thin trail of white rose out of it, twisting and splitting into many separate threads, snaking up to link with some of the shades around Silas before each thread snapped and faded away. His may have been the only spirit Da’ru had bound into a cursed life, but it was not the only one who had been denied the path into death. Whatever bond that blood had created between Da’ru and them, it was broken now.
Shouts of surprise spread around the crowd as the candles in their hands illuminated one by one. Each one had been carried there to remember a life that had been lost, and the spirits who had lived those lives drew closer to those who were remembering them, relighting the flames and showing them that there was no reason to be afraid.
Many in the crowd stopped trying to run and reached out to the spirits of their ancestors, to lost parents, children, and friends. The current of death continued its journey through the half-life, shining with inner light as the freed souls drifted peacefully into it, completing their journeys at last. And for a short time the Night of Souls was what it was always meant to be: a time of peace, remembrance, and joy.
Kate’s skin was deathly cold and her lips touched with blue as Silas carried her out of the mist and into the central circle. The call of death severed from him at once as his feet touched the symbols, and the pressure of the living world returned to him like an iron weight dropped upon his shoulders. Kate’s energy spread through his blood like hot needles, connecting with the circle until its light faded and died. The circle’s energies collapsed, reconnecting the city square with its rightful place in time. The mist dispersed and the bonfire blazed suddenly back to life.
With the shades gone, the crowd overran the few remaining wardens, tearing open the upper doors and pouring out into the city like ants. One of the councilmen stood up to speak to the fleeing people, but his voice was lost among the frenzy of stampeding bodies, and Silas caught only three words of what he had said. Three words that were set to shape his future.
Silas Dane. Traitor.
Silas laid Kate carefully on the ground. There was movement around the table as Edgar and Tom ran to free Artemis from his ropes, and he turned toward Kate, sending Silas’s hand instinctively to his blade.
“Stay back!” said Silas. “This is no time for you.”
Artemis stopped, not daring to move any closer. “Don’t touch her!” he cried.
Silas ignored him, pulled a bloodstained cloak from the shoulders of a dead warden, and covered Kate with it. Artemis stood painfully, and limped over to the spot where Kate was laid.
“Why couldn’t you just leave her alone?” demanded Artemis. “This shouldn’t have happened. What have you done to her?”
Silas glared up at him in fury. “If you want this girl to die, keep asking foolish questions. If not, get out of my sight.”
Artemis faltered, stunned by Silas’s anger, and Edgar stepped forward, holding Wintercraft out for Silas to take. “I don’t know if it’ll help,” he said quietly. “But . . . here.”
Silas took the book from him, and Edgar took hold of Artemis’s arm.
“What is he doing?” asked Artemis.
“It’s all right,” said Edgar. “We have to trust him.”
“Trust him? After everything that’s happened? Why should we trust him?”
There were many things Silas could have said to a man who had allowed himself to be taken prisoner, relied upon his niece to help him escape, and then dared to complain at her not being unscathed at the end of it. Instead he shot Artemis a look that would have made anyone wither. Edgar led the limping man away.
“You did well, Miss Winters,” said Silas, as he pressed a hand against her forehead, using the veil’s energy to call her spirit back into life. “There are few people who could have done what you did tonight. Your idiot uncle will never understand it, but you should be proud of yourself. You did many souls a great service today.”
Silas looked over at what was left of the High Council. They were talking among themselves, no doubt discussing how best to make a dignified retreat. Some of them were smiling deviously, despite the gruesome scene of death around them, and Silas realized that it would be so easy for him to end them all right there. In just a few