All Of The Dead (a necromancer story)

Chapter 3: Things that lurk in the dark

Esmeralda

I was cold here, being dead I didn’t think things like the cold would bother me, but I was shivering in the dark empty forest. I say empty, but the best way for me to explain was that it felt like an empty void, it felt like nothing if nothingness was a real living thing, I felt it each passing day seeping into my soul, and yet there were things lurking out here, creeping inside that void, noises of rustling leaves, grunts, and moans that were nothing I’d ever heard when I’d been alive.

I don’t know how long I had been wondering the forest and hiding from the creatures that skulked about, but the isolation itself was killing me, my soul. I barely even felt the fear anymore as I lost more of myself to that void.

A groan came from beside me and I spun around to find myself staring into black eyes, blacker than black itself, if that was even possible.

I looked at this humanoid thing, it was hairless, skin stretched taut over jutted bones and no eyes only teeth, razor sharp teeth and two slits for a nose.

I had no idea what this thing was, but I screamed, I screamed and ran and ran, where I was running to I didn’t know, I just knew I couldn’t stop as I felt the thing chasing me and gaining on me.

A hand reached from the shadows and grabbed me by my arm, yanking me into the shadows with it and slammed a hand over my mouth.

Whoever had me gripped me tight so that I Couldn’t move, the creature ran past us, and then I was released. I turned around and found myself facing what looked like an elf.

As far as I was aware, elves didn’t exist, clearly I was wrong. This elf was at least six foot five, she had long white hair with a complicated looking braid running through it and ice blue eyes.

She was beautiful and had Snow-White skin which made me think of the mother of the night for a minute, her skin had been white as snow as well.

“Thank you,” I stammered.

She smiled and nodded.

“I didn’t think elves were real, you are an elf right?”

She nodded again.

“Do elves live on earth?”

She shook her head yes and then no, leaving me confused. “Have elves ever lived on earth?” I asked.

She nodded yes, and I think I understood, “so you’re extinct now?”

She nodded and then beckoning me to follow, began to walk away. I quickly followed, not wanting to be left alone. We walked for some time until we came to some sort of den made in the bushes, she ducked down and went inside, and I followed.

There was nothing in here except dirt and bushes surrounding us as though we were inside a cave, it wasn’t much, but it looked like it would keep us safe and hidden for now.

When we were sitting down she spoke for the first time, “my name is Andralia, I am sorry I could not speak before…neither should you when outside.”

Her voice sounded like wind chimes and laughter, it was a strange way to explain it, but the only way.

“Why can we not talk outside?”

“The creature that was chasing you, it is called a soulsnatcher.”

“Does that mean what I think it means?” I asked nervously.

“Yes, it feeds on souls and will devour you until there is nothing left. They cannot see nor smell very well, but their hearing is what they use to hunt you, if you are silent, they cannot find you.”

That was the creepiest thing I think I’d ever heard. I had noticed down here that I didn’t have my vampire look anymore, but I did still have my fangs, I didn’t look unwell like I had before I fed on Lucan but like my human self before I had turned. That sucked.

I’d seen my reflection in the water when crossing a nearby stream, I’d ran terrified when I saw shapes in the water and then realized they were souls, souls of people screaming and crying out in silence. If this was the middle ground between heaven and hell, then I couldn’t bear to imagine what hell must be like.

Looking like my human self meant all my old weight was back too, I was back to being overweight and not the slim slender vampire beauty anymore, I hoped Lucan still wanted me if I ever made it back to him. Thinking of Lucan brought tears to my eyes, god how I missed him, I missed his beautiful face, I missed feeling special and safe whenever he held me.

I didn’t know how long it had been, but I hoped he hadn’t given up on me, I hoped he hadn’t gone back to sleeping with Dana either, it was stupid to think such small things in a place like this, but I still thought of him as mine, and it would break my heart if they had done anything with one another, it was selfish of me when I was dead now, but it was true.

When we lay down for the night I tried not to think of what he might be up to but then my mind wandered back to that creature, the soulsnatcher and so I tossed and turned all night long.