Alex Stern, #2
Hell Bent
by Leigh Bardugo
Contents
Chapter 2
Overview
Alex hurries back to campus, rattled by an earlier possession, and learns from Dawes that Lethe’s board has already selected a new Praetor. Their Gauntlet search to rescue Darlington remains stalled. That night, Alex oversees Book and Snake’s sanctioned ritual, where a four-star general extracts intel from Jacob Yeshevsky’s reanimated corpse, highlighting Lethe’s uneasy alliances and Alex’s growing unease with necromancy.
Summary
Alex power-walks back to campus, shaken by a Gray’s takeover at Oddman’s and wary of further contact with the dead. She reflects on how her bond with Grays deepened after Belbalm, granting her hearing as well as sight, and worries she is losing control.
Dawes urgently calls: Lethe’s board has already chosen a new Praetor, with a meeting slated for Saturday. Alex pushes for a delay. In recollection, Alex and Dawes spent the summer, with intermittent help from former Oculus Michelle Alameddine, searching for the Gauntlet to retrieve Darlington, chasing theories, archives, and a 1938 diary note but finding no clear path.
Determined to keep Lethe running smoothly, Alex heads to Book and Snake to supervise their ritual. Calista, the delegation president, leads the ceremony in a marble tomb built for necromancy. Alex draws a protective circle as a high priest and a visiting four-star general prepare to question a fresh corpse: tech figure Jacob Yeshevsky, dead less than a day.
The priest burns incense that animates a stone snake, which bites the corpse, forcing it into twitching, crab-like motion over brass letters on the floor. The general demands concrete intelligence; the veiled scribe records the lettered responses as the priest repeatedly “recharges” the body with the snake’s bite.
Watching the grotesque interrogation, Alex notes the general’s bluster as a front and recoils at the violation of the dead. The scene underscores Lethe’s entanglement with powerful patrons and renews Alex’s urgency to regain control of her gifts and find the Gauntlet to bring Darlington home.
Who Appears
- Alex SternVirgil for Lethe; rattled by a Gray’s earlier possession; pushes for a Praetor delay; supervises Book and Snake’s necromancy ritual.
- Pamela DawesOculus; alerts Alex that a new Praetor is selected; recalls summer research into the Gauntlet; prefers avoidance of confrontation.
- CalistaBook and Snake delegation president; hosts the ritual and coordinates with Lethe.
- Four-star generalPowerful client seeking actionable intel; interrogates the reanimated corpse for passwords and contacts.
- High priest (Book and Snake alum)Conducts the ritual; animates a stone snake to reenergize the corpse; manages proceedings and placates the general.
- Jacob YeshevskyRecently deceased tech figure; corpse reanimated to provide intelligence by moving over floor letters.
- Michelle AlameddineFormer Oculus; offers limited guidance on Gauntlets; cautious about helping further.
- AnselmLethe board member who informs Dawes of the new Praetor and seeks a weekend meeting.
- Daniel “Darlington” ArlingtonMissing; Alex and Dawes’ ongoing goal is to find the Gauntlet to bring him back.