(Hidden Necromancer 02) The Accused Dead [A], page 20
![(Hidden Necromancer 02) The Accused Dead [A]](https://picture.readfrom.net/img/rhiannon-frater/hidden_necromancer_02_the_accused_dead_a.jpg "(Hidden Necromancer 02) The Accused Dead [A]")
I believe him, but I’m still a little miffed.
“How did your mother hide it from your father?” Jane asks.
My mother had worn it hidden by her high collar, but I’d seen it when she tucked me into bed and it slipped free from her nightgown neckline. My father definitely would have seen it.
“He must have known,” I answer. “He must not have cared until she was killed. You said he became more religious after her death and after Angelina…went over the wall.”
“He knew and said nothing because he loved her,” Quade says. “He probably wanted to keep his remaining daughters from the same fate.”
“That’s why he was so strict with us. He thought if we were faithful to the Lost Texts, we wouldn’t become necromancers.” My heart softens, so my anger isn’t as wrathful against my father. He had tried his best to protect me, which means he loves me. That is a small comfort.
“If your family fled the Enclave and the Chantry, there’s a reason, Ilyse. Can’t you see that?” Jane says, gripping me by the shoulders.
I rest my hands on her wrists and gently dislodge her hold. “I can see it, Jane. But I know I need their instruction. I feel it. My mother wore this necklace even though she knew it might give her away. There must be a reason for that much devotion. I intend to discover it myself.”
Jane’s intense stare is almost enough to make me feel guilty but I push that emotion away. I must do what is right for me.
“I hope you find your place in the world,” Jane says finally and strides away.
I exhale with relief, tired of arguing with her.
Quade tugs at the scarf draped around my shoulders and arranges it so that the pendant isn’t showing anymore. “We don’t need any more trouble.”
“I didn’t realize its significance. I didn’t want to take it off because my mother put it on me.”
“I know. That’s why I didn’t say anything. I was actually surprised that Jane knew what it meant. Most people outside the Enclave don’t know much about the Clerics or their beliefs.”
“Like the nameless god with many faces?”
“That’s part of their faith, yes.”
“Do you think maybe the goddess is one of those faces?” I don’t want to give up my belief in the six-armed goddess. I’m willing to let everything else be questioned and maybe discarded, but I need my faith in her.
Quade guides me up the steps toward the train station. He’s quiet for a little bit, then says, “Yeah, I think she is. Someone was looking after you, that’s for sure.”
“I thought that was you.”
“I have a feeling I was one of many.”
The comment is much more ominous than he intended. Realizing it, he loops his arm around my shoulders and guides me into the train station entrance.
-Later Still -
The world beyond the Atonement Settlement is so vast. The train is nearly silent as it skims along the track. It’s only the view outside my window that informs me of the great speed we’re traveling. I’m transfixed by the endless spool of new sights. Woods, pastures, wild lands, and mountains on the far horizon fly by my window, only marred by the continuing existence of a chain-link fence lining the tracks and the presence of large herds of the Unblessed.
I am free at last.
I can barely believe it’s true.
In the final minutes in the train station, I’d feared that the wardens would swoop down on Quade and me and arrest us for Elder Alvus’s disappearance. Instead, we’d had a hot cup of cocoa and watched the clock tick down to the train’s arrival. When we’d finally boarded, I could barely contain my excitement. My grin made my cheeks hurt. Quade had been pleased to see me happy.
Curled up in the comfortable seat next to Quade, I feel like a very different person. I’ve not only shucked off the prim and proper attire of the settlement but the shackles of its belief system. I want to explore the reformed version of my faith, learn about the Chantry, and perhaps find a new way of believing not only in the unseen gods that shaped this world but in myself.
I understand why I couldn’t accept my powers at first and how it shaped the events that followed. I wish my aunt had lived to guide me through my awakening. I want to be there for Carrie when her powers manifest. For her sake and my own, I have to learn what I am fully capable of and then teach her.
Beyond that, I want to know if Quade and I are destined to be together. Our marriage isn’t valid beyond the walls of the Atonement Settlement, but our feelings definitely are. I look down at our intertwined hands and see promise in their clasp. It feels both comforting and thrilling.
Another herd of the Unblessed rattles the fence beyond the tracks. I use my fingernail to flick the thin silver ring Quade gave me over and over again. I think it’s helping anchor me. Or maybe it’s Quade’s presence at my side.
Either way, I have never felt so present and alive in my own skin. The future is full of hope, and that’s more than I ever had before.
THE STORY CONTINUES IN BOOK 3, THE CURSED DEAD
Sign up for my newsletter for all the latest information on new releases, free ebooks, and more by tapping here!
About the Author
Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies zombie trilogy (Tor) as well as independent works such as The Last Bastion of the Living (declared the #1 Zombie Release of 2012 by Explorations Fantasy Blog and the #1 Zombie Novel of the Decade by B&N Book Blog). She was born and raised in Texas where she currently resides with her husband and furry children (a.k.a pets). She loves scary movies, sci-fi and horror shows, playing video games, cooking, dyeing her hair weird colors, and shopping for Betsey Johnson purses and shoes. You can visit her online at www.rhiannonfrater.com.
Rhiannon Frater, (Hidden Necromancer 02) The Accused Dead [A]
