AfterMath (BOOK 1)

-TWELVE-

Burning here, in the room
Feeling that the walls are moving closer
Silent scene the dark takes me
Leads me to the ending of another day
I'm haunted

Tell me who you are. I am spellbound
You cannot have this control on me
Everywhere I go, I am spellbound
I will break the spell you put on me

Velvet drapes, glowing candles
Silent whispers of words inside of my head
The night that comes, it waits for me
Lift me to the ending of another day
I'm haunted

Tell me who you are. I am spellbound
You cannot have this control on me
Everywhere I go, I am spellbound
I will break the spell you put on me

Tell me who you are. I am spellbound
You cannot have this control over me
Everywhere I go, I am spellbound
I will break the spell you put on me

Everywhere I go, I am spellbound
Everywhere I go, I am spellbound
Everywhere I go, I am spellbound
I will break the spell you put on me

-Lacuna Coil-Spellbound-2009-

-JOEY-

After the temple was taken down, Clarice, Aerin, Eric, and I were pretty busy. Even though we got our identities back after Alice masterfully exposed CENTCOM for their war crimes-omitting the vampires and other monsters-I didn't want to go back home. I miss the States, but I didn't have a reason to stay there if I went back. The government has paid us all a ridiculous amount of money. I'm thinking of getting a place in San Francisco. I wouldn't have to hide who I am there.

We've been asked to collaborate with a secret branch of the CIA that also fights the supernatural. They were impressed with how we took CENTCOM down, but we knew the fight wasn't over. Seals are still being broken, and it's only a matter of time before Lucifer is freed unless we stop it. Eric and Clarice are going to use Caelus to help us track down Azazel and anyone else that we need to. This isn't how I expected to be promoted, especially after death, but here we are.

I've gotten to know Hunter in the past few weeks.  Like me, he's been put through hell for being different. Nick and Merwin hovered a bit until they went back to the States. Merwin and his wife returned home, but he said to call if we ever needed him. He retired to spend time with his family and admitted to needing time away from all of this. Nick still wanted to work for the Men of Letters, but he wanted to see his family and his cousins back home.

Nick's cousins returned from a diving trip that had gone wrong. Some of the things that Nick described sounded strange...our strange. I suggested that he look into it, as it may have to do with Azazel, and it would bring closure to his family. Nick decided to tell them the truth about the temple and the work we'll be doing. As it turns out, his family has been fighting the forces of evil for generations. They had hoped that Nick, Alex, and Brad wouldn't have been exposed to it so they could have a life away from it.

As for me, I've never been normal. I'm okay with that. I enjoyed waking up each morning, seeing my friends again, and researching. I'll always miss Rachel, but she wouldn't want me to waste the opportunities I've been given. I will make sure that no one else goes through what she did. That's how I'll honor the dead, as Jason puts it.