Page 91 of The Silent Mountain
Barbara hisses and screams, her hands tugging at her face, until she starts to peel off her skin.
“Goddess,” Alana mutters, turning her head away.
It’s a sickening sight. Battling back my queasiness, I feel another emotion coming forward: anger. It’s clearly not a hallucination. Something or someone has pretended to be Barbara, our friend and loyal clan member. I allow my anger to bubble to the surface, feeling how my dragon takes over and lunges forward, punching the person so hard that I knock them unconscious immediately. I don’t care what I break or how much I hurt them, I just want them to shut up.
“Well,” Erin mutters. “I was about to say a spell to knock her out, but that works.”
“Thank Aengus, it’s over,” Stefan mutters, grimacing slightly.
Erin steps forward, her eyes pinned to the person lying on the ground. Slowly, Barbara’s appearance changes, leaving behind a bony creature with long fingers, even longer toes, and greasy long hair. An unsettling and gross sight. Where there should be skin and muscle, there are just bones and rotten flesh.
“I can’t believe it,” Erin gapes, before she pulls out one of her potions and empties it on the creature. “This should bind it for now!”
“What in Aengus’ name is this monstrosity?” Theodor blurts out.
“A nachzehrer,” Erin says.
I pride myself on being well educated. Even in my years of captivity, I never stopped learning with Favia’s help, simply because I was so bored and scared to lose my mind from the loneliness. But I have never heard that name. Judging by the silence around me, no one has.
“And what’s that?” Cassie asks curiously. She seems to have forgotten her shock and steps closer now. In the process, she almost falls over the shards on the ground, but Theodor manages to grab her at the last moment. “Thank you,” she mutters before turning to Erin. “What’s a nachzehrer?”
“It’s a creature from the depths of the underworld,” Erin says. “Worse than the mare. There are many myths about them. Some say that they are living undead, rising from the corpses of the deceased, but in this case, Barbara has passed away, and her body was burned. It might be the lingering death in the air that attracted the creature. What I can say for sure, though, is that they are lesser creatures but very dangerous. They live off the deceased and suck out the life force of those who mourn them, until they die too.”
“It sounds very similar to the mare,” Alana mutters.
“In its core, it might sound similar, but it’s much more dangerous. It’s a revenant. They are said to haunt those in mourning and torture them day and night, through a telepathic connection, pushing them into madness. They make the living prone to diseases and dangerous illnesses. In fact, it’s actually said that they arrive when there have been deaths by unnatural causes.” She pauses. “Another proof that Barbara’s death was not a natural one, and her sickness wasn’t either.”
“Fantastic,” Stefan says. “So, what are we doing with it now? Do we need to keep it like the mare?”
“No, we destroy it,” Erin says shortly. “Nachzehrers are dead already, they are not living creatures anymore, and as long as they are around us, they will haunt and torment us. We need to get rid of it.”
“And how?” Alana asks.
“Do you have a gold coin, Your Highness?” Erin asks me.
“Of course.” I angle for it in my pocket and hand it to her.
“I will place it in its mouth and then behead it. Then, I will burn its remains,” she says. “It will not be a beautiful sight. The smell of its rotting flesh is truly sickening, even more so when we burn it.”
“Do… you… do you need help?” Cassie asks anxiously, clearly afraid of Erin’s answer.
“No, my dear, you go and tell Elio what happened,” she says.
“Thank you for making sure he stays behind,” I tell her, before turning to Alana and Theodor. “How about you both also leave,” I say.
“How about you all leave,” Stefan offers. “I was of no help in this case so far, and I feel like I owe it to Barbara and her legacy. She was my friend too, and I had high respect for her, yet I wasn’t even able to visit her on her sickbed.”
I am not sure if he is saying it to manipulate me into leaving and take this difficult task from me, or if he truly means it, but for once, I decide to let him win. I am too tired to fight him and to let my pride win. Also, I appreciate that he offers to help a witch of his own free will. “Please do so,” I say.
“I appreciate the help, Lord Stefan,” Erin says. “Just don’t touch the creature.”
“I was not about to do that,” Stefan grimaces. “Let’s do it, Erin, and get rid of it.”
“That’s our cue,” I say, putting my hand on Alana’s back and leading her out of the room. Cassie and Theodor follow me, with the first dashing away to meet Elio, while Theodor lingers behind. “I need to apologize once more, Your Highness,” he says sadly. “For my behavior and-“
“Please don’t mention it,” I say. “I was in that creature’s vicinity too, and I have a vague idea how you must have felt. Go home and get some rest or do something to relax your mind.”
He bows. “Thank you, my king,” he says, before turning to Alana. “My queen.”
