Page 130 of Antiletum

“Rainah’s been down here the whole time?” Selise whispers.

Unnecessary. No one can hear us. But it is unsettling, how horribly it echoes against the underground walls. I almost snap at her to stop, lest the roof collapses on us. An unwarranted fear. Probably due to my utter terror at what lies ahead. Maybe being buried under the rubble wouldn’t be so bad.

“And you knew?” she hisses at Mallin, turning to her husband to pinch his arm.

He yelps and it calls right back to us. My jaw grinds further in response. “What was that for? I’m not the one who killed her and lied about her grave!”

I heave a deep breath through my nose, grimacing. “You’re not helping, Mallin.”

Selise glosses over my discomfort altogether. “You knew I was going to visit my friend in the cemetery when she wasn’t in the ground at all.”

“Technically, Rainah is in the ground,” Blair chimes in.

My hands tremble, my heart racing, shoulders shaking out, and I can’t stop from cracking my neck. Delaney is tense too. Quiet among the others bickering. I hear her swallowing every few seconds. She shoots me a glare, but takes my hand in hers all the same, putting pressure on my fingers to calm me down. It works. A bit.

“Valledyn, you have got to stop fidgeting,” Delaney finally scolds me when I pop my neck. Yet again.

“I can’t help it. I’m nervous.”

“You weren’t so nervous when you strangled her to death,” Delaney hisses at me.

Why does everyone have to keep saying it out loud? We all know what happened.

“Why are you scared now?”

I glower down at her. “Have you met your sister?”

Mallin gives a pitying sigh. Delaney scowls right back at me.

That may have been the wrong thing to say. Defensively, I add, “She’s going to hold this grudge for the rest of her life.”

Delaney glares at me, outraged. “Assuming your plan works and we can even bring her back to life for any lasting amount of time.”

I wince again. Fuck. Really, I have no right to be annoyed. I brought this upon myself.

“I think we all agree that you deserve Rainah’s impending grudge, Val,” Blair says smugly.

At least she’s speaking to me. The moment she saw Delaney at my side when we came to collect her for our trip to the catacombs, her ire with me fell away. Like she decided if Delaney could (for lack of a better word) forgive me for killing her sister, then Blair could offer me her pardon as well.

Delaney huffs, grabbing my arm and dragging me along like she even knows where we’re going. “Come on.”

We make it to a cavernous chamber. The scent of magic is strong, Nelda having put a stasis ward around Rainah’s body with her gift to keep her from decaying. It’s fresh. Which means she’s probably been in here only recently, reinforcing the ward.

Nelda will have to flee with us as well.

Rainah lays atop a stone altar, grey dress flared around her legs. Pale. Lifeless. Purple ring wrapping around her neck.

Mallin puffs out a sigh. “This is so fucked.” Though he knew she was here, he hasn’t been to visit her body. Taking mine and Nelda’s word that Rainah has been well preserved.

Reluctant in my agreement, I keep my mouth shut.

Without preamble, Delaney steps right up to her sister’s body. Holding her hand out to me. “Let’s do it now. Before I change my mind.”

My lovely wife has a green tinge to her face that only adds to my own nausea.

The tension in the catacombs is thick. Blair is sucking on her wooden cigarette holder, exhaling a gaggle of smoke creatures that are not easing the strain at all. Not even a little bit. I can hear Selise’s shallow breaths, standing in the shadows. Mallin’s arms are tight across his chest as he stares down at Rainah’s corpse.

I take Delaney’s proffered hand before I back out as well, our necromancy joining together as soon as we touch. Buzzing. Strong. It senses what’s coming. A true challenge, beyond the plants of the conservatory. An important resurrection.