The Necrodancer

Epilogue- Cheating

Approx. thirteen months later.

Golden fire crackled warmly in the fireplace of the sitting room of the Vandiver household on a particularly chilly autumn night in early November. Jacques and Dahlia, Master and Madam Vandiver, were seated together on the sofa. Dahlia combed through her long, curly dark brown hair absentmindedly with one hand and played with her husband's straight, soft light brown hair on the back of his head with the other. Their child, Anja, sat on the carpet with Solomon and played a card game commonly known as Demon. The other servants were about in other parts of the mansion.

Jacques and Dahlia were uneasy. Solomon could easily tell; in his advanced years, he could read people very easily. Their stiff body language, jumpiness, shifting eyes, and lack of focus on anything said it all. He wasn't sure if they knew or not, but he knew everything about what they were going through with, what they were planning, and what, or who, they were expecting.

"HEY!" Anja shoved the long hair of her undercut away from her face as she shouted, laughing, "You're cheating!"

Solomon laughed heartily, instantly snapping out of the thoughts he had been indulging himself in whilst playing against Anja. "How, may I ask, my lady?"

"I saw you only draw two cards just now, not three!" she argued, huffing and crossing her arms over her chest.

Dahlia and Jacques chuckled heartily, trying to release some of their tension. "Indeed, I did," Solomon admitted as he laid his cards down. It had been an accident that he'd committed while he'd been less than focused, but he wouldn't tell her that. "You are very perceptive, Miss Anja."

Anja smiled. "Aw, I couldn't ever be mad at you." She looked at the time on the clock on the mantel. "Well," she stood gracefully, "I should be getting to bed... practice tomorrow and all." She walked over to the sofa and hugged both of her parents. "Goodnight, Mum." She kissed her mother's cheek. "Night, Dad." She kissed her father's cheek.

"Sweet dreams, Anja," Jacques sighed. Anja smiled before leaving the sitting room, a little spring in her step. Once the door closed, he shook his head, closing his tired golden brown eyes. "How long will it take, you think?"

Dahlia also shook her head as she stared into the fire with her aquamarine eyes. "I don't quite care as long as he, or she, gets here tonight."

Jacques and Dahlia knew that, when Jacques brother, Wilbur, died, the car crash was not an accident, but intentional, a cover up for a murder. They knew then that they were in danger, that someone was out for the Vandiver family, even before they themselves received a threatening phone call. They had to act quickly and do whatever they could to set in place protection for their only child because they feared that someone would soon make attempts on their lives.

The clock struck half past 23:00 when the doorbell suddenly rang. The two witches froze, staring into the fire.

Suddenly, they heard a knock on the doors into the sitting room. Damion peeked his head in, part of it illuminated by the candelabra he was holding. "Masters, we have a guest." The two stood and walked over. When they came out into the dark hall, another man was present. He wore a long black trench coat over a suit, certainly to keep himself warm in the bitter weather. He had medium length black hair, fair skin, and russet eyes with just a bit more red than brown in them. In the candlelight, he looked ghastly but warm at the same time, comforting but menacing.

"I beg pardon for the late hour at which I arrive," the man sighed as he stared at the two witches unwaveringly. As he spoke, his canine teeth were just a bit more visible than his others from under his top lip. "It is a long journey to here from... there, and I faced some trouble with others who tried to get here first."

"We are just... glad you're here." Dahlia chuckled nervously, her throat feeling as though it were closing up. "We weren't expecting... well, we didn't know how you'd look, what to be waiting for..."

"I came in the form I saw as most fitting for the occasion. I hope it is to your satisfaction." He whipped off his coat. "Now," he folded the coat smoothly over an arm, "how may I be of service?" He paused. "You said something about a daughter?"

"You won't be making the contract with her," Jacques informed him, "you will be making it with us."

"I see." He grinned, showing off all of his pristine white teeth. "Is she about?"

"She just retired for the night. You will meet her eventually." He looked the demon, who nodded understandingly, over. "What is your name?"

The demon bowed his head a little as he answered, "Carlisle Lomen," when he tilted his head back up, his eyes glowed violently of red violet, the pupils slitting, "at your service."

Damion looked at this man, who he knew would take his place if something horrible were to happen to the Vandiver's. "Shall I take you three to the study or to the office to conduct business?"

Jacques answered, "The study, please."

"Of course."

Carlisle followed behind the rest. "So, the contract... will bind me to her, but will be through the two of you?"

Dahlia nodded and looked back to see the demon grinning a little. "It's so that, if something were to happen to Jacques and I, she would be taken care of," she informed him, trying to keep her tone light.

Carlisle looked to Damion. "Is your current butler not capable?"

Damion sighed. "There is only so much I can do. Someone like you would be more suitable for the task."

The demon nodded. "I see. She is unaware of all that is going on?"

"You seem highly interested in our daughter," Jacques noted, sounding a bit protective.

Carlisle shrugged indifferently. "As I could be serving her eventually, I feel it is my duty to be." There was more to it than that, but they didn't need to know about his interest in their family, specifically Anja. Silence fell over the group. "If I may, I would like you to know that she will be in good hands."

"How so?" Dahlia wondered.

Carlisle smiled to himself. "I have never failed." They reached the study. Damion opened the door and smiled reassuringly at the two witches as they entered together. To the butler's surprise, Carlisle smiled back at him. He wasn't quite sure what was going on, as he didn't know that the visitor was a demon, or that they existed at all; all he knew was that this man was of an extreme caliber; he guessed that he was some sort of vigilante assassin that would be pretending to be a butler in the house when the time came. "Thank you for your service," the demon whispered with a big smile before the door of the study closed behind him.

Damion walked down the corridor, thinking deeply to himself, when Anja's door suddenly opened. The witch peeked out of the room with wet hair and wearing a nightgown. "Damion, who was that?" The butler walked over with a soft smile, watching how the candlelight glowed in her unique eyes. "He sounded strange. Do we know him?"

Damion shook his head. "No, madam. He is just a man doing some emergency business with your parents, is all," he answered. "You have nothing to worry about." He smiled wider. "You may rest peacefully."

Anja nodded, blinking tiredly. "All right." She patted Damion's shoulder comfortingly. "Goodnight, Damion," she murmured with a soft smile.

"Goodnight, Miss Anja." He smiled, even after the door closed.