Savina groaned and sat up, then immediately regretted it as a tremor of pain shot through her abdomen. She pressed her hand to her stomach until the pain abated, then heaved a sigh.
Suddenly she remembered that she had died. It sounded odd, but she specifically remembered dying.
She looked around in confusion.
From the looks of it, she was in the exact same place as where she had died, or thought she died. The trees were the same, the path was the same, the boulders and rocks were the same. It was daytime now, but she could tell it was the same place.
Savina looked down at her stomach, there was a giant blood spot covering her front. She pulled up her tunic and found nothing but smooth skin and a thin, star-shaped scar.
What the hell was going on?
"Aw, you're awake."
Savina's head turned at the sound of a man's voice.
The creature seated on the boulder a few feet away was the oddest thing she'd ever seen. He appeared at first to be human, with long, shining, black hair and cunning, black eyes. He was tall and slender, his facial features fine and almost Elvish-looking. He wore a plain black robe. This was all normal enough, but what made the man strange was a pair of gigantic, raven-black rings sprouting from his shoulders.
Savina gaped at him, "who are you?"
The man rose to his feet, stretching his winds, and surveyed her with a bored expression, "my name is Than." He studied her silently for a moment, then continued, "as you may have realized, you're dead. And I," he pointed to himself, "am a Darkangel, it's my job to make sure you go where you're supposed to."
"Where am I supposed to go?"
Than pointed behind her.
Savina turned and found herself facing a stone door. There were no walls, just a huge stone door in the middle of nowhere. "What's in there?"
Than looked bored, "death."
Savina raised her eyebrows, "aren't I already dead?"
"Yes," he replied immediately, then hesitated, "well, mostly. You're sort of in-between. So if you'll just accompany me-"
"Wait," Savina held up her hands, "if I'm not completely dead yet, why can't you send me back to my body, isn't there a door for that?"
Than looked annoyed, "I haven't had anyone take so long to go through the door for nine and a half centuries." He saw Savina's adamant look and sighed, "there is a door, but I have no access to it. It can only be opened from the living plane by a very powerful wizard, did you happen to be traveling with a very powerful wizard?"
Savina bit her lip, "no, but here must be some way-"
"There isn't, come on." Than grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the door, "you aren't the only spirit waiting around, you know."
"Let go of me!" Savina jerked her arm away and pushed Than as hard as she could, "you don't seem to understand that I have a very important quest to fulfill-"
Than regained his balance and stared at her coldly, "you must understand that you are dead."
Savina plopped down on a rock and stared at him, "I'm not going through that door."
Than crossed his arms and glared at her, "I'm being quite nice about all this, I don't think you want to make me angry."
"Bite me," Savina growled and kicked at a pebble.