"If you try to get out of bed one more time…." Death Emperor threatened. Yuri resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"What will you do to stop me?" he taunted, secure in the knowledge that Death Emperor couldn't physically hurt him.
"A cappella singing," Death Emperor retorted. Yuri repressed a shudder. He was reasonably confident that Death Emperor couldn't carry a tune if his, or more accurately Yuri's, life depended on it. "Anyway, why do you even try? Six times you've tried and of all those tries, how many did you manage to remain upright? None!"
"Eventually it's gotta work!" Yuri said optimistically.
"I extremely doubt that," Death Emperor replied dryly. "If fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that the more you do it, the longer we'll be stuck here. And if you think you're bored…."
"Yeah, yeah I know. You don't even get the dubious thrills of watching the world fade to black and feeling the bruises from the floor. Trust me, you're missing nothing," Yuri drawled.
"And whose fault is that? Not mine, let me assure you!" Death Emperor said snippily. Yuri opened his mouth, witty repartee on his lips when Alec stuck his head around the doorframe.
"Who are you talking to?" he asked innocently. The rest of Alec appeared as he scanned the room. "There's no one here," he said in tones of surprise.
"I wasn't talking to anyone. I just woke up," Yuri said quickly. He affected a wide-eyed innocence. "Guess I must talk in my sleep." Alec looked at him, eyebrows raised in skepticism, then shrugged.
"Well, I have to go hunting. Seems as though the usual group didn't get me anything." He paused, his face a mixture of anxiety and annoyance. Yuri looked at him in confusion, not entirely sure of the dynamics in the village. Noticing Yuri's stare, Alec forced a grin onto his face and stretched his hands toward Yuri, who frowned and backed away.
"I'm trying to heal you, if you would hold still," Alec whispered, looking furtively over his shoulder. He caught Yuri on the shoulders and closed his eyes. Yuri's eyes widened as his shoulders were encased in a blue light. Alec's eyes snapped open and the light disappeared.
"I wouldn't have picked you as a water-class," Yuri said softly.
"I'm not," Alec replied equally softly, emphasising this with a shake of his head. "It's complicated. I'll explain later." His hands slid off Yuri's shoulders and hung limply by his sides and his eyes were wild with an emotion that Yuri couldn't identify. For one brief moment, Alec looked much younger then his sixteen years. Then the mask slammed back into place and he spun away from Yuri. He paused momentarily at the door to pick up his Black Radly bow and walked out, quiver bouncing against his shoulder.
"What's going on?" Yuri called out plaintively to the empty room. No one replied, which was to be expected. Yuri heaved a long suffering sigh and contemplated whinging about the injustice of the world, but decided that adolescents around the world have already said everything worth saying about that subject, and a lot that wasn't worth the oxygen burnt by their lungs.
*
Alec walked through the forest warily, half expecting an ambush. The rational part of his brain scoffed at his caution, pointing out all the likely reasons why the hunting group forgot about him. He wasn't convinced. Normally he wasn't this paranoid, however Father Mikhail's sermon had awakened his fears.
A bush rustled to his left, and Alec spun around sharply, arrow nocked on his bow.
"Don't shoot, Mr Alec! I need to ask you something," a childish voice lisped. Alec lowered the bow and stepped forward.
"Where's the other two?" he asked himself. "Christophe? Where're your friends?" he asked louder. His only response was a quiet giggle. He stepped into the bushes and almost stepped on the Unholy Trio, who collectively squealed in surprise.
Alec squatted with them in the bushes, bow lying by his side, and waited patiently for them to recover from their shock. Once their breathing regained a more normal rhythm, Alec raised an eyebrow and gestured for them to continue speaking.
"Mr Alec," Christophe lisped. "Is it true what Father Mikhail said? Are you a witch?" Alec felt his face pale. He shook his head woodenly.
"No, I'm not a witch," he said shakily. "I just have some special talents that God gave me when I was born." The three didn't look relieved.
"Father Mikhail told everyone that you were, and that you worked for the devil. That you had burnt down the Fletchery because the devil told you to," Jason, customary drawl absent from his voice, paused for a minute and raised haunted eyes toward Alec. "He said that you murdered my mum and dad. That's not true, is it?" Alec shook his head again.
"Mr Alec," Daniel said urgently. Alec turned a startled gaze on him. He rarely spoke, allowing Jason and Christopher to speak for him. "Mr Alec, run." Alec stared at him for a minute while Jason and Christophe gave Daniel identical horrified stares. "Run, before they get you." Alec was about to question Daniel further when he heard the distinctive noise of a large group of people. Alec stood up fluidly and ran into the forest, abandoning his bow.
His breath sobbing in his chest, Alec's feet flew over the ground. He had risked one glance behind him and what he had seen had inspired him to run faster. The spiraling smoke from torches was clearly visible through the trees and the thunder of angry feet reverberated through his body. His eyes searched desperately for somewhere to hide.
His foot caught on a tree root and he fell onto his hands and knees. He pushed himself upright and kept running. The eerily familiar sound of a fired arrow echoed through the forest. Alec knew that sound, having fired many arrows in his life. He had never expected to be at the receiving end of an arrow. It dived into the ground next to his ankle, almost grazing it on the way through. Alec barely had time to acknowledge this fact when a better-aimed arrow landed in his calf. His leg buckled under him and Alec landed heavily on the ground. He picked himself up onto his elbows and started to drag himself into a cavity created by a set of particularly gnarled tree roots. His painfully slow progress was halted when someone rested a heavy foot on his ribs. A wave of magic washed over him.
"Pick the demon's spawn up," a harsh voice spat. Alec, recognising the voice as his neighbour, tried to call out to him, but his voice was silenced. When no hands were forthcoming, the harsh voice commented in tones of great disgust, "He can't do anything, the priest silenced him."
One lone pair of hands grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and stood him upright. Alec wavered on his feet and looked at the rabble with unfocused eyes. Someone pushed him from behind and he fell to his hands and knees. His head hanging toward the ground, Alec peered through the lattice of his hair at his tormentors. His neighbour picked him up and set him on his feet again. Alec closed his eyes and fell limply toward the ground. The villagers picked up his supine form and carried him back to the village, complaining loudly.
*
Yuri's eyes opened slowly and he frowned in confusion. He had been sleeping fitfully when the noise of the villagers' return had awoken him. He pushed himself upright and climbed out of bed.
"Alec?" he called. There was no response. Concerned, Yuri got dressed and walked to the door. He opened it slightly and looked outside. It seemed that every villager was congregated in the centre of the village, with a priest on a stage as the focus. As he watched, a small figure was pushed onto the stage and tied to a wooden pole.
"What's going on?" he whispered in horror.
"A witch burning," Death Emperor replied soberly.
"A what?" Yuri exclaimed. "I thought those stopped years ago!"
"No, the Church still practices its hypocrisy. They employ some mages and burn the rest as Satan's minions," Death Emperor said in tones of disgust.
Yuri opened the door further and slipped through the gap. He walked slowly toward the stage, attempting to look casual. Once he reached the edge of the throng, he paused to gather his resolve, then dived into the sea of jostling elbows.
"Alec Kerry! You have been found to be a witch. As such, we will purify your soul in the flames of redemption!" a fervent voice shouted. Yuri's head shot up and his eyes involuntarily sought out the figure on the stake. Now that he was closer, Alec's blond hair was easily recognisable. Yuri pushed forcefully through the suddenly immobile crowd, edging his way toward the stage.
He stopped when he could touch the stage with an outstretched hand. Yuri stole one last glance at the stake and closed his eyes. The familiar sight of a brown wellspring welcomed him, and he extended mental fingers to cup a small portion.
"What are you doing?" Death Emperor demanded, voice panicked.
"What I have to," Yuri replied as he forced the transformation. He reopened his eyes to a whole new sight. The crowd had drawn away from him and the mutters of "demon" were prevalent. Yuri flexed his legs and threw himself onto the stage. While he was transforming, the stake had been set alight. Alec's eyes were wild as the heat from the flames travelled up his legs. Yuri swore and tore his bonds apart. Alec fell forward and Yuri caught him before he fell into the flames. In the corner of his vision, he saw the priest advance toward him, chanting a spell. The spell was completed and Yuri felt a wash of magic.
"You tried to silence me? What's next, exorcism?" he said incredulously. He stepped menacingly toward the priest, who raised his cross toward him. "That works for vampires," Yuri explained in tones reserved for a backward child. "Do I look like a vampire?" The priest looked behind Yuri's shoulder and smiled. Yuri, having slightly more intelligence then bad guys from B grade movies, jumped to the side, then ran for it, Alec still in his arms.
Authors Note: Seeing as though no-one told me to kill off Alec, he's here to stay. Good thing too, as he does play an important part later on. No one guessed who Alec was! (Author looks at screen mournfully) He's a character from Lynn Flewelling's books, which I would recommend that everyone still breathing should read.
Also, this chapter would have been up much sooner, if I hadn't had a birthday. Yes, I am now an official adult (under Aussie laws anyway). Scary, huh? My parents think so.