《The Crow》 Frozen Fairy (1) Raised my hands to let my mouth use its breath to warm my skin. It had been snowing for days and the heavy steps sank, making it harder to go foward. Little to no wind around, my ears twitched and I stood still. My head turned from one side to the other, letting my eyes wonder through the bare trees and the frozen lake ahead. Nothing alive except for the resistent flora. I continued on my way while looking back at unusual rate. My foot pressed the thin ice to check its strength before I put my full weight over it. I took few steps at a time, careful to avoid sliding. There was only silence as I stood over the lake. Roughly halfway through the lake, I completely stopped. Some sort of humming came out muffled from below. My eyes narrowed in an attempt to see what laid on the other side of the ice. My thoughts came to an abrupt end after loud crackings. The ground trembled, making me take a step back. The thin layer shook and forcefully divided into unstable floating platforms as the rustle intensified. I reacted by ducking down and tried to hold myself. The water was too cold for me to find acceptable to fall. Water moved and the platform rose, making me fall back and slide, but I managed to stop before falling out. The ice still shook as something came from below and broke the ice. Shards hit me and I covered my head with an arm while the other was used as support. My eyes widened as five pale blue pillars, each with about twice my height, surrounded me. Made of ice, shining deep green lines appeared around like veins. The humming got intense and too close. Crash. The pillars curved and closed in to smash me. An aura filled me and I lost my weight, with a feeling of floating for a single second. The world followed the rythm of my movements and slowed down. Slower and Slower. Everything stopped, the ice and water, the pillars and even me. My vision got blurry and I closed my eyes. Whoosh. The air twisted and a wave of energy disspated, letting time flow again. I openned my eyes to see the place in which I was before. The ice shattered and pieces were thrown at all directions as the pillars raised even heigher before simply falling back to the lake. Waves of water carried the platforms, nearly reaching the safe ground. "What in heavens was that..?" Silence filled the space for a few seconds as I just looked to the lake. "Shit!" I jumped to use a tree as cover. Something came out of the ice with impressive speed, sending ice and water my way. Some shards broke after hitting the trunk while others fell beside me. My eyes peeked from behind the tree to see the giant, round, frozen, pale blue golem with its green energy veins getting brighter. It definetly saw me. The gems placed as its eyes looked right where I was out of all the places around.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. It took me a second to turn around and let my legs do their job, run. Stepping over sticks and evading the roots, I managed to avoid stumbling as I heard the water being carried like large waves and the ground quaked. Trees were torn apart and the humming didn''t sound so muffled. He was getting closer. I didn''t dare look back for a while, even when the trembling stopped and the sound of a tree being ripped apart began. My head turned for a second and I stumbled. "Oh.. No way..." I looked up to see the golem holding a tree that got the roots ripped from the groud with brute force. BOOM. The tree collided with others on its way, making some fall and others get broken into two or more large trunks. The tree fell and made the ground shake as dust and dirt were shoot away. It came bouncing on my way, threatening to turn me into pulp. An aura consumed the surroundings and energy filled my body to make it lose all its weight. Images became unclear and time slowed down once again. The tree bounced just in front of me before time completely stopped. The bulk was few inches away from my face, prepared to take my life. Whoosh. My energy dissipated again and Boosh the tree bounced once more and stopped on the ground just behind me. My dark long coat got dirty on the back and I cursed in my mind. Hated to use unclean clothing. The stone hit the floor, breaking down into pieces that hit my body. The giant was throwing stones since the tree had failed to do its job. I ran away and the golem continued to chase me down. Sometimes my body was even thrown few inches into the air when it treaded. Behind the forest, a rock formation had a small entrance that led into a dark strait passage. My legs used all the strength they had to throw me inside and I rolled on the hard, rugged, unregular floor. My shoulder and back hit the walls and I groaned. My eyes openned to see a blur. I jumped, using my arms to delve deeper into the cave. I barely had time to react when I saw the hand of the golem get through the entrance. The formation shook, pieces of rock and dust fell over me. The giant was trying to destroy it, burrying me. It was strangely resistent as it didn''t crumble with such an extreme force. I just remained there, laid on the uncomfortable stones. I needed time to adjust my breath and heart beat as I wasn''t being chased anymore. I thanked the gods for a moment of peace as I looked up to see the ceiling with half open eyes. The idea of sleeping didn''t sound so absurd, but I had to continue. The legends spoke about "a forest in the far north, with forever frozen lakes; where the giants await; for the time to come; when their duty is begone". I noticed something strange. The caves were supposed to be dim, but weak lights filled it in shades of green and blue. The walls were covered in ice. Unnatural. It was made on purpose. The ice on the walls had carvings, drawings of curved lines making complex shapes. It reflected the little light that came in and formed a visual effect, a show of colors. "Impressive..." The frozen stones were stairs leading below. No matter how deep it was, there was still light. "Indeed, unnatural". I kept going foward as it was what I had been looking for. A hundred steps deeper, stood statues, carved perfectly like lions in frozen stones and, just behind them, tall wood doors with the symbol of an artistic tree inside a circle made of knots. The long forgotten emblem of the druids. I smiled from ear to ear and stared at the door. "I''ve found you" Frozen Fairy (2) Hopefully, the winter was coming to an end, but that didn''t matter as that far in the north was cold the whole year. It took me months to reach the secluded forest, going thorugh rivers, mountains and infertile plains. The place was perfect to be used as a prison andthe thin door separeted me from my objective. After being chased by a giant golem, I just wanted to get out and head south. The wooden door had familiar carvings, wave lines that formed the dead emblem. Fairly warm inside, I wondered about the lions of frozen stones as I stood still with suspicion. They were pale blue and had discreet markings, just like the veins of the golem. The details were perfect. If not for their color, one could deem them as true beasts, but what caught my attention were the eyes, gems like the giant''s, they seemed to look right at me. I took one step ahead and my paranoia was proven to be true.Crack. Noises were heard as the statues trembled and slowly moved. It wasn''t a senseless fear, those were the true guardians of the chamber. Pieces of ice fell to the floor while the lions got back to life. Their come back from slumber was slow, but they stood between me and the doors, now walking as if they were true lions. My eyes widened as I saw the complexity of the ice creatures before me. They stared at my eyes and got one to each of my sides, trying to encircle me. My eyes wondered between one and the other and I said a single word "Crow". The beasts kept on going around me, but stopped and took steps back when they saw some sort of aura, a black energy, filling my body and twisting the air around. I saw them retreat further and smirked. Beasts, but with rational thinking. They observed me from what could be considered a safe distance. The grim aura converged to a single area and took the shape of a bird, a crow. It flapped its wings, still surrounded by the energy, and flied to my shoulder.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The eyes of the spectre were pure red, giving it the image of the death bird. It looked thorugh me, into my soul, but I was used to it. Silence filled the space as I looked to beasts on the other side. "Crow, give me a little help". Answering in silence, the bird seemed to nod. It didn''t take a second for its form to dissipate into the energy again. The aura flowed from my shoulder to my arm until it got to my hand before starting to take shape again. I held the grip of the pitch black blade and smiled. The lions were beginning to regain their courage and advance, but I used my powers to make the world flow in slow motion as I leaned my body foward and used my leg to propel myself. I swung the blade at one of the creatures and saw a wave of power shatter its thin protective layer as the world got back to the right flow. The other was taken by surprise and jumped away while looking at its dead friend. Forgetting about the one taken out, I turned to the next. I narrowed my eyes and didn''t let a single movement scape my sight. The beast wasn''t afraid, but didn''t seem to have any plan to simply act. Such an intelect on an artificial being. From the blade, sharp waves were sent to the lion as I kept on swinging the dagger. Jumping to the side and throwing itself on me, it managed to scape a few, but lost its claw just before getting to me. The mouth moved as if to roar, but there were no vocal cords. Seeing no chance of winning, it retreated. I saw shards of ice shake and float to recover the lost paw. I didn''t give it the chance to regenerate and sprinted foward to deal the final blow. Clank. The body got split in two and crashed into the floor, shooting pieces that hit my coat. "Thank you, Crow" The the blade faded and its energy dissipated, letting me alone again. I fixed my posture and passed my hands to take the ice and dust out of my dark clothing and headed to the door. Simply pushing wasn''t enough to open as it was protected by some sort of spell. "Well, let''s break it then...". Dark power emanated from my hands as I pressed them on the doors. Crack. The door lost its strength and Igrinned. Frozen Fairy (3) Crack. The door continued to break into pieces and crumble under the pressure of my energy. I didn''t want to waste the little power that was left for me to use. I could still need it as I hadn''t got to my objective quite yet. I bent down to go through the whole on the wood and saw the other side. A chamber of ice, fitting for the queen of winter. The visual effects from the passage were intensified around the frozen place. A skeleton-bare tree stood right on the middle, still alive and I wondered how it survived as its roots were deep into the ice. I nearly slided on the ice and couldn''t help but notice the fact that the passage was fairly warm, but the chamber was even colder than the outside. Those strenge changes in temperatures were getting on my nerves. Clank. Clank. Metal hit ice and I looked to the right. A woman, a girl, barely half of my height, was shackled. She stood up and tried to walk to me, but failed as the distance was too much for the chains. When she got to the limit, we just stared at each other for a few moments. "Nevaska" I said her name, but she got conflicted. No, she was confused, looking into the deep past of her memories. She finally openned her mouth with a small smile, recognizing her own name. "Nevaska? Yes! Yes! That''s my name, yes!". It didn''t look right to me. The way she acted was strange. I took my dark hood off, showng my light brown hair and dark eyes. "I came for you, Nevaska". Her eyes seemed to roam through nowhere and she giggled, looking at nothing. "Many have come for me, young man. You are just a drop in the ocean" I raised my brows. There was no way people would have come here to meet her.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. "I think it is time for you to let go, Nevaska". I strolled in her direction as calm as forever flowing rivers. "Let go..?" She seemed to have a break down as she simply stopped like she had finally got frozen. Her face contorted and she fell to the ground with tears. "Let go!? You want me to let go!? Who are you to say that!?". I continued on my way to her, but she continued to speak. "No! Get away from me! Ah! I know, now! Titannia sent you! Yes, she sent you to finally get rid of me!". She was drawning in her own madness as she remembered the name of her sister. She stood up and stepped back, trying to create more distance between us. "Titannia has nothing to do with this. She and Oberon are no longer alive". Her eyes widened. She protected her mind by lying to herself, convincing her memories that she was betrayed by her family, but she didn''t seem to be strong enough to accept the fact that her sister was dead. Deep into her heart, she knew that she was the one to betray Titannia in her madness. "Shut up! You are lying to me! Leave me alone!" Her back hit the wall and she slided to the floor while looking at me. I got closer to her not showing any emotion. "I thought I was doing the job of the devil, but I guess I am doing you a favor". She was terryfied and I hesitated as she looked like a young girl. I closed my eyes to recover my determination took a deep breath. Energy surrounded my arm before I looked at her once again. She was whispering things to herself, giggling and crying at the same time. I jumped over her and pressed my hand over her chest. My energy invaded her body as her eyes lost color. ... Laying her body carefully on the cold hard floor, I looked at the ice flower on my hand. Perfectly made, it looked like it was made of a rare pale blue crystal. She was mad, but still a fairy and her beautiful soul showed that. Dark flames came out of my hand and consumed her frozen soul as I stood up to get away from the prison. There were still eight souls on the list. Rise of the dead (1) Roughly midnight, no lights around the city except for a few torches used by the guards, mostly around the protective walls. A black figure passed through the night sky, flapping its pitch dark wings, and landed on my shoulder. I acknowledged its presence in silence and stood still in the shadows of the fetid alley. Two storeys high buildings blocked all the other ways out. I slowed my breath and closed my eyes. I felt Crow slowly dissipating into a dark mist and surround my hand as the discreet thudding became louder in the night''s silence. A guttural voice replied to a flat one, still in the street in front of the alley. "Shut up! We need to be quiet". The man that asked for silence was also the one talking the loudest. "There''s no one here" The other answered with his oddly flat voice as they turned to the alley. I smiled as Crow was right about them. After nealy an hour in the alley, I controlled myself to wait just a little longer. Stepping over the mud ground, they headed to the back door of the tallest house, near the end. "Today, we have important stuff to do, so we better not call for attention, idiot" "Yeah, but they didn''t even tell us what it is" In black clothing, in the shadows, they didn''t notice my presence as I barely breathed. "Know what would be really frustrating? If they called us and told to do common stuff" I stepped out of the shadow and followed them without making a sound. "Oh man, it would be nice to do-" The fat short man with flat voice was stopped before completing his sentence and fell to the ground. His friend widened his eyes and nearly stumbled in surprise. "Shit! What the fuck!" He was being way to loud. After I had hit the back of his friend''s head with the pommel, I turned to him and leaned my body foward before jumping over, pushing him. "Argh!" His back hit the walls and I pressed my blade over his neck. I could see his effort to avoid making any movement, even gulping. His haunted expression met my eyes and I made sure that he knew I was serious. For a second, he didn''t even breath. As his legs were trembling, I was the one to speek first. "I''m quite late, so you are going to make me a favor" He did not answer until I pressed my blade further into his skin, making a single drop of blood fall. "Am I clear?" He nodded, still barely moving, to avoid the hurting himself with the blade. "Good, you are going to get me into The House" --- P.O.V. of Bertrand --- Took a deep breath and stretched my body before my eyes openned. The room was dim as its only source of light was a candle in the table, far from the bed. I turned my body to the side to look at the woman beside me. A rare beauty with flaming hair laid right next to me, a whore. The price I had paid was worth it as she had talent for her job. I caressed her soft hair, but she took a while to wake up again. Smiling, like she was paid to do, she looked at me while raising her eyebrows to make a lovable expression. My hands got from her hair to her cheek and down to her neck. Something about her made me feel weak. I used all my strength to press my hand over her neck as she widened her eyes and tried to use her arms to get free. I jumped over her and put my other hand on her mouth. Her screams came out muffled. She kicked me and tried to get her fingers to my eyes, but my arms were longer than her''s. It didn''t take long for her to lose strength. I needed to be sure so I kept on going and going until her arms fell to the bed without life and her neck swelled. She was dead. I let go and turned to sit on the bed. She was dead. My hands were trembling as a distorted smile formed on my face. The feeling of killing her made me close my eyes in delight. It was like an orgasm, a bitter drug that didn''t last more than a minute. Her death made me feel.. powerfull, able to control life.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The feeling faded quickly, but I needed time to regain posture. My heart beat slowed down to normal rates and I openned my eyes. It was time for the preparations. I stood up while still slowing down my breath and adjusted my posture. Stepping over the red rough carpet, I got to my clothing, just over the table. I like the color red, it reminds me of power. Simple pants and a white shirt with a black over-shirt and a dark brown belt, the perfect combination. I looked at the mirror. It was dark, but the dying fire of the candle gave just enough light for me to see my growing beard and weary eyes. knock knock. I gave a last look at the mirror before turning around to look at the door. "It''s open" I frowned to noisy creaking of the door as a bulky man, just taller than me, entered and bowed to me. Even in the dark, it was possible to notice his dark skin. "Master, everything is ready". I adjusted my posture once again and took the red cloak from the table. I walked while wearing it. "Don''t stand on my way, Ezras. Let''s go do it already". He stepped to the side to open the way and let me pass before following just before me. ... The great hall was illuminated by hundreds of candles on the chandeliers and tables. My men stood lined up on each side, waiting for me. When they saw me, they bowed in respect. I got to the end and two guards openned the doors. A pentagram, a sigil was drawed over the ground of stone, painted in red with the blood of criminals. The night''s breeze hit me while I looked up to the sky. Stars filled it as drops filled the ocean. Everything was bound to go right. Taken from the tomb near the ruins of Melcraf, the sarcophagus was rectangular and stood over the magic runes. I noticed my men weren''t moving. I looked back to see them waiting for me as they didn''t know what to do. "Ezras, activate the sigil" He nodded and called two others to help him, the only mages that worked for me. He gave them orders and they moved to oposite sides of the circular symbol. Both kneeled and pressed their hands over the dry blood and after a second, started their muffled constant rythm of singing. Red fog spread through the lines, covering the sigil. The magic symbol responded with an eerie glow. I smiled. "Success. Tell them to open it now". Ezras gestured and a few men followed him. They were coutious while stepping over the pentagram. Can''t blame them. Magic is not easy to find. About five strong warriors grabbed the stone and started to pull it out to open the sarcophagus. Their effort was oddly useless. Ezras saw my discontent and ordered a few more men to help them. They were specially strong and brutish, but needed minutes of effort to move it just a few inches. I narrowed my eyes. It couldn''t be that heavy. I allways trusted my intuition, I put my hand on the cloak''s pocket to hold a small blue crystal tight. The stone''s scribings shone in shades of wine. Crack. My eyes widened as I took the crystal out of my pocket and covered it with my aura. BOOM! Dust and pieces of rock were shoot at all directionsWhoosh energy exploded from the tiny crystal, forming a transparent barrier in shades of shinning blue. THUD! Thud. Thud. The projectiles hit the barrier and crumbled. Dust settled with the wind and the outside became clearer. The two mages were laid on the ground, few meters away from their original place while a body, covered in blood and dust, was just in front of my barrier. I couldn''t stop my frown. "The scribing were probably some kind of protective spell" The ground in front of my house was destroyed with holes in the stones and destroyed side gardens. Just the thought of how much damage it had already caused made my face red with rage. When I was about to desactivate my barrier, I turned around after an abrupt sound of something hitting my barrier. A body, one of the men working for me. His clothings were drenched in blood and his head was nearly falling off, his throat ripped apart. I covered my mouth with one hand and strengthened the barrier. "What in the name of the gods is this?" A figure stood exactly where the sarcophagus was before. He let go of it, letting another body fall to his feet. The figure was a man in his 20s, with mid-length dark hair. He stood naked with his mouth full of blood. The body in front of his feet was dry, with excessive wrinkles, nearly showing the bones. My eyes met the figure''s and he showed a broad smile to me. "I have to thank you,Human. Sleeping for so long is quite a nightmare, if you know what I mean" his words sounded like jokes as he strolled my way. "I have to ask you another little favor, my great benefactor" He was dangerous. His attitude and the bodies on the ground were a sign of the beast he was. "I will take your silence as an approval. I just want food. It is not much to ask for" He sticked out his tongue to lick the blood around his mouth. Rise of the dead (2) Pupils dilated, I stopped when a wave of power hit me. We were too late. I looked at the man beside me. "Crow!"He took steps back, surprised by my sudden shout. He nearly stumbled when the black mist emanated from my body before taking the form of a crow right on my shoulder. "We''ll have to change plans" The pitch black bird nodded in understanding and flapped its wings before dashing. The man fell to the floor like a dead body, but there was no impact. The eerie energy dissipated around him and the bird disappeared. It took a while for him to open his eyes again. I smiled when I saw the deep red pupils. The possession was a success. Another wave of energy hit me and I accelerated my actions.BOOM! All my power emerged from my body and I used it to propel myself with speed that would make eagles jealous. Crack. The tiles broke as I stepped over them while jumping through the roofs. "I hope it haven''t come into contact with a mage yet.. All I don''t need right now is the mage''s guild going after me" Crow followed right behind me, using his magic wings while possessing the body. I accelerated even further when I felt two energies clash, sending a bright wave over the city."Fuck! The guild will definetly notice this" The source was a mansion, near the secluded hills, a noble''s house. I concentrated my power on my legs to leap faster through the city. I looked around the walls to see the little lights moving, torches. City guards had noticed there was something wrong and were moving around. I used all my strength to send me flying through the sky. With the help of magic, I landed smoothly near a few trees. The ground quaked and I took a step beck to avoid falling. The house trembled and started the crumble, making dust fill the surroundings. A part of the structure still resisted for a few seconds, but slided together with the rest. I narrowed my eyes in an attempt to see what was happening, but a bright blue sphere was shoot from the ruins and flied away until it fell to the ground and bounced before crashing into a tree. Large crackings appeared inthe round barrier. From the dust, a figure emerged and I raised my brows. "A naked man?" They didn''t seem to have noticed my presence even with that much power released. Crow landed right next to me. In a blink, the image of the man got blurry and he disappeared. My eyes widened as I searched for him, there was no sign of the use of magic. Crack. The mage''s barrier shattered into pieces, but the mage managed to push the naked man away with pure energy blasts.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It would be comical to see a mage be beaten by a naked man if the clash of their powers didn''t send chock waves. "Crow, have you noticed?" The man beside me nodded while looking at the battle. I used my arm to protect my face from the wind caused by the battle. He was the one we were searching for "How did they get him out!?" A strange feeling emanated from the naked man everytime he disappeared or tried to punch magic itself. "Let''s do it, Crow" He got out, letting the body fall to the ground. I had planned to use it, but in that dire situation it was useless. Crow itself became a mist that covered my entire body. Wings formed behind me and the energy continued to spread and concentrate. I raised my and openned my hands as the energy took physical form, a pitch black scythe. I held it tight and it perfectly fit like it was made for my hands. It was very light and easy to move. My eyes lost their ability to see in colors and the world became grey. My foot hit the floor, openning a small crater POW and sendind me like a projectile to the battle. I swung my blade at the naked man, but his existance faded and it hit the floor, openning a mini ravine. Landing on the floor, I felt a small breeze and turned around to see a blur coming. I rotated the blade and managed to parry the attack, but was sent flying back. He was way too fast. There was no magic involver, only cheer physical ability. "Danmed bastards released this demon and now I have to clean it up" I barely had time to think and it hit me again. It was impossible to see when he punched my belly, but I was sent flying once again. Crow protected my body from most part of the impact and I was capable to avoid bouncing on the floor to get ready on again. "If I don''t know where you are, I''ll just have to destroy everything" BOOM! Energy expanded to all directions. Whoosh. I smiled when I saw it had worked, but my expression was soon replaced by a frown. The naked beast was bleeding, one knee touching the destroyed floor. He stood up again with difficulty and started to walk, limping. His bruises disappeared and the cuts closed themselves like someone had put glue on them. He was strolling to me with a smile from ear to ear. My magic was comming to an end, I couldn''t stay around spilling out energy to battle it. "Crow, let''s try to make it without weakening him". My free hand was recharged with pure energy as I prepared myself to deal with the monster. "You are a funny one. This is a power I''ve never seen before and believe me, I have lived a LOT" I leaned my body foward and narrowed my eyes. Blinded, I stopped my movements and the energy dissipated from my hand after I lost concentration. It was as bright as the sun.A floating sigil appeared, covering the sky of the entire area and generating a yellow light. Just as my eyes were getting used to the light, a giant object came falling from the skies and hit the floor THUD. A huge blade with many runes. It would be roughly my size without the grip and it emanated an aura that repulsed mine. "Holy light..." The knight in shinning armour arived wondering around very calm, strolling through the battlefield. He looked at me and the naked man before speaking. "It seems like we are going to need a complete cleansing" Rise of the dead (3) -- P.O.V. of Artian -- Three days before -- The table stretched from the man in purple clothing to the young woman on oposite side. I bowed, showing respect. "Did you call me?" She smiled to me and gestured for me to come closer "Yes I did". I was used to have her calling me for no reason, but the bishop was a sign of something worrysome. "Anything happened?" She nodded before speaking. "I need you to go to Vermond" I frowned. "For what reason?" She looked happy, but her expression never changed. "I had a dream about a beast in human form". It wasn''t a good sign as she was the oracle, her dreams were meant to happen "A demon?". She took a second to answer "I''m not sure. He was very much like a normal human, but wearing black clothing and emanating a vicious aura" Indeed worrying matters. "I need you there to take care of it. Can you do it for me?" I stared into her eyes. For some reason, I felt manipulated, but accepted. "I will go as soon as possible". -- Back to main character P.O.V. -- Rumors about a new hero reached my ears on the to the city, but it didn''t ge through my mind that he could be anywhere out of the capital. I needed to get rid of the cursed undead, but I was on my limit of energy. His image got blurry and a shock wave was sent my way. He appeared few steps away holding his swrod in defensive postion. The naked man had lost an arm, but it soon regrew like a liquid taking solid form. "Oh? Another outstanding human! How rare!" The smile never left his face.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. The hero was serious, without letting the demon move out of his sight. "You are silent, just like the other one! Are you humans like that now?" He faded once again and the hero reacted by bursting light into all directions. It wasn''t enough to completely stop the undead''s attack, but it did quite the damage. The hero was thrown away, but the naked man had most of his body burnt. The smell of flesh spread through the field as it healed. I couldn''t stop the frown on my face. It was gruesome. I was supposed to solve the problem before it got to that, but the hero was there fighting as equal with the immortal. "How did the fucking hero know about it? Did the shock wave call his attention? But why would he be around this city instead of the capital?" I dismissed my thoughts and put my mind into the battle. I didn''t have a single chance to win against them, neither I could leave the undead for the hero, I still needed his soul. My energy was coming to its end and I had to take action. "Maybe lightning assault to grab his soul and run away" Dark mist filled my hand as I hoped it would work. I closed my eyes to concentrate and feel them instead. My step broke the floor, maing a hole and I jumped at the undead. My leap twisted the air around and I was faster than an arrow. My eyes shinned and space let the time slow down its flow. The world became clear, every detail was there, like an unmovable crystal. My fingers moved and strings of energy formed, conecting me to the undead. Whoosh. A wave of air exploded and time was back on track. My hand closed and the strings moved, pulling the undead as my scythe disspated. I stopped his body with ease by placing my hand on his chest. I used all the power I had to pull it out. A deep red aura was coming out his chest as my face contorted due to the effort. It was nearly coming out, but I underestimated the hero. Light itself was shoot like blade on my way and hit me. My eyes widened as I let go of the naked man and my body was thrown with immense pressure. I wasn''t capable to see it, but I was sure that many of my bones were broken. I bounced in the floor, rolling like a rock thrown from a cliff. My head and shoulder hit a tree and I groaned in pain as darkness covered me. Dead marching (1) Took a deep breath and nearly jumped out of the bed with wide eyes. The pain made me hold my chest and groan. I fell back and closed my eyes in an attempt to make my body stop hurting. I was wearing white pants, but no shirt. My light brown hair was a complete mess and the marks of sheets were around my body. "How much time did I stay here? What is this place?" It was a common room, wood walls, uncomfortable bed and very simple furniture. The room was dim, but light got in through a window, illuminating the room to an extent and making it possible to see some particles of dust wondering around. The sound outside showed that it was still in the city. Voices, steps, wheels of caravans. It was obviously not the center, but had quite the activity. "Crow!" I called him, but there was only silence. I tried again, but the answer was the same. "Where in heavens is he?" People heard my struggle and the door soon openned. A woman, between 16 and 20 years old, was wearing a long dress made of wool. She had definetly come from a peasant family as her clothes were made of wool. Her expression showed that she wasn''t expecting me to be awake. She ran back inside and kept looking at the door. I didn''t have crow with me, neither I had the power to fight. My face contorted, but I used my strength to push me up and sit down. I needed time to breath and regain courage to move again, but the woman arrived again with an old man. He had an unshaved brown beard, but the few threads of hair were already white. He was different from her, she had long black hair tied back. "It seems like you woke up" The old man sounded worried "I was afraid you wouldn''t". I frowned and looked at him with weary eyes. He turned to the girl and kindly spoke to her "Bring us water and something to eat, please" She nodded and headed to the kitchen. He walked to me and I noticed that he was nearly limping. I looked down to see he didn''t have a feet, it was replaced by a piece of wood. "I know you must be tired and might still be in pain, but you need to understand that I need to put the safety of my family aboe anything else" He had told the lady an excuse for her to leave us. I raised my brows and looked upt to him.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Right in front of me, his face looked serious. "Tell me, young man. What happened to you?" There was a second of silence in the room. "I wish I knew. When I woke up I was already here" He stared into my eyes to discern truth from lie. "We carried you here, but that''s not what I''m asking. My grandson found you in the street in the middle of the night, bleeding and unconscious". "I see.. so Crow transported me out of there and put me here" How Crow had helped me was the only thought that came across my mind. The old man saw that I didn''t give him an answer. "There have been many attacks in the city these days after the danmed show of lights in the middle of the night. I will ask you already. Are you going to do our family any harm? Do you have a place to come back to?" "No". The answer was quick and hit the old man with surprise "No?". I repeated after a small pause "No". He understood that it was the same for both questions and sighed. He was about to say something, but we were interrupted by the young woman. "This is my granddaughter, Quinn" She was a beauty and I did understand why he felt the need to protect them. I gave him a serious nod and he nearly formed a smile, but stopped halfway through it. She didn''t seem to understand as her eyes wondered between me and the old man. He pulled the chair to sit near the small table by the window. "Can you stand to get here?" I wish I could have said yes, but I wasn''t sure with all that pain "I hope so" The old man was very cold, but his granddaughter looked concerned. I struggled, but managed to get stand up. --- P.O.V. of Bertrand --- It was a complete failure. My house was turned to ashes and most of my men were dead. "Fuck!" I cursed to the heavens as I moved my hand to rub my forehead and clean the sweat. I no longer had the other arm. "That fucking demon took off my arm! I will have him serve me!" My face as red with rage and I was trembling. I was in that inn room in the middle of the city, among the peasants and that was humiliating. Bang. The window closed itself and I looked around as the temperature dropped to the point in which I could see my own breath. "Who is there!?" I shouted and the room started to become darker. A presence could be felt all around, exerting pressure. "Do you want a new arm?" I jumped back up, prepared to fight when I heard the voice echoing. "Or perhaps you want a new house?" The voice continued, feeling closer to me every second. "Oh I know what you want" "And I can offer it to you" There was a small pause, but I awaited for it to continue. "You want power to control everything around you and I will give it to you"