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"I don’t feel well," I said meekly, and rolled over

"Miss Winters," Dustin said, knocking again "Are you quite all right?"

"No Please go away"

He lingered a few seconds longer before I heard thedown the stairs Not long after, there was another knock This tirandfather ducked into the roo well," he said, cautiously stepping close to e juice on o away," I said, randfather bend over and pick up Seventh Meditation, which I had stupidly left on e of my bed and placed his hand on the outline of ars and leather "Death is nothing to be afraid of"

"It’s not death I’m afraid of"

"What is it, then?"

"Life," I said,without my parents was practically unbearable, and Dante was the only person who gaveto live for Now that I kneas dead, it see left

"I haven’t been honest with you, Renée I know this," he said gently "But if you’ll get dressed and co over breakfast"

I blinked back tears He waited a few seconds longer, but I made no effort to respond Finally he stood up I heard the door click shut behind hiot dressed I rinsed lanced at :down at the breakfast table

My grandfather looked up fro, the entire world white and happy, as if the day wereme Beneath the Christmas tree were stacks of presents

"Is it true that randfather shuffled around his newspaper and glanced at Dustin, who left for the kitchen "Yes"

A portrait of Charle on the opposite wall I stared at it in silence as I iauze and coins, which I still couldn’t make sense of And then a faceless child, wild and bestial, sucking the life from their bodies I closed my eyes as the face transformed into Dante’s Had he killed people? Had he taken innocent lives?

"Who was it?" I deether and shook his head "I have spent every day since their deaths trying to figure that out But sadly, I do not have an answer for you The Undead are hard to track, especially when they perform random acts of violence, which I suspect was the case with your parents"

A random act of violence? It couldn’t be There had to be a better reason than that "But what about Benjamin Gallow? He’d died under almost exactly the same conditions"

"Exactly They were all killed by Non Mortuus It isn’t as rare as you think Why do you think Gottfried exists?"

"Soso everything in the book is true?"

"Most of it The rest is based on et used to the idea "What exactly are they?"

"Children who died and were not buried"