“You exist in a shell, trapped in your own mind, until you die and become a ghost yourself. You can never cross the Underiver. Delaney spent a whole lesson on it in year six. It only happens to whisperers.”
“And you couldn’t mention that detail before we went deeper downthe stairwell?” Viola throws her hands in the air. “Do they kill and revive every whisperer with ghost paralysis?” Viola hisses at Lyria.
“Well, I thought the aspiers would keep the ghosts away, and I didn’t think they would flood you outside of the catacombs. But it’s also not often that a whisperer comes around here.” My sister looks at me for support, and I shrug. Then she looks back at Viola. “I’m so sorry, Vi. I should have warned you.”
A heavy silence hangs between us, and a distant sound of rolling pebbles fills the space. My sister rubs her hands together, then, as she’s about to speak, Viola stops her. “You’re brilliant, Lyria. I don’t think anyone else would’ve known what to do.” If by anyone else, she means me, she wouldn’t be wrong. If Lyria wasn’t around, Viola would have been trapped forever.
“Howdo I break out of ghost paralysis?”
“If you’re in the catacombs, you can lead them into the river.” Lyria and I exchange a worried glance. This is one area where Lyria’s theoretical knowledge can’t make up for field practice. “Out in the world, whisperers are trained to break out of paralysis,” I add. “It takes years.”
“It’s not your fault,” Lyria adds. “Cuffs attract ghosts like moths to a flame.”
Viola gets to her feet. Her eyes meet mine, and guilt stirs at my neck. I can’t do this to her. She’s untrained. Once we go into the catacombs, it’ll be worse. She’ll have to wear her relic again to speak to Victor. What if the voices flood her again and she can’t lead them into the river? There’s only so many times we can stop and revive her heart.
“We don’t have to do this,” I finally say. “We don’t have to go on Victor’s quest.”
My sister’s head jerks toward me. I’ve already crushed her hopes once, and now I’m doing it again. I’ll write to Gryff. He’s a field leader; he has the authority to dispatch a Firstline whisperer to the catacombs.
“Lyr, in the off chance that Beau’s ghost is still out there, we should focus on burying his body so he doesn’t get lost in the Underiver.” I try, running a hand over my face, a desperate attempt at swaying my sister. I can’t believe I’m considering walking away from our biggest lead right now, but the last time I took it upon myself to solve a problem, Beau died, and the time before that, Dad died.
“Youcan leave, butIhave to do this.” Viola tips her chin, steeling hergaze. “For my sister, who died because of me. For your brother, who saved my life. And for Victor, because he holds the answers no one will give us.”
With that, she walks off, Lyria following closely behind. The heaviness settles in again, and my heart beats at the sound of her breath. Realization crashes onto me like the freezing winter downpour: she’s willingly risking death to solve the murders, and I don’t want her to die.
“Viola… there is a chance you do not walk out of there alive,” I remind her as we reach the iron door that leads to the catacombs. I give her one final look, one final out. But her face is blank.
Viola, an untrained Mortemagi, a novice whisperer, is about to walk into a cesspool of angry ghosts. For her, nothing good can come out of this. For Lyria and me, the only consolation is that the ghosts can’t attack us.
“We don’t have all night,” she says, before pushing the door open and disappearing into the tunnels of death.
Conduit (n)—Mortemagi whose cuff hypnotizes ghosts so they can lead them to the Underiver.
Conduits are banned from the catacombs.
They run the risk of death should they breach the rules.
Addendum:Too many ghosts flocking to a conduit’s cuff overloads them with magic, which in turn causes their heart to fail. A good reminder that everything should be consumed in moderation, even magic—especiallymagic.
YSENIA FARO,THE CATACOMBS: VOLUME I
nineteen | viola
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1939
I stand on a slope that leads down to the entrance of a tunnel of darkness. The musty, sickly scent of decay throws me off. I thought I knew what death smelled like, but this is far worse.
Behind me, Lyria gags, slapping a hand over her mouth. I don’t blame her. It’s nauseating. I turn around, and Archyr stands a step behind, his brows furrowed as he stares at his sister. She looks like she’s about to be sick.
“You should go back,” Archyr tells her.
“No,” she says with a scowl, then gulps nervously. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Lyr,” Archyr says. “Victor won’t lead Viola to her death because he needs her, and I have Raiek.” He runs his hand over the Imortalis around his neck. “If something were to happen to you… please, Lyria. You’re all I have left.”
Lyria’s chin wobbles. “You can’t do this, Sy. You can’t use my words against me.”
“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” Archyr wraps his arm around her, and she leans into him. My stomach twists into knots. In Lyria, I see my sister. In a twisted way, the Gods are giving me a second chance to spare someone the same fate as Olivia’s.