Angelo was not too happy about having to sit in the rain and watching the Skeleton Hotel. So he decided to take shelter in the nearby pizzeria. He was enjoying a diavola and waiting for something to happen. Boredom and stagnation were slowly overwhelming him. He glanced at his phone. Who would have thought that a day would come when Angelo would want Mr. Ovid to interrupt him eating pizza.

“Let something happen, please,” he whispered to himself.

Suddenly someone entered the pizzeria and came to Angelo’s table.

“Do you mind if I join?” she asked.

To Angelo’s surprise it was Giovanna.

“Yeah, sure, Giovy,” said Angelo. “At least finally something is happening.”

He cut the remaining pizza into three slices.

“You want one?” he asked Giovanna.

“Thank you, but I’ll pass. I already ordered myself a plate of all’assassina.”

“Your loss,” said Angelo.

Giovanna’s pasta came shortly. The pair munched on their food and tried to strike a conversation.

“May I ask you something?” asked Angelo. “Why do you actually want to go to that hotel? Why do you want to see those two?”

Giovanna slowly chewed through the pasta.

“I simply want to make Oftenhides a better place,” she said when she swallowed. “And to spread knowledge. I have been watching them for a long time and I know how ignorant they are. But I want to believe they can change.”

“You know you’re not guaranteed to change anything?” asked Angelo.

“Wow, thank you for your kind words of support,” said Giovanna sarcastically. “But yeah. I know the harsh reality.”

“Hey, I’m not trying to discourage you!” said Angelo.

Just then he noticed something through the window. Two men, about his height, who were observing the Skeleton Hotel from the sidewalk. They were loaded with electronic equipment such as lamps, a radio and a lot of cameras.

“Giovy, look behind you!” said Angelo, pointing at the window. “You think that’s them?”

Giovanna turned around and noticed them too. Indeed she recognised the long black hair with curls below the ears as Nicolas. And the person on his left had to be Bartolomeo.

“Piccoli bastardi subdoli…” she said, not caring about etiquette.

She jumped out of her seat. This was the chance to talk to the brothers before they even entered the Hotel.

“I’ll go talk to them. You tell the rest,” said Giovanna.

“Aye, Captain!” said Angelo.

As Giovanna left Angelo took out his phone and wrote about the encounter on Discuss. Now it was the matter of waiting for the rest and finishing the pizza.

 

Sarah was browsing through her books. She remembered a particular book and really wanted to find it. She looked through all her book cases from top to bottom, but she could not find it among all novels, manga volumes and school workbooks. She was about to give up when she remembered one more place where it could have been. Sarah looked under her bed and pulled out a suitcase. It has been there almost since Sarah moved to Aunt Caitlyn. She only needed to take out her clothes for the first few weeks and hasn’t thought about it since then. Up until that day. Sarah opened the suitcase and looked inside.

“There it is!”

Sarah has found the book. The heavy door stopper with a thick brown cover. The book her parents kept from her until she inherited it. The one Sarah was always wondering what it contained.

“Alright… Let’s see what you are...” Sarah said to the book.

On the first page there was a strange poem written in a decorative font.

 

Our secrets and tools and our knowledge

We offer you for protection and storage.

From getting stolen keep them safe

And punish the thieves in such a case.

Let us learn and grow safely.

We beg you quietly.

 

Under the poem there were two signatures. Miriam and Jack Lewis. Sarah’s parents. It was strange seeing their names and Sarah felt nostalgic.

Sarah closed the book for a moment and looked into the sky. She hoped that Miriam and Jack found their way to a good place, wherever it might have been.

Sarah soon returned to the book. On the next pages she found strange writing. Something about weird looking scriptures. On the next page something about colours of threads. A few pages later something about sicknesses and antidotes. Then something about rituals.

“Holy…” Sarah knew what that book was.

In her own hands she was holding her parents’ book of magic.

“But why did you keep me from it for so long?”

Sarah was intrigued and excited. She just found out her parents were magicians and she was about to learn their knowledge. She tried to read more. But she got a message on Discuss. She looked at it. It was from Angelo.

 

Yo! Those two that Giovy was talking about have finally arrived in the city. We’re waiting at Pizza di Fratello.

 

Sarah knew what to do. She closed the book and grabbed her backpack. She glanced at the book one last time before going out.

“This evening. For sure.”

 

Two tourist brothers were staring at the Skeleton Hotel from across the street and discussing the plans for their next video.

<<So this is that mythical place?>> Bartolomeo asked.

<<Yes, that’s here,>> said Nicola. <<Looks great, doesn’t it?>>

<<You think it’s called Skeleton Hotel because there are bones buried in the foundations?>>

Nicola laughed at the idea.

<<No, I did some research. Turns out it’s simply because of the fact that the building’s skeleton is all that was built,>> he corrected his brother.

<<Ah, crap. I was hoping for a darker story,>> said Bartolomeo.

Suddenly a feminine voice called them in their language.

<<Found you!>>

When they turned around they noticed Giovanna approaching them.

<<Hey, Barto, you know her?>> asked Nicola.

<<Not at all. But it could be a fan.>>

<<Who would have thought?>>

Giovanna reached the Brothers.

<<Fratelli Orrori, right?>> she said.

<<Indeed!>> said Nicola.

<<I did not know we had fans outside of Italy,>> said Bartolomeo.

<<Well… You could say that,>> said Giovanna.