The Undead Sorcerer

Chapter 12

Justina flips through a book, murmuring words under her breath in repetition. Her words seem to soothe the mad, and healing magic envelops the room, surrounding the injured in a cooling mist. With Justina's care, Morgan's convulsions end quickly, and the doctor is at her side, examining her for wounds after she collapses. Others marvel at their healing bruises, too preoccupied with themselves to notice my burn wounds healing faster than they should. Between healing magic and my undead magic, my wounds are nothing. This magic refuses to let me die. But even with all this work I've created for it, I feel invigorated. Whereas others are tired from battle, I am the opposite...

"She appears stable. She should recover," Justina decides, rising from the floor. "Let's get a head count, everyone gather around," Justina orders. Others draw near, but I hold near the edge of the room. Justina notices, and I flash her a quick smile, showing off monstrously long fangs. Justina nods and goes about searching the room.

"We're missing Sunny and Gregory. We should do a full sweep of the manor. Find them," Justina advises.

"Excuse me, don't you think that's a bit aggressive?" Avery disagrees.

"I beg your pardon?" Justina inquires.

"Well, I mean, they're missing. Shouldn't we wait and interrogate the culprits we have here?" Avery suggests.

"These. Are. Victims. They're in critical shape and are in no condition to be interrogated," Justina disagrees, raising her voice, her gaze flickering between Avery and Peter.

"If the doctor states they are no condition, then I must agree," Peter agrees. Avery turns up his nose, arms crossed, and turns away from the group. "You heard her; let's get a search going. I want those two found," Peter backs Justina up, giving her an approving nod. With a relieved sigh, Justina kneels beside the victims: Henry, Morgan, and Edward. After their assault against us, their condition must be quite serious if Justina's calling them the victims.

"Alistair, let's go, you and me!" Dylan calls, geared up and ready to go on a manhunt. "Hey- that's not your room," he complains.

"Anyone home?" I call with a knock. Upon the silence, I kick the door open to Sunny's room. It flies open with ease. "The doors are a joke," I mutter.

"You know, it seems a bit wrong to enter a lady's room without her permission," Dylan whines.

"Alright, add it to my tab of wrongdoings. Not like I'm going anywhere else but down," I sneer.

"What are we doing in here?" Dylan complains, sheepishly inching into the doorway while I rummage through her belongings on the opposite end of the room.

"I need something of hers that's trackable. Like clothing," I explain. I feel around my coat pockets among a few trinkets when I hear a familiar clink.

"Is that a dog collar? You just carry a dog collar with you?" Dylan wonders, staring between the collar and the old whistle I brought from home.

"Hey. It's the family dog," I snap at him before giving a strong blow in the whistle.

"Here girl!" I call with one final whistle. A tremor rocks the room as the void splits the space, blowing a draft into the room. Dylan shudders and braces himself against the cold. A dog's barking calls from a distance, panting as it runs to heed my call. Finally, it leaps into the room. Dylan stares in awe, mouth hanging open. The bony skeleton shakes as it trots around the room.

"That's incredible," Dylan admits. "Is she friendly?" he asks after he runs to pet and nuzzle the skeleton of a dog.

"Come on, let's get moving. Sunny and Gregory could be long gone," I remind them. I click my tongue and shake a piece of Sunny's closing for her to sniff. She darts, her nose focused on the smells, sniffing and grunting before she darts off to track the scent. "Let's go," I urge Dylan without waiting to see if he's following – he'd better keep up! There isn't a soul alive this dog can't track be it on Earth or in the pits of hell. She will find you. However, my dog is taking us away outside the manor and off the grounds, meaning Sunny either ran away or was taken.