Death's Awakening

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Witch

"Wake up."

The young witch opened her eyes to darkness. She remembered setting up camp in a large blue house, but there was no one for miles. She had made sure of that before she slept.

"Who's there?" she asked. Regular humans posed no real threat to her now that her magic was growing, but she couldn't afford any interruptions now. Not when she had such an important task to complete.

Plus, she knew if anyone got in her way, she'd have to kill them. She didn't like killing.

Annoyance crept over her as she listened in the darkness. All she wanted to do was get a good night of rest so that she could press on in the morning. She'd been traveling on foot for days, following the stone like the Dark One had taught her to. The closer she got to the guardians, the warmer the stone felt in her hands and the brighter the marks glowed.

Each of the five marks referred to one of the guardians. From the way the stone glowed, it looked like three of them were close to each other already. That would make her work finding them easier.

"Awake, my faithful servant. Come and speak with me."

A dim light flickered in an adjoining room, and the young witch opened her eyes wider. The voice had called her a faithful servant, and she only had one master. A master whose voice she'd only heard in dreams. She swallowed and stood up from the bed she'd made on the floor with her cloak.

Following the flicker of light, she made her way to the next room and gasped at what she saw.

A tall human female sat at the kitchen table next to a glowing candle. From the rancid smell, the witch could tell that the woman was dead. Or rather, undead. The body had already begun to decompose and there was a wound on her arm that ran with yellow pus.

"Who are you?" the witch asked. She'd seen these undead servants roaming around ever since she'd killed the man. She had never heard one of them talk before, though. Nothing more than meaningless moans or growls, anyway. But this one had known her for who she was. Had called her servant.

"Why do you ask me questions you already know the answer to? Do you dare waste my time when I have chosen to visit with you?"

A shiver ran up the young witch's spine. Without thought, she threw herself onto the floor, bowing her head toward the undead woman. "I didn't realize," she cried. "How—"

"My power is growing with each new day," the rotting woman said. The Dark One spoke through her. "I can feel it coursing through me with each new life that is taken. And as I suck the life from the living, I give it back to the dead, making them rise up as my servants. One at a time, I'm taking control of this world. But I need the guardians' power. I need to infect them with my virus so that I can steal their power from them like I have the rest of humanity. If I could have their power, I could finally free myself from this prison of ice."

"I am close," the witch said. "The stone is glowing brighter every day."

"You are not close enough." The corpse turned its head toward her and she could see that one of its eyes was missing. A large worm crawled through it and the witch looked away in fear. "Their powers are awakening. Can't you feel it? They won't understand them, of course. They have no memories of who they used to be or the many lives they have lived. Now they will begin seeking each other out. They will feel drawn to each other in ways they do not understand," the Dark One said. "You must find them before they complete their group. Three are already together. Soon, they will join up with the fourth. You must find them before they become five. Do this for me and I will reward you."

"But how can I find them?" she asked. "I'm already doing all I can by following the stone."

"You are a tracker," the Dark One said. "Has no one taught you of your own abilities in all your sixty years?"

The witch opened her mouth. A tracker?

"How do you think it was that you knew exactly where Tobias Prague had gone that day in the woods? You knew by instinct, didn't you?"

The witch nodded. She had known which way he went without knowing how or why.

"This is a part of the power you were born with," the Dark One told her. "In your dreams, you will begin to see the guardians more clearly. As you see them, you will begin to be able to track them. You will begin to see them. To know them. You will even be able to see into their minds. Their dreams."

The witch shook her head. She didn't have that kind of ability. She wasn't strong enough.

"Do not doubt yourself," the Dark One said. "It is only by believing in yourself and trusting your natural instincts that you will begin to fully embrace your destiny."

The witch burned with the desire to please the Dark One. She yearned to live up to what this great necromancer believed she was capable of. She would do anything—sacrifice anything—to please her.

"I will not fail you."

The candle on the table blew out and the corpse's eyes dimmed, glazing over with the milky blue of the mindless.

With great speed, the young witch dressed, packed her things, and headed back out on the road in search of the guardians.

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