by Amber Flora
Epilogue
I watched as the memory of my mother played in my mind like a movie reel. She was holding a copious leather-bound book in her arms. It appeared to be ancient and she handled it with care as she placed it on a shelf behind her. Looking around the shaded room I saw shelves that held potions and magic books. I realized I knew where she was. I had seen that bookshelf before in Victoria’s shop. A noise startled her and she turned, searching for the cause.
“Darling, what are you doing in here?” a man’s voice asked from in the shadow of the room.
“I was just leaving a note. I’ll be along shortly.”
Her voice sounded strained, like she had been crying or possibly scared.
“Try not to take too long, time is of the essence.”
She nodded as the stranger stepped forward. He remained partially shielded by the darkness but something about him seemed so familiar. I searched my mind trying to figure out how I knew him, then it dawned on me. Damon! The man looked like Damon. The image disappeared and I was back to looking through my own eyes. What the hell just happened? Did my mother know Damon? Was it possible that he was right? That Deandra had wanted me with him all along? Nothing made sense. While the stranger had a lot of similarities I couldn’t be sure it was actually him. Regardless, I had to get to the bottom of my mother's memory. I needed to find out her connection with the shadow man and what she was doing with him in Victoria’s shop. I felt like she was trying to tell me something important, and my gut was saying that it all started with the mysterious book.
Herrick had no intentions of returning to Ashtyn. He knew he didn’t belong in her world and everyone would be better off if he just disappeared and let her move on with her life. He did however make her a promise that Damon would never harm her again and that was a promise he intended to keep. He first had find the son of a bitch, which was proving more difficult than he had anticipated. He went through his normal leads, even called in a few favors, hoping someone would point him in the right direction. What he did stumble across though was some pretty powerful knowledge, something he doubted even Damon knew. He decided to put his search for Damon on pause. Herrick knew Cody and Mac were already looking for him, it wasn’t like they had given up. He would leave it to the dreamwalkers for now. He had another mission at the moment, and if he determined what he found to be the truth it would lead him right back to Ashtyn.
Damon awoke in the makeshift hospital room that was set up for his recovery. Ashtyn had managed to inflict third-degree burns over half of his body. Even the healer he had brought in couldn’t restore him to his former glory. The attack would forever leave him disfigured. He was now what everyone had expected him to be: a monster. The first few days after the battle he fell in and out of consciousness. Once he was finally able to stay awake for longer than a couple hours without being in excruciating pain, he began to plot his revenge. Until now all he could think about was creating a child that would destroy the realms and annihilate all those who opposed him. At the moment all he wanted was to exterminate the high priestess’ daughter. He would find another half-blood to bear his child, Ashtyn couldn’t be the only one to produce a powerful impure. He never imagined he could despise dreamwalkers any more than he already had, but Ashtyn and her overzealous friends have proved him wrong. They not only managed to destroy plans that were twenty-eight years in the making, they took away his chance for happiness. He stupidly thought that over time she would come to love him that he could finally have a partner who would stand by his side. The only good thing that came from this whole experience was that the Credo now knew what he was. He took some of his best soldiers with him to the cottage, hoping he wouldn’t have to reveal his secret about being an impure, but Ashtyn was more powerful than he anticipated. He honestly didn’t know if the Credo would defend him once they discovered his true self, but they happily surprised him. Now that the cat was out of the bag and he was free to be himself without concern of them turning on him, he would be stronger than all the dreamwalkers combined. As soon as he was completely healed he would hunt down Herrick. Damon didn’t know what Ashtyn had offered him to get him to betray their agreement but exiling Herrick’s mother would be like a dream vacation compared with what he had in store for him. Once the traitor was eradicated he would then go after Cody and Mac. Maybe he’ll even make Herrick kill them to lessen his sentence. That would be a fun competition that he would enjoy watching. He would save Ashtyn for last. He would make her watch as all her allies disappear one by one. Then when she had no one to protect her and she felt alone in the world, he would end her miserable existence. He will force her to look at his disfigured face, the face she created, as he drained the life from her just like he did her mother.