《Undeadbeat》 A Death and A Baby Wyllam died the way he lived: in Lauraline¡¯s way. Which wasn¡¯t to say that it was her fault, but Lauraline had wondered while watching the red spread across the incorrigible bard¡¯s unarmored torso. Subconsciously, maybe? She hadn¡¯t shoved him in the way of danger, quite the opposite, but that was always the thing of it. Wyllam knew better; she knew he knew better, and one of these days she was going to make sure the consequences of his actions finally caught up with him. And stuck. Just once. Now, it seemed. Or never. Lauraline crumpled with him, not near enough to catch him as he fell, but enough to try and soften the impact. That would be the last time she ever did that, followed through with convictions or not. ¡°Do you ever watch where you¡¯re going?¡± ¡°Yeah, Laur. I just thought¡ª Wyllam cut himself off with a ragged, wet gasp for air. The barb embedded in his chest had run right through his lung. ¡°I thought¡ª¡± ¡°Stop it.¡± Her attempt to look annoyed with him, as always, became pained. Maybe Wyllam was an insufferable ass, but she didn¡¯t want him to die. ¡°We both know you don¡¯t think.¡± ¡°Oh. Wyl¡­¡± Selene clucked as she knelt on the other side of him. That was all the confirmation Lauraline needed. If Selene had known what to do for him, she would have said it; she would have done it. Now or never. Lauraline removed her hand from supporting Wyllam¡¯s head, replaced by Selene. She shifted position back to her feet but remained crouched beside Wyllam for now. If there wasn¡¯t anything for Selene to do, then there most definitely wasn¡¯t anything for Lauraline. Except¡­ ¡°Wyllam, I¡¯m¡ª¡± ¡°No. Don¡¯t. I¡¯m not¡ª Wyllam wheezed and clawed at his chest. Despite Selene¡¯s attempt to stop him, he clutched the barb still lodged in his chest and pulled. Idiot. The blood spurted up nearly to Lauraline¡¯s cheek. Her throat tightened, and a chill rolled over her. She¡¯d never been squeamish before; she didn¡¯t think it being Wyllam, bleeding out and dying right in front of her would have ever made a lick of difference, but the nausea didn¡¯t care. It only bid her to scramble away from the desperate scene, words left unsaid. Selene stayed knelt beside the dying man to give him his last rites. Lauraline heard the sorceress begin even over her own retching. Lauraline had watched her do it plenty of times before, although never for anyone they actually knew; it was a privilege to die with Selene sweeping her gentle hands over your brow. When Lauraline shambled back, still ill but empty, she stood with Uravas¡ªtheir de facto leader. He watched on, stoic as ever, great axe in one hand, the head of their latest trophy still gripped in the other while it rested beside him. He had never been fond of Wyllam, but Lauraline knew that if there was something to be done that could be done, Uravas would have done it. If Selene could have healed Wyllam, she would have. But Lauraline couldn¡¯t bring herself to say anything.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. When Wyllam finally passed, Selene wrapped his body in his own woolen blanket, and Uravas secured it to the now riderless horse. Selene fought not to be sick again. Not a word was exchanged between the three of them. They returned down the mountainside in morose silence. They buried Wyllam in the next town they came to. The town they had come from in the first place contracted to deal with the beast in the foothills. No one knew quite where Wyllam had come from. They had picked him up a few dozen towns ago¡ªor, as Lauraline recalled, he had followed them out of one such place, desperate to use their muscle and magic as a deterrent to some comeuppance or another¡ªand Wyllam had fallen in line and underfoot. It was easy in the wake of their triumphant return to ask for a plot in the local cemetery; Wyllam could charm even in death, it turned out. It was the sort of thing Lauraline would have mimed gagging about to Uravas if Wyllam were still alive and she hadn¡¯t actually been sick that morning. He would have laughed. But not even Uravas had the lack of heart to temper the talk of courageous sacrifice. The silence stretched on through the dusk as they laid Wyllam to rest and settled his scant few affairs. It was one of the spaces Wyllam would have filled himself if he were still alive. Not even Selene dared try, even though she had been the one to do it in their lives before Wyllam. Only once the three of them had hunkered themselves down in the corner booth of the local tavern did Uravas say anything of substance. ¡°To Wyllam Barler,¡± he lifted a shot glass, and Selene reached for one of the other two while he finished his toast. ¡°At least he kept things interesting.¡± They both looked to Lauraline, conveniently sat between them. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t.¡± She had hoped to just leave it at that. Maybe she could have, but the looks it garnered from her companions prompted an answer. She could say it now; the three of them had gotten so good at picking up Wyllam¡¯s slack together. It would be alright. ¡°I¡¯m pregnant.¡± ¡°Oh, Lauraline¡­¡± Selene reached out for Lauraline¡¯s forearm. Maybe it was just the lack of time, but to Lauraline it sounded an awful lot like the way she had spoken to Wyllam that morning. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t be alright. ¡°And its¡­?¡± Lauraline couldn¡¯t so much nod as she hung her head in shame. ¡°I fell for it.¡± She could at least admit it now. Wyllam wasn¡¯t alive to hear it and let it go to his head. ¡°When you had his attention, he made you feel like the center of the universe. And I fell for it.¡± ¡°You should have said something.¡± Uravas stated plainly. ¡°I should have.¡± Lauraline agreed through a heavy sigh. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Lauraline.¡± Selene had been on the verge of tears all day. Lauraline had dreaded it, knowing that if the sorceress began to cry, then she would too. Lauraline shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just like him, isn¡¯t it? He would knock me up and die just to get out of it.¡± And here she¡¯d been, worrying about all the ways he would try and weasel himself out of it. Uravas would never have let him, of course, but it would have been so tiresome to watch it happen. And then to deal with Selene¡¯s well-meant but altogether too meddlesome relational counsel. ¡°Saved me some trouble¡­¡± Uravas grumbled as he reached for Lauraline¡¯s untouched shot. Lauraline snorted a humorless ¡®ha.¡¯ Somehow, even if he had to die to do it, it still felt that she had saved Wyllam one last trouble too. 2. The Tie That Binds Wyllam Barler 342 - 371 Uravas hadn¡¯t asked if they should put anything else on the headstone¡ªhe had been the one to arrange for it and dig the grave, so Lauraline assumed he had some say in the headstone. She had further assumed that if Selene had any strong feelings on the matter¡ªas the most likely to have any¡ªshe would have sought out the groundskeeper to be sure it was done after the party left. To Lauraline¡¯s recollection, the sorceress hadn¡¯t found a chance to slip away for that, but there had always been a long nagging fear that whenever Lauraline returned to the grave¡ªif she ever did¡ªthere would be some further epithet about his posthumous fatherhood carved under the date. ¡°Oh-kay.¡± Lauraline breathed through the word as she leaned on her shovel and looked down from the headstone to the unearthed casket. From her courier¡¯s bag she had already pulled the spell scroll. There was nothing left but to do it. The sleeping lump swaddled against Lauraline¡¯s back stirred and wriggled against her. At some points it was easy to forget Miralynn was even there; not because Lauraline disliked her or actively sought to ignore her own baby, but somehow, Miralynn had managed to fit into her mother¡¯s life almost perfectly¡ªstill an extension of her self. It wouldn¡¯t last forever; Lauraline knew that it shouldn¡¯t, but for the time being, Lauraline had just been grateful to not feel so alone. ¡°You¡¯re right, Mira.¡± Lauraline answered softly. ¡°You don¡¯t want to see this. I don¡¯t even think I want to see this¡­¡± Lauraline stepped around the grave and dug out a Miralynn-shaped divot in the dirt she had displaced. For a few minutes, still bundled up in her sling, it would be alright. It was just the moments after that¡­ Lauraline lingered after setting Miralynn down, watching as the baby settled back into sleep. This was an awful idea, maybe only second to the series of them leading up to having to resort to this¡­ But if she hadn¡¯t made such poor decisions, she wouldn¡¯t have had Miralynn. ¡°He owes us.¡± Lauraline reminded herself in a whisper and pulled out the spell scroll again. ¡°If you don¡¯t dig him up then all this is for nothing¡­¡± Selene had made it look so easy. So natural. Of course she would; she was a sorceress after all. Lauraline scarcely remembered a spell that had involved Selene¡¯s chanting, but again, she was a sorceress; arcana was in her blood. It was not in Lauraline¡¯s; it hardly felt to be on her tongue. The way she stuttered and tripped through the draconic on the parchment still shouldn¡¯t have meant anything about the spell¡¯s efficacy¡­ She hoped. She felt nothing even after reading through the whole thing. No tingle the way she did when Selene closed her wounds or buffed her strength. But that made sense, she guessed. Lauraline wasn¡¯t casting the spell on herself. Still, she would have thought there might be something; if not a physical feeling that she was working in the right direction, then at least the wind should have picked up, the scroll should have started to glow, or maybe the casket. Lauraline lowered the spell scroll to look down at the open grave. No glow, no supernatural raising from the earth. She guessed that one might be hard to explain, with the groundskeeper still lurking about somewhere, but not much more than having to explain why she was refilling a grave. Lauraline¡¯s heart sank at the prospect. All this, and for what? It would be just like Wyllam... Not even an act of necromancy could make him see the consequences of his actions. The simple casket rattled, and a muffled panic could be heard from within. Lauraline waited. It probably was a bit cruel of her to make him bust out of his own coffin after waking him up like that. She didn¡¯t know it for a fact, but Wyllam seemed the claustrophobic type in the classic sense of the word too, not just relationally. The wood was weak anyway; wet and buried and certainly not lacquered with anything. Wyllam managed to claw out a hole big enough to contort through in a few panicked moments. His once honey-gold curls were flattened and thinning, darkened and discolored by decay. What remained of his skin had dried and shrunk over deteriorated muscle, patches missing altogether, exposing teeth and jaw. His nose was nothing more than the nasal cavity.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°You!¡± His jaundiced eyes settled on her and flashed with immediate recognition. ¡°You did this? What the hell, Laur.¡± Somewhere, in all her preparation and half-baked planning, Lauraline had neglected to settle on what she would say to him once she had him up again. She¡¯d had hundreds, if not thousands, of wonderfully cathartic shouting matches in her head, where she laid into him immediately and oh how sorry she had made him to have ever even laid eyes on her, and especially for dying on her like that. But none of it felt right now. Wyllam didn¡¯t look right. He wasn¡¯t him. And Lauraline guessed she wasn¡¯t so much of the self as she had been the last time he¡¯d seen her either. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Lauraline said wryly but sank to her knees. Maybe it was the spell or all the digging she had just done. Or she¡¯d forgotten how exhausting Wyllam¡¯s mere presence could be. ¡°For burying me alive?¡± He spat. As unnerving as it was, there was also something funny about seeing a reanimated corpse immediately so upset. And at the idea of being buried no less. ¡°This is what amuses you now?¡± He didn¡¯t know. He didn¡¯t realize. Lauraline worried her lip as she swung her legs over the edge of the grave. She hadn¡¯t thought she would have to explain that part of it. ¡°You died.¡± ¡°Stop it. I-¡± But Wyllam caught sight of his arm then, turning it over slowly and holding his mostly skeletal hand out in front of his face. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°I do? What did I do?¡± Maybe it was about to sound like one of the arguments from her head after all. ¡°I shoved you out of the way. I told you, so many¡ªso many fucking times¡ªto just stay- You died, Wyllam.¡± ¡°Yeah? Yeah¡­¡± Another look down at himself, and Wyllam began to nod, slowly, then with increased speed. ¡°It¡¯s coming back to me now, I think.¡± Lauraline wondered how much of it had come back to him; did he remember the way she¡¯d wanted to tell him something? Or that she¡¯d run away before she could. That she¡¯d left him to die alone. Fine, Selene had been there, but she hadn¡¯t been. ¡°So I died.¡± Wyllam nodded again, with a little more finality, then cocked his head. It wasn¡¯t half so infuriatingly attractive when much more than half of his features had been eaten away by time and maggots. ¡°And then what happened?¡± Lauraline kicked her heels against the grave walls and looked over to where Miralynn still slept in her earthen cradle. For now. Miralynn slept through most nights now, but that was at home, in her own bed. Without the sound of her mother arguing with the undead corpse of her father to disturb her. ¡°We buried you here, in Freygarde. And then we left, and we carried on for a bit.¡± ¡°A bit?¡± Wyllam echoed. It would seem odd to anyone that had known the trio back then, but especially to their shadow. Wyllam looked around the cemetery, as if looking for Uravas and Selene. ¡°What happened? I mean, what? I died, and the whole group fell apart?¡± Lauraline sighed before looking back down at Wyllam. She was going to help him out of there soon, but first she was going to have to finish explaining. ¡°Something like that.¡± The remaining corner of Wyllam¡¯s mouth turned upwards. Somehow, though, that had managed to keep some of its charm. ¡°You needed me.¡± Lauraline scowled before he could even say it. ¡°No.¡± Wyllam shuffled his way to the end of the grave and placed his rotting hands on Lauraline¡¯s knees, grinning up at her all the brighter, ¡°I was the thread binding that whole outfit together.¡± ¡°You ruined everything.¡± Lauraline snarled, stunning herself. That wasn¡¯t true. She¡¯d never thought that before. But with the speed and conviction it had flown out of her mouth¡­ Wyllam backed off as if she might actually bite. She really might have, if he were still in range during his next question, ¡°You¡¯re alone, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No! Uravas- Uravas retired, which was fine until- Selene is missing. Selene is missing, and I need to find her.¡± Wyllam¡¯s grin crept back in. ¡°And you want my help?¡± Lauraline looked over towards Miralynn again and answered absently, ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s call it that.¡± ¡°I missed you too.¡± ¡°No, you didn¡¯t.¡± Lauraline snapped her head back to fix Wyllam with a confused scowl. ¡°You were dead.¡± Wyllam scowled back, but he was mocking her, clearly. ¡°I was in The Odd Duck, actually.¡± ¡°No, you weren¡¯t. You were dead.¡± She hoped he was only teasing her. If Lauraline had thought he¡¯d been emotionally stunted while living, being undead certainly wasn¡¯t going to do him any favors. Now maybe she¡¯d gone and made him some kind of delusional to boot. ¡°Well, I know you would have preferred some kind of hell for me, but a two-bit tavern and a nagging sense that you¡¯ve forgotten something can be a kind of hell, I think.¡± Lauraline scoffed. ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to die.¡± ¡°No?¡± Lauraline was relieved to see him smirk. This was still just fun for him. This felt like before. She lifted her chin and feigned upset, ¡°It was very inconvenient.¡± Wyllam nodded in mock sincerity. ¡°I¡¯m sure. For you especially, it must have been awfully lonely.¡± ¡°No, actually.¡± Lauaraline changed her mind. This was too much like before. Suddenly, it didn¡¯t sit right with her. ¡°You don¡¯t get to joke about that because you weren¡¯t here.¡± Wyllam flinched again like he thought she just might bite, but any bit of fear was quickly replaced with concern. Or pity, more like. ¡°What happened, Laur?¡± Lauraline struggled for words, but her daughter¡¯s cries answered the question for her.