Upside Down (COMPLETE) Inside Out, Book 2 [BoyxBoy]

Epilogue

Ashes. Ashes everywhere.

Callan almost cried when the Guards of the Coven handcuffed his mate. He steadied himself right beside his father, who held his hand tight.

Every household of the La Cove residence were asked by the Guards to gather to the Main House for further inspection. The Alpha of the pack were given orders from the Palace to give information regarding the catastrophe that happened to the pack area under his lead. Fortunately, the Secret Wizarding Agent Team would be there to assist and aid the trial pertaining to the malicious hunting of the mind-readers.

The vampire wizard was reported to summon the destructive Sacred Inferno in a human neighborhood in the town of Bloomingdale. The spell was no longer learned by the present living wizards and witches and considered to be one of the illegal unvoiced spells ever to known in the history of magicians. To make matters worse, Parker's clan didn't want to cooperate like they usually did before, claiming to the Guards that he had been "unstable" in the recent events of being reunited with Callan.

That really drove him mad, though. But it was comforting to know that the whole pack sided with Parker ... or Brad, as he was told to address him now.

Brad was the tender, joyful man who had held him in the past few nights, who seemed so settled with himself. Parker was the confused person, imprisoned in his conflicted heart, misunderstood so much by the world. It was sad that people knew Parker more instead of Bradley.

Callan wasn't there when it happened, because the only person who was the nearest to him during the incident was Nathan. Nathan was still lying unconscious, huddled up with Keith, who had woken up but refused to say anything to the authorities. The two of them were placed together in one of the rooms inside the Main House, monitored by nurses and medical doctors who came from the hospital. The Guards prohibited anyone to leave the residence for a specific period of time.

But the ashes had specific eeriness, Callan thought. The wizards were burned about a few miles away from their pack, but the trails followed up to where they were. It smelled rancid and metallic, resembling what fresh blood would be, only in fine powders that seemed to be fatal when inhaled. It colored the air in subtle gray, brushing at everyone's feet when they walked through it.

A pathway leading into the forest had also been made for the Guards to come and leave. Callan watched as the carriage that brought his mate away trudged off the neighborhood in his backyard and was still brushing the ashes off his shirt and pants. He couldn't believe these were the remnants of Vutoir's underlings; he shivered at the realization. He heard voices that it took Parker only a spin, and every wizard that came there who targeted for Nathan were eaten in flames in a flash; their screams shattered the earth. In one breath, the only trace they had in the world was in the form of ashes.

Vutoir had escaped, of course. In fact, half of the wizards from the band had left with him. The other remainders were destroyed by the Inferno.

"Let's go inside," his dad said as he ushered him and his mother into the house again. Callan felt a sense of detachment. He felt a tear slipped out of his eyes.

"Will he come back, Dad?" he asked, sounding almost childlike.

"He will, son," Dad replied, sighing. "I'm sure he will. We have a whole team behind our back, and we'll help him as much as we can."

"If it takes too long, can I go and visit him? Is there any way to do that, Dad?"

"To Atalea?"

"Yes!" Callan said. "Please tell me that's possible."

His father let out a sigh. "I can't promise you that, kid. You need strong reasons to get there. Plus, it's not like travelling to another country ... it's literally about visiting a destination in a separate space and time. It's not easy."