Epilogue I

  (Johny DiVoratore)

  Johny paced the unseasonably cold marble hallways. Today was one of those days where his whole body awoke with a chill, something that he had not been affected by ever since his Skills first began to truly manifest as a necromancer. Ever since that day, the cold never held any power over him, which only made today’s chill even more sinister.

  He found himself pacing the halls, looking for leaks, an open window, a broken wall, anything that could explain the stinging cold that permeated deep into his bones. There was also the fact that he had never quite felt at home here in the DiVoratore estate, which was odd as the estate layout and designs were almost identical to the layout of his birth home, the Bloom estate. Aside from being at the far end of the city, towards the encroaching wastelands, nothing truly seemed to be different. Yet, he still felt uneasy, like he was constantly being watched.

  Adding to his paranoia was the fact that the other family members would know things about him. Things that he did or didn’t do within the confines of his room. Take for instance the fact that they found he was a prize fighter, such knowledge should have been hidden. The only tell he had, was that his form fitting uniform, the one that was crafted for him and cost him his first match’s winnings was placed under his bed in a secret compartment that he found.

  His new foster mother made no claims of even feeling ashamed about spying on him. Instead, she merely informed Johny of her knowledge by being blatantly honest about her spying, “so you are an arena fighter?”

  That was it, the first real conversation he had with her and it happened within hours of his being at the house. That was when she and a few others followed him to his match.

  At first, he thought it was great, as it showed they cared about him and his hobbies. Yet, something was off, they never looked at him, not even during his match. Instead, they just seemed to be glancing around the arena for what purpose he could not tell. It wasn’t until he stared at the foreign dignitary section that Johny realized she might be trying to curry favor with the exporting of good? But that didn’t make too much sense as there were no products that the DiVoratore could export. They were ghost hunters and killers, a niche role if ever there was one, as often killing off lingering spirits was the last thing needed to truly cleans an area of corruption. A feat that the DiVoratore could do easily, but if that was the case, then why was their backyard slowly eroding away by the wasting?

  It made no sense.

  Sitting in his room, the same room that apparently once held Catarine, he just stared. Taking a deep breath, he tried to breathe in her scent, but got nothing. It was as if she had somehow removed every traces of her from this very room. Yet even being in here, he now found himself wearing his heaviest coat. Do these people even believe in starting a fire for warmth? He thought to himself as he patted his arms and felt like he would nearly freeze to death by the impending cold.

  Thump.

  “In here?” A sickeningly sweet voice called out, after something bumped into his door. Something short and stocky, based on the position where the sound originated.

  “Oh, this is that room,” Mother DiVoratore spoke from outside, clearly walking with the person who was walking her dog in the manor, that is if it was a dog at all? Something told Johny that it wasn’t a dog. That or if it was a dog, it was the scariest dog he had ever seen.

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  “Hello son,” Mother DiVoratore called out, knocking twice before entering. There she was the picture of cold elegance, and the mother who clearly gave her looks and noble bearing to Catarine. Opening the door, she waltzed in, moving sideways, so that her guest, a person that Johny had never heard the voice of before came in.

  “Hello?” Was all Johny could get out as he soon found his small room flooded with people. As his foster mother came in, followed by a woman who could almost be her twin had it not been for a few distinct differences, like her cheeks being slightly thinner, and the fact that she clearly wore the dark purple blazer of the Necrotin family.

  Chills.

  Seeing her, Johny paused as fright took hold of his body and mind. It had been one thing to talk a good game, to pretend that he was not frightened of the Necrotins to his friends and fellow classmates. It was now an entirely different thing to see one walk into his room like she owned the place. As she walked in, her dog also followed her, but that dog was different. Dark black and seemed to have a long shadow constantly coating it, even while backlit from the lights in the hallway.

  “This was her room?” The stranger asked, the one that could almost be an older and colder version of Johny’s foster mother.

  “It is, or rather, it was,” Mother DiVoratore stated.

  “Very good, go see if you can find her,” the stranger stated, beckoning her dog forward to enter his room. For a moment Johny wanted to protest, but then he saw the dog moved. Even the way the dog walked on the floor was odd, it wasn’t until the dog was fully inside his room that he saw what looked to be a bony human hand appear from underneath the darkness. But before Johny could focus too much on the odd movements of the beast, a conversation started.

  “And who is the boy?” the stranger asked, pointing towards Johny who was still on his bed. Even as he watched the odd creature sniff the ground. Only now that it was closer could he see the way the bones were bound by darkness and were clearly the outline of a human body. A human body that was only pretending to crawl on the ground like a monster.

  “This is our foster exchange from the Blooms. A fully awakened Bloom bloodline holder, with a deep affinity for Spirit magic,” Mother DiVoratore preened excitedly.

  “Oh, this is the exchange?” The stranger stated getting suddenly excited as she came over to inspect Johny closely.

  Chills.

  Something deep inside Johny’s mind told him to be wary of this person, that this person was no good. That’s when the deep aching cold that had been in his bones all day suddenly surged to life, causing ripples of goose flesh to form on his body.

  “Oh, he’s even afraid of me, but still willing to stare me in the eyes,” the stranger stated as she looked back to Mother DiVoratore, before staring directly into Johny’s eyes.

  “He is also the fighter that I spoke about, his next battle is tonight,” Mother DiVoratore added. Once again, Johny was reminded of the night she came to his fight, two nights ago on Thursday night after class. At the time he was thankful that someone supported him actually fighting, and didn’t look disappointed by the fact that he wouldn’t cut it as a ring side healer. Before he could get too lost in the memories of that night and how his foster mother’s actions seemed off the whole time, the stranger acted.

  “Very good, he will do,” the stranger stated, as she snapped her fingers in the air above her head. The same way one would do to a dog. Seeing her reaction, Johny looked into her eyes and saw that she was staring across the room at the not-a-dog that had gotten into the dark corner of his room. The one by the far end of his bed. There he looked at the creature and was suddenly frightened by the fact that he saw two brightly burning green flames for eyes staring back at the stranger. Then as if noticing his presence it turned to lock gazes with Johny for a moment, before lowering its head and disappearing.

  Johny watched as the creature just disappeared into the shadow. At the same time Johny felt an odd weight on his body, as if his soul had suddenly gotten slightly heavier. He stared at the area for a moment, even leaning forward to check the corner, only to find that the giant beast was gone.

  “Get your rest, today is Saturday. Sleep in as much as you want, we will come and get you with plenty of time before your match later tonight,” Mother DiVoratore stated.

  With that she and the stranger both left. Johny waited, trying to see when the giant beast would come from the corner, or from under his bed to follow the duo, but nothing.

  Only after they closed the door, did Johny do something he hadn’t done since he was a scared little kid. He checked under his bed for a monster. Just like when he was a child no monster was there, but unlike when he was a child, he didn’t feel better after the revelation.

  With that, Johny sat upright in his bed, that deep seated chill that had been slowing him down all day was now gone. Sadly, it did little to improve his mood, or help him take the nice sounding nap that would normally be readily accepted.

  With his knees pressed tightly to his chest, Johny stared off into the distance of the room, trying to see if he could somehow find where the giant monster wreathed in shadows went.

  Had he imagined it? That was the only question that helped him relax slightly, even though he knew he had seen that creature and its glowing green eyes directly.

  Normally, I force myself to take a two week break between books, but I have opted to avoid that this time as I want to keep the momentum of this story going and gaining more followers. Next Chapter Wednesday December 31st, 2025.

  See you all then.

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