“Jaz, did you see Tuck and Will? Were they here?”
“Yes.” She and several other girls nodded. “Yes, they were both here when it started, but then Teodora ordered us into the cellar, and we didn’t know what was happening after that.”
“I need you to tell me everything,” I said, desperately keeping my voice as even as possible for her sake.
“W-well,” Jazmina stammered, “it was just a normal day, but then Sheriff Scarlett and the Iron Fist came. Sissi met them at the gates, and they told her Archbishop Piers was dead, and that they were taking control of Locksley now. Sissi refused to let the Iron Fist inside, and the Sheriff tried to arrest her, but Tuck…he had a sword…and they fought. Tuck knocked him down, and Sissi told him to…to ‘go fuck himself’.” She let out a weak giggle. “But…he didn’t like that. They tried to come in, so Tuck and Will helped us bar the gates, but the soldiers somehow ripped them right off the hinges. Teodora got us to the kitchens, but…May…they just…they just started killing everyone!” She broke down and I held her as she cried, battling tears of my own.
“Did they say why they were taking control of the Abbey?” I asked.
“Something about our tax payment,” Jazmina sniffled, “and Lady Helena’s disappearance, and all those men who were found dead in a wagon. I don’t know if you heard…wherever you’ve been…”
“Yes, I heard…” was all I said before she continued.
“The last thing I heard…was something about magyk, and the Fair Folk.”
Jon and I exchanged another desperate look. “I need you all to come with me,” I said quietly. “I’m taking you to the Arden, but you needn’t be afraid. I promise.” The girls began to whisper amongst themselves, or cry softly, so I took Jazmina’s hand and led them back out into the corridor. Jon went ahead of us, holding akitchen knife in one hand and a huge cast iron pan in the other, while the young girls kept hold of their own improvised weapons.
But all we encountered were bodies. Too many to count, and too many to bury. As we passed by the Iron Fist, I checked their faces for signs of the Rot. Every single one had been infected and the pit in my stomach threatened to swallow me whole. But I had to keep moving. One foot in front of the other, one breath and then the next, until we found an exterior door not blocked by flames. Before I could step out, though, Jon stopped and turned around.
“Tell them to shut their eyes and join hands,” he murmured. “They don’t need to see this.”
I whispered his instructions and the girls obeyed, covering their eyes and forming a chain so I could lead them outside. When we stepped onto the grounds, Jon put a solid hand on my shoulder and pointed. Dangling from the top of the south wall were five bodies—all elder Sisters, including Teodora—strung up by their necks. Their wimples had been torn off, gray hair tangled with blood, and eyes still open. I couldn’t fight the sensation that they were staring directly at me. Beneath their limp, bare feet, was a macabre message scrawled in black paint:
MAGYK BRINGS DEATH
ONLY MARTYRS’ BLOOD
WILL CLEANSE LOCKSLEY’S SINS
My stomach lurched, and I turned to vomit on the side of the gravel pathway. Jazmina clutched my hand tighter, but said nothing. With no choice but to continue, to get the young Sisters to safety, I followed Jon toward the front gate. He went out first, ensured it was safe, then beckoned us forward. I stood aside and counted each girl as they left the Abbey in a line.
Fourteen.
Out of Locksley’s two hundred Sisters, only fourteen had survived.
And it was my fault.
Chapter forty-six
The Bell & the Bond
“Jon,” I said quietlyas we stood outside the walls of the Abbey, faces illuminated only by the full moon and the fire, “I need you to get them back to the Hollow.”
“Where are you going?” he asked warily, glancing back at the row of crying girls.
“To find out what happened to Will and Tuck.”
“Don’t you think I want to know too?”
I frowned. “You look like a wild animal, Jon. We need information, and most of those boatmen already know me, so I can get it easier than you can. Please.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but finally let out a sigh. “Alright, you win. I’ll get them to the Hollow. Please,please, May, just…find him.” He pulled me into a bone-crushing embrace, and when we broke apart, I turned to face Jazmina.
“You are all going to go with Jon. Now, I know he looks frightening, but he is the gentlest soul you will ever meet, and you can trust him with your lives. You have my word, and I’ll be with you as soon as I can.”
Her eyes full of apprehension, Jazmina reached up and gingerly touched the tip of my ear. “I trust you, May, even if you aren’t exactly…youanymore.”
“I am still me,” I assured her with a strained smile. “Now, go, quickly.”
