Page 248 of Dark Souls

“There,” he said, his voice shaking with hatred. “That’s where she was standing. Watching. Over there.”

Casmira and I followed his gaze, staring at the empty space at the edge of the forest. The tension and fury that Ambroz was projecting made the air feel thick around us even though it was a fresh, crisp morning. When I glanced back at my brother’s face, he seemed to be in a trance-like state. It felt as though he thought by staring hard enough, he would cause the witch to reappear.

I walked over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder, pulling him back to the present. Blinking multiple times, he looked into my eyes with confusion until, finally; he swallowed and nodded. Pulling out the sharp-edged crystal Leif had given him to help us locate father’s bones, he placed it in my hand, and the three of us walked over to what used to be the front garden, trying to figure out the location where our father had been heartlessly murdered.

“It was here,” Ambroz said, staring down at the wild grass. I handed Casmira the briefcase containing mama’s bones and dropped to my knees. Running my fingers over the ground where my father’s body had been left to rot, a part of me hoped to find his bones right there. But I knew someone had moved his body because it wasn’t there in the days after the attack.

Holding the magic infused crystal against my palm, I glanced up at my siblings. “Ready?”

They both nodded and Casmira wrapped her hand around Ambroz’s bicep, leaning her head against his shoulder. I licked my lips and closed my eyes, sending a silent prayer to Veles.

Please. Please let his bones be here. This has to work.

I sliced the ragged edge of the crystal across my palm, digging it in until I saw my blood pooling around it. Then I swapped hands and did the same to the other, like Leif had instructed. Because I had fragments of my father’s blood from when I inherited his powers, Leif created a spell and syphoned it to the crystal so that my blood could call to my father’s bones if they were buried anywhere close by. I dropped the crystal on the grass and then dug, shoving my bloodied hands deep into the dirt. My head dropped between my shoulders and I closed my eyes, allowing my blood to soak into the ground. When a few minutes passed and nothing happened, I started to lose hope. I squeezed my eyes tighter and prayed harder.

Suddenly, the ground beneath us trembled. It wasn’t powerful like an earthquake but more subtle like an aftershock. My eyes snapped open and I glanced up at my siblings. They were both looking around, searching the ground for any sign with confused frowns.

“Did you feel that?” I asked, digging deeper into the soil, half-expecting to find the bones where I sat.

“Yes. Something happened,” Ambroz clarified I wasn’t going crazy. “But it felt distant. Like it travelled from the woods.”

I stood up and we all used our speed to race into the forest. We searched for any obvious signs but there was nothing. I sliced the crystal against my palm, reopening the already healing wound and dropped to my knees to try again. This time, the vibrations through the ground were stronger. We were closer.

“This way!” Ambroz shouted, racing to his left and weaving in a blur between the trees. Casmira and I followed until we reached him, standing still and staring down at the ground. My lips parted and Casmira gasped next to me.

“Is that a grave?” She choked and I gulped down my own emotions at the sight.

The magic had caused the earth to rise into an obvious fresh mound, but it was the once-deliberate arrangement of moss-covered stones that had partially collapsed, leaving a long-forgotten, uneven heap that seemed to sink into the ground that shocked us. Though time had taken its toll, it was still obvious that someone had once taken the care to create it. Tree roots had snaked around and through the stones, weaving them into a tangled embrace while wildflowers and weathered moss sprouted through the cracks. Although there was no headstone, carvings, or inscriptions, the simple beauty of the grave’s placement was a testament to its thoughtful creation.

Ambroz hunched over and started dragging the stones away, digging frantically at the mound of dirt until the first flash of white came into view. My heart thrummed wildly in my chest as Casmira and I joined him on our knees, brushing away the mud until more and more bones appeared. When the unattached skull with obvious demonic fangs showed, followed by the skeleton of one demonic wing, I fell back on my ass, staring and breathing hard. It was him. It was our father.

My dark soul shattered, fractured and rebuilt itself as I crumbled over into the grave, running my hands over his bones with tenderness. This was my final unresolved failure that haunted my consciousness. The relief and harmony that flooded through me was a feeling so alien that I almost didn’t recognise it. I felt Ilaria pouring her own feelings of love and happiness through our bond. She knew. We’d found him.

I stared down at the carefully placed bones of our parents, their skulls pressed together in a symbol of eternal love. The three of us stood back, staring down at their skeletons in the deep grave we had dug in the front garden of the cottage. Our father had built this cottage with his bare hands. It was his pride and joy and the place we had spent the longest time in as a family on the run. It felt only right that their ritual took place there.

We marked the outer edge of the grave with stones from the cottage; on each stone sat a small black candle we had brought along with us for the ceremony. We’d spent hours carving the demonic runes and symbols of our written oaths into each stone, which, along with the light from the candles, were used to summon the spirits of our ancestors to help guide our parents’ souls through the passage between the mortal world and the eternal. The flames flickered in the subtle breeze but never went out as Zoran placed a gold coin in each of their hollow eye sockets as their paying fare into the Underworld and then covered their skeletons with a cloth of black silk, leaving only their skulls on show as a mark of their mortal lives coming to an end. He leapt out of the grave and stood beside Hana, placing his arm around her shoulders as silent tears ran down her cheeks. I carefully climbed down into the grave next to give my offering of blood to seal their passage into the underworld with the gift of Veles’ infernal powers. I bit into my finger and wiped a vertical line down each of their foreheads before closing my eyes and giving eternal gratitude to the God of the Underworld.

Climbing out, I stood on the other side of Hana and placed my arm over Zoran’s, covering her shoulders. His hand found my shoulder and squeezed in silent support. He cleared his throat and started the incantation father had taught us as children in the ancient demonic language that we rarely ever used. He blessed our parents’ souls, expressed our loyalty and love for Veles and asked for acceptance in their journey to finding one another in their next life. Tears ran down my cheeks as I lowered my head in respect and closed my eyes.

We stood in silence for a short while and then Zoran and I moved to each side of the grave and covered their bones with dirt, burying them together at long last. None of us spoke until the final part of the ritual was complete and Zoran and I paused, our heavy breathing and Hana’s soft whimpers the only sound surrounding us. I glanced up, tears staining my cheeks and locked eyes with my brother. His own cheeks were damp as he placed his huge hand on top of the mound and I offered him a trembling smile. I had never seen my brother cry. Not once. I placed my hand on top of his on the mound and turned my head to Hana. She fell to her knees and leaned forwards, placing her own on top too.

And then the three of us recited the prayer again but in Serbian, feeling every word with the meaning it evoked. “Here we lay our parents to rest, Maksim Vlado Nezera, warrior of the night, firstborn son of Voldislavu, Veles’ chosen soldier, and Desa Nezera, pureblood vampire who gave her soul in worship to our maker. Beneath the watchful gaze of Veles, Keeper of the Underworld, we give our gratitude and unwavering loyalty for his blessing as their souls journey through the gates of mortality and find eternal peace within the solace of the realm beyond, where the rivers run black and the forest whispers their names in honour. May their souls be eternally yours.”

After a few moments, we all sat on the grass in silence, not knowing what to do next. It was done. We’d done everything we were supposed to do and now, we just had to pray that it was enough. That we weren’t too late.

Zoran couldn’t take the repressive weight of sadness any longer and sighed, turning his head to stare at the ruins. “I’m going to rebuild this place. Once I find that witch and kill her, I will come back here and rebuild the cottage.”

“To live in?” Hana gawked at him, unease in her eyes.

“Why not?” Zoran shrugged. I swallowed down my own complicated emotions as I stared between them. I worried Zoran was unable to let go of our past and this was just adding to that concern, but maybe this was his therapy. Maybe he needed to do this for himself.

Hana opened her mouth to speak and then thought better of it, closing it again as she wrapped her arms around her knees. She tried numerous times but never uttered a word until Zoran groaned, “Spit it out, Hana.”

“Who do you think buried our father?”

My eyes darted up to meet Zoran’s and a muscle in his jaw ticked as he held my gaze.

“I don’t know,” he grumbled, staring back down at the mound of earth. “Probably some passerby in the days after the attack.”

---