Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 87: To Escape

I paused, the final click of Oath's sheath echoing like a stone dropped through an empty cavern. I gave the Denoir heir a sideways glance. "It took me a while to piece it together," I said quietly. "I've heard of old folk tales where the dead would rise, adding the living to their number with every kill," I said, using the lie I concocted to explain my knowledge of the undead. "So I didn't discount something like that happening from the start. But your accusation confirmed that suspicion."

Hraedel frowned. The rest of the group seemed to lean forward in nervous anticipation. "What do you mean about my accusation? We were attacked by a member of the Twinfrost–" The shield blinked. "I think I see."

"Yeah," I said, exhaling. "The Twinfrosts claimed to have lost a member a long time before you were eventually attacked. And considering what they lost in that encounter, I found it hard to disbelieve."

"So every single person," Alandra said, her voice tinged with horror, "Every single undead in this zone is somebody who died here?"

I winced. "I don't think so," I said. "Just the ones like... like Alun's wife. The commanders. Sevren can tell you more."

Sevren shot me a look for passing the torch to him, but he obliged after a moment. He told the group the story of how he'd stumbled across the body of a woman he saw get ripped apart, and the theory the two of us had crafted because of it.

As he answered a few questions, however, I felt one of my own rise. "Wait," I said, drawing the attention of all present back to me. "Jana, did you burn Alun's body?"

The woman cringed inward. I immediately felt guilty for what was essentially digging into an open wound, but I needed to know if we'd have to face another commander. I wasn't sure if I would be able to fight them effectively.

The eyes of all were trained on the bronze-skinned shield for a few moments. "I– I lost it. I had to protect the twins. I couldn't take his body with me when I needed to hold my shield." The admission seemed to crack something within the woman as she looked at the floor.

"And now it's going to try and kill all of us, too," a shaky voice said from the side. I turned, noting the pinched expression of Numar Frost. "Alun's going to rise from the dead and kill us all! All because you couldn't hold onto a single corpse!"

A surprising number of people looked away or inspected the floor. Jana seemed to wither, shame radiating from her like heat off a stove.

I narrowed my eyes. Numar was wrong to blame Jana for that.

I stepped forward, my cane clicking on the ground. I slowly approached Numar and Bered, my back hunched from my injuries. Yet the boys still shied away at my approach, the intent leaking off me palpable.

"It's true that we'll probably have to face another commander undead," I allowed. "But what isn't fair is the blame you place on the woman who keeps sacrificing for your ungrateful hides."

Bered puffed out his chest slightly. "And what would you know of us? You have no right to judge!"

I sneered. "I had a brother once," I said. With my limp, my imposing height was closer to that of the twins in front of me. Yet I still felt taller. "He died after protecting an innocent woman from people like you," I said with a snarl. I pointed a finger at Jana, who looked like an empty shell. "That woman continues to sacrifice for you. First her hand. And now she let her friend's body be possessed by the unholy magics of this zone. Her friend who treated her with more respect than I've ever seen you display. And still, you mock her."

With every word, the twins cowered more. The other mages around looked at me with unnerved expressions, a few of them seeming ashamed of their subconscious blame for Jana. "I don't care about your stupid need to look big and strong. You can posture all you want, but Jana prioritized your petty, ignorant lives over the body of a dear friend. Never disrespect sacrifice." My shoulders sagged. "Never," I said with a whisper.