by Jodi Meadows
The cathedral was silent as one speaker stepped down and another stepped up. But before he could begin, water erupted up from the pool and the entire building trembled. Gas lamps shuddered and flickered, and droplets of water sprayed over us.
Screams sounded from all around the cathedral, echoing in the huge chamber. Guards surged to their feet, swords drawn as they moved toward their charges.
“Under the bench!” I pushed Theresa to the floor. Just as I was reaching for Connor, shouting the same instructions, a booming voice came from above.
“Wilhelmina!”
I knew that voice.
“You cannot hide from me!”
Dread seeped into every piece of me as I stepped backward, away from Theresa and the others, into an aisle—and into enormous white hands.
A sharp crack ripped through the chamber, and everyone looked up as the golden heavens split in two.
ELEVEN
I WRENCHED MYSELF away from the wraith boy just as the first pieces of stone fell. “Everyone get out!”
My cry was lost in the cacophony of screams and collapsing stone. The whole cathedral was cracking open like an egg. Chunks of gold and marble plummeted to the dais, landing in the empty pool with a deafening crash and shudder. Frigid night wind blew in, and the whole space stank of wraith.
Priests fled, their robes fluttering. James dove for Tobiah, who was reaching for his mother. The three of them, along with another handful of guards, made their way into the aisle. More stones from the roof crashed down, spraying white dust like snow. Their clothes were coated with it.
On the stairs above, people packed so tightly there was no way to get out.
“Wil!” Connor screamed for me as Sergeant Ferris heaved him into Kevin’s arms. Half covered in white rubble, my bodyguard picked his way toward me, drawing his sword as though he could do anything against the wraith boy. It was too late.
There was no way we could escape before the building came down on us.
I spun and grabbed the wraith boy’s forearms, giant and straining against the clothes I’d given him. “Stop it.”
“I can’t.” He grinned down at me, too wide, too wild. A fist-sized stone dropped overhead, but he batted it away before I had the chance to move. “There’s no way to stop it.”
Streams of people poured up the aisles. The gap overhead widened as the building shuddered again, shaking loose a chandelier. The fixture smashed into the bench where Tobiah and his family had been; I couldn’t see them anymore, not through the debris and a fire that raged upward. Heat blasted through the cathedral.
“Stop the building from collapsing.” I gripped the wraith boy’s wrists. “Put out the fire.”
“That’s not within my power.”
Thousands of people were going to die because of him—because of me.
Unless I did something.
People trampled one another in their efforts to reach the stairs. Real starlight shone through the gap in the roof, faraway points that lined up exactly with the gold constellations.
My Ospreys were leaping across the benches, heading toward the exit. I couldn’t find the royal family, but several more chunks of the roof had fallen in. Another crashed downward, crushing nearby benches. The floor shook, but I stayed on my feet because of my grip on the wraith boy, who wasn’t bothered by the chaos he’d caused. He calmly stepped sideways as a head-sized chunk of roof broke off and flew at me; he blocked it with his own body.
I had to stop this.
I dropped to the floor and pressed my hands against the stone. “Wake up,” I said, and immediately, my breath grew short. My vision turned to fog. “Stay together. Do not break. Do not fall. Do not shake.”
One last stone thudded to the floor, creating a new plume of dust, but the building stopped moving. The constant low rumble ceased. Wind sucked the smoke and dust from the upper reaches of the sanctuary, revealing the impossible.
Great hunks of marble clung to the jagged crack in the ceiling. Chandeliers clutched the golden constellations like iron spiders. The splayed-finger tops of the columns crept out and linked with one another, as though in prayer.
My heartbeat was hummingbird quick in my ears, but the cathedral had animated. It had done as I’d commanded.
Slowly, bracing myself against a bench, I stood and whispered, “Now smother the fire.”
Debris slithered across the floor and rained from the ceiling, focusing on the burning chandelier. The air began to clear as dust settled. The intense heat faded as flames died.
“Get off any people trapped. Make a path so everyone can escape.”
There were voices all around, people sobbing and screaming, but they were distant now—or maybe it was just me. Black shapes dotted the edges of my vision with that last command, and all I could see was the wraith boy’s enormous grin as he looked around the chamber.
My arm trembled as I sucked in deep breaths, but my head wouldn’t clear. It was too much, bringing the entire building to life, commanding it again and again. I had to get out. I had to put the cathedral to sleep.
I groped for the next bench, ready to drag myself out.
White hands fell on my shoulders, and I jerked away. My elbow caught a stair as I landed and glared up. “Don’t touch me. You did this, so don’t touch me. Go back to your closet.”
The wraith boy scowled but vanished, leaving me to regret the command. Now I was alone, on the floor, and unsure whether I could actually get up on my own.
The building groaned with the strain of keeping itself together. I groaned, too, as I turned over and began crawling up the stairs. Masses of bodies writhed up and ahead, people escaping the doomed cathedral, but they were just blurs of color against the white. They were all so intent on escape that no one would look back. No one would notice I wasn’t with them.
Or if they did, they were grateful. The wraith boy had brought down the cathedral because of me.
I dragged myself up, using a bench arm to steady myself. My gown tangled in my legs as I staggered and caught myself on the next bench, and then the next and the next. Dizziness spiraled around me, and my limbs were all cold. Numb. My knees wouldn’t straighten.
“Wil!” The voice seemed to come from far away. I lifted my eyes, but everything was dim.
Warm arms wrapped around me. “Hurry.”
“Rees?” I dug my fingers into her shoulder. Another familiar figure hefted me up on the other side. “Kevin?” My Ospreys had come back for me.
Step by slow step, they helped me climb the stairs. When the lights flickered out—someone had turned off the gas—and everything went dark, Theresa yelped in surprise, but her grip remained strong.
We reached the hall where the crowd caught and slowed in the narrow space, but now that the building had stopped shaking and everyone thought they were out of immediate danger, the pace was steady. There was less trampling.
“Does she need help?” That was Connor’s voice. Thank saints, he was safe.
“I’m fine.” My words didn’t come out any stronger than a mumble, but I could still speak.
Swimming in and out of consciousness, I let the others help me through the hot, noisy halls. It seemed like forever, but finally cold air hit my face as we reached the exit.
But for the moon and stars and lanterns that dotted the huge crowd below, the cathedral yard was dark. Even so, and in spite of my tunneled vision, I could see the legions of police and guards in Indigo Order uniforms. Officers on horseback rode through the crowd, iron shoes striking the cobblestones with mind-jarring rings. They urged the crowd back, farther from the building frozen mid-collapse.
I was the last one out. Those ahead surged down the staircase, throwing themselves into the safety of the crowd.
“Go,” I rasped, drawing myself out of Kevin’s and Theresa’s arms. Connor and Carl stopped on the stairs and turned around, their eyes big. “I need to finish this.”
They left me standing in the narrow doorway of the living cathedral; only when everyone wa
s a good distance away did I press my palms against the stone. I spoke with every drop of authority I possessed.
“Go back to sleep.”
The cathedral sighed and sloughed inward.
Blackness thundered through me, dropped me, and my body—limp and useless—rolled down the stairs, too fast for anyone to catch me.
I opened my eyes and rolled to my back—and dropped another stair before I realized I shouldn’t move. The impact forced the breath from my lungs. I blinked and breathed until my vision focused, only to find a dark figure standing over me.
“Princess Wilhelmina Korte, you are under arrest for the destruction of the Cathedral of the Solemn Hour. Do not resist or we will be forced to use drastic measures.” The voice was too familiar. After Prince Colin’s invasion of my rooms, I would always recognize his voice, his stance, and the slimy way he said my name.
I managed to lift one hand and show him my little finger.
People crowded around us, protesting my arrest. The Ospreys’ voices, plus others I didn’t know. “She needs medical attention,” said Sergeant Ferris.
“She needs to be contained!” Prince Colin’s voice went ragged. “Look what she did here!”
“Yes.” Tobiah’s voice carried across the yard. “Look what she did here.”
My heart sank. Him too?
I pushed myself up so that I was sitting, more or less. I was still light-headed and my body ached with incipient bruises, but if I was going to have to explain myself, I should try to be upright for it.
Connor took my shoulders to stabilize me, question in his eyes, but I shook my head. I didn’t need healing, and the last thing I wanted was for him to demonstrate his ability in front of all these people.
The crown prince strode up, James and a handful of guards behind him, and lifted his gaze to the destruction behind me.
“Look at what she did here.” The prince swept one hand toward the cathedral. His movements were intentionally stiff as though still recovering, but he commanded attention with the way he held himself and lifted his voice. “How many people were nearly crushed to death? How many were nearly consumed by the fire? How many were nearly trampled?”
The crowd seemed to hold its breath.
“And how many of us were saved because of her quick action?” Dust covered and sweating, the prince climbed the last few stairs and shouldered aside his uncle. He offered one hand to me.
I wasn’t ready to stand—not at all—but I placed my hand in his and let him take most of my weight as I lurched to my feet. My stomach flipped and I started to sway, but Tobiah planted his free palm flat on my back, steadying me.
“Are you all right, my lady?” His words were soft, for me only, but everyone was watching and listening. The police held up their arms, creating a human barrier.
I met the prince’s eyes and squashed the quiver in my voice. “Thank you, I’m fine.”
“Relieved to hear it.” The way his fingers closed over the cloth on my back said he knew I was lying.
Prince Colin pushed forward again. “The wraith creature was here for her,” he said. “And she used magic. Magic. This flasher will draw more wraith to us.”
Tobiah raised his voice again. “Princess Wilhelmina saved countless lives. While the wraith boy was indeed seeking her, she cannot control all of his actions. We all know how unpredictable wraith is. It wasn’t her fault the wraith boy came to find her any more than it’s a farmer’s fault when his cattle stampede.” Tobiah motioned for a decorated police officer to approach. “Chief Tegen, question everyone and find out whether there’s anyone missing. Get everyone’s names and addresses, and should anyone dare insist my dear friend Princess Wilhelmina is responsible for what happened here, you are to correct them.”
I cleared my throat.
Both men glanced at me; Tobiah’s expression softened.
“You’re right, of course.” He looked back to Chief Tegen. “Forget I said that last part. Find out what they believe happened tonight. But if anyone makes any sort of threat against Wilhelmina’s life, you will alert me immediately.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” Chief Tegen bowed and departed.
“Where’s the carriage?” Tobiah asked James.
“It should be here momentarily.”
“Very good.”
“Nephew—”
Tobiah faced his uncle, his arm still around me. “Thank you for your concern, but I have everything under control.” His tone grew bored. “You’re free to return to the palace.”
Prince Colin narrowed his eyes at me, the crown prince’s arm around me, and the close way we stood. But he left, a handful of guards in his wake.
It seemed like ages before the carriage arrived, clattering down the cathedral drive. It was a small vehicle, meant to quickly slip through narrow streets.
“This way.” Tobiah guided me down the stairs, and when I stumbled, he dug his fingers into my side and took all my weight. I hoped no one else could see how weak I was, but I was too exhausted to do much about it, or protest that the prince was still recovering.
Tobiah escorted me down the last set of stairs only after the police had pushed back the crowd. My knee gave out as I climbed onto the velvet-covered bench, but his support never flagged. One hand curled around my shoulder. The other kept tight around my fingers. He held me steady.
When I was seated, I looked over his shoulder to see what remained of the cathedral.
Most of the building had collapsed, with only a few walls reaching up like teeth of a mutilated lower jaw. Rubble pattered down the stairs, and dust blew in a pale column over the destruction.
Two centuries of service as a religious sanctuary, built using pre-wraith methods we’d never again be able to replicate, and one of the most iconic buildings of Skyvale: gone. Destroyed in less than a quarter hour.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Don’t apologize. You saved everyone from being caught in that.” Tobiah angled himself toward the others. “Sergeant Ferris, please escort Her Highness back to the palace. Her companions will take the next carriage.”
Theresa stepped forward. “I’d like to remain with Wilhelmina.” Her gaze darted to my hand, still in Tobiah’s.
“I’m sure that would be a comfort to both of you. Please.” Tobiah moved aside, releasing my hand as he helped Theresa into the carriage. Sergeant Ferris took the seat next to Theresa. Tobiah addressed him. “Place extra guards on both Aecorian suites tonight. Hallways and balconies. If anyone abandons their posts tonight, they will be dishonorably discharged from the Order and their families disgraced. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Tobiah offered me a curt nod, and then shut the door. “James!” he called, voice muffled now. “Come with me. We need to—”
Whatever he said was cut off by the clip-clop of horse hooves on cobblestone as our carriage jerked into motion. Lights blurred past as we drove through Hawksbill. I closed my eyes.
My bedroom was dim and quiet when I sat up, covers puddling at my waist. “Rees?”
The door opened and her silhouette filled the space. “I’m here.”
“I need something to wear.” My body was stiff and bruised from the fall, but I pushed myself up and began rolling my shoulders, ignoring the stabs of pain that flared across my body.
“You need rest.”
I shook my head and winced. “No, I need to yell at the wraith boy.”
She searched my wardrobe and found a plain blue dress. “The prince stopped in, but you were sleeping. Sergeant Ferris had to carry you into the washroom, and then put you in bed after the maid and I cleaned you and changed your clothes.”
I glanced at the nightgown and robe I was wearing. Other people had changed my clothes while I’d been unconscious. Theresa was one thing, but the maid? I didn’t even know the maid’s name. Maybe I was less terrifying to her now that I’d proven myself mortal, at least.
“How long was I out?”
“Several hours.” She hung the walking dress over her forearm as she elbowed the door open wider to reveal the clock in the parlor. “Five, it looks like.”
“Ugh.” Stiffly, I switched dresses, then allowed her to brush and braid my hair.
“This pain isn’t all from the fall. Does magic usually affect you like this?”
“No.” I rubbed my temples. “Never, except in the wraithland. But I don’t usually awaken large things. It’s mostly been small items. Candles. Toys, when I was a child. The Hawksbill wall was difficult, but nothing like this.” My hands fell to my sides. “When I awakened the wraith, I immediately passed out for hours. Or a day. I don’t know.”
“There has to be a better way to recover than unconsciousness.”
“One would think. Perhaps it’s simply another muscle, one that requires regular exercise to build up to larger feats.” At least I could see straight now. And walk, even if I was unsteady. “Perhaps the effects would have been less dramatic if I’d practiced more growing up, or if I wasn’t also keeping that awful wraith boy animated.” I shrugged and checked my reflection in a cracked hand mirror. Bruises and scrapes marked my face, but I looked presentable otherwise. “Stay here. The supply room isn’t far. Ferris can escort me.”
“Are you sure?”
No. “Yes. I don’t want you or the others anywhere near him, if we can help it.” I shoved the mirror into my pocket, glass side down.
“Will you tell him to”—she frowned—“go back to sleep? Would that kill him?”
Could one kill something like that? Did it count as murder?
“Not here. He’d turn back into wraith and we’d have another Inundation. I’d have to take him back to the wraithland, but I don’t know what would happen then. Wraith is already infecting the Indigo Kingdom.”
She dropped her eyes.
“Other things I bring to life, like a match, aren’t really alive.” I hoped. “They just do what I command. But he—he’s alive. Aware. Sentient.”
“So what will you do?”
“For now? Yell.”
TWELVE
SERGEANT FERRIS AND the other guards jumped out of the way as I burst from my suite and into the hall. My whole body ached, but I wouldn’t show it—not right now—so I kept my strides long and even, my chin tilted up. Heavy footfalls sounded behind me.
