorcerer.” Mickelmas moved out of the shadows. Palehook shrank back. “Hello, Augustus. You've only gotten balder and uglier over the years. It suits you.” Palehook muttered something I couldn't make out. Mickelmas laughed. “Speak up, old fellow. Granted, you must be tired. Black magic does rather deplete one's energy.” Mickelmas rubbed his hands together and, with a flick of his wrist, sent a ball of white light sailing at the tomb.

But none of us anticipated how fast Palehook could be. With a swift movement of his stave, he bent one of the iron bars and severed it, sending the pointed tip through the ball of light and directly into Mickelmas's side.

“Damn, damn!” Mickelmas fell, his blood pooling on the floor. He waved off the boys' attempts to help.

Palehook turned to the mist hovering over Rook and inhaled deeply, smacking his lips like some grotesque vampire. His skin glowed as he took more and more.

“Come on, then,” Hemphill called as I frantically sought a way to the gate. “If you're not commended, Miss Howel, then nothing can stop my putting a blade through your heart. I missed the last time, but I won't tonight.”

Magnus roared and slammed his stave to the floor. The ground shook, throwing our opponents off balance. The battle had begun.

Around me, the sorcerers dueled furiously. They summoned winds that whipped along the corridor, and the bricks beneath our feet rattled and bucked. Lambe and Wolff ran side by side, their wards activated, and smashed into one of the guards. Blackwood collected the fire from a torch and exploded it in someone's face. Dee pulled stones out of the floor and threw them. Magnus, teeth bared, dueled Hemphill with warded blades.

There was a path open to the tomb.

I took the opportunity and ran, setting myself on fire to keep the guards away. Palehook slammed the door in my face, but I blasted it open and entered, the blue flames rising around me as I reached for him.

“Get out!” He struck me with wind. A tendril of Rook's life curled out of his open mouth like smoke.

Rook lay motionless on the stone. He looked terrifyingly flat. Please, God, I couldn't be too late.

“Get away from him.” I struggled to keep my fire from touching Rook. Palehook leaned against the wall, beads of sweat dotting his forehead. He really had weakened, and I used it to my advantage. When he tried to move in any direction, I was there. His only way out was through fire.

“Stop!” he cried. But he was afraid; I could see it.

“If you yield, throw down your weapon.”

Palehook was still a moment, deciding. Then, slowly, he dropped his stave. It clattered to the floor, and he put his hands up. I stopped burning, created a warded blade, and held it to his throat. Palehook kept his chin up. He swallowed, wincing as the blade cut him slightly.

Behind me, the fighting ceased. Glancing quickly over my shoulder, I saw that both sides had paused, watching us, waiting to see who would win.

“Don't be foolish,” Palehook said. Life force puffed from his lips with each word he spoke. “Think of what you're doing. You're condemning all of London to death.”

I cut him along the cheek. He hissed in pain. “Release what you stole from Rook,” I said.

“Let me finish, and I'll convince Her Majesty I was wrong about you.” Even defeated, he still tried to manipulate me. “You'll be a sorcerer. You'll have everything you ever wanted.”

“I want Rook.” I slashed his other cheek, deeper than before. This time, he howled.

“You'll be the death of us all!” Blood ran down both sides of his face, like tears.

“Do you want to die?” I didn't know if I had the heart to murder a defenseless man, even if that man was Palehook, but my threat did the trick. Glancing at my blade, Palehook shook his head. Slowly, he moved over to Rook. He gave a few huffs of breath, and the vapor spilled out of him. He guided it so that it descended back into Rook's body. Rook didn't move.

No. It couldn't be.

“Wake up,” I cried, shaking him.

“Howel!” Magnus yelled.

I shouldn't have taken my eyes off Palehook. Stave in hand, he slashed at me. In my hurry to get out of the way, I slipped and dropped Porridge. With that, Palehook prepared for a killing blow.

The tomb's shadows pulled him into their depths. Rook had raised himself up onto one elbow. He slowly brought his extended hand into a fist. Palehook screamed as the blackness bubbled and began to spread. It might take over the entire tomb, drawing us all in. I grabbed Porridge and braced myself for an attack on the encroaching gloom.

And then it stopped.

“Are you hurt?” Rook whispered. He gazed at me with concern. His eyes were black but not wicked. The power was not in control this time;
he
was.

“No,” I gasped.

Palehook started screaming inside the darkness, screaming fit to wake the dead. To my right, there was a stampede as his followers bolted out of the crypt, dragging Hemphill with them. It was all too much for them. That was the loyalty Palehook deserved.

My friends came over to the gate to peer in at Rook. They all looked afraid.

“Never seen anything like it,” Dee murmured.

“Let him out.” Blackwood winced. Palehook's screams were growing more ragged and insane. “You can't leave him there.”

With a sigh, Rook closed his eyes and collapsed on the stone. The shadows dissipated, revealing Palehook, swatting wildly at the air. He shrieked before realizing that he was out of the darkness. Stumbling twice, he got to his feet. His breathing was erratic.

“Do you yield?” I asked. But Palehook was staring at Rook.

“The darkness is alive,” he muttered, shaking his head. “It speaks to you. It tells you the most horrific things.”

Magnus made a sound of recognition. But he otherwise kept silent.

“Do you yield?” I said again, growing increasingly nervous. Palehook's eyes flickered to me. He grew eerily calm.

“He's a monster,” he whispered. “He must be destroyed.”

“Yield now, or I'll—”

Palehook whipped his stave, knocking me aside with a sudden blast of wind. My head struck the floor, and the world spun. There was no time to stop the sorcerer as he raised his blade, aiming for Rook.

Something sliced through the gate and into Palehook, knocking him against the wall and to the floor. He didn't get up. Slowly, my head still ringing, I crawled over to him. He was dead, an iron spike lodged deep inside his neck. Blood spurted from the wound as his sightless eyes gazed at the ceiling. Through the gate, I saw Mickelmas propped up on his elbows, his arm still outstretched from sending the spike. He nodded.

“What,” he gasped, “the bloody hell was that shadow business?” He collapsed.

Rook coughed. I forgot everything else and went to touch his face, smooth his hair. He smiled.

“You came,” he said.

“I couldn't do otherwise.” I laid my head on his chest to listen to his heartbeat. “You took control.”

“I had something to protect,” he whispered. His voice was not strong, his breathing thin. Damn. I helped him sit up, and we faced our audience. The boys regarded us blankly. Oh God.

They all knew.

“Is it,” Lambe said, patting his chest by way of illustration, “because of the scars?”

“Yes,” Rook said. His voice was so weak.

“The Order must be told,” Blackwood said. Trembling, I clutched Rook against me. He was dodging in and out of consciousness.

“He's been getting better. He controlled the darkness this time,” I said.

“How often has this happened?” Dee asked. Magnus caught my eye and shook his head. He wouldn't tell them.