I can see my breath in front of my face,swirling in the air around me. The tips of my fingers have grown numb,as well as my nose. Something crunches in the underbrush at my left,making a low rasping,gurgling sound. Instinct kicks in and I flee,smacking tree branches out of my way as I tear through the woods. A branch catches my hair, ripping my headband out. I scream as I skid to a stop just in time,stopping myself from falling over the edge of a river bank.
Turning around, panting, I search for my pursuer. There's nothing. Then I hear the noise again. Listening closer,it sounds like a person moaning in pain. Shivers skitter along my spine,the hairs on the nape of my neck stand on end. It's so close to me.
Something grabs my bare leg, slowly inching itself upward. My heart leaps up to my throat. Slowly, I let my eyes travel down my leg. As soon as I see IT I scream. Staring back at me are two hollow eyes, strips of loose skin hang from its skull. Scraggly,matted hair falls in patches around his or her face.
It opens it's mouth again, teeth clacking together, letting a moan rip through its skeletal frame. There's another sound to my left, a quick thud, then the sound of fast footfalls. My heart races faster, threatening to beat right out of my chest.
In the next moment, everything is a blur, and I go flying to the left, landing on my butt. I scramble backwards, only to find a tree at my back. My eyes find what knocked me aside seconds ago. My attention is transfixed on the boy with a long sharp blade in his hands.
He raises it above his head, swinging down with all his might, cleanly slicing off the skeletons head. It clatters to a stop just at my feet, it's mouth open in shock. I gasp and my eyes bulge in their sockets
He shouts something in a language I'm not familiar with, and the woods are silent.
His eyes turn towards me, even from ten feet away, I can tell they are ice blue, trapping me right where I am. He stalks straight towards me. I'm rooted to the spot.
"Who are you?" His voice is warm, but also has a flinty edge to it. His eyes gleam in the moonlight.
"My name is Sabine." I say, wiping sweaty strands of hair off my face. "Who are you? And what the hell was that thing, and why was it chasing me?"
He chuckles.
"My names Vic. But more importantly, do you really not know?"
I look up at him, confusion sweeping over me. "Excuse me? Not know what exactely?"
His face turns somber and he runs a hand through his hair. "Uhhh..First of all can we get out of this place? It's freaking me out."
"Makes two of us." I reply. Vic slides his sword back into its sheath at his waist. Two minutes later, we emerge through the trees to a dirt road and a little cabin a little further up.
"Okay, first off, it was chasing you because you summoned it."
I stop dead in my tracks. "I what? Is this some kind of joke? Because I don't find it very funny."
He looks over his shoulder, a devilish smile spreading across his face.
"Sweety, you wish I was kidding. Come on, lets get in the house where it's warm. I can't feel my toes."
My eyes travel down and realize he was wearing no shoes. "Why are't you wearing shoes?" I ask.
"Well, normally when you hear somebody screaming in the middle of the night, they don't hop out of bed with their shoes on." I can feel my cheeks grow hot. I duck my face.
Once inside the house, he leads me over to a seat in front of the fireplace. He sighs. "You want the short version? Or the really long complicated version?" His eyes never leave mine. Something in their depths makes me instantly trust him.
"Long version." I say slowly. He nods.
"Sabine, you're a Necromancer, and I'm just the guy that does the dirty work, like you know, slay them and clean up the messes, if there is one."
"Whoa, hold up. What is a Necro.." The words stumble on my tongue. I've never heard of the word in my life before.
Vic looks down at his feet, and then up at me, his eyes reflect the orange flames from the fireplace at my back, making him look dangerous.
"A Necromancer is a person who can raise the dead, control them, and make them their slaves."
