Chapter SeventyThe rge insect spirit who’d disrupted Harmony’s sleep sat perched on the foot of her cot. “Jin wishes to see you at the Grave Society house.” Its bck semi-translucent form buzzed with necromantic energy.

  Everyone else got to sleep. If this wasn’t worth it, Jin would wish he’d never made this request. Stripping her nightgown, Night snapped into pce. Tapping into [Final Silence] she made sure her exit wouldn't disturb anyone as she muted the sounds around her.

  The bug followed her to the hut. The door was cracked letting out a sliver of light. A slight push allowed it to swing in fully. Being small, the hut held only a bed and a table. At the table sat the te-night caller, with dark bck hair, his eyes glowing with a purple energy. He had a bottle and two gsses waiting. “Lady White, care for a drink?”

  An evolved necromancer. None of the books she’d acquired from the Grave Society mentioned the deadnds. Too focused on her own advancement, to think maybe she should have asked. Peartree was busy managing the disruption she’d caused during her visit to appreciate another exchange. If you’re riding a tide of temporary celebrity you might as well use it to your advantage. “Might as well, since I’m up.“

  Jin poured the liquor. It fizzed as it went in then settled down filling each cup around halfway up. Harmony took her cup. A sip of it tasted of lemons and burned as it went down.

  “Sun Temple members don’t drink. A horrible theological decision in my opinion. Makes it difficult for me, since I’ve promised to never drink alone.”

  “Is that the only reason you’ve pulled me out of my bed in the middle of the night, Jin?”

  “I wish. As you can sense I don’t have any of that rot at the heart of the Grave Society’s teachings. We’re a pair, you and I, in that. I ughed at how you disrupted that part of their institution. Fort Rabble is for those of us who have that spark of rebellion. I summoned you to warn you.”

  This guy and Len would get along like a couple interned in a mausoleum. That deserved another sip. “Warn me about what?”

  “Institutions don’t like change or to be questioned. I got sent here for my sins. You’re also disturbing more than just the Grave Society. I worry about what might happen to the brightest example our css has had in ages.”

  Do these men think she’s stupid or careless? [Recall] reminded her of all her near-death experiences. Okay, but she had improved and sometimes all you could do was react to the unexpected. “That’s a very vague warning. Do you have anything specific I can pn against? Is Benji going to attack us? Some news of mercenaries ambushing our group or dangerous spirits?”

  “Ben would never harm you. The spirits have been more agitated recently. You’ll see when you pass through the wall. I wish I could say I was connected and knew more than bad stuff is happening in the roots of Naewauld.”

  [Keen Investigative Awareness] didn’t pick up any maliciousness or attempts at deceit. Not that you couldn’t fool its hunches. “I’ll keep my senses active. Finish your drink. I’m going back to bed.” Harmony downed the rest of hers. Quietly she snuck back into her lodgings and went to bed again.

  A disturbed sleep was not a great sleep, and Harmony woke up stiff, sore, and cranky. The lemony taste had settled into a fvor in her mouth comparable to if she licked Hyacinth's smelly feet. While her morning routine took care of most of the issues, the taste left her wondering if she could silence her mouth's ability to taste. This was not the morning for experiments.

  Princess Rosaline left the worse for wear from the hard mattress. Jessica’s magic only sted so long. Thorne, Harmony, and Jessica all had plenty of experiences with uncomfortable sleeping situations. They joined the boys at the early morning breakfast of pin cooked oats. It seemed not a single person here had any cooking skill, and the only seasoning Harmony had to heighten the fvor was her already pungent mouth.

  Jin joined them but stumbled out of his hut hungover. [Renew Spirit] could probably help him with that, but Harmony wasn’t in the mood while suffering from her own consequences of him waking her up st night.

  Thorne started her pep talk as spoons scraped the bowls clean. “I hate needing to go over ground rules again, but I’ve been your instructor and know you need reminders. No, I will not be going with you. I’m strong enough to scare away potential spirits and oddities you might want to bond with. Three of you have emergency signals you can use to summon me if needed. This is not a dungeon. You’re not to attack every scary thing you come across unless they attack first. This is a negotiation. Trust your necromancer and gut.”

  Harmony didn’t care for that responsibility, but this was probably Thorne’s idea of a trust exercise for her and part of the agreement to come along. The spirit they’d met on the way here had already proved valuable. Enough inspiration and conflict would make evolution inevitable and there wouldn’t even be a need to complete Nae’s Garden. Only so many days, but the sixth and seventh floors were problematic.

  “The unbonded beasts won’t react well to the spirit wall. So it will be the seven of you, the coatl and familiars. Jin will lead you to the wall.” Thorne finished.

  The dark-haired necromancer was less put together than he was st night. Either he finished that bottle or was faking it. Leading the group out they circled the fort. “The spirit wall is that way.” He gestured.

  There was nothing to see, a bare patch of nd before the trees started. Harmony could feel it. With [Mana Rotation] she could see it with that extra sense combining with her necromantic power, a shimmering swirl of spiritual energy flowing in a huge circle around what is called the Deadwoods. Standing farthest back, she watched Max, and Tyler sm into it and bounce off like it was solid. Jessica, Rose, and Len avoided it because they were a few paces behind. Jin ughed like this was the best joke ever in his ughter, he didn’t catch Adric stepping into the wall as though it was nothing.

  Harmony called him back to her with her primal bond, making him step out in time for the Grave Society necromancer not to notice. He might have warned her, but she didn’t trust him that much. “What?” Adric asked.

  “Stick by me. Jin, told me of some premonition of danger st night but couldn’t give me details.” No need to worry him about being able to cross into the wall that easily, and if his favorite uncle cast down that purifying strike to test him, Harmony wasn’t going to give any of Adric’s family fuel to think the prince was anything other than an overly healthy normal human miracle boy.

  “Welcome to the spirit wall. Made to keep most of us out and most of them in. The creatures attracted to the woods have no problem entering the barrier, and we have no problem exiting from inside. Bonding a spirit gets you a free pass to travel both ways. The wall is spectral formations pushed away from both the dungeons and too weak to form an attachment or manifest visually, weaker spirits, specters, ghosts, and geists. Kind of a natural river of them.” Jin announced looking a bit more sober.

  “You could have told me it was bloody invisible,” Tyler compined.

  “It was mentioned in the book,” Len answered.

  “The Grave Society always has someone here to help pierce the veil of the wall. Unless you wish to do the honors, Lady White?”

  “You’re the expert. I’m here to learn, observe, and assist my fellow regional competitors.”

  Jin shoved his hand into the wall. The spirits scattered away like a scared school of fish, not leaving the flow but parting to the top and diving into the ground when they could. He wasn’t doing anything special with his skills or powers. Could it be they just disliked necromancers?

  “Enter here, and good luck hunting. Be sure to keep your eyes out for trouble. It is an interesting pce there.” Jin said with a smile.

  Tyler entered first, reaching out with his hand to make sure he could get through, and slowly, one by one, they entered. Harmony stepped in not st but with Adric and Hycinth at her back. Expecting the spirits to scoot further away. Chronostasis kicked in as they rushed straight at her. She only managed to open her mouth to swear when the first hit her. 'You!' Echoed through her head.