Page 108 of The Court of Secrets
“That’s why you’re here with me, always. To ground me.”
She averted her gaze. “The necromancer came to me last night.”
My heart skipped a beat. “You didn’t think to say something before?”
“I didn’t want to worry you.”
“What did he say?”
“He wants us to do it tonight.”
“We still have time.” Bile bit up throat, clawing at my tongue. I gulped back a wretch. Tears blurred my vision. I wasn’t ready yet. “The moon isn’t even full! I still have so much to do. I am supposed to have dinner with Kiros tonight while they do some magic show thing as a show of peace. I’ve barely spoken to Cedric, and Neoma definitely won’t go with us willingly. He’s going to want to see her with us.” My heart pounded. “I need Blaise too. I need to break the curses on the Objects of Kai using the same battleground.”
Her eyes widened. The brown in them darkened. “It will take all the energy to bring the necromancer back. You can’t spare some to also break a curse over the strongest and darkest objects in the realms. It’s not possible.” She stared at me apologetically. “You’ll need to find another way.”
“I can’t let Blaise down like that. He’s done so much for us.”
“If we do not bring the necromancer back tonight and kill him, he will return to control you. He’ll use you to kill Blaise and anyone else who gets in the way of him getting what he wants. Magaelor will be under constant threat. No potion will keep him out forever. This is our only chance.” She ran her index finger along one the cards, closing her eyes briefly. “There is a rare event tonight.”
“What?”
“A blue moon. The moon will appear soon after sunset, bringing with it more light than a normal evening. It happened every two to three years, apparently.”
I shook my head. “You’d think an all-powerful necromancer would have known this.”
“We can only go by the lunar cycle we know. There was no way for me to know it would be tonight.”
“I meant him.”
“His being in a different realm probably caused an oversight. Regardless, it is tonight. The moon has been visible even during the day today. It is a strong signifier of the blue moon. It is why he came to me.”
“I need to tell Blaise first.” I looked at the window, but the sky was already beginning to purple. “It’s too late.” My stomach dipped.
“I’m sorry, Winter.” She paused for a moment, then nodded. “Bring the Sword. I’ll take the Dagger. Are you ready?”
I thought about what I’d said about the spirit realm earlier. “Wouldn’t the necromancer need something to tether himself to? I mean, if he’s not in our realm…”
“Yes, but finding it could take decades. Whatever it is, it’s surely well hidden. We wouldn’t be the first to go looking for it. Our only choice right now is to destroy him at the source, not through a tether that could be kingdoms away or at the bottom of the ocean. We only have today.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “I’ll grab Neoma.”
She grabbed her staff. “I said for emergencies. This is one.”
“You’re going to knock her out.”
“I’m going to slip her a potion. I’m not going to kidnap and panic her when she can just sleep through it all, then wake up back at the castle none the wiser.”
“If we succeed,” I said, aware of the alternative.
“We have to.”
I blew out a long, shaky exhale. “Let’s go kill a necromancer.”
***
We left under the cover of darkness. Harvesting the energy of the dead would require great strength, so Morgana had brought her staff. While she couldn’t do magic herself because of the potion, she could use the souls to channel it.
She gripped it tightly as we pulled Neoma into the carriage. We’d had to wait hours before she and Cedric finally separated and she had gone to her room. Only then did we grab her. Morgana’s sleeping spell was working perfectly. Unfortunately, we had extra company. I eyed his two gold teeth glistening against the rest of Licia’s pale-yellow smile. The corner of my lip twitched. I hated that faerie. He’d used my promise against me. He once said he’d need something from me and I was to give it to him. Today was the day he made good on it. He wanted passage from me to allow him to come with us, to let him stay while he brought the necromancer back. I knew making a deal with him would come back to bite me.
