14. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Evengi

I 've run into quite a few situations during my time as a ghost hunter. Like the time I discovered a man had become a vampire by stumbling upon the ghost of the neighbor who was his first meal. Life as a priest of Neltruna has never been boring.

But I don't think I've ever experienced a situation suite like this.

I pull on my arms, testing what appears to be skeletal hands holding me in place. I count at least three resurrected dead which means I'm in the presence of a very powerful necromancer.

The dead are raised and controlled by the force of their will, so I'm not sure why I'm so surprised. If there's a word, I'd use to describe Natasya, it's willful.

She eyes me warily as she leans up against the wall of the tomb. I'm not sure what game she is playing in accusing me of making Brom disappear. It's obvious she's used him in some sort of dark ritual. I was right to suspect her. She's a necromancer after all.

But it begs the question of why she is putting on this act. Who is she hoping to fool? The skeletons?

I flex my fingers, deciding that my best chance of survival is to keep her talking. I'll be honest, I'm not sure why I'm still alive now that I know her secret, but it's probable that she needs a living soul to sacrifice to her demigod for more power or something equally evil.

Maybe it's the fate Brom had, but for now, I'm still alive, and I intend to keep it that way. I will not force the other priests of Neltruna to ship my remains back home to my parents.

"Why do you think I have anything to do with Brom's disappearance?" I ask, tilting my head.

She raises her brow. "Don't start playing innocent now. You broke into my house."

"Because I suspected you of Brom's disappearance."

"You say that now because you're worried of what I'm going to do when I find out that you killed my betrothed." She steps forward narrowing her eyes. "But that's nothing compared to what I'll do if you don't tell me where you buried him."

I can't help but snort. "In case you failed to notice you're the necromancer, if anyone is responsible for Brom's disappearance, it's you. What did he do? Did he find you out?"

"Was it jealousy?" she counters folding her arms. "Because you couldn't have me."

I snort at this. "Hardly."

She reaches into a pocket in her dress, pulling out the crumpled note which she holds up between her two fingers. "He knew a secret about you, something I would wager you didn't want to get out."

I roll my eyes. "It would just be an inconvenience I'd have to take time out of my day to explain away. I'd never kill a man over my true name."

Natasya raises her chin. "Let's see how much you declare your innocence after being trapped in here with the dead for a few hours."

I fold my legs. "The dead don't unsettle me. It's the living I find unpredictable."

She turns without another word and strides to the other side of the tomb. She won't go far though, she can't if she wants to keep her control over these skeletons. It's well enough, if she is here with me, I know that the people of Sunder Hollow are safe from her.

I turn, studying the hand gripping my arm. I yank on it to see if her will has broken in concentration at all, but it remains firm. I let out a sigh and rest my head back against the wall.

I wish I'd paid more attention during my time at the academy. Having a spell or two at the ready would be extremely useful at this moment.

But no, all I managed to do was pick up a little bit of runework and nearly get myself killed.

Something flickers out of the corner of my eye, and I turn to see a man standing there, staring down at me.

I start slightly, relaxing as I realize it's just a ghost. He's the first ghost to appear to me since coming to Sunder Hollow. It's a bearded man with deeply tanned skin and scruff along his jaw line.

"I see you've met my daughter," the ghost says as lowers down to sit next to me. He gestures to Natasya who is saying something to the skeleton.

"I do apologize for my part in kidnapping you. As you can see, my actions are not my own."

"Wait," I say in a low tone as my eyes lock on the skeleton. "That's you?"

The ghost purses his lips in displeasure. "Indeed, she insists on parading around my bones in this manner. My spirit cannot find rest with her flaunting my remains in such a disrespectful manner."

"Have you considered telling her that?" I ask as I watch her rub her finger across the grooves in the skeleton's skull as if cleaning out some dirt. It's obvious she has some sort of sick affection towards those bones. Perhaps if she knew how it tormented her father, she would stop.

"I'd never give her the satisfaction of appearing to her." He shakes his head with a grumble. "It's bad enough I had to tolerate her while I was living, but dead as well."

"What do you mean?" I ask, barely remembering to keep my tone low. "Don't you love your daughter?"

" Gods ," the ghost says with a chuckle. "Of course not! She got my wife killed, and if that wasn't enough, she found a way to get me killed as well. Should have just left her to starve as a baby, her and that worthless sister of hers."

I whip my head to him, my eyes widening.

"I can't do anything as a spirit, of course, but now that you're here. Now that you can see and hear me…" the ghost trails off grinning widely revealing a few rotten teeth. "Well, now you can remedy that mistake. You can kill my daughter so that I can get my eternal rest at long last."