“I’ll miss you, brother.”

“I’ll miss you too, Hermann,” Eldrik replied, smiling at the man riding beside him. “But I will return.”

“If the sights and wonders of the Capital don’t capture your heart,” sighed Hermann, “or you might fall for the charms of a lovely young lady.”

“At least it’s only the ladies I need to watch out for,” Eldrik said, elbowing his brother playfully.

“I suppose that’s true,” Hermann laughed.

They rode together past the fields of Bekdorf, the peasants pausing in their work to bow and curtsy to the Baron’s sons as they went by. As they entered the village, an old man hobbled out of his house and saluted Eldrik.

“Elder Lazar,” Eldrik greeted the man respectfully, “I hope all is well in your village.”

“Very well, my lords,” the elder replied. “What brings you to our humble village?”

“Just passing through on my way to the Capital.”

“You’re leaving us?” Lazar asked in concern.

“Only for a time,” Eldrik assured him, “I wish to study theology and medicine so that I may be of greater service to my people. I will return, be assured of that.”

“I wish you all the best, my lord,” Lazar said with a warm smile, “may the Angels light your path.”

Eldrik and Hermann rode on up the road and crossed over the bridge. They came to a stop, gazing across the countryside, watching the road ahead wind away into the distance.

After a few quiet moments, Hermann turned to his brother. “This is where we part ways.”

“You make it sound like it’s goodbye forever,” Eldrik said with a smile. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I know you will,” Hermann returned his brother’s smile.

He was about to depart when they heard someone run up behind them. They turned their horses about and were surprised to see the Gravedigger standing before them, out of breath.

“I heard you were going,” she panted, “and I just… I wanted to say goodbye.” She paused and looked down at the ground, shuffling her feet awkwardly. “I know this sounds kind of weird, but… for the past few months I’ve been listening to your sermons every chance I get. I sit outside so you won’t have seen me in the congregation.” She looked up at Eldrik with a bright smile. “I just want you to know how much they’ve changed my life. You gave me new hope, new resolve, new purpose. You don’t know how much that means to me. Thank you, Eldrik Brant.”

Without another word she turned and ran off. Eldrik stared after her in bewilderment.

“The Gravedigger herself commends your sermons,” Hermann said, smiling broadly at his brother. “You certainly have a gift.”

“I…” Eldrik began. He paused, took a deep breath and smiled. “I must be off now, brother. But I will return, be sure of it.”

He turned his horse and set off down the road, Hermann waving him goodbye from the bridge. Looking ahead to the distant horizon, Eldrik felt filled with purpose and determination. The Gravedigger herself, one the Angels chosen servants, had commended his work. He knew without a doubt that this was his path, the path of a preacher. He would do his best, he would continue to serve and inspire people. He would not let them down. He would not let the Gravedigger down.

*   *   *

The girl lay at his feet, her eyes wide and unmoving, staring up in horror. He licked her blood off his lips and wiped his mouth as the vital fluid dribbled down his chin and dripped onto his shirt. A cold wind blew through the dark forest but Eldrik felt nothing but the slow steady beat of his own heart.

Looking back, everything would have been better had he never left to study in the Capital. He had been driven by a sense of duty, a selfless desire to do good in the world. This was where that desire had brought him: an undead monstrosity standing over the lifeless corpse of a child who was but his latest victim. It had brought him two centuries of this tortured half-life.

Through it all, the memory that kept coming back to him was of the Gravedigger telling him how much his sermons had changed her life. It had filled him with determination and driven him to do his best to live up to the expectations of the people he served. After he was turned, the memory had tormented him, a crushing reminder of the beacon of hope he could never be. The Gravedigger’s earnest face had haunted his dreams and nightmares, driven him to the brink of madness… and, perhaps, over it. He had tried to run from it, to put it from his mind, to accept the monster he had become, but all in vain. In the end, he had decided that the only way to banish the memory forever was to return and confront the immortal girl who haunted his dreams.

Thus, here he was, back home after two-hundred years. He had no plan as to what he would do when he finally met her again besides the vague idea that he must destroy the girl he remembered; not physically, but he had to undo what he had done, to crush her soul as he had raised it, to turn her from the path of light as he had led her onto it. He needed to destroy the girl from the memory and see her become a monster, just as he had become. Only then would he be able to find peace. He turned and walked off through the forest, his resolve, as ever, unbroken.