Chapter 7 (1/2)
“Is he dead?” Celia asked. It's been a week and Juliana returned with Celia to Vur’s prison residence. Vur was still in the same exact spot he was in last week, but his face was on the floor and he wasn’t moving.
“That’s odd… he should’ve been able to survive for a week without food with that body of his,” Juliana said. She walked over and placed her hand on the crown of his head. “There’s no flow of mana or blood in his body,” she said.
“You killed him? You killed the son of a dragon?! Oh Aeris, please have mercy on our poor souls,” Celia said as she fell to her knees and prayed. Her heart started pounding and her stomach felt queasy.
“I might be able to fix this. Most likely. I hope,” Juliana said. She rolled the boulder off of Vur’s body and flipped him over. “He doesn’t look emaciated at all; that’s good. It should work better if his body is preserved,” Juliana nodded. “I should probably remove these seals too.”
“Are you going to resurrect him? What if he becomes a zombie?” Celia asked staring wide-eyed at Juliana.
Juliana nodded. “If he becomes a zombie, I’ll just have to bind him and send him back to the matriarch and pray for the best,” she said and waved her hands. “Dispel.”
The black runes on Vur’s body disappeared. “Alright, I’m going to start now,” she said. She placed both hands on Vur’s chest and willed her mana to her hands. Celia stood with her back to the door and watched as Juliana’s hands glowed green. The intensity of the glow increased until the whole room was filled with a green shine before the glow flashed and dispersed. “Did it work?” Celia asked.
Juliana gasped for breath and shook her head. “His soul must’ve dissipated already or something is preventing it from coming back,” she said.
Celia’s heart sunk. “Now what?” she asked.
“There’s one more thing I can try,” Juliana said, “reanimate dead.”
Celia bit her lip and nodded. “We’ll have to flee with the whole village after we reanimate him,” Celia said. “We’ll be gone by the time the dragons notice the decay. The tree of knowledge that our village grew around is already gone. Do it.”
Juliana once again put her hands on Vur’s chest. This time, her hands glowed black and a jagged root pattern started to spread out on Vur’s body. After the roots fully cocooned his body, a bright light flashed and the roots disappeared. Juliana coughed up blood. “It failed,” she said.
“That’s… what do we do then?” Celia asked with a pale face.
“Let’s consult with your grandmother,” Juliana replied. After they left the room, Juliana waved her hand and said, “Seal.” A green circle with a rune inscribed appeared on the door. The two went to find Celia’s grandmother.
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Fools. I knew they were stupid, Vur thought. He canceled the play dead spell and stood up to stretch. He smiled as he waved his arm and said, “Dispel.” The green seal on the door disappeared and he opened it.