The world was a blur of warm colors and quiet sounds when Elias awoke. 

He was noticeably more comfortable. Not to mention, the aches in his body and the biting chill of the wind and rain were gone. Instead, there was only softness and warmth and a steady sound he couldn’t quite recognize while keeping his eyes shut after a quick, initial glimpse. Elias almost didn’t mind that he had no idea about where he was. 

“Stop pretending to be asleep.” 

At least that voice seemed familiar enough. 

Slowly, so as to get used to the light, Elias opened his eyes. His vision was still blurry, though less so than the first time he’d opened his eyes. Gradually, his sight became clear enough that he could make out the small room he was in. More importantly, Elias could see the man sitting at a desk off to the side, mixing something in a small tin. He didn’t even bother to look up when Elias turned to look at him. 

“Where are we?” Elias asked, his voice still weighed down with sleep. He glanced over to the nearest window and could see nothing but darkness outside. 

“You should know, seeing as you broke in here not so long ago.” Ah, well, Elias supposed the necromancer had a point. Upon casting one more look around, he finally recognized the other man’s home. “You’ll be happy to know you won’t be dying today.” Finally, he looked up at Elias, closing the tin he was holding before setting it aside. 

“Oh, er, thanks?” 

The necromancer scoffed. 

“You should be, after you made me drag your sorry self back here.” Elias looked pointedly at the man’s thin arms and wondered how he’d managed that particular feat. When he glanced back up at the necromancer’s dark eyes, the glare directed at him made think better about asking. “I wasn’t expecting to find you still so close to the town.” 

Elias hadn’t either. He’d not lied when he told the necromancer he would leave early in the morning, or at least, he’d meant to. Maybe it was his that he knew just how useful the necromancer could be, or maybe it was that Elias saw something in the necromancer’s gaze—some flickering flame of determination—that made him hope he would change his mind. Whatever the case, Elias found himself lingering in town for longer than he’d planned. Considering the way things turned out, it might have been for the best. 

“And what were you doing so far out of town?” Elias cast a look at the necromancer that made it clear he suspected he’d changed his mind. 

“Well, I certainly wasn’t looking for you. I shouldn’t be surprised I still managed to run into you, with the poor luck I’ve always had.” Elias couldn’t help but feel offended at the look of disdain directed his way. 

“And yet I was the one attacked this time,” Elias pointed out. His brow furrowed in thought. “Why was I attacked?” He looked at the necromancer for an answer. After all, he seemed to be familiar enough with Ethelred to be able to at least make a guess. Instead, all Elias received was a shrug. 

“Who knows. Maybe he just wanted to make sure you weren’t any more of an annoyance.” Elias hated to admit it, but it was likely. “Or maybe he knows you won’t give up so easily on whatever it is you demanded as payment. So then, what did you ask for?” 

“That’s really none of your concern,” Elias said. And then, a thought occurred to him. One that he’d been trying to push away since the encounter the necromancer had rescued him from. “Is that really what it’s like? Being brought back?” The question was spoken in too soft a tone—one Elias regretted for the vulnerability hidden beneath. It made the necromancer pause and look at him thoughtfully. 

“No,” he answered after a moment. “Those were merely puppets. There was nothing left in them that belonged to who they’d once been, only Ethelred’s influence.” 

Elias watched as the necromancer reached into his pocket. Whatever he pulled out was hidden within his hold. When he opened his hand to show Elias, there were three stones in his hand—pitch black and with a crack splitting the otherwise smooth surface of them all. 

“These stones held a small shred of Ethelred’s magic along with a spell.” As Elias stared at the innocuous items and could hardly believe they could cause so much trouble. 

“So all you had to do was remove them?” he asked. It was a bit anticlimactic, not to mention, it made Elias feel useless given how he’d struggled. 

“It’s easier said than done. Especially for someone like you.” Elias was sure the necromancer could have spoken with a lesser amount of contempt. “Whatever the case, you can likely expect to run into more of Ethelred’s puppets if you’re so set on confronting him. You may be nothing more than an annoyance, but that won’t grant you any mercy from him.” 

“That’s reassuring,” Elias muttered. 

“Seeing as I have a vested interest in causing him as much grief as possible, I’ll graciously give you these to keep you alive for a while longer.” He tossed the tin he’d been holding earlier, along with a bottle filled with a murky liquid, onto the bed.

“Graciously, you say.” Elias picked up the bottle and eyed the contents dubiously. 

“I expect you’ll get poisoned at some point down the line. Take a swig of that and use some of the salve on the wound if you manage to survive long enough.” With that, he stood from his seat and headed for the door. 

“Hey, hold on,” Elias called as the necromancer’s hand settled on the doorknob. “I gave you my name, it’s only fair you give me yours.”

For a moment, there was no answer. Elias was starting to think there would be none in the end. Or, worse still, perhaps all he’d get were more cutting words. He supposed he would deserve them, in spite of his disappointment. 

“Cassian.” 

Elias was taken aback. Before he could say anything else, the necromancer—Cassian—was out the door. 

For a while, Elias simply sat there, wondering just how he’d fallen into such a chaotic situation. More than that, he was trying to process everything that’d happened in such a short span of time. From the moment he’d slunk into the little cabin he was currently in, Elias’ life had taken a turn he’d not expected. He was starting to think it had been a worse idea than he’d initially thought to get involved in the quarrels of two necromancers.

Too late for regrets, Elias thought as he settled back into bed. His shoulder was still sore, but it was nothing compared to the pain he’d been in before losing consciousness. Much as he hated to admit it, he owed Cassian quite a debt. That wasn’t really a position Elias was happy to find himself in.

Slowly, as all these thoughts swam through his head, Elias began to drift off. The warmth of the room and the soft lighting were a distant sort of comfort, serving to lull him further into sleep’s embrace. 

When next he woke, there was an immediate sense of urgency palpable in the air. Elias’ eyes focused on the pale face barely visible in the dark, the shock of white hair making it clear who it was that stared down at him. 

“Get up, hurry,” Cassian said, one hushed but filled with an urgency that had Elias out of bed in an instant. 

“What’s going on?” he asked, pulling on his shirt and buttoning it clumsily in the dark. 

Cassian had moved over to the window, pulling the curtains back just a fraction and peering out into the woods. The light of the moon washed over his features—tense from whatever it was that had made him wake Elias. 

“Ethelred,” he said simply before letting the curtains fall back into place. He looked back at Elias. “Seems he’s sent some beasts after you. Makes me wonder just why he would go through so much trouble.” 

Elias wondered that as well. For the time being, however, that would have to wait. 

“What do we do now?” he asked once he was fully dressed. His hand hovered over the dagger hanging from his belt. 

Cassian took a moment to think of how best to answer. He glanced at the window, as if reminding himself of the danger outside before he let out a small sigh. 

“Wait inside. When you have a chance, make a run for it,” he said, sounding far too resigned. 

Elias followed as Cassian made his way to the door leading outside. He could faintly hear the sound of some beast prowling around outside, the grass rustling beneath them and an almost imperceptible growling cutting through the air. That was what Cassian was about to walk into. The problem was, Elias wasn’t sure why. 

“Wait,” he said, surprising himself as he reached out and grasped Cassian’s arm. The necromancer turned to him, a puzzled look on his face. “What about you?” Elias asked. If anything, Cassian seemed even more surprised at Elias even bothering to ask. As quickly as it appeared, the expression was wiped away, leaving only the blank look usually on Cassian’s face. 

“I’ll be fine. Ethelred doesn’t want me dead yet.” 

Yet. 

The word echoed in Elias’ mind as Cassian turned away and opened the door.