Idol Bones

"We need new blood here, Miss Braithwaite. We decay, we grow rancid. New blood, I say," Canon Millhaven went on. "But whether as transfusion or sacrifice, I do not pretend to know." Reverend Theodora Braithwaite arrives at the rural cathedral of Bow St. Aelfric to find it a maelstrom of petty clerical politics. The parish has a history of nasty clashes between the townspeople and the clergy, and with an unpleasant new dean assuming control of the cathedral, the age-old feud is poised to re-ignite. The spark comes in the form of a statue -- an ancient pagan idol unearthed on church property.…