Posts about Tamsyn Muir
Hello my Ninth House penitents!
Welcome to our final discussion of Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. This week we'll be covering Chapter 28 all the way to the Epilogue. Strap yourselves in, because it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Summary:
Nona comes to in the back of a dark truck with Kiriona watching her from the side. Kiriona starts asking Nona about where "she" is, much to Nona's confusion. Before she can get too far into her question, Pyrrha comes and tells Kiriona to calm down before guiding Nona out of the truck. Well, actually, she carries Nona out of the truck after the latter realizes she can't walk. Nona confirms for Pyrrha that she doesn't remember what happened after she blacked out on top of the truck, which Pyrrha thinks is probably for the best. Pyrrha starts to say something but Nona cuts her off, saying that she'd rather die than remember. Pyrrha tries to get Nona to calm down but Nona seems to be taken over by another person who instead insults Pyrrha. Nona, feeling ashamed, cries a bit and eventually calms down.
Pyrrha tells Nona that they were able to find the Sixth House thanks to Nona's instructions, and carries her over to the others. Palamedes and Cam are outside of a monster truck where many feeble people, all with white eyes, are receiving medical attention. Camilla is sitting in a wheelchair and doesn't look good at all; Palamedes is standing behind the chair, wondering why everything must be so chaotic. As they observe the scene, Pyrrha, Palamedes, and Cam all agree that if any of the remaining heralds make it into the tunnel they're hiding in, no one will be able to do anything about it. Palamedes also confirms that because of Number Seven and the Heralds, all of the Sixth House necromancers aren't able to break the wards Ianthe placed on the shuttle fuel, which means it's still an unviable escape route. And, speaking of Ianthe - she's starting to fight back against Palamedes's control.
Pyrrha is concerned - she tells Palamedes that as far as she can tell, they're out of options. Palamedes is more optimistic and says that he wants to load everyone back into truck when We Suffer returns with the manual. We Suffer and another, older, woman, come over to them; the other woman hands Palamedes a list of calculations that he and Camilla review. Palamedes explains that he plans for them to go to the Ninth House and then to the Sixth House via the River. Pyrrha is flabbergasted, telling Palamedes that there's no way they'll survive the River, but Sexpal still has one trick up their sleeve. It's a trick Pyrrha is fond of - she all but begs them to die rather than do whatever they're planning, but they aren't deterred.
Palamedes and Camilla next to the truck, surrounded in a circle by their loved ones. They have a very sweet, heartfelt conversation with each other, before Palamedes pours out a white powdery substance in a hidden compartment on one of Camilla's knives. Cam eats the substance, and then licks the blood from a cut on her finger made by Palamedes. Nothing happens until Camilla's body bursts into flames, kicking Ianthe Naberius's body over to the side. The body continues to burn for quite some time, before the flames die down to reveal a naked and unhurt person. Others give the person some clothes to cover themselves. Nona realizes that Camilla and Palamedes are gone, having created this new person who somehow embodies both of them. Ianthe, who has now regained control of Naberius's body, comments that there was another way after all. The new person tells Ianthe that she can join them and that it's not too late for her and Naberius. But Ianthe declines and withdraws from his body.
They start loading everyone back onto the monster truck. The new person - Palamedes-and-Camilla - begins directing people and healing everyone while Pyrrha places Nona in the now available wheelchair. The Angel, Pash, and Noodle walk over to them. To Pash's dismay, they're planning to go with them to the Nine Houses, in the hopes that once the Angel is out of the city, things will be easier for We Suffer to handle. Nona takes the opportunity to ask the Angel who they are. They explain that they are the Messenger, the Message, and that they personally are Aim, one of two remaining parts of the Message. They say that the Message is too simple for humans to understand and that they hope Nona hears it one day. Pash makes a boring joke and the three of them board the monster truck.
Pyrrha carries Nona into the cockpit of the monster truck, where Kiriona is already sitting, staring off into the distance. Palamedes-and-Camilla follow in, along with Crown, the Captain, and We Suffer. We Suffer explains to Palamedes-and-Camilla how to operate the monster truck. We Suffer addresses everyone in the cockpit and tells them that she wants them to complete what she started, but also live. She wishes everyone luck - Crown, Pyrrha, Nona, and Palamedes-and-Camilla - no, Paul. After one last check, We Suffer gives them the go-ahead signal to leave. Paul starts the monster truck and begins driving, picking up speed and stepping on the accelerator-
We interrupt this summary to bring you another dream sequence. John and Harrow are sitting on a beach while John writes in the sand. Harrow asks what it means for a person, especially a child of the Ninth, to love God, but John just gives her some vague, non-committal answers about "keeping the faith." Harrow then steers the conversation back to John's story. He confirms that after creating Alecto, he'll begin resurrecting people, although not necessarily waking them up. He'll bring back his loved ones, the people he thinks he can forgive, that weren't involved or didn't do anything. John explains that he'll make sure that none of them are able to remember what happened, to keep them from second-guessing themselves and questioning what happened, because it needed to happen. John says that they're still out there, and there can be no forgiveness.
Harrow says that she's seen what happens through Alecto - that John resurrects a small portion of people and wakes up an even smaller number of them. The population never goes beyond millions. They - John and Alecto and the people - learn how to live again. They start to rebuild and repopulate the installations on the other planets. John is able to do all of this by relying the vast power stored within himself and Alecto, while Alecto is able to rely on John to prevent her one true fear - of dying.
Harrow also notes that although she didn't understand it, Alecto watched the disciples go to John and ask how to do what he did to her and watched John watch them misunderstand the process. John basically admits at this point that as God, he needs to be able to touch all of creation - so the idea of two people replicating what he did and becoming immortal is a non-starter, really. He knew he would be accountable for the Resurrection Beasts at some point, but until then, there could be no forgiveness for the ones who walked away.
Harrow remarks that there's still some things she didn't understand: namely the numbers behind how people John actually resurrected, how many are actually left, the discrepancies, and where they went since they didn't go to the River. Harrow says she wants to know why Alecto was so angry and John was so terrified. She also says that as the Reverend Daughter, she has to search out God or some aspect of God for her own understanding - that maybe she'll find it was him after all, but that maybe she'll discover it was the woman in the tomb. John tries to dissuade her, arguing that God was all a dream that used to read WordUp magazine and where or how would she even start? Harrow turns around to the water - the River - to see it parting around a ginormous tower that just appeared. Harrow says she'll start there and walks into the River.
Ok, back to Nona. When she opens her eyes again, they're going from the tunnel to - somewhere that doesn't feel like a place and looks like a coat of grey paint on the windshield. Her body stands up; Paul says they've bubbled them while Pyrrha is giving some sort of instructions; Crown is asking Judith to come back to her; Pyrrha is confirming that Kiriona is fine. And then Nona takes charge! Really, she tells Paul that she'll take it from there. She sits down in the driver's seat and tells Paul to remove the outline and when they do, manages to maneuver the monster truck so that they're driving on the surface of the water.
Everyone in the cockpit crowds around the windshield and stares in amazement at the gigantic structure emerging from the water - the River, that is. Nona vaguely recalls that it looks like something out of a picture book. The Captain says that they left them too long, which Nona confirms with a "You are here" and that she feels more certain now that the water won't touch them. Oddly enough, this conversation sends Paul and Pyrrha running away from them. As they drive closer, the tower just seems to get bigger and bigger, to the point where they can't see the top. Something about the tower terrifies Nona and causes pain, which she focuses on as a distraction. The Captain keeps repeating things about the hole and the hole in the road. Now Crown is flailing about while Paul and Pyrrha are knocked out. Nona then maneuvers the monster truck so that it plunges into the River. It's hard to steer the truck and Nona is exhausted; something about the tower terrified her and sapped all of her energy. Paul manages to come to and asks Nona if she can get them to the Ninth House. Nona dithers - she's so tired and maybe it would be better to just give in and let them all die. Paul reminds her that Noodle is in the back; Nona and Paul drive home.
They emerge from the water onto some sort of level ground. Nona had managed to navigate them to the shuttle field of the Ninth House via the River. People get out and stretch their legs a bit; some were thrown around a bit as Nona navigated them through the River but by and large they seem fine. Kiriona starts like she hears something, but no one else hears anything except Noodle. She starts walking away from the monster truck. Paul and Pyrrha, carrying a suddenly exhausted Nona, follow behind. As they walk, Nona begins to feel a strange insistent twinge that grows and grows while something familiar and unpleasant seems to be nearby.
They walk down a tunnel leading to a room full of robed skeletons in niches, dead bodies in the same type of robe, and Kiriona with a wet and bloodied sword. There's also a very, very old man in a cage and battle armor, starting to bleed out - it's Crux! And he's so happy to say who he thinks is Harrowhark. Paul tries to help Crux who literally hits them upside the head. Kiriona tells Paul that they're better off leaving Crux be and flips over one of the dead bodies. The figure, which sounds very creepy as described, is what are being called devils. Kiriona explains to Paul that the same thing had happened to Column Asht, the Eighth House cavalier. They were supposed to be confined to Antioch at least, but the fact that they've made it to the Nine Houses means that something has gone very, very wrong. One of them has infected Crux so that they can take over his body after he dies. And now we see that Crux's happiness at Harrow's return is only matched by his disdain for Gideon's return.
Nona senses that there are more outside and warns them. Kiriona and Paul drag a reluctant, insulting Crux out of his cage and into a nearby elevator. As they take it down, Crux tells Kiriona that Aiglamene is dead, although Nona calls out his lie. He admits that she went on to the monument. Pyrrha asks Kiriona how long they've been fighting the devils and she replies for about three or four months. Pyrrha then asks Crux how long they've been at the Ninth House and he says a night and a day. He goes on to describe the different things they tried to do to stop them and that about two hundred people have been infected. Kiriona explains that there's no cure for the infection - at best, maybe someone could ward against being infected in the first place, but once it happens that's it.
The elevator stops and opens on another level. Crux is dismayed to find that the two nuns who should have been there are gone. Pyrrha says that it's most likely that the two of them feel back to whatever bailey they had set up. They head towards the Anastasian, with Paul aiding Crux and Pyrrha carrying Nona, who doesn't want to admit that she's feeling really bad. She watches a red mark form from the zipper on Pyrrha's jacket as it presses against her skin. As they walk, Nona is generally creeped out by the decor - so many bones in so many places.
Finally, they reach the end of the tunnel where many people are hiding behind a set of bars made out of bones. Kiriona asks for Aiglamene, who walks to front and orders someone to help Crux. Kiriona seems to be upset at the number of nuns. Aiglamene officially welcomes back the Reverend Daughter, and to Nona's embarrassment, all of the people gathered begin to kneel before her. As she stands again, Aiglamene turns to Kiriona and remarks that she's dead. Aiglamene gives Nona a look signifying that she is not happy at all but Kiriona says it's not her, only her body. Aiglamene seems to accept this and ushers them in so they can close the gate.
Once inside, Aiglamene says that she'll hold off on her questions until the crisis is averted and to only tell her what she needs to know for know. Pyrrha says that they need to get to the Locked Tomb, and Aiglamene is like "I mean, I didn't expect you to say that." Pyrrha claims that they have a Lyctor's rights and that it's a matter of Emperor's Intelligence but Aiglamene isn't swayed. She then looks at Nona and tells them to take her to a heater because she's catching a chill, which Nona is to Pyrrha's surprise. Pyrrha lays Nona down next to a heater and calls over Paul, who had been healing Crux; Pyrrha discovers the mark her zipper left on Nona's skin - her first wound. As Paul checks her over, Nona turns to find Crux watching her, begging Harrowhark to remember to come back. When Nona says she's not Harrowhark, Crux says she's said that before, and if that's the case who is she this time?
Nona seems to cast her senses outside of herself and searches the Ninth House. She says that there's a box with someone inside of it that looks like a girl. Meanwhile, while this is occurring, Nona's healing mechanism has stopped, she's seizing, organs are failing, etc., etc. Overall, she's having a really bad time. It's important that they get Nona's soul back into her own body as soon as possible. Nona panics when she hears this - doing that will be painful for both of them and once she goes back to her own body, she won't remember Pyrrha, Camilla, Palamedes or anything that's happened the way she does now; she'll be someone else. Paul and Pyrrha reassure Nona, saying that Nona was loved by all of those people and that can't be taken away. Pyrrha even describes the birthday gift she had gotten for Nona - a t-shirt offering cheap moustache rides. Nona cries a bit and then tells them that she's ready.
Aiglamene leads their procession down a tunnel to a room. A lantern flicks on, revealing a giant rock and Crown standing next to a lantern in front of it. Except it's not Crown, but someone that looks like a washed out version of her with an arm made of metal shod bones. Everyone except for Nona seems to be stuck in some sticky substance covering the floor. The person, who Nona learns is actually Ianthe Naberius, explains that she arrived after them and is here to ruin all of their plans. She then tells that John didn't send her before she and Kiriona have a too pleasant conversation - they're working together! Ianthe pulls Kiriona free of the muck. Paul asks if they'll let them through to the Tomb since Harrowhark's body is failing. Ianthe says she won't and she and Kiriona laugh at a joke at Harrow's expense. And then Kiriona says "anyways, let's open the Tomb and get this over with," to Ianthe's shock.
Ianthe says that's not a good idea and accuses Kiriona of being a triple crosser. Kiriona reveals that John sent her to Ninth House so that she could unlock the Tomb and kill the body inside. Ianthe tells her that that won't fix anything but in fact makes things worse. Kiriona dismisses this, telling Ianthe she can pick up her sister upstairs and be on her merry way. Ianthe yells that John loves and needs Alecto and at the sound of her name, Nona begins to unravel.
Harrow's body literally starts to fall apart. Paul tries his best to keep it together. Pyrrha shoots Ianthe with a bullet made from a herald to get her out of the way. Pyrrha and Kiriona carry Nona's body. Paul moves the rock - the real one - out of the way and begins working on the traps inside. Nona remembers going through the same crack in the rock before it was a passageway, when John told her he had something to show her. Most of the traps are disabled, but Paul needs fresh thanergy to disable one of them. Nona remembers that she and John had loved each other and she was John's cavalier. That she had come to the rock only because she was asked to.
As Nona remembers what happened, the others have an argument over how to produce the needed thanergy. Eventually, Kiriona kills Crux to produce it and take revenge for the way he treated her, although to her dismay it doesn't feel as satisfying as she thought it would. It's enough to disable the remaining trap though, and a second rock rolls away. They walk into a cave with a pool of salt water surrounding a hummock in the middle. Nona moves the body away and dives into the salt water. It parts and she walks along the bottom, crunching the bones. On the hummock is a marble table surrounded by marble pillars. Nona hears Ianthe screaming in agony but moving closer. She looks down at the ugly body on the table - her, and the child asleep within her with a strange sword. Nona's sword had been pushed out and her body was chained. Someone - presumably Ianthe - shouts no. Nona sees Anastasia around her - her bones in the room. She tumbles into the body.
When the rock that was made meat wakes up, it freaks out a bit, breaking free of the chains holding it fast to the table. One of the children approaches the altar ready to strike her, but the black-eyed infant that had collapsed on the altar intervenes. The two of them argue a bit about who's going to do what before the rock that was made meat backhands the first child into the water. The body begins to stumble forward with a sword but is still not fully awake and keeps crying "John, John."
There are a bunch of dead children fighting living children on the shore of the pool. One of them says Alecto, and she suddenly remembers who she is and what happened. Alecto tells Pyrrha what happened but she doesn't hear her over the fighting. Alecto remembers how vow and turns back to attack the black-eyed infant but stops when she recognizes her face from her dream. The black-eyed infant kneels before Alecto and professes her love. Alecto picks her up and attempts to kiss her but really just bites his lips and tongue. However, after tasting her blood Alecto realizes that the child is of Anastasia's line. She tells her that she remembers her vow to Anastasia, and that she will swear the same to her - that she will be in her service until a task is appointed and completed. The child says she's not worth. Alecto kneels down and offers her sword to the child, cutting her with its blade and offering her service. An angry voice from the shore shouts "Get in line, thou big slut."
Later, Alecto traveled through the dead River to find John in his ship, and boy, it sounds like John is looking rough. The child, who accepted the blade and then fainted from hunger and dehydration, is slung over one of Alecto's shoulders. Alecto uses the sword in her other hand to stab John through the chest. He wakes up and says "Annabel, good morning."
~~ Fin ~~
Discussion questions are listed below. I'd like to thank all of you for joining u/Quackadilla, u/UnnecessaryEagle, and myself for the past 7 weeks! I hope you can join us all again when we gear up to read Alecto the Ninth hopefully sometime soon!
Hello friends of Nona!
Welcome to our weekly discussion of Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. This week we're covering Chapters 24-27 and John 1:20 and finally get some answers to our questions (and a bunch of new questions to take their place).
You can check out the Locked Tomb wiki for a summary of this week's reading: https://thelockedtomb.fandom.com/wiki/Nona_the_Ninth_(Novel)#Day_Five. Please note that the page contains a summary of the entire book, so if you don’t want to get spoiled be careful as you scroll…
And peaking of spoilers, please be mindful of only discussing the contents of Nona the Ninth up to the end of John 1:20. If you want to discuss anything beyond that in the book then please do so on the Marginalia post. You can generally discuss the contents of Gideon the Ninth, “The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex,” Harrow the Ninth, and “As Yet Unsent” here without using any spoiler tags.
Discussion questions are listed below in the comments. See y'all next week for our last discussion!
Calling all necromancers and cavaliers!
It's the moment you've all been waiting for: the official announcement of Nona the Ninth as a bonus read! We'll continue our journey into the Locked Tomb beginning at the end of May. I'll be running this read along with u/Quackadilla and u/Unnecessary_Eagle.
Keep an eye out for the official schedule post in a couple of weeks. Until then, keep your rapier sharp and your spare bones handy!
Hello my fellow necromancers and cavaliers!
Welcome to our one and only discussion of "As Yet Unsent" by Tamsyn Muir! I'm excited to discuss the next entry in The Locked Tomb series with all of you and I promise that's no joke!
"As Yet Unsent" is the fourth published work in the The Locked Tomb series and our second "bonus" short story. However, this short story is set in parallel to some of the events of Harrow the Ninth and will make very little sense if you have not already read that or Gideon the Ninth. I'd even suggest reading "The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex" for additional context. For these reasons, I highly highly highly recommend that you do not read this short story if you have not read through the entirety of Harrow the Ninth already.
You are not required to mark spoilers for Gideon the Ninth, "The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex," or Harrow the Ninth. However, please refrain from discussing any plot points in later works of the series - so not just Nona the Ninth but any other works that are published later. We will be reading Nona the Ninth this summer so if you'd planning to read with us, expect to hear more details about a schedule sometime in late May.
If you need a refresher on the events of the series so far, you can review our previous discussions at the links below:
"As Yet Unsent" can be read in its entirety for free here on Tor. It's also included in the trade paperback edition of Harrow the Ninth. Without further ado, let's jump on in!
Summary:
Captain Judith Deuteros introduces herself as our narrator during her first entry of a secret report she is creating for Cohort intelligence. At this point Judith, along with Camilla Hect and Coronabeth Tridentarius, have been in the custody of Blood of Eden for over five months. As we learned in Harrow the Ninth, although Judith was severely injured during the final hours at Canaan House, she had not died from her wounds. It turns out that the Blood of Eden is the one that's responsible for that, as they've done a number of procedures to try to heal her. They've forced Judith to help them during those procedures using necromancy, but this is difficult due to the lack of thanergy on the planet they're on. In the end they attach medical devices to her esophagus and bowels to help replace critical bodily functions.
In the next entries, Judith expresses her concern and dismay over Camilla possibly and Coronabeth absolutely being converted to Blood of Eden's cause. With Camilla, Judith holds some hope that she may not be swayed, but nervous. Camilla has explained to her that when speaking to the Blood of Eden soldiers and in particular the commander We Suffer, they've revealed detailed but outdated intimate knowledge of the Sixth House, including an ancient object called a "Source Gram." Camilla doesn't seem to care too much about their arguments, or at least doesn't express that to Judith. Instead, she wants to know why members of the Sixth House would have worked with Blood of Eden in the past.
As for Coronabeth - well, she's already been radicalized. Judith is very embarrassed that she didn't pick up on the twins' deception despite knowing from them from childhood, but that's not the point, or the main one. The point is, Coronabeth has always been a bit of an easy mark, and after having the necromancy deception blow up in her face and watching her sister murder their cavalier she clearly wasn't in any state to resist Blood of Eden's propaganda. Coronabeth will frequently argue with Judith using their talking points about resettlements and business contracts between the Nine Houses and other populations. After a while Judith realizes Coronabeth doesn't actually want to debate with her but has already made up her mind. To Judith's confusion however, Camilla insists that Coronabeth's intervention saved their lives and that she put herself in harm's way to achieve. Given her injuries at Canaan House, Judith has no way of being sure.
Judith's body is continuing to heal, although she'll always need the medical devices. She tries to acclimate to how her body works now, which was already at a disadvantage from necromancy, although less so compared to others. Occasionally the soldiers will allow Coronabeth to take her outside for air after restraining her, even though the restraints won't do much. During these walks, Coronabeth tries other tactics to persuade Judith to agree with Blood of Eden. They argue a lot. One time Coronabeth mentions that she and Ianthe always had an interest in how the Houses are run and that many of their current movements don't make any economical sense. Judith eventually cuts to the heart of the matter, asking Coronabeth how she could side with and be part of Blood of Eden when they hated even the concept of them. Coronabeth admits that that's the main thing stumping her still.
One day, Blood of Eden soldiers restrain and sedate Judith to take her on a ship - what turns out to be a Gorgon class ship with a stele inside. They demand Judith explain how to she can use it, threatening to kill both her and Camilla, but eventually Judith tells them that she only knows the basics of how steles work and that she wouldn't be able to use it for them. At this point Judith becomes very concerned - surely she must be the only necromancer in their custody, because if not they would either be capable of killing themselves or be unable to aid them. Judith asks Camilla and Coronabeth to kill her but they both refuse.
By the way, this whole time Camilla has been wearing a pouch around her neck that contains some of the bones of Palamedes Sextus. She refuses to take it off, despite the requests and/or commands of others. In general once Palamedes is mentioned Camilla cannot be reasoned with. One day irritable about her dependence on Camilla, Judith tells her a story about how Lieutenant Marta Dyas became her cavalier, and how as a young woman Judith was so caught up in their relationship that she propositioned her. Judith explains that Dyas kindly turned her down, that it was for the better, and that Palamedes Sextus should have known to warn her against becoming codependent on him. As you can expect, Camilla is not thrilled to hear this.
But other than that, Judith is slowly dying. Although the medical devices have been correctly attached to her esophagus and intestines, she's now developed a severe internal infection. There's a disagreement among the Blood of Eden soldiers about whether to let Judith die or not. We Suffer seems to think she'll live regardless but Judith thinks that based on what she's seen, We Suffer is more of a tagalong than an actual commander. For the most part, Judith has a high fever that keeps her in a state of delirium. When she is awake, Blood of Eden will only allow Coronabeth to see her a couple of times. Judith asks Coronabeth not to give into Blood of Eden's propaganda. They joke around a bit, reminiscing about childhood interactions. Coronabeth reveals that she was desperate to get Judith's attention as a child, and one point begs her not to die and leave her alone. But it's all for naught - Judith is dying, and there's nothing Coronabeth or Camilla can do to stop it. Judith makes her peace with that, believing that this is the best way for her to serve her duty to the Emperor and not aid Blood of Eden in any way.
...And then the next time she regains consciousness, Judith wakes up to voices, including a new one speaking perfectly accented House. This voice shrilly scolds the Blood of Eden soldiers before removing the artificial esophagus and bowels and healing her, using thanergy. The shocking part about it is that it's a thanergy bloom that Judith has never experienced the likes of before in her life, and that leaves her in a state of half paralysis. Meanwhile, the shrill voice continues to scold the soldiers, telling them how to use and maintain the stele and warning them that they need to be careful. They did their best to disguise what happened but God will recognize what's going on immediately if he takes a closer look. The shrill voice is also annoyed that Blood of Eden was calling in a promise to help them with a stele if they acquired one when that deal was made over twenty years ago. The last thing Judith hears is the shrill voice asking to see a corpse.
When Judith wakes again, Camilla confirms her suspicion - that the person who healed her was a Lyctor. At this point, Judith believes that the Emperor and the Nine Houses are doomed. The group prepares to leave the planet shortly as Judith is now physically able to use the stele to fly the ship.
Throughout all of this, the Blood of Eden has been running experiments on a corpse by leaving it exposed in various environments with different temperatures. Despite their experimentation, the corpse shows no signs of decomposition and animals won't touch it, even when encouraged to do so. The shrill voice demanded to see the corpse, assuming that that the soldiers had accidentally left it in an air-tight enclosure and that prevented its decay; whether the person changed their mind is unknown. But during their last day on the planet, the soldiers allow Coronabeth to take Judith on a walk outside (with less restraints even). At the end of their walk, they stop at the table on which the corpse of Gideon, the Ninth House cavalier, is laid. The body continues to show no signs of decomposition, and as Judith told the soldiers, there doesn't appear to be any necromancy causing that. Judith isn't even quite sure why Gideon's corpse is on board, other than Camilla asking them to take it due to something about a note.
Coronabeth reaches out to smooth a lock of hair before telling Judith that she took Gideon's rapier. Judith suggests that she put the rapier with Gideon's body, but Coronabeth insists that she thinks Gideon wouldn't mind that she had it. Coronabeth then turns to Judith and asks her to accept her sword, and let her become her cavalier. Judith takes a moment to reflect and admit to herself that wherever they're going, it's unlikely that she will live to return to the Nine Houses, and that this report will see the light of day. In fact, she hopes that's not the case, or that if it ever is discovered it is by a people that come long after them. Judith knows that while Marta became her cavalier with the purest of intentions, she had still fallen for her. So, knowing that she's pined after Coronabeth for over a decade, the answer is easy - not in this life or the next.
~~ Fin ~~
Discussion questions are below. Enjoy!
Hello! I'm Alix E. Harrow (u/alixeharrow), along with Garth Nix (u/Garth_Nix), Lev Grossman (u/LevGrossman), Nghi Vo (u/NghiDVo), Tamsyn Muir (u/tazmuir), and Veronica G. Henry (u/vhenry07). Together with Tomi Champion-Adeyemi, we collaborated on a new short story collection with Amazon Original Stories called Into Shadow (out now, Free with Prime and in Kindle Unlimited, in ebook and audiobook formats), available here.
We’re here to chat with you about the new collection, our books, projects, and more! As we’re all in different time zones, we will be answering questions throughout the day (with, in my case, breaks to wrangle kids and/or hyperventilate over my brief digital proximity to this list of writers). Ask us anything!!!
Here’s a bit more about the Into Shadow collection:
Some truths are carefully concealed; others merely forgotten. In this spellbinding collection, seven acclaimed fantasy authors create characters who venture into the depths where others fear to tread. But when forbidden knowledge is the ultimate power, how far can they go before the darkness consumes them?
The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow: The Saint of War spares the life of a servant girl so she can fulfill her destiny as the kingdom’s greatest warrior in this short story of love and loyalty. Always mindful of the debt she owes, the girl finds her worth as a weapon in the hand of the Prince. Her victories make him a king, then an emperor. The bards sing her name and her enemies fear it. But the war never ends and the cost keeps rising—how many times will she repeat her own story?
Out of the Mirror, Darkness by Garth Nix: A cynical “fixer” for a silent-film studio must confront the shadows behind the bright lights in this noir-tinged short story. It’s business as usual on the set of another cheap sword-and-sandal production by Pharos Pictures—until the lead actress suddenly falls into a deep, mysterious sleep. Jordan Harper can talk down high-strung starlets and knock sense into stuntmen, but this…this is the kind of uncanny problem that he’d usually bring to Mrs. Hope. Unfortunately, the preternaturally capable secretary is on a business trip with the studio head. Harper must get to the bottom of the mystery on his own before another cast member succumbs—or worse, they blow the budget.
Persephone by Lev Grossman: A teenage nobody crosses a line that will change her life forever in this short coming-of-age story. Ever since her dad disappeared five years ago, Persephone has quietly walled off the feelings she’d rather not feel. There’s no room for pain or anger when you’re just trying to get through the hell that is high school. But one day, the crush of taunts and disappointments is finally too much—and a power breaks loose inside her that she never knew was there.
What the Dead Know by Nghi Vo: A woman posing as a medium who can channel the spirit world comes face to face with the truth in this short historical fantasy. The Fogg River Seminary, a girls’ school in a small Illinois town, is supposed to be just another stop on Maryse and Vasyl’s endless travels. They’ve made lucrative use of Maryse’s “foreign” looks in their melodramatic séance act—and an act is all it is. Then, during their performance, a blizzard sweeps in and cuts them off from town completely. In the freezing halls, there’s a voice speaking the secrets of the dead, and Maryse has no choice but to listen…because this time, the voice is real.
Undercover by Tamsyn Muir: When a stranger comes to town, secrets are sure to come out. A fresh-faced newcomer arrives in an isolated, gang-run town and soon finds herself taking a job nobody else wants: bodyguard to a ghoul. Not just your average mindless, half-rotted shuffler, though. Lucille is a dancer who can still put on her own lipstick and whose shows are half burlesque, half gladiator match. But the stranger is no stranger to this particular ghoul. Both women are undercover in their own way. And both have something to lose if their connection comes to light.
The Candles Are Burning by Veronica G. Henry: Amid the modern trappings of 1950s Savannah, an ancient evil threatens a young widow and her daughter in this chilling short story. When her husband dies unexpectedly, Maggie Royal is struck with sinister visions that foretell danger for her and for her five-year-old daughter. Her mother and grandmother were said to have “the sight,” but it was never like this. With no one alive to turn to, Maggie must move quickly to uncover the meaning of her visions before her candle is snuffed out.
The Garden by Tomi Champion-Adeyemi: In this dreamlike short story told in alternating prose and verse, Champion-Adeyemi weaves a tale of a young woman’s journey to find her mother and uncover her secrets. Fifteen years ago, Lęina’s mother, Yuliana, went searching for a mythical place called the Garden and never returned. Determined to learn the truth about what happened, Lęina travels to Brazil to search for the hidden realm, with Yuliana’s journal and a local tour guide leading the way. But Lęina soon begins to wonder if she’s looking for answers—or if what she truly wants to find is herself.