Necromancer

Chapter 2 - That Night

Everyone changes over time. We all change at some point in our lives, developing into the people we are today. Some change within years, some within days, but for me, it only took one night.

***

It wasn't a dark and stormy night. There was no sort of foreshadowing of what was to come, no warning or anything. It seemed like a normal night, just like any other. My parents and I were eating dinner and joking around as usual. I was talking about my upcoming sixteenth birthday, and what we should do to celebrate. We were eating my father's delicious chicken soup, all smiles with not a care in the world. I didn't fully appreciate this peaceful moment until later on. I remember the warmth of the fire, the smell of chicken soup, the sound of spoons clinking as everyone ate from their bowls, my parents talking to each other excitedly about future plans. I've had plenty of moments like these, but only now do I realize how much I cherish them, for this was the last beautiful moment I ever had with my parents.

I was just about to put another spoonful of soup in my mouth when we heard a knock at the door. "Who could that be at this time?" My mother asked. No one looked suspicious or frightened. Just curious.

Mother stood up from the table to peek through the peeping hole to see who it was, and gasped. "Lawrence, hide her NOW," she said will all urgency, eyes widened and fearful. I'd never seen her that scared in my entire fifteen years.

"I will not leave you, Jennifer," my father said back.

"Lawrence, any moment now he will come through this door whether we open it or not. Get her somewhere safe!" She whispered, trying not to let whoever was outside hear.

"Who is it? Who's at the door?" I asked them.

"A slaver, Issa. Now GO! Hide, please!" My mother glanced at my father as if that was the last they'd ever share a look. There was love in her eyes, and tears in his. He grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to my room. Shoving me into the closet, he said "I have to go help  your mother. Stay here and do no-"

"HELLO?! Anyone home? Open UP!" Yelled a man. The man standing at our doorstep. A slaver. The police would be no help, since they had no clue about the magical realm of this world.

My father continued. "Do NOT open the door under any circumstances. I love you," He said, giving me a kiss on the forehead before rushing back down to help my mother.

"Wait!" I yelled, but he'd already left.

"You are not welcome here. I know who you are. You will NOT be taking our daughter," Mother's voice said.

BANG. 

BANG.

BANG.

I jumped and gave out a small yelp. Was he banging on the door? What was that??

"Leave us alone!" Yelled my father. Another BANG. Then another. Then another. I heard some movement, my parents grabbing things from the kitchen drawers. Judging from the sounds they made, it sounded like knives.

I feared for my life, and for my parents' lives. I had to believe in them, but the sound of that stranger breaking our front door broke all my hope with it.

My parents weren't fighters. They knew how to fight, better than average, but not the best. I knew the stranger didn't want them. He didn't care about my  parents, because they were regular humans. The traits of a necromancer skipped my mother's generation, handing them over to me. If it was me he wanted, surely he'd let my parents go?