Kaethe stared at Soren, and Soren waited with a scowl. Soren stopped when he saw a dark aura surrounding his teacher. Tears were running from her eyes. Soren took a step back. He glanced around and noticed that nobody else was around except for Shinon. Had they all gone into that building? "Where did everyone go? Shinon?"

Shinon had a blank expression. He looked possessed. Soren waved a hand in front of his face, but he didn't respond. Instead he started walking towards the building Zyan had ran towards. Is he under a spell...?

Kaethe whispered, "You'll hate me. And you'll want to kill me. Because I couldn't save your parents just like my father couldn't save my mother." Soren reached for his tome and looked around frantically. He could feel someone's presence. It was an ominous one, filled with sorrow and pain. There were times he wished he didn't have such a strong connection with magic and its properties.

Soren watched as Kaethe began to walk towards the building. Soren tried to reach for her arm, but he couldn't grab a hold of her. Kaethe murmured, "Necromancy can also alter its user. Transparency is quite easy. All I have to do is make a timed contract with a wraith. You can't stop me, Soren. Not even Vandal or Hex know what's going on."

Soren pursued Kaethe and looked inside the building. The couple he had seen earlier had much calmer expressions now. The husband had silvery blue fur and resembled an older Ranulf. The mother had a sleek black coat and looked more like a beorc than a laguz. On the husband's forehead was a blue symbol, his wife a red symbol.

The mother stepped forward and asked, "Are you Soren? Thank you so much for looking after Zyan. My name is Rebecca. This is my husband Uriel. Once again, we would like to give our sincerest thanks." Soren frowned, but quickly smiled to the best of his abilities. Kaethe was standing to the side, the black aura engulfing her. She didn't look as ghastly, but she still wasn't smiling. Nobody else seemed to notice.

Soren quietly stated, "If you don't mind, I'd like to go outside for a walk. Would anyone like to accompany me?" Soren glanced at Kaethe every few seconds. He couldn't understand what was happening.

Stefan and Shinon both raised their hands. Soren shrugged and started for the door. He walked over to the pot on a fire and looked inside. He fell backwards in shock. The remains of a little girl with blackish violet hair were in the boiling water. Seared flesh, gaping wounds, how could arrows cause such damage? And who would try to cook the body till it was no more?

Soren stepped up and dusted his robes. A hand clamped over his mouth and he glanced up. A complete stranger had the nerve to come up and sneak behind him. The man wore a goldenrod cloak and he had a crimson braid that reached just below his shoulders. His cool blue eyes were offset by a diagonal scar that ran across his cheek.

"A common flu... pfft. She was infected by a rabid beast! A monster like you. It's all your fault my darling daughter was left without a mother!" Soren wrenched out of the man's grip and flipped through his tome. He called upon a thunderbolt. It crackled and came down from the heavens. However, it didn't hit its intended target.

Stefan and Shinon came rushing by. Shinon stopped, revolted by the resemblance the man had with him. A few battle scars more than him and a little worn, but they had an uncanny resemblance. Soren stared at Shinon's surprised expression. No wonder Zyan thought Shinon was the murderer. Who could blame him for thinking so?

The thing that had taken the thunderbolt for the man was a skeleton. It wore a spiked helmet, and it wielded a shield and sword. The sword was rusted and brittle. Nevertheless, the impact would have cut flesh. The skeleton ran towards Soren and the man raised his bow. Stefan rushed forward to intercept the arrow, but was stopped by a shout. "Leave this place, William!"

Kaethe walked outside, having everyone follow behind her. Rolf and Zyan exchanged glances as they looked at Shinon and the stranger. Volke rushed beside Stefan. "William? He's here?" Volke rushed beside Stefan and annouced, "William, keep this up and the contract is negated!"

Soren ran beside Kaethe and summoned a wind to blow away the skeleton. Kaethe ran towards the man and looked at Soren. She smirked and her eyes seemed to turn red. "Aww, I liked that puppet quite a bit. Didn't you, Father?" Soren's eyes widened and he lunged forth towards William with his knife. A skeleton rose forth from the earth, and stopped Soren in his tracks. This skeleton was much smaller than the last and had the frame of a little girl.

Soren glanced at the boiling pot, only to see that it had been knocked down and nothing was in it. "Kaethe, you killed Violet!" Kaethe's eyes flickered blue and a tear rolled down her cheek. She glanced away and the skeleton ran towards William, The Ebon Arrow.

Soren watched as the skeleton ran towards the killer. Mist was busy running around as well, checking for scratches for some reason. Shinon and Rolf tensed their grips on their bows. Zyan watched on in horror. Jill traded her lance for a javelin as Ranulf quickly transformed just in case. Volke held up his knife cautiously, and Stefan had his blade unsheathed.

The skeleton looked back at Soren with tears of blood coming from the eye sockets. The creature pounded at William's chest and howled in an echoing voice, mixed with a cackle. "Brother. I want to be with brother. Kill. You killed me. Now Violet can't wake up. Violet can never wake up. You'll never wake up, too!"

William glared at his daughter and ordered, "Call this thing off!"

Kaethe chuckled and winked at Soren. Soren watched her intently, hoping she wouldn't try anything stupid. "Father… you have to repent for your sins as do I." Soren gulped and started running towards Kaethe. Kaethe took an arrow tipped with poison from her father's quiver and eyed the green liquid carefully.

Soren pulled her away and shouted, "Fire at will!" Shinon and Rolf were the first to obey. Their arrows flew through the air and hit… something. William and held up the skeleton of Violet by the skull, and now two arrows were in her sockets. The skeleton screamed and thrashed. Jill's javelin missed by centimeters as William pivoted to the side. Volke and Stefan nodded to each as they rushed in.

William tossed the corpse to the side and whipped out a knife. He deflected the blows and tackled them to the ground. "Fools. You'll never kill me like that. Kaethe!" Soren linked his arms around Kaethe's wrist and attempted to drag her down with his weight. Kaethe moved just as easily, Soren dragging along the ground. The arrow Kaethe had taken from her father's quiver was hidden in a sash on her robes.

Soren watched as Kaethe embraced her father and whispered, "I'm taking you to hell with me." She whipped out the arrow and stabbed her father through the heart and wounded herself. "Ah, poison of the Dragonflame Flower. It'll wreak havoc on your systems, making dying hell itself. I wanted to change you… Father. But it was… too… late…"

Soren caught Kaethe in his arms and watched as William landed with a thud. Volke and Stefan kneeled beside him and sighed. Stefan mused, "He told me it was a flu. That lying…"

Soren touched Kaethe's cold forehead and whimpered. Her skin was pale and becoming blue. He had never seen such a vile poison. Well, that's ironic. Dragonflame. She was scorched in the end. Scorched…

Soren placed Kaethe's head on his lap and cried. He cried for the longest time ever. Zyan put a hand on Soren's shoulder, and Soren didn't bother to push it away. Mist walked up to Kaethe and tried her Restore staff. Kaethe's face looked a little less pale, but the sickly shade returned soon.

Soren bent forward and his tears fell on Kaethe's face. "Idiot. Idiot…! Why her? Why did she have to die to along with so many Branded? What kind of disease killed her mother? …why?"

Shinon stared at Soren and smacked him across the face. "This is your fault. If you were a bit more open, maybe a bit more willing, Kaethe would have tried even harder for you. Nice guys finish last, pah! But no, you mope and wallow in self-pity about being some kind of freak. Well you know what? You aren't a freak. You're our tactician. Suck it up and face that fact like a man!"

Soren touched his cheek and rubbed his eyes. "It's easy to be fond of her isn't it?" Shinon glanced away, but Rolf started laughing at him. Soren sighed and stared at Kaethe's lifeless body. With some help from Volke and Stefan, the three buried her next to Violet's grave.

Zyan rushed home to explain to his parents what had happened. They brought Soren into their arms and tried to comfort him. Soren declined them politely and waved good-bye to Zyan. "…I have some loose ends to tie up. A lot of loose ends." Soren smiled gently and looked at Shinon. Soren took a deep breath and for his first time, grinned in front of more than just one person. "I promise to visit."

Zyan rubbed at his eyes and hugged Soren. "Blasted human, I hate you!"

Soren pushed Zyan away and smirked. "Disgusting sub-human, I hate you, too!" They laughed and Soren said his final good-byes. Soren sighed and looked back at Kaethe's grave. How had this happened in just a few days? Most of the traveling took up those days, but now… Kaethe was gone.

Soren shook his head and looked at his companions. I'll have to write about this story. Maybe others will want to hear it.