The Binding Vow of Lazarus

Chapter 5

It was common for ashes to be used in sorcery rituals and ashes of dead sorcerers were especially useful in some cases. But why such a special ritual for this cremation and why save only some of the bones?

"Who were you?" He asked quietly aloud, slowly reaching out and touching the corner of the white cloth.

A breeze picked up, seemingly from nowhere, as if to answer him. The tendrils of smoke from the censers twirled around the bones on the table and he looked a little closer. He could see it when he really focused on it-- that same soft energy from Sarah was radiating inside of them and seemed to be growing slowly stronger.

Satoru's hand flew to cover his mouth and he took a step back. Could it... actually be her? Did they kill her? Did they kill her and burn her body for the ashes?

He shook his head, trying to calm his rising anger. That wouldn't make any sense. As far as the higher-ups were concerned nothing was different from the first time around and she was able to resurrect him later. Why would they kill her? No, this couldn't be her, right? That wouldn't make sense... Or could it?

This didn't make any sense, but he knew not to hang around for too much longer. With one last lingering look at the bones, he made his exit back towards the teleportation circle.

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The warm air filtered through the open windows carrying with it the scent of blooming flowers and freshly cut grass. It would be summer soon. Satoru sat by the window, his usual casual slouch in his seat betraying his wandering thoughts.

He should have been listening to the lecture. The manager was droning on about some advanced cursed technique theory, but Satoru’s attention was elsewhere. His sharp blue eyes, hidden behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses, were focused on the scene outside the window.

There she was, Sarah, crossing the yard with a laundry basket balanced on her hip, her steps light and unhurried. The sun caught the strands of her hair, making it gleam in the bright sunshine. She was dressed in her usual t-shirt and jeans and yet there was something almost ethereal about the way she moved as if she were a figure out of place and time.

Four days. It had been four days since he saw the end of that ritual. She'd disappeared for those four days, and now there she was as if it was nothing at all.

Suguru, Shoko and he had been so angry, their fears basically confirmed that she was the one burned and gone during that time. However Satoru had told them to hold off on confronting anyone about it yet. He had a hunch she'd be back and wouldn't you know it he was completely right.

Suguru glanced his way, also catching Sarah walk by, and raised his eyebrows. Satoru nodded to him and flicked his eraser over to Shoko to get her attention. Annoyed at first, as soon as she caught sight of their friend her eyes narrowed.

It was both a relief and an irritation to see her again. A relief because he was happy to see her again, but an irritation because, despite his best efforts, he still didn’t understand what he had seen that night.

The ritual had been unlike anything he’d encountered before. It all pointed to something ancient and potent, but what? And why did she seem so…unaffected by it now?

As he watched her, the questions continued to swirl in his mind. What kind of ritual was that? Where was that weird energy coming from and why was her cursed energy sealed away as well? She wasn’t like any other sorcerer he had met. Normally, a sorcerer with her level of power would radiate cursed energy, a constant undercurrent of danger and intensity. But with Sarah, there was almost nothing. She gave off next to nothing for cursed energy, a faint whisper where there should have been a roar.