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“Let’s not jump to wild conclusions and make ourselves hysterical. I need to focus on this woman, and this woman alone, if you expect me to help her,” Mistress Eliza said, her gaze trained on the road once they pressed out from the trees. A small crowd of performers had gathered around the body as if it were an act they were watching and not an innocent woman who’d been slain by a murderous monster.
“There’s no time to stand around gawking like a bunch of fools,” Mistress Eliza snapped, breaking through the crowd to get to the victim. “If you didn’t witness anything, return to your caravans!”
None of the performers argued as they turned to walk away, muttering and gossiping under their breaths to one another. Only Zephyr, Juniper, Cricket, and the frightened woman remained alongside Mistress Eliza as the necromancer knelt beside the mutilated body. Water and blood gathered at the hem of her skirt.
“Wilder already left on horseback, so it shouldn’t take long for the authorities to come,” Zephyr said, then turned to the woman who had discovered the body. “Sarah tried to recall if she saw anything suspicious, but nothing came to mind.”
“Let me see if I can get us some answers.” Mistress Eliza took a breath, seeming to gather her strength. No matter that the woman’s necromancy had faded, Cricket chanted prayers inside her head that it would work this time, that the victim’s heart would beat once more.
“What is she doing?” Sarah asked, wrinkling her nose as she observed Mistress Eliza.
“She’s a necromancer,” Juniper said, waving her off. “Now, keep quiet while she works.”
Cricket studied the victim’s round face, her delicate features, and the dahlias covering her eyes like coins given to the dead for their safe passage into the afterlife. She still didn’t recognize her, but perhaps she’d passed her in a shop or on the streets as one did, simply not noticing each face in a crowd.
Mistress Eliza placed a hand on the woman’s blood-speckled shoulder, the other clutching the stones. She closed her eyes as her lips moved in a silent chant. Cricket had never seen her bring another to life, only her failed attempts on animals. From what she’d heard, no smoke or glittery magic filled the air—they just awoke, and any wounds they may have suffered from were gone. Physical ones, anyway.
Cricket trembled as she looked on, then Zephyr’s arm wrapped around her waist, steadying her. The victim’s body twitched, and Sarah gasped at the same moment Cricket’s heart galloped. Hope coursed through her while she continued to watch.
Mistress Eliza chanted faster, her fist shaking as she held the stones. The victim’s hands fluttered, then lifted slightly before falling back into the puddles, the dahlias in her palms. Her hands and her body unmoving, yet Mistress Eliza didn’t relinquish her grasp on the young woman’s shoulder. She whispered, her words drifting on the wind and becoming audible, commanding the woman’s chest to close up, for her to wake, to speak. But the victim remained still, any secrets she carried gone, taken with her where no one could follow.
A harsh cough spilled from Mistress Eliza’s throat, and she released the woman’s shoulder to grip her chest as though in pain. “I can’t get her to rise, damn it. She’s gone.” The necromancer sighed, her breathing ragged.
Cricket and Zephyr rushed to Mistress Eliza’s sides to grasp her arms as she shakily stood.
“I hear someone,” Juniper said, stepping back and peering down the road. “Wilder and two authorities are coming on horses.”
Mistress Eliza brushed Cricket and Zephyr off and straightened as she limped to where Juniper waited. The hooves of the horses pounded the road, coming closer. She recognized one of the authorities when they approached—Charles. A lanky man with gray peppering brown hair and a matching mustache. He’d been the one to train Bram as soon as he turned eighteen. The other young man was possibly a few years older than her, with his hair trimmed short.
The two authorities stopped in front of them. “You may return to the carnival,” Charles said to Wilder before sliding down from his horse. He then turned to face them, his gaze meeting Cricket’s, and he motioned her toward him while the second authority began questioning the others.
“Bram told me the news that you were alive about a month ago,” Charles muttered as she approached him. “It’s curious how you were brought back to life after being buried. You know it’s a crime to disturb a body without consent.” What she knew about Charles was that he loathed when the carnival came to town and had never believed necromancy should be allowed.
Cricket frowned, not understanding what this had to do with the murder that had just occurred. “I crawled out of the grave myself,” she lied, then pointed toward where the victim’s body rested. “It’s not me we should be concerned about here, but this poor woman instead.”
He followed her closer, and his mouth formed a tight line. “Dahlias again… Just as they were on yours. It’s strange how someone is mimicking an old murder. And you saw nothing?”
Cricket shook her head. “None of us did. I wasn’t the one who found her, so I have nothing else to say.”
“Hmph.” Charles clucked his tongue, then motioned the other authority to his side. “Miles, come here.”
Cricket couldn’t hear their conversation as Charles pulled Miles toward the victim. But then Charles barked, “Someone disturbed the body.”
“I did.” Mistress Eliza narrowed her eyes. “I tried to see if there was any life left in her to get answers.”
“There clearly wasn’t,” Charles grumbled.
The sound of creaking wheels filled the air when the coroner’s carriage approached. Soon they were pushed back as the authorities took over, beginning their investigation in earnest. Miles removed the dahlias from the victim’s eyes and lifted one lid. They were indeed a light shade of blue.
They discussed matters for a little while longer between one another when Miles offered to take Sarah home, and Charles finally said, “I would suggest closing the carnival for a few days.”
“A few days?” Mistress Eliza cried. “We’re not closing the carnival for that long. No crime was committed inside my carnival. There is no reason for my performers to suffer a loss. Unless you plan to cover our expenses yourself.”
Charles’s lips curled into a sneer. “One day this time, then. But it will be longer if we find out the victim was at the carnival.”
“Of course,” Mistress Eliza agreed and turned to Juniper. “Round everyone up. I’ll inform them the carnival will be closed. For today only. We’ll reopen tomorrow evening.”
“Yes, Mistress Eliza,” Juniper said, clutching the skirts of her dress and darting through the trees.
