| “ | Thirteen Hands of Glory, and Blackthorn blood. That will bring her back, and she will be with me again. | ” |
Lady Midnight's resurrection ritual was a necromantic spell contained in the Black Volume of the Dead; Malcolm Fade used it to resurrect Annabel Blackthorn.
Process[]
The ritual requires the Hands of Glory and the sacrifice of a member of the Blackthorn family. It revolves around sacrifices—fourteen in total. It requires thirteen initial murders of any variety; the victims' bodies are burned, soaked, and carved with markings, and the hands that committed the murders are collected to form the Hands of Glory. Each sacrifice, once the body is burned, soaked, and marked, further stimulates the deceased's consciousness, making her more and more aware but never truly awake until the ritual is completed.[1][2]
The final victim is a Blackthorn: he/she must be killed, and his/her blood spilled upon the deceased's corpse. Once this is complete and if done correctly, the deceased will successfully be resurrected.[1]
Rhyme[]
When Malcolm Fade went to the Unseelie King for assistance, the King gave him instructions in the form of a faerie rhyme:
"First the flame and then the flood:
In the end, it's Blackthorn blood.
Seek thou to forget what's past
First thirteen and then the last.
Search not the book of angels gray,
Red or White will lead you far astray.
To regain what you have lost,
Find the black book at any cost."
The rhyme gives only part of the ritual but leads the caster to the Black Volume of the Dead for the rest of the instructions—for the necromantic spell itself. The poem was printed in the Shadowhunter children's book A Treasury of Tales for Nephilim and partially spoken among faeries though deciphered as having a different meaning.
Instances[]
The ritual was partially performed in 2007 by Malcolm when he murdered John and Cordelia Carstairs and performed the ritual on their bodies.[3][1] This awakened Annabel's mind and kept her in a paralyzed, vegetative state—aware but unable to move or speak.[2] The ritual was only resumed and completed five years later, using the Lottery as a front to attract potential murderers. When the Lottery "winners" kill their victim, Malcolm had their bodies Portaled to his cave where he would then carve the words of the Unseelie King's poem on the bodies, as a vindictive message to Shadowhunters and the Blackthorns once they've deciphered it. After Malcolm's first death,[1] Annabel was successfully resurrected.[2]
Trivia[]
- When Malcolm was stabbed and fell into the sea, his blood mixed with seawater and trickled into Annabel's coffin, allowing her to open her eyes. It is unknown, however, whether his blood specifically had any effect or if any blood would have worked.[1]