Forlot - Books 1-3 {Completed}

Chapter Twenty-Five

"W-what?" I was filled with worry. Filled with confusion. "I...I do not understand."

"Perhaps I should change into the one thing that you have been terrified of for the past couple of days," Damian suggested. He chuckled.

Chuckled darkly.

Still holding me by the neck, he slowly changed. I watched as his skin turned from light to dark, and his clothes, hair, and glasses instantly vanished. He grew a few feet taller. His head could touch the ceiling!

Long, black spikes, about five or six, grew on his head. His hands turned from small and human to huge and black. The ends of his fingertips looked sharp. They could probably slice through anything.

He blinked, and his eyes went from human to red. Pure red.

I shook in horror.

Damian was a shadow, and this shadow was Oberious, leader of the Nerians.

Emperor King Oberious finished transforming - I hope - and stared down at me with his bright, red eyes. "Like what you see?" he asked.

"You...you are a shadow," I managed to choke out. "You are King Oberious."

"That is Emperor King Oberious to you. I have high standards."

"Why...why were you pretending to be Damian?" A terrible thought came into my mind. "Unless...unless you were Damian from the start. When my dad and I first came to Forlot."

"Oh, no. The real Damian is still on vacation. I took his place yesterday and today after he and his parents left on the weekend."

I breathed heavily. "So Paul was right."

"Stupid bus driver. I had to come up with something cunning. Otherwise, my plans would have been ruined, and you would be suspicious of me, Nigel."

"So...you made up that Damian's mom was in the hospital."

"But she really was not," Shade piped in. "Just as I suspected."

"Huh? Suspected?" I said.

"Although I was not on the bus at the time 'Damian' told everybody of the fib, I did have my suspicions," Shade explained. "While at the hospital, I overheard a group of students talking amongst themselves, saying how sorry they were for 'his' mother. I searched all over the building and even asked some doctors where Mrs. Dace was, but all of the doctors gave me the same answer." He glared at the enormous shadow. "A Mrs. Dace was not checked in. That is when I realized that something was up. I was going to tell you when you were at the hospital, Nigel, but 'Damian' was there." He looked at me. "That is why I came to your house. To warn you."

"But you are too late," Oberious said, smirking. "It is too late for Nigel Sanders."

"I...I..." I could not find the right words to say. "The dreams...Shade..."

"Shade was never in your dreams. That was my daughter. She entered your dreams and pretended to be Shade, so you would think that the innocent guy was the guilty guy."

I could feel sweat dripping from my palms. I had made a huge and terrible mistake.

I accused the wrong person.

"Shade," I called out. "I am sorry. The fans and I thought that you desired to kill me. The truth is, you were set up."

I heard Shade uttering a low growl. "Figures that I was framed," he stated.

"Enough of this," the shadow king interrupted. "Enough of the small talk. I have waited for this moment."

"Uh...what moment?" I asked, scared of what the answer might be.

"I am bringing you, Nigel, to Nerquina. The shadow realm."

"W-why?"

"To be rid of you. If I do not do so now, then you will only stand in the shadows' ways. My ways."

I was a bit confused. "Stand in the way? How can I be in the way? I am a scaredy-cat!"

"And you will remain a scaredy-cat forever. You will never know of your destiny."

Destiny?

"What do you mean? My destiny?"

He hoisted me off of the ground, and I coughed harder. "Goodbye, Nigel. It was fun playing with you."

"No!" Shade cried as he launched himself at the shadow.

The shadow king reacted quickly and punched him, and Shade landed on the ground and did not move.

"Shade!" I screamed.

Oberious hurried up the flight of stairs and towards the attic.

Crub! Not again!

He went up the attic stairs and looked at me, and then at the mirror. "It is time...for you...to die!"

I screamed again as he hurried over to the mirror and threw me in.