I remembered how the Midnight Cloister was rounding people up. “How did they keep so many hidden?” The compulsion for truth burned like a fire within my soul. I had to know what happened.
“Stasis spells, mostly. You only woke up when they…” He swallowed. “When the Vicomte tried to take your power.”
My heart thudded more quickly. “And then what did the Vicomte do?”
“He did little. He had experimenters do most of the work. They tried to pull out bone crawlers and place them in new subjects, thinking that the insects would then respond to the Vicomte.” Quinn’s shoulder’s slumped. “It didn’t work, but that didn’t stop them from trying. Over and over. Thousands of us passed through here, Elea. Once the Vicomte’s people pulled those insects out of us, we’d crumble to ash within minutes.”
Just like Gretel.
All the breath left my body. It took a force of will to inhale again. “How many of you are left?”
“When I died? Only a few hundred.” He gestured behind him. “Look behind you. This is all that’s left of our people.”
I straightened my back. “There are still the Fantomes.”
Quinn sniffed. “They’re not true Necromancers. Our way of life is dead, Elea. Face it.”
I took a half step backward. “No, that’s not true. Some of my Sisters and Brothers survived. I’m going to find them.”
A malevolent gleam appeared in Quinn’s ghostly eyes. “You should have done what I said to, right after Tristan died. Do you remember my words, Elea? I told you to go home to your farm and enjoy your life while you could. And now, you’ve put on airs to become a Grand Mistress Necromancer, sent our Tsar off into exile, and what’s become of all your hard work? You’ve changed nothing. We’re still all as good as dead. Only some of us might have lived. Unlike you.”
My bottom lip wobbled. By the gods, Quinn is right. I’d spent so long trying to save my people from the Tsar, and what had I done? Raised up the Vicomte instead. Avoided enjoying the gift of my life. Tears stung my eyes.
Still, I couldn’t give up.
“What about my Sisters? They might be hidden here while being drained. Do you sense any of them?” A ghost could search within the present if he wished. Unlike any spell that I would cast, Quinn could search without raising alarms among the Fantomes.
Quinn’s eye twitched once again. “Haven’t you been listening?” His voice took on a hysterical tone. “Everyone here is dead. Dead, dead, dead, and you’re next!”
Rowan stepped forward and raised his glowing sword. “That’s enough out of you.” He swung the bright blade through Quinn’s transparent body, and the ghost disappeared. Quinn’s soul wasn’t destroyed, but the way he’d left wouldn’t feel too good, either. I couldn’t find it in me to pity him right now.
A weight of grief settled into my bones. I hunched forward under the burden. Everyone here is dead. “This can’t be happening.”
Rowan quickly encased me in his arms. “Don’t give up hope. Quinn didn’t seem in his right mind. Perhaps every Necromancer here is dead. That doesn’t mean your friends aren’t alive somewhere else. You might still save them. I bet Amelia will know where else to look.”
My entire body felt leaden with sadness. “I hope so.” Even so, I knew the words were lies before they even left my mouth. The Montagne and Havilland estates were the only two places that seemed likely to hide my Sisters. Other than that? There were too many Royal estates and not enough time to search them.
I leaned into the warmth of Rowan’s embrace and tried to process what had happened. My great quest was likely over. I had indeed found the lost Necromancers, and they were a pile of dust. My friends were likely lost as well.
Still, it wasn’t in me to give up. A day remained to find Ada and the others.
Rowan rubbed my back in gentle circles. “What do you plan to do?”
“Get a list of nearby estates from Amelia’s library. After that, I’ll start searching again.” I forced myself to step away from his embrace. “I can’t give up, Rowan. I will save them.”
“I believe you, Elea.”
It was good that one of us had faith in me. Because one thought kept echoing through my heart.
Ada, Veronique, and the others are gone.
Chapter Nineteen
For a long moment, I could only stare at the ash pile. One thought kept echoing through my mind.
Here are all that remains of a thousand Necromancers.
Rowan held me close, yet the heat of his skin gave me no warmth. The icy truth only pressed more deeply into my bones.
My way of life had almost vanished.
The elderly Sisters at my Cloister might still be clever, but they couldn’t cast major spells anymore. Once, I’d hoped they could train new recruits or perhaps rehabilitate some Fantomes. With every passing moment, those dreams seemed farther out of reach.
My eyes stung with held-in tears. When I’d lived with the Casters, they’d always called me the Last Necromancer. Since I was the only Grand Mistress they’d ever seen, I thought the term was sweet.
Now the name seemed to be coming true.
Rowan gently kissed the top of my head. “We need to return to the play.”