The estate was large, and the house -- set far back beyond the fields -- was grand. A little ways off, a dirt road traced its way from the main road, through the fields and to the house. Laina sighed and started walking. Behind her, Raven sighed even more loudly and followed.
"Do we really have to do this?" asked Raven. "Necromancy is so boring."
"Is it?" asked Laina, curious. She still wasn't certain why Raven had decided to come with her, what the girl actually wanted, or how much of what she presented to the world was genuine and how much was pretense.
"Real death is better," Raven said. "Real death is final."
"Well, get ready," Laina told her. Several of the zombies and skeletons around them -- all carefully dressed as ordinary peasant farm-workers -- had straightened and turned to face them. "Real death may be coming after us."
Raven looked around as they moved in, then lifted a hand. "Oh, please," she said, and Laina felt the power gather and move out from her, carrying a vague sense of affront. One of the zombies collapsed; the rest shambled away. "Boring."
Laina chuckled and continued down the road.
More farmhands -- zombies and skeletons all -- turned and approached them, and this time Raven's gesture didn't turn them all away. "Someone," Laina observed, "doesn't want company." Then she moved among their attackers, slashing with the knife, angling to make sure her attacks didn't slide empty between unclad bones. Behind her, Raven had sighed, pulled out a morning star, and made good use of it. Those of their attackers that remained went down.
"I kind of want to meet whoever's doing this," said Raven, and Laina nodded. She did too. The way to the house was clear now, so she strode ahead.
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