Page 67 of How to Woo the Undead

“I’m aware of the undead sorcerer.” Marquis stood straight for once, finally locking eyes with Austin. “I’ve never been giventhis muchback talk from a mindless undead beast.”

“Hey,” Austin huffed, furrowing his brows. “It’s pronouncedhunk.”

Marquis’ left eye twitched. Austin smirked to himself. He tried to tug at his hands, ignoring the pain of divine magic that burned at his wrists.Damn; enchanted chains, good ones.He glanced at the acolyte who sank to their knees next to the pyre and tried to light a tiny stick. Even with a whispered spell, they could only manage smoke.

“Play your games, but you are merely only wasting what precious little time you have left pretending not to be scared of divine retribution, wretched thing.”

Austin snorted. “That’s where you’re wrong Markus.”

“Marquis.”

“Gesundheit.”

Marquis’ face scrunched up in fury as he lurched forward. Stopping mid cast, even Austin could see the man was in pain. His eyes widened and his fingers were spread wide, curved a little at the joints. Like a spider that was dying, all of him was starting to curl inward. Marquis slapped his chest. He coughed up globs of mud and a wasp flew out of his mouth. The acolyte yelped, racing from the pyre as the bug flew directly for him.

That’s…new.

“But you’re wrong, priest,” Austin continued, leveling his gaze on the man. Marquis swiped his lips with the back of his bump-riddled hand.Bug bites.Something stung and bit and shredded him. Austin almost felt sorry for him. “I’m not pretending. I am scared. Actually? I’m terrified.”

Marquis furrowed his brows, slinking backward till he was sat on one of the stone benches that circled his pyre.

“I’m terrified you’ll actually get this fire going,” Austin exhaled heavily. “That Hyacinth will come all this way here and I’ll be nothing but ash. That my family will arrive, hoping to be here in the nick of time, only to find embers. Because, you see, I was made to be the protector of my family. I was made to be the wall no one can get through, the barrier between the problem and my loved ones. And I thought there for a while I wasn’t doing a good job because we came up against some impossible things. I mean…who fights an eldritch god and wins?”

Marquis threw a leg over his other, folding his hands over his knees. “This is intended to what? Make me empathetic of your plight, heretic?”

“No,” Austin laughed, shaking his head. “I know your type.”

“Oh, please, do tell.” Marquis motioned with a flippant motion for him to continue. Only, when Austin opened his mouth to speak, Marquis started to cough. He slammed his fist against his chest, more damp soil falling out of his mouth in clumps. That time, a writhing worm dropped into his lap. He swatted it away.

Cursed? By who? Sabine?

Austin sighed, “Long ago, I ran into this village. They’d been visited by a pack of paladins. Sonmyr’s favorite warriors. They picked a fight with the local Old Fae, he was seen as somewhat of a minor god to the village.”

Marquis huffed, spitting out to the side. His saliva was stained brown, and Austin could see him trying to rid himself of clumps building up behind his teeth.

“Well, they decided to turn him into a giant pillar and attach all the villagers around him. Burned every last one of them.” Austin narrowed his eyes as Marquis’s gaze returned to the undead man’s face. “Except for one.”

“That was their mistake,” Marquis wheezed. He pounded his fist against his chest again, trying and failing to clear the infection. More clumps fell past his lips, and that time, he reached into his mouth. Tugging at something long and slender, he pulled out a wiry root. It was drenched in saliva and pale white except for the edges. The tip of each tendril of root was dripping crimson. He dropped it with a gasp.

It’s got to be Sabine, but it’s not working fast enough. I gotta keep him distracted. I can probably dislodge myself if I can keep him from lighting the fires for real.

“I thought so too!” Austin blurted out, making the cleric forget about the vine for a moment. “They left her there, marked by Sonmyr as some sort of lesson. But that was their downfall, because she found me. She wanted revenge. You know, I used to think it was a noble quest. To get revenge on your murdered loved ones. To slay those who cut down your village, no one would dare judge her for wanting something like that.”

Marquis’ body slouched a little. He nodded. “I just…I just wanted Janus back. He was an acolyte. He was still learning discipline.”

Gotcha.Austin clutched onto that empathetic tone and pressed into it hard. “Right? And it’s not his fault that he liked a pretty girl. I mean, Sabine was gorgeous.”

“Beautiful,” Marquis sighed dreamily, gaze drifting off. A great well of sadness filled his face as he whispered, “Janus was always a fool for a pretty face.”

Austin glanced around subtly, trying to find the acolyte and felt his heart skip a beat. The young man was lying flat beyond the courtyard ring of pillars. Just within the shadows of the actual temple, his robes flitted in a soft breeze.Oh, that’s not good.He jerked his attention back to Marquis, staring off into the distance.

“But, uh,” he blurted out, bringing them both back to the story. “She wouldn’t settle for anything less than blood. So, I helped her. I brought her to the paladins who were camped not too far away.”

Marquis’ eyes widened. “You brute.”

“Her village was burned at the stake!” Austin rolled his eyes. “They killed innocent children, for what? Because of an old man in the woods?”

Marquis squinted at Austin, his lips twisting into a soured expression.Damn. Too much. Too soon. Rein it in, Big Guy.