Forlot: Forgotten Forest - Book Eight {Completed}

Chapter Thirty-Six

My mouth dropped open. So did Collin's. Our bottom jaws would have hit the ground if it were possible.

"You...are the missing boys," I managed to choke out. "The ones who went missing and were never found."

"That is correct," Garcia said. "David and I were actually telling our own story."

"But...I do not understand."

"You probably have lots of questions to ask us," David stated. "Do not worry. We came prepared."

"Yes, but...I do not know where to start." The two plots and confusion made my head ache. "Oh..."

Collin wrapped an arm around me and held me close to him. "You told us that you accidentally found the missing boys' skeletons," he recalled. "Or was that a white lie?"

David shook his head. "That was not a complete lie. The part about the skeletons belonging to the missing boys - us - is false. We did, however, really stumbled into two real skeletons that used to belong to two children. Two kids who unfortunately wandered into Forgotten Forest, and because they were trespassing, the wizard killed them."

"That is horrible!" I exclaimed angrily. Tears formed in my eyes, and I tried holding them back. "You said..." I rubbed my eyes. "...that Sinosum was the wizard whom you met."

"You got that right, young one," Garcia said. "Sinosum is the wizard, and this is his home."

Sinosum. Where have I heard that name?
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Just then, a man walked over to us. He was very old. He had long, white hair and a long, white beard. He wore a white and gray robe and gray socks with brown sandals. His face was wrinkly, and he was holding a long, brown staff in his left hand.

"Hello, children," he said softly. "I am glad to have company. It is always lonely in these parts."

I climbed back to my feet and helped Kyle up. We wiped away each other's tears and faced the old man.

"Who are you?" I asked the old man.

"This is my father," Kyle introduced. "His name is Sinosum."

"Sinosum?" Collin repeated. "What kind of name is that?! Not as pretty as Ari."

Sinosum chuckled. "Young lady, you must be Ari."

"Yep. That is my name. How did you know?"

"My son has been talking about you. Your looks. Your personality. Your pretty face."

I blushed and giggled.
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"And to think, I told our class that there was a wizard," Collin reminded me.

"I...I know who Sinosum is as well," I said. "He is not just a wizard. He...is Kyle's father."

Collin gasped. "Oh my gosh. Yes. I remember now." He pushed up his glasses. "So...does this mean that Kyle is a wizard too?"

David and Garcia took a step back, and a ball of white light flashed in front of us. It slowly faded, and standing in place of it was the wizard himself.

"Hello, children," Sinosum greeted. He had a small but wicked smile on his face. "I am eternally grateful that you two know the truth. Now, I can be myself around you and not pretend."

My boyfriend adjusted his glasses. "You fiend! You have a lot of explaining to do!"

Sinosum chuckled. Chuckled darkly. "I do agree. And my two lovely boys and I..." He motioned to the two counselors with his staff. "...would just love to tell you what is really going on. David, why do you not start us off?"

"Father, anything for you," David said.

"Father?" I questioned.

He nodded. "We will explain. When Garcia and I met Sinosum, he said that he desired to kill us. Now that I am looking back at that moment, he had every right too. We were on his property."

I tossed back my hair. "Forgotten Forest does not belong to him. It belongs to all the citizens of Forlot!"

"That is where you are wrong, Ari. 'First come, first serve.' Have you not heard of that term? Anyway, he deeply wanted to murder us and show our lifeless bodies to the ones closest to us. Thankfully for us, he offered us a deal so that we would not have to die."

"I was having a good day that day," Sinosum explained himself. "That was the first - and last - time that I gave away any offers. Besides..." His smile grew wide as he looked at me. "...I had plans."

"His deal was that he would not kill us if we became his henchmen. His children," Garcia continued on with the story. "Not wanting to die, we accepted his offer. This is why we call him our father. Plus, we think that he is cool. I mean, he a wizard. You do not see those every day."

David cleared his throat. "To make sure that none of our loved ones knew of this, Sinosum created two skeletons and set them to our old homes with a note attached, saying that he thanked them for 'killing' us. They fell for it, and we have been living in this forest with Sinosum since then. We have only lived with Kyle for at least a month, but we do not mind."

Sinosum's eyebrows narrowed. "You do not?"

"Father, not at all. Kyle is a great addition."

"Good. I am glad that you think so." He began twirling around his staff. "Poor Kyle. He was alone. Sad. Dead."

I could feel my face growing hot. "D-dead?"

"Precisely. Well, he was not all-the-way dead, but he was getting there. His body was near the forest. From the moment that he collapsed to the moment that the police showed up and investigated. And no, I did not kill him." He snickered. "David and Garcia did."

I felt tears streaming down. "No..."

"When the police left, I took Kyle in. Fed him. Clothed him. Took away his memory."

"You what?!"

"It is funny that you two never got a clue who Kyle truly is. Especially you, Collin. You never recognized your own brother."