Page 48 of As Many Souls as Stars
It was Miriam’s opinion that she herselfhadno soul, inhuman as she was. Her materiality was entirely the result of the intention of her creators. They had signed a pact designed to create a demon, and Miriam was the demon they had envisaged. That was why she was subject to ludicrous laws like salt circles and dealmaking; she was the moon, reflecting others’ light. She had no spark of her own, and to control other shadows, she had to consume souls, then trade them what she had consumed.
‘You and I,’ Miriam said, delicately, ‘are different from the others. And if you are to work wonders, my dear, you must stop affecting normalcy.’
Esther frowned. ‘If that’s what I’ve been doing, I don’t think I’ve been doing it very well.’
The cab halted then, and Esther reached for the door.
As Esther went to the front and paid the driver, Miriam inspected the entrance of Vauxhall Gardens: an enormous redbrick gatehouse, rooved in sky-blue tiles, men in sanguine livery standing to attention and greeting visitors. The sky above them was blushing with the sunset, the park beyond the house lit with a dazzling array of dangling lanterns. A bronze placard by the entrance informed visitors that entry would cost four shillings.
Miriam said, ‘Four shillings. Is that a lot?’
‘It is extortionate,’ Esther replied, as they joined the queue. ‘I thought it was less.’
‘Did you bring enough money?’
She huffed, insulted, but it was clear from the discomfort on her face that the price was more than she wanted it to be. ‘We’re here now, so…’
Miriam took her arm and pulled her from the queue. ‘Let’s find another way in.’
‘It’s walled all the way round,’ Esther said, galled, as Miriam dragged her away. ‘And now we’ve lost our place.’
Miriam ignored this. She kept walking around the perimeter of the gardens until they reached a quiet spot away from the crowd, where the road was paved with shadows.
The trick would be to teach Esther something inane, something superficially impressive, to prevent her from reaching for higherpowers. Miriam said, ‘Your first lesson: the darkness is drawn to your light. It speaks to you, even if you cannot hear it. Listen and reply.’
‘Is that how you do it?’
Miriam’s interactions with other shadows were less conversations than sets of orders; they feared her enough that she didn’t need to bother with much else. But Esther didn’t need to know that. This was just a diversion until Miriam was paid her due. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Now—watch me.’ She reached towards the darkness cast by the wall.Come to me, she told it.
The shadows shuddered and began to crawl slowly towards her. Esther wasn’t particularly impressed, watching in silence until the darkness had cloaked Miriam entirely; then, finally, she allowed herself some surprise. ‘You’ve disappeared,’ she said. ‘Or… not entirely. You’re still there, aren’t you? I feel as if I can see you, if only from the corner of my eye.’
Miriam moved behind her and drew her finger down the nape of her neck. ‘Still here,’ she murmured, her words wisping between them like smoke.
Esther shivered at her touch. Miriam withdrew and turned to walk through the wall. She released the shadows once she was on the other side.
Here, obscured from the streetlamps, the darkness was more entire. The trees were of the same sort England had always grown, children of centuries, just as Miriam was—pale-flowered linden, sharp-leafed holly. If she could not see the distant lights of the lanterns, Miriam could almost believe she had returned to the forest near Harding Hall.
Miriam called, ‘Your turn.’
‘My turn!’ came the muffled reply. ‘You didn’t show me how to do it!’
‘I told you—just ask the darkness.’
‘Justaskit? “Make me invisible, if you’d be so kind”? That seems ridiculous.’
Miriam felt a stab of impatience. ‘Make a deal. Offer them a taste of your soul while picturing the outcome you desire. It is a simple transaction.’
There was a long pause—a period of minutes, during which Miriam began to wonder if Esther had simply left—and then a small, muffled, ‘Ow.’
To her own surprise, Miriam laughed. ‘Did you walk into the wall, my dear?’
‘No!’ came the reply, although it was unconvincing. ‘I almost have it. Be quiet.’
Miriam lapsed into silence, amusement lingering.
The wall in front of Miriam shimmered, and Esther stepped through it, a hazy figure as immaterial as mist. The moment she was entirely inside the park, the shadows dissipated.
In the gloom, Esther’s pale gown had faded to a colourless ash. The necklace of pearls she wore glinted dully at her throat, pooling in the hollow between her collarbones; Miriam wondered what would happen if she reached out, wrapped her hand around the necklace, and tugged—whether Esther would lurch forward to save them, or permit the strand to snap.
