Sanctus

Chapter 132

Cornelius stepped through the stone entrance and into the chapel of the Sacrament.

After the roaring brightness of the forge it was dark with an unnatural blackness that clung tightly to whatever secrets it held. A few candles flickered in a cluster by the door barely illuminating the shelf upon which they rested, guttering now as the Sanctus guard stepped past and moved through the darkness towards the far end of the room. Cornelius scanned the darkness and saw something lying on the floor in the centre of the chapel. The guard slowed as he drew near and let the girl slide from his shoulder and on to the ground next to it. It was the body of Brother Samuel, his feet pointing towards the dark end of the room, his arms stretched out on either side to form the sign of the Tau.

The guard reached down, grabbed Samuel’s arms and dragged him over to the far wall, where he dumped him without ceremony, before turning his attention back to the girl. He dragged her feet round to point down into the darkness at the far end of the chapel, took her arms and stretched them out until she formed the shape her brother had so recently held.

‘Thank you, Septus,’ the Abbot said. ‘You may leave us now. But stay close by.’

The monk nodded and sent the candles fluttering again as he swept from the chapel.

Cornelius felt the Abbot take his arm and lead him forward. ‘Come closer,’ he said.

Cornelius drifted along, his eyes fixed on a spot ahead, where the darkness was beginning to take form beyond the figure of the girl. He took another step and felt his wounds start to itch, as if ants were crawling along the sliced edges of his flesh. He looked down and saw the skin closing up, like hot wax running together. Looked up again. Saw the thing in the darkness at the end of the room solidifying into form with every step he took, rising up from the altar, a shape both familiar and strange. Then he saw something else, something so unexpected that he stumbled backwards at the shock of it.

The Abbot gripped his elbow tighter. Steadied him. Leaned in closer. ‘Yes,’ he whispered ‘Now you see. The Sacrament. The greatest secret of our order, and our greatest shame. And tonight you will witness its end.’