(This book doesn't seem to understand that Coming Soon means to not bother Theory for a bit >.>) 

"We had warned you, boy. Yet you blatantly disregarded what we kept telling you." The older man rasped as he stepped forward, making Daiya carefully back up against the wall of the carriage. 

The vehicle was surprisingly big, with all but one small bench seat taken out of it, but there was only so much room to begin with. The ceiling seemed to have been raised, too, allowing for just enough space to stand, but dodging any attacks wouldn't be easy... especially with his poor eyesight. 

"I don't know why master Fin decided to take you, and quite frankly, if it wouldn't cost me my current life, I would throw you off this carriage this second. He's acting a fool trying to bend the rules, but there's nothing I can do now that you're here." 

So you're dead, too? 

When the man continued toward him, Daiya bit his lower lip and narrowed his eyes as he did his best to match him step for step. He wasn't really trying to avoid him as much as he was trying to get used to his blurry movements. His father had made sure to get him trained for self defense, especially considering his terrible eyesight if he managed to lose his spectacles, but he needed a few moments to learn his opponents basic movements before he could stand a chance. 

"Sorry for this, lad. Perhaps you'll die swiftly by my hand and not have to suffer at master Fin's keep." The man said right before he lurched forward. 

Daiya ducked the oncoming punch as he moved to the left, eyes widening and narrowing to try and help him judge distance better. 

The next attack hit him, but just barely. It hurt shockingly bad, though, almost like getting slapped with a heavy sack of mud. He stumbled to the floor, but knew better than to lie there and wait for the pain to dissipate. Daiya scrambled back to his feet quickly, just in time to run out of range of a kick that would have definitely done some horrible damage to his lower torso.

"It's obvious you can't see for nothing, so I commend you're ability to dodge. I know I'm not as good a fighter as I used to be when I was alive, but I can still pack a good wallop." The man said. 

Daiya had to agree. The man hit unrealistically hard. 

He dodged two more strikes and yanked on the door that Fin had locked, but it didn't budge. 

"Don't let yourself get distracted, lad." The man said from right behind him. 

He had. The punch that hit his left shoulder as he tried to duck away sent him straight into the wall, then to the floor as his right hand swung around to grab the damaged area. The bones felt broken, but he forced himself not to dwell on the injury and staggered to his feet right as he felt the front of the carriage jerk up, knocking him right back to the floor with a pained cry. 

"Ah, that was a fast ride." The man said before a crack of lightning struck somewhere nearby, making both of them jump. 

Not a few seconds later there came the sound of heavy rain hammering down on the top of the carriage. Daiya watched the man stare upward, but when he didn't return his attention to him, he slowly started trying to stand. 

The carriage was rocking slightly, and if Daiya had to guess, they were somehow on water now. No water was coming in from beneath the door, however, so he didn't let his mind wander with curiosity. 

Since the man still seemed distracted, he ran back to the door and, with his good arm, tried to yank it open again. He continuously looked over his shoulder as he worked, praying that the door would somehow unlock. 

"If you just stand still, your suffering could be over that much sooner." The man said as he slowly lowered his attention from the ceiling of the carriage back to him. "You are just prolonging the inevitable." 

And you aren't? You are already dead. 

Granted, he had no real proof that the man was no longer living, but demons weren't unheard of. People called them by many different names, though all of them were considered demonic undead. 

Many times throughout history people would get resurrected one way or another, but in most cases, they just became raving lunatics and couldn't really think for themselves, let alone function among humans. Those types of demons were generally called zombies and were subdued and burned as quickly as possible. 

Banshees and wraiths were the next step up. They could think, to a point, but are rarely literally seen and tended to just disappear on their own without much intervention from people. 

Vampires are now considered far more dangerous than previously thought. New research had come out with information about their mental capabilities somehow exceeding a large percentage of the human population. It was once thought that they strictly fed on blood, but after several were captured over the past ten years and dissected, it was discovered that their diet is not restricted to simply liquids. They actually eat nearly the entire human body over an extended period of time, if given the chance. The reason for doing so is still shrouded in mystery. 

Among those who are high enough in function to be classified as vampires, there is one more possible category of undead, but it is so rare that one had never been captured for study, and only three have ever been written into history. The necromancers...

An abrupt punch to his gut made Daiya drop to his knees, his stomach losing whatever he had managed to pick at during his dinner with his university friends. 

"Good lad. A few more hits like that and you'll be out like a light, then I'll take care of you nice and painless-like." The man said as he knelt down and lifted his fist in the air to strike again. 

Spitting out a mixture of vomit and blood, Daiya shakily lifted his head enough to look at the blurry man before him. "But he said not to kill me." He half-whimpered, feeling like he was about to pass out right then and there. 

"No lad, he said to hurt you, not to let you live. You are a bit sturdier than I had previously thought, but master Fin doesn't make mistakes when giving orders. He wants you hurt, and until  he comes in here to stop me himself, that's what I'll do. He cares not if it ends a life, only that it continues until he declares that it should cease." He said as he lowered his hand.

Daiya's already-pained heart sank in his chest at the man's words. 

"I keep pointing out that this is your fault, but don't take it to heart, lad. You two seem to have known each other before he passed, but this Finnegan is not the one that you knew. Most of us have made deals with the lord high above for a chance to return, but Fin made the darkest deal one can procure. He didn't barter with god, but with the devil beneath our feet. He's not only undead, but can raise and control them, too."

Daiya had never heard of a demon being able to do such a thing, and his confusion must have shown on his face, because the man slowly shook his head and sighed. 

"Close your eyes, boy. I'll do my best to knock you out with one more blow." He said as he leaned back and lifted his fist again. 

Instead of trying to dodge, because honestly, Daiya was close to passing out without the extra hit, he reluctantly let his eyes close... most of the way. What remained of his vision was a little tiny slit as he straightened against the door jamb, feeling it press against his right shoulder-blade. 

"That's a smart lad. I'll be quick about it." 

He was, too. Daiya barely had time to register the movement before he had to react. His ear got clipped by a ring the man was wearing over his glove and he could feel blood immediately begin to run from it, but he stayed focused, ducking just enough so that the his fist punched through the door right at the level where the lock should be. 

Before the man could realize his plan, Daiya rolled onto his back and kicked at the door as hard as he could manage. It jerked on its hinges and the bottom portion opened, giving him enough motivation to pull his legs back and kick one last time. 

The door slammed open, hitting the side of the carriage as it hung from one hinge, loosely swaying in the strong winds of the rainstorm. Daiya struggled to get onto his knees and get outside to avoid the next hit that was surely coming, but a loud yelp had his head jerking up to look back at the man. 

Why is he cowering against the wall? 

Turning his dampening head back toward the storm outside, Daiya glanced up, noting that it was definitely night time. There were many stars shining down through the rain, which was a bit odd since there didn't seem to be any clouds, but he didn't bother worrying about such a trivial thing as he glanced back at the man. 

It's not day time, so he shouldn't have any trouble moving about. 

Granted, not all undead had trouble with light, just the less cognitive ones seemed to. 

He's definitely not a banshee or wraith... and his movements aren't too sluggish. 

It was odd to think that the man could be a high functioning zombie, but the only other option was a vampire. Neither of which should have trouble going outside at night. He thought for a moment longer as he carefully climbed down from the carriage, not minding the water quickly seeping into his blood-stained clothing. 

When he had managed to crawl a good ways away, he fell down onto his back and inhaled deeply. As he took stock of his body, he could feel his broken shoulder aching to the same beat as the left side of his belly. 

Probably cracked or broke a lower rib, too. 

Closing his good eye, as the other had swollen shut, he let himself be swayed by the boat as it bobbed along. He had seen no others outside during his unimpressive crawl toward where he now lay by the railing. It was odd to think that no one was steering the vessel, but he had no interest in returning to the carriage that sat parked behind the other he had seen that evening a few meters away. The horses were gone, but they were another mystery he didn't have the interest to solve. 

This is quite a fine mess you've gotten yourself into, Daiya. He told himself with a half-hearted smile as he listened to the rain still coming down hard in a musical thrum against the ship's wooden surface. 

Wait a moment...

Tilting his head slightly, Daiya let his good eye peek open to look upon the portion of railing near where his feet lay. 

I swear I hear chirping.

With such bad sight, he'd rarely ever seen what a real bird looked like up close, but Daiya had learned many of their different sounds growing up, and was absolutely sure that he could hear a little finch singing to him. 

This is absurd. There cannot be a finch on a boat in the middle of such rough waters, and during a storm, at that. And I would surely not be able to hear it over such a loud downpour. 

Yet, when he narrowed his eye just so, the faint blurry image of a small grey bird appeared on the wooden railing. 

I'm seeing and hearing things... I must be. He thought as the bird's song grew louder in his ears, even though the storm seemed to increase in intensity at the same time. 

He was just about to let his head rest back on the worn deck boards when the crack of a gunshot broke through the storm's noise. Daiya's one good eye widened as the bird suddenly burst into a rain of feathers, the bullet surely having hit the poor animal. 

How could someone shoot such an innocent creature? 

Grinding his teeth together to try and push through the pain in his body, Daiya slowly forced himself to sit up. He could see a few feathers scattered about on the deck, but it seems like most of the poor thing was blown overboard from the shot or washed into the water by the rain...

Wait. 

Looking up, Daiya felt his heartbeat stutter in his chest as he realized that the rain was quickly stopping. He'd never seen such a strong storm end so quickly, but soon there was no more than a droplet or two tapping against his hair every few minutes. 

He turned his attention to the carriage he had come out of and wasn't surprised to see the man who had attacked him waiting in the doorway. 

He'll come drag me back the second it stops drizzling. 

The stress of the idea, the damage his body had already taken, and the chill of the cold rain made him begin to shake. The dots he'd managed to ignore for the past few minutes flared behind his eye, blurring his already-terrible vision. 

The rain has stopped. 

As if on cue, the man leaped from the carriage and started running toward him. At the same time, Daiya felt his one supporting arm give out, dropping him painfully back down to the soaked planks beneath him. 

His eye refused to leave the blurry image of the oncoming man... until something black thumped down right in front of his nose. 

Is that a boot? 

He hadn't noticed anyone else approaching, but then again, his mind was barely functioning right then. Before he could even try to turn his head and see who it was, a large, dark blanket was dropped over him. It was probably the heaviest fabric he'd ever felt, but when hands slid beneath his legs and back and slowly lifted him up against a firm chest, he suddenly felt the slightest bit safe. 

"Master Fin, I apologize, he slipped away from me during the storm." 

Daiya knew that the voice belonged to the man that had beaten him, and after a few moments of hazy thinking, he realized that he was now being carried somewhere in Fin's arms. He suddenly wasn't sure if he was being saved or just being taken to his doom, but his mind didn't seem to care either way any longer. It began to shut down, but right before he lost consciousness, Daiya could have sworn that he heard the finch he'd seen get killed, start singing again. The sound of thunder quickly began to follow along, almost as if the bird were somehow summoning the storm to return.