wouldn't challenge his tenuous position.
The Blues began to move through the crowd. Mallory thought it was all for show — more fear-creation — until a gruff Geordie accent called out, 'Here!'
Gardener had his hand on Daniels' shoulder. Daniels bore an expression of such incomprehension it was almost comical. But when he turned and looked deep into Gardener's face, he understood. The blow was so severe that Daniels looked as if his heart was breaking.
Gardener wouldn't meet Daniels' eye, which was filled with a desperate hurt. The Geordie's gaze remained fixed on Stefan, his hand steady on Daniels' shoulder, but Mallory thought he saw something in his expression, a fugitive shadow, that suggested his betrayal had come at a price.
The Blues seized Daniels roughly, his status as a knight now valueless. As he was dragged away, the scenario was made worse by his abject silence: no protestations, just the awful realisation that life was proving to be as painful as he had feared it would be in his darkest moments.
Never in his wildest imaginings would Mallory have thought Gardener capable of such an act of betrayal. His friendship with Daniels, despite their many differences, had seemed deep and warm. To Mallory, it had been one of the few beacons in his long, dark months at the cathedral. But in the end it came down to the one thing Mallory already knew: blind adherence to a religion meant any act, however despicable, could be justified. Gardener's internal battle between common sense and the pressures exerted on him by his hardline beliefs had finally been resolved.
Mallory wasn't the only one deeply affected by what had happened. He saw Miller turn to Gardener with an expression of dismay that became disgust when Gardener wouldn't meet his eye either. To see that in Miller, who never showed any sign that he experienced negative emotions, was particularly striking. Miller edged away from Gardener into the crowd. Some others moved away, too, until Gardener appeared to be standing alone.
But any point that might have been made was wiped away by a burst of spontaneous applause from the fundamentalists and evangelicals in the crowd. Gardener gave a faint, relieved smile.
'And by this we begin the journey back to God!' Stefan proclaimed before striding from the stage. His departure was a signal for Mallory and Sophie to be led away by the Blues, who appeared to be the only knights trusted to carry out the serious jobs. Those who had cheered Gardener now voiced boos and cat-calls.
Away from the crowd, Mallory called out to Sophie, asking if she was all right. His guard hit him so hard at the back of the neck, he was knocked to his knees.
'I'm OK. Don't worry about me,' she shouted, before her own guard struck out. She took the blow and continued walking, forcing her head high beneath the hood.
Mallory's anger grew harder still. Stefan, he was convinced, had gone insane; the Caretaker had said that whatever potency was in the cathedral would unbalance men's minds. He wouldn't be surprised if Stefan was planning some kind of Dark Age punishment for them, possibly even an execution: a burning or a hanging for the witch and her accomplice. He felt scared for Sophie, not himself; but he resolved to give Stefan no satisfaction whatsoever.
That night in the cells was colder than any other since Mallory had arrived in Salisbury, and at one point he was convinced he was freezing to death. When the guard brought breakfast it was more meagre than ever, but it was warm, and when his chains were loosed to allow him to eat, he hugged the bowl to him until he had leached every last bit of heat from it.
Some time around mid-morning, the door was thrown open unexpectedly and Miller skulked in, checking over his shoulder. Mallory's first response was suspicion — was this the thing from Bratton Camp come to slaughter him while he hung? — but after a while, his weakened state meant he didn't have the energy to worry about anything beyond his capacity to control.
'I didn't know I had visiting privileges,' he said weakly.
'You don't. They won't allow anyone near you.' Mallory was surprised to see tears in Miller's eyes. 'The guards were all called away — I don't think they could spare them any more. And they don't bother locking the door.'
Mallory rattled the chains. 'It's not as if I'm going to do some kind of Houdini trick with these.'
'Are you all right, Mallory?' Miller said gently. He wrung his hands together impotently.
'I've been better.'
'For what it's worth, none of the knights think you deserve this.'
'Thanks. That thought will keep me warm tonight.' Mallory couldn't help the sarcasm and felt bad when he saw how it had stung Miller. 'How's Daniels?'
Miller's eyes fell. 'No one's seen him since they took him away. I can't believe Gardener would-' He caught himself. 'I suppose we all have moments when we lose the path. We shouldn't judge.'
'Why not?' Mallory said harshly.
Miller's bottied emotions finally broke the restraining barrier. 'I can't believe this is happening,' he said tearfully. 'We're barely a year and a half away from society falling apart. How could it go so bad so quickly? All the things we took for granted… it's as if they happened generations ago.'
'It just goes to show we're all beasts at heart, doesn't it? Let us out of the cage and we quickly revert to type.'
'That's awful.'
'Desperate men lead desperate lives. And self-preservation wins out over anything.'
'I don't believe that.' There was a long pause while Miller dried his eyes. 'I can't believe it. That makes a mockery of everything God stands for.'
'There you go.'
'You're reading it too simply, Mallory,' he said, with the kind of desperation of someone whose life depended on being proven right. 'It's got to be more complex than that. Maybe we can't see the cause and effect. The whole reason we're here argues against that outlook.'
'Here on this earth, or here in this… prison?'
Miller didn't answer. 'I don't want to be disloyal to Stefan-' he began calmly.
'Why not? Because he's got a tide? The pointy hat doesn't make him better than you, Miller. If there's one thing I would give to this world everyone's trying so half-heartedly to remake, it would be the end of all leaders.' He let his chin drop to his chest; his outburst had exhausted him.
'Perhaps you're right.' Miller's voice sounded tiny in the echoing cell 'I believe in what Christ stood for. It's just so right… loving one another… love as this great power… sacrifice… redemption. I believe there's hope for all of us, I really do.'
Mallory softened at his words. 'People get in the way, Miller,' he said gently. 'Keep your God in your own heart.'
'But what can I do?' His constant hand-wringing showed his struggle with deep emotions that threatened to unbalance him. 'I don't like what Stefan's doing… a lot of people don't. But he's the bishop…'His voice trailed away, laced with desperation.
'If you believe in something, stand up for it. Don't let Stefan drag this whole thing down his own mad route.' He added, 'But don't get yourself hurt, Miller. Look after yourself. It won't do any good if you're sitting in the cell next to mine.'
Miller stared at him for a long moment, deciphering his words, and then smiled. 'I'll be careful, Mallory.'
'Before we all start getting too girly in our emotions, tell me what's happened out there. Something's gone wrong, or Stefan wouldn't feel the need to crank up the repression.'
'Oh, it was bad, Mallory. First the travellers refused to help-'
'Hardly surprising after Stefan had some of them slaughtered. What was he thinking? Well, I know what he was thinking — that God was on his side and he could do whatever he wanted.'
'They all scattered into the city. And then the camp lost its protection. We managed to bring in most of the supplies they'd got stored there — and there wasn't that much — but Blaine was overseeing the setting up of an auxiliary camp so that they could secure another route out, when something attacked. It was like a… a griffin… or something, they said. Part bird, part something else. It killed five knights and three brothers before the rest of them managed to get back through the tunnel.'
Mallory laughed. 'Stupid bastards. They lost everything through their own arrogance. The land around here gets its power from belief. If the travellers aren't there to worship — if their belief has been shattered — it ends up
