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I stop breathing as I near, because the stench has become unbearable. The man—thing—stands, but he isn’t breathing either. He’s grasping the bars of the cage, staring at me with unblinking blue eyes. The whites of his eyes have turned cloudy grey. His golden hair is matted and falling out in places. His skin is dull and grey. In some places, it’s bruised and ulcerated, festering.
I recognize his tattered uniform. It’s the standard kit of an Imperial Military soldier.
“You’re undead,” I murmur, horror and revulsion welling up inside me.
This poor, wretched soul. He was a man, once. Now he’s just an animated corpse. There’s no life or intelligence behind those dull blue eyes.
He probably has a family somewhere. Do they even know he’s dead?
I’ve read about this phenomenon, but I’ve never seen it in real life.
As the undead catches sight of me, a low moan issues from his throat. He pulls his weapon—a crude broadsword—from its sheath and tries to impale me through the bars.
I dance backward, easily avoiding his blade. The creature roars and pitches the damn sword at me, point-first.
The blade sails through the air at considerable speed. I dodge. It lands in the snow with a dullthud.
That was some serious strength. To an ordinary soldier, these things could pose a serious threat. And an army of them…
Would mean serious trouble.
The only reason a corpse would be able to reanimate like this is through necromancy.
Where did it come from? More importantly, who’s behind this?
Someoneis responsible for this.
I add them to the list of people I need to kill.
“Stay there,” I growl. The undead gnashes its teeth and rattles the bars, but it can’t do anything.
The cage will contain it. That thing was built strong enough to keep lycans imprisoned.
In an attempt to preserve my sanity, I seek out Finley’s sweet, familiar scent. It occurs to me that I’ve forgotten to breathe. The lack of oxygen hasn’t bothered me at all.
Hm.That’s new. I have never before realized that I don’tneedto breathe anymore. I could probably swim to the very bottom of the Istrivan sea and float amongst the monsters in the depths.
I hear her; pacing around, her breathing fast and shallow, her heart thudding.
As I seek out her scent, my breathing drive kicks back in, settling into an unconscious rhythm.
Strange. But I can’t afford to dwell on it. She’s uneasy. That wasmydoing.
I rip through the trees, scooping her up into my arms as I pass. She gasps, but quickly recovers once she realizes she’s with me.
“Sorry to startle you,” I whisper in her ear as we shoot through the forest. “Something came up. We’ll resume our journey shortly, but I just need to return to the castle and inform Kaithar of something.”
“Wh-what is it?” In my arms, she offers no resistance. She’s breathless and oh-so adorable.
“Nothing for you to worry about. A small security matter.”
We reach the outer grounds of the castle. I accelerate, drawing power into my legs.
“A little warning,” I murmur. “I jump high.”
Then I leap.
I hold her tightly. We sail through the air. She lets out a gasp as we fly over the castle walls, and for a moment, I have a perfect view of my domain.
