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The screams and the shrieks cut through the panes of the windows. I do not know what is happening outside, who is winning.
Miss McCleethy sits beside Nightwing in the pew, her head in her hands. “How could this have happened?”
“I told you before—Eugenia has become part of the Tree of All Souls. Part of the Winterlands,” I say.
Miss McCleethy shakes her head.
“I thought I was going mad,” I say.
“They will fight. They will come more and more,” Mother Elena mumbles. “There is no protection now.”
“My girls,” Mrs. Nightwing murmurs. “I must protect my girls.”
“There must be some hope,” Ann says.
Felicity looks to me, begging me to say something that will make it better, end it.
Outside, the screeches of the trackers blend with the growls of the gargoyles—the death cries of one or both, it is hard to tell. The girls hold on to one another. Some cry; some rock. They are petrified.
“We have to cut it down. We have to go to the Winterlands,” I say.
Kartik steps away from the door. “You can’t go into the realms with every creature hunting for you.”
“She’s no safer here,” Nightwing says. “It must be stopped.”
“I’ll do it,” I say. “But I’m going to need help. The door is across the lawn, through the woods. And somehow, we’ve got to make it there.”
Felicity whirls around. “You really are mad! We can’t possibly get through that way!”
“We cannot simply wait!”
“Perhaps the gargoyles will protect us,” Ann says.
Kartik stands beside me. “I will go with you.”
Miss McCleethy is on her feet. “The Order banished the Rakshana from the realms. You cannot take them in!”
“I already have,” I say, nodding at Kartik.
McCleethy shakes her head in disbelief. “Extraordinary. Is there anything you’ve managed not to make a mess of, Miss Doyle? That is strictly forbidden by our rules—”
“Don’t you understand? There are no rules anymore! I shall do as I bloody well see fit!” I hiss. My words reverberate in the chapel, drawing shocked gasps from the other girls.
“I should point out that I am no longer a member of the Rakshana,” Kartik adds. “And Miss Doyle can, in fact, do as she bloody well sees fit.”
Felicity takes my hand. “I’m in as well.”
“And me,” Ann says, taking my other hand.
“I’ll accompany you on behalf of the Order,” Miss McCleethy says.
“Right, well, I’m not waitin’ around,” Fowlson says.
“Someone must stay and protect Lillian and the girls,” Miss McCleethy chides.
Mrs. Nightwing stands firm, adjusting her skirt. She glances at the girls huddled together. “I shall hold fast here. Mother Elena will make the mark on the doors when you leave, and then we shall not open them again until morning.”
“You’ve got a bit of protection should you need it,” I say.
