<h2>Chapter 50</h2>


    I burned all of the zombies, including Darren’s body.


    It was a waste, but I couldn’t bring myself to butcher Sera or Max. The people hadn’t said anything to me about it. In fact, Jax was the only person who was willing to talk to me or Val. Her marks and talk of there being a rebellion had terrified most people. The little interaction we had in town had been done with barely seeing anyone.


    It had taken me a while to burn away all the blood on the wall from our fight, but once I was done, I’d gone outside with Val and we’d lit the pile of zombies on fire. Now we were both standing outside the city, watching the flames slowly die down.


    “What are you going to do now?” The older woman looked over at me.


    I didn’t really need to think about it. I still had a mission to finish. I was going to do it and go back to the council. There might be something they could do to help me. If not, then they could at least make sure I didn’t go crazy and start making nests. The world didn’t need any more of that.


    “I’m going to finish the route.” I looked to the east where the next town was.


    “Oh.” She swallowed as she looked at the city wall, then at the almost burnt up pyre.


    “You could go with me.” I had been trying all day to find the right way to ask her to join me.


    “What will happen to me?”


    I could hear the mix of emotions in her voice. There were far too many for me to pick them all out, but I knew that she needed hope, just like I would like.


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    “If you stay here?” I looked back at the town.


    She nodded. “Or if I go with you…” her voice trailed off.


    “Best case? The next Bokor Master that comes through will arrest you and take you back to the island for illegally becoming a Bokor. The Council would decide whether to train you or execute you.”


    She nodded. “And if I go with you?”


    “We finish the mission and hope that it shows the Council that we are worth sending us out on more missions.”


    “And if they don’t?”


    “Same fate.” I shrugged. “I’d much rather try to prove my worth if I have a chance.” I looked out at the open land. It seemed larger and smaller somehow.


    “What if we ran?” Val looked south. “We could get a ship in Port Town and go to the islands, or one of the other continents.”


    I shook my head. “Once Max and I don’t show up, they’ll send out a team to track us down if we’re still alive. And this will be their first stop.” I shook my head when I read the next question she was going to ask. “Even if I don’t go with you, once I show up without Max, they’ll send a team here to verify what happened.” I jerked my thumb back towards Pline, “Do you think everyone in there is going to keep your secret?”


    The redhead glared at me with her gray eyes, “You make it sound like I don’t have a choice.”


    I shrugged, “It’s the least bad option that I see.”


    She looked like she was about to cry.


    “We’ve got a month before that happens.” I had no idea how to make her feel better. “Don’t think about that. Let’s just focus on today and get ready for that.”


    Val looked back at me. “What are we getting ready for?”


    I thought for a moment. I had no idea what we were going to run into next. The idea excited me. There was so much beyond the walls of the cities to explore. Now that we had ascended, there was no reason to fear the zombies. I would be able to see everything in a new way.


    “For an adventure.”