by Jeff Wheeler
When they reached the bottom doorway, it opened into a larger room full of heavy wooden benches. There were two sections, slit in the middle by an aisle, and Cettie watched as the young men in their robes filed in to the opposite side. They had entered the abbey from another door, but the destination was still the same. She tried to spot Adam, but instead caught Mr. Skrelling’s eye. He quirked a smile at her and nodded. Cettie nodded back before taking her seat on the bench.
When all the students had entered, save those who hadn’t made it past the first test, the teachers closed the doors and then stood in front of them as if guarding the gathering from intruders. Cettie waited in anticipation, feeling at once eager and nervous. She was sitting on the end of one of the benches, so she risked another glance across the aisle. Adam was sitting just across from her, head bowed in concentration. Seeing him so close made her wonder if fate had arranged it.
The Aldermaston of Muirwood entered from an alcove at the head of the room. His gray cassock matched theirs. He supported himself on a cane and winced as he ambled forward. One of the teachers came to help him, but he waved the man back. The sound of his shuffling steps and the thump of the cane on the tiles mixed with his labored breathing. The Aldermaston’s face was strained, but he was clearly determined to perform his duty.
When he reached the front, he paused to catch his breath and supported his weight on the cane. His forearms trembled with the effort.
“My young friends,” he said at last. “For many years I have officiated in this ceremony. I worried that I would lack the strength to do so this time. But I am supported by your kind thoughts and by the excellent teachers at this school. Forgive me—” He paused, wincing again, and waited a moment for the pain to subside.
“At this abbey you have been tutored in the Mysteries. We do not know them all, nor can we because of our finite human minds. You have learned how to listen for the whispers that connect us to the power and wisdom of the Knowing. Some of you have practiced this and gained wisdom. Some of you think it is a farce and have progressed very little. Some of you have used this power to persecute one another. You each have your choice. And you will reap the fruits you have planted by your industry . . . or your neglect.”
He coughed, and then his voice became stronger. “When each generation builds on the knowledge of its forebears, the whole of civilization progresses. This ritual differs from bygone days because our knowledge of truth has so expanded. But there is something they knew that you do not. It is the Mystery I will explain to you now before you take the Test.”
Cettie leaned slightly forward, attentive to his every word. She quieted her mind, trying to muster her courage and her belief.
“What I speak now is the truth insofar as we comprehend it. When our world was created and organized by the power of the Mysteries, it was not uninhabited. Before the First Parents were stationed in a garden of Leerings meant to protect and shield them, there were other beings who walked the craters and hissing storms of this planet. They were called the Myriad Ones, the Unborn. They had a queen, Ereshkigal, who persuaded the First Parents to partake of the fruit that made them mortal. It was her intent to forestall their progress, to prevent them from building cities of stone that would sail the skies and visit other worlds. For many thousands of years, Ereshkigal was successful in her quest to stamp out light and twist truth. Her goal is to turn this world back into ashes.”
Cettie felt a shiver go down her back.
“But in the days of the first empress, Maia Soliven, Ereshkigal was trapped in a Leering, confined in a prison of stone. Her followers, those with mortal blood, were all hunted down and destroyed. The first empire grew, and with it came a season of peace and prosperity unlike anything our people had yet experienced. The Mysteries began to be revealed in numerous and advantageous ways. All because the people honored the truths that they had learned.”
His brow furrowed, and he frowned. “But those are no longer our days. Prosperity and wealth have brought pride and cunning. In the past, the Myriad Ones feasted on the baser emotions of mankind. They marauded the world in the guise of animals and serpents. Now they walk among us. The people call them ghosts and believe them to be the spirits of the dead. But that is not the truth. They are still the servants of their dark queen, and they seek a way to free her. No one knows where the Leering confining her is located. For if it were known, there are those among us just cruel and selfish enough to seek to free her and unleash her terror once again on the world. These ghosts, these ancient demons, seek to possess our corporeal bodies. They do this through our hearts, our emotions, which they touch with their thoughts and even with their fingers.”
His voice became grimmer, more solemn. “You may think I am jesting with you. I assure you, I am not. Since you came to the age of understanding, the age in which your minds begin to quicken, a wrestle started over control for your thoughts. You have been sought after by the Knowing, which has encouraged and whispered to you to seek out truth. And you have been seduced by the Myriad Ones, who wish to take possession of your thoughts, your very bodies, to do unspeakable evil. Some, a very rare few, are so sensitive to these creatures that they can actually see them with their natural eyes.” He paused, and Cettie swallowed. “Most of us cannot, which makes it difficult to discern which dark thoughts come from them. You may believe you yourself are the source of all of your negative thoughts. This is not true. But we are, each of us, culpable for our actions. Our choices. To guard yourself from these beings and to remind yourself of what you have learned here, you will each be given a chain and a pendant, which you will wear close to your heart. This pendant will repel the Myriad Ones and prevent them from entering your body through your heart. If you ever take it off, you will be at risk to them.”
Cettie blinked quickly, feeling tears prick her eyes. Could she be safe from her ghosts at last? A spark of hope brightened inside her.
“You may wonder why this knowledge has been kept as the final Mystery, why we allow others to suffer from these demons, these evils spirits. In the past, this knowledge was shared with all. Indeed, Empress Maia made provisions for everyone to learn. But some began to mock what they were taught. To doubt it and scoff at it. Visitors from other worlds called us heretics and built towers in an attempt to reach our floating cities.
“Remember, those who want to free Ereshkigal desire the world to burn, to revert back to its primeval chaos. The truth will always make the ignorant angry, whether they be ignorant out of choice or lack of opportunity, for the Myriad Ones despise truth and light above all. Your test, my young friends, is to face your fear and release a demon trapped in a Leering here inside the abbey. You will command it to learn its true name and then confine it again. It will try to possess you. Guard your thoughts. This is your test. Stand when you are called.”
CHAPTER TWENTY−NINE
BANIREXPIARE
One by one the students were called forward and taken by a teacher into the alcove. Since none of them returned, Cettie assumed that they were permitted to leave when the Test was over. She was nervous. No, that wasn’t even the right word to describe her feelings. Her insides were twisting into knots. All her life, these Myriad Ones, these ethereal beings, had tormented her. She was more than a little afraid to face them.
She glanced over to Adam and found his head bowed in deep concentration. Despite the news from earlier that he would likely be summoned to use his skills to aid the Ministry of War, he looked calm. His calm infiltrated her, giving her the peace she needed to face the test ahead.
Adam turned his head then, and their eyes met. He offered her a reassuring smile.
You can do this, Cettie.
She felt his thought brush against her mind. Smiling back at him, she gave him a small nod.
You will do well, Adam. I know you will.
She wasn’t sure if he could hear her. He didn’t react to the little thought push she sent him. But his little nudge of encouragement helped enormously. She waite
d, hands folded in her lap, and began to slow her breathing and calm her fears. In the abbey, she was safe. They would not give her an experience she could not handle. They wished for her and all of them to succeed.
Soon she was wrapped in a cocoon of magic. Her thoughts and fears had calmed. When they called her name, she rose steadily from the bench and passed the empty rows in front of her. To her surprise, it wasn’t a teacher waiting for her at the alcove, or at least not one of her teachers. It was Caulton Forshee. He gave her a slight nod, and she fell in next to him as he escorted her through a gray-painted door. The corridor beyond was lit with Leerings.
“I begged permission from the Aldermaston,” he said softly as they walked. “I wanted to be the one to introduce you to this Mystery. At Billerbeck, this is my favorite part of being a teacher. The most rewarding.”
She gave him an inquisitive look. “Why is that?”
“All of your years of preparation and schooling will finally come to fruition. People have different experiences taking the Test. Some are terrified by it and never want to return to an abbey again. Others require years of reflection to understand the ritual. But still others, and I believe you might be one of them, are transformed by the experience. It starts them on a path to fulfill their destiny. I cannot take the Test for you, Cettie. But I will be close. You can do this.”
She’d heard the same sentiment from Adam, and their faith in her comforted her all the more. At the end of the corridor, her way was blocked by a door made of stone with a Leering carved into it.
Caulton paused in front of the door and then turned to face her. “The first empress was powerful with Leerings. Her meekness was such that all Leerings desired to obey her. She had a Gift called Invocation, which enabled her to create them. She created the first Leerings that could bind the Myriad Ones, trap them into stone. When she began to do this, they fled from her and from her cities. Above all, they desire freedom of action, freedom of movement. They covet what we have and seek to force us to surrender our freedom of will to them. As you pass this Leering, you will walk down a corridor made of pillars, each with a Leering. Certain Gifts require covenants. You must agree to the terms to receive the knowledge of how to bind the Myriad Ones. From here, you are on your own, but I will be watching you. You are never truly alone, Cettie.”
She gave him a nod of respect and appreciation, steeling herself to face the Leerings ahead. Otherworldly music spouted from beyond the stone door. Already she could sense it, feel it tingling against her skin. Powerful emotions surged inside of her. Not fear, however, but a feeling of certainty. Of welcome even.
“Go,” Caulton said with a smile.
As Cettie approached the stone door, it opened at the slightest push of her thoughts. The stone door closed behind her. She felt and heard the Leerings before she saw them. It was a symphony of sound, but she could pick apart the various instruments easily. Each Leering represented an oath she must take, but these weren’t requirements or restrictions. They were empowering. To revere and not profane the Knowing. To keep her body and mind chaste. To never pollute herself with any substance that would lessen her willpower. To speak the truth. To protect the innocent if within her power. To contribute to the feeding of the poor. To tame anger and malice. To willingly give of her means to allow others to be taught the way of the Mysteries. To never reveal the covenants she made to outsiders. There were nine in all, and she made them willingly, wholeheartedly, eagerly.
A thrum of approval came from the pillars as they fell silent. Two Leerings began to exude mist at the far side of the room. She felt she should walk into it, and so she strode down the corridor purposefully. The mist bathed her face, so thick that she could not see far ahead . . . and then she could see nothing at all. She put her hands forward to avoid bumping into something, but light appeared from another Leering just ahead of her. As she approached, she realized it was a pair of glowing eyes. This Leering was carved into a plinth, a polished sheath of stone that was sculpted into an obelisk, as high as her chest. The top formed a pyramid. The burning eyes of the Leering revealed a gold chain slung across the pyramid. The medallion threaded onto it was the eight-pointed star, the symbol of the mastons. She felt instinctively that she should put it on.
Cettie reached out and touched the necklace. It was warm to the touch. She slipped it over her hair and let the medallion dangle in front of her bodice. But that felt wrong. The Aldermaston had said it must be worn beneath her clothes. So she tugged at her collar and slipped it beneath her dress so that the medallion nestled on her chest. A surge of strength flooded her, making her fingers tingle. She wondered what to do next—should she leave the corridor?—but she felt a whispered command to put her hand atop the obelisk.
Gently, she set her palm down on the pointed tip of the obelisk. The chorus of magic grew louder, stronger, and suddenly the eyes of the Leering burned impossibly bright. She winced and closed her eyes, but even through her darkened lids, she could still see light from the Leering shooting through her hand.
In her mind she heard the words.
Your name is Celestine. Guard this name. Never speak it.
Another Leering beckoned to her from up ahead. Cettie ventured deeper into the mist as she approached it. The mist parted to reveal it to her. It was a kind she had never seen before. There were two face profiles, pointed in opposite directions, joined by a single head. Both faces looked sneering, angry, menacing. As she approached, she felt she should touch the stone, and as she did, she heard both of the faces mutter a different word.
Apokaluptis.
Banirexpiare.
The thoughts were spoken resentfully, almost angrily. She invoked the Leering again, and the faces repeated the words. She did not understand, so she kept her hand on the Leering and invoked it a third time. Again the words were spoken, but this time she understood the meaning. They were both words of power from an ancient language. Apokaluptis meant “to reveal that which is hidden or secret.” To break past an illusion. The other word, banirexpiare, meant “to banish by royal decree.” To speak it would be to leverage the authority of someone greater, like speaking in the name of the emperor.
Now she understood. One would reveal the true name of the Myriad One. The other would banish it. Both words could be spoken by the mind or whispered aloud. Because the beings could hear thoughts, they were affected by the words of power. She remembered when she had first met Fitzroy at the tenement in the Fells. He had driven away the tall ghost, the one without eyes, without saying a word, and only now did she understand how he’d managed it. It was because he had learned the ancient secret for banishing the Myriad Ones.
Suddenly the room went black as night. She couldn’t see the Leering or even her own hands. The darkness was instant, impenetrable. It had happened so quickly that her first instinct was fear. But it made sense. She’d been told she would need to face and banish one of the Myriad Ones, and she knew from experience they could not abide light.
A buzzing sound came to her ears. The hair on her arms and neck stood on end. Images from her childhood began to flash vividly through her mind. Her heart raced, and she found herself breathing quickly, fearing the moment the being would enter the confines of the room. In her mind, she saw Mrs. Pullman’s evil smile, saw her disdain and loathing. Cettie shuddered at the feelings coursing through her body. It was dark; she was alone and helpless.
Hello, child. Have you missed me?
Cettie’s voice felt choked. She couldn’t have spoken if she’d wished to, and her limbs seemed frozen in place. Panic welled up inside her.
Did you think that a few years would make you more powerful than me? Mrs. Pullman’s voice sneered at her. Only hate grows more powerful with time. Oh, how I hate you, child. What you did to me. It was your fault. You stole everything from me.
Cettie didn’t understand how Mrs. Pullman was there with her. But her voice was unmistakable, and it brought back all the emotions of helplessness and fear from her childhood. She w
as a little girl again, trapped in the garret.
I thought you were in prison, Cettie pushed out.
Prison? Is not this a prison, child? The mastons show no mercy, despite their boasts and claims of it. If you cross them, you are doomed forever.
Cettie felt the presence in the room begin to circle her. She could not see Mrs. Pullman, but she could smell her in the air. Was it a lotion she had used? Cettie didn’t know, but the horrible familiarity of it terrified her even more.
Oh, and they tricked you, child. Just as I tricked you. It’s all a web of deceit. They are corrupt. You know they are. They teach humility, but they do not practice it. The proudest of them rule. And you want to be one of them? You want to wear their yoke around your neck?
Cettie felt a wraithlike hand reaching for her heart. If she could have screamed, she would have. Once those ghost fingers touched her chest, they would sink into her skin. They would take something from her.
The fingers touched her chest, but a spark of magic sent them jolting away. The pendant.
I wore one of those too. When it was yanked away from me, I finally understood what it all meant. How I had been their slave all my life. It was too late for me, child. I had sold my soul and now am forced to live in a body of stone. That will happen to you, too, unless you let me free you. Tell me your true name, and I will unlock your trap. Just think the name and I will hear it.
Cettie’s mind was whirling with doubts and concerns. How was Mrs. Pullman here? It sounded like her, smelled like her. But could those senses be false? Was this not the very trickery the Aldermaston had warned her about?
You aren’t Mrs. Pullman, Cettie thought angrily.
How can you doubt me? You know me. You remember me. Of course I am, child.