Camille called to Olympe but it was no good. Ada was crawling towards her again – past her, down to the crypt. Camille hesitated. Maybe Ada was right: they should all get out of there. But then Ada reappeared clutching an old silk dress, ruined beyond repair, from a previous job. Holding it in front of her, she took tentative steps towards Olympe.
Camille understood what she meant to do a moment before she did it, yelling Ada’s name. Then Ada was lunging forwards, wrapping the silk around Olympe, pulling her into a tight hug, like a mother wrapping a towel around her child fresh from the bath. Camille held her breath, sparks escaping from around the edges of the silk, but Ada had Olympe’s arms pinned, smothering the worst of the charge.
‘We won’t let anyone use you,’ she said, holding Olympe close. Her curly hair was clouding out from the charge in the air. ‘Olympe – let us help you.’
Slowly, the frenzied blue crackling dimmed. The charge died, and the wind died with it. The ringing in Camille’s head receded. She took a shaky breath, as she watched Ada bring Olympe back to the ground. Finally, Ada sat with her on the floor and used the gown to mop away the tears on her cheeks.
‘You have a choice. It’s why they made you, but it’s not who you are.’
Camille wanted to say more, but in that moment her mind was blank. It wasn’t Olympe’s fault, but they had done something awful. Innocent blood was on their hands. They weren’t helping people – they’d killed them.
The sight of those bodies would never, ever leave her.
Al extracted himself from inside a bone niche, brushing dust off himself.
From behind a toppled end table, James emerged.
‘Could someone tell me what the hell is going on?’
3
The Charnel House
Camille went cold.
She looked at James, mind racing. Could they trust him? Were they done for?
‘Don’t be scared. Olympe isn’t dangerous.’
James looked at the smouldering debris flung around the charnel house.
Camille raised her hands. ‘Okay, I know it looks bad, but trust me. She’s just a girl who’s … different.’
‘You can say that again.’
‘Oh, tell him,’ said Al. ‘Not even you can lie your way out of this, Camille.’
He had a point.
James watched her expectantly.
So for the second time that night she told James more than she wanted to. He listened carefully, nodding as Ada explained what they’d learned about Olympe’s powers so far.
‘Actually … there’s something else I found at the abbey.’ She fished in her pockets. ‘Damn, my notes are gone. When we were investigating the laboratory, I found what looked like the duc’s diary. It went back years.’ Her eyes flicked to Olympe, a look of apprehension in them. ‘Back to before Olympe was born.’
Olympe wrapped her arms around her knees and hid her face.
Ada continued, ‘The duc, he was there from the start. He … he set up an experiment on pregnant women, on their unborn children, using electricity.’
Camille frowned. ‘What are you saying?’
‘He was trying to see if the application of electricity would … change something in humans,’ explained Ada.
‘Like Galvanism,’ said James, deep in thought. ‘Except experimenting on people before birth, instead of after death.’
‘Exactly.’
‘I read it too,’ said Olympe softly. ‘I am a science project.’
