The Seasonal Debt

The silence of the morning after the riot was heavier than the darkness itself. I woke with a fever that made my skin hum and my vision swim. The golden dress lay discarded on the floor like the molted skin of a metallic snake. I had spent the night drifting between nightmares of obsidian walls closing in and the memory of Silas's freezing forehead pressed against mine. Every time I closed my eyes I felt that vacuum again. It was a hunger that did not want my blood but my very light. Mina did not come at her usual hour. When the door finally clicked open it was not the gentle attendant who entered. It was a pair of guards in grey liveries. They did not look at me. They stood by the door with their hands on the pommels of their swords. Their presence was a cold reminder that my display of power in the ballroom had changed my status. I was no longer just a guest or a debt. I was a volatile asset that needed to be watched. "The King requires you in the war room." One of the guards said. His voice was flat and devoid of the awe the guests had shown the night before. "I am unwell." I replied. I sat up in bed and felt a wave of dizziness wash over me. My internal fire was a guttering candle. My limbs felt like they were made of damp clay. "The King did not ask about your health Lady Elara." The guard stated. "He asked for your presence." I gritted my teeth and forced myself out of bed. I chose a simple gown of heavy wool the color of dried blood. I did not want to glow today. I did not want to be a sun. I wanted to be a shadow that could disappear into the stone. I washed my face with freezing water and ignored the way my hands shook as I braided my hair. The war room was located in the highest spire of the castle. It was a circular chamber with walls made of enchanted glass that looked out over the entire city. In the center of the room a massive table held a holographic map of the districts. The blue light of the map cast long distorted shadows against the ceiling. Silas stood at the head of the table. He had changed into a high collared military coat that made him look even taller and more imposing. He was surrounded by his generals and the woman from the Council who had sniffed the air near my throat. They were arguing over the flickering lights of the map. "The breach occurred in the third quadrant." A general said. He pointed to a section of the city where the lights were dim and pulsing irregularly. "The rebels used the cooling tunnels to bypass the perimeter guards." The general explained. "Then collapse the tunnels." Silas commanded. His voice was like the crack of shifting ice. He did not look up when I entered the room. "There are thousands of civilians living in those sectors Silas." The Council woman said. "If you collapse the tunnels you cut off their only source of heat." "Then they should have policed their own." Silas replied. He finally looked up and his silver eyes locked onto mine. There was no trace of the softness I had glimpsed in my bedroom. He looked at me as if I were a map or a weapon that needed to be calibrated. "You are late Elara." Silas said. "I am exhausted Silas." I countered. I walked to the table and looked at the map. I saw the way the blue lines of the power grid were stuttering. The city was struggling to breathe. The energy I had poured into the Forge was being drained faster than it could be replenished. "The riot was a distraction." Silas said. He ignored my complaint and leaned over the map. "While you were busy playing the martyr in the ballroom another group was sabotaging the primary conduits in the slums." Silas explained. "They are desperate." I said. I looked at the flickering blue lights. "They are freezing to death while you throw galas and wear silk." I added. "They are traitors who would rather see this city fall to the frost than follow a King who keeps them alive." Silas hissed. He slammed his hand onto the table. The holographic map flickered and turned red. "I need you to go into the lower sectors." Silas commanded. The room went silent. Even the generals looked surprised. The lower sectors were the most dangerous parts of the city. They were the places where the light of the Spire did not reach and where the feral vampires hunted in the permanent dark. "You want me to leave the Spire?" I asked. I felt a spark of hope fight through my exhaustion. If I was outside the walls I might have a chance to run. "Do not think of escape Little Sun." Silas said. He walked around the table until he was standing directly in front of me. He was so close I could feel the cold radiating from his coat. "You will be heavily guarded." Silas continued. "You are going there to repair the conduits. Your touch is the only thing that can jumpstart the ancient nodes without overloading the system." "I am not a mechanic Silas." I said. "You are a source of heat." Silas corrected. He reached out and grabbed my chin. He forced me to look up at him. "The rebels want to prove that I cannot protect the people. You are going to prove them wrong by bringing the light back to the very place they tried to darken." Silas said. "And if they attack me again?" I asked. "Then you will burn them again." Silas replied. He let go of my chin and turned back to his generals. "Prepare the armored transport." Silas ordered. "We leave in an hour." "We?" I asked. "I am not letting you out of my sight Elara." Silas said. He didn't look back at me. "You are far too expensive to lose." Silas added. I spent the next hour in a state of silent fury. I was a prisoner being used as a public relations tool. Silas wanted to parade me through the slums like a captured goddess to remind the poor that he owned the sun. I went back to my room and grabbed a heavy cloak. I hid a small iron dagger in the folds of my belt. It was a pathetic weapon against a vampire king but it made me feel a little less like a victim. The armored transport was a massive beast of iron and reinforced glass. It sat in the courtyard and hissed steam into the freezing air. Silas was already inside. He sat in the back of the vehicle and looked out the window at the obsidian walls. He looked like a man who was preparing for a war he had already won. I climbed in and sat across from him. The interior of the transport was cramped and smelled of oil. Two guards sat near the door with their rifles across their knees. The vehicle lurched forward and began the descent from the high Spire. As we moved lower the opulence of the central district vanished. The black marble was replaced by cracked concrete and rusted iron. The blue neon signs were broken and hissing. The air outside the windows looked thick and grey. I saw the people again. They were huddled in the shadows of the crumbling buildings. They looked even worse than they had from the car on my first night. Their skin was translucent and their eyes were hollow. They watched the transport pass with a look of pure hatred. "Look at them Silas." I said. I gestured to a woman holding a small bundle that looked like a child. "You call this survival." I added. "It is better than the alternative." Silas said. He did not look at the woman. He kept his eyes on the grey street ahead. "Before the Spire was built they were eating each other in the snow." Silas stated. "I gave them order. I gave them a chance to last another century." "At what cost?" I asked. "The cost is irrelevant if the result is life." Silas replied. The transport came to a sudden halt. The guards gripped their rifles. Outside a massive iron grate blocked the road. It was covered in graffiti written in a dark red substance that I feared was blood. "We are at the first node." Silas said. He stood up and checked the silver blade at his waist. He looked at me and his expression softened for the briefest of seconds. "Stay close to me Elara." Silas whispered. He opened the heavy iron door. "The dark has a way of swallowing things that shine too bright." Silas warned. I stepped out into the freezing air. The cold hit me like a physical blow. The silence of the slum was terrifying. It was the silence of a predator waiting for the right moment to strike. I gathered the tiny spark in my chest and felt a faint warmth spread through my hands. I followed Silas toward a rusted hatch in the ground. I didn't know if I was going to save this city or if I was going to be the one to finally set it on fire. But as I looked at the dark faces watching us from the ruins I knew one thing for certain. The debt was only getting heavier.