The Locked Tomb, #2
Harrow the Ninth
by Tamsyn Muir
Contents
Chapter 23
Overview
As the Mithraeum prepares for the coming Resurrection Beast, Harrow realizes that the older Lyctors and God consider her survival deeply uncertain. Harrow’s discovery of Ortus the First tenderly handling Cytherea’s corpse complicates the mystery of the corpse’s movements without resolving whether Harrow’s visions are real.
Harrow and Ianthe’s already brittle alliance nearly collapses when they trade secrets and insults about God’s judgment, Ianthe’s inadequate sword skill, and an unnamed truth Harrow has magically gagged Ianthe from revealing. The chapter heightens the sense that both the external threat and Harrow’s hidden past are closing in.
Summary
Four months before the Emperor’s murder, the Mithraeum grows tense as the approach of the Resurrection Beast changes the habits of the Lyctors. At dinners, Augustine, Mercymorn, and God study tablets and maps while excluding Harrow and Ianthe from strategic discussions. Augustine becomes distracted in the training room, and Ianthe performs poorly at sword practice despite her usual poise.
Harrow trains alone late at night with the two-handed sword and her rapier, trying to prepare for the Heralds despite receiving only alarming, unclear descriptions of them. When Harrow asks God whether four active Lyctors will be enough to protect her dormant body during the River assault, God refuses certainty, says he lives in hope, and urges Harrow to keep practicing.
After one late training session, Harrow notices that the door to Cytherea’s tomb is shut, though it is usually open. Remembering Crux’s advice that she can only control her reaction to what she has seen, Harrow enters. Inside, Harrow finds Ortus the First half-dressed and gently holding Cytherea’s corpse upright among crushed roses; instead of attacking, Ortus quietly tells Harrow to close the door and leave, and Harrow obeys.
Harrow reports the encounter to Ianthe, who is awake in bed working on mathematical notes. Ianthe initially jokes about necromantic sexual perversion, then dismisses Harrow’s concern, saying the scene merely explains who has been moving the corpse. Harrow insists that Ortus’s behavior does not explain Cytherea walking, but Ianthe warns that Harrow’s position is precarious and that advertising madness could be dangerous.
The argument escalates when Ianthe reveals that God asked whether Harrow could be stored in his chamber during the Beast assault, suggesting the others expect Harrow to be helpless or doomed. Harrow retaliates by telling Ianthe that God called her far from a perfect sword hand. Ianthe then hints that Harrow has magically prevented Ianthe from speaking about a secret connected to the sword God gave Harrow. Harrow draws the sword, both threaten violence, and Harrow imagines killing Ianthe before Ianthe defuses the confrontation by hiding under a pillow and inviting death rather than more training.
Who Appears
- Harrowhark NonagesimusTrains anxiously, investigates Cytherea’s tomb, and nearly fights Ianthe over secrets and survival.
- Ianthe TridentariusPractices poorly, dismisses Harrow’s fears, reveals damaging information, and hints at a gagged secret.
- Ortus the FirstThe Saint of Duty; found gently holding and moving Cytherea’s corpse inside the tomb.
- GodWarns Harrow only indirectly, doubts Ianthe’s sword skill, and fears the Heralds’ madness.
- CythereaHer corpse remains central to the mystery, appearing in Ortus’s care after previously seeming to walk.
- Augustine the FirstDistracted by preparations and training Ianthe as the Resurrection Beast threat approaches.
- Mercymorn the FirstStudies maps, describes Heralds grimly, and rejects storing Harrow in God’s sealed chamber.