Wintercraft: Blackwatch

by Jenna Burtenshaw

  ‘There they are,’ she said quietly. ‘Those boxes are going to decide everything.’

  Edgar sat down, passed Kate half a sandwich and propped his feet on the arm of the chair beside her.

  ‘They’re just boxes,’ he said. ‘It’s the people who use them you’ve got to watch out for.’

  Kate looked back at the main door. The meeting hall was the largest chamber in the sanctuary of the Skilled’s underground cavern, and one of the oldest. Like most of the structures there most of it was built into the cavern wall, but the stone outer walls were curved slightly, making it look different from the rest. It was a communal space set aside for important meetings and events, and was left standing empty most of the time.

  Edgar leaned back and stared up at the vaulted ceiling, where paintings of all the Skilled who had lived and died there in the last twenty years were pinned into place. ‘I don’t know who thought that was a good idea,’ he said between bites. ‘This place gives me the creeps.’

  Kate did not look up. She could sense the pale ghosts of the people those faces had belonged to, caught within the veil between life and death, unable or unwilling to leave the living world behind. She tried to ignore them, but since the Night of Souls it had become difficult to block them out.

  ‘When do you think they’ll start to arrive?’ she asked.

  ‘We’ve got plenty of time,’ said Edgar. ‘You’d think they’d at least let you sit in on the decision. It’s your life. If anyone deserves to hear the verdict, it’s you.’

  ‘I don’t think we should have come here.’

  ‘Why? No one’s going to see us.’

  ‘No, I mean here. To this cavern. The Skilled don’t want me here. None of them do.’

  ‘They’re just nervous,’ said Edgar. ‘They’ll do what’s right in the end.’

  ‘I hope so,’ said Kate.

  Asking the Skilled for help had been more difficult than Kate had expected. From the moment she entered their cavern on the Night of Souls she had feared she was making a big mistake. Silas was right. The Skilled did not understand her, and they definitely did not want her among them.

  Kate had spent her first day in the cavern being questioned about the murder of Mina, the Skilled’s leader, who had died while Kate was in her care. They took her uncle Artemis away and would not let her speak to Edgar or his brother Tom for three days. No one believed that Silas Dane was the one who had killed Mina. They thought that Kate was behind it and it had taken a long time for Edgar and Artemis to convince them not to keep her locked away.

  During the past few weeks they had agreed to hold an informal trial, which seemed to consist of everyone except Kate giving their opinions of what had happened. They consulted the veil and argued with each other over the best course of action to take against her, but no one was interested in what she had to say. For the last few weeks Kate had been free to move about the Skilled’s underground street, but she was not allowed to leave. The vast tunnels of the City Below were off limits to her, it had been a whole month since she had seen the sun, and she was forbidden from using her abilities to enter the veil at any time.

  What the Skilled did not know was that she was a Walker, and the world between life and death was open to her all the time. Walkers did not simply look into the veil as the Skilled could, they entered it, sending their spirits deep into the half-life – the realm between life and death. For the Skilled, dealing with the veil was like looking through a window that kept them safe and separate from what was going on around them. Walkers were different. When they connected with the half-life, frost spread across their skin and their consciousness separated from the living world, throwing their spirits completely into the unknown.

  None of the Skilled was willing to teach Kate more about her connection with the veil. They had not even questioned why her silver-sheened eyes looked different from theirs. They had simply cut her off, refusing to do anything except ignore her. Edgar and Tom were the only people who really spoke to her. Even Artemis – who rarely bothered to hide his dislike of the Skilled – was strangely distant, and seemed to spend more time with them than with her.

  ‘What do you think the verdict will be?’ she asked.

  ‘They’ll have to admit you didn’t do it,’ said Edgar. ‘This is all just for show. You’ve lived with them for a whole month now and you haven’t had the urge to go around stabbing anyone, have you?’ He lowered his voice and raised his eyebrows deviously. ‘There are a few of them I wouldn’t mind seeing off if the opportunity presented itself. I think spending all that time with Silas has rubbed off on me.’

  ‘I’m serious,’ said Kate. ‘This isn’t a joke.’

  Edgar shrugged. ‘Don’t let them get to you,’ he said. ‘It has to go your way. You’ll see. Where are you supposed to be while the meeting’s on?’

  ‘Someone’s meant to be watching me. I heard a couple of women arguing over whose turn it is tonight. I don’t think either of them wanted to be left alone with me.’

  Kate’s eyes flashed with silver as she looked down and Edgar stared at her secretly. He still wasn’t used to seeing her eyes do that, and it usually meant trouble.

  ‘It’s happening again, isn’t it?’ he said.

  ‘It’s not too bad.’ Kate glanced at the ceiling. ‘It’s those pictures. They attract the shades sometimes. It makes it harder to shut everything out, but it’s OK.’

  ‘The Skilled should be helping you with this stuff,’ said Edgar. ‘Not treating you like a criminal.’

  ‘They think I was working for Silas,’ said Kate. ‘I don’t think anything’s going to make them change their minds now.’

  A door creaked open at the side of the stage, on which three chairs had been set facing out towards the rest.

  ‘Watch out!’ whispered Edgar.

  The two of them slid off their chairs and on to their knees as a man’s voice carried across the hall.

  ‘. . . it is not only a matter of our laws, of course. It is the message it would be sending. On that we must be perfectly clear . . .’

  ‘Quick!’ said Edgar. ‘Head left!’

  Kate crawled between the chair legs as quietly as she could and Edgar scrambled after her, heading towards an antechamber with an old stone tomb sitting in the centre of it, separated from the main hall by an open door.

  ‘I do not have to tell you how dangerous this situation is,’ continued the man, as Kate ducked round the door and Edgar pressed in against the other wall, crouching out of sight. ‘From what I have heard, the great majority of votes are going to lean the same way. If today goes the way I expect, you may find that it is time for you to make a hard decision.’

  Kate looked out through the gap between the door’s hinges. The speaker was Baltin, one of the most respected members of the Skilled. The man standing next to him had his back to Kate, but she recognised him at once.

  ‘Is that Artemis?’ whispered Edgar, looking round the door frame. ‘What’s he doing here?’

  ‘Are you ready?’ Baltin placed a hand on Artemis’s shoulder.

  Artemis looked out across the hall. ‘Yes,’ he said quietly. ‘Bring them in.’

  Baltin nodded to the open stage door, and someone behind it began ringing the low bell, announcing that a meeting was about to begin.

  ‘What now?’ said Edgar. ‘We can’t stay here. Someone will see us.’

  ‘Shh.’

  Two minutes passed before the hall’s main doors swung open and people began filing in one by one. Kate recognised each of them from her time in the cavern. She knew every face, where they lived and exactly what they all thought about her. A few of them were polite enough whenever she was nearby, but not one of them had ever taken the time to speak to her. She was an enemy living within their walls. Edgar might be confident that they would find her innocent, but Kate was not so sure.

  Of the eighty-eight people who lived in that cavern, just over half regularly chose to attend meetings in the hall, but this time it l
ooked as if every one of them had shown up. Not all the Skilled wanted take an active role in Skilled business. Many just wanted a safe place to live away from the wardens. As those who were interested in Kate’s trial took their seats, quiet chatter filled the room. Kate waited for Artemis to step down from the stage, but Baltin gestured for him to sit in one of the seats upon it instead.

  ‘They’re letting him stay,’ whispered Edgar. ‘That might be a good thing.’

  Kate wasn’t listening. The Skilled hardly ever let ordinary people sit in on their meetings, and to let one take pride of place on the stage was unheard of. A shocked whisper spread through the gathering as Artemis sat down and a small woman claimed the other chair, leaving the central one free for Baltin.

  To Kate, that woman was the most dangerous person present. She was the magistrate, there to record everything that was said in that room and make sure that whatever was decided was carried out quickly and completely. Kate had long given up hoping that things were going to go her way. Whatever punishment she was going to face, the magistrate would be the one to see it through.

  The woman eyed the crowd carefully and Kate stepped back. She had questioned Kate many times, but it did not seem to matter how honest Kate was or how often she protested her innocence; she would not listen.

  Baltin raised his hands for silence, and as the crowd quietened down a sense of anticipation settled over the hall. ‘I am sure we all know why we are here,’ he said. ‘Just over four weeks ago, three of our old friends came to us for protection: Edgar Rill, whom many of us know and trust like a son; Tom Rill, whom we have known and trusted equally long; and Artemis Winters, our reluctant friend from the north, who has done us great service in the past despite his long-held suspicions of our people. For that, we welcome him here among us today and honour him as we would a brother.’

  Gentle applause rippled across the hall. Artemis looked down at his feet and did not even raise his head to acknowledge their respect.

  ‘Now,’ continued Baltin. ‘To business.’

  The magistrate attracted his attention with a rap of her ink pen on the arm of her chair.

  ‘Yes, Greta?’

  ‘Where,’ she asked slowly, ‘is the girl?’

  Baltin smiled at the crowd before turning to her. ‘She is safe in a guardian’s care,’ he said. ‘Once she is . . .’ He stopped and corrected himself. ‘If she is charged, she will be taken swiftly to the lockhouse where she will be passed over to you. Until then she remains under careful watch. You have my word on that.’

  Kate and Edgar looked at each other. The magistrate recorded Baltin’s answer on her page and then gazed round the room.

  ‘I never liked her,’ whispered Edgar.

  Kate did not say anything, but the magistrate definitely made her feel uneasy.

  Baltin turned back to his audience. ‘To resume,’ he said, ‘there was indeed a fourth visitor to our home. One who is, perhaps, a little less welcome than our three friends.’

  ‘She is a murderer.’

  Baltin squinted down at a man in the first row. ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘We all know what she did. There’s no point in dressing it up. She killed Mina, and Seth too! Or have we all forgotten what happened to him for trying to bring her to justice?’

  Kate’s heart sank. Silas had claimed a second victim in that cavern on the day he had taken Mina’s life. Kate had not known his name.

  ‘I don’t like where this is going,’ muttered Edgar.

  Baltin raised his hand for quiet.

  ‘That is a separate matter altogether,’ he said. ‘It is not why we are here today.’

  ‘We all know she did it,’ said the man at the front.

  ‘Perhaps,’ said Baltin. ‘But, for now, we are here to vote upon her guilt or innocence of the crime against Mina Green. Nothing more or less. Those of you whose votes may be tainted by any other concerns should leave this hall now. No one here shall think the less of you. Indeed, you shall be respected for your honesty.’

  No one moved.

  ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘As a people, we have always striven to act fairly towards our own. Today, I trust, will be no different. We have all had time to reach our decision over recent weeks. Now we shall pass judgement on what we have heard during that time. Do you all have your stones?’

  A murmur of agreement went up around him.

  ‘Then let the votes be cast. Innocence.’ He placed his hand upon the white box. ‘Or guilt.’ He placed his hand upon the black. ‘With order, please. Begin.’

  Everyone in the hall stood up as one, except for the oldest invitees who stood up more slowly and shuffled up the stage steps to cast the first votes, forcing everyone else to snake back in a respectful line behind them. One by one they approached the two boxes, each of them carrying a small cloth pouch in their hands. Inside the pouches were two ordinary grey stones, one of which had been left plain, the other carved and burned with a thick black line. Each person had to approach the boxes with a stone in each hand and drop them, palms down, one into each box, so no one knew which choice they had made. The number of marked stones in each box would be counted separately, and if the total matched the number of voters the count would be deemed fair and the verdict given.

  Kate heard the dull clunk of stones being dropped two by two, and forced herself to watch. The man who had spoken up made no secret about which box he was dropping his marked stone into, and strode proudly off the stage as soon as his vote was cast.

  ‘What do I do if the verdict is against me?’ Kate whispered when half the people had returned to their seats. She had never dared to think about what might happen next. How did the Skilled treat people who were found guilty of murder?

  ‘Let’s see what happens,’ said Edgar, squeezing her hand gently. ‘Not everyone’s an idiot like him. The Skilled are good people. I still think they’ll cast their stones the right way.’

  Artemis, Baltin and Greta the magistrate were not allowed to participate in the vote, but once the final two stones had been cast Baltin was responsible for conducting the count. Kate heard a rattling surge of stones as he opened the boxes’ side hatches and the baskets filled one by one. The people waited in silence. All anyone heard was the dull tap and scrape of the stones scratching against each other as Baltin took the count from the white box.

  Kate found herself squeezing Edgar’s hand even tighter. She held her breath. Maybe this was why people weren’t invited to their own judgements. The waiting. . . not knowing . . . it seemed endless. She wanted to shout at Baltin to hurry up, just to get it over with, but Baltin was a careful man. He had a job to do, and he would do it right. An eternity later, he moved on to the black box. Kate tried to read his expression, but all she saw was calm determination.

  ‘Not long now,’ said Edgar.

  At last Baltin straightened and slowly went to stand behind the box. He paused for two breaths until, finally, he opened his mouth to speak.

  ‘The count is fair,’ he said. ‘You have all honoured yourselves with your honesty. For that, you have my thanks.’ He turned to Artemis, who was staring at him, his eyes filled with silent desperation, but could not meet his gaze. ‘The verdict is given,’ he said. ‘With a count of sixty-eight stones to twenty, Kate Winters, by order of this gathering, has been marked guilty of murder.’

  ‘What?’ Edgar shouted out, forgetting that he was meant to be hiding, but his yell was drowned out by the cheers that filled the hall. He tried to stand up, but Kate held him back. ‘They can’t do that!’ he said. ‘This isn’t right!’

  ‘It doesn’t matter now.’ Kate tried to calm him down. ‘Leave it. I don’t want you getting into more trouble because of me.’

  ‘You can forget that.’ Edgar tried to squirm out of her hands, but she held on tight.

  ‘You’re not going to change their minds.’

  ‘No! I brought you here. I told you we would be safe. This wasn’t supposed to happen!’

  Baltin’s voice cut th
rough the noise of the gathered crowd. ‘The magistrate will now verify the count, and I would like to thank you all for your judgement on this day. Be assured, the prisoner shall be brought to justice swiftly, and in a manner befitting the nature of her terrible crime.’

  ‘What does that mean?’ asked Kate.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Edgar, but Kate knew he was lying.

  ‘Edgar, what does it mean?’

  Kate forced him to look at her, and she saw terror in his eyes.

  3

  Enemies

  Silas heaved himself out of the ocean and limped on to the coastal path. Two small firelights illuminated the cliff face as the Blackwatch lit torches and headed down to continue their search, but Silas did not look back. The path led him straight into the heart of Grale and a soaking wet stranger on the streets at night was not going to go unnoticed for long. He moved through the dark, leaving a trail of seawater squelching behind him, and passed underneath a series of narrow arches cut into the long terraced buildings whose dirty walls swallowed the moonlight.