The Locked Tomb, #3
Nona the Ninth
by Tamsyn Muir
Contents
9
Overview
Nona’s school day turns tense after her fake radio call appears to scare away the watcher, and nearby gunfire forces an early, anxious pickup by Camilla. At home, Nona remembers the beach incident that ended her swimming trips: Merv Wing agents confronted Camilla, shot Nona, and forced Camilla and Palamedes into a dangerous synthesis to survive. The memory reveals that Camilla and Palamedes’s shared existence is not merely risky but actively killing them, deepening the cost of their devotion.
Summary
Nona wakes in the school courtyard when Noodle licks her ankle, fears she has missed the Hour of Science, and brings Noodle inside. Hot Sauce asks what Nona said during the fake radio call; Nona says she barely pretended at all, but Hot Sauce reveals that the watcher left afterward and says she needs to investigate.
The day worsens when nearby gunfire forces the class into a familiar drill with blinds closed and everyone kept away from window sight lines. Parents begin collecting children despite the danger, and Camilla arrives for Nona, taking her home by a circuitous route. Camilla buys pastries after selling something, and Nona later realizes Camilla sold Pyrrha’s hidden cigarettes.
At home, Camilla makes Nona eat protein and then begins sword practice, which Nona resents. Pyrrha is late, and Nona thinks about how she used to spend evenings swimming at the harbor until the last trip ended with Camilla becoming sick and Nona getting shot.
In the flashback, Palamedes had persuaded Nona to eat by promising her a swim, so Camilla took Nona to the beach at dusk. Nona swam happily among deadly jellyfish that did not seriously harm her, but when Nona returned toward shore, Nona saw six armed figures confronting Camilla under a bike’s headlight. Camilla signaled Nona to stay hidden while the figures questioned Camilla and threatened to shoot her.
Nona overheard enough to understand the danger and shouted for Camilla to run, causing one of the armed figures to shoot Nona in the shoulder. Nona played dead underwater as Pyrrha had taught her, then resurfaced to find the attackers dead and Camilla joined with Palamedes, one eye changed. The synthesis had saved Camilla but caused terrible strain: Camilla returned to herself, revealed the attackers were Merv Wing seeking intelligence, and soon began bleeding from her skin in thanergy shock.
Nona drove Camilla home on the stolen bike and brought her to Pyrrha, who treated Camilla and reacted with alarm when Nona described Camilla and Palamedes’s joined state. Pyrrha warned Camilla that synthesis was killing both Camilla and Palamedes, but Camilla insisted it was their choice and asked Pyrrha not to tell Palamedes she had been weak. After Camilla slept, Pyrrha privately toasted Camilla as one of devotion’s casualties, and Nona understands this as the reason swimming stopped.
Who Appears
- NonaWakes at school, worries over the watcher, and recalls being shot during the beach ambush.
- Camilla HectRetrieves Nona, sells Pyrrha’s cigarettes, and in flashback suffers after using synthesis with Palamedes.
- Palamedes SextusPreviously promises Nona a swim and later joins Camilla in a dangerous lifesaving synthesis.
- Pyrrha DveTreats Camilla after the beach incident and warns that synthesis is killing Camilla and Palamedes.
- Hot SauceQuestions Nona about the radio bluff and withholds concerns after the watcher leaves.
- NoodleWakes Nona in the courtyard and resists having his protective pattens removed.
- The AngelRuns the Hour of Science and reacts irritably when nearby gunfire interrupts school.
- Merv Wing agentsArmed interrogators who confront Camilla at the beach, shoot Nona, and are killed.