Epilogue

Lord Fraiser Zubkov was a paranoid man, but not paranoid enough to actually protect him. The vampire watched him pacing in front of the fire from the shadows of the rafters of Fraiser's ostentatious manor.

It was no easy feat finding a way in, especially since he was specifically asked not to kill anyone, but if there was one thing that Elwis the Eel loved, it was a challenge.

Moving silently, as if he was one with the shadows, Elwis dropped to the ground. He leaned against the pillar and cleared his throat.

Fraiser jumped, whirling as he scanned the room. However, with Elwis's dark clothing and hair, he blended perfectly into the shadows, so Fraiser had to scan the room twice before he saw him.

"Who are you?" Fraiser demanded, his hand straying to the dagger at his side. It was ornate, probably just for show.

"I'm just a messenger. There's no need to be afraid, I was asked not to kill you, and at the moment. I'm feeling generous."

Elwis strode forward, allowing the shadows around him to melt away, revealing his full stature. As a Lower Elf, he towered over the Lowlander lordling. "I am here to tell you not to go looking for your son. He is safe and he is far from you, that's all that matters, isn't it?"

Fraiser swallowed, fury taking over his expression finally showing some backbone. "How dare you come into my home and tell me what I can or cannot do about my son. I demand to know who you are and where Wilder is."

In the blink of an eye, Elwis had unsheathed his dagger and used his sorcery to control it. It flew across the room, hovering only an inch from the lord's face. Elwis moved his finger back and forth and the dagger followed suit. "Tsk tsk, I don't take well to demands. And secondly, that message comes from your son. He is the one that requested I not kill you. He said, not even a scar. If you want me to respect his wishes, I suggest that you do the same."

Elwis strode toward the window, it was the third story. He paused on the ledge, turning to where the lord stood, white as a sheet with the dagger still suspended in front of him. Elwis held out his hand and the dagger flew back into it. "I'll be keeping a close eye on you, Zubkov. If I see anything I don't like, I will return. And I won't be nearly as civil."

He stepped out the window, however before gravity could yank him down, a vine that had been growing along the side of the house wrapping around his waist and bringing him carefully to the ground.

Truthfully, this visit to Fraiser was a waste, and he would have rather been able to just kill him and be done with it, but Wilder had begged him. Elwis liked this Wilder boy. With him already being a vampire, it will make Bronwyn's transition easier when she finally chose to embrace the gift of the night. And someday, Wilder will inherit an impressive family fortune–even if he wouldn't let Elwis kill his father and take it now.

Elwis could work with that.

Besides, the boy was instrumental in getting the spellbook, or so Bronwyn claimed. She seemed to be trying to paint Wilder in the best light. Elwis found that so quaint. Ah, young love… he remembered his courting of Vala. He had thought the world of her back then, and it was very clear that Bronwyn had the same stars in her eyes.

No matter how large of a role the boy played, his beautiful Bronwyn had done well, and now he had the personal spell tome of one of the most powerful magickers of all time in his possession.

One down, only three more to go.

And he just so happened to have finally uncovered the location of the next one through the lineage of the next founder of the academy. Boris the Conjurer.

This looked like a job for his darling Natasya.