Cam nodded. ‘This is going to be quite the weapon.’
‘Only if necessary,’ I said, my throat burning. ‘I don’t want to use it unless we have to. But we might have to. We can’t lose.’
Shilah put a hand on Cam’s lower back. ‘Only if necessary.’
Another of Cam’s fingers went inside the hose, gathering up some Charged residue.
Shilah went to stop him. ‘Idiot! What are you—’
Cam waved her off, closing his eyes. He brought his finger out, his cheeks shaking as he stared at the burning skin.
‘I want to feel it,’ Cam said, his teeth clenched so hard that his jaw nearly locked. ‘My father always called me weak, you know. He always said that it must have been one of the Domestics he violated who gave birth to me, not my mother. It was a joke for him. He used to actually joke about that sort of thing. Jadans were just things for him to have fun with and toss aside.’
He breathed deep, staring at his finger with an intensity I rarely saw.
‘One day he caught me sneaking a young Domestic some leftover bread. She was shaking because she was so hungry. Our house taskmaster whipped her for something or other recently, and so I snuck her down to the kitchens and brought her back some bread and Cold water to her quarters. My father strolled in just as she was eating the last piece, but honestly he didn’t seem surprised, almost like he planned the whole thing. He grabbed us both by the arms and took us into the garden. I was ten at the time. I think. And the Domestic was twelve maybe? I don’t remember everything to be honest. I remember the heat the most. How angry the Sun was.’
Shilah picked up the antidote vial and a clean strip of boilweed, trying to grab Cam’s hand, but he stopped her. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes.
‘But my father was smiling. He told me “Camlish, today is the day I finally teach you how to be a Tavor. You’ve made a mistake, and you have to fix it. That’s what High Nobles do.” I was young, and of course looked up to my father then. He didn’t seem so angry, and I just nodded and told him I was sorry. That I’d do whatever he said. He told me to simply get the bread and water back, then I could go. I didn’t know what he meant, so he took the Domestic and wrenched open her mouth and pressed his fingers on the back of her tongue. He pulled his hands away right before she started gagging. “Like this,” he said. “Get the bread and water back.” I shook my head, and then he took out his knife. “You get the bread and water back or I cut it back.” Again, he was smiling.
‘I shook my head, confused. So quick that I barely saw, he sliced into the skin of her stomach, just enough to draw blood. I remember thinking how the red blended with her dark skin. My skin was so pale, and blood was always so apparent if I cut myself. The girl didn’t scream at all. She just gave me a pleading look. My father cut into her again. Eventually I relented, yelling for him to stop. And so my father held the poor girl’s hands behind her back and I shoved my fingers down her throat until she gave back the bread and water. She vomited and gagged as softly as she could, and most of the bile splashed on my feet. I was crying and I took my hand away, wiping it on my shirt. “All of it,” my father said calmly. And so I choked her again. I made her give back the bread and water. After she was empty he gave her a soft pat on the head and sent her on her way. I never saw her around the manor again. I never asked about her. I was too ashamed.’
‘Cam,’ Shilah said softly.
‘You say we should only use this weapon if necessary,’ Cam said, staring at his finger, his eyes burning with sorrow. ‘I say it’s been necessary for a very long time.’
Chapter Four
I lifted my hand for stillness, bronze fingers glinting in the starlight.
The Flock halted in the sands behind me, making much less noise than I expected. The only sounds were a few clanging weapons, a couple of knocking knees, and the groan of the Wraiths coming to a standstill. For such a patchwork army, I hadn’t expected everyone to move with such stealth. But we’d made it here without raising alarm.
The Sanctuary was in our sights.
Giant, gated and thick-walled, the Sanctuary was one of the few buildings in the City of David’s Fall with multiple floors. Four long wings made the place a sprawling stronghold, with guard towers and sharp staircases. It wasn’t quite as stately as the Khat’s Pyramid, but it was expensively adorned with statues, stained glass and wrought iron. There was a dark grandness about the place; like a High Noblewoman with a silk dress and blood under her fingernails.
Traversing the plateaus to get here would have been no problem at all, if not for the unwieldy Wraiths. After the first flight of stairs along the rocky mountainside, I’d suggested leaving them back, but Shilah and Cam both insisted we couldn’t afford not to have them. In the end, it took five of us carrying each machine to get them up the stairs and hills. The clay bodies were watertight, so no one carrying the machines got shocked – this seemed like a small miracle in its own right – but it had taken a few long, painfully silent hours to navigate into position.
So far we’d made our way through back alleys and deserted streets. By now the Khat’s armies had bought the bait of our disappearance to Marlea, and the city was nearly empty at night. We’d found shelter in the shadows so far, but the Sanctuary was surrounded by open land.
There would be no place to hide within a hundred paces of the gates.
The Nobles had designed it like this to catch runaways, to dangle the lure of freedom and lace the bait with a hook.
I looked to the rooftops around us and smiled at each pair of eyes. These were future recruits, their dark and withered bodies pressed tighter against the hot stones. Some of them scattered away at my acknowledgment, some of them gasped and pointed at my bronze fingers.
I used to be just as skinny as these slaves. Just as scared. Just as broken. I hoped they would tell their friends what they witnessed here tonight.
We were now gathered in stillness. Our small force managed to nearly all fit in the shadows behind a Cry Temple, which only reminded me how few of us there were. Soon we’d enter the moat of visibility around the Sanctuary. There would be no turning back. It was win or chains.
I surveyed our ranks lined up on the soft ground behind us.
First were the Five, two assigned to each Wraith. They were likely to be the only ones in the Flock strong enough to push the inventions without any help. Kasroot and Het partnered up. Cleave and Jia did as well. Samsah volunteered to partner with Dunes for the third Wraith, Samsah looking like a scrawny child in comparison – although he’d held his own when it came to pushing. Cam and Shilah were both hovering in front of their respective Wraiths, the hoses in their gloved hands. I would be in charge of the third Wraith, rolled along by Dunes and Samsah.
I still couldn’t look at Cam and Shilah without feeling a dizzying sense of my own ignorance. I should have been focusing on the battle ahead, but I kept thinking about this glaring development.
Behind the Five were the Builders and Street Jadans we’d recruited, weapons at the ready. Equipped with Stingers, swords and crossbows, they almost looked menacing. Hadim was fidgeting, his thick fingers twitching over the crossbow trigger.
At the very back were the Domestics and children.
I shook my head, reminding myself that ‘children’ was the wrong description. They were the youngest, but not children. All over the age of ten, they’d seen horrors that Nobles wouldn’t even witness in a lifetime. They’d been forced to grow up too fast.
Not children.
Young warriors.
I’d been hesitant to fit them with weapons, only wanting them to carry the burden of supplies, but in the end I’d relented. They deserved a chance in case the Nobles broke through our ranks. Each young warrior shouldered a bag of supplies and a razor-sharp dagger.
Shilah came up to my side and stood as straight as I’d ever seen. Her long braid was tucked on the side of her proud face. A blade was concealed in those locks, the way she used to, and tonight the steel would taste blood.
I made the Crying gesture down my cheek.
The Flock returned the gesture in unison. Split used his dagger hand, but then remembered not to slice up his face.
‘Anybody want to say anything?’ I asked, my eyes on the sky. ‘For inspiration.’
Shilah leaned in and put her lips against my ear. ‘I think we’re supposed to do that.’
I nodded, trying not to faint. My imagination was beginning to play tricks on me. I had to look away from the Flock. All I could see were faces bloodied by battle, half of them lying in the dead-carts. All I could see was suffering.
I almost called for retreat then and there. I couldn’t live with myself if I was responsible for any of their deaths tonight.
Shilah nudged me with an elbow.
My throat barely agreed to make any sounds. ‘I think you’re all going to be great.’
A few nods of respect crossed the front rows, but fear ran rampant through the ranks.
Shilah sighed and took an abb out of her pocket, raising it for the Flock to see. She held it between her thumb and forefingers and the golden colour caught the starlight. I didn’t know Shilah had any abbs left.
‘Creator and Crier of everything we see,’ Shilah said, her tones serious, arm stretching high. ‘Here we stand before you, ready to take your world back from tyranny. Eight hundred years is too long to be subject to whip and flame, and it is finally time to set things to how you intended. To freedom. To justice. To Cold falling across the land. To all the animals and cultures that will spring back to life from the bounty of your tears.’ Her face went hard and menacing. ‘If this is not your will, strike me down now, because I will not stop until the Jadans are free. I promise you, I will not stop until the Jadans are free.’
The Flock went tense. A few tilted away from Shilah like plants leaning away from the Sun. The Five remained perfectly rigid. All accept Jia, who was clearly chewing something.
‘If you do not want to see a Jadan with her own Cold,’ Shilah continued, ‘Cry a Shiver from the heavens and send me to my death. Let it strike me between the eyes and close them forever. Knock this miracle from my hands and bloody the sands with my open veins. I promise I will not stop.’
I’d never heard her talk in such a serious way. With such poetry.
Cam started coughing, his face turning red as he tried to stifle himself.
‘Sorry,’ Cam said. ‘I was so impressed I forgot to swallow and choked on my own spit.’
The night air became clouded with anticipation.
Shilah’s hand was tense around the abb, her forearm shaking. At last she lowered her eyes and faced the Flock. ‘By taking the Sanctuary, we are inviting the Sun to come at us with all the fire in the world. We are inviting the Khat to bathe in fear. He will do everything he can to snuff us out.’ She held the abb out as far as she could. ‘But if you feel scared, think of this Cold. This is our Cold. This Cold belongs to the Jadans. Their Frosts belong to the Jadans. Here is undisputable proof that the Khats have lied to us and strangled the world. The Crier has always believed we are worthy. Now let’s prove it.’
Leah tentatively raised the banner she’d fashioned. The flag was originally supposed to have an Opened Eye, but she’d stitched on a hand with two golden fingers underneath. I don’t think Shilah minded because it was obvious, especially in the moment, that there was more than one leader of the Flock.
‘We fight for the Crier,’ Shilah said, raising her sword.
‘For the Crier,’ Dunes said, slapping his meaty hand on the Wraith.
‘We fight for the Jadans,’ Shilah said, licking her lips and then kissing the abb. She passed it to me, giving me a go-ahead sort of look. I pressed it to my lips and found her spit having stimulated Cold throughout the golden bead. I passed it next to Cam, who kissed it the same, his eyes lighting up at the sensation. The abb made its way through the ranks of our Flock, everyone tasting what they were fighting for.
The abb found its way into the hands of Split. He hesitated, looking at the Five with disdain, who’d all handled the Cold before him.
‘Split,’ I said. ‘You too.’
He gave me an apologetic nod, kissing the abb and passing it on.
‘From now on, you do all the speeches,’ I whispered to Shilah.
Her cheeks blushed.
‘Okay,’ she said next to the group, taking out a loop of rope. Each of us was equipped with similar pieces. ‘We take the eastern gates and secure the guard room and outer wall. From there the Five will lead each faction outward into the Sanctuary, and we’ll secure the hallways one by one. Bring the prisoners back to the guard room bound. Dunes?’
Dunes snapped to attention and raised his cudgel, which was padded with boilweed. The rest of the Five did the same. I advised them to wrap the weapons in boilweed, because I wanted to have our prisoners unconscious rather then dead. Merciless killing for the sake of merciless killing made us no better than the Nobles.
‘After a Noble is knocked down and bound, don’t just assume anything,’ Shilah said. ‘Those bastards will probably pretend to be dead and then bite your throat out if you don’t stay sharp. Remember, every Noble we capture is a bargaining chip, so try to keep them alive. We know the layout of the Sanctuary.’ Shilah gave Ellcia and Ellia a thankful look, offering only a slight nod to Leah. ‘But they don’t know anything about us, or how many we are. Use that to our advantage, and none of us will shed blood tonight. Most of the Nobles will be asleep, and we expect the majority of the taskmasters to be bunking in—’
A piercing scream cut her off.
The eerie sound echoed off the bricks of the Cry Temple, reverberating through the alleyway in which we’d gathered. The Flock broke rank, everyone trying to discern where the sound had come from. Weapons slid out of scabbards. Ellia dropped her Stinger. Faces hardened under threat. Rooftop onlookers twitched back into the shadows.
Cam’s knuckles went pale around his Wraith’s hose. ‘What was that?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘Maybe a runaway?’
Shilah nodded to me. ‘Let’s go check it—’
Another scream. This one was followed by a chorus of throaty cheers. The sounds were distant, so I couldn’t estimate any numbers, but it sounded like a full crowd.
Which made no sense.
We’d scouted for eight nights straight, and the Sanctuary was supposed to be quiet at this point in the night. It was too late for gatherings. If it was a Domestic trying to run away, she’d be tracked down by a few taskmasters or soldiers, not an entire battalion.
Dunes abandoned his post at the Wraith and knelt in front of Shilah and I.
‘Let me go out there ahead of you,’ Dunes said. ‘There are still Hookmen in the Khatdom, and if it is a runaway out there maybe—’
Next came noises with the cadence of a speech. A voice rose and fell like a gentle wind. The tone was irritatingly familiar.
‘No,’ I said, taking out my Stinger and waving Dunes on. ‘But you can go with me.’
Cam went to open his mouth. I nodded before he could say anything.
‘Wait here,’ Shilah commanded of the Flock. ‘Stay sharp.’
The four of us disappeared around the building, with Dunes in the front. He looked far less threatening with the cudgel in hand instead of the hooked blade he used to carry, but he still cut a dangerous silhouette.
We sped across the empty space of dirt and sand as quietly as we could, sweeping towards the massive Sanctuary. The place was spacious and well guarded; it would serve as an excellent fortress for us.
The eastern gates were abandoned and there wasn’t a single flicker of movement from the watch towers above. The shouting continued – low and growly, almost like a chant – coming from the northern area of the Sanctuary, which was just out of view.
Dunes waved us behind him as we pressed against the stone outer wall, sliding along so we wouldn’t be seen. We sidestepped as fast as we could, trying to keep our clothes from rustling. My chest thundered but my hands were surprisingly steady.
The collective murmurs died and the single, airy voice returned. It became more clear as we neared the edge. There was a wet sort of rattle in the middle of the voice, but that wasn’t what grated on me.
My vision went red as I realized who was talking.
‘One last chance, my beautiful darling,’ he said. ‘Tell me where they are, where they are, or your neck gets a scar.’
The moist clacking was new, as if his tongue was dipped in clay and left to harden, but still I recognized the tone.
Panic shot into Shilah’s face, and she tried to hide her fear, but it was apparent. Her hand went to the scars on her stomach.
‘Please, I don’t know,’ a delicate voice answered back, one crack away from shattering. ‘I’ll do anything you want. You can make me more beautiful, more like you. I swear to the Crier that I don’t know!’
‘She swears to the Crier!’ the voice rang out, coming from above us. It was like burnt sugar. ‘How delightful is that?’
The crowd beneath answered with laughter.
Cam grabbed my wrist and mouthed: ‘Ka’in.’
So all of us recognized the voice.
Ka’in. The High Noble who used to be in charge of the Sanctuary. The one who’d stolen Shilah and tried to torture her into submission. The one who picked a different Domestic to burn to death each month, making a betting game out of it, played by himself and a faction of masked High Nobles.
We’d stormed the place and locked them in a room with a deadly dose of Ice and Cold. He wasn’t supposed to be alive.
‘Ka’in,’ I said.
‘That’s not possible,’ Cam gasped.
‘And how would the Crier hear your swears, my black-haired vision?’ Ka’in called out. ‘He doesn’t listen to Jadan-kind-of-Jadans. Next are you going pray the Sun kisses your skin and makes you pale? Kissy kissy. You want the Sun to make you beautiful, love? There are easier ways.’
‘Please,’ the girl shouted. ‘Please, I’ll do anything! Let me prove myself!’
Someone else shouted from ground level. ‘Show her, Ka’in! Show her like the others!’
‘The new Khat!’ someone screamed, full of righteousness and fervour. ‘Ka’in is divine!’
Dunes finally skirted to the edge of the wall. He got down on his stomach and shuffled forward, just enough for him see what was happening. His large back remained still for a moment and then he returned to his feet, unsteady.
I went to take a look around the corner. Dunes pressed a hand on my chest. His look of complete sorrow also held me back.
‘This is my fault,’ he whispered.
‘In no way is it your fault,’ I said. ‘If anything, it’s mine.’
‘What is it?’ Cam whispered, his face as pale as bone. ‘Should we not look?’
‘I am divine!’ Ka’in shouted from the top of the building. ‘I have been made perfect! Chosen by the Crier’s touch. I am the most beautiful in the World Cried. I am his most perfect creation! And dirty little slaves should know better than to lie to His most perfect creation!’
Dunes shook his head, his eyes going as dark as I’d seen. ‘I should have gone back in and slit his throat. This is my doing. These are my deaths, Meshua.’
‘I would never have let you go back,’ I said. ‘That much Ice and Cold would have killed you too.’
Kneeling down, Dunes thrust out his arm and turned over his wrist. I nearly fell over from shock and confusion. It was the same gesture my friend Matty used to make when he was nervous, offering up his ‘Calm Spot’ for me to touch and ease his worries. With trembling fingers and a mind clouded with disarray, I began to reach out, thinking of Matty, my lost friend. My heart squeezed. Dunes ignored my hand and took out his small dagger. I was yanked back to reality.
He pressed the blade against his wrist.
I nearly shouted for him to stop, but then I realized what he was doing.
His wrist was one of the few patches of skin on his body left without a death tally. Most everywhere else was riddled with marks from all the Jadan deaths he felt responsible for. Before I could silently protest, Dunes made three tiny nicks in his dark skin, the blood welling up. The cuts were ugly, but nothing serious.
‘Don’t do that anymore,’ I whispered. ‘I need you strong.’
‘One last chance!’ Ka’in cackled. ‘Or you will be protecting your friends right into the flames!’
Not able to wait any longer, I peeked around the corner.
A hundred guards and soldiers and taskmasters were assembled at the base of the Sanctuary. They had a few fires roaring and were roasting large Sobek lizards over the flames. Many Nobles held plates piled high with decadent foods.
The guards were having a feast.
Everyone had a wineskin, and smiles abounded on every face. Their attention was gathered upwards.
I looked up at the balcony and nearly vomited.
Once there had been a stained-glass mural there. The artwork had depicted the grisly scene of David’s Fall, where the Jadans had been made to jump to their deaths. I’d destroyed it the last time I was here, shattering the glass with an abb from my crossbow. The world needed to be rid of such horrible things.
I never thought its destruction would give rise to something worse.
Now, instead of just glass depictions, there were actual Jadans.
Dead Jadans.
Three bodies hung off the balcony, dangling at the end of ropes. They were lifeless and charred. Small flames clung to melted skin.
The victims looked young, but I couldn’t tell how young, as their bodies had become unrecognizable.
Ka’in was standing on the hollowed out balcony where the tops of the ropes had been tied around pillars. A few Nobles lingered at his back, all wearing black velvet masks. Each one held a flaming torch. Three more Jadans, these ones alive, were poised at the lip of the balcony, their hands bound behind their backs and ropes already around their necks. Two women and a boy. The boy was the only one not trembling, his expression vacant, clearly in shock.
And Ka’in stood there, lording above everyone.
His skin was now blackened and ugly, looking almost purple in places. Parts of him were bandaged, but most of the gruesome flesh was revealed for all those below to witness. His head was now without hair, and his face was covered in stitches and scars. He looked like something freshly risen from the dead-carts.
All those shards of glass and Ice had only served to reveal his true self. He finally looked the part of a demon.
‘The Crier has touched me!’ Ka’in said, waving his torch in front of the girl’s face. ‘Do you like when I touch you? It’s like the Crier is touching you! Here, taste some holiness.’ He put his blemished forearm in front of her mouth, and she eagerly thrust out her tongue, placing it on his Cold-burned skin. Her expression looked hopeful, as if this act might save her.
It was then when I recognized her face. I also recognized the fingers on her left hand. They’d healed in terrible directions, looking gnarled and unusable. She was the Domestic who’d betrayed us by screaming our presence in the Sanctuary the first time we were there.
That fact didn’t dampen my pity in the slightest. She was family. She should be with the Flock, not standing at the border of death with a rope around her neck.
A yellow stream trickled off the balcony next to her. The boy was beginning to show signs of life.
‘Now that you have my Chosen-ness on your tongue, lovely love,’ Ka’in said, clearing his throat, the rattle getting worse, ‘you can tell no more lies. Your only lying will be on a lovely bed or in a dead-cart. Your choice. Where did they go?’
‘I swear I don’t know,’ she pleaded. ‘I was loyal to you. I’ll be loyal.’