Coldmaker(33)

Yet he didn’t cry out.

‘Women only,’ the Vicaress said, stepping over Gum. She readied the knife to thrust into the old man’s heart, but her expression grew calculated and she refrained, standing up straight instead. ‘The Crier has judged.’

Moussa was breathing so hard I thought he might faint.

The Vicaress moved on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, stopping beside the first girl in the line of Domestics. Dani’s face managed to stay strong against the heat of the blade.

‘Worthy,’ Dani said, her voice overly firm, almost to the point of insolence.

Deciding the tone was fair, the Vicaress lowered the blade, taking a single step to the right and aiming the point instead at Jardin’s heart.

‘Worthy!’ Jardin shouted, her hands shaking.

The Vicaress closed her eyes, picking the sound apart for clues. She continued down the line, coaxing out the shouts from each Domestic. The blade remained in the air, each body it left unharmed brought me the smallest relief.

The Vicaress would finish her hunt and leave. Everything would be okay. I’d give Zip the rest of my salve, and by tomorrow, she’d barely even feel the sting. And I’d take some metal rods and bearings and I would build a support that Gum could wear around his knee.

Everything would be okay.

Slowly, as the Vicaress made her way through the lines of women, my pulse began to relax. ‘Worthy’ had been shouted dozens of times now.

I wiped my sleeve quickly across my forehead while she wasn’t looking, removing any sweat.

At last the Vicaress had heard every Domestic voice in the barracks and she slowly sauntered back to the front of the Street line. When she turned to look over our line, the blue in her eyes glittered like gemstones in the light of her dagger. I hated myself for finding her beautiful.

Our line, the Street Jadans, had most of the youngest girls, and I prayed that this would all be over quickly. The Vicaress pointed her blade at the girls’ hearts one by one, skipping over the boys.

‘Worthy,’ Rachiel called.

‘Worthy,’ Jakie shouted.

‘Worthy,’ Hanna managed to get out.

As the Vicaress passed Moussa, I held my breath, and tipped my eyes down. Matty’s fingers wiggled out of my grip, and I could tell he was doing the same.

An old tale said that the Vicaress could read Jadan minds. A simple meeting of eyes, and she would know the secrets of your heart. I’d dismissed the idea then, but it came back to me now. I smelled the flames as they swept next to me. My heart thundered loudly. Heat grasped at my face, and the blade hovered beside my ear for a moment. My knees threatened to drop me, knowing she could sense my secrets – but she moved on, satisfied that I had nothing to give.

And then, all of a sudden, the black silk stopped rustling.

‘Who’s this?’ the Vicaress said, amusement in her voice. She snapped her fingers calmly. ‘Barracksmaster.’

I heard Gramble waddle down the row, and my heart tried to stop.

‘Who is this?’ the Vicaress repeated sweetly.

‘That’s Matthew,’ Gramble said carefully. ‘We call him Matty.’

My legs started to wobble at the realization. Matty. Matty didn’t know Shilah. It was me who’d used the Wisp. I was just about to speak up, when—

‘Barracksmaster,’ the Vicaress said, almost like a song, ‘how old is this boy?’

Gramble thought about it for a moment. ‘Ten. He’s pretty fresh from the Priests.’

The silence was thick in the room.

‘But he’s a good Street Jadan,’ Gramble said, his voice not so confident. ‘He—’

The shadows shifted, the blade having shifted too. ‘That’s enough, Barracksmaster. I didn’t ask. Good or not, this boy is too small for ten. Sun must have tampered with his development and I’m afraid that the Crier can’t trust the results.’

I felt the sand at the back of my feet slowly grow wet. Nobody spoke.

‘I’ll have a proper replacement sent in the morning.’ The Vicaress’s voice turned caressing. ‘The Crier wants you back, boy. He’ll fix you, He’ll get you ready for service in the afterlife.’

Matty spun slowly, holding out his ‘calm spot’ to me. His hand trembled with fear as he bent his wrist back as far as it could go.

‘Don’t touch him,’ the Vicaress scolded. ‘He’s been tampered with.’

And I froze.

Time slowed down. Then the sound of metal sliding through flesh came. A single whimper, and a small body slumping against the ground followed.

The Vicaress finished questioning the last few girls in our line, and then left the barracks, not once looking back at the lifeless corpse resting against my legs.

Once the main doors shut, I dropped to my knees and wrapped my whole hand around Matty’s birthmark.

‘Family,’ I choked out, gripping tight. The only thing my mind could process was how thin my friend’s wrists truly were. ‘Invincible.’

But there was no response. He was gone.





PART TWO





Chapter Eleven


I only coughed a few times, the Droughtweed smoke mostly agreeing to stay down. After two weeks of coming to the makeshift hut, I was getting used to the burn.