We look all around us, looking for threats in the thousands of unfamiliar faces we pass, and they look at us with the same caution. We are all strangers to each other and any one of us could be a predator looking to hunt the others, with how big and scary Nadia looks with her armour and all her weapons strapped to her, they all give her distance.

If you cross paths with a bear ready for a fight, most people try not to get in the way. Even animals that would normally not be its prey disappear nice and quick.

The stench in the air is heavier than ever, a weight that hangs over us all as we watch for some illusive enemy to strike at us. No one knows when it’ll come. When they’ll decide to take us all.

“Everything is wrong,” Olive says, sticking close by my side. “Everyone’s riled up, look out for pickpockets.”

Just as she talks, a stranger in the street snatches at the purse of a taller man. He’s caught by the wrist, as the man shouts. Punching the young thief in the face. When the thief falls, he catches a blow to the side as others join in, kicking and beating the kid. The fervour in their attacks is like nothing I’ve known before, not from the bandits, and not from my life in the wilds.

In a way, I get it. When rodents tried to steal my food from me, I would smash their heads and add them to the meal. Coins buy food, so the thief was stealing food from their mouths. It still feels different, but I don’t know why.

We don’t stay long enough to see if he survives the beating.

There are others in the crowd; not everyone is joining in the violence. Most, like us, are escaping, watchful in case they become the next target.

“Fear…” Nadia grumbles. “They’re afraid and scared.”

“So, they beat up on a weak thief?” Olive asks.

“They can’t do anything about the vampires, but they can do something about that thief,” Nadia explains. “It’s not right. We have reeves to deal justice for a reason. Still, it’s what happens when people get scared enough.”

I grip my swords tighter, watching our surroundings for anyone else who’s scared enough to try attacking someone else.

If someone tries to do the same to us, I’ll cut them all down before they touch anyone. It’s like I’m surrounded by ants again, but this time they think that I’m one of them. The moment they turn on us, I’ll be ready.

“Snowspring is nicer,” I say, pulling Anna out of the way as a larger man pushes his way through the crowd. I nearly pull my sword on him, but he’s gone before he can prove a threat.

I’ll be glad to be away from this city. The vampires and other monsters will be hunting us wherever we go but it feels so much better being surrounded by the trees rather than close buildings.

I’d like to get out of here before any more trouble comes for us, but before that, I need to meet with Semi again. She knows.

Anna and Olive haven’t said anything about noticing the undead that I summoned in the fight, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t see anything. It’s possible that they simply ignored it, if they think back, they’ll remember things that don’t make sense without necromancy. They’ll start to pick up other strange things about me, maybe realizing the truth.

I reach out for Crow. He’s ahead a little ways, in fact, we’re currently going right towards him.

That’s fine while we’re walking on the main roads, but when we get to the part of town where Olive’s mom lives it becomes a little more concerning. I’m sweating by the time we’re standing outside of her shop and I feel Crow within, waiting for me.

“You’re back?” Olive’s mom practically jumps out of the door at us, snatching up her daughter. “You’re safe?”

“We’re safe,” Olive replies buried in her mother’s arms.

“I was so worried about you, and when that runner came with your message, I barely knew what to do!” She cries, pulling us all inside. Semi is already here waiting for us. Crow is resting in her arms. He’s not moving but he’s not ash.

She says nothing, meeting my eyes and smiling only briefly.

“It’s good to see that you made it out safely. I’m Semi, by the way,” she introduces herself to Nadia. “It’s good to meet you all.”

“You have Syr’s pet?” Anna asks, and Nadia instantly stands up straighter. She glares at Crow in Semi’s arms. The bird that she knows is long dead.

“Yes, I brought him here hoping you’d come by,” she says, standing and approaching me. I meet her halfway and take Crow from her arms. The instant I touch him with my necromancy, he comes back. His senses open back up again, and he’s back. It’s like he’s woken up from a nap.

“How?” I ask, gripping her hand before she can get back to her seat.

“Delicate enchantments can sometimes break when they stop funnelling æther,” she whispers, pulling me down beside her. “There are usually ways to shut them down or allow atmospheric æther to take care of it while you’re out of it.”

I don’t understand it. Anna would, she’s good with anything to do with æther flow, but I can’t bring it up with her.

“We should meet somewhere after this so that we can talk more openly,” Semi smiles down at me while Nadia is still halfway between drawing her weapon and running. This is a secret that could kill us all and now we don’t know how many people know of it.

“It’s okay,” I tell Nadia. “She helped me.”

“She bought you those new swords, and thank all the gods that she did,” Anna says, sitting up as she looks over titan. He’s still sitting in the same corner she left him in, holding my sword in his arms.

I nod quickly, letting Crow sit on my shoulder as I meet Nadia’s eyes with a smile and nod. Without settling down entirely, she takes her own seat opposite Semi.

“We’re leaving soon,” Olive says, breaking the silence.

“Good, you shouldn’t stay here. Not when things are getting this dangerous,” her mother replies.

“Mom, can’t you come with me?”

“Olive, we’ve talked about this before. Do you know what I had to do to build this shop?” She asks her daughter. “I was a slave. I had nothing. I worked hard to get all of this, and I can’t do that again. I can’t give it up.”

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“Mom…”

“You should run,” I say, butting into the conversation. “It’s dangerous here. There are too many bandits, vampires, and knights. The city is… it’s going to be burned down to ashes soon. You shouldn’t be here when that happens. You should be with Olive.”

“Syr, I’m not abandoning everything that I’ve worked for,” she turns to me, her voice whisper quiet. “I’m not letting anyone take this away from me.”

“If you’re too weak, then you run,” I explain slowly. “Can you fight the knights that come to take this from you? Can you fight the vampires? The bandits?”

“I can’t just let them take it from me,” she repeats herself.

“Then they’ll take everything from you,” I say. “Just like they took my mom and dad from me. My family stayed and fought so that I could run. Mom died fighting. She left me alone. Do you want to leave Olive alone, too?”

“Syr…”

“Everyone in my village died. Everyone who stays to fight will die. That’s what happens,” I say. “I have everything that my parents saved. My life. My magic. My memories. Olive can have all of that, and her mom, too.”

She pauses at that. Not saying anything more for a while before finally leaving the room to prepare some tea.

“She’ll come,” I say, leaning back and brushing at Crow’s upset feathers. Anna and Nadia are looking curiously between Semi and I while Olive stares into the kitchen. Her mother is making a lot of noise while she works.

“Syr…” Nadia says, looking between me and Semi. “Is there somewhere we can go to talk in private?”

“I can summon some magic to still the air,” Semi says, smiling. “There is a nice spot away from prying eyes, just a short walk from here.”

Nadia nods standing to take us outside. I guess she’s not feeling very patient.

Anna returns to working on her titan while I take back my sword. It’s still not that great for fighting in a city, but it’s better to have the option than not. I’ll come back and get changed into my armour after we’re done talking.

Semi walks us into a small and dark alley just across the street from Olive’s shop and without any chants, she flicks a finger and the sounds of the city quiet down to nothing. She’s powerful, even though she doesn’t show it. I wonder if she’s wearing make-up to hide æther veins?

“Your pet is doing well?” Semi asks, leaning close and running a finger over his feathers. “I was rather worried when he stopped moving and all after you passed out.”

“Usually they turn to ash.”

“Yes, that’s because he’s a rather delicate little thing. You should look into studying some enchantment magic or speak with your friend about golems. There aren’t any necromancers for you to learn from, I think you already know, but many magics are similar enough that you can apply lessons from one to another. New advancements are occasionally found in even old magics through cross studies.”

“Why are you so calm about this?” Nadia asks. “You know what she is, but you’re…”

“There is nothing inherently evil about any breed of magic,” Semi says. “I’m actually rather glad to hear that it’s made a return. Tell me, did you find some lost scroll or tome? How did you recover this magic?”

“I wanted to revive a dead bird and the æther just shaped this magic on its own. I just copied it.”

“Ah,” she smirks and huffs a short laugh. “Ætheria has finally had enough of waiting, and brought the dead magic back herself?”

“Ætheria? The goddess?” Nadia steps back up until she’s right up against the wall. “You’re saying that the gods themselves… the goddess of magic… gave Syr this necromancy? It wasn’t some scheme by the vampires or something?”

“Vampires?” Semi asks, laughing. “Who do you think it is erasing necromancy from our history? I can’t be sure that Ætheria is involved but it seems consistent with other examples of divine inspiration that I’ve heard of.”

“Wait, this doesn’t matter right now. What are you going to do about this? Why aren’t you killing her?”

“Killing her?” Semi shakes her head, spitting in disgust. “I intend to protect her. Lost magics like this are valuable beyond any currency you could imagine. A manual with chants would be… Syr must survive long enough to recreate this magic.”

“You want to learn necromancy?” Nadia grips her sword again, glaring at the other woman.

“Oh, definitely,” Semi replies with a nod. “Not that it’ll be possible for decades yet. It’s a good thing that Syr is an elf, aptitude for magics and a long lifespan almost guarantees that you’ll live to master this magic, even if I won’t be around to see it.”

“When did you know?” I ask.

“From the beginning,” Semi laughs, patting my shoulder. “Do you think that I’d give away expensive gear like those swords to just anyone? You’re important, valuable to the world itself.”

“So, we’re to believe that you don’t want anything from Syr?”

“Oh, there are things that I want,” Semi says. “I’m trying to make my mark in this city, and I would very much appreciate your help in a few matters. You would be well rewarded for it, and even if you should refuse I won’t bother you. Just, survive and keep studying, Syr.”

“Good. If you’re not asking for anything then we’re leaving,” Nadia says, taking my hand and pulling me from the alley.

“Oh, I do have a few secrets to necromancy that you might be interested in!” Semi calls out before we’re fully gone. “Do come and find me if you’re interested. My address is tied to your pet’s foot!”

I check his foot to find a strip of paper tied to it. When did she do that?

“Don’t,” Nadia says. “People like her are dangerous. Don’t mess with her.”

“I want to be dangerous, too,” I say. I need to be strong enough to fight against knights. To war against beings stronger than myself. If the ancient necromancer managed as much as everyone thinks, then he must have had undead friends who could beat knights down like they were nothing. He had the strength to protect everyone he cared about until he made too many enemies.

There are thousands of other magics you could use,” she says. “Just… please don’t mess around with people like her.”

“She saved me against the knight,” I say.

Nadia’s feet stop in place, and she swears under her breath.

“She can help me grow stronger,” I say.

“Theo won’t let that happen.”

“Theo is busy,” I shake my head. “He doesn’t have to know.”

“Syr… are you… I thought you told us everything?”

I want to.

I want to be honest all the time. I want to trust them enough to say everything. I want them to be a family.

But we can’t be like that.

We fight together, and we’re friends, but that’s it. I can’t trust them with everything, and if they didn’t already know about my necromancy, then I would probably not say anything about that too. They still hate my necromancy.

If Semi can help me to be stronger, then I want to try.

I have to try.

I nearly lost everything again, the mercenaries were too slow and I was too weak.

“Please, don’t say anything,” I say. “I won’t do anything dangerous.”

Nadia purses her lips and stands there looking at me and Crow before nodding her head firmly. I don’t know if she believes me. She could just be lying, too. It doesn’t matter. We’ll both do what we have to do.

“We’re visiting the noble tomorrow,” Nadia says. “She’s just as dangerous. A countess and a vampire, and I don’t know which point is worse. And, she knows…”

I nod, but I want to make up my own mind about people. If she’s dangerous, then maybe there’s something to learn from her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Leaning my adamant sword on my shoulder, I walk into the massive home of the noble girl. It’s rich and fancy, but there’s a strangeness to it. It feels wrong.

“The lady will be here shortly,” a strangely dressed woman bows to us before rushing away.

“It’s a pretty home,” I say, staring at the walls. “I wouldn’t mind living in a place like this…”

Big walls to keep the enemy out, and many rooms with comfortable beds. I’m sure that they have a tonne of food here, too. How many gold coins do you need to have a home this nice?

Before that, I need to find myself a family that could live in any home that I’d build. A family that accepts me. People that I can protect.

The vampire walks into the room from the stairs before us, she is the one who helped me against the knight. Stabbing him the once before being thrown so far that I lost sight of her. She must be pretty strong to survive something like that.

She’s cold and pale and her expressions show little feelings, but I’m not good at reading people normally. Her sharp blue eyes are focused on me, thin cracks seem to spread over her iris as if it’s made of shattered ice. Something swirls in my chest as I stare at her, much more lively than when I met Olive. Something closer to when I started to fall for Adeleya, but different.

She’s much prettier than anyone else I’ve ever seen, but there’s an edge of danger to her. A threat that comes from her very existence. A true predator doesn’t need to do anything for the world to recognise them for what they are.

“Good day, it is my pleasure to host you this afternoon. I’ve prepared something to protect against eavesdropping, so we might converse in confidence,” she says. “Please, come this way.”

The small smile on her lips draws me in, and I quickly follow her deeper into the home.

She’s a vampire. That’s what the others told me, but what does it mean to be a vampire and what does she want from me?