Brotherhood of Shades. Dawn Finch

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СКАЧАТЬ by his side – explaining. The scene changed and began to fade from the foul horror of the villages to the towering mass of a great cathedral that now grew up around him. Its creamy walls climbed high above and brilliant light streamed in through a tall plain-paned glass window. Around him sat a large body of men, all dressed in elaborate, highly coloured robes.

      Adam realised that these were the heads of religious houses, monks and priests, cardinals – men from all aspects of the religious world and from all over Europe gathered together. He saw and understood deeply that they could no longer cope with caring for those who were suffering. These realisations came to him in a rush that made his head spin. It was the most intensive history lesson imaginable as D’Scover laid out the monastic world and high-church life in front of Adam’s stunned eyes.

      The congregation shuffled uneasily in the dark wood high-backed chairs and a solemn murmur ran around the gathered men. An elderly abbot in a dark purple robe slowly and stiffly rose to his feet and cleared his throat. A hush descended on the gathering and he began to speak.

      “Brothers,” he said in a voice heavy with age, “this is the darkest time we have ever known.” A rumble of agreement rippled around him.

      “The king moves closer to breaking down our great houses, closer than he has ever done before. If we do not take this threat seriously, then all of our efforts have been for nothing.”

      The congregation clearly supported this man. Spurred on, he continued.

      “Here we have gathered time after time, talking our throats raw, and still we have come no closer to an accord. All of you have made arrangements for your greatest texts and many have taken to moving silver and monies to places of safety.”

      A hearty laugh burst from several of the older men who knew which of the priests the speaker was referring to.

      “We have all taken steps to protect that which we hold dear, but it is not enough. We have an obligation to others. Try as we might to ignore the truth of this, we can no longer afford to do so. We must take the warnings of Father Dominic of the Benedictines seriously.”

      With this statement, the crowd suddenly split angrily and faces began to grow red with the shouting. Some of the men stood and tried to shout down the abbot.

      “HEAR ME!” he bellowed above the mêlée and they listened once more. “Plague has irrevocably damaged the beliefs of our world. As more were taken by the pestilence, belief was diminished and the strength of our world is weakened. With less people to believe, more and more spirits have become trapped in the world of the living instead of passing on. Father Dominic’s theories have been borne out. How many of you can say that you have not had reports from your diocese about spirits walking amongst the living? We must hear what Father Dominic has to say, and this threat must be dealt with. It is our solemn duty. That we can no longer question.”

      He raised a fat hand and beckoned to a figure hidden in the shadows at the back of the nave. The sturdy form of Father Dominic walked into the light. Dogging his footsteps was a thin servant boy with an unruly mop of black hair. He stumbled as he attempted to keep up, trying not to drop the large bundle of papers and books in his arms. The congregation growled with dissent, but remained seated as the father walked into their midst and took his place in front of them. He waited a moment for the rumble to die down before he spoke.

      “You are aware of my workings and of the Dissolution that comes upon us.” His soft voice made everyone lean forward to listen. “It is my solemn belief that we must take action to prevent the world of the living from becoming overrun.” He looked around, waiting for a response; none came and so he continued. “These papers,” he grabbed a large parchment scroll from his servant and held it aloft, “list hundreds of reports from around the country. Spirits are not resting and the nation is in danger of being overrun with the dead. In the Augustinian priory of Lanercost in the north there is the bare start of a new Brotherhood, a Brotherhood that can cope with the demands laid upon us by the coming Dissolution.”

      The abbey filled with sharp intakes of breath and more murmurs.

      “This new Brotherhood will, with your agreement, remain a clandestine order. They must never be identified and must never be attached to one of our great houses as they must be able to act independently. This is why we have chosen the small priory at Lanercost to gather the necessary texts; these will be moved to a safe place should the Dissolution reach that far north. If necessary, we will continue to move them to keep them protected.”

      “But how can this new order be any different?” a thin man with grey hair and long white robes called out from the midst of the crowd. “What is the purpose of this? This new order will surely be broken apart, just as our orders will.”

      “No, that will not happen,” Father Dominic responded. “It will not be broken apart because it will not move within the world that we know. This will be an order of spirits – a Brotherhood of Shades.”

      With that, the congregation stood and many shouted and even hurled prayer books across the floor to land inches from where Father Dominic stood. He gave a small bow to the angry crowd and spoke over them. His words were almost lost to the chaos of noise.

      “Fools!” a shrill voice came from the back of the congregation.

      Everyone turned as a hooded figure stepped out of the shadows and walked on into the aisle. In one swift moment the hood was thrown back to reveal a thin, scruffy-looking girl with long and knotted brown hair. Outrage once more rippled through the gathered men.

      “I said you are all fools!” she shouted. “And, as sure as day follows night, you will all perish in your ignorance. This man,” she pointed at Father Dominic, “brings you a way of preventing the inevitable creep of the dead into the world of the living and you shout him down. What vexes you here? Are you too afraid that he is right and that you will all be overcome?”

      “Who let this girl child in here?” the white-robed monk bellowed. “Servants, take her from here; this is a closed assembly.”

      “I know of her!” another monk shouted. “She is from a village close to my abbey. Seize her quickly; this meeting must not become common knowledge.” He spun on his heels and pointed at her, his face purple with rage.

      “Her interest lies in our destruction,” he spat. “She is a witch. She must not be allowed to live and tell of what she has seen.”

      Several servants ran up the aisle, armed with swords, and surrounded the girl before one of them grabbed her arms and held her tight; another pointed a sword at her stomach.

      “You will see,” the girl cried out. “You fear my kind, but I will last longer than any of you. One day superstition and ignorance will be overcome and on that day you will all need the help of such as I.”

      The guards grabbed her hard and bundled her from the nave. Chaos ensued as some of the monks used the interruption to leave while others shouted to Father Dominic to explain. The father thrust the scroll back into his servant’s hands and, ignoring everyone’s pleas, he turned away from the gathering.

      “I will take my leave!” Father Dominic shouted. “I will not be party to such murderous deeds.” At the door he turned back and bellowed once more.

      “Think on!” he shouted. “You will come to me before the year is out and ask for the help of the Brotherhood – that much I can promise you.”

      Turning, he walked back into the shadows and was gone through the transept doors.

      Adam СКАЧАТЬ