The Next Death

Chapter 12

"That doesn't look like much fun," a voice says. I look up to find Samsama'il walking towards me. My eyes flick towards Mr. Mors's office. "Just me. Neal's still busy." Samsama'il stops in front of me, leaning against the counter. He studies my textbook, eyes narrowing. His eyes come up to mine. "That looks like math. And not the easy kind."

"Calculus is so far past easy I've forgotten how to do basic math."

"Sounds terrible. I'm glad it didn't exist when I was a boy."

I blink. "When you were a boy?"

Samsama'il nods. "Not that math was a large part of my education. Math isn't needed to fight."

I just stare at him. "I have more questions now."

He laughs. "I have questions of my own, but first, I do believe we 'got off on the wrong foot,' as they say here." Samsama'il offers me his hand. "I'm Samsama'il, but you can call me Sam if you'd rather."

I take his hand. "Elizabeth. You can call me by any variation you want, but most people go with Eliza."

Sam bows his head, "A pleasure, Miss Eliza." Lifting his head, he releases my hand. "Would you like the first question?"

I flip my textbook shut. "How old are you?"

Sam thinks for a second. "Not quite sure. I'm younger than Mors but older than calculus. I stopped counting." He tilts his head. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen. I'll be seventeen in a few months. What did you mean about math not being needed to fight?" I rest my elbows on the countertop. "Were you a soldier?"

He nods. "Yes, I was. Spent my whole life training. Neal mentioned that you're still technically alive; that's why your aura is off. I'm curious about that."

"My brother and I were in a car crash. I was seriously injured. Mr. Mors offered to extend my life to give me more time with my family on the grounds that I started my training once I was better. What war did you fight in?"

"Interesting. Wars, technically. Didn't fight in many of them though. I believe you know them as the crusades. Is your brother older or younger than you?"

"Older, but only by a little more than a year. Did you die in the wars?"

"I had a brother too; he was younger than me though. Technically, as far as humans are concerned, yes. Considering your textbook is it safe to assume that as part of playing human you are still attending school?"

I stare at him for a second. "Okay, not fair, you just raised two questions that are completely unrelated," Sam smiles, "But yes. I am still attending school. I'm a junior set to graduate at the top of my class. I've put too much effort towards graduation to become a high school dropout. You need to elaborate on both the fact that had a brother and that technicality."

Sam laughs. "Lucky for you, those are actually related in the story." I nestle my chin into my hands. "My father wanted my younger brother and me to have something. He already had an heir, my older brother, and he had the status and the relations to make sure my little sister married well. So, he handed us over to the military. He hoped that we would do well and earn a title and land for ourselves.

"By the time I finished my training, my younger brother was just beginning his training. I felt a little bad for him; I had become such a skilled warrior, they had high standards for my younger brother. Needless to say, I quickly rose in rank and by the time my brother became a soldier, I was a rather high-ranking officer. Having heard that he wasn't as skilled as me, I pulled some strings to get him put under my command.

"I was tasked with a raid on one of the smaller enemy camps. It was supposed to have few people in it, mostly just messengers and wounded. Looking back on it, I probably should have questioned where the intel came from, but I was on a victory high. My soldiers and I had been making such headway and we had taken on bigger challenges. Needless to say, it didn't go well.