Three centuries had passed since she first met her fellow immortals.

Johanna emerged from the thick forest into the large clearing where the Lady of the Rain made her home, her cozy cottage surrounded by flower gardens and rows of fruit trees. As Johanna approached, she spotted Gustav busily weeding the flower beds. The handsome thirty-something man glanced up and smiled at her before returning to his work. Gustav was the Lady of the Rain’s current husband, or ‘consort’ as she preferred to say. Besides keeping her company, he dutifully served as her gardener, handyman, and errand-runner.

Johanna stopped a short distance from the house where a small crowd of villagers had gathered outside. Orsalya stood before them, looking particularly apathetic.

“Oh, gracious Lady of the Rain,” said an old man, bowing reverently, “we cannot thank you enough for the precious rain you have brought us.”

Johanna recognized the man as Klemen, the village elder of Sirhalom.

“Am I not the Lady of the Rain,” Orsalya replied, trying to smile and sound at least somewhat interested, “kind and benevolent to all? It is my duty to bring fine weather to your lands.”

“How can we ensure your blessing continues to fall upon our village?” Klemen asked with a grateful smile.

Orsalya sighed and paused to think, glancing absently across her estate. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted Johanna standing nearby. She looked back at Klemen and continued slowly, sounding even less excited than she had been.

“I’ll need the standard tribute of food… and I need someone skilled with a needle to repair my other dress… and a new bucket, that would be lovely. If I need anything else, Gustav will let you know. Oh!” she added, remembering something, “one other thing, let the Baron know that he completely forgot about my tribute last year. Seeing as you paid your tribute, and being the merciful person that I am, I provided fair weather nonetheless. But if that stingy, ungrateful Baron doesn’t realize who’s responsible for giving him his harvests, I’m afraid there may be a dry year or two ahead.”

Seeing Klemen’s anxious expression, Orsalya smiled reassuringly and added, “look, just make sure that the Baron knows I’m expecting him. That is all. See that the tribute is paid, and you can count on perfect weather for the year to come.”

“Thank you, gracious lady, thank you,” Klemen said, bowing vigorously.

The villagers all bowed to Orsalya before departing. After they had disappeared into the forest, she turned and looked coldly at Johanna.

“See? I don’t ask for much.”

“You were given your power,” Johanna stated authoritatively, “you didn’t earn it. You’re supposed to care for these people, not exploit them.”

“Don’t you think that providing perfect weather for five damn centuries entitles me to a little comfort?” asked Orsalya crossly. “All these mortals will soon be having a fine time in Heaven while we’re left to rot in this backwater for eternity.”

“Have you ever see me or Verka trying to turn a profit from our sacred duties?”

“No. Nor do I kidnap orphaned children,” Orsalya retorted with a wry smile. “As for you, well, no-one’s even seen a necromancer since before you were born, so it’s no wonder that-”

She was interrupted by the sound of wailing. Verka burst out of the forest and ran towards them, carrying the limp body of a small child.

“Oh dear,” muttered Orsalya, “don’t tell me she’s accidentally killed one of them.”

Verka came to a stop in front of Orsalya, her face stained with tears. She looked down at the dead girl in her arms and tenderly caressed her face.

“Kata, oh sweet Kata,” she whimpered before letting out another sorrowful wail, drawing an irritated sigh from Orsalya.

“I found her out in the woods this morning,” Verka explained, sniffing back tears, “she must have wandered off in the night. I was so careless! I should have…” She sobbed. “Poor sweet thing…”

Orsalya shrugged and glanced at Johanna. “Your business, Gravedigger, not mine.”

“How did she die?” Johanna asked curiously, walking up beside Verka.

“That’s what I came to tell you about,” Verka said darkly, holding the girl’s body up for the others to see. “I found her like this. Take a close look.”

Johanna and Orsalya leaned in, noticing the girl’s pale skin and strange marks on her neck. Orsalya recoiled in horror at the sight.

“Drained of blood, with fang marks on her neck…” hissed Verka, “there’s a vampire wandering our lands.”

“Hopefully it will move on once it learns that there’s three immortals living here,” Orsalya said anxiously.

“We should warn the villagers,” Johanna put in.

“That we should,” Orsalya agreed wearily. “Can I leave that to you two?”

“I must watch my children!” Verka retorted.

“I suppose that’s another job on Gustav’s list,” sighed Orsalya, obviously not intending to move a muscle on her part.

Johanna gave her a disapproving look. “I’ll head to Sirhalom and spread the word. From there, the villagers can send out their own messengers. We should have the whole Barony alerted in about a day if we work swiftly.”

“Good luck,” Orsalya called after her as Johanna turned and walked off.