Ignatious watched as understanding and panic rippled through the crowd. Parents grabbed their children, shielding them with their bodies. Some clutched pendants of radiant or flaming suns, thrusting their sacred talismans toward him as if he would turn on them at any moment.
From the wings of the great cathedral, the Temple Guard pressed forward with maces held high and priests walking behind them.
"Heretic!"
"Blasphemy!"
"Get away from him, get back!"
"Demon!"
"Look, look at his teeth! He's, he's a vampire!"
"Everyone, stop and stand where you are!" High Priest Aubin bellowed, standing atop the dais and holding his arms out wide. "Do not move! Do not fear," he cried, desperate to stop people from trying to flee. If they ran, with this many people in the cathedral, they would quickly trample the young and the old alike, and the night would be truly tragic.
