Rituals — Leon De Kock

She has sky-blue eyes, silver hair, and a tongue like a blade. What she hasn’t got is her memory. The first thing ten-year-old Vespula can remember is standing at the front door of a house, and she has to knock.Drunken Deacon Black wants to climb the Church ranks, his cleanliness-obsessed wife wants free labour, and the world-dominating Church wants obedience. Put one foot wrong, say one word out of place, and a solid thrashing will be only the start of Vespula’s problems. Then there are the nuns at the convent, evil as they come, and classmates to match.Vespula needs protection, and rumour of a magical blade, the Dagger of Delilah, drives her on dangerous nightly excursions into the ancient catacombs, searching the dusty, bone-filled darkness by candlelight.At least she has the creature, Golden, invisible to most, to keep lookout for her.