And Alecto said, Pyrrha, he laid me down as an appeasement to them; he fed you to them as an appeasement to them; but he has never appeased me, and now all he has done was teach me how to die.
But Pyrrha did not hear above the noise.
Then Alecto remembered the vow, and turned back upon the altar to face the second child and raised the sword with wrath in her heart, for they meant to bring destruction upon her. But when the black-eyed infant showed her countenance to Alecto, Alecto recalled her, for it was a face once dreamed in Alecto’s dream. And Alecto stayed the sword.
The child rose and said, O corse of the Locked Tomb, I have loved thee all my life, with mine whole soul, and with mine whole strength. I would to God that I find grace in thy eyes. Destroy me according to thy word, for I love thee.
Alecto was angry, and raised her up, and kissed her. The child did not cry out, though blood fell from her lips and tongue, and she was wounded sore. For Alecto knew not how to kiss, except such as it involved the mouth and teeth.
And Alecto said to her, Why are you not appeased? That is how meat loves meat.
The child was silent; but her blood was on Alecto’s lips, and through that blood Alecto was made to understand what it was, and was astonished exceedingly. Alecto put away wrath and said: Thou art the blood of the tomb-keeper.
The child answered, Yes.
Alecto said, The line of Anastasia is unbroken yet.
The child answered, Through sin and iniquity, yes.
Alecto said, I am very sorry about Samael.
The child made no answer. Alecto said, I remember my vows. As I swore to Anastasia I swear to you. I am in your service until you bid me the favour, and whatsoever you appoint I shall perform, and consider the vow rendered. This is what I promised, until such a time as you deal with me as you see fit.
The child was afraid and said, My hands are too stained, and I am too lowly.
So Alecto, wearied of talking, kneeled upon the rock and offered up the sword to her, and placed the child’s hand upon the blade, so that it received also the red blood of the child. This made the child exceeding faint, but it did not swoon of weariness.
Which strength pleased Alecto, who said: Notwithstanding, I offer you my service.
To which a voice on the opposite side of the shore was raised, exceeding wroth, and Alecto heard it shout in a very great shout: Get in line, thou big slut.
* * *
Afterward Alecto went down to the ship and stood before John, purposing to travel through the River, and was grieved to find it yet dead. John was asleep, and not in his garments, unshaved and still drunken. The child who accepted the blade and thereupon fainted with hunger and thirst was thrown over one of Alecto’s arms, a deep sleep like death upon her, and in Alecto’s other hand was the iron sword. And so Alecto took that iron sword, and with one hand pierced John’s chest with it, even to the heart.
At which John awakened and said, Annabel, good morning.
Hell Will Break Loose In
ALECTO THE NINTH
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people were bewildered when Nona sucker punched her way into the world, throwing Alecto into total disarray. Nobody was more bewildered than my agent and my editor, two people whom I imagine will have ascended to a state of higher consciousness by the time this is all over. I’d like to thank my agent, Jennifer Jackson, the unstoppable and the ever-gracious; I’d also like to thank Carl Engle-Laird, my editor. Carl, I finally found a way to thank you properly. In this book, there are almost no memes.
Thanks must go to the whole of Tordotcom, but to these in particular: Irene Gallo, Caro Perny, and Matthew Rusin; the indefatigable marketing team of Michael Dudding, Renata Sweeney, and Samantha Friedlander; and the wonderful Christine Foltzer and Jamie Stafford-Hill, without whom my books would not look remotely as good. On that note, I got impossibly lucky when Tommy Arnold got designated for cover work, although after all those bones I’m not sure Tommy’s wrists will thank me back. Thanks to Lauren Hougen for catching all the fiddly errors. And thanks to my copyeditor, Melanie Sanders, who catches all the massive ones.
I would also like to thank the patient Michael Curry from DMLA, and all the wonderful knowledge we have gained about double taxation treaties.
I rely upon the kindness of my first readers and friends Clemency Pleming and Megan Smith, who also constantly feed me. On that note, this book was brought to you by Clemency’s ice-cream machine.
To all the other people who have listened to me complain while Nona was being worked on—grateful thanks to the West family, the Helens, Beau and Charlotte Diffey, Lissa Harris, Bo and Ben, Ben Raynor and Monty, Chris Douglas, Malloreigh, Ray, Tim and Joe, Lottie and Alexis. Thank you to Avery and Martha, and thank you to Waverly March （in other words, the whole Rat Compartment）。 Thanks always to Isabel Yap, the series’s fairy godmother. As per usual I’d like to thank my family, but I haven’t seen them since the pandemic started so I’ve only been able to interact with my brother in Animal Crossing. Thanks, dude, and please send me some pears because my island doesn’t have those.