“If you’re worried about anyone finding out that you are a necromancer then you needn’t fret so. I won’t tell anyone your secret,” I tell her. It may not seem like it with those hastily said words in the dark and damp night, but it’s a solemn oath that goes against everything that I owe to the goddess Neltruna.
And yet, it feels as though a weight has been lifted off my chest as I say it. I don’t want to be the one responsible for anything bad happening to Natasya. If that means I become guilty of harboring a necromancer’s secret, then so be it.
“Prove it to me,” she pleads.
Suddenly I’m able to place the emotion tinging her voice. Fear. She’s frightened. And why wouldn’t she be?
Her secret is out, her fiancé is missing, she’s alone in the woods with a man who knows the truth about her, but she knows absolutely nothing about him.
And there’s a headless horseman out there somewhere doing the gods know what.
“It’s your father.”
“What?” she demands sharply.
“I see your father’s ghost,” I say while the ghost hisses.
“Don’t tell her that,” he snarls as if I’d really listen to someone as despicable as this man. His hate for his daughter is partially responsible for how she ended up the way she is today.
“Elwis?” she gasps out as she goes limp. I surge forward, wrapping my arms around her to keep her from winding up on the forest floor.
“No, no, not that father. As far as I know, the criminal is just fine,” I assure her even though I can’t believe myself. It would be so much better for Natasya if her father were gone and no longer capable of corrupting her life. And yet here I am telling her that he’s fine like that’s actually a good thing.
“My birth father?” Natasya asks. She doesn’t bother straightening but instead remains limp in my arms.
I press my lips together in a thin line. “I’m afraid so.” I refrain from telling her that the only reason he is here is because he is tormented by her using his corpse in her necromancy or that he wants me to kill her. I’m not sure that’s something she needs to hear right now.
A dry chuckle fills the air, and I look up to see Brom standing there a few yards away. He folds his arms as he studies me. “Look at you two. You seem so cozy there. I’ve only been gone for what? A day? And you’re already moving in on my fiancée. I expect better from you, Ivan.”
I straighten as I look up at him. “Brom?” I ask in surprise. “How long have you been here?”
Natasya pushes away from me, glancing around wildly. “Brom is here? Where?”
I raise my arm to point at him. “He’s right…” I trail off as I look at Brom more closely. Despite the darkness of the forest and that I can only make out the outline of my hand even though it isright in front of me, I can see Brom clearly as if it’s the middle of the afternoon.
Just like I can easily see Natasya’s father. As if he is in a world where light and dark does not matter.
There is a thin line across his neck and a trickle of deep red liquid running down his collar to stain his shirt.
“Oh no,” I whisper. “Brom no.”
He smiles but there is no mirth in the expression. “About time you figured out that I was dead. And you both will be too if you don’t get out of here. You must get out of Sunder Hollow. And most importantly, get away from the Heretic’s Rest.”
Chapter Nineteen
Natasya
Iwhip my head around, searching for Brom. Evengi is staring at a point that as far as I can tell is occupied by only dead leaves and gnarled roots.
“Where is Brom?” I demand, taking a step toward the space that Evengi is staring.
“Natasya,” Evengi whispers he moves closer to me. I watch him warily as he reaches out, but he simply clasps my hand, holding it up between us. “I’m so sorry.”
“What?” I ask. As I look at Evengi closely, I notice that his eyes have a slight glow to them, proof of Higher Elf ancestry in his blood. It offers enough light that I can see the sympathy in his gaze. “What is it? You’re scaring me.”
“Brom is… dead.”
I stumble back, yanking my hand out of Evengi’s hold. “How can you know that, how can you say that?”
