“You are more awakened than you might think. Wise beyond your years, but uneducated at the same time. All of that will change,” Abigail says, tipping her head in determination.
I shoot her an uneasy smile.
God, I hope she’s right. This messy middle, where I’m aware there are things I’m clueless on, makes it hard to move forward with any sort of confidence.
Abigail catches my gaze. Her forehead creases as she opens and closes her mouth, evidently trying to decide on what to say. Finally, she takes a deep breath and says, “Autumn, it would do you some good to contemplate on what we do. What our kind has always tried to do. Necromancers work within the alignment of natural law, even if it appears we are bending it to our will. You would do well to remember that. Should we go beyond the bounds of those laws, there are always consequences to beheld.”
Her words have a certain resonance and finality to them. I open my mouth to ask her what she means, when the entire catacombs begins to quake. The lighting on the walls flickers violently and I turn back to Abigail. She sets her jaw and slams the grimoire shut.
“You need to go. Now—” she demands. “Your time here is up.”
Chapter 20
Convergence
Abigail’s form suddenly flickers before my eyes, jittering between solid and translucent. The rest of the space, the wall, torches, and even the floor do the same. It’s as if their entire reality is threatened by whatever is making everything tremble.
Without any time to question who—or what—is doing it, I nod at Abigail, who returns my gaze with a deep intensity. She tips her chin and vanishes completely.
Twisting on my heel, I only manage a few steps toward the tunnel out when I’m plunged into complete darkness. I can’t even make out the entrance on the other end.
Sweat beads across my forehead and my heart thrums loudly in my ears.
If I accidentally choose the wrong tunnel, missing it because I’m a step or two off, who knows where I could end up?
Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply through my nose and out through my mouth, trying to center myself. The quaking sensation tugs at the location around me, like some sort of seismic activity. Only, we’re not in any kind of volcanic or earthquake zone.
Panic coils itself through my thoughts, despite trying to clear them away.
Stones crumble around me, peppering the sandy floor, and I take off running. The last thing I want is to get stuck in these catacombs if the whole thing collapses.
My vision remains dark, so I run solely on instinct, trying to make it to the other end as quickly as possible. Then, without warning, colors erupt through my perception. It starts out small at first, just little white dots at the edges of my periphery. But they get bigger, and brighter, until my entire field of vision is consumed by colors, all rotating in rapid succession. The effect is dizzying and I bend over, trying to breathe instead of hurling.
“Autumn,” a voice calls in the distance. The masculine undertones of it are familiar, but I can’t put my finger on why.
I perk my ears, trying to focus on the source of it.
“Autumn, come back to me…please…please…” It pleads. There’s an edge of panic to the voice and anxiety unfurls through me like an explosion. “Come back to me. It’s not your time.”
Suddenly, I bolt upright, finding myself in Wade’s warm embrace. He lets out a cross between a sob and a sigh, pulling me against his chest.
My head swirls through thoughts, experiences, and images, but none of them stick around long enough to latch onto.
“What—what’s going on?” I say, my voice sounding distant even to me. I lick my lower lip, trying to bring moisture back to my mouth, because it feels sucked dry of every drop.
Wade refuses to let me go; instead, he clutches me so closely I can barely breathe. “I thought I’d lost you. God, Autumn, don’t you ever do something like that to me again.”
My eyes flicker open. The resurrection chamber’s familiar energy and ambiance greet me like the comfort of a mother’s embrace. Only, we’re resting on the sandy floor beside the wall that leads to the catacombs.
I pull back from Wade, blinking back my surprise.
The wall is completely intact. There isn’t a single stone loose or piled up on the floor.
“What the hell?” I sputter, scrambling to my feet.
Wade gropes for me. “Autumn, you should really be careful. You were—”
I stand up anyway, ignoring the dizzying sensation rolling through me. I place my hands on the stones, feeling them for any abnormality, but they’re exactly as they were before I pulled them apart.
“This can’t be…” I mutter, more to myself than anything.
“What is? What’s going on?” Wade asks, his voice still coming out in an elevated pitch.
I point to the wall. “I went through there. This wall, it was… I…” I stutter, trying to figure out what to say or what I saw, until I remember what Abigail said. No one living should enter.
Was it all in my mind?
Wade’s wide eyes show the tiniest sliver of silver and his face is beyond pale. His complexion has taken on a greyish appearance, not unlike the revenants.
“Autumn, I thought you were dead. I don’t know what’s happening, but I’ve never been so scared in all my life,” Wade breathes, his eyes pleading with me to understand the gravity of his words.
I swallow hard and take a step toward him. “I’m so sorry, Wade. I didn’t mean to scare you.“ I pull him into my arms, wrapping them around his torso. “I didn’t know.”
The two of us stand there, trembling from the trauma and realization.
“I still don’t understand. What were you doing? Why didn’t you answer my calls?” Wade says breathlessly beside my ear. “God, as if
