Part III

Marianne ran right to Sheuni's hut, arriving just moments after her father had barged in. She threw open the door to find her worst fear: Her father aiming a sword at her master. With her father as mad as he was, she knew one of them would die today.

"YOU!! You've been teaching my daughter necromancy, haven't you!? HAVEN'T YOU!?!?"

Sheunsi was calm. "You're Marianne's father, aren't you? She's a very bright pupil. My most promising yet. You should be proud of her."

"PROUD!? You've made her a monster!!" Marianne gasped at that. Her own father had called her a monster. The kind, loving dad form her childhood calling her something so cruel made her eyes well with tears.

"I assure you, she's no monster. Did you know she almost revived a bird yesterday?"

Marianne's father drew his sword. ''Prepare to die, heretic!!"

"There's no need to fight. We can discuss this, can't we?"

He swung his sword again and again. Sheunsi merely dodged, and continued trying to make him stop with words.

Marianne cried out "Please stop!!" Sheunsi looked over at her, giving her father the opportunity to plunge his sword into his chest. Marianne gasped as her master bled. Her father withdrew his sword and pointed it at her.

"He commited suicide! If anyone asks, he did this to himself, do you hear me?!" Marianne couldn't answer. Her father walked out the door, leaving the teacher and student. She knelt down and cradled his head.

"Master Sheunsi! You'll be alright, won't you?! You can't die, right?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Even a Puppet-Master like me isn't beyond ****'s reach. And right now, she's reaching for me."

"No..."

"Marianne, haven't I taught you anything? You know **** is inevitable. For everyone. No one is a powerful enough necromancer to save their own life, only those of others."

"I can save you!!"

"No, you can't. You're a good student, but I never taught you how to save a life from ****'s grip. And i'm glad I didn't. If you saved me now, your father would only kill me again and again untill we let him do it for good. Dying once is enough for me."

"Master, please, show me how! Once I save you, we can run away from here, and you can teach me somehwere where he can't find us!"

"No. There's no time anyway. If you want to learn how to save someone, find my friend Meajhun. He can take over. Farewel, Marianne Valengard." He breathed his last. Marianne stayed by his side for an hour, silently.