The night was heavy with mist, the moonlight barely breaking through the thick clouds above. Lisa had always found the cemetery comforting in its eerie silence, its stone tombs standing like silent witnesses to time's passage. But tonight, it felt different. Tonight, the air was charged, as if something was stirring just beneath the surface.
She had told Liam she would meet him there. She hadn't wanted to stay close to him, not after everything that had happened. Not after the ritual and the dark forces that had stirred inside of her. She needed space, time to think, and the cemetery felt like the safest place to distance herself from him while still trying to make sense of what was happening.
Lisa stood by one of the old mausoleums, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she waited. The wind whispered through the tall trees, and the air tasted of earth and rain. She had barely noticed the tension in her shoulders before it had become unbearable, as if her body could sense something she couldn't yet fully comprehend.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a rustle, a distant footstep. She turned, her heart skipping a beat. Liam stepped out of the shadows, his eyes immediately locking with hers. A warm smile tugged at his lips, but there was a wariness behind his gaze—an understanding that things between them were no longer simple.
"Hey," he said softly, his voice carrying across the still night. "You wanted to meet here?"
Lisa nodded, her throat tight. "Yeah. I think we need to talk."
Liam approached cautiously, his steps slow, as if testing the ground beneath him. He stopped a few feet away, hesitating. Lisa wasn't sure if it was her cold demeanor or something deeper that kept him at arm's length. Either way, she couldn't bring herself to take a step closer. Not yet.
"About what happened before?" Liam asked, his voice tentative. "The necromancer's influence on me? And how we're going to stop this?"
"Yes," Lisa replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "I think I've figured out part of what we need to do... But there's a problem."
Liam frowned. "What kind of problem?"
"The necromancer's power is stronger than I realized. Every time I try to do something—every time I try to protect you—it only makes things worse. I think... I think I need to cut myself off from you. From everything."
Liam's expression faltered, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Lisa, what are you talking about? You can't just—"
"I have to," she interrupted, shaking her head. "I can't let you keep getting pulled into this. I can't let you get hurt, and I can't put the town at risk. I... I'm not sure what else I can do."
A moment of silence passed between them, thick with unsaid words and unasked questions. Liam opened his mouth, but before he could speak, a faint flicker of movement caught Lisa's eye from the shadows. Her breath hitched, and she felt a cold prickle run up her spine.
Someone was watching them.
Lisa turned her head sharply, scanning the cemetery. The fog seemed to thicken, but there was something else—an unnatural stillness. She couldn't pinpoint it, but it felt wrong. Very wrong.
"Liam, we're not alone," Lisa whispered, her pulse quickening. "We need to leave, now."
But before she could react further, a sharp gust of wind swept through the cemetery, swirling around them. The air grew colder, and the ground beneath their feet seemed to shift.
Liam stiffened beside her, his face pale as the air began to crackle with dark energy. Lisa's heart stopped. She had seen this before—the moment when the necromancer took control.
"Liam, no!" she cried out, reaching for him, but it was too late.
Liam's body jerked violently, his eyes glowing with an eerie, unnatural light. His mouth twisted into a sneer that wasn't his own, and the ground around him seemed to pulse with a dark, malevolent force. A blast of black energy shot out from him, crackling through the air and splintering the nearby gravestones.
Lisa stumbled backward, her heart hammering in her chest. The power was overwhelming, and for a moment, she feared that it might consume him entirely.
"Liam, fight it!" she shouted, struggling to remain steady. But Liam's expression was vacant, his body twitching as the necromancer's presence tightened its grip on him.
Then, as quickly as it had come, the dark energy dissipated. Liam collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, the unnatural light in his eyes fading as quickly as it had appeared. He blinked up at Lisa, disoriented, his chest heaving as he struggled to regain control.
"Lisa," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "What happened?"
Before she could answer, a voice rang out from the darkness, cutting through the night like a knife.
"I knew it."
Lisa spun around, her eyes widening in shock. Jake stepped into the clearing, his face twisted with suspicion and anger. Behind him, a small group of townspeople appeared from the shadows, their faces filled with fear and uncertainty.
"You brought this evil into our town," Jake continued, his voice trembling with both accusation and fear. "You've been protecting him, haven't you? You've been hiding the truth from us all."
"Jake, you don't understand," Lisa said, taking a step forward, her hands outstretched. "Please, you have to trust me. The necromancer is controlling him. He's not—"
"No!" Jake interrupted, stepping closer, his eyes flashing. "I've seen enough. This is exactly what I warned everyone about. You've been lying to us, and now we're all in danger."
Lisa's heart sank. The townspeople stood behind Jake, their faces a mix of fear and anger. They had been fed lies, and now, they were convinced that the threat they had feared was real. They weren't listening to reason—they were scared, and fear had already set its claws deep into their hearts.
"We don't want to be controlled by this evil," one of the townspeople shouted, her voice trembling. "We won't let it destroy our town."
Jake's eyes locked onto Lisa. "You've given us no choice."
Before Lisa could respond, a shout pierced the air—a sound of fury and desperation—and the crowd surged forward, closing in on them.
"Stay back!" Lisa shouted, but it was too late. The townspeople had made up their minds, their fear and anger clouding their judgment. In their eyes, Lisa was no longer the girl they had known; she was the enemy.
The chapter ends with the crowd advancing, their voices rising in a chorus of anger and fear, while Lisa, helpless, looks at Liam, who can barely stand beside her.