The Devil in Green (55 page)

The door opened and Julian breezed in, a little fresher, even managing a
smile. 'The bishop is ready for you now,' he said.

Julian led them up imposing stone stairs to Cornelius's bedroom. The
heavy drapes were drawn and it was oppressively warm despite the time of
year: a fire blazed in the grate and candles flickered everywhere. The
aroma of burning logs barely covered the atmosphere of sickness.

Cornelius was propped up in a large four-poster bed, his frame
unbearably thin and fragile against the piles of cushions and brocade
bedspread. He forced a weak smile in greeting and shakily beckoned for
Mallory to come closer.

Only then did Mallory realise they were not alone. Stefan stood to one
side, smiling insincerely, hands clasped in front of him in an attempt to
appear penitent. 'I took the liberty of inviting your commander-in-chief
here,' he said to Mallory. 'I thought it only right you receive due
recognition for your actions.'

Every time Mallory saw Stefan, he liked him less, but at that moment he
felt there was something unduly sinister about the chancellor. Mallory
looked to Julian who shifted uneasily. 'I felt any suggestions should be
heard by the Chapter of Canons,' Julian said. 'Stefan felt that would take
too long to arrange, and that we here could easily assay its worth and
decide if it should be taken forwards.'

'Tell us what you think, my son,' Cornelius said so weakly that Mallory
could barely hear him.

'A tunnel—'

'Is that it? We've already thrown that idea out,' Blaine said contemptuously. 'We haven't got the time or the facilities to dig a tunnel the
length we would need to get to safety. If we go short, those things will be
waiting to pick us off when we come up. And you try coming up under
concrete and Tarmac when you haven't got power tools. If we go west we
hit the river. We could never get under that.'

Mallory allowed him to say his piece and then continued as if he hadn't
spoken. 'A tunnel under the wall into the camp to the north-west. It would
be easy to dig. We wouldn't have to go under any water.'

'Haven't you been listening—' Blaine began, but Stefan silenced him
with a raised hand.

'Why that particular spot?' he said curiously.

'Because it's protected.'

This intrigued Stefan greatly. 'Protected? In what way?'

'In the same way that the cathedral and its grounds are protected.'

'The cathedral is protected because of the Glory of God,' Stefan said.

Mallory sensed the traps lining up before him. His position was already
weak; he couldn't risk offending anyone. And the way Blaine had acted
earlier, he felt there was more than his reputation at stake. 'It seems, from
what I've heard—'

'Where?' Stefan interrupted.

'Here and there.' Mallory fixed his gaze on Stefan's and refused to
break it. 'That the strength of our belief
.
. . our
faith
...
has .
. .
empowered the land so those things can't come on it. It's the same in
the camp.'
'They have accepted the Lord into their lives?' Stefan plainly knew
otherwise.

'They have very strong beliefs.'

'They are Christians?' Stefan's gaze didn't waver.

'No. They're a mixed bunch.' He paused, but it was obvious Stefan
wasn't going to let him get away with skirting over the issue. 'Some nature-
lovers. Probably .
. .
Odinists. Wiccans. Druids, maybe—'

'Pagans?' Stefan raised his eyes to look at the ceiling. 'What you are
saying sounds very much like blasphemy.'

'Oh, for God's sake!' Julian snapped. 'Does it matter who they are? If it
provides us with a way out of this mess we're in, then we should go for it.'

'I think the chancellor doesn't believe in equality of worship,' Mallory
noted, with a little more acid than he'd intended.

'We are at war, Mr Mallory,' Stefan replied, 'for the very future of
Christianity itself. We cannot afford insipid liberalism. Woolly ideas that
appeared to work when times were good do not hold now.'

'You believe the future of Christianity should starve rather than allow
contact with the
corrupt
?' Mallory said.

'Of course not.' Stefan moved his hands behind his back. 'You are sure
this camp is protected?'

'Yes.'

'You have been there yourself?'

'I have.'

Stefan nodded thoughtfully; Mallory felt there was a wealth of unspoken
comment in that simple movement. Stefan turned to Cornelius, bowing
his head deferentially. 'I feel this is a matter we should discuss in private,
your Grace,' he said. His body language suggested Mallory had not only
been forgotten, he had already been dismissed.

'We can't test what he says,' Julian said. 'We should just do it. What
other options do we have? We need to start digging immediately.'

Stefan smiled coldly. 'In private,' he repeated.

Blaine caught Mallory's eye and nodded sharply towards the exit. As
Mallory left, the door closed firmly behind him.

The light was already starting to fade as Mallory made his way across the
lawned area of peaceful walks and sheltering trees now enclosed by the
transformed cathedral buildings. The air was cool and damp and fragrant
with nature, and the garden would undoubtedly have felt tranquil if not for
Mallory's growing awareness of troubling events developing just beyond
his perception.

He found Daniels sitting on a bench with a young man who appeared to
be hanging on Daniels' every word. The brother was in his late teens,
with an open, good-looking face and long brown hair that framed it in
such a way that he appeared almost angelic. Daniels was telling some tale
in a voluble, entertaining way, and they were both engrossed, as much
with each other as with the story. From their body language, half-turned
towards each other, Daniels' arm stretching out along the back of the
bench, it was clear there was an attraction between them.

Daniels spotted Mallory and called him over with a wave. 'Mallory,
meet Lewis. He has this misguided belief that our leaders know what
they're doing.' Lewis smiled bashfully.

'Don't spoil him with your cynicism, Daniels.' Mallory slumped on to
the bench next to them.

'They established the knights,' Lewis said shyly. 'That was a stroke of
genius. All the brothers know you're going to be our saviours.'

Daniels and Mallory exchanged glances. 'Better start praying,' Mallory
said drily.

'You're filled with the power of the Lord,' Lewis pressed. 'With belief
and hidden knowledge
and . . .and . . .
bravery.' He looked from Mallory
to Daniels adoringly.

Mallory watched the stars start to appear in the dark blue sky. He had
never expected things to go this way at all. He'd been running away to a
simpler life, not trying to find even more responsibility, more trouble and
suffering.