Dance of The Skeleton

Chapter 20

"Inhuman Resurrection: Skeleton Guard…" I mutter as a black mist leaks from my hand entering the mouth of the dead woman as I watch life slowly enter her again.

Sitting up the dead woman begins to claw at her skin peeling off her flesh ripping off all of the exterior. Watching as she rips out her eyes and tears out her intestines until she is no longer a she and is just a mere skeleton, her skin and clothes all on the brick floor.

As the skeleton rises it quickly kneels before me waiting for command as a smirk creeps upon my lips. Looking closely at the skeleton the leftover bits of flesh on its body slowly begin to slide off the bones dripping onto the floor.

"Your job is to protect the household until I or Selene say otherwise, stay hidden, do not be seen." I say as the skeleton rises looking at me with her hollow eyes a faint red glow within them as it slowly creeps into the darkness virtually becoming invisible in the dark. Walking to the second cell I stare at an unconscious boy no older than thirteen, his head bleeding from an open wound and his backpack for school still stripped on him.

Dragging the boy out of the cell I make it a priority of snapping his neck in front of the other skeleton guard becoming satisfied as there's no visible reaction from the guard. Quickly raising him from the dead as a skeleton guard I watch as the two skeleton guards disappear in the shadows of the basement monitoring us closely unarmed. That is one of many of the undead summons I can create and it is only the most common tier of the undead available for me to create.

The way the summoning magic works is that I need the material for what I wish to create. For example it doesn't matter what kind of bones I have if I wish to summon a skeleton dragon as long as I have enough bones to make it. If I wished to make a skeleton dragon out of mouse bones I could do it as long as I have enough of the bones.

Some of the different undead summons are a tad more complicated and need specific materials and qualifications but that's only for the most powerful of the summons. Summoning these two skeletal guards was extremely easy as well only taking an extremely small amount of my magic but the wide area summons will take up more magic depending on how wide I make the area and how many dead bodies there are within it. 

As the smell of rotting flesh begins to creep into my nose I feel my face scrunch as I look down at the two piles of flesh that's decomposing extremely fast. "Selene." I say while pinching my nose waving to the two piles of flesh. "Get rid of this before it stains the foundation we just moved here. I don't want it ruining the property value." 

"Of course master right away." She says disappearing reappearing shortly after with bleach and other cleaning supplies. 

"Call me off of school for the rest of the week as well. I'm going to be focusing on learning my magic. I wish to have the book memorized soon." 

"Yes Master." She says curtly as she begins to scrub the floors as I begin to walk up the steps summoning The Snakes Studies book flipping to where I left off. There is no doubt in my mind that it will take years to master the whole book but that doesn't mean I can't memorize it just in case I need a specific spell in a dire moment.

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Looking at myself in the mirror my blond hair neatly combed back and my black suit ironed to show absolutely no wrinkles I lean in close staring at my face more specifically my eyes. They're black, my red blood vessels in my eyes have all turned black and the white parts of my eyes are also becoming darker but not fully black… yet. 

I knew that I would be changing physically and mentally the more I delved into the dark arts but I wasn't expecting the changes to come so soon. The book had warned that after all the purity was removed from my body the physical changes would begin to come claiming to boost my magical power and my connection to the dark arts. The book explained that black eyes are one of the most common changes for people who learn Apep's dark arts but some of the other changes are much more grotesque. 

It was explained that it is not uncommon for the users to gain extra body parts like a tail or extra arms, even wings and extra eyes in some cases. The mental changes are a whole different change. The book told tales of former users becoming insane abominations obsessed with becoming the most powerful dark arts users to ever exist doing whatever it takes just for a drop of increased strength. 

I welcome the physical changes to me. They are simply a show of my devotion to power besides a simple illusion spell around my body will make me look normal to most everybody. 

The worlds I may go to may have powerful people and the glitch in the system sending me to the DC universe  just shows how unstable it is and God forbid it glitches and sends me to Dragon Ball Super. Even with my immortality some of the worlds I may be sent to there is no doubt in my mind that I will be a dead man which means I can't be picky with the powers I am given even if it causes physical and mental changes.

Leaning back I give one last look over myself before leaving the bathroom the sound of chatter from downstairs making me curious. Making my way down the stairs I walk into the living room putting a smile on my face as I look at Elena, Selene, and Margaret all sitting on the couch watching Toy Story on the T-V.

"Well don't you look handsome." Selene says with a smile standing from the couch walking over to me straightening my tie.

"Thank you," I say while glancing over to Elena. "Elena you're here for Margaret I'm guessing?" Jenna's been in the hospital for the past week and asked Selene to watch Margaret during the day which she graciously accepted even making home cooked meals for all of us after Elena and Jeremy get out of school.

"Yeah thanks again you both have been a huge help but Jenna just got back from the hospital and she sent me to come pick her up. You both are more than welcome to come over. We were planning to basically do the same thing just eat pizza and watch a movie." Elena says kindly standing from the couch holding Margaret's hand leading her to us.

"Thanks for the offer but I was planning to go to the masquerade ball at the Lockwoods house and I think Selene was talking about running errands tonight." Glancing over to Selene she gives me a small nod.

"Yes I have plans for the night; thank you for the offer but some other time." Selene says with a smile as Elena nods.

"Some other time then." As Elena begins to leave with Margaret Margaret breaks away from Elena's grip rushing to Selene hugging her leg before doing the same to me while holding on looking up at me with a toothy smile.

"Can I see it one more time Theo?" She asks giddily as I put my hands behind my back.

"Well of course you can." 

"See what?" Elena asks curiously while walking closer Margaret looking back at her excitedly. 

"Theo's a magician!" Margaret shouts looking back up at me as I bring my hands back around a simple black blossomed rose in my hands gently brushing over her hair as I place the rose behind her ear. "So pretty!" She shouts taking it out from behind her ear holding it close to her chest protecting it at all cost. 

"Wow it seems Theo really is a magician." Elena says jokingly. "Now what do we say when someone gives us a gift Margaret?" Elena lectures as Margaret looks back up at me with an excited face. 

"Thank you!" She shouts before skipping over to Elena taking her hand in her free hand.

"Thanks again you both have been such a big help." Elena says while Selene walks them out. Hearing the door to the house close the smile on my face disappears becoming completely blank void of all emotion.

"You remember your orders don't you?" I ask Selene as she renters the living area.

"Yes, I am to break into the Salvatore estate and steal all of their vervain. If I see any vampire you have ordered me to retreat on sight which I strongly oppose." Scoffing at Selene's frown I pick up my mask from the coffee table going to leave the house.

"Selene I don't have time for this. I've already told you we are battling a foe with unknown abilities and until we can be certain of what their powers are I don't want us fighting them alone." I say firmly before sighing and looking back at the pride hurt girl. "Selene you are the one person in this world I can trust and I'll be damned if I lose you. Now I must leave and you will follow my orders. Understood?" Watching as she gives me a small nod I go to the car and leave for the masquerade ball.