Sepp appeared thoughtful the remainder of the day. That night as we huddled in the dark—a campfire was too risky—he speculated on whether he could unanimate the dead.

“I don’t think my powers will have any effect on them. There’s nothing there. Death is a threshold,” Sepp said. He made a grabbing motion with his right hand. “I can snatch a person just before they enter that threshold. Once they’ve crossed it, I know what pushed them through. But these…dead. There’s nothing to grab.”

“Can you freeze them?” I asked.

“Maybe.”

Not very comforting. “Then best to avoid them altogether.”

For the next four days, we dodged the dead and a few squads of living soldiers. The groups broadcasted their presence miles away. Their noise was loud to me, but Sepp didn’t hear them until they were almost on top of us.

On the fifth morning we slowed our pace as the forest thinned. Farm fields dominated the rolling landscape. A couple had been plowed, but winter wheat covered the rest. We kept away from the edges of the fields. Death Lilys tended to grow there, hoping to catch a farmer unaware.

“Not that I have to worry about Death Lilys,” Sepp said in his superior tone.

The tone I loathed. I considered ignoring him, but his knowledge, no matter the way it was imparted, could be vital to our mission. “Why not?”

“They don’t attack me. They recognize a kindred soul.”

“But you don’t take life. Wouldn’t Tohon be more compatible?”

Annoyance creased his large forehead. “I know death well, that is what they respond to. I’ve no idea if they’d go after Tohon or not.”

I debated if I should ask the next question, but I was too curious not to. “Have you…been in…communication with them?”

Sepp stared at me as if I had asked him to make friends with Tohon’s dead. “They don’t communicate. They grab and kill all but a few lucky souls.”

Which meant he’d never been inside one, or else he would have bragged about living through the experience. “What I meant was, can you pick out the Death Lilys among the Peace Lilys?”

“Yes. The Death Lilys smell…different.”

“How different?” Lilys emitted a strong scent of honey and lemon.

“Why do you want to know?” Sepp asked.

“Didn’t you ever think others could smell it, too?”

“No. I’d assumed it was due to my magic. Plus I have to be almost on top of it. Too close for another to risk.”

“Does it smell like death?”

“Morbid curiosity?” Sepp asked.

Not sure how much I should reveal, I hedged. “Before the plague, the Healer’s Guild had been trying to figure out why a healer couldn’t heal a person poisoned by the Death Lily’s toxin. As you can imagine, experimenting with the live plant is impossible.” Although they had managed to get the seeds.

“I remember. They asked me to assist. When I found out what they needed me for, I refused on the grounds that the Death Lilys are a natural part of our world. They cull the idiots who don’t have the sense to avoid them.”

As if it were that easy. I clamped down on a sarcastic retort. Sepp was one cold bastard. I had called Kerrick that, but even he wouldn’t agree with Sepp’s sentiment.

“In my opinion, the Healer’s Guild were delving into areas they shouldn’t,” Sepp said. “Performing experiments and calling it research, they kept pestering me to help.”

Made sense. His powers would have been a great benefit to the healers. Yet, he’d refused. While Tohon had worked with the healers when he had time.

Sepp continued despite my silence. “They were mucking about with things they should have left alone. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Guild had really started the plague by doing one of their experiments. And by the time they realized what they’d done, it was too late.”

His speculation touched on one of my worries. The map of the early plague victims appeared to prove his suspicions. Yet, I needed more evidence. Either that, or I was in denial.

When we reached another set of fields, instead of bypassing them, Sepp led us along their edge. No doubt he wanted to prove his claims about the Death Lilys. We passed a number of the huge flowers. None reacted, but their perfume filled the air. I wondered if a Death Lily would recognize me or attack me. The flowers were all linked through their roots. Perhaps I’d be safe.

Sepp stopped at the corner of the field. “Smell that?”

I inhaled. Honey and lemon dominated. Ignoring those scents, I focused on a slight spice in the mix. “Anise?”

“That’s what it is! I knew it was familiar, but couldn’t put a name to it.”

I scanned the area, counting four Lilys nearby. “But which one smells like anise?”

He turned this way and that, sniffing the air. Sepp pointed to a Lily to our left. “That is a Death Lily.” Striding up to the plant, he stood underneath the flower.

The cone-shaped bud quivered and moved away from Sepp.

“See? It’s afraid of me.”

Or didn’t like his scent. I moved closer, but he held his hands out. “Stop there or you’ll be dinner.”

A low rustle sounded. I halted.

“Let’s go before it tries to get you.” Sepp headed west.

I tripped when I stepped to follow. The Death Lily’s vines had curled around both my boots, which explained the rustling. Unable to break the Lily’s hold on my legs, I pulled my stiletto as it reeled me in. Sepp kept walking. I considered yelling for him, but didn’t. When I reached the base of the flower, the petals parted and covered me.

A thorn jabbed into my neck. I grunted. Last time the Lily had been gentle. This felt like impatience. As my mind and body separated, I relaxed. Instead of flowing along its roots and seeing beyond its petals, Tohon’s image loomed. Unpleasant feelings of fear, revulsion and loathing rolled through me followed by the urge to stop Tohon. To pull his roots from the earth. To fix the wrong.

When the Death Lily released me onto the ground, I held two small liquid-filled sacks. Orange in color, the outer hide didn’t break when I squeezed it. I had no idea what they were, or what they were for, but I knew it was important. Storing them in my knapsack, I mulled over the encounter as I searched for Sepp.

I caught up to him a short time later.

His gaze flickered to me. “What was the holdup?”

“My strap…I had to adjust it.”

“Next time let me know. Kerrick would be mad if something happened to you before we reached Tohon’s.”

I noted his use of the word before. “If I were you, I’d be more worried about Belen.”

“Belen doesn’t have any magic.”

“True, but he’s very protective and will tear your arms off if he thinks you’re responsible for hurting me.” I smiled at the vision.

Sepp pished. “One touch and he’d be frozen.”

As if Belen would let Sepp touch him. “If it makes you feel better, keep thinking that.” I wasn’t the only one in denial.

Even though we camped in the thickest section of the forest that night, we didn’t risk a fire. After eating a cold meal of jerky, we discussed Sepp’s hiding place. He needed to be close to Tohon’s castle so I could reach him, but not too close or else he would risk being caught.

“Speaking of being apprehended,” Sepp said, “you’ll have to be captured. You can’t just walk up to the front door. Tohon will suspect you had help getting through all his defenses.”

He was right. I had been thinking the same thing, but it irked me to no end that he had such a low opinion of my intelligence.

Two mornings later, we crested a small hill. A fair-size town filled the valley below us.

“I don’t relish camping out in woods filled with unfriendlies or hiding in some cave. That town is close to the castle. I’m thinking it would be a perfect place to blend in.”

“It would depend on the residents,” I said.

“What are you talking about?”

“In Estrid’s occupied Realms, the citizens who hadn’t embraced her religious beliefs and donned the red robes were scared of her. A stranger in town would attract attention and he would be reported to her priests.”