“Hello, Jay.”
“I know you.” Jay managed an aslant frown. “You’re the Lord of Ruin.”
“Oh, dear, you’ve found me out.”
“Thought so. Everyone said my hair is the same as yours.”
“Hum, they’re almost right; I’m growing mine a bit longer these days.”
“Father Horst cut mine.”
“He did a good job.”
“Of course he did.”
“Cutting hair isn’t the only thing he did right by all accounts.”
“Yes.”
“You’re not joining in with the games much, are you?”
Jay wrinkled her nose up contemptuously. “They’re just kids’ games.”
“Ah. You prefer the view then?”
“Sort of. I’ve never seen space before. Not real space, like this. I thought it was just empty, but this is always different. It’s so pretty with the rings and everything. So’s the parkland, too. Tranquillity’s nice all over.”
“Thank you. But wouldn’t you be better off in the parkland? It’s healthier than sitting here all day long.”
“Suppose so.”
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No. It’s just . . . I think it’s safer here, that’s all.”
“Safer?”
“Yes. I talked to Kelly on the flight here, we were in the spaceplane together. She showed me all the recordings she’d made. Did you know the possessed were frightened of space? That’s why they make the red cloud cover the sky, so they don’t have to see it.”
“I remember that part, yes.”
“It’s sort of funny if you think about it, the dead scared of the dark.”
“Thank heavens they’re scared of something, I say. Is that why you like sitting here?”
“Yes. This is like the night; so I’ll be safe from them here.”
“Jay, there are no possessed in Tranquillity, I promise.”
“You can’t promise that. Nobody can.”
“Okay. Ninety-nine per cent, then. How’s that sound?”
“I believe that.” Jay smiled sheepishly.
“Good. You must be missing your family?”
“I miss Mummy. We went to Lalonde so we could get away from the rest of our family.”
“Oh.”
“I miss Drusilla, too. She’s my rabbit. And Sango; he was Mr Manani’s horse. But he’s dead anyway. Quinn Dexter shot him.” The tenuous smile faded, and she glanced back at the stars in a hunt for reassurance.
Ione studied the young girl for a moment. She didn’t think a foster family would be much use in this case, Jay was too clued up to accept a substitute for anything. However, Dr Giddings had mentioned bribes . . . “There’s someone I’d like you to meet, I think you’ll get on very well with her.”
“Who?” Jay asked.
“She’s a friend of mine, a very special friend. But she doesn’t come down into the starscrapers; it’s tricky for her. You’ll have to come up and visit her in the park.”
“I ought to wait for Father Horst. We normally have lunch together.”
“I’m sure he won’t mind just this once. We can leave a message.”
Jay was obviously torn. “I suppose so. I don’t know where he’s gone.”
To see Tranquillity’s bishop, but Ione didn’t say it.
“I wonder why you saw the demon as red?” the bishop was asking as the two of them walked the old-fashioned grounds of the cathedral with its century-old yew hedges, rose beds, and stone-lined ponds. “It does seem somewhat classical. One can hardly credit that Dante did actually get shown around Hell.”
“I think demon might be a simplistic term in this instance,” Horst replied. “I’ve no doubt that it was some kind of spiritual entity; but given the clarity of hindsight, it seemed to be more curious than malevolent.”
“Remarkable. To come face-to-face with a creature not of this realm. And you say it first appeared before the Ivets performed their dark mass?”
“Yes. Hours before. Though it was definitely present at the mass; right there when possession started.”
“It was the instigator, then?”
“I don’t know. But I hardly think its presence can be a coincidence. It was certainly involved.”
“How strange.”
Horst was disturbed by how melancholic the old man sounded. Joseph Saro was far removed from the tough realist of a bishop Horst had served with back at the arcology; this was a genteel jolly man, whose subtlety was perfectly suited to an undemanding diocese like Tranquillity. With his almost-white beard and crinkled ebony skin, he had evolved a cosy dignity. More of a social figure than religious leader.
“Your grace?” Horst prompted.