The misadventures of the necromancer

Chapter XLII

She runs desperately through the night. The only thing keeping her going is the hope she finds in the light she’s approaching. If the light, as she suspects, belongs to a caravan, she has a chance. If that caravan has guards. If she can reach it in time. And if they have mercy on her, maybe she can go back home.

At least, this is the best chance she will get. Even if they aren't willing to fight for her maybe they will hide her. That's what keeps her running.

But as she gets closer, something begins to worry her. The lights don’t separate. What she had hoped were several campfires, which from a distance appeared as one, remain as a single light. This means the caravan is only a small group.

This is disheartening, but now she has no other choice. So, she keeps running.

Fatigue is growing stronger. Her heart beats faster and faster, and it becomes more difficult to breathe. Her legs are harder to move. But she keeps going, and to her relief, she seems to be finally approaching her destination.

She can finally see the fire whose light she had been seeing.

Indeed, it’s just a single campfire, and around it, she can make out two figures, who seem to be the only members of this group.

A wave of despair explodes inside her. What is she going to do now? There is no way two travelers in the middle of nowhere can help her.

Between the exhaustion and the collapse of her hopes, she falls to her knees on the ground. The tears don't surprise her as she starts crying. All she can think is that she's lost; soon, they'll find her and take her back.

She is heartbroken, with her hands covering her eyes as she cries when suddenly, she’s startled by someone grabbing her and covering her mouth.

When she pulls her hands away from her eyes ready to fight. Even though she doesn't understand how they found her so quickly without her hearing them approach.

In front of her is a blond young man, his hair almost glowing in the firelight behind him. His face gets close to hers, and in a low, calm voice, he whispers, "Calm down. Calm down. Don't make too much noise. We can’t wake him."

She can tell he’s trying to reassure her, but his last comment is strange. Who can’t they wake?

The boy's face moves away as he starts to turn around. With the firelight illuminating his profile, she realizes this stranger is quite handsome, leading her to stare at him.

This had caused her to initially not realize, that he was turning around to look at the other figure by the fire.

Now well-lit, she can see that this is another young man, this one with dark hair. He’s dressed in a dark robe, which looks similar to the one worn by the boy holding her.

Finally, she notices that the dark-haired boy is watching, what appears to be someone sleeping a short distance from the fire. She sees a dark blanket covering a figure on the ground.

After a few moments, the dark-haired boy turns toward them and shakes his head, indicating no.

The blond boy lets out a heavy sigh and turns his face back to her. At this, she realizes he has beautiful eyes. But then she remembers that he's holding her, one hand around her body while the other covers her mouth.

For a moment, she feels quite warm as she keeps her eyes on him. He, for his part, seems hesitant, unsure of what to do now. He glances at his companion, whose footsteps she can hear approaching.

Before the other boy reaches them, the blond turns back to her, and whispers again, "Alright. I’m going to let you go. But you can’t make a sound. Okay?"

She can't think much and simply nods yes. After all, she’s going to need to ask for their help. Even if they can't help much, she has to try.

So, he slowly releases her, waiting until the last moment to uncover her mouth, apparently afraid she might start screaming or something. But why would she scream? Who would hear her out here, in the middle of nowhere?

She’s preparing to introduce herself when she hears a new voice whispering. "So, what’s going on here, Seres?"

It’s the other boy, who has just arrived beside them. The blond one, apparently named Seres, turns to his friend as he rises, from the ground next to her. "I don’t know, Adar. She just appeared out of nowhere, crying."

This new arrival looks at her, still kneeling, and seems to be thinking about something. This prompts her to start speaking. "I..."

Immediately, both boys signal for her to be quiet, while alternately glancing worriedly at the body covered by the blanket near the fire.

"Shh. Stop making so much noise," whispers the dark-haired boy, his narrowed eyes expressing his irritation with her. But she hadn’t realized she was speaking so loudly.

"Yeah, speak quietly. He hasn’t been sleeping well. If we wake him now, he’ll be furious," adds Seres. She finds the situation unusual. But if they’re this worried about waking their companion—or perhaps it's better to say their leader, since that’s the best explanation for their reaction—she understands.

"I understand," she whispers. But even this volume seems to make them uncomfortable, as they exchange glances and continue to glance toward their sleeping third member.

For a moment, in the face of what's happening, she almost forgets her own situation. But she quickly regains her senses, and still kneeling, with fresh tears streaming down her face, she whispers to them, "Please help me. They’re after me. Save me!"

With the firelight behind them, she can’t fully make out their expressions. Seres turns to his companion. While the other boy brings his hands to his face, and she hears him mutter softly, "We’re screwed. He’s going to kill us when he wakes up."

"Don’t be like that, Adar. I’m sure Nero will want to help her," says Seres to Adar. This gives her some hope, despite what the other boy just said.

"Seres, do you really think, after what just happened. That he’s going to get involved in another mess? Or that he won't blame us?" Adar begins to speak, even raising his voice a bit. But he quickly realizes this and, casting more glances at the mysterious Nero, resumes speaking in whispers. "You can’t keep thinking he’s invincible!"

"Yes, Adar, I don’t think he’s invincible," Seres replies, though it seems hard for him to admit. "But I still think he’ll want to help. You know he likes to complain, but..."

"But he just had his entire body burned. Do you think he’s going to risk going through that again?" Adar’s interruption startles her because what he’s saying implies that the third member of their group must be badly injured. And he seems to be the most important of the three. She almost tries to look at him. But all that is visible is his covered shape.

Unfortunately, these injuries must make it impossible for them to help. Not that only three people could do much to prevent them from taking her.

"You’re right. But last time, he was alone," Seres says, glancing to the side. Following his gaze, she sees a mule she hadn’t really noticed until now.

"Do you think she’ll be enough..." Adar begins to speak, stopping when he sees his friend looking at him. She, for her part, is confused by their conversation.

Out of nowhere, the mule she had been watching starts approaching them. Their reaction is immediate, with them exchanging anxious glances. Meanwhile, the mule stands looking toward the path from which she had come.

For some reason, this makes her worried. Making her start to think they’re catching up to her.

"Horses are approaching," says Seres, looking at the path. With that said, she also can hear the sound of horses galloping closer. In an instant, she stands up in terror. "It’s them. Please save me."

She runs toward the blond Seres, grabbing his arm and begging, "Help me, please. Hide me."

She can’t imagine they’ll be able to do much to help. But maybe if they hide her and say they didn’t see her, they might be believed. That is the only way, she can think of a path of escape.

Seres looks at his friend, seeming to ask with his eyes what the other thinks.

"Where would we hide her?" asks Adar while making sure to keep his voice low. As they talk, the sound of galloping grows louder and closer. For a moment, she thinks of trying to run away. But if she starts running, she’ll be caught quickly.

Indecision makes her stay put. And then the horses appear. Even in the dim firelight, she can see her worst fear coming true. The fear, leads her to stand behind Seres, hoping his body can somehow hide her.

"There you are!" she hears Aden’s voice from the group that arrives.

"Hey, keep your voices down," says Adar in a low but aggressive tone. His continued concern about waking the last member of his group is almost comical. After all, in front of him is a group of well-armed guards.

Something in the tone of the dark-haired boy makes one of the guards start laughing.

"Laugh all you want, but quietly. If you wake him up, we all will be in trouble," she hears Seres say to the group, also making sure to keep his voice low.

"How dare you!" exclaims the laughing guard, lowering his spear toward Adar and making his horse advance toward him. Meanwhile, she notices Aden beginning to laugh.

As the horse moves forward, the mule appears beside them, calmly heading toward the group. At this moment, the guard’s horse seems to get spooked by something, almost causing the guard to fall as it backs away from the mule. The mule, in turn, remains calm while the other horses also become agitated.

"Enough!!" Adar says, in the loudest voice she has heard from him.

"If you know what’s good for you, start speaking softly. And you..." Adar whispers again to the guards. To then, strangely, turning to the mule. "... can you back off before the noise wakes him?"

The mule stares at Adar for a brief moment before backing off a bit. Moving to a position behind her. With this, the horses start to calm down.

The oddity of this situation makes her truly realize how these two young men are still far more concerned about, waking the other member of their group, even in the face of an armed group.

This makes her wonder what kind of person this man must be.

"Hey, what the hell is going on here?" she hears someone speak behind her. And from the tension she notices in Seres, she realizes who that voice must belong to.