Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
We were almost there, so this fight was futile.
Deep inside the cave, I found the Bone Witch, sitting in front of a fire of blue flames. As if she’d known we were coming long before we entered the lands of Necrosis, she continued to sit on her rock, her dwelling inside the cave modest. She came from a tribe of magical witches that gave the Original Necrosis the power to turn people because they’d been unable to do it themselves. Because of her, our population had grown to staggering numbers.
She was old, far older than I was, even though she still possessed her soul. While leaning on her staff, she rose to her feet, a deep curve in her spine from her abnormally long life. “I know why you’re here.”
“Good. Then that saves me the trouble.”
We dragged Haldir in front of the fire, his heavy body sitting in the dirt.
My sister hardly looked at him, like their union of over one hundred years hadn’t made her care for him in the least.
The Bone Witch stared at him for a long time. “The other kings?”
“Both were killed. Haldir is the final survivor,” I said. “You don’t need to fear repercussion. Once you release the magic, all those who are left that were turned by Haldir will be freed. And those that remain Necrosis…will be killed.” I didn’t feel good about it, not when they were people I knew, people who had didn’t have the same option I did because their kings had been killed. But Queen Rolfe was right. They needed to be wiped out for good. “Necrosis will be no more. They’ll no longer be a threat to this world.”
The Bone Witch stared down at Haldir. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
My eyebrows furrowed. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
She stared for a while before she looked at me again. “With Necrosis finished, the balance of power will be forever changed. That will have consequences far beyond your limited sight.”
I hated riddles. “Meaning?”
Her brown eyes stared into mine for a long time. “Have you heard of the Red Wolves?”
My eyes shifted back and forth, uninterested in this tale. “No.”
“You haven’t heard of them because they were wiped out nearly a thousand years ago. In packs, they would come to the villages and eat all the livestock, ravage everything throughout the winter months. So, all the villages worked together to kill every last one. What do you think happened?”
I stared.
“The Red Wolves were the only animals capable of eating Boiling Toads. I’m sure you don’t know what those are either because a few hundred years ago, man created the antidote to stop the fatal poison from killing so many people. But once their predator had been eliminated, Boiling Toads killed two-thirds of the population below the cliffs. Crops died. Famine spread. It was terrible. Even Necrosis suffered.”
“What’s your point?” I asked, growing irritable.
“Necrosis is the Red Wolves. And someone else will be the Boiling Toads.”
“Who?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. But it will be someone—I promise you that. So, I ask again, are you sure you want to do this?”
I wanted my soul more than anything, regardless of the consequences. My sister and I both deserved to live the lives that were taken from us. “Yes.”
She studied my face for a while, as if I might change my mind.
I never did.
“Then let’s begin.”
She completed the ritual, muttering incantations under her breath, slicing Haldir down the forearm to make him bleed into the blue flames. Once the flames exploded into an inferno and the wind picked up from nowhere, I knew the spell had taken hold.
Then I felt something else.
A tightness in my chest. As if my heart had grown three times the size and no longer fit in my body, I became uncomfortable, really uncomfortable. My breaths became shaky. Then it felt like I was drowning, like there wasn’t enough air for my lungs. When I looked at my sister, I could see she felt the same way.
Then all the tension disappeared—and I took my first breath.
My chest suddenly felt weightless. My knees went weak before they became strong again. And then I felt it…a heartbeat.
My hand crossed over my chest, and I felt it with my own fingertips.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
I used to feel only the sense of nothingness, but now, I felt everything. I felt the breeze across my skin, felt my lungs expand with every breath. I smelled the dampness of the cave. Felt everything with such vividness. I forgot how it felt to be alive…and now it all came back to me as if it had never left.
I looked at my sister, who was equally overwhelmed.
She rushed to me and held on tight. “Thank you…”
I gripped her closely and felt the raw emotions, felt the tears burn my eyes. I remembered the day Haldir kidnapped her from our village. I remembered how hard I tried to get her back, the sword that pierced my stomach. Even though it would cost my life, I still did what I could to save her. I was even damned to a worse existence than death—but it was still worth it.