The endless march through the empty wasteland was interrupted when one of General Arthur’s scouts returned. We had finally caught up with the fleeing civilians. Less than an hour later we were reunited.
I immediately noticed that there were far fewer civilians than when we separated.
At least a fourth of their number was missing. I shuddered to think how many had been turned into Demonkin and executed by the soldiers.
Memories of the small child and his mother I met in Téves flashed through my mind. I could not help but wonder if they were still alive.
A group of soldiers cheered as they rushed towards the civilians in excitement.
I recognized insignia on their armor as Romlas. They were one of the many squads of soldiers General Arthur saved as they fled from the mist.
Many of the soldiers had homes and families in Téves.
I could not help but feel a warmth in my chest as joyous shouts rang out and loved ones were reunited. However, underneath the joy, there was also sorrow. So many had been lost. More than half of the city’s population was dead. Many soldiers wandered through the crowd, lost as they realized their families were nowhere to be found. Countless tears were shed for those that were forever lost to the mist.
A man I recognized as the Mayor of Téves ran up to General Arthur with a giant smile on his face. “I have never been so happy to see foreign soldiers on the horizon. The people were starting to lose hope that we would ever make it out of the mist.”
General Arthur gave a big laugh as he patted the mayor on his back. “Ye are safe now. I will make sure nothin’ else can harm anyone here. We can’t do anythin’ about curin’ the infection until we are out of the mist, but so long as ye stay within the silver light, it should at least slow the changes a bit.”
“You have no idea how much of a relief that is,” The mayor said with a sigh, “Watching the people around you die without being able to do anything to stop it… Never knowing who will be next… It takes a toll on everyone.”
“Have there been any incidents?” General Arthur asked.
The mayor shook his head. “Nothing we could not handle. People running away in the night, some food theft, and a few altercations. All of it is expected given the circumstances, but thankfully, in the past two days things have calmed down quite a bit. Now the only things I really have to deal with are comforting the traumatized, looking after children who have no one else, and discouraging all the rumors flying around trying to scare people.”
“Soldiers are not really the cuddliest bunch, but I can assign some I trust to help look after the children and comfort those in need. What kinds of rumors are ye dealing with?”
The mayor shrugged his shoulders. “All kinds, the most popular are the ones are about ghosts’ hauntings and dead rising up to take their revenge. A few others state this is all retribution for the greed of our king. Others keep quoting the church, stating how this is all a sign that our realm will soon fall to the Demons, and that all hope is lost.
It stirs up a bit of panic, but I have been able to keep the people under control for now.”
General Arthur thought quietly for a moment, contemplating the issue. “I can’t really do anythin’ about people talkin’, but I can spread out the soldiers. If they patrol through the civilians, it might help calm them a bit… I should probably leave that job to the Romlas soldiers though.
We do not need them shifting their anger onto the foreign soldiers. Is there anything else we can do to help?”
“You have done more than enough. So long as we have your protection, I think everyone will make it out of the mist safely. Thank you for supporting us in our time of need. It is hard to believe that we have been shown so much kindness from people we once called our enemies. If not for so many coming to our aid, we would have all died back in Téves, too scared to even try and escape.”
General Arthur's smile was infectious as he jostled the mayor. "Against the Demon's all of humanity must unite. There are no enemy nations, only neighbors and friends. We must always remember that."
"I will," the mayor said with a nod. He paused as he looked around expectantly. “Where is the soldier that led the team that rescued us? I wanted to thank him as well.”
I grimaced as I realized the mayor was talking about Orias. “He died fighting so that we could kill the Demon,” I said softly.
The mayor looked at me with confusion painted on his face as he spoke, “That can’t be right. I just saw him yesterday.”
Now it was my turn to be confused as practically shot up to stand in front of the mayor. “We are talking about Orias, right? The big guy wearing baggy clothes.”
The mayor nodded. “He showed up at our camp yesterday, telling us that all of you were on the way. Not a scratch on him, why did you think he was dead?”
“Because we buried him two days ago. I saw the body myself!”
The general closed his eyes and spoke slowly. “Did you see anything strange about him? Anything out of place at all?”
The mayor seemed scared now as he looked around with wide eyes. “Is this related to the rumors about people seeing the dead? That's impossible. Is this some sort of twisted joke? Orias seemed perfectly normal. A little distant perhaps, but he was holding a conversation with me for nearly an hour. I guess the only real difference was that his eyes were glowing with a bright orange light.
I just assumed it was his innate talent.”
“Orange eyes!” I shouted.
Realization struck me like a lightning bolt as I turned around and ran. My mom had said it this morning. She saw Orias standing over her with bright orange eyes!
I sprinted to our wagon as fast as I could. Bursting through the door, I was panting heavily from my dash. I looked around in a panic, pausing when I realized everything inside was completely normal. My mom still laid in the bed, looking as weak as ever. My dad sat next to her, stroking her hair. Donte was still passed out on one of the bunks. Everyone was completely safe. I let out a sigh of relief as I started examining the wagon for anything out of place. My mom and dad both looked at me with confusion.
“Wren what are you doing? What is wrong?” my dad asked.
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I looked at my mom, biting my lip, unsure if I wanted to tell her the truth.
Orias had been more than just a friend to her. If she knew what happened to him… the truth could break her.
“What is it Wren?” my mom asked, noticing my anxiety and distress.
“We met with the civilians…” I spoke slowly. Taking a deep breath, I decided to tell her the truth. She deserved to know. “They… said they saw Orias… with orange eyes.”
“It was not just a dream!” my mom shouted, struggling to stand. “He really was here! Where is he now?”
My dad placed a hand on my mom’s shoulder, forcing her to lay back down. “Sweetie… Orias is gone. If he was alive, why would he not tell us? Why would he hide?”
“But they saw him! I saw him!
He must have survived somehow. I have to find him!”
I hesitated, my teeth nearly drawing blood from my lip before I spoke, “Mom, what color were Orias’s eyes when he used his talent?”
My mom paused as realization dawned on her. “They were amber, nearly yellow, but… when I saw him this morning… they glowed a deep orange.”
I nodded. “The color of an innate talent rarely changes. If it has… there are only two possibilities. Either someone is going around disguised as him, or… someone has taken control of Orias’s body.”
My mom stopped struggling to stand as the full weight of those words sunk in. She laid back, closing her eyes. Her next words came out as barely a growl. “Who?”
I shook my head. “I do not know yet, but given how he came to see you, I doubt it was a disguise. Someone like that should be avoiding you, not seeking you out. That means someone is likely controlling his body, but someone with a talent similar to Aurielle’s is incredibly rare.
A person like that should stand out. Either way, I will find them, and I will figure out what they are up to.”
My mom’s next words barely came out as a whisper. “Wren… I do not want Orias’s memory to be tainted this way. If you find him before I do, please let him rest. Let him find some peace after all these years.”
“I will,” I said somberly, before looking towards my dad, “Assuming it is him if Orias came to see Mom, whoever is in command is not very good at controlling him. It is not uncommon for the undead to be drawn to the ones they cared about when they were alive, but you have to be careful.
Undead naturally despise living beings.
Uncontrolled, most will kill any living thing they come across.”
“I will protect her,” my dad said firmly. “Find Orias. Then, find the one behind all this. I want to punch them at least once.”
I nodded with a firm resolution. I would find this Orias before my mom had to see him like that. No matter what, I would not let anything hurt her.
Stepping out of the wagon I saw General Arthur standing there, waiting for me. He leaned against the wagon casually as he looked out at the soldiers nearby.
“I guess that means ye are not responsible for ressurectin’ people?”
“Obviously,” I said with a dismissive wave of my hand, “My undead have green eyes remember?”
“Yes, yes, I know. I am just makin’ sure nothin’ has changed since your rebirth. If it is not ye, then I will need help. A necromancer is not something I have ever dealt with before. Ye are the expert on the undead. What do ye think they are after?”
“You kept the Demon’s body, right? That is the only thing I can think of that has any value.”
General Arthur nodded. “A Demon’s body is extremely valuable to the church as materials so I kept it. I can understand why someone with a talent like yours would want it. Speaking of which, why did ye not make it one of your undead?”
“Because of how I killed it,” I replied with a shrug, “I practically obliterated its insides. Even if I spent a week trying to heal it, I still might not succeed. There is nothing left to heal. The body is practically useless.”
“But they do not know that.” General Arthur said with a grin, “We can set a trap for them if we know what they want.”
“I wonder what their expression would be like if they spent all this effort trying to get the body only to end up with a useless rag.” I smiled imagining their frustration. “We are lucky it is not a very strong necromancer we are up against.”
“How do ye know that?”
I leaned against my family’s wagon, standing next to him. I crossed my arms as I looked out towards the milling soldiers in the distance. Then back the way we came. The ever-changing faces in the mist stared back at me. One face that looked like it was screaming caught my attention before it faded back into the mist.
“Between the soldiers and the Demonkin, there are nearly twenty thousand bodies back at Nebula Tower. If they were truly powerful, they would not need to send one or two bodies in at a time and sneak into camp. If it is someone as strong as Aurielle was at her peak... I would just send the entire army to wipe us out and take what I want.”