Fire and Ice

“Seeker!” Seeker!” called Father Brown as he stepped through the gaping whole in the wall, “answer me, I have returned. Answer me, I have returned!” his words rebounded off the walls of the empty building and they searched for their recipiant.

“There is no one here” complained the Chamberlain peering through the darkness.

“Have patience” hissed Brown, “Seeker!” he called again, “It is I, Father Brown. Seeker, it is I, Father Brown. I seek an audience, I seek an audience”

“Go away, go away” came a squeaky voice through the shadows. The Chamberlain searched the gloom of the building for the source of the voice, but the scattered debris and fallen rubbish hid any signs of the speaker.

“I need you help, I need you help” called Brown again into the darkness.

“Where is my son? Where is my son?” came the sharp reply.

Father Brown stood for a moment and closed his eyes and lowered his head, his fingers twinging in silent prayer. “He is safe with my friends, he is safe with my friends” he lied as he stared down at the debris strewn floor. He cast a sideways glance toward the Chamberlain and shook his head, “may the Lord forgive my lies” he whispered.

“Come forward into the light so I may see you, come forward into the light so I may see you” came the voice. Father Brown obeyed the request and beckoned the old man to follow. The Chamberlain reluctantly moved across the floor and stood beside the priest, allowing the sun to touch his frail old body. “Who is the stranger? Who is the stranger?” shouted the disembodied voice.

“He is the Chamberlain to Lady Theye, he is the Chamberlain to Lady Theye” called Brown into the darkness as he pushed the Chamberlain before him. “He is here on official business, he is here on official business”

“Lady Theye has no cares for me or my work, so what is his business here? Lady Theye has no cares for me of my work, so what is his business here?”

“He needs to see for himself...” began Brown.

“He cannot speak for himself? He cannot speak for himself” interrupted the voice of the Seeker, “let him tell me, let him tell me”

“Speak” whispered Brown pushing his hand roughly in the old man’s back.

“This man has claimed our world in ending today, he believes that he can save our people, but my Lady will not listen to any claims without evidence of this words...that is why I am here. You have that evidence I am led to believe”

“Repeat your words” whispered Father Brown leaning close to the Chamberlain’s ear.

" This man has claimed our world in ending today, he believes that he can save our people, but my Lady will not listen to any claims without evidence of this words...that is why I am here. You have that evidence I am led to believe”

Their eyes scanned the building as silence descended over the room, before a small voice drifted across the darkness, “very well, very well” said the old man. “You may come up, you may come up”, a shaft of light forced its way through the dark and cast a corridor of light to the higher echelons of the building.

“Come” ordered Brown as he traced his feet over the dusty floor and stepped on the rusting rungs of the lower steps of the metal ladder which snaked up the far wall. The Chamberlain once again found himself staring at the back of the large priest as they strode carefully up the side of the building. He bowed his head as he ducked through the damaged, decaying wall and watched as Father Brown walked confidently across the floor toward an array of illuminated screens at the far end of the room. Each screen cast an ominous shadow across the room as red and green lights joined and danced through the darkness, throwing and casting distorted shadows up the walls. The figure of an elderly man stood from a table and reached out his hands toward Father Brown who accepted them and bowed.

“My son is dead isn’t he, my son is dead isn’t he” the words were more a statement than a question as he looked at the priest’s large brown eyes. “I can feel he is no longer with me, I can feel he is longer with me”

“Seeker...” Father Brown stammered uncertainly with his words.

“Do not lie to me!” snapped the Seeker angrily, “Do not lie to me, I am not an idiot, I can see that your words hide your lies. I am not an idiot, I can see that your words hide your lies!” Father Brown closed his eyes, but still held the Seeker’s hands in his own and nodded sagely. “I could foresee his death, I could foresee his death” said the Seeker sadly, “I could feel his life being taken from me, I could feel his life being taken from me” his eyes searched the priest, “why did you lie to me? Why did you lie to me?“, his question was met by silence, “did you think I would not help, did you think I would not help”. He searched Father Brown’s face and shook his head, “you insult me. You insult me” he turned to look at the Chamberlain, who watched the exchange with interest. “I remember you, I remember you” he said softly as he approached the doorway.

“As I you” replied the Chamberlain, “as I you”

“You helped that whore to lead the people away from the colony, you killed and murdered and left a trail of blood behind you. Rivers of blood stretch on your hands and taint your heart. You helped that whore to lead the people away from the colony, you killed and murdered and left a trail of blood behind you. Rivers of blood stretch on your hands and taint your heart”

“And you stood and watched and did nothing” accused the Chamberlain as he stood before the Seeker, “and you stood and watched and did nothing”. They stood face to face and stared at each other, with hatred brewing between the two men.

“Ask your question, ask your question” stated the Seeker eventually, turning from the Chamberlain.

“Is the words of this man true? Is the words of this man true?” The Seeker nodded as he walked through the darkness and waved at the screens before him.

“Our world dies, our world dies” he said sadly as the numbers on the screens continued their relentless decline.

“As do you” sneered the Chamberlain as he bound forward, his hand clutching a small blade, pulled from a sheath beneath his robe and plunge the metal deep into the Seeker’s back, “join your son old man, you shall never see the fall of the sun” The Seeker’s eyes bulged with shock as a torrent of blood erupted from his mouth as the pain of the blade flowed through his body.

“No!” screamed Father Brown as he leapt across the room and grasped at the Chamberlain and pulled him away from the Seeker. His face sneered as he watched the blood drift across the Seeker’s robes and held his blade up into the sunlight. He moved the silver knife close to his face and licked the blood from the blade and allowed his saliva to mix with the crimson blood and dribble over his chin.

“Where is your proof now” he smirked through red stained teeth as his words stung Father Brown.

“What have you done?” asked Brown desperately, “your people...”

“My people will die in ignorance if that that is the will of the Gods” rebuked the Chamberlain, “that is my Lady’s wish”

“You savage” whispered Brown as he launched his body toward the old man, his own frame connecting with the Chamberlain’s body as they collided with a sickening thud. He could hear bones breaking as his body connected with the old man as they fell to the floor. Clouds of dust rose into the air, complaining at the sudden disturbance by blocking the streams of sunlight from the hole laden roof. The Chamberlain tasted his own blood in his mouth, mix with that of the Seeker’s as the wind was pushed from his body.

The Chamberlain laughed as he rolled onto his front and clambered across the floor as he pushed his body toward the waiting stairway, “you have failed priest”

Father Brown stood and glanced down at the dust around his feet, tinged with the blood of the Seeker and strode slowly in the wake of the Chamberlain. He stood above the frail old body of the prone Chamberlain at his feet and grasped his body. lifting him from the floor. “You fool!” he hissed through clenched teeth as he pulled the old man close to his body.

“You shall release me” commanded the Chamberlain.

“Why?” asked Father Brown angrily, glaring at the writhing body in his grasp. He stepped forward slowly as he searched the face of the Chamberlain.

“Because you have lost” sneered the Chamberlain, “your cause and your hope have gone. I have won...my Lady has won” he spat into the face of the priest and grinned as his blood tinged saliva crossed the dark skin of the Father Brown.

“I should kill you” threatened Brown.

“But, you won’t” laughed the Chamberlain, “you have an oath”

“My oath was broken a long time ago” whispered Father Brown through chapped lips, “I have lost my faith” he held out the old man over an empty space and released his grip on his clothing and stood at the edge of the precipice, watching as the old man fell into the darkness, only turning away as he heard the sickening crash on the floor below and the plume of dust from the distant floor.