Thirteen

"What do you mean?" Egor and Duncan chorused.

They briefly looked at each other, exchanging hate glares.

"Follow me," she said, then took off, running in the direction of the woods.

They followed her till they arrived at a tree. It seemed to be tainted with blood that slowly dribbled down the rough back.

"A bleeding tree?" Egor inquired, and Hildegard rolled her eyes before shaking her head and going around the tree.

"This." Hilda pointed at a naked man who lay in a pool of blood with his tongue sticking out of his mouth.

Duncan frowned, thrown aback by the sight. The man's body looked pale like there wasn't a single ounce of blood in his veins. His eyes were rolled skyward, and they could see only his scleras, no iris.

"What happened to him?" Duncan asked with both his eyes narrowed at the white body. "Looks like his soul was sucked out or something."

"Yes," Hilda began, stooping down to place two fingers on his neck for a pulse, saying, "There's nothing, and this is not all."