Burn Bright

by Marianne de Pierres

  ‘What did Lenoir say exactly?’

  ‘Lenoir says that withdrawal is the next part of our evolution into pleasure but –’

  Charlonge trembled. ‘I need to think. And you must go and find your friends. Stop them before they do anything reckless. They were planning to come after you.’ She went to the door and unlocked it.

  ‘Do you know where they are?’

  ‘A party has been called at Agios. Everyone is talking about it but only some have been invited.’

  ‘Invited?’

  Charlonge gave a sad smile. ‘Yes. Check your locker in the neglegere.’

  Naif went to the neglegere as Charlonge suggested. She found a single garment hanging in her locker: a black brocade dress, stiff and beautiful and encrusted with hundreds of shiny gems. As she took it out, a pair of tiny lace gloves fell free from it, and a gold-trimmed card.

  ‘Wow! Oh, put it on,’ said a girl standing at a locker close to her. The girl looked a little like Suki, but taller, with honey-coloured hair and full lips. She wore a cherry red mini with high-legged boots and a velvet-fringed tank top.

  Naif slipped off the simple silk shift she’d chosen at Goa, not as bothered by modesty as before. The brocade was difficult to get on and she had to wiggle and tug and ask the girl to lace the back. Finally she got it into place. The bodice fitted tight and low over her breasts but fell away into a froth of lace that trailed onto the stone floor.

  ‘You look like a bride,’ said the girl. Then she giggled. ‘Well, sort of …’

  Naif’s heart skipped a beat at that. Whose bride?

  ‘You must be going to the party at Agios. It’s gonna be amazing. That new musician is playing there, the tall, gorgeous one that everyone loves. I think his name is Markes.’

  Naif picked up the invitation. ‘A-are you going?’ she asked.

  The girl pouted. ‘It’s formal wear only and I don’t have an invitation or anything like that in my locker.’

  Naif held out the card. ‘Do you want to take mine? And the dress.’

  The girl’s jaw dropped. ‘You’d give me that?’

  Naif shrugged. ‘I could wear the silk.’ She pointed to the shift from Goa on the floor. ‘But I warn you, this dress isn’t very comfortable.’

  ‘Aren’t you the one who smashed the scarred Riper with a chair?’

  After a moment, Naif nodded. It would be impossible to get away from what she’d done. Perhaps she shouldn’t try. ‘But I’ve taken a new name. I’m Naif now. I’m not a Seal any more.’

  ‘Most people take on a new name when they come here. I like Naif. It’s cool. I’m Geen. And thanks for the offer, but it wouldn’t fit me. You’re smaller than I am.’ She headed to the door of the neglegere, her boots making clicking sounds on the stone. ‘Have fun at the party. Maybe I’ll see you around.’

  Naif took a cable kar up the mountain to Agios. At each stop excited partygoers climbed in; boys in formal suits, some with white jackets and tails, and girls wearing long dresses, crimson velvets and clinging silks.

  Naif bundled up the lace train of her dress and rested it on the seat next to her, to discourage company. She stared out of the window at the twilight and tried to identify the different shimmers; Vank and Illi below, Agios and Los Fien above, light spatters that marked the clubs, and the light trails of the paths winding together and then branching off into the faint strips of the Lesser Paths.

  It’s like a blood system of veins and arteries, Naif thought, and the sight of fainter trails made her quiver. What type of creatures lived in the true dark of Ixion?

  Though seeing Joel fight had terrified her, her fear was tempered with pride at the knowledge of his valour. He had fought the Night Creatures and bested them, at least in that moment. Who knows how many still existed out there in the dark?

  For the first time since coming to Ixion, Naif pondered on how Ixion really worked. Why did the Ripers appear so ageless? Where did the uthers get their raw material – food and cloth? What were the uthers to the Ripers? Servants?

  The kar’s arrival into Agios station interrupted her musings as the laughing partygoers piled out onto the platform, racing each other down the stairs. At the same time another kar swung in from the opposite direction and she heard stampeding of feet on the overhead bridge.

  She got out and looked for Suki or Rollo among them, but most wore masks with their formal clothes. The crowd channelled down towards the wrought-iron gates of the church, where Ripers stood at the door checking dress standard and invitations.

  The noise and crush of bodies gave her a moment of panic but she let it rise and then subside. Markes would be inside somewhere, she hoped.

  ‘What are you doing here, Seal?’

  It was Cal, wearing a soft white halter-necked dress the exact colour of her hair. A string of black beads fastened across her forehead in a delicate headband gave stark contrast. Her heels must have been high because she looked down on Naif.

  ‘Hello, Cal. I’m no longer a Seal. My name is Naif.’

  The press of bodies forced them closer together as it bottle-necked at the door.

  ‘You’ve come chasing Markes again, I s’pose – like all the others, now that he’s one of the Youth Circle. Well, he’s not interested in you, you know,’ Cal sneered. ‘We’re already exclusive.’ She gave a sly look. ‘As much as you can be here anyway.’

  For the first time since they’d met, Cal’s antagonism didn’t intimidate Naif. ‘Why are you so threatened by me?’

  ‘Pardon?’ Cal’s eyes widened in surprise as they were pushed forward again.

  ‘Invitation!’ demanded a Riper in a full-length leather dress and mask. She held out a hand encased in a chainmail glove.

  Naif recognised her as one of Lenoir’s followers. She handed over the gold-trimmed card.

  The Riper glanced at it.

  ‘My apologies, Naif. I didn’t recognise you in the dress. Please step this way.’ The Riper indicated inside the church to a door between two columns.

  ‘But, I’m with Markes – the musician,’ said Cal, waving her invitation before the Riper. ‘I should get in before her.’

  The Riper ignored Cal and gave a small bow to Naif. ‘Lenoir wishes to see you.’

  ‘Lenoir?’ Cal gasped. ‘Then the rumours are true. I didn’t believe them.’

  ‘Naif?’ Test appeared alongside the first Riper. She gave a short bow and also gestured towards the columns. Both Ripers seemed nervous of keeping Lenoir waiting.

  Naif didn’t want to see him but nor did she want to create a fuss. She glanced at Cal. ‘Maybe I’ll see you inside. You can finish telling me about Markes.’

  The girl’s open mouth was the only answer she got.

  Naif followed Test through the door and up a set of stairs that led to a gallery similar to the one in Vank – though much wider and grander. Her feet sank into a soft floor covering, so unexpected after the wood and stone of most other buildings.

  Lenoir leaned against a wooden railing, exquisitely carved in the manner of a laden grapevine. He held a fluted glass in his hand and stared down into the cruciform with a pensive expression that made Naif’s heart thump.

  While she waited at the door to the gallery, Test approached him and spoke quietly in his ear. Lenoir jerked from his reverie and glanced at her. Though his expression remained unchanged, Naif felt a honeyed warmth emanate from him and spread through her body. For some inexplicable reason her presence pleased him.

  ‘Come closer, batling,’ he said. ‘I’m pleased that the dress is … as it is. Please join me.’

  He held out his hand for her and watched intently as she walked towards him.

  Unsteady legs carried her across the balcony. She had not expected to see him again so soon. And not like this.

  Lenoir, however, seemed in no hurry to speak. When he did, finally, his voice was a mere whisper. ‘I had thought you might enjoy the view from here before you join your party.’

  Naif peered down into the
cruciform. Agios was a church like no other she had seen. No austere furnishings and heavy wooden beams, or alcoves darkened by crosses. Neither was it gaudy or cheapened by crude figurines.

  Agios glowed with candlelit, gold-inlaid marble that enhanced the sumptuous satin friezes of hunting scenes and feasts hanging from its walls. It reminded Naif of her mythology lessons about the incredible Marble City of Marsoucee.

  ‘What do you mean by … my party?’ she asked.

  ‘When we bonded, I learned much about your desires. You craved fun but did not know how to have it.’

  She stared at him, not knowing what to say.

  ‘I have something for you.’ With deft fingers he slipped a jewel bracelet around her wrist – blood stones, dark red and cool to touch.

  ‘Beautiful,’ she breathed.

  ‘Like you, baby bat.’

  Something caught in Naif’s throat. Lenoir’s compliment – like his gift – was unexpected and untruthful. She did not compare to the rich, cool beauty of the bracelet – nor did she want to. ‘I don’t think so, really.’ She cast a quizzical look at him. ‘And nor do you.’

  He laughed at that. ‘No. You taste much better than ancient gemstones. And I for one should know.’

  Naif removed the bracelet and returned it to him. ‘I owe you my life, Lenoir. We have a bond. But please don’t … give me things.’

  His face grew stony. ‘Do you seek to order me around like Brand?’

  ‘Brand?’ Naif caught her breath in anger. ‘How could you tar me with her brush?’

  He sighed, his flash of annoyance leaving him as quickly as it came. The troubled look returned to his eyes. ‘Brand wishes to lead a hunt against Ruzalia. She has called an extraordinary meeting of the Guardians. We will vote on it in two passes.’

  ‘Is that usual? For you to vote on things, I mean.’

  His expression became so intense and angry, lips thin with it, that she wondered if he might lose control. ‘We have never voted before. Not while I have led.’

  ‘How long has that been?’

  He took her lace-gloved fingers in his own and turned it over to touch the bare circle of her palm. He traced his fingers across the skin as if drawing a picture. ‘Since we came.’

  Naif frowned but left her hand in his, hoping he would say more. ‘I don’t understand that really. How did you come to be here?’

  Even though she said the words casually, without demand, he dropped her hand at once. ‘For one who has had little conversation in her life, you make it too easy to talk, Naif. I must remember that.’

  Immediately, she missed the warmth of his hand on hers, the contact of his skin.

  ‘Enjoy the party. It’s for you. Learn about pleasure.’ He averted his face in a clear dismissal.

  Test appeared next to her as if she had been standing there all along.

  ‘This way, baby bat.’

  ‘Please don’t call me that,’ she said as she followed Test down the stairs.

  The Riper stopped short of the last step. She cocked her head to one side, her mouth twisting in a cold smirk. ‘Of course. If you say so.’

  Naif wondered if Test really supported Lenoir. Something about her manner seemed disdainful, like Brand.

  The Riper stepped down onto the floor and waited for Naif to pass her. ‘Make sure you keep to the well-lit paths,’ she said.

  It seemed more a threat than a warning.

  Naif hurried away from her and into the grand hall of Agios proper.

  Inside, the partygoers had assembled in nervous groups, spilling out from the transepts into the nave. They sipped from long-stemmed glasses and the girls tottered on the highest of heels. The boys tugged laughingly at their bow ties and tightly buttoned satin vests. At the far end, a long table covered in white linens divided the narthex from the rest. As Naif gravitated closer to it, she saw how laden it was with all manner of food: silver trays piled with cheese, fruits, rolled meats and honey-drenched pastries. If she concentrated hard she glimpsed uthers scurrying to and fro.

  Her mouth watered, but as she reached for a tray the first strains of music filled the room and thought of food left her. The ambient candlelight was extinguished and the high altar fell into the spotlight. Markes sat there, cradling his guitar.

  Naif pressed her stomach to ease the sudden constriction. Even from the narthex she could see his hair down curling past his shoulders, and the dreamy expression on his face.

  The simple chords he picked with his strong fingers pinched at her skin. Dancers slowly filled the nave, some with partners, some alone, wrapped in their own private worlds.

  Naif was drawn out with them, the soulful pull of the music impossible to resist. She let her body move with it, revelling in her newfound freedom to dance.

  Gradually, the music built pace from something slow and sensual to a loud and prolonged strumming frenzy. Then the music peaked and finished softly.

  As the dance area slowly cleared, arms bear-hugged her, lifting her from her feet and shaking her. ‘Retra?’

  ‘Rollo!’ Another set of hands broke the grip of the bear hug and insisted she be put down. ‘Suki!’

  ‘Are you all right?’ they cried, in unison.

  Suddenly she was surrounded by people: Kristabelle, Kero and the Wings. Beyond them she could see others – spiked wristbands peeking out from under their suit sleeves – trying to get closer. The Freeks were all there as well.

  Their welcome radiated an alarming energy and she took a deep breath to inhale the charge she got from it. ‘I’ve been looking for you all. Charlonge said you might be here.’

  Kero pointed at Rollo. ‘He says that Brand took you.’

  While most of the faces around her looked relieved and happy, Kero’s face was serious.

  Naif nodded. ‘She did. I just talked to a girl at Goa who told me that you were coming to find me?’

  Kero shrugged but Krista-belle hugged her. ‘Yeah. That Brand’s totally got it coming.’

  Naif returned the hug then gently pushed Kristabelle away. ‘Brand’s dangerous. Don’t go anywhere alone.’

  ‘You weren’t alone, and it didn’t help you,’ pointed out Suki.

  Kero came closer. ‘What happened? How did you get away?’

  ‘Lenoir helped me.’

  Everyone began to talk at once, asking questions about Lenoir and Brand.

  Kero cut across them with a low warning. ‘Scatter!’

  The group obeyed, spreading to different sides of the dance floor as Ripers entered the nave and headed towards them. Naif could see Test among them. She glanced to the balcony. Was Lenoir watching as well?

  Seeing the group dispersing, the Ripers altered their course and sauntered over to the food tables as though that was their original intention.

  Markes started another song and Suki grabbed Naif and leaned in close.

  ‘What happened to you? Rollo’s been fou, swallowing everything in sight since you were taken by Brand. He thought they’d killed you and he blamed himself. He got the Wings and the rest of them all worked up. They’re all ready to fight the Ripers. Been stealing torches from the churches so they can see better in the dark. I got a knife – just in case.’ She pulled a blade made from sharpened cutlery from the pocket of her waistcoat. ‘I told him I could look after myself, and so could you. He said you couldn’t – that you were a Seal.’ Suki rolled her heavily shadowed eyes. ‘I said you could be a stink-worm but you could still look after yourself. Guys! Just ’cos a girl’s a bit quiet they think she’s feeble.’

  Naif couldn’t help smiling. ‘There’s no need for knives.’

  ‘So where did the Ripers take you?’

  ‘I’m not sure, exactly. Somewhere inside the mountain. Brand tried to do something horrible to me, but Lenoir … stopped her. I lost blood and I …’ Naif clasped her hands together, not wanting to tell Suki the rest right then with Lenoir so close. ‘Lenoir healed me. After petite nuit, I was able to leave. I went to Goa and Vank looking for you
before Charlonge told me about the party.’

  Suki hugged her. ‘You don’t have to tell me. I know it’s hard for you to share things.’

  But Naif took Suki by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. ‘I do want to tell you. Something did happen. I’m not a Seal anymore, Suki. My new name is Naif.’

  It took a moment for the meaning of her words to sink in. Suki frowned at first then she grinned. ‘You’ve taken an Ixion name? Hooray!’ She did a little dance.

  ‘And I will tell you everything that happened, in time,’ said Naif, determinedly. ‘The important thing now is that I talk to Markes. Lenoir told me some things.’

  ‘Lenoir?’ Suki gave a near-hysterical laugh. ‘You’re as fou as Rollo! Nobody talks to Ripers.’ Her gaze flicked over Naif’s shoulder and her expression became sombre. ‘Speaking of … Modai’s watching us from behind that column. Let’s dance,’ she said.

  Modai. The sound of his name made every muscle in Naif’s body tense but she forced herself to entwine arms with Suki’s and they moved out onto the dance floor, closer to Rollo. She tried to loosen into the music like before, but Modai was there, at the edge of her vision, every time she moved and turned.

  Rollo sidled closer and his arms found her again. She didn’t try to shrug him off. Even his sweatiness seemed preferable to the Riper’s scrutiny.

  ‘I freaked out,’ he said in her ear. ‘Why did you do that? Why did you try to stop Markes from joining the Circle?’ He squeezed her tighter.

  ‘You heard them. They’re going to use him as bait for Ruzalia.’

  ‘But what you did … right there in the meeting … and you think I’m reckless. I got scared when Brand took you. I tried to stop them.’

  She shifted in his embrace so that her head rested against his shoulder. ‘I know, Rollo. Thanks.’

  ‘What happened when they took you, Retra?’

  ‘Naif.’ She looked at him the same way she’d looked at Suki. ‘Call me Naif. I don’t want to be a Seal anymore.’ Not after Lenoir. Not after Lottie.

  He nodded. ‘Okay. Naif. But what happened?’

  She lifted her head a little just so her mouth reached his ear, but not so she could see Modai. ‘Brand took me somewhere. She hurt me but Lenoir stopped her. Afterwards he talked to me. The Ripers are divided over more than Ruzalia, Rollo. If Lenoir loses his following among them, I think we’re all in danger.’