all people didn’t threaten anyone. I was the sharp-tongued one.
“Well?” I asked.
“Yes, come in, then. I’ll ask one of my apprentices to assist you. Ivy Lane, you aren’t to go within a metre of them.”
“I have our spell equipment,” I said. A lie, but I wouldn’t let Isabel go in there alone. “I’ll watch from the side. I won’t touch anything.”
“Fine.” He swept into the hallway, gesturing at us to follow.
The gloomy hall led into a wide room with an open space in the centre. Chalked onto the shiny metal floor was the outline of a big circle. Scorch marks covered the walls and ceiling, which had no lightbulb. Instead, candles burned in tall carved sconces on the walls, while unlit candles surrounded the chalked circle at intervals.
“Why’s the room made of metal?” I asked.
“Iron,” said Lord Evander. “It was once believed that iron repelled spirits in the same way that it does faeries. Not true, of course, but our ancestors built this place on their own beliefs.”
Huh. Iron and spirits? That one, I hadn’t heard before. I guessed it could keep half-faerie ghosts out. I hope.
Two other black-clad figures looked at us from the room’s corner. Maybe ‘lurking creepily in corners’ was part of necromancer training.
“Colby,” said Lord Evander, gesturing towards a short, unshaven young man who’d walked in through one of the three doors on the circle’s other side. “Your assistance is required.”
The man gave me a wary look. He looked hardly out of his teens, actually—far younger than me. An apprentice. His gaze rested on the sword at my waist.
“We need you to contact a spirit,” said Isabel. “A man named—” She looked at me.
“Perry,” I said. “A shifter. He was murdered last night. We wish to question his spirit.”
The apprentice swallowed, throat bobbing nervously. “Okay. If he was killed violently, though, his spirit might try to attack us. He might not know he’s dead.”
“It’ll be fine,” said Lord Evander, in a surprisingly reassuring tone. “The spirit will remain caged within the circle. He won’t be able to get out.”
The apprentice shuffled forwards. “Okay. You two… stay away from the circle while I’m doing the ritual.” He mumbled the words, like he wasn’t used to giving orders, and crouched down. Pulling a box of matches from his pocket, he leaned in to light one of the candles at the circle’s edge. He then moved around the circle, lighting the other candles. Twelve in total.
The apprentice began to chant in a language I didn’t know. Sounded vaguely like Latin. The candles burned brighter, their yellow flames turning to green then blue and settling on a dark shade of reddish-purple. Lights flared along the entire circle, enclosing a rapidly growing patch of grey smoke.
The veil.
Shivers ran down my spine. The room was like a refrigerator anyway, but the icy wind billowing out from the circle made it feel like the candles exuded coldness, not warmth. Isabel’s teeth chattered next to me, while a sudden draft of cold air from behind announced the arrival of several other necromancers. They’d obviously come to watch the show.
The apprentice necromancer, Colby, walked right up to the circle. Even from a safe distance, I could tell he was shaking. He spoke again in that strange language, and then said the name Perry. He must be calling the shifter’s spirit.
The grey smoke began to swirl, picking up speed like a miniature tornado contained within the magical boundaries of the summoning circle. Dizziness swept through me, but I couldn’t look away.
The smoke thinned out, turning into fine mist. The outline of a man appeared, indistinct and blurred, but recognisably human. Last I’d seen of him, he’d been a corpse. I closed my eyes against a wave of nausea, and when I opened them again, he’d moved to the circle’s edge, placing his hands against it like against a glass door.
“What—what is this?”
Oh,
“Well?” I asked.
“Yes, come in, then. I’ll ask one of my apprentices to assist you. Ivy Lane, you aren’t to go within a metre of them.”
“I have our spell equipment,” I said. A lie, but I wouldn’t let Isabel go in there alone. “I’ll watch from the side. I won’t touch anything.”
“Fine.” He swept into the hallway, gesturing at us to follow.
The gloomy hall led into a wide room with an open space in the centre. Chalked onto the shiny metal floor was the outline of a big circle. Scorch marks covered the walls and ceiling, which had no lightbulb. Instead, candles burned in tall carved sconces on the walls, while unlit candles surrounded the chalked circle at intervals.
“Why’s the room made of metal?” I asked.
“Iron,” said Lord Evander. “It was once believed that iron repelled spirits in the same way that it does faeries. Not true, of course, but our ancestors built this place on their own beliefs.”
Huh. Iron and spirits? That one, I hadn’t heard before. I guessed it could keep half-faerie ghosts out. I hope.
Two other black-clad figures looked at us from the room’s corner. Maybe ‘lurking creepily in corners’ was part of necromancer training.
“Colby,” said Lord Evander, gesturing towards a short, unshaven young man who’d walked in through one of the three doors on the circle’s other side. “Your assistance is required.”
The man gave me a wary look. He looked hardly out of his teens, actually—far younger than me. An apprentice. His gaze rested on the sword at my waist.
“We need you to contact a spirit,” said Isabel. “A man named—” She looked at me.
“Perry,” I said. “A shifter. He was murdered last night. We wish to question his spirit.”
The apprentice swallowed, throat bobbing nervously. “Okay. If he was killed violently, though, his spirit might try to attack us. He might not know he’s dead.”
“It’ll be fine,” said Lord Evander, in a surprisingly reassuring tone. “The spirit will remain caged within the circle. He won’t be able to get out.”
The apprentice shuffled forwards. “Okay. You two… stay away from the circle while I’m doing the ritual.” He mumbled the words, like he wasn’t used to giving orders, and crouched down. Pulling a box of matches from his pocket, he leaned in to light one of the candles at the circle’s edge. He then moved around the circle, lighting the other candles. Twelve in total.
The apprentice began to chant in a language I didn’t know. Sounded vaguely like Latin. The candles burned brighter, their yellow flames turning to green then blue and settling on a dark shade of reddish-purple. Lights flared along the entire circle, enclosing a rapidly growing patch of grey smoke.
The veil.
Shivers ran down my spine. The room was like a refrigerator anyway, but the icy wind billowing out from the circle made it feel like the candles exuded coldness, not warmth. Isabel’s teeth chattered next to me, while a sudden draft of cold air from behind announced the arrival of several other necromancers. They’d obviously come to watch the show.
The apprentice necromancer, Colby, walked right up to the circle. Even from a safe distance, I could tell he was shaking. He spoke again in that strange language, and then said the name Perry. He must be calling the shifter’s spirit.
The grey smoke began to swirl, picking up speed like a miniature tornado contained within the magical boundaries of the summoning circle. Dizziness swept through me, but I couldn’t look away.
The smoke thinned out, turning into fine mist. The outline of a man appeared, indistinct and blurred, but recognisably human. Last I’d seen of him, he’d been a corpse. I closed my eyes against a wave of nausea, and when I opened them again, he’d moved to the circle’s edge, placing his hands against it like against a glass door.
“What—what is this?”
Oh,
Similar Books
