by S. C. Ransom
“Didn’t she tell you? No wonder you’ve been so enthusiastic about this whole circus.”
“Didn’t tell me what?”
“This is a one-way trip for her, sweetie.”
“No!” I cried. “That can’t be true.”
“Get real. You have to sacrifice yourself. It’s the only way to get the power that the amulet needs. It’s why I really wasn’t keen to volunteer. And that’s not all. It takes two, you know. She didn’t tell you that, did she?”
“What? I don’t understand. Do you mean…” But as I thought about the conversations I had had with Veronica, I knew with a chilling certainty that Catherine was right. It all suddenly made sense: Veronica had to die and so did I. The amulet was demanding its final sacrifice.
Veronica knew that and was prepared to give up everything, but was I? Just how much did I love Callum? Was it enough? Could I let him live and die myself? My blood ran cold and for a moment I hesitated. As I did so the light circling the gallery suddenly dimmed. I had to decide, and decide quickly.
My mind raced through the last few months, reliving the moment when I first saw Callum, falling in love with him and thinking he was lost to me forever when the amulet was smashed. And overlying all those memories was the one that Callum had given to me as a gift, of the moment when he realised that I loved him too, and my decision was made. I knew how much he loved me: he had sacrificed everything to keep me safe and now it was my turn to do the same for him. I could save Callum’s life at the price of my own, and it was right that I should. Everything else was irrelevant. As I had that thought the gallery suddenly brightened, and the wave continued its all-consuming path. But, I realised, there was no point in keeping it going unless Callum was actually saved, and right now he was nowhere to be seen. I looked around wildly but there was no sign.
“That doesn’t look too healthy either,” Catherine said, stepping forward and peering at the amulet. “‘I’m not sure it’s going to last the course. How far have you got?” She waved her arm around. I had momentarily forgotten that she couldn’t see the spectacle that was unfolding in front of me. The shining gold curtain was nearly three-quarters of the way around the gallery, the number of Dirges reducing every moment.
“There’s only about a quarter of them left to go,” I gasped. “Please, now you’re here, get in the line and let’s help the last of them. Some of them could still live!” I turned away quickly. “CALLUM!” I bellowed again into the empty space, the noise reverberating off the far wall.
“Is he still not back? Dear dear, that is going to make life difficult.”
“Catherine, please, if you’re going to get into the line, now would be a really good time to do it!”
She gave me one of her more enigmatic smiles. “Ah, I’m not disappointed. Optimistic to the last, eh, Alex?”
“What? What are you talking about?” The pain in my wrist was becoming harder to ignore, but I didn’t want her to know that.
“My reasons for being here are surprisingly similar to yours,” she said, stepping towards the railing on the other side of Veronica, out of my reach.
“What do you mean?” My voice rose in horror as she nimbly lifted herself up so that she was sitting on the railing, balanced precariously over the vast drop. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not living like this, and I can’t think of a more poetic place to die, can you? Especially when I could have done you such a lot of good. You lose, Alex. You lose!” She gave me one last smile and suddenly leaned back, falling into the void below.
Everything became a blur. I tried to move, to react, but Veronica’s grip was suddenly vice-like. Her other hand had shot out towards Catherine at the same time as Callum and Olivia had run back on to the balcony. I couldn’t be sure what was going on. Veronica had grabbed one of Catherine’s feet as she tumbled backwards over the balcony, and was holding her there, with her knee hooked over the railing. Catherine was hanging head down over the two-hundred-foot drop, cursing wildly. “Let me go, you stupid old woman; let me go!” She punctuated each word with a kick of her free leg, but she couldn’t get the angle right. Veronica showed no emotion, just gripped her tighter. But Catherine was working out what she needed to do. She grabbed hold of the metalwork of the railing and started to haul herself round. Any moment she was going to be able to kick Veronica in the face, and I didn’t think she’d be able to ignore that.
My wrist was now alive with pain. I could smell the singeing of my skin beneath the red-hot amulet, but I couldn’t let go. The wave was nearly round to me; the circle of sparks falling like a curtain was nearly complete.
I could see Callum grappling with Olivia behind Veronica. “Please!” I shouted as loudly as I could manage. “Get into the line. I’m not sure how much longer the amulet is going to last!”
Callum’s head snapped up and he looked at me in horror. But the second he was distracted Olivia made another break for it. This time she didn’t go for the door; she went for Catherine. As Catherine pulled her foot back to take the final kick at Veronica, Olivia fell upon her. Callum also leapt forward just as the wave of sparks started to consume Jessie, the Dirge on my right.
“Now!” I screamed. “Now, or it’ll be too late!”
Whatever Olivia was doing to Catherine was working: she suddenly went limp. But that made her heavy, and Veronica began to sway under the strain. She still hadn’t acknowledged what was going on, but she was definitely weakening. Catherine began to slip through her hand. The other was still pinning me in place. The Dirge next to me imploded under the net of sparks and joined the puddle on the floor. As she disappeared the sparks leapt up my hand, towards the amulet. Callum was still fighting Olivia, trying to get her back to the balcony. As the sparks began to consume me I slid my hand along the railing and touched Veronica’s rigid fingers. The sparks leapt to her too.
“Callum, I’m sorry, I tried. I love you.” I wanted to say it in a calm and collected way, but panic was overtaking me and it came out in a screech. He looked towards me again, his face a picture of dismay as he took in the rising tide of sparks that were racing up my arms. There was one last chance, one final opportunity to free Callum and Olivia. I pushed with my mind as hard as I could, directing the wave of energy from the amulet towards them. It leapt like an animal from me, but the amulet made a hideous groaning noise and the pain shot up my arm like a knife. The sparks no longer rolled as if they were a wave; they shot like lightning through me to Veronica and on to Olivia and Catherine, who were still locked together, and finally Callum. Almost in one movement the sparks consumed them all and I was left with an image of Callum’s face, the face I loved, writhing in agony as the sparks became an incandescent wall. The shape that had been Veronica fell backwards, and the sparkling figure of Catherine plummeted towards the floor far below, trailing Olivia in her wake. Callum seemed to stretch out towards me before he too was nothing but light. As he disappeared his cloak fell to the ground with a noisy whump in the suddenly silent church.
“Callum! No! Please don’t go!” I screamed into the soft light being cast by the endless sparks. My hands were still aflame, my wrist in agony. I tried to take a step towards where he had been, to find his sparks, but as I moved my legs collapsed beneath me. As I fell I reached forward as far as I could, catching some of his pool of light in my hand. For a second I held it as it rolled around in my palm as if it were mercury. All around me the glittering sparks fell silently into the empty cathedral, the circle finally complete. It was as if someone had hung thousands of strings of fairy lights, each twinkling and glittering as they twisted in slow motion to the floor below. It was shockingly silent, and the gentle falling of the lights was the only movement to be seen. Suddenly the brightness was overwhelming but I didn’t want to let go of the last trace of Callum; I wanted some small part of him to stay with me while I died but the light in my hand was trying to get me, to drag me down. However hard I tried I couldn’t contain it; it slipped through my fingers and joined th
e shimmering puddle on the floor. As the last drip fell everything suddenly pulsed and a wave of energy shot around the gallery. The amulet made a hideous noise, as if metal was being torn, and the beautiful stone was ripped in two. For the briefest second the glittering sparks turned blue and green before everything burned too brightly to watch. I didn’t see, only felt, the sudden explosion. Everything went from pure light to pitch-black in an instant and I realised I was howling with pain as a very different wave engulfed me.
I woke on the darkened, deserted balcony with no idea of how much time had passed. No evidence of the glittering tide of sparks remained, no Dirges, no cloaks. The pain in my arm was excruciating and I barely dared to look. I might have been alive but the amulet was gone, leaving a hideous burn around my wrist, and I knew that without it I wouldn’t be able to see any of the Dirges, even if there were some left behind.
I gingerly tested my legs and, apart from the pain in my wrist, I seemed unhurt. Taking a deep breath I hauled myself upright using my left arm and peered over the edge of the balcony. I distinctly remembered Catherine falling into the void but there was no sign of her: no broken body lying on the mosaic floor. I looked around quickly. There was no sign of Veronica either. Perhaps she had already recovered and gone downstairs? It didn’t seem likely though. There would be no point in moving the body; there were going to be questions and inquests and more questions, all of which would be far, far worse if we moved her.
Weak evening sunshine was still piercing the gloom, and the dust motes swam lazily in the air. It looked as if nothing at all had happened. I felt like falling back on the seat and weeping with the injustice of it all. I couldn’t believe that Catherine had chosen to die without helping the others to live. The ultimate act of selfishness. Tears pricked my eyes again as the picture of Callum’s final moments sprang into my mind. I knew it was a memory that was seared on to my brain and it would never, ever leave me.
I sat for a few moments before I realised that I had to go: I had to get down to the river to see how much of my plan had worked, although I knew in the deepest recesses of my heart that I was deluding myself, that he was gone. I had watched him die in agony. But there was nothing to wait for in the cathedral, and the least I could do was help to get them out of the water and send them on their way.
I worked my way down the long spiral staircase to the cathedral floor, where it was eerily quiet. I couldn’t see any sign of Catherine’s fall: no overturned chairs, no blood, nothing. Staying in the shadows I slipped across to the stairs to the crypt. Down there it was really dark, but I had a good idea of the layout and was soon able to make my way over to the far side and the entrance by the café where Veronica had let me in. It was shut but unlocked, and I guessed that was how Catherine had been able to make her unexpected appearance. I slid through it with a lump in my throat, knowing that I would never be coming back to visit the Dirges.
Outside, the early evening light reflected pinkly on the old stonework. The commuter crowds were thinning out and the bars were filling up. It was a lovely summer’s evening. I walked down towards Blackfriars Bridge without thinking, just putting one foot in front of the other. No one took the slightest bit of notice of me and I suddenly stopped dead as I had a hideous thought. What if I wasn’t alive but transported into some other amulet-induced nightmare existence? Was that my punishment for releasing them all – to be the only Dirge left? I could feel the panic rising and I started to run blindly, tears obscuring my view.
“Hey, look where you’re going, will you?” admonished a man in a grey suit as I ran straight into him.
“I’m sorry,” I said, holding on to his arm for a moment. He took one look at my tear-streaked face and backed away.
“Just be a bit more careful, yeah?”
I nodded as I turned away, relieved that, whatever else had happened, I was still in the real world. Catherine had lied about that too. I carried on towards the river, but as I got closer I was conscious of something going on, of an edge to the air. I rounded the last corner and finally got a view of the water: the Embankment was heaving with people. Traffic had stopped and blue lights were flashing everywhere. People were lining the bank, hanging on to the railings, shouting and pointing. I had to see, and found myself walking more and more quickly before breaking into a run.
I ran up on to Blackfriars Bridge, where I would have the best view. The lifeboats were scudding about, joined by a flotilla of other small boats. They were hauling bundles of rags up out of the water and racing to the shore before coming back for more. There were plenty of bodies to keep them busy. The police helicopter had been joined by a news helicopter, which was swooping as low as possible to get the best pictures of this inexplicable event. The lifeboats were taking the bodies to the nearest available landing place, the Millennium Pier riverboat landing stage. I could see them lining up on the deck and suddenly realised that I had to go and see. I had to say goodbye to the Dirges in person and I wasn’t going to get a better chance.
Pushing people aside as I ran down the steps I ran along the Embankment until I got to the walkway down to the pier. There was only one small entrance, which was nominally being guarded by a woman in uniform, and in the disorder and panic it wasn’t difficult to slip past her. Heart pounding, I quickly made my way down to the pontoon. It was complete chaos and no one tried to stop me as I made my way to where they were laying out the dead. There were far more bodies than blankets and as I started to walk up the line I could see their faces, at peace at last.
I walked blankly from one to the next, wincing as I looked at each face in case it was someone I knew, and it was only a matter of time before the familiar features stopped me in my tracks. Matthew was finally serene, his tired face uncreased and uncaring, his responsibilities over. I quickly looked around but no one was paying any attention to me at all. Kneeling down beside him I found his hand: where his amulet had been there was a charred ring of skin with strange black lines that disappeared up his arm under his shirtsleeve. “It’s good to finally see you, Matthew,” I whispered, lifting his hand. “Thank you for all your help. I know Callum appreciated it.” I realised as I said it that I was already thinking of Callum as dead, and a knife speared my heart. “I hope that you are at rest now, wherever you are. Look after Callum and Olivia for me, won’t you?” The last words became an indistinct sob and the tears in my eyes made it impossible to focus. I lay his hand gently across his chest and stood up. It didn’t seem right to leave without standing for a moment, but then I had to move on, I had to keep searching until I was thrown out.
The long line of bodies continued, with more being added all the time. Not one of them had made it over alive, it seemed, and a new, pure hatred for Catherine started building in me. Every one of these Dirges could have had another life, some payback for all the decades of pain and misery they had endured. But thanks to her they were all lying motionless, body after body.
I continued picking my way down the landing stage, the fury taking over from the sorrow when I saw another familiar shape. “Olivia!” I wailed, dropping to my knees by her head. “Olivia, I’m so, so sorry. I know that you didn’t want this. It’s so unfair, so mean…” This time it was harder to restrain myself and the tears flowed thickly as I finally held her delicate hand in mine. The burn looked particularly vicious on her pale wrist, and the same strange black lines laced up her arm. Although still wet, her chestnut hair framed her face in perfect waves, and she looked for all the world as if she were asleep, as if she might suddenly open those pretty eyes and laugh at something Beesley was doing. I reached up to stroke a stray strand away from her forehead and realised that she was unexpectedly warm. Puzzled, I cupped her cheek with my hand; that too was warm, not the cold, clammy skin I was expecting.
“Olivia!” I called excitedly. “Are you OK? Please talk to me!” I gently stroked her face, hoping that there would be some movement. She couldn’t be dead, not at that temperature. My mind raced: maybe something I had done at the en
d gave her and Callum a different outcome? Maybe that final push had saved, not killed them. I tried to remember how to do CPR but I couldn’t figure out how to start. Instead I shook her gently, calling her name. But there was no response, no other sign of life.
I looked around wildly. I wanted to carry on searching for Callum but I couldn’t leave her, not when she clearly needed medical attention. I had to find someone who could help. I leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. “I’ll be back in a second, Olivia. I’m just going to get some help. Hang in there.” Her skin was so hot as to be feverish. I glimpsed a woman with a stethoscope further down the pier and, folding Olivia’s arm carefully over her chest so I could find her quickly in the long line of bodies, leapt to my feet.
The medic was young and teetering on the brink of being overwhelmed. Her fear made her officious. “What do you want? Are you a doctor? If not, you have to leave.” She brushed her lank hair away from her face as her eyes skittered from body to body.
“Please, I need your help. I think a girl down here might still be alive.”
“Alive! Show me now!”
I ran back down the row towards Olivia, trying to glance at as many of the others to see if I could spot Callum. There was no sign of him. Olivia was exactly as I had left her and I quickly pointed her out to the doctor. “It’s her. She feels really warm, as if she has a fever or something.”
The doctor shot me a look of fear, which I didn’t understand, at the same time quickly touching Olivia’s face. She then turned to the next Dirge and felt her face too, and the one on the other side. She jumped to her feet and grabbed me by the arm. “You have to leave. Go now, immediately.” She pushed me away.
“But what about the girl? She’s not dead! Please, I want to help her!” But I was talking to her back. She was running down the platform, slowing every couple of metres to touch another of the Dirges. I quickly felt the foreheads of the Dirges next to Olivia: they were equally warm. In fact, they were almost burning to my touch. Suddenly there was a shout. Further down the line there was a flurry of activity, people jumping backwards and pointing. It was hard to see in the gloom of the dusk, but it looked as if a curl of smoke was rising from one of the bodies.