Snow whirled over the courtyard’s scarlet roses which speared the deep drifts. The Archdeacon coolly observed the scene below from his private chamber, his thin fingers pulling back the velvet drapes which would have otherwise excluded all light from the room. Church bells resonated deeply, marking the hour of nine. For the last three hours snow had been gathering slowly on the sharply angled slate roofs of the church and then emptying heavily into the quad below. The wintry weather would come as an unwelcome surprise, not only to the inhabitants of St. Winifred’s, but to the entire state. There had not been snow in June for a generation.

The Archdeacon let the heavy fabric drop and the room returned to darkness. Once his eyes adjusted to the customary gloom, he instinctively grasped the candlestick and matches on the dresser. Without any light to guide his way, he crossed the room to sit on edge of the daybed. After his breath returned, he lit the candle, savouring the flare of the match, before letting it fall onto the carpet below. The incantation had worked! He allowed himself a faint smile as a reward for achieving what his six predecessors could not. It was a modest first step, but a significant milestone for the order. The power to control the forces of winter could only be gained by ancient rite the knowledge of which had long been thought lost. The Archdeacon had studied and refined the spell for a decade. The achievement had come at considerable sacrifice: a large quantity of the participant’s blood had been required by the rite, which he had been pooling diligently in jars for weeks. He’d also not eaten in days, which, at his advanced age, was probably ill-advised. But it was done. All personal sacrifice was meaningless and protocol dictated that the head of the order must be informed of the accomplishment without delay. The communiqué was ready for his seal.

Inspired by the line “The snow whirls over the courtyard’s roses” taken from the opening line of the first poem in Tua Forsström’s collection, After Spending a Night Among Horses.