Servant of the Servants of God

The angry ground stopped the prelate’s quill. He had no means of protecting himself and hugged his scroll to the lectern while the earth shook. Each seated man leapt from his chair except Pope Formosus, whose long-dead corpse slid to the basilica’s stone—an indignity that wrenched the prelate’s heart, but His Holiness would denounce any man who rushed to Formosus. The violent shaking jolted the former Pope over the floor, leaving putrid smudges of black on the marble.

A roar impelled the prelate to turn, and he saw fragments explode from the last of the nave’s roof, smashing against the pews and the floor. Then blocks of wall ripped free until whole sections tumbled onto debris...

Full story available here: https://sites.google.com/view/sundial-magazine/short-stories/servant-of-the-servants-of-god - Many thanks to the Ashley Murphy of Sundial Magazine for publishing the piece. Hope you enjoy it, everyone - the Cadaver Synod is far too crazy a tale for me to have made up.