Her Kind by Niamh Boyce

Author:Niamh Boyce [Boyce, Niamh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781844884346
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2019-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

25. Petronelle

We were in the hall, Líadan and I, readying to leave for the cathedral. Despite my beseeching her otherwise, Alice insisted we attend the Sunday sermon. We trotted on up High Street, my nimble daughter some steps ahead. She was not as thin as when we had first come, and her gait, that, too, had changed. Sofia Hatton and her maid walked by. I nodded but she didn’t notice me; her gaze was fixed on my daughter. Before I knew what she was doing, she ran at Líadan and tugged her veil from her head. She rushed off then, her maid following behind, both laughing. I caught up and helped my daughter to pin her veil into place. She looked at the ground as I tucked her hair back from her face and under the linen. Her wrists were still scarred from Sofia’s nails. Something would have to be done about that girl.

The bells tolled as we entered the church grounds. Word of Cristine’s accusations had spread quickly. That’s her maid, the one she keeps so close, so close they’re almost never apart. I stood where I always did. If I moved further back from the altar, it would indicate guilt and shame. If I stood nearer, it would indicate guilt and shamelessness. Ledrede was particularly lively. He glared at the congregation and then cleared his throat. A scribe sat on the altar. His arm moved in time to the words from the bishop’s mouth: ‘The snake has found a home. A sect has gathered in the house of Kytler.’

What he claimed next beggared belief; it brought gasps from the congregation. ‘Did he say fornication?’ ‘With devils?’ ‘Shush.’

‘Dame Alice Kytler lies with a demon incubus, and all in her house are accomplices; heretical sorceress, haeretici sortilegae!’ he hissed.

The congregation listened without a whisper or nudge.

‘Kytler’s husband is emaciated from her magickal powders and lotions. She has taken a lover from the underworld, a demon known as Robin, and, with his assistance, cast heinous spells. Her brave stepdaughter told me all about her house of witches, the sect she fills with her own kind, who dabble using rings, mirrors and philtres.’

The bishop pointed towards the twins, who were perched in the Hattons’ pew. They bowed their heads in a modest gesture of pleasure.

‘Come forth all who are privy to her sorceries. For she will plummet to Hell, and anyone who does not speak will join her.’

He lifted a scroll and began to recite a curse. ‘Those who do not bear witness shall be cursed, struck from the book of the living, let them not be written down with the just.’

‘Yes, yes,’ gasped a voice behind me.

The bishop left the pulpit, and stepped to the edge of the altar. ‘Let their eyes not see, let their backs be bent. Pour upon them, oh Lord, your anger, let the fury of your rage embrace them.’

He looked up from the scroll. ‘Let their souls plummet to Hell with the devil and his ministers. Let all this happen.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.