It wasn’t until Betty and I cleared the trees and reached open farmland and valleys when my nerves caused me to tremble. Fortunately, it was around 1 AM, and we still had a few hours before the early risers tended to their livestock and chores.

As we neared 2 AM, we made it atop a hill. I could see the dark, blocky buildings of Lostonia on the horizon and the wooden port with docks stretching out like fingers on the water. It was strange how I knew I had to go to the dock furthest to the left. To do that, Betty and I still had to sneak through the town, but it was asleep for the most part, except for the Silver Army knights required to patrol the streets all evening.

When I looked over to the right side off in the distance, I saw the house Uncle Leopold used to own. It was nothing more than a block of shadow in the night, and still, it was too much to handle. Thoughts of walking by crossed my mind, but I knew it would haunt me.

Did they even give him a grave in the Lostonia cemetery?

Just as my eyes brimmed with tears, I focused back on the task at hand.

I prayed Betty and I would come away unseen, but it was a risky stealth mission Betty and I were about to undertake. The large, rectangular two-story houses would provide us adequate shelter as we darted in between the smoothed-over stone streets. It was a famous port town with many exclusive jobs that paid relatively well. Even without Betty, I stuck out like a sore thumb with my poor man’s rags.

I rubbed the side of her neck when I felt mentally prepared, and she sprinted ahead. Entering the city, we ran underneath the canopies where they had their open-air markets that welcomed travelers. We snuck down an alley as soon as the Silver Army guards meandered in our direction. Against the wall, Betty ducked down and became a statue as I held my breath.

Turning my neck around, I faced the street from the alley. I could see two guards stopping right at the end. Fortunately, there was a canopy and a large oak table giving us some cover. The twinkle from their silver-plated armor caught my attention, and I could see the red Lavarund flag painted around the arm.

“I love the Silver Army and King Mozer, but I can’t help but feel bored out of my wits in this town night after night,” one of the guards said with a sigh.

“Just be thankful you’re stationed in Lostonia. This is a destination post. I’m sure people over in Orbavue would love to trade places with you,” the other replied.

“I’d just like some action for once. The highlight of the last two years was being called back to the castle and defending it from that wench Akara.”

“Why can’t you just enjoy where you’re at? This town’s at peace. You’ve won the Silver Army lottery. Just drink some mead on the job like me, makes it go quick.” The guard chuckled.

“Preposterous! What if we had an intruder? Must have a sober mind.”

“Easy there, youngin’; booze gives me some confidence. And I don’t get drunk, just a nice buzz. It’s hardly a crime.”

My stomach curdled into a hardened pit, and my adrenaline flowed as I imagined sicking Betty on both of them. While she feasted, I’d whip up a bone-crushing curse, only castable by experts, which I couldn’t dare to do, but in my rage-fueled daydream, I could. Yet, would that really do anything for me?

Betty nudged my shoulder.

“What is it?” I whispered, turning around, and then my heart sank.

There was an amber glow coming from the window next to us. Betty tiptoed closer to it.

“Are you crazy!” I scolded in a whisper. “Stop right now! I command you to cease! Halt! Dammit, Betty!” I peeked through the window. A translucent curtain obscured our view, enough for us to be unseen.

There was a girl at a desk, no more than ten years old. She sat next to the soft glow of her lantern with the bones of a small animal sprawled in front of her. She was uttering something as she brought up a knife from underneath the desk. The blade’s tip glowed a blinding white. As she pierced her hand, blood spilled on the remains. She smiled as the bones transformed from dirt-stained to bleach white. They assembled together magnetically, forming a ferret, which she hugged as soon as it tilted its curious head at her.

A thump hit the wall, and the girl panicked. She blew out the light in the lantern, and then I could hear the faint sounds of her scrambling to bed.

I was shaken to my core. Her disappointment was infectious.

Oh, how I wanted to break in and rescue that girl and bring her to where she’d have a promising future in Nezura, and then she’d—

Betty turned her neck to me, hanging her head. Her look conveyed the message, “We should get going.”

I leaned forward, and Betty tiptoed down the alley, making our way to the left of the city. Slipping down the paths, we didn’t have any more close calls. A few Silver Army guards patrolled further away on the other side of Lostonia, but we weren’t near any of them. I was riding high on good fortune. Just as we reached the end of town, we had a clean break at the docks, but Betty rooted herself to the ground as we stood behind a two-story house.

“Come on, come on!” I whispered.

Betty wrapped her tail around my mouth.

Betty! Is this some kind of joke or prank? How come—

“I swear, I thought I heard some conspicuous tapping,” said a Silver Army guard from the other side of the main street.

“Let’s do an alley sweep,” another guard suggested.

I gulped as sweat formed on my brow.

“What’s the point? I don’t want my shift going over. You’re always so paranoid, Reginald,” the other guard complained.

“Well, I suppose I’ll start on one since—”

“Go ahead and waste your time. C’mon, when’s the last time we’ve had any trouble?”

The other guard incoherently grumbled, and their armor plates clinked together as they walked away.

Betty unraveled her tail around my mouth.

“Phew,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry if I doubted you earlier.” I chuckled like a madman that just had his life saved. “Betty knows best, that’s for sure!”

Betty made a go for it, with me still riding on her bony back, and we arrived at the wooden docks. We headed left and stopped at the edge, gazing out into the smooth, black, and glassy lake stretching to infinity. The star-littered sky reflected onto the expansive aquatic mirror. To my left, I saw a white cylinder float up through the water like a hot knife through butter, hardly making a splash.

A skeleton wearing a large, round hat made of sturdy ivory looked at me. “Hello. You must be Maximilian. Get in,” he said, unenthused and disinterested.

“That’s correct, uh, how were you summoned? How did you know I would arrive?” I asked.

“Do you really care?” he said with a bored tone.

I flinched, surprised by his response. “Yes, I do. I’m trying to understand how to become a better necromancer.”

“Yeah, but do you really care that much for me to bore you with all the minor details? Which, in turn, would force me to talk to you further?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to twist your arm, just curious about—”

“Will you just get in this boat already?” he asked.

“But I don’t even know your name.”

“Get. In,” he stated.

“Okay, sorry, but how will I get my—”

Betty bunny-hopped into the boat, landing without a sound. I was still saddled on Betty’s back, taking a moment to collect my thoughts. Sliding off her, I sat down cross-legged in the ivory boat while Betty curled up like a dog.

“Thank you.” The skeleton sighed as the boat glided along the water and cut through the calm sea. “The name’s Carl, if you absolutely have an undying curiosity to know.”

“Nice to meet you, Carl. I’m Maxi—”

“Yes, we’ve already established who you are.”

I wanted to inquire further about the magic used to summon him, but I didn’t want to deal with his snarky attitude. I hadn’t interacted with too many freestanding skeletons, but the ones I had met were much friendlier.

As our boat skated across the sea, only the stars and the moon lit up our path, until I noticed something twinkling on the left of the horizon.

“Carl, I hate to be a bother, but what’s happening over there?” I said.

“Don’t know, don’t care.” He stared ahead.

“It almost looks like a ship?” I squinted and leaned my head forward.

Carl sighed. “We can get a closer look.” The boat took a diagonal turn.

As we came closer, Carl jerked the boat forward. “This is as far as I’ll take you.”

“It’s probably best that way.” My jaw dropped as my blood ran cold. “That’s a Silver Navy ship!”

“Great. Keep your voice down.”

“I wonder why it’s not moving?”

“Ya ever hear the expression curiosity killed the cat? Geez-Louise, you ask a lot of questions.” Carl groaned.

Betty shot her head up as if she heard an explosion, but it was utterly silent on the waters. She stared at the massive silver ship and then scrambled to the tiny boat’s opposite side, trembling.

“What’s the matter?” I started petting Betty on the side of her body. Looking back towards the ship in the distance, I saw the crew hauling something up from the water. It was a giant net carrying a massive pile of sharp white objects. “What could that be?”

“I think it’s a bunch of skeletal remains,” Carl noted.

“How come Betty’s so afraid? Do you sense anything coming from there?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it, that’s for sure,” Carl said.

“Should we move closer over there?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I shouldn’t have changed the path in the first place. We’re heading straight towards Akara’s house now, and that’s final.”

“Sorry, Carl.”

He didn’t reply, but we did steer back to our original route. I tried to relax Betty, but she wouldn’t stop shaking. Even wrapping my arms around her and petting her head couldn’t alleviate her stress.

The sun was poking out from the horizon, haze appeared over the water out of nowhere, and I couldn’t see anything in front of me for a few seconds. Then the fog disappeared in the blink of an eye, and we were in front of a tiny island I didn’t see earlier. The island had a few palm trees on the edges and a rounded stone house with circular windows in the center—a friendly, inviting home.

The boat came up to the shore and stopped abruptly. Betty ceased quivering, and the two of us stepped in the shallow water of the beach.

“Thank you, Carl.”

Carl nodded and kept glancing at me and back at the water. “Look, I’m really sorry about being rude to you earlier. Forgive me. It’s just in my curmudgeon nature.”

“I understand, I guess.” I shrugged.

“And you’ve learned a valuable lesson, not all skeletons are summoned the same.” Akara stepped forward.

I didn’t even hear her approach.

“Hello, Akara.” Carl waved.

“Thank you for bringing my guest. You’re relieved of your post; have a good day,” Akara said.

“Thank you.” Carl bowed and sank into the water, out of sight.

“I’m glad you made it.” Akara pulled me in for a hug, a warmth that reminded me of Uncle Leopold.

“I can’t believe I’m here in front of you; it feels like a dream. The Akara has asked me to be here!” I cracked up. “I’m in her secret island home! This is insane!”

She smiled at me.

“I was a loser, well, still am, but you asked—”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough. Don’t view yourself like that, and I’m not going to coddle you. No negative attitudes or this won’t end well, believe me.” Akara glared.

“Understand.” I straightened my posture as if she were an admiral.

Akara took notice of Betty and walked over to cradle her head.

“What happened to her? Why is she upset?” Akara said.

“Oh, uh, yeah, it was the strangest thing. We were gliding through the water on our boat when we passed a Silver Navy ship lugging a massive pile of bones.”

Akara’s eyes widened. “Was it a large pile of little bones or gigantic bones?”

“Gigantic bones, I believe. But we were kinda far away, so it was tough to say for sure.”

“The Zevolra.” Akara—the necromancer’s fiercest warrior and leader that had ever existed—had the look of genuine horror on her face. “They found it already.”