"Ye' better finish me off now, boy. I will never stop huntin' ye'. Never." Crowsblood said.
James left the torso where it lay and made his way to the exit of Carnival City. There he found Luna waiting for him by the wrought iron gates. Tears ran down her pale face, like the moon itself was leaking. She convinced Elyse to let her go. She had to see what happened to James; she couldn't believe what was transpiring in Carnival City. But there stood a monstrous James, leaving Crowsblood in a messy heap. The young succubus raised her Assblaster and steadied the barrel on the monster's face, a face that looked like a midworld boy, but it wasn't James anymore—it wasn't the man she was developing feelings for. Luna's finger brushed against the trigger, but the monster's eyes locked with hers. No words could describe how she felt at that moment. Her arms felt weak, and Luna lowered her gun.
James studied his hand, a horrible visage of pain and misery. He had no idea who he was anymore, too many secrets. The words of the Bogeyman echoed in his mind. You are the monster we all fear. A force of destruction and death. A devourer. Deathless. But that wasn't him. James wasn't Deathless; he was James Beasley. But he couldn't explain the thing that lurked inside of him. Doubt spread its malignant tendrils in James's heart. Who was the Bogeyman, really? What was his game in all of this? Crowsblood. Had James really committed such heinous acts in a life he's long forgotten? It was all too much. James needed answers, and he wasn't going to find them with the underfolk he considered his friends.
Luna choked on her words when James walked past her without a second glance. This was no longer the man she knew. What was this thing that vanished from her sight? Luna desperately wanted to take one last look at the simple man who changed her world. But he wasn't so simple anymore, was he? Her eyes were trapped ahead of her, lost in her own mind, unsure of how to act.
When Luna built up the courage to turn around, James was gone, a mere shadow in the backdrop of a terrifying expanse.
YOU ARE READING
Ghosts in the Pumpkin Soup
FantasyWhat happens when a college dropout accidentally opens up the portal to HELL in his soup? Shenanigans of course! Now, James must team up with a flamboyant scarecrow, a jaded witch, an overzealous knight, and a virgin succubus to lock away what he's...
