Every one of them had red hair.
In the centre of the chamber was a single shell, placed there as if given some special honour. This shell faced the entrance of the chamber, where a direct line of sight would point down the stairs, along the road, and at the stone arch leading back to Merralya.
This shell was empty.
Ella's heart raced in her chest and her breathing came laboured. Filled with fear, she walked along the row of shells. Each had a name above his casing, written with letters of silver.
"Ravathi Roxas," Ella read, and then continued to the next living tomb.
"Varian Vitrix." He was a tall man, with long hair the colour of rust.
"Pyrax Pohlen." This was a striking man with hair of burnished red-gold.
Ella turned and walked to the empty shell facing the chamber's entrance. She looked at the name written above it. "Sentar Scythran."
Ella's mind turned back to the story Evrin had told, when they'd been gathered at the Sentinel after the Primate's death.
She looked again at the only tomb without an occupant. "The Lord of the Night," Ella whispered.
Evrin had described him as the darkest of them all. Sentar was the one who had first discovered the process of extracting essence from the dead. He was the one who had never had any interest in humans, preferring to be served by revenants. He was the one who had started murdering masses of humans for essence, long ago, without waiting for the people to die first.
Ella felt dread sink into her stomach like a stone being dropped.
The Lord of the Night was in Merralya.
She realised her muscles were tense, and she held her wand in a grip of iron. Ella forced herself to relax, and then looked at the wand in her hand.
She didn't know how strong the shells were, but there was only one way to find out.
Sentar Scythran may have crossed, but she had a chance here, to destroy the Evermen forever.
She had to try.
Ella walked to the nearest occupied shell. She looked at Pyrax Pohlen and thought about the great war fought long ago between the humans and their gods. She owed it to those brave people of long ago to do this.
Ella touched her wand to the shell and spoke the activation sequence.
"Tourahn-ash-tassine."
The symbols on the wand lit up as the device came to life. Ella called forth a first-level bolt of energy. "Asta!"
Sparks fountained from the clear wall of the shell. The brightness lit up the chamber, sending flickering shadows dancing around the walls and forcing Ella to shield her eyes.
She took her hand away from her brow.
The shell was unharmed.
Taking a deep breath, Ella called up a fourth-level bolt of energy. "Sahn!"
The symbols on the wand grew weaker as the energy left it. Ella felt waves of heat pour from the prism at the wand's tip, and chanted as she held it to the shell, calling forth the protective capabilities of her dress.
The walls of the chamber were lit up white, and when Ella took the wand away from the shell, afterimages danced in her vision.
Still, the shell was unharmed.
Ella sighed.
She sensed sudden movement behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, a black shadow peeled from the wall.
Ella turned to see.
The shadow launched itself at her.
Ella screamed and her hood went over her eyes as she was thrown to the ground. She felt wiry muscles and soft clothing, and then her head was knocked back against the stone.
A hand thrust at her face, pushing at her neck and hair, finally finding her mouth and clapping onto Ella's lips before she could speak an activation sequence.
Ella fought but her assailant was too strong. She cried against the hand holding her mouth but nothing came out except a moan.
While she was pinned to the ground her attacker's other hand pulled the hood back from her head.
Ella looked up into intense blue eyes and hair the colour of flame. The hand covered her nostrils as well as her mouth and she couldn't breathe. Looking up at his face, Ella wondered if he was still sane.
"It's not you," Killian muttered.
Ella tried to gasp for breath, her chest heaving and legs kicking at the ground, but her lungs had nothing to draw on. She felt darkness encroaching.
"It's impossible," Killian said. "You feel very real for a vision."
Ella's single free hand smashed into Killian's ear.
He fell back with a cry, and his hand left Ella's mouth. She gasped as air returned and quickly called on a series of runes, feeling her dress harden to steel. Another activation sequence sent a wave of lightning scattering across her form.
Killian cried out and leaped backwards with incredible agility. Coughing and gasping, Ella climbed to her feet. She saw her wand on the floor nearby.