by Wendy Owens
Dina sidestepped, standing directly between the entrance of the tombs and the young girl’s body. “No. Anything else?”
“What’s in there?” Neru asked.
“Where?” Dina felt a rush of panic flood over her.
“There,” Neru replied, motioning towards the tombs.
“I don’t know, looks like their tombs of some kind. If I had to guess, a bunch of dead bodies, snakes, bugs, and all around creepiness,” Dina offered, hoping to discourage Neru’s curiosity.
“But I saw you come out of there.”
“No you didn’t!” Dina insisted.
“I did,” Neru argued.
“Drop it, there’s nothing in there. All right? Just leave it alone,” Dina growled, her rage visibly coming to a boil.
Neru took a step back, looking at the seething anger in Dina’s eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything. I was just trying to see if you needed my help.”
“Well, I don’t!” Dina decided she needed to get rid of this girl once and for all. “Nobody needs your help. You already came between my friends’ relationship. Wasn’t that enough?”
“No, I didn’t do—”
“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say, little girl. I don’t want you around me. None of us want you around. Don’t you get it?”
Neru’s face twisted into a reflection of horror and rejection. “I—I—” she cried before throwing her hands over her face just before bursting into tears. Not waiting for any further abuse, she turned and ran.
Dina felt remorse that she had to be so mean to the girl. Once she had sorted things out with Raimie, she would go back and explain the situation to her. For now, she had to be certain her secret would not be discovered.
“No, I swear it’s her,” Sera insisted.
“That can’t be her,” Uri argued, shaking his head while staring at the figure moving amongst the crowd.
“I’m telling you, it’s Dina.”
“Don’t you think I could tell if that were one of my best friends? You can’t even see anything; she’s wrapped up in a scarf. And see— look there, a little bit of hair sticking out, it’s white. I told you, it’s not her,” Uri said, hobbling a bit on his injured leg.
“You really are thick headed, aren’t you?” Sera snapped before chasing after the figure. “Dina! Hey, is that you, Dina?”
The woman looked back over her shoulder before turning and pushing her way through the people more rapidly.
“See, it is her, and she doesn’t want to talk to us apparently!” Sera yelled back to Uri who was struggling to keep up.
“You are crazy. Why on earth would Dina be avoiding me? You’re probably freaking out some poor refugee,” Uri said as he hurriedly limped to catch up to Sera. She was now closing in on the fleeing target.
“Please, Dina, I know it’s you, will you wait up?” Sera pleaded.
Realizing she could not escape, Dina decided her best course of action would be to lead them away from the tombs. She wasn’t ready for anyone to see Raimie, not yet, not until she could be certain he was back to normal. Making a sharp turn, she darted towards the nearby tree line, never slowing her pace.
“That is her!” Uri exclaimed in disbelief. “Hey! Stop! Where are you going?”
Finally, Dina slowed before coming to a stop and facing the pair. Seraphine reached her first, but simply stood there, silently looking her up and down, attempting to figure out the girl’s odd behavior.
Uri caught up at last, bending over to catch his breath and shift his weight off of his injured leg. Though the wound was nearly healed, thanks to the clerics, the depth of the injury caused severe phantom pains to linger. “What is going on with you?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean,” Dina answered, trying to act casual.
“Well, for starters, you took off running when we called after you,” Uri groaned, standing upright at last.
“I didn’t hear you,” Dina answered.
“Fine, then what’s up with the hair?” Uri pushed.
“What about my hair?” Dina avoided the question as she tried to think of a plausible answer.
“Umm— even with a scarf, I can see it’s white,” Uri pointed out sarcastically.
“Oh, that. I’m just trying something new,” Dina said.
Without a word, Sera reached up and tugged at the scarf, causing it to fall to Dina’s shoulders. “That is not trying something new.”
Dina pulled away, annoyed that a complete stranger dared to confront her in such a way. “My boyfriend’s sick; pardon me if I want to do something drastic to my appearance in order to distract myself.”
“I know I don’t know you very well, but I do know that you didn’t do that to your hair,” Sera confronted her, not allowing the comment about Raimie to stir the sympathy within her as Dina had intended it to.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dina replied, looking away.
“What are you talking about?” Uri questioned, the only one who seemed to truly not understand what was going on.
“I’ve seen this sort of thing before. Your hair, it’s from doing some pretty powerful dark magic, isn’t it?” Sera pushed.
“What? How dare you?” Dina shouted while backing away. “You don’t know me! I want you two to leave me alone.”
Sera reached out, taking hold of Dina’s arm. “What have you done?”
“Sera, maybe you should back off,” Uri suggested, uncomfortable with the way his new found love was accusing his longtime friend.
“She’s lying to us, Uri. Tell him, Dina. Did you do something to Raimie?” Sera continued.
Pulling away, Dina did her best to appear shocked. “Are you going to continue to let her talk to me like this, Uri?”
“It’s Raimie, I can feel it,” Sera interjected.
“You’re crazy!” Dina exclaimed. “You can feel it? Who says stuff like that? What were you thinking, Uri, hanging out with a nut job like this?”
He looked back and forth between the two girls. The conviction in Sera’s eyes was as unwavering as the guilt on Dina’s face. In that moment, he suddenly understood. “It’s ok, Dina, you can tell us. What’s happened? Maybe we can help.”
“Uri! I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Are you actually taking her side?” Dina gasped in disbelief, all the time hoping her outrage would be enough to cause her friend to drop the questioning.
“I’m your friend. Please, tell me the truth.”
Dina wanted to turn and run without a word. She knew things with Raimie were not as they should be, but she had no more answers. She felt her world collapsing in all around her. As her heart ached, she could feel herself drowning. “Fine! I did do something. I knew I shouldn’t have—”
“What happened?” Uri interrupted her.
“You have to swear not to tell anyone, not until I’m ready,” she offered.
“I’m not comfortable doing that,” Uri answered nervously.
“Then I am not telling you,” Dina affirmed.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake. We won’t tell anyone, all right?” Sera snapped.
“I want to hear it from Uri,” Dina insisted.
Uri hesitated for a moment and looked at Sera. Nudging him, she raised her eyebrow as if to instruct him to agree. “All right, fine. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“So, what’s going on?” Sera followed up.
Dina considered how to explain what she had done. She wasn’t sure how to put it into words, so instead she suggested, “I think it’s best if you just follow me.”
The trio made their way along the back of the property line to the entrance of the tombs. Dina stopped, turning to look at the other two. “Before we go in, I think I should at least tell you something. I don’t want you to flip out.”
“Will you quit being cryptic and just tell us what’s going on?” Uri blurted out, his frustration was evident.
“All right,” Dina began with a huff. “It’s about Raimie
. I was talking to Calysta—”
“The oracle from Rampart? When the hell— no— why would you—” Uri stumbled through his words.
“It’s hard to explain, and this is not about her. Will you just be quiet and let me tell you what’s going on!”
“All right, we’re listening,” Sera attempted to calm the girl.
Dina snarled, “Excuse me? I don’t know you. Honestly, I’m not even sure why Uri is so smitten with you, but I suggest you keep your mouth shut if you want to stay.”
Sera did not get defensive; she could understand where the girl was coming from and instead chose to stand silently.
“Calysta said something to me once about the witch, Madame Laveau,” Dina continued. “It wasn’t like she was telling me I should seek her out or anything. In fact, she warned me against finding her.”
“I’m sure she did,” Uri added smugly.
“I went and saw her; she offered me a spell that could fix Raimie.”
“Saw who?” Uri asked to clarify.
“Madame Laveau.”
“You took a spell from the crazy old witch? What in the hell were you thinking, Dina?” Uri questioned, raising his voice.
“You can’t trust witches, Dina, they use black magic,” Sera added.
“You don’t think I know that? It’s Raimie, what was I supposed to do?” Dina argued.
“So, what happened?” Uri inquired.
“I came back here and performed the spell; it ended up knocking me out. When I woke up, my hair was white. I don’t know why,” Dina explained.
“Because the kind of magic you used comes at a price. If I had to guess, in order to help Raimie, it took a piece of your life force,” Sera explained.
“Gee, thanks for that informative insight. And by the way, I would give all of my life force to save Raimie. That’s what I do for the people I care about,” Dina growled.
“Will you give it a rest already— what happened with Raimie?” Uri asked.
“He woke up,” Dina replied flatly.
“What? Are you serious? That isn’t possible— they said he was gone.” Uri exclaimed.
“I know, but he’s awake,” Dina replied.
“Is he all right?” Uri asked, adrenaline rapidly rushing through his body.
“I don’t know,” Dina hesitated, and then lifted a bag of food into their eyesight for a moment. “He’s clearly not himself. He kept telling me he was starving, so I ran out and grabbed this.”
“Well, that’s a good sign, right? I mean, having an appetite. That has to mean that he’s doing pretty well,” Uri offered optimistically.
“Not necessarily,” Sera muttered as if she knew something else.
Dina glared at the girl for a moment before deciding to let the comment drop without a response. “I can’t explain it, Uri. It looks like him and almost sounds like him, but there’s just something that doesn’t feel right.”
“Can I see him?” Uri paid no attention to Dina’s warnings, barely able to contain his excitement at the thought of seeing his friend again.
“Yes, of course. But I’m not kidding about something being off. He’s different.”
“Damn it!” Uri snapped. “Of course he’s different; he’s been to hell and back. What do you expect? Out of everyone, I never thought you would be like this.”
Dina stared at him, speechless, in total shock from his words. She now began intensely questioning her doubt and wondering if her guilt had her looking for a problem.
“Uri! You should apologize,” Sera commanded.
“Me? I’ll do no such thing. She’s supposed to love him more than anyone and now that he’s going to live, she’s questioning him.”
“Don’t make assumptions, Uri, you haven’t even seen him. Maybe there’s something to the way Dina is feeling,” Sera defended.
“Oh, God, Uri, I don’t know, maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m looking for something to be wrong with him because I feel guilty about using dark magic.”
“Well, you’re right, you should never have used dark magic,” Uri offered, softening his tone. “But what’s done is done. We have him back now and that’s the important thing.”
“What do you mean by different?” Sera inquired, unable to shake the uneasy feeling plaguing her.
“It’s nothing,” Dina answered.
“Perhaps nothing is wrong with him, but before we go in there I think we should have a better idea of what we need to be looking for. If you tell us, then we can look for the strange behaviors,” Sera continued.
“Well—” Dina began. “I’m not sure, it’s hard to explain. He looks like him and his voice sounds like him, but he’s not exactly Raimie. The way he responds sometimes sounds exactly like Raimie and other times it’s like he has no emotions. I shouldn’t even say that. You’re right; he’s been through so much. None of us would be ourselves after that.”
“Let’s see him and I’ll tell you if it’s your imagination or not. There, problem solved,” Uri answered, following closely behind Dina as they entered the tombs, Sera holding his hand.
The group weaved their way through the corridor’s earthen vault. The deeper they went, the stronger the scent of iron became.
“What is that?” Dina asked, pulling the scarf up to cover her nose.
“Maybe it’s metal seeping in from the hillside,” Uri suggested.
“No, it wasn’t like that before,” Dina argued.
“It smells like blood,” Sera noted.
Uri paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath. “You’re right.”
“Raimie?” Dina called, her voice dripping with panic. “Where are you, Raimie?” The more time that passed silently, the quicker her heart raced.
“Hey, man, it’s Uri. Are you down here?”
“Hi, Uri,” an emotionless voice called out from the shadows. The three turned, unable to make out Raimie’s face, but they could clearly hear his voice.
“Is that really you? Man, I was so worried about you, we all were,” Uri added, moving around to try and see his face without getting closer.
“I got you some food, sweetie,” Dina added, taking a step forward with the bag.
“I already ate,” Raimie replied in a cold tone.
Uri could sense what Dina had been talking about, the short answers, the lack of emotion as he spoke, something wasn’t right about their friend.
“You already ate? But I told you not leave. Did you go out into Iron Gate? Did someone see you?” Dina asked, worried her secret might be discovered before she was ready.
“Of course not. You told me not to leave,” Raimie answered.
“I don’t understand. How could you have eaten then?” Dina asked, taking another step closer. From her new location, she could see the red stains all around his mouth and the splatter across his shirt.
“Raimie, are you hurt?” she screeched, rushing forward and taking his hand. He didn’t speak or move, but it was in that moment she saw the girl’s body lying on the ground behind him.
“Oh, my God!” she cried.
“What is it, Dina?” Uri inquired, walking up next to her.
“Is she all right?” Dina asked her beloved. “What happened to her?”
“I told you, I was hungry. You sent her to me,” Raimie replied.
“What?” Dina cried. “No— I don’t understand.”
Uri knelt, reaching out to take the girls pulse, but there was none. Taking a closer look his head dropped low as he recognized her. “It’s Neru, she’s dead.”
“No, it can’t be!” Dina shouted, shaking her head wildly.
“Thank you, honey,” Raimie said, looking at Dina.
“What did you do?” Dina asked desperately.
“She said you sent her to me. I assumed she was the food you got for me,” Raimie answered, puzzled by her distress.
Uri stood, taking a few steps back and pulling Dina with him as he did.
“She’s a person, Raimie! Not food!” Dina’s body began to tremb
le as the reality sank in.
“He’s undead,” Sera stated from the rear of the room.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Dina asked, turning towards Sera in a frenzy, tears streaming down her face.
“Undead drink blood to survive or they can consume flesh as long as it’s living at the time of consumption. A newly undead has a large appetite. For him to survive, he will have to feed on the living every couple of hours, if I had to guess,” Sera explained.
“How do you know that?” Uri asked.
“I just do.”
Dina twirled back around, staring at Raimie who stood motionless, looking at them. “You’re wrong! Look at him. He’s not hurting any of us; he can’t be.”
“He’s already eaten. I suspect no matter what, he wouldn’t hurt you because you created him and most undead are loyal to their creators. Given the choice though, he would kill Uri and myself if he were hungry enough. He doesn’t have any emotions, he simply exists. You were right, that isn’t your Raimie, he was already gone when we brought him to Iron Gate. Jesus, what are we going to do? We needed him, without Raimie what hope do we have?”
“Wow, thanks, Mary Poppins,” Dina snarled. “And you’re wrong. He can’t be gone.”
“I’m right here,” Raimie added innocently.
“I know you are, baby, we’re going to figure this out, don’t worry,” Dina responded.
Sera attempted to calm the girl’s emotional state. “I’m not trying to upset you, this is a real tragedy. Raimie was very important to a much bigger cause. This hurts us all.”
“You don’t even know us, so could you please spare me the melodrama!” Dina was shouting, wiping the tears away from her cheeks as quickly as they fell.
“I don’t understand. Why was Neru even in here?” Uri asked, unable to remove his eyes from the girl’s dead body.
Dina hung her head as she recalled the recent encounter. “I ran into her earlier when I left to get Raimie some food. She saw me leaving the tombs. I yelled at her and tried to scare her away so she wouldn’t come inside, but she must have gotten curious and came back.”
“We need to talk about what we’re going to do,” Uri said, glancing at Ramie before adding, “alone.”
Dina looked over at Raimie and then back at Uri, “All right. If I go talk to my friends for a minute, can you stay here?”
