Chapter 22 · Now Everybody Heard It

The floor split open and light poured out like someone cracked a star.

Mark hit his knees. His chest locked up. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. The array under him glowed white-hot and he felt it—felt his life peeling away, one layer at a time.

Ella didn't move. She stared at the crack in the marble. At the shape rising out of it.

Her mother.

Not a ghost. Not a memory. Solid. Real. Hair grey at the temples. Scars on her wrists where the chains had been. She looked exactly like the portrait they'd burned after the execution.

"Ella." Her mother's voice was quiet. Tired. "You need to stop this."

"I—" Ella's throat closed. She'd practiced this moment a thousand times in her head. What she'd say. What she'd ask. Now her mouth wouldn't work.

Mark coughed. Blood on his lips. The array flared brighter.

"No time." Her mother stepped out of the light. Barefoot. Prison robe still on. "They'll kill him in two minutes. Then they'll kill you. Then they'll resummon and try again."

Ella's brain kicked back online. "The prayer lines."

"Yes."

"If I open them—"

"Everyone will hear." Her mother knelt next to Mark.