The Sowing

“This will make it easier for you to remember. Just in case you don’t hear the gongs. When the display says One Two Zero Zero, I’ll be waiting right outside and I’ll take you with me.” I place the chronometer into his small palm. “But you have to hide this and make sure no one sees it.”

He stuffs the chron into a slit on the side of his mattress. “I know how to hide things! Remember when we used to hide the story of the Lady under the floorboards back home?” His eyes are glistening with the memory now and he wipes them with his arm.

“Yes, I remember.” How could I ever forget reading Cole his favorite tale—the forbidden story, which I’d found in the library archives, of the regal queen who presided over the magical city? Especially after I discovered the towering statue of her during the Trials and realized that she wasn’t a myth. She had once existed, just like the now-ruined city she protected.

I hug him again, kissing the top of his head. Then I break the embrace and hold him at arm’s length, looking deep into his eyes.

“Someone’s coming,” Cole whispers.

I duck into an alcove.

“There you are, Spark. I’ve been looking everywhere for you, boy. You can’t hide from me.”

The sound of that voice wriggles around my spine like it did before. Suddenly, I’m twelve years old again.

It’s Prior Delvecchio.

SEVEN

My heart catches in my throat. Delvecchio still looks pretty much like the specter that’s haunted my memories and stalked me in nightmares over the years. Perhaps a little more gaunt, the grooves in his face a little deeper.

The Prior’s dark shadow falls over Cole’s bed. “I checked on you earlier and you weren’t in your lessons. I was informed you were ill.”

Cole sinks into his pillow. “My head hurts.”

Delvecchio sits on the bed. His knobby fingers press against Cole’s forehead, rubbing it, lingering too long before pulling away. “You feel just right to me, boy. No fever. But we cannot be too cautious. If you are not feeling well, there’s no sense in wasting your dinner. I’ll have it withheld until you’ve recovered enough to keep it down.” He smiles.

Cole’s eyes open wide. “But—”

The cleric leans in, the tips of his fingers edging closer to the chron’s hiding place. “I worry for the fate of your immortal soul, young Spark. I hope you aren’t lying to me about being ill. Lies are the instruments of sin. I would hate to think of what would happen to such a naughty child in the afterlife.” He shakes his head in mock sorrow. “Fire and pain for all of eternity.”

All my muscles tense. If he touches Cole again, I’ll kill him.

The Prior stands up. “Actually, I came to inform you that you’ll be leaving us very soon. It seems there are great plans for you. However, I believe you’ve been treacherous, and a cleansing of your mind and body is in order.”

Delvecchio pauses. The only sounds are the thudding of my own heart in my ears and the moaning wind, setting the windows creaking and melding with Cole’s soft breaths. Time is running out. I have to get back before Arrah and Valerian question my absence.

Delvecchio sighs. “During the remainder of your stay here, you will be remanded to a regimen of fasting, coupled with increased chores and the sting of the lash. This will do wonders to clear the mists that can shroud one’s conscience.” He strides toward the exit and turns. “We shall see just what it takes to purge the evil from your young heart.”

Then he’s gone.

I wait a few minutes just to make sure it’s clear. Arrah must be wondering what’s taking me so long by now. Creeping from my hiding place, I slink back to my brother’s bed.

He buries his head against my chest. “Please don’t go,” he whispers.

“I’ll be back for you tomorrow, Cole. I promise,” I whisper back, tucking the sheet in around him like I always used to.

I kiss his forehead and steal down, excited that I’ll soon take him far away from this hell.

———

A few minutes later I’ve made my way through the maze of echoing hallways and staircases, folded my robe and hidden it just in case I need it again, and am back outside tramping through the snow, my breaths puffing out like bursts of exhaust as I rush to meet up with Arrah. All the while trying to formulate our escape plan.

Late tonight, I’ll sneak out of my bunk at the Citadel and make contact with one of the barge operators at the port. He owes me a favor for freeing his brother from the mines in a railway crash I caused. Tomorrow, after the Ascension Ceremony, I’ll pick up Cole and we’ll hide aboard the ship. Once we’ve sailed beyond the Parish limits, we’ll debark and head west. I’ve saved enough money that we should be good for a while. Not what I had planned, but with Cole scheduled for this mysterious U.I.P. treatment instead of Haven, I have no choice.

I turn into the alley, just in time to see a figure emerge from the shadows behind Arrah and reach out for her.

“Arrah! Look out!” I sprint and leap, soaring through the air and crashing into them.