Necromancy In D Minor ✔️

Sublime Suite

Octavia winced as a ripple of prickling pain coursed through her arm. Her eyes drifted to the window, the narrow slit between the curtains afforded a view of the the town, back-dropped by the forest. A small hiss filled her head and she closed her hand around her necklace as another wave of pain crashed over her.

She imagined the netherborne, out there in the forest, taunting her. Perhaps the barrier fortifications were making them antsy, just as they had when she first arrived in Hedalda. Or this was revenge for all the songs she'd been playing to keep them away. They'd rob her of her sanity, as they had so many necromancers before her.

"Miss Octavia?"

She startled and flicked her wrist out of habit, making her bell chime. Her power reverberated through her body like thunder, the residual shaking tingling the tips of her fingers.

Lyra jumped back and clutched her flute to her chest, eyes darting around as though she expected a netherbone to leap out and eat her.

"Sorry, sorry." Octavia rubbed the corners of her eyes with her thumb and forefinger. She'd scolded the children many times for losing focus during class, and here she was, setting a poor example. "What did you need, Lyra?"

"I-I'm done playing."

Dear gods, she was in terrible form. "Right. Return to your seat, please." While the children waited for further instructions, she took a moment to clear her head. Another prickle ran down her back, and she curled her toes and bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from screaming. There wasn't much time left before the third bell. She needed to survive until she could get home and take more drastic measures to protect herself.

"Tallis can you come up here?" she asked. In the days since her meeting with Beatrix, she'd made practicing for the Winter Ball the sole focus of their lessons.

He stepped to the front of the class, and the daywalkers followed him. Normally Octavia would block out their presence, but the netherborne had her flustered, and they were blocking her way. She put her hand through the female of the two and gave her wrist the barest flick. The bell chimed, and she sprinkled her power over the tune.

The daywalker screeched—a cursed sound from beyond the grave—and recoiled, clutch her arm where Octavia's hand had passed through. Both looked at her, eyes wide, lips parted. Now they knew. They'd thought she was just the sweet music teacher; now she was the necromancer here to send them away from their precious boy.

Octavia placed a hand atop Tallis' head, and the male daywalker sneered at her, while the female clamped a hand over her mouth and cried rivers of luminescent tears. Slowly, they backed away, but didn't leave the room.

"Can you play the first ten bars for me?" Octavia asked.

He nodded and brought the flute to his lips. The notes of the Winter Nocturne filled the room. She'd chosen the song because it was technically easy to play. But they wouldn't be playing at the Winter Ball. They would be performing, and that performance aspect was where the children fell short. Tallis was by no means perfect; he botched the first two bars with pitchy, airy notes and misplaced pauses, but still played the song better than most of his peers. She'd resolved to choose three of them to play the Nocturne at the winter ball—Arietta included.

With just ten days left to whip them into shape, she was wondering if she'd bitten off more than she could chew. The song didn't sound right, and she wasn't sure if it was due to her poor state of mind or the children's painful mediocrity.

"Again" she said when he got through the bars. "But this time pay attention to the natural pauses in the song."

When he began again, Octavia closed her eyes, and focused on the melody. It was slow, melancholic. It seeped into one's body and gave them chills, becoming haunted as it reached its crescendo, like beautiful wails from beyond the grave. And just when it made you want to burst into tears the tune became brighter, more hopeful. But she wasn't getting that now. Now it felt flat and empty.