“Gina was my life,” George said “My wife. The most important person in the world to me.”
“Was?” Anna asked, sympathy in her voice.
He nods “We were walking towards the smithy. I had some of my farming tools that needed repairs. A rider galloped through, coming right for us. She shoved me out of the way, but couldn’t get herself out of the way in time. We brought her to the healer, but she didn’t wake up. The healer said she didn’t have long before she would be gone.”
George swallowed, trying to hold back tears.
“Take a moment,” Anna said “Do you need me to get you anything?”
“No,” George said, wiping his brow “I can continue.”
He straightened “A healer, or I suppose she might not have been a healer, in dark robes approached me that evening and offered me a choice. She would restore my wife, but I would need to provide a corpse every week in exchange for this gift. She agreed, and a few days later, my wife made a miraculous recovery. That evening, I found the truth of things. Though she moved, and seemed to breathe, her heart did not beat. It was clear she would only remain as she was as long as the person that had returned her to me willed it. I have been providing one animal corpse from my farm per week for the last two years, but I ran out two months ago without any way to recoup my losses. I’ve been stealing bodies from the local graveyard to pay the toll, up until last month when the guilt became too much. For the last month, I’ve been accosted by these servants of the Dark Master, demanding their payment.”
“What are you going to do?” Anna asked