Where Spirits Dwell

The air shimmered in front of him, and then Skylar passed the veil back into the world. She glanced at the corpse quickly, walked over to him, and looked deep into his eyes. It was almost as if she was staring into his soul, gauging and assessing. Satisfied, she let him go and wandered a few paces down the road, glancing to the sides, cocking her head as if she were listening to something.

Worry now written plainly across her face, she crossed back over to him, “We have to leave. Staying in the city is no longer an option.”

She gestured for him to move but he stayed firmly planted where he was. He looked at her, allowing his many questions to flow across his eyes.

Skylar paused, “Not now. We need to leave; I’ll answer your questions along the way. Trust me,” her words, at first hurried, ended in a quiet whisper.

She seemed genuine and scared, whether it was for that reason or another, he followed her once again.

They walked with haste, as if some unknown force nipped at their heels. But as they finally exited the city, they had gone without incident. They had snuck out of an unused side gate and soon the great, black, stone walls of Bedivere faded quickly into the distance.
They kept a strict pace, well into nightfall, never slowing down, never letting up. Finally, he had had enough.

“Skylar wait! We’ve been walking for hours, and I’m done. I don’t even know what happened back there and honestly, I don’t think anyone’s really going to care enough about me at least not for an all out chase. I got rid of a zombie, the necromancers can raise another one, why is this such a big deal?”

Skylar turned around as finished speaking, realizing he really wasn’t following her.

“I know how this must frustrate you. But we cannot wait here. You are a much bigger deal than you realize. You alone could start a revolution. That’s why they are chasing us. Once we get somewhere safe I can explain more to you.”

Skylar stared at him, a gaze that seemed to be looking deeper than the surface. She walked towards him and grasped his shoulders, “If you need more proof, close your eyes. Shut out everything around you and feel. Synchronize yourself with me and I will show you exactly what is searching for us.”

He looked up at her, noticing the seriousness in her eyes, then nodded, shortly. Then he closed his eyes and shut everything out.

Darkness, utter darkness, that was all he could see, all he could feel. Time was irrelevant and he stood there in the darkness, waiting. Then the darkness around him began to fade and he felt… a presence. It was kind, calm and nurturing, it beckoned him. He went towards it and it embraced him, in its glowing aura. They became one entity, one being; they began and ended together, a beautiful, continuous, endless loop.

They were on a map, pinpointed to specific place. That’s when they felt it, they turned as one. A strong, dark presence was behind them and was expanding at an accelerated rate. It was a being of death, the end, bitter justice. It smelled of the grave.

The world distorted around them and he was snapped back to his singular existence. He stared at Skylar with wide eyes, “Let’s hurry.”