Vera takes one last look at herself in the mirror. Pale blonde wisps of hair escape her ponytail and sway near her collarbone. She looks a bit pale - she wasn't able to eat much that day. But some eyeliner, mascara and concealer over the puffiness of her eyes and she feels good about what she sees in the mirror.

She clenches and unclenches her fists a few times. Nerves skitter about in her stomach - whether that is about being alone in the forest in the evening with Davorin or about what she is going to attempt to do, she can't tell.

She grabs a black coat and wraps it around her shoulders. To avoid eyes following her around that evening, Vera picks up her car keys. With one last glance around, she locks her front door. She climbs into her old car and drives her way towards the outskirts of town. She stops her car outside a hardware store. From there she locks the door and begins the short walk towards the beautiful forest, only slightly marred by the recent fire.

The evening is cool, fingers of chill work their way up her spine. She shivers slightly. Her stomach is wringing with nerves. She breathes into her palms and rubs them together.

The forest is a deep green in the dull light of evening. Majestic, beautiful trees reach towards the heavens, shrouded in silver clouds, rimmed gently with the gold of the setting sun. Birds fly by, calling their last calls for the evening. Vera thinks about the last time she came here, how she had hopeful and tentative expectations, and how those had mushroomed into the mess she'd found herself in now. An excitement bubbles within her to know that someone more experienced will be there to guide the way. Something like that won't happen again.

She is almost at the hiker's entrance when she catches sight of Davorin. Butterflies tinkle through her stomach. He's facing the trees, hands in pockets, looking up into their vastness. He is in black pants and a black shirt, his hat missing from his head. This time the dark curls of his hair maintain their position where they are.

As her feet crunch on the gravel of the old road leading past the trees, he turns. Shaded green eyes catch hers, and in the dim light, Vera is almost sure she can see the corner of his lips turn up into a small smile.

'Hello, little thief,' he says. His hands are in his pockets.

'Hi,' Vera says. 'Let's get going, I don't want anyone to see me out here.'

He smirks. 'With me?'

'Especially not with you.' Vera smiles and begins down the forest path, weaving between the trees. She fiddles with the small flashlight in her pocket. Probably won't be needing that just yet. The path weaves through thick trees. The air is dense with moisture, birds murmur their final goodnights, and crickets are abuzz. She can hear the soft crunching of his boots behind her as they trail along.

'Where did you go last time?' he asks from behind her.

'I was where the fire was, as you know.'

'Show me.'

Vera veers along a small path to the right. The path becomes more stony, and a after a hundred meters, there in an acrid smell in the air. Scorched earth can be seen between the trees, and the density of the cover of the trees declines.

Vera stops and turns. Davorin is peering off into the thicket as he walks. He stops in front of her and looks down at her face.

'I went down there into the forest. Where the fire was, kind of.'

Davorin brushes past her into the trees. Vera sighs and follows.

'I was hoping to avoid this area, for obvious reasons.'

'Too bad,' he says over his shoulder.

The scorched earth comes into view, blackened by the low light. Green shoots of grass have not yet begun to sprout from the ground, but Vera is sure they will, over time. A strange sound emits from the right, Davorin pauses and gazes into the direction of the sound. Something strange flutters in his eyeliner. He walks towards it. Vera follows.

As they approach, they see the police tape.

'Davorin, please. I don't want to be here. It feels wrong.'

'This is where they found the shallow grave, I presume.' He continues past the tape. 

He inspects the area, circling it, peering at the ground carefully. He drops to his haunches, near a shallow hole in the ground.

'So weird that there aren't any of the usual signs of a struggle. No blood or a weapon. Just some strands of hair that nobody can place.' He pauses suddenly, hand to his chin, then stares up at Vera.

'You were just over there, didn't you see anything?'

'Did you bring me out here to interrogate me? No, I told you I don't know anything about what happened.'

Vera swivels on her heel and storms away. She doesn't hear any footsteps behind her, she tracks back towards where they had come from. The light is dimming more now, the path before her is harder to see. She almost trips, regains her footing, and carries on. Being back here has filled her with anxiety, and not the same kind of anxiety as she had felt before arriving. Something feels wrong and ... eerie here.

Davorin's footsteps catch up to hers. He takes her arm, stops her. 'Wait.'

'Davorin, I don't want to be here, please. Can we just go somewhere else?' Vera begins walking again.

'Stop.' He says, tugging her gently to a stop. She loses balance and falls softly against him. She regains her balance, and looks up to see him peering down at her with a curious expression.

'What exactly did you do last time? What did you do to cause a fire?'

'I tried what I usually do but with the stone.' Vera says quietly.

'You didn't incantate? Say any words? Read up on how to access this?' He pulls out the stone.

'No I just... I just asked it to help me.'

'Vera this...' he gestures back, 'this is not normal. This is not a normal reaction. I think.. I have suspicions about this.'

She frowns. 'What, that I actually wanted to kill someone?'

'No,' he says softly. 'No, I think you are much more powerful than you think.'

She scoffs. 'I am not powerful. I just didn't know what I was doing.'

He watches her intently for a few moments without saying anything. Then, 'Vera, do you know what a necromancer is?'

Her jaw drops. 'Of course I- No, this is crazy.' She takes a few steps backwards. 'We said this was about using the stone. If we aren't going to do that then I'd like to go.'

'Okay.' He takes her hand and pulls her swiftly along the path until they reach a clearing. It's easier to see here, without he cover of trees. 'If we try this and you don't see your sister we have agreed that this will be the last time.'

'Yes.

'And if something goes wrong again, will you be able to handle the harassment?'

'Yes. Well, I think so. I'ts not so bad anymore actually. He hasn't bothered me all week.'

'That makes sense given that you aren't the biggest headline anymore,' he smirks.

'I'm not a headline anymore, what do you mean?'

'You were the talk of the town after the fire, remember? But nobody is talking about that now since the boy died.'

'What boy? Who died?'

'Don't you read the news? Its been all over the place. That high-society boy who was sick. Bedi, I think.'

Vera becomes very still. She feels a chill drain her.

'Silas? Silas Ashford?' Vera feels the blood drain from her face. 

'Yes, so you did hear.'

'No.' Vera feels the chill pierce her, run down her spine, make her feet numb;  and then comes the rising of panic.

'I have to go,' she whispers.

'What do you mean? Are you alright?'

'No, I didn't know. I... I have to go, I have to go, right now.' Vera begins to stumble back to the forest path. She fumbles in her pocket for the flashlight, but her hands are shaking now, she drops it in the dark.

'Damn it,' she says, leaning down, fumbling on the ground.

Davorin leans down beside her. 'Hey, calm down. Here,' he reaches down, and finds the lamp first, clicking it on. The light is harsh and sudden in the peaceful dim of the evening around them. It strikes Vera face sharply. She gasps. Davorin's face is before hers.

'Calm down. Okay, okay, we'll head back. Did you know him?' Davorin's hands steady her.

Vera wobbles. 'Yes. I know him. I know his family.' She takes the flashlight gently and darts down the forest path. She can hear footstep behind her, but she doesn't look back. She doesn't look back along the rocky pathway, as it turns to sand. She doesn't look back as the trees thin out into the sidewalk, when she darts across the road without looking left or right. She doesn't look back when she finds her car keys, fumbles for the door or starts the engine. She doesn't even peer into her review mirror as the car darts from the parking lot, heading into the center of town.