Nighttime was nearing as the group continued with their search. They saw more of the walking corpses, meandering about like normal citizens, as they reached the town square. Michael found it odd that none of them were possessed by evil spirits. Perhaps this place was inhabited only by those who decided to stay and reunite with their friends and family. Some were ashamed of their grisly appearance and turned their tails when approached. The necromancer tried talking to the ghosts, and to his surprise, one of them was willing to cooperate.

“Nothin’s been the same since Christopher Kane disappeared,” the ghostly figure said. His clothes were modern enough to suggest he had passed away in recent years. “He was the owner of the only hotel in Ophir. You’ve probably seen all the missing person posters plastered on the bus stops. Not that any of us miss him. If he were dead, I would be the first one to boast about the fact, you can count on that. But you see, the day he was last heard of was the day we saw the first corpse spring to life.”

“Is there anyone still working at the hotel?”

“I can’t tell. If you ask me, this place should have been out of business for a long time. Nobody comes here.”

“Can you give us the location?”

There was a path leading deeper into the forest. Across the bridge, behind the oak trees, stood a three-story-tall building covered in ivy leaves. A faint yellow light shone through the windows on the first floor.

Hunched over at the reception was a young fellow, playing games on his phone, glued to the screen as if his life depended on it. He only took notice of the newcomers once he was shrouded in their shadow and swiftly hid his device as if he were caught using it in class. A white band covered his forehead, leading them to believe he had suffered an injury.

“Oh, hi there,” the boy greeted them with a smile, exposing his braces. He fixed the curls on his hazel brown hair once he took notice of Nami, whose dark eyes and gloomy look he found deeply endearing. “I’m sorry for seeming distracted. We rarely have guests around here. Do you have a reservation? “His eyes once again traced back at the young woman. “It’s okay if you don’t. All of our rooms are empty anyway.”

Michael explained why they were here, asking if he could speak with an adult.

“I haven’t seen my uncle in ages. He left us here alone with my little sister just in case someone decided to stop by. “The boy extended his arm for a handshake. His skin was rough for someone his age, which Michael took as a sign he was no stranger to physical labour. “My name is Oliver, by the way. I can give you a discount if you decide to book a room, so long as you promise not to tell my uncle, of course.”“Thank you for your kind offer,” said the exorcist.

He was exhausted by the whole day of walking around and asking the same questions, and had already started to regret his missed chances at alliance with the huntress. At the very least, they would have one more head to think, though according to the necromancer, it would be a half-empty one.

They were each handed an old brass key with their room number. The hotelier couldn’t help but pick up on the fact that Andrzej shared the same room with the girl he took a liking to.

“Is he your boyfriend?” He asked her bluntly, trying to look cool.

“We’re cousins,” Andrzej cut in without giving her the chance to speak. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“I was talking to her,” Oliver continued without shifting his gaze from his newfound love interest. “You can always come to me when you get bored with him. I have board games and beer. Non-alcoholic ones, of course.” Nami headed upstairs. She didn’t as much as take notice of the boy’s existence. “I guess she doesn’t like board games.”

“Give it a rest, kid; you can get her in trouble if she miraculously decides to go on a date with you.”

“Excuse me, sir, I’m eighteen. An official adult in the eyes of the law.”

“Yet you cannot buy alcohol in this country. They let you drive a car at sixteen, yet consider you too immature to buy a bottle of beer. Ironic, isn’t it?” Andrzej reached into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes. “Mind if I smoke here?”

“Only if you share.”

The necromancer rolled his eyes, handing him one.

“What happened to your head, kid? Did you fall off your bike or something?”

“Oh, this? “Oliver rubbed his forehead. “I tripped and rolled down the stairs like a barrel while I was swiping the floors earlier. Nothing serious, I got some bandages and wrapped them up to stop the bleeding.”

“Drank too much of those non-alcoholic beers, huh? Mind if I take a look?”

The boy stepped back, as if he was weirded out, suddenly becoming defensive as he traced the bandages with his fingers.

“No, why? Are you a doctor or something?”

“Sixth year in medical school. Let me see, you might get an infection if the wound isn’t treated properly.”

“Uh, no thanks. I’ll be fine.”

“Where exactly did you hit it?”

“Hey, I don’t ask you about your scars, do I?”

“Have it your way then.” Andrzej shrugged, getting tired of speaking with the brat. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing more of his self-inflicted cuts, bruises, and burn marks, after which he extinguished the end of his cigarette into his forearm. “At least I didn’t have to lie about where mine came from.”

***

Nami stood patiently on her knees as she watched the bathtub being filled with water. The cold ceramic tiles bit into her skin as she waited. The thin black dress she wore did nothing to protect her from the freezing sensation, nor did the chills going down her spine when she felt the icy droplets splash against her. She could already anticipate what her punishment would be and, for the first time since she began serving the necromancer, pleaded with him to reconsider.

“Remember this next time you allow yourself the liberty of ignoring my words,” her master said sternly, without lifting his eyes from the stream. “You realize you could have gotten yourself killed? I cannot afford you to show such disobedience ever again. How many times do I have to tell you? I cannot bring you back to life a second time.”

“I know, master. I’ll act accordingly from now on. I promise you, I’ve learned my lesson.” Her eyes began filling with tears

“Promises aren’t good enough, and you know it. I’m doing this for your own sake.”

Her heart dropped to her knees when he turned off the tap. A sinking feeling formed in her gut, spreading fast throughout her entire body as she felt his grip on the back of her neck. She knew she was strong enough to fight back. She knew she could resist every time he punished her, to overwhelm him, to run away and tell him to get lost as she should have done from the start, but they both were both aware that she wouldn’t. He could get away with anything. Nearly anything.

Andrzej shoved her head into the water until it was fully submerged. He then proceeded to count to ten, slowly, and loudly enough for her to hear how much she had left before being granted the privilege to breathe again. Towards the end, he could hardly keep her down for any longer. It took all of his strength to make it all the way to ten. Once freed from her watery prison, Nami jerked her body back, getting as far away from the bathtub as possible. Heaving, trembling, and terrified, she held her knees close to her pale face. Her expression resembled a soldier caught in the trenches of war without a weapon. With her blue lips, she mouthed, stuttering: “I h-h-hate you”.

Confused and concerned, her master walked up to her, kneeling to meet her eye level.

“What’s wrong with you? You’ve never reacted this way before.” An answer didn’t follow, and he didn’t need one, for the realization was soon about to hit him. “Oh, no. Ja pierdole, this can’t be.” He felt a tug at his heart, being washed with shame and rue.” It reminds you of the way you died.” A vigorous nod confirmed his statement.

Nami had never seen her master so angry at himself before. It was as if he was about to crumble under the guilt, the way he grabbed his face in remorse, though many would argue, he was unable to register such an emotion. He kept swearing in his own language as he walked in circles like he was under a trance. On occasion, he would switch to English, repeating the phrase “I really crossed a line this time.” He stood still at last before heading to the bathtub and kneeling. His last words before dunking his own head into the water were: “Count to a hundred.”

Dumbfounded by the scene, his servant obeyed without thinking. By the time she reached eighty, she was overtaken by the fear that he would drown. When she saw him loosening his grip over the edges, she took it as a sure sign he had lost consciousness and rushed to pull him out. He resisted.

On the hundredth second, he emerged from the water, gasping for air.

“Master!” Nami shouted in distress.

“It’s alright,” he reassured her before mustering the strength to stand on his feet and walk off as if it were just another Tuesday for him. His servant collected herself and followed him shortly after.

Unbeknownst to either of them, the jinn’s hearing was strong enough to hear everything from the room opposite theirs. Its ears were sharper than a cat’s. It had little knowledge about the new world it found itself in, though even it knew that this kind of relationship and behavior was more than unorthodox.

“These two are as peculiar as they come. I have no patience for their shenanigans,” said the jinn. “We must force the necromancer to do the ritual instead of dancing to his fiddle. Say the word, and I’ll drag him here at once. I can rip off his legs if you’d like, so he has no means of running away. He doesn’t need them to conduct his sorcery.”

Michael was past the point of getting disturbed by its words.

“I’d rather not have this deviant on my bad side,” he said as he continued to wipe his glasses. A task he had been occupied with for the past twenty minutes, just so he wouldn’t have to look at his dead wife’s empty sockets.

“I would suggest killing him, but that would undo the necromancy. How about paralysis?”

“Tempting, but I’m not a fan of your rather sadistic approach. I don’t think Maria would be either,” he moved on to sharpening his exorcist’s knife. “Besides, solving this case can only be in our favor. The Order is short on staff as it is. It might take us a year to get to the bottom of this without the help of a sorcerer.”

“There is another way to do things quicker if you’d like.”

“You’re not going to trick me into using my last wish.”

The jinn smiled as if it were playing a game. It was well aware of the fact that the exorcist wouldn’t dream of revealing his wish before getting his spouse back. God knew where it would take off, once it was free. Seeing this thing reside inside her skin only fueled his ambition to move as planned. Patience was key to achieving his goal. He was reckless once with his decision, and now he paid the price by sharing the same space with that human-sized calamity.

“Believe me, I despise that man with every ounce of my being. When our deal is over, I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt another woman until the day he draws his last breath, but for now, we should be grateful to have him on our side. Who knows, one day he might be able to rid himself of this perversion. There are a few things I can’t wrap my head around, however.”

“I admit. His benevolence towards humanity is unbefitting of a magician. Perhaps he had spent enough time in this world to see you as his equals.”

“Not only that. The woman working for him, what reason does she have to keep her loyalty? He must have cast a spell on her.”

“It’s not a spell, “the jinn snickered, taking a step closer. “Come on, Michael, you couldn’t possibly be this oblivious. What do you think the reason is? What compels you, humans, the most?”

“Don’t tell me she’s in love with him,” Michael scowled, looking up at his partner’s devious grin. He hated to see his wife’s face twisted into such an eerie expression.

“Madly in love.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m not blind, Michael. Despite my lack of physical eyes, I could see clear as day when a woman is enamored with a man. I thought your deduction skills would pick up on something so bafflingly obvious.”

“It doesn’t make any sense.”

“He’s good-looking, isn’t he?”

“He mistreats her constantly. I know she’s intelligent enough to seek more than just appearance in a partner.”

“Love is irrational. Wouldn’t you agree? “The jinn taunted him. “It might make us do crazy things. Joining forces with people you loathe. Going on dangerous missions in unfamiliar places. Dooming your wife’s soul to an eternity of nothingness because you can’t bear to continue existing without her.”

“You knew?”

“You’re surprised?”

Of course, it knew. Michael was certain the being couldn’t care less about what happened to its host once it was done using her, whether or not she lived or died, or was bound to a state of purgatory until the end of time. He remembered the necromancer’s words. About how he was doing research to find a way to reverse the process. He could only hope he was telling the truth, and even then, what wouldn’t he do to get his beloved back? Her absence was driving him mad to the point he couldn’t recognize himself anymore.

The light coming from the nightstand flickered, taking him out of his cogitation. There was again this terrifying sensation surrounding him like a tremendous tide closing in. Something evil was lurking. He heard footsteps coming from the hallway. Their number grew by the second, as if people were spawning out of thin air. A knock on the door commanded his attention. It became louder and louder, and after an excruciatingly slow minute, it shifted into a banging.

The evil was coming for them.