Page 2 of Sin of the Saints

The scent of Libretto’s blood is driving the demons around me wild, and I have to huddle in the corner of my cell. Their frenzied hands, their sharp talons, reach out to me through the bars, in despair and thirst. I shut my eyes tight and clamp my hands over my ears. I pray for his filthy blood to be taken away, for an end to this nightmare.

The pleas of the prisoners, their agonized wheezing, is probably the worst part of my imprisonment.

“This can all end the moment you decide to put an end to it,”Libretto told me during his last visit.“Just drink my blood. Let me in.”

And yet I refuse.

I huddle in the corner of my cell and let my tears flow. I don’t know what drives the prisoners wilder – the sharp tang of Libretto’s blood or the salty scent of my tears. What drives me mad and causes me to wallow in shame is that I hurt Bar. The scent of his blood, his true blood, corrupted my mind. Not only that, but I also let Libretto curse him and did nothing to stop him. Now I’m being punished for my greed, for daring to want more than I deserved. To be here in my private Hell. A bleak Hell, suffused with death and mourning.

Libretto is waiting for me to starve. He knows he can’t withstand my power. He’s waiting for the blood filling my veins to gradually rot until I fade away and beg for his blood.

You’re in for a surprise, I think,I have no intention of surrendering.

Not now, not ever.

“There’s no point in escaping, Bellcolor,” Libretto says, kicking the metal bowl full of his blood towards me. “The dungeons are deep underground, and there are many strong guards outside this door. It’s time to admit defeat.”

When did he come in here? I didn’t even hear him.

I raise my head to him and give him a defiant stare.

“Have it your way…” he turns around and leaves.

I lower my head onto my knees and close my eyes.

“Bellcolor,” I hear my name through the veil of fog in my mind. “Bellcolor…” The voice is so weak, so far away. “Open your eyes, Bellcolor.” I raise my head and it lolls back against the wall. I can’t even hold it up. It’s so heavy. Probably from the multitudeof thoughts hounding me. I open my eyes and blink a few times to see a familiar figure before me.

“Prof. Sapienti?” My voice is rough and scratches my throat.

“Yes, listen to me, Bellcolor…” His voice grows faint, I can’t keep my eyelids open. The darkness again wraps around me, and I’m tempted to give into it. To just let go. The bars tremble and a sharp blow, metal on metal, wakes me in a panic. “Stay focused, Bellcolor,” Prof. Sapienti pleads.What is he doing here? Where am I anyway?My thoughts are awhirl. I’ve lost my grip on reality.

I’m drowning, drowning, drowning…

“Where are we?” I ask. Is that my voice? It sounds so alien.

“Follow my voice, Bellcolor, release me from my calling.” What? What does he mean? I want to ask, but no sound escapes my throat.

“Bearer of the light that shines in the heavens, the star falling into the depths of the underworld. Find him.”

“Who? What are you talking about?” I don’t understand any of this. I hope I’ve asked the questions aloud.

“The shining one, don’t let him fall, don’t let him become a defeated corpse.” Prof. Sapienti reaches a hand out to me. With great difficulty I raise my arm, but as soon as I touch him he turns to dust and disintegrates between my fingers.

Prof. Sapienti has returned to his creator.

The shining one, the bearer of the light – who is he? How exactly am I supposed to find someone I’ve never met?

Chapter Two

Bartimaeus

The Church convenes, and I’m pulled out of the holy water. The reigning Pope mumbles broken syllables while in prayer, as though he’s only going through the motions, and then a robe is thrown onto me.

No matter how often I blink, the light hurts my eyes. I’ve lived for so long in darkness – I don’t even know how long it’s been – that it feels like that darkness has found a home inside me, just as I did inside it. The darkness enshrouds me. It’s everything I see. God punished me, and took the light from my eyes. A fitting punishment for my sins.

Someone is pushing me forward, I can’t see where, but I feel fluctuations in the dark fog of my sight. I assume we’re entering the meeting room because I notice the faint auras of the cardinals sitting along the long table I remember, like streetlamps in heavy fog, and I feel them staring at me. They’re waiting for the Pope, whose glowing figure passes across the room until he takes his place at the head of the table.

I see Ellis’ aura as he sits next to me, and can smell his excitement. His anticipation makes every muscle in my body tense up. It’s rare for a guardian angel to be invited to these meetings. I was present a few times, thanks to my calling to banish Lilith. Why was he here now?

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