𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ✰ 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

caleb covington had never felt bad for anything in his life, death, or afterlife. it just wasn't in his nature. some people thought he was a sociopath. some people thought that he needed some serious therapy.

caleb just thought he was a businessman, and, even above that, a performer. he put on his perfect smile and charged a hundred dollars and did his tricks for thousands of cheering people, then did it again the next night.

he did that every day for years, traveling around 1920's america, doing daredevilish magical stunts, until, one day, it killed him.

so, caleb started over. he built a new magical empire, this time filled with ghosts, and charged an even higher price for entry. what caleb did before was dark. he performed tricks that almost killed him, and eventually did kill him. people left his shows with a funny feeling in their stomachs, glancing around every corner and hurrying past every dark alleyway.

the hollywood ghost club was a different story. it was the other side of darkness, the kind that hurt other people, not just caleb. he took advantage of other people's souls, took control of them, just for show. just to please the crowd with his showstopping tricks.

there was never a thought in his mind to stop. there had always been a devil on his right shoulder, but the angel that was supposed to occupy his left died of neglect decades ago. ever since then, the nagging in the back of his mind that told him that maybe, just maybe, what he was doing was wrong went silent. he just didn't care.

he was successful. powerful. a crowd pleaser. caleb covington was a showstopper and the show itself.

so, when a bunch of teenaged ghosts with superpowers unlike anything he'd seen showed up in his club, he was determined to make a deal with them. he needed them under his control.

caleb spotted their flaws and weaknesses immediately. that part was easy. luke couldn't exist without applause, without recognition. alex fell in love too easily and cared too deeply. reggie was fiercely loyal. he would follow his friends to the ends of the earth. charlotte was too protective, both of herself and her friends.

caleb knew she would do anything to protect her friends. the only thing he didn't count on was her escape. he didn't count on willie helping them. he didn't count on charlotte being as ruthless as she was.

but there she was, ripping up her contract into a million tiny pieces and teleporting away, leaving caleb right back where he started.

his only choice was to put her right back where she started. and maybe, then, through that boy from julie's school, he could get the boys back.

but it was really charlotte that he wanted. she was seriously powerful. even caleb didn't have telepathic abilities. he couldn't put out a protective shield like she did in their final battle. there was so much to unlock, yet charlotte didn't even know it. that's why caleb had to have her.