The look on the Abbot\u2019s face was telling. \u201cCome in,\u201d he said. \u201cHurry up Flint, I haven\u2019t got all day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint lingered in the doorway for a moment. He was not ready for another tongue-lashing from the old man. \u201cIs something the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClose the door behind you.\u201d The Abbot sat behind an ancient desk that gave the man a distinct aura of wisdom and authority.<\/p>\n
Something unpleasant was coming, that much was certain. The Abbot rarely called the adjuncts into his office, and this was the third time Flint had been summoned inside a month. Flint pulled the door shut with trembling hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you already know why you\u2019re here,\u201d the Abbot said. His impassive eyes studied Flint. \u201cIt\u2019s the same problem we\u2019ve had since you started.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe research,\u201d Flint said, looking down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to produce something. I understand that you are busy teaching. But so are all of the monks. You need to find some balance between class and your research. We can\u2019t keep you on as an adjunct if you don\u2019t produce something original.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words did not register immediately. Flint shook his head. \u201cCan\u2019t keep me on? You mean you\u2019re going to dismiss me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no choice!\u201d the Abbot said. \u201cYou\u2019re a fine teacher, but this is a research monastery. How will it look if my monks are not broadening our knowledge of the occult?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m buried in work! You have me teaching more classes than any other monk by half. It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t want to study. I just don\u2019t have the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you telling me you can\u2019t do the job?\u201d The old man placed a heavy hand on his desk.<\/p>\n
Flint\u2019s mouth hung open, and he waited for words to come out.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook,\u201d the Abbot said. \u201cI\u2019m not unreasonable.\u201d He shifted in his seat, and his eyes filled with an uncharacteristic guile. \u201cI\u2019d be willing to give you some extra time, if you are willing to do me a favor. Brother Godfrey has been working on a side project for almost a year now.\u201d The Abbot sighed. \u201cA full year. And no one has any idea what he\u2019s actually doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard,\u201d Flint said, shrugging.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou and everyone else. But it\u2019s my responsibility to know, and that\u2019s the trouble. Brother Godfrey is brilliant, but he\u2019s stubborn as an ass. And he\u2019s tenured. He won\u2019t say a word. He wouldn\u2019t even tell me where he\u2019s working.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the favor? You want me to find out where he\u2019s researching?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what, if you can. Do that, and I\u2019ll give you a pass on your work for the next few months.\u201d The Abbot pointed a finger at Flint. \u201cBut listen. I don\u2019t want to hear about you breaking any rules, or using the occult to manipulate him. Do it right, or don\u2019t do it at all.\u201d The Abbot put his hand back on the desk. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you see if he\u2019ll take you on as his research assistant? That would put you right where you need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Flint said. \u201cHe\u2019s so secretive. Do you really think he would consider it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo find out,\u201d the Abbot said in a tone that told Flint the conversation was over.<\/p>\n
Flint tried to hide his worry. He pulled open the door and stepped out into the empty corridor.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Flint,\u201d the Abbot said. \u201cThis is the third time I\u2019ve had you in my office. This is your last chance.\u201d
\n<\/p>\n
Flint looked through the open door and into Godfrey\u2019s lecture hall. Godfrey stood in front of a large body of students, where gray light filtered in through the windows and onto his brown robes.<\/p>\n
Godfrey cleared his throat. \u201cNow, there are some things that divine studies have yet to achieve. Some of these things have not been achieved because they are physically impossible to accomplish. Others have not been adequately studied because they are beyond the pale. They are considered too dark or too dangerous. Some, here at the university, are afraid to push past these boundaries. But I am not one of them. Our next lecture will touch on one of these topics. I think you will find it enlightening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint cocked his head to one side. Godfrey\u2019s cavalier attitude sat well on him, despite his scholarly appearance. <\/p>\n
A young student, hardly old enough to grow a beard, raised his hand. \u201cBrother, aren\u2019t there some subjects that are best left untouched?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps,\u201d Godfrey said, resting a hard look on the apprentice. \u201cBut those studies are well beyond the capabilities of first-year students.\u201d The school-bell\u2019s low chime echoed overhead, and Godfrey looked up. \u201cLooks like that will be all for today. Class dismissed.\u201d The students poured into the corridor, leaving Godfrey alone.<\/p>\n
Flint strode past the empty desks. \u201cBrother Godfrey,\u201d he said as he approached. \u201cGood evening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Godfrey wiped at the blackboard with a rag. \u201cEvening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow goes the work?\u201d<\/p>\n
Godfrey answered automatically. \u201cFine. Just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two stood in an uncomfortable silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cGodfrey, I have a favor to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
Godfrey regarded Flint. \u201cA favor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou probably don\u2019t know, but I\u2019ve been struggling with my research lately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Godfrey scoffed. \u201cOf course I know. Everyone knows.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comment caught Flint off-guard, and he recoiled behind a well-maintained facade. \u201cEveryone\u2026 Well, it\u2019s been difficult finding time to study when I\u2019m pulled in so many directions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen make time. Late nights. Weekends. Whatever you have to do. No one is going to hold your hand. I do most of my best work when the moon is out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, that\u2019s what I want to ask you. Would you be willing to let me work with you? I\u2019ve been dying to know what your project is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Godfrey\u2019s face fell. \u201cDid the Abbot send you in here after me? I knew that fool would start prying sooner or later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said that you might be willing to take me on as a research assistant. Help me get a foothold in some meaningful work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTake you on as an informant, you mean. He\u2019s trying to find out what I\u2019m onto, isn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGodfrey, please. I\u2019m already up every night grading. The Abbot is going to fire me if I don\u2019t deliver something soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Godfrey scowled. \u201cSorry,\u201d he said. \u201cMy work is too sensitive. You\u2019ll have to make do on your own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hope melted from Flint, and he left to wander the corridors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not surprised,\u201d Gloria said. She moved her leather schoolbag to the ground, and Flint set his plate in its place. \u201cHe\u2019s never been particularly pleasant.\u201d Gloria spooned up the last of her dinner. \u201cAnd he\u2019s always been strange, too. Especially when it comes to his work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint slammed a fist on the table. \u201cHe\u2019s paranoid, that\u2019s what he is! He was so preoccupied thinking about the Abbot that he didn\u2019t even listen to what I was asking him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gloria\u2019s spoon stopped halfway to her mouth, and she glanced around the dining hall. The students at the table next to them looked startled. She nodded to appease them. \u201cTake it easy,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ll figure something out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint shook his head. \u201cYou don\u2019t understand. I have nothing outside of the Priory. Nothing. I\u2019ll be on the streets if I lose my job here. Out on Beggars\u2019 Row next to the drunks, shaking a cup at you when you walk to work in the mornings.\u201d <\/p>\n
Gloria\u2019s quiet lasted too long.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Flint said.<\/p>\n
She looked around and said, \u201cDon\u2019t be obtuse. You know you won\u2019t be on the streets. But I wouldn\u2019t be walking by you anyway. I\u2019m leaving the Priory soon. That\u2019s why I can\u2019t help you. I\u2019m going to tell the Abbot tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint\u2019s face was placid, though a storm brewed behind his eyes. He looked at Gloria with the intensity of a brokenhearted man. \u201cLeaving? But why? I thought you were happy here. You\u2019ve only just earned your tenure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s this place, Flint,\u201d Gloria said. \u201cThese people. Every one of them is pretentious. They think they\u2019re better than the rest of the world because of their studies. I need a real experience. Something outside of these walls.\u201d She set her lovely hand on Flint\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The pace of Flint\u2019s heart quickened. He looked down at her hand, then at her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want you to come with me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Flint shook his head in dismay. \u201cI\u2026 I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gloria withdrew.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can make something of myself here,\u201d Flint said. \u201cYou can make something of yourself here. I know it\u2019s not perfect, but there is so much to experience here. The longer I study, the more I realize that we know almost nothing about the occult. You and I can explore it all together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The summons bell rung for evening class. \u201cI have to go,\u201d Gloria said. <\/p>\n
Flint watched the flow of her long hair as she walked away. He sat at the table, brooding, until his food was cold. After a time, he shook his head and pushed his chair back. <\/p>\n
A familiar brown bag lay under the table.<\/p>\n
Flint picked it up, and looked inside to confirm that it belonged to Gloria. Her lecture notes, her quills, and her small key ring hid inside.<\/p>\n
He left the dining hall for his dormitory with the bag under his arm, winding through the eastern wing where a disused entryway let in the cold.<\/p>\n
Godfrey stood in the half-open door. He carried a small pack full of travel supplies and was wrapped in a mass of heavy cloaks to ward off the cold. He tried to leave before Flint could interrupt him.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut for the night?\u201d Flint said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing to visit my daughter in town. I\u2019ll be back before class tomorrow.\u201d He pulled a hood over his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny chance you\u2019d reconsider what we talked about earlier?\u201d<\/p>\n
Godfrey disappeared into the snowy night, leaving the door open behind him.<\/p>\n
Flint ran his fingers over Gloria\u2019s bag. A key to the tenured monks\u2019 common room rested inside \u2013 the common room attached to Godfrey\u2019s private chambers. Flint lingered at the door for a time, as if struggling with a decision, then reached in the bag and removed the key.<\/p>\n
The key slid home, and Flint peeked around the edge of the common room door. The fireplace offered the only light, but it was enough to show that the room was empty. All of the senior monks had retired to their rooms. Flint crept in, keeping to the shadowy corners where he might be able to disappear should someone interrupt him.<\/p>\n
Godfrey\u2019s private chambers were on the far side of the common area, opposite a tidy circle of leather armchairs and writing desks.<\/p>\n
Flint slunk past a closed door, wincing when the wood floor groaned under his weight.<\/p>\n
Someone stirred behind the heavy oak. The handle rattled, and the door swung open, hiding Flint from whoever stood on the other side.<\/p>\n
Flint\u2019s breath caught in his throat, and he froze.<\/p>\n
The fat, dark-skinned monk who lumbered out could only have been Brother Harken. Harken threw the door shut without a backward glance and strode across the room. He picked up a stack of parchment from one of the desks and sat at the fireplace with his back to Flint. <\/p>\n
Flint waited until the man had shut out the world around him, dragging his round fingers across lines of scrawling text and murmuring to himself. Flint inched along the perimeter, stopping short every time the man moved to turn a page or tend to the fire. <\/p>\n
His hand found Godfrey\u2019s doorknob, but it hung against the lock. Flint squeezed the brass and narrowed his eyes, concentrating on something far away and unseen.<\/p>\n
But nothing happened. Flint glanced down at his hands, puzzled, as if he had expected a reaction. He closed his eyes and tried again. A mass of black magic laced in wisps of purple smoke enclosed Flint\u2019s hand. The lock\u2019s tumblers fell into place with a terrifying click. Flint dared a glance over his shoulder to see if the sound caught Harken\u2019s attention, but it was lost in the crack and pop of the fire.<\/p>\n
Flint pulled the door open gingerly, but the hinges screamed. He slipped through the narrow aperture and passed out of sight behind it.<\/p>\n
Godfrey\u2019s room was lit only by a sliver of firelight and the moon behind the snow. \u201cI thought you were going into town for the night,\u201d Harken said from the other side of the door. <\/p>\n
\u201cMe?\u201d The Abbot was in the common room, not twenty feet away from Flint.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood evening, Abbot. Gloria,\u201d Harken said. \u201cNo, not you. I just heard Godfrey at his door. I think he\u2019s in there, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStrange,\u201d Gloria said. \u201cI saw him leaving just a little while ago.\u201d Her soft footsteps echoed across the common room, drawing nearer to Godfrey\u2019s room. \u201cGodfrey? Knock, knock.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint could not find the mindfulness to hide, and he stood in the middle of the room like a fool when Gloria put her head inside. Their eyes met and Flint shook his head, putting a finger over his lips before she could speak.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe in there?\u201d the Abbot said.<\/p>\n
Gloria hesitated. \u201cNo\u2026No. He\u2019s not here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell someone opened the door,\u201d Harken said, and he heaved himself out of his chair to investigate.<\/p>\n
\u201cHide!\u201d Gloria mouthed.\t<\/p>\n
Flint dropped to the ground and crawled like a spider under the bed. Cold air rose from the cracks between floorboards. His fingertips brushed over a small metal ring resting flush in the wood. When he lifted it, the square outline of an enchanted trapdoor cut into the floor, and a whisper of sawdust fell through to a hollow place beneath.<\/p>\n
Flint pulled, and the hatch opened. The unfinished wood dug splinters into his back as he scraped through. Godfrey\u2019s room brightened, and Flint saw feet shuffle inside. He lowered the hatch over the top of himself, taking refuge in the dark once more. <\/p>\n
Flint sat at the top of a dust-covered stair, wedged between the trap door and steps that dropped out of sight into black emptiness an impossible distance below. The monks\u2019 muffled voices quieted and eventually disappeared from Godfrey\u2019s room.<\/p>\n
Flint pushed on the trapdoor, but it would not budge. He groped at the wood above his head, searching for its edges, but he found only unbroken slats. The magic had faded, and the door was gone.<\/p>\n
Apprentices spoke of the undercroft in whispers and the monks not at all. The disused basements were a remnant of the Priory\u2019s earlier and more wicked days. It was a bad chance that Flint\u2019s escape was through one of the fabled long-forgotten doors. <\/p>\n
He held up a hand, trying to will forth a glow of ethereal light, but none would come. Flint looked at his palms. Down into the darkness was his only option. He descended thousands of steps, running a hand along the wall\u2019s sharp masonry to keep his bearings until his feet found a packed earthen floor. He wandered aimlessly in the darkness for an age, languishing in the fear that time would kill him if he could not find his way.<\/p>\n
The air cleared and grew colder in the depths. The dark lessened, and water lapped against a shore somewhere ahead. Flint\u2019s breaths came in short white plumes as he emerged into a man-made cavern.<\/p>\n
He gazed up at a vaulted ceiling rich with stalactites. Ahead, a saltwater canal disappeared into a winding crevasse of wet bedrock. Small waves broke against a pier that jutted from the embankment where he stood. A dingy grimoire bound in engraved leather rested between sheaves of heavily-inked parchment on a workbench further down, illuminated by a dying brazier.<\/p>\n
Curiosity overcame his baser instincts, and Flint moved to examine it. He lifted a piece of parchment and began to read private research notes written in Godfrey\u2019s untidy script. Flint lost all account of time as he poured through them, and the cold and damp crept under his clothes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think you are doing?\u201d Godfrey said from the darkness.<\/p>\n
Flint jumped and dropped the parchment in the dirt. He spun around. A rowboat bobbed in the canal behind Godfrey. He glared at Flint. \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Flint said. \u201cI was just curious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you get down here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI accidentally found a way into the undercroft. I got lost. Wound up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccidentally? And you came down here and thought you would just read my private notes.\u201d Godfrey stepped forward. \u201cFind anything interesting?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see why you won\u2019t let anybody know what you\u2019re onto.\u201d<\/p>\n
Godfrey scowled. \u201cThey wouldn\u2019t understand. Not a single one of them. Bunch of self-serving swine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis grimoire affects the roots of the occult, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d Flint put his hand on its leather, feeling the power within. \u201cThe deepest parts of it. It can destroy our power altogether if you want it to. I\u2019ve felt it already. I was lost just now because I couldn\u2019t make light.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a single incantation, but terribly long and complex,\u201d Godfrey said. \u201cI don\u2019t believe anything like it has ever been attempted. But you\u2019re wrong. I don\u2019t mean destroy anything. Quite the contrary in fact. I just want to harness the foundations of the occult. Center it on this book.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Godfrey\u2019s laugh was edged with madness. \u201cBecause I need hope. I need the power to change things I can\u2019t otherwise change.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHope for what?\u201d Flint said. \u201cGodfrey, you have to stop. What if something goes wrong? The power you\u2019re talking about is\u2026dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy child is sick. My daughter. She\u2019s, sick and no medicine can help. But I can save her, Flint. I can change the course of fate with this. It\u2019s almost finished. Almost.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint watched the man shrink from boldness to desperation. Godfrey\u2019s secret was a heavy burden. He looked older than he had, sallower and more worn.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going to tell the Abbot?\u201d Godfrey said.<\/p>\n
Flint narrowed his eyes. \u201cWhat will you do after you heal your daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
Godfrey raised his hands. \u201cLock it away. Show the Priory what I\u2019ve created and what miracles can be done with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision was more difficult than any Flint had faced. He rubbed his black beard. \u201cI can give you a week. But I have to be the one to tell the Abbot what you\u2019ve been working on. And this is too dangerous for me to just walk away from. You need to take me on as your assistant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDone,\u201d Godfrey said.<\/p>\n
The men moved to the workbench to discuss the course of things to come.<\/p>\n
Arctic currents swirled in the ocean, carrying opaque-blue glaciers dusted in white.<\/p>\n
Flint\u2019s glazed eyes watched them through the glass of his dormitory window. Godfrey was still a hundred fathoms below where the water met the base of the Priory Cliffs, writing in the grimoire. It would be ready tonight.<\/p>\n
Someone knocked on the door. \u201cFlint? It\u2019s me,\u201d Gloria said through the wood.<\/p>\n
Flint opened it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay I come in?\u201d <\/p>\n
Flint tried to smile and stepped aside. \u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gloria took Flint\u2019s place by the window. She turned, and her dark eyes cut through him. \u201cWhat were you doing last night?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already know,\u201d Flint said. \u201cI was trying to figure out what Godfrey is up to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you get inside anyway?\u201d Gloria chewed on her lip. \u201cThe common room door is hexed. It\u2019s impossible to open without that key.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou left your bag in the dining hall last night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have it? I\u2019ve been looking everywhere.\u201d Gloria glared at Flint. \u201cWait, you mean you used my key to get in?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry Gloria. I know it was wrong, but I was desperate.\u201d Flint looked down at the woven carpet beneath his feet. It bore the image of a whaling ship being torn asunder by a leviathan. \u201cGodfrey came around. He\u2019s taking me on as his research assistant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gloria\u2019s brow furrowed. \u201cHe changed his mind just like that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSort of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gloria turned back to the window and said nothing for a long while. \u201cHow did you get out of there anyway? I waited for you in the common room all night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint put his arms around Gloria, and her hands found his. He told her everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u201d Gloria said. \u201cGodfrey\u2019s daughter died last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint recoiled. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer boat overturned in a storm. They found her body under the ice the next morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe must have another daughter then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gloria shook her head. \u201cShe was his only child. Flint, what Godfrey is trying to do can\u2019t be done safely. He\u2019s manipulating the fabric of the occult. We have to tell the Abbot.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think he wants to\u2026 bring her back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. But this sort of thing has been tried before, and people have been killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The worry on Gloria\u2019s face convinced Flint in the end, and they walked hand-in-hand to find the Abbot.<\/p>\n
The Abbot walked across the Priory\u2019s courtyard, taking in the sharp late-afternoon air. A fresh crop of snow flurries lit upon the overgrown whiskers that pushed out from under his hood.<\/p>\n
Flint watched the Abbot from the foyer. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you stay here? I can tell him by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure?\u201d Gloria said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want you to get caught up in this if he doesn\u2019t take it well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll right. I\u2019ll be here. Good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint buttoned his cloak and went out into the cold. \u201cAbbot!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Abbot scowled when Flint admitted to trespassing in Godfrey\u2019s quarters, and the bitterness stayed on his face until the story was finished. \u201cFlint,\u201d the Abbot said. \u201cI warned you not to break the rules. And now you\u2019re telling me that you stole another professor\u2019s key, then used a forbidden incantation to trespass in another\u2019s private chambers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbbot, Godfrey\u2026\u201d Flint said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not talking about Godfrey. We are talking about you.\u201d The Abbot brushed a pile of snow from his wiry beard. \u201cThat man has been an institution at the Priory for almost twenty years. You, on the other hand, can\u2019t even keep yourself from breaking the law!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2026\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is it for you Flint. You\u2019re finished. I won\u2019t keep you here any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d Flint\u2019s face flushed, and he raised his chin. \u201cBut you\u2019re wrong. You have to listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Abbot\u2019s eyes turned black. \u201cI don\u2019t have to do anything.\u201d His voice grew not in volume but in presence, delivered with the power of his station. \u201cI will not be ordered around. And certainly not by an outcast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint saw nothing but the void of the Abbot\u2019s eyes. He shrunk from the glare and fell backwards into the snow. His voice trembled. \u201cWe have to do something. You have to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRoderick, Isabelle.\u201d The Abbot beckoned to a pair of monks crossing the courtyard. \u201cI need your assistance. Please escort Flint to his dormitory so he can collect his belongings. Then show him off of the Priory grounds. He has been dismissed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut\u2026\u201d Flint said, but the Abbot turned his back.<\/p>\n
The monks looked at each other, then at Flint. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d Isabelle said after the Abbot had walked out of earshot.<\/p>\n
He had to get to Godfrey. Flint climbed to his feet and began to walk toward the Priory, looking up at its time-worn spires and stained glass. \u201cNothing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gloria shot Flint a questioning look when the trio passed through the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been dismissed,\u201d he said to her. \u201cThe Abbot doesn\u2019t believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gloria considered Roderick and Isabelle. \u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d she asked Flint.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going after Godfrey.\u201d Flint took a breath and clapped his hands. <\/p>\n
The sound shook the room, reverberating in his chest like a violent clap of thunder. Sooty black smoke poured into being and Flint was blinded. He staggered through the clouds, searching for an exit. Gloria coughed close by, but Flint ignored her. The smoke cleared near the edge of the room and Flint ran, pulling the common room key from his pocket.<\/p>\n
Godfrey read the grimoire by the brazier\u2019s smoldering light. He flipped through its pages with increasing speed, chanting the inscriptions without pause for breath. The fire ebbed and flowed with his words. Sparks spit forth in gouts of red and turned to ash in the cold water nearby. An endless torrent of occult energy flowed into the grimoire, black and hazy.<\/p>\n
Flint saw it when he ran across the wharf. A coffin, black and still nailed shut, near the brazier. \u201cGodfrey!\u201d Flint said. \u201cStop! This is madness!\u201d<\/p>\n
But Godfrey turned the final page and snapped together the grimoire\u2019s heavy covers. He hugged the book in his arms and raised his eyebrows. \u201cWhy? Why is it so mad to want to be with the one you love?\u201d he said. \u201cDoesn\u2019t every man want the same? I\u2019d wager you\u2019d give much to keep Gloria at the Priory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint faltered. \u201cBut this is unnatural.\u201d Flint\u2019s face faded further with a profound realization. \u201cAt this moment, nobody in the world can manipulate the occult but you.\u201d He lifted his hands, as if to prove himself incapable.<\/p>\n
\u201cA small cost. Perhaps things will return to the way they were. Perhaps not. At least I\u2019ll have my girl.\u201d Godfrey face was wet with tears. He turned to the painted box and raised a hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cGodfrey, I\u2019m trying to help you,\u201d Flint said.<\/p>\n
The grimoire shook in Godfrey\u2019s arm and the space between his hand and the coffin disappeared in black fog.<\/p>\n
Flint lunged at Godfrey, clawing at the book, but Godfrey had already turned around. Something heavy flew from his hand collided with Flint\u2019s chest. <\/p>\n
Flint\u2019s ribs cracked, and he flew backwards into the canal. Water flooded over him. Flint struggled to find the surface, beating at the water before his saturated cloak could pull him further down. His hand landed on the pier and he pulled himself to the embankment, coughing and retching from the pain in his side. He peered over the stony edge.<\/p>\n
Godfrey stood over the coffin. Something inside it moved.<\/p>\n
\u201cGodfrey?\u201d Gloria said from the far entryway. \u201cAre you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d Godfrey smiled.<\/p>\n
Flint crept across the wharf, low and silent. He winced with each step. Splintered ribs grated against each other and he almost cried out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Gloria said, locking eyes with Godfrey.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust finishing my project,\u201d Godfrey said. \u201cI\u2019m think I\u2019m\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flint pulled the grimoire from Godfrey\u2019s grasp. Godfrey spun on his heels, his face shining bright with panic and rage. He raised his hand, poised to murder. But nothing happened.<\/p>\n
The grimoire was heavy in Flint\u2019s arms. Heavier than it should have been. Flint looked at Godfrey and pitched it into the brazier.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d Godfrey said, scrambling for the hot coals. Flint used the last of his strength to shoulder him aside and they fell together to the ground.<\/p>\n
The grimoire burned to ash before Godfrey found his feet.<\/p>\n
The Abbot went to his office when he learned what had happened, and he barred the door. Days and weeks passed before anyone saw his face again.<\/p>\n
Flint scratched a piece of gypsum across the blackboard. The classroom glowed from the sun on the snow outside. \u201cAs you know, the longer an incantation is, the more powerful. Or was, rather.\u201d<\/p>\n
A student raised her hand. \u201cWhy should we bother with this anymore? We can\u2019t do anything with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, at this moment we can\u2019t. But we have to preserve our knowledge. What if the power of the occult returns in a hundred years?\u201d<\/p>\n
The bell chimed a somber tone in the towers far above.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight. Well, that\u2019s it then. We\u2019ll pick back up tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The students left the classroom, and Flint leaned to tidy the lectern. His hand shot to his side where the ribs had broken. When he was able to straighten himself out again, he found the Abbot standing in the doorway. \u201cAbbot,\u201d Flint said.<\/p>\n
The Abbot looked his age, though more sorrowful than most old men. \u201cI should have listened,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou couldn\u2019t have known,\u201d Flint said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad you didn\u2019t leave. I just wanted to tell you. And that I was wrong.\u201d His head fell.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you. But Gloria left a few weeks ago and I\u2019m going with her. I\u2019ve already begun to pack my things.\u201d Flint drew the sun-faded curtains, darkening the room. \u201cI\u2019ve found that\u2026 there is more to life than this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Priory will close. There is no hope for us here.\u201d The Abbot slouched against the doorframe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is always hope. Some things have funny ways of healing themselves. Just give it time.\u201d A translucent wisp of light in Flint\u2019s hand illuminated his smile.<\/p>\n
A.P. Miller is an American writer who has spent the last seven years traveling the world as a Navy sailor. He finished business school while abroad and now spends his time crafting speculative short fiction in Sasebo, Japan, where he lives with his wife and children. His fiction has appeared in The Horror Zine. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The look on the Abbot\u2019s face was telling. \u201cCome in,\u201d he said. \u201cHurry up Flint, I haven\u2019t got all day.\u201d Flint lingered in the doorway for a moment. He was not ready for another tongue-lashing from the old man. \u201cIs something the matter?\u201d \u201cClose the door behind you.\u201d The Abbot sat behind an ancient desk …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59572,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,14351],"tags":[14352],"class_list":["post-95986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-tcl-23-spring-2017","tag-the-colored-lens-23-spring-2017","entry entry-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/59572"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95986"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139467,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95986\/revisions\/139467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}