I’m in the crypt of the necromancer and now there’s a figure advancing towards me through the mist. Now I can see it’s a familiar white haired and white bearded old man with long blue robes and pointed hat. It’s Oleus the wizard! His eyebrows knit together and he frowns at me.

“You did not expect to find me here, did you?”

But wait… there’s an alarm bell ringing in the back of my mind…

“That’s because you cannot possibly be here… you are not real…” I glare at him, willing the veils of deception to disperse. “The greater undead cannot hide from one another,” I say as I will myself to look deeper than the apparition.

The illusion of Oleus dissolves and now a hideous figure is revealed – Zarath the necromancer in his true form! A hideous monster swathed in red robes. His body is grotesque, with a large, domed, insect like back which curves up to his oversized skull. One of his arms is so long it trails along the floor. The other arm is withered and stunted. One eye bulges from its socket and a frozen leer warps his lipless mouth. Red veins pulsate through the semi-decayed flesh on his bald skull. His eye sockets blaze with red fire.

“I know you are an intruder,” he says in a guttural voice. “I can sense my sword hidden in your robes. But you are out of your depths, worm.”

Suddenly he points his stunted arm at me and a fireball shoots from the gnarled claws straight at me. It collides with my skeletal form and I break apart, my bones flying everywhere.

OK, gotta will myself back together. I’ve had enough practice now and it’s paying off. I will myself to form one piece. My bones fly towards one another and knit together again. I’m a complete skeleton once more.

“Gahhh!” Zarath gives a weird growl of frustration. Now he starts to mumble words I don’t understand. Immediately his fingertips are crawling with giant, bloated insects which swarm at me as if Zarath were holding the end of a massive, pulsating cone. Now I’m completely covered with the insects and they flt into my ribcage and into my skull. They’re trying to sting my bones I think, but I don’t feel anything.

“What exactly are these bugs supposed to do?” I call. “Sting my flesh? Drink my blood? I have neither.”

“I will blast you, bony bitch!” growls Zarath.

“You’re so rude. Just like Maggart was. Now you’re going to suffer his fate.”

The insects are clouding my vision, but now there’s a brilliant flash of white light and I’m struck hard and blown to pieces again. Zarath has sent a bolt of lightening to blow me to bits. No matter, I will myself into one piece again and my bones knit back together.

“Do you give up?”

“Never!” snarls Zarath. “You will begone, undead sprirt.”

The necromancer raises his claw like hands and eerie, glowing lights shoot out of his fingertips, taking the forms of dragons and demonic faces. They surround me and I feel the sensation of being tugged from all directions. Is something trying to tug me away from my bones? It’s not working. I’m still here. I’m still a skeleton.

“Begone! Begone! Begone!” Zarath’s growling voice is chanting the word over and over again. What is he trying to do? He gives another growl of frustration. And his fists glow with searing blue flames which he casts at me and I’m blasted to pieces again. But now my bones are not knitting together. Flames that are blue with heat are surrounding each of my bones and blazing hotter and hotter. I’m in my skull, but I’m surrounded by blue fire and it’s difficult to see anything. Is my skull crumbling? It is, now my skull has fallen to dust and I’m just me, floating in the air like a pair of disembodied eyes. My other bones are burning to dust as well.

Zarath is roaring and sending more streaks of blue fire and the dust is blown away. I’m just air! My belt and my opal studied dagger have been burned away as well. Now there’s just Zarath’s sword and the Slythoris horn on the stone floor of the crypt.

Zarath gives a weird sort of cackle and the blue fire goes out. “You were never a match for the might of Zarath!”

But there’s a fine dust moving on the chamber floor. Now it rises into the air and coalesces to form individual bones that quickly knit together to form a complete skeleton with my flaming red hair. I feel myself sucked in through the eye sockets of the skull. Wow, I feel dizzy but I’ve reassembled myself. I flex my bony fingers. Everything’s working.

I crack my bony knuckles threateningly. “Is that all you’ve got?”

Zarath’s jaw drops half an inch, but he recovers his composure remarkably quickly. “Not even close! Undead you are, but you’re still a mere girl. Face your worst fears and be overwhelmed by your emotions!”

“You chauvinist prig!”

Now Zarath glares at me so hard that tongues of flame spring from his eye sockets and hit me in the eyes! It really is just as well that I have ghost eyes and not fleshy eyeballs, or I would have been blinded…

Ohhh… Now I feel the poisonous tendrils of Zarath’s consciousness probing about in my mind. I hear his growling voice very loudly… “See death and destruction!”

I see a terrible vision of fire raining down on the town of Willowmere and the people burning alive…

I hear Zarath’s voice resounding in my mind: “I will purge all life on Caucris. Everyone will die! I will make you watch!”

I scream, but I must pull myself together. The images he’s showing me are not real. It’s only a cruel illusion, it’s only a cruel illusion… I must clear my head so I can fight. What’s the one thing I can focus on that will give me strength and restore my morale…? I think of Jaime’s beautiful, freckled face and feel all light and warm and happy as I feel just how much I love him and how happy I will be to be in his warm, fleshy arms again…

I feel the probing tendrils of Zarath’s consciousness recede and the necromancer staggers. “Argh! Get out of my head! I can’t stand it! How could anyone be driven by something so insipid as love!”

I pick up his sword. “Prepare to die!”

He lunges at me, but I sidestep and swipe at his long trailing arm, lopping it off. He blasts at my skeletal arm with another fireball and my arm breaks off, but then comes flying back towards him and brings his sword round in a wide, sweeping arc, cutting through the bones and sinews of his neck.

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Zarath’s head falls to the floor of the crypt!

“Damn you!” roars the necromancer.

I pick up the Slythoris horn. “Die now!”

I plunge the horn through his robes and through his parchment like skin, breaking the bones of his chest and piercing his rotten heart.

A terrible roar echoes through the crypt and then fades to nothingness. Zarath’s head and body parts burst into flames which burn out in seconds leaving no trace of him behind. The necromancer is no more!

Now I hear a rumbling sounds and small stones and dirt are falling from the ceiling, followed by heavier rocks. The place is about to cave in. I must get out immediately! Zarath’s sword can stay here though, I don’t want its curse hurting anyone else the way it hurt poor Lult. I chuck it into a corner of the crypt and scuttle out of there at top speed just before the roof gives way.

Now I’m in Gorgoth’s old chamber and stones are falling from the roof here as well and cracks are appearing in all the demonic statues.

I scuttle flat out. I don’t have any possessions or anything to weigh me down. I dash along the tunnel and reach the steps leading to the fissure just as the entire tunnel caves in. I run up the steps and out of the fissure.

I can see Jenna, Synt and Clark. I run over to them. Jenna and Clark are hugging each other while Synt is standing to one side scowling. Jenna and Clark are kissing one another, but they unlock their lips when I come scuttling up.

Clark looks at me with wide brown eyes.

Jenna’s gazes at me. Her eyes are bloodshot and there are traces of tears on her green cheeks. She’s been crying a lot.

“Jenna, what’s wrong?”

Jenna steps towards me and reaches out a gloved hand to touch my boney arm. “Seren… I thought you wouldn’t come back.” It sounds like her throat is sore.

At that moment there is a humming sound and a golden light appears above us. It’s an eagle, but its radiance lights up the dark valley.

The eagle gives a piercing call and then speaks: “Rejoice! For the threat of Zarath is ended forever. Celebrate now for you may never have such a cause to celebrate again.”

“Wait, please tell me who you are…” I begin, but the eagle vanishes.

“That might have been one of those watcher spirits,” says Synt. “They exist on another plane and watch us but don’t do much. They are benign though.”

Jenna’s clasping her gloved hands together and smiles. The moonlight shines off her green nose. “Seren, you are such a heroine, you did it! You’ve done what no one else can do. That monster Zarath has gone to the abyss where he belongs.”

“And his sword is buried under tonnes of rocks and rubble, so that should be the end of that as well,” I add.

Jenna gives me back my knife, money pouch and wedding ring. I slip the ring back onto my boney finger. I’m really glad I didn’t bring it into the crypt. Zarath’s fire destroyed my opal studied dagger and belt so easily when he blasted me. My ring would have been melted too.

Clark gingerly touches my other arm. “I really am sorry if I upset you earlier.”

I gaze at his face and think how much he looks like Jaime. I will see my husband again soon enough! And then I will be in his loving embrace.

“That’s alright,” I reply to Clark. “I’ve already found all the acceptance I will ever need.”

00O00

We all go back towards Port Glikridge. My companions don’t want to enter the cityport. Jenna is going home and it turns out that Clark is going to live with her. Jenna gives me her address. I escort them to the outskirts of their village. I wish them both the very best. I hope they get married. Jenna deserves a hot husband.

Jenna hugs and kisses me. “Keep in touch, sweet skeleton.”

Clark smiles at me and bows. “Hope to see you soon.”

Synt and I go in the direction of Port Glikridge.

“You did some good work tonight, skeleton.”

“Call me Skull-Girl.”

“Right, Skull-Girl. You are a legend. Farewell.” Synt turns and strides off into the night. I return to Port Glikridge to report my success to Lord Dredd.

00O00

Lord Dred has given me a bag of coins as a reward. Mostly silver, but with a few gold pieces as well. I’m very pleased that I will be able to provide for my family after all. I had been worried about how I was going to support my new family. Being head of a household brings its own challenges. Lord Dred gave me a new jewelled dagger as well to replace the one that Zarath destroyed. This one is studied with amethysts.

I don’t need an escort. Lord Dred is right. I killed Zarath and could there possibly be any worse menace for me to fight? I really hope there isn’t. There won’t be on the journey back to WIllowmere, anyway.

It’s dawn when I get back. I scuttle up to Jaime’s house. Oleus is sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair, smoking his pipe.

He looks up as I scuttle towards him. “Ah, my good friend. You have saved Caucris.”

He beckons me and we enter the house.

Here is an adorable sight! Jaime is on the couch, baby Jace is in his arms. Jaime rubs his freckled nose against Jace’s little green nose and Jace giggles. Ember is asleep in a cradle beside him. The three of them looks so picture perfect, that I feel warm and fuzzy. What a beautiful father and what beautiful babies. It’s a pity the mother, me, is a skeleton. I’m picturing our family portrait now…

Jaime looks up and his freckled face lights up with his smile.

“Jaime!”

I spring at him and lean my skull forward so he can kiss my teeth. Euphoria warms my bones. This is what I’ve always wanted…

00O00

Oleus stays for the rest of the day, but he doesn’t really help with the kids. He does make a magic safe for us to keep our money and jewellery in, which no robber will be able to break in to. It will only open for me. In the evening, the wizard goes back to Port Glikridge.

When it’s time to go to bed, I volunteer for night duty. I will be the one to comfort our kids and change their nappies if they wake up in the night. I don’t really need to sleep, but Jaime certainly does. Oleus didn’t help with the kids while I was away, so Jaime had to take care of them when they woke up in the night and he’s pretty tired now.

When Jaime’s wrapped in the duvet I cradle him in my bony arms as he gazes up at me. “Rest now my love,” I murmur. “I can cuddle you as you sleep.”

As Jaime falls asleep in my arms I gaze at him, my eyes anchored by his freckled face. Finally, finally, finally! We get to share a bed as husband and wife as it should be! I feel so happy and light that my skull spins around.

Ah, I can hear a baby cry in the other room. Jace or Ember has woken up. I gently lay Jaime on the bed, still wrapped in the duvet and tip toe into our kids’ room.

Little Ember is awake. I lift her our of the crib along with her blankets and cradle her in my bony arms. She gazes up at me with her little eyes wide.

“Mummy’s here, baby,” I say softly. I rock her and murmur a lullaby. She gurgles. I wish I could rub noses with her like Jaime can, but… I haven’t got a nose.

She’s puckering her lips. She’s hungry. That’s what babies do when they’re instinctively looking for a mother’s breast. Where’s the bottle? Here it is. I give her the bottle of goat milk to suck and feel an overwhelming sense of sadness that I can never feed my babies with milk from my own body…

Oh ye gods, now I’m really appreciating what I lost when I lost all my flesh. Now I’m really sad. When Ember’s gone back to sleep I put her back in the crib and cover my hands and cry. Yes I do. I know I can’t shed any tears, but I cry and cry anyway.

There are footfalls behind me. “Seren…”

Jaime’s soft hand touches my bony arm. I swivel my skull round to face him. “Oh, Jaime… I – I “

He puts his arms around me. “Let it out.”

I lean my skull on his shoulder and cry some more.

He strokes my hair. “There, there. Want to talk about it.”

I gaze into his warm brown eyes. “I – I – I want to be alive again. I can’t rub noses with our kids. I can’t breastfeed even though I want to, even though I didn’t realise I would want to before I was a mother… I can’t even kiss them because I don’t have any lips, I… Ohhhhh!”

I put my head on his shoulder again and shake.

He rocks me. “There, there, you are a mother they will be proud of. I am so proud to have you as a wife. Look at the great things you have done.”

“Thank you. B-But – I wanna have lips and I wanna kiss my babies. I wanna kiss you. You can kiss me, but I can’t be the one giving the kiss because I don’t have lips. I… I never will.”

I shake with sobs again.

“We live in a world of impossibilities,” says Jaime. “This is a world where the dead get up and walk around and where a brave swordsgirl can singlehandedly brings down the foulest villains Caucris has ever known – on a regular basis! The unbelievable takes place all the time. Who says you can never regain your flesh and blood? Have faith that our love can get us through anything. And know that I will always love you no matter what, and so will the kids. Even if you don’t have lips, I will never want another wife.”

I look up at him and gaze into those warm brown eyes and feel filled with warm happiness and mad hope…

“You really think so, my love? You really think I can live again…?”