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Anika opened her mouth to say something when she hurried to reach for the metal bucket beside the bed to expel her stomach.
“Tell me what happened earlier since I missed it,” Anika said, wiping her mouth with a cloth.
“Certainly, but only if you promise to show me where the baby’s room will be before I leave.”
“I promise.”
Cricket reached for a clean cloth on the night table and soaked it in a bowl of cool water. She squeezed the cloth out and set it atop Anika’s forehead before telling the dreary story once more. Unable to stop there, she confessed the truth about what was happening with her curiosity, the dahlias nearly consuming her.
“I want whoever is doing this hung. Just like that bastard Clancy,” Anika said when she finished.
“Me too.”
“As for the dahlias, you’ll get them to turn into roses. I may not know anything of these necromancer gifts, yet I will always aid you in any way I can. Even if it’s to help you fight the flowers off. However, I do hate to admit this, but I agree it’s best to hide them from any audiences for now.”
After Zephyr caught wind of her earlier spell with her curiosity, Cricket hadn’t planned on telling anyone about it, yet she’d always confided in Anika. “If I knew how to get them to appear right now, I would show you, but they are beastly things.” Things she wished she would never have to see again.
Chapter Ten
Cricket had stayed with her friend for hours until Anika fell asleep, leaving her to return to the carnival. Though it was closed, Mistress Eliza stood near her palm reading booth, ordering acrobats to improve their routines. Her gaze fell to Cricket as she approached, her lips turning into a thin line. “When I said to rest, I didn’t mean go traipsing around town.” The two acrobats went inside their tent, seeming relieved by the disruption.
“I wouldn’t have been able to rest anyway,” Cricket replied. “Besides, I was supposed to have tea with Bram and his wife today. Since he’s one of the authorities, I went to tell him what happened. I’m going to practice now, though.”
“Tomorrow, you can practice. Today, you rest,” Mistress Eliza said, her voice firm.
“All right,” Cricket relented. She was tired anyway, not enough to sleep, but enough to sit by the fire or in her caravan and not have to focus.
“After this morning, some of the performers are worried the town will think the murder had something to do with the carnival.” Mistress Eliza sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Cricket shook her head. “The carnival wasn’t even here when the murders started, so if they believe that, they are bloody fools.”
The edges of Mistress Eliza’s lips tilted up a fraction, a rare smile coming from the necromancer. “You have a mouth on you when you want to use it.”
“Sometimes.” Cricket cracked a small smile in return. “I do think having the carnival reopen tomorrow is the right decision. It’s an escape for people, whether it’s forgetting about an awful trade, a not-so-great home life, or a way to have a good time. As a child, when the carnival would arrive, it let me escape the life my parents hoped for me instead of what I really wanted.”
“And what kind of life did you want?” Mistress Eliza cocked her head and pressed a hand to her hip.
Cricket remembered those days of twirling in front of the mirror when her parents couldn’t afford dance lessons, so she’d taught herself the best way she could. She would sneak in with Anika to performances at the theater or flip through books that held illustrations and descriptions about the art. “To dance, but mostly to perform at this carnival.”
Mistress Eliza’s face softened. “Tomorrow, you’ll practice, and we’ll see from there. Necromancy is all I know, and with it not wholly there, it feels like a part of me is missing. But if you tell anyone I said that, I’m sending you off somewhere else.”
It was a small confession, yet one she didn’t expect the woman to reveal aloud. “Your secret is safe with me. I’ll pray tonight you’ll get it back.”
“I don’t believe in prayers, but maybe yours will change my mind.” Mistress Eliza turned on her heel and limped into her tent.
Every night before bed, Cricket had continued to say her prayers, whether someone answered or not. But she believed someone was always listening. Tonight, Mistress Eliza would try her necromancy once more. Only, Cricket wouldn’t tell her just yet. During the carriage ride home, the names of the three other victims had repeated over and over inside her head, then she’d thought about how Mistress Eliza had attempted to bring the recently murdered innocent to life. She needed the necromancer to attempt it again since she didn’t know another who could try. But she first needed someone to help her dig up a body.
An arm draped around her shoulders as if that someone had heard her call. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back,” Zephyr said. “Did everything go all right?”
“It went as well as could be expected. Bram went straight to the authorities, and I stayed with Anika for a while. She’s pregnant and hasn’t been feeling well.” Cricket blew out a breath. “I need to ask something of you, but can I have a drink first?”
“So secretive. I’ll do anything you ask.” He smirked as he fished out the flask from his pocket.
“I believe you’re going to regret that,” Cricket said, relishing the liquor’s warm burn while it traveled down her throat, taking the edge off her frayed nerves. “Now, follow me.” Bringing the flask to her lips for another sip, she led Zephyr past the lake to his practice spot.
“We’re here, and no one is around, so let me know your delicious secret.” Zephyr folded his arms and relaxed against a tree.
Cricket handed him his flask, knowing he would need it after hearing what she wanted. “When night falls, I was wondering if you’d go to the cemetery with me.”
