The Power and the Glory

Book 3 Chapter III: Boy Meets Ghoul

It wasn't easy when every time she fell asleep she dreamt of the Land of the Dead. When she woke up sometimes unable to breathe, with the memory of choking as she tried to breathe the air in that throne room. When she looked in the mirror and could swear she saw an indistinct figure in the shadows behind her.

Raising Ilaran from the dead had done what the corpse at the festival and her grandmother's warnings couldn't. Abi no longer had the slightest wish to meddle with necromancy. The thought of facing Death again made her shudder.

Without her necromancy studies she looked around for something else to pass the time. In addition to Kiriyuki and Kitri she was avoiding Arafaren and Ilaran. Arafaren because he was an infernal nuisance who asked too many questions, and Ilaran because... Well, what was she to say to someone when she'd unwillingly seen most of his memories? She couldn't look him in the eye without blushing when she remembered witnessing his conversation with Kivoduin, and she felt she had to offer her condolences for Nuvildu's death even though it had happened millennia ago. So visiting her acquaintances was out of the question.

For want of anything better to do she took up reading. In a week she read more than she usually read in a year. When not out with Irímé she spent most of her time in her parents' library.

That was where Kitri found her when she finally came looking for her.

"I never thought the day would come when you'd take up a sane hobby," she said by way of greeting.

Abi put down her book and suppressed the urge to run away. "Hello, Kitri. What do you want?"

Kitri didn't answer at first. She stared at Abi as if she was a specimen under a microscope. "...Are you sick?"

"No?" Abi said, bemused. "At least I don't think so. Why?"

"You look... strange. Like you're not all there. Well, I mean, you never have been all there mentally, but now you're almost... transparent."

Abi looked down at herself. She was as solid as ever. "What are you talking about?"

Kitri shrugged. "I suppose it's just a trick of the light. Anyway, I came to say I'm going home tomorrow. I want you to promise never to meddle with necromancy again."

"I promise," Abi said, and meant it this time. "I don't think it was such a good idea after all."

"That," said Kitri with an air of profound relief, "is the most sensible thing you've ever said in ages."

Both Abi and Kitri would have been much less at ease if they had known what the future held. For better or for worse they were blissfully ignorant. Abi sincerely believed she would never attempt necromancy again. She made her promise with no intention of breaking it. She just didn't know that events were conspiring against her.

~~~~

Siarvin awoke with a jolt. It was so dark that he could tell at once it was the middle of the night. No one should be awake at this time. So what had disturbed him? He lay silent for several minutes before he realised what it was. His bed was on the other side of the room to Ilaran's, but even so he could normally hear Ilaran's breathing. Now there wasn't the faintest noise to be heard.

He sat bolt upright. His first terrible thought was that something had happened. Did necromancy have a time limit? Was Ilaran's wound more serious than he thought, even after stitching it up and using magic to heal the worst of it? He turned on the bedside lamp.

Ilaran's bed was empty.

Siarvin waited for several minutes. Ilaran didn't come back. There was no noise from the rest of the house. Mildly alarmed, Siarvin got out of bed and went to see what was wrong. When he opened the bedroom door he saw the kitchen light was on. He heard the faint crackle of paper being crumpled up. Bemused, he crossed the hall and pushed the kitchen door open.