Damn, this is it. This is the last chapter. Not the LAST chapter, mind you, as I plan on starting the second book in this series right after finishing this chapter. But hot damn, after two years, I'm finally wrapping this thing up. And that's not even considering the good two years it took to think up this story in the first place. Two years of learning how to properly write prose, losing interest, regaining interest, thinking up new ideas and trying to fit them in. Well don't worry boys and girls, Dark Contract isn't going anywhere anytime soon! This book may be ending, but the eds journey has only just begun, and you won't believe what I have in store for them in the coming years. So let's not waste any more time, I give you: the last chapter of Dark Contract Book 1!

Everything hurts…

That was the first thought that crossed Eddy's mind as consciousness drifted back to him. His body felt like every single cell he had was simultaneously committing suicide. He didn't know what to focus on first; his burning shoulder, his aching legs, or his throbbing head. Blurs of bright light crept into his vision as his eyes creaked open. The intense ringing in his ears dissolved into the occasional low beep of hospital machinery. He was in a bed, in a hospital, alive. For a moment, Eddy was convinced that he was in a coma, and it had all been a dream. There were no contractors, he never saw his big bro, and they never pulled that big scam. He didn't ruin his friend's lives. But as his mind shifted back into proper working order, he remembered the truth. His eyes darted around the room when his head hurt too much to move. He was in a hospital, probably the castle's personal infirmary. There was more beeping to his left and right, which he assumed was Double d and Ed. Eddy closed his eyes and sighed in relief.

His eyes reopened when he heard the door creak open. The sound of rolling wheels brought a food trolley next to his bed, pushed by a nurse whose face he was still too groggy to make out. "Ah, good, you're awake," said the nurse. "I'll inform the master when I leave. Hungry?"

Eddy forced out a dry chuckle and spoke as best he could without coughing his guts out. "I don't, I don't think I have it in me to-to eat right now," he said, his throat bone dry.

"It's alright, I can feed you," said the nurse. It was then that the blobs and blurs of Eddy's vision began to give way to proper shapes and forms. The nurse's face pieced together into something…familiar.

Too familiar.

But before Eddy could say anything, the nurse straddled him and slammed her hand on his mouth, silencing him. The nurse removed her white cap, letting her hair fall over her burnt face. Mimi grinned down at him with her sharpened teeth as she pulled out a syringe. "But first," she said. "I think you need a shot."

What the hell does it take to kill this girl? Eddy asked internally. Mimi wielded the syringe like a knife and raised it over her head, intending to bring it down on Eddy's face. "The knives of Caesar do not disappoint!" Mimi proclaimed. But when she moved to bring down her weapon, her wrist was grabbed by a newcomer behind her. Mimi cocked her head around to see who it was, before a second hand grabbed her by her hair and threw her to the ground.

Zephyr Seraphim towered over the assassin, slamming his cane in front of her head. "The Knives of Caesar, eh?" he asked. "Our organizations have done business in the past, so what brought this on?"

Mimi sat up and drew a knife. "My superiors wanted me to inform you that this is nothing personal. A job was given, and orders were followed. Nothing more."

"You a new recruit, then?" asked Zephyr, who pushed his tea shade glasses up his nose. "One of their child soldiers?"

"The last person who gets to judge us on that front is you, Lord Seraphim," Mimi spat back. She rose to her feet and jumped over Zephyr's head to the still immobile Eddy, knife brandished. Before she reached him, however, Mimi was caught in midair by an array of pitch black tentacles that sprouted from the ground beneath Zephyr's cane. Zephyr calmly turned around and slammed his cane into the ground once more. The tendrils, as if obeying some silent command, pulled Mimi back into a black puddle. Mimi grabbed onto the railing at the foot of the bed, but the pull was too strong. With one final shriek, Mimi was pulled down into the puddle, where her scream faded away. The puddle vanished without a trace, and Zephyr walked up to Eddy's bedside.

"She will be dealt with, I assure you," he said. "For now, get some rest. Your graduation ceremony awaits you and your friends when you're able to walk."

"B-boss," Eddy said. "Who, who sent…?" Wheezing and coughing blacked out whatever he was about to say.

"That," Zephyr answered. "Is what I intend to learn." Zephyr turned on his heels and walked out of the infirmary, leaving Eddy alone to drift off back to sleep.

It was three days before all of the eds were back among the wakeful, and another week before the doctors deemed them safe to get up and walk around without assistance. Cobalt and Royce came by every now and then to check on the three, and they would all talk for an hour or two before duty called them away.

Finally, the day came where the eds were permitted to leave the hospital wing. Besides a few aches, all three were right as rain. Cobalt and Royce were waiting for them in the hall outside. Cobalt rose from her seat on a windowsill when she saw the eds approach. Royce cocked his head in greeting, closing the book he was reading. "Well, looks who's up and about," said Royce.

"Hey guys," said Eddy with a short wave.

Cobalt chuckled with a wry smirk before putting Eddy into a headlock and giving him a noogie. "Ready to join the big boy club, boys?" she asked.

"I would be if you weren't breaking my neck!" Eddy said working his way out of the hold. Cobalt giggled, lightly punching his shoulder.

Eddy was then pulled, along with Double d, into a big bear hug by Ed. "This is the best day of my life!" Ed said, holding them tighter.

"Okay, Ed, we get it, can you put us down, please?" Double d said through choked breaths.

Ed dropped his friends and laughed sheepishly, hand behind his head. Cobalt giggled again, gesturing for the eds to follow her. "C'mon, daddy's waiting for us."

The eds followed Cobalt and Royce down the hall to Zephyr's office. Cobalt knocked on the door three times and the doors opened by themselves. Cobalt and Royce led the three inside, where Zephyr waited for them behind his desk. Zephyr was in the middle of setting fire to a contract. The parchment lit up in green flame, and a small blue wisp emerged from the fire and flew through the window behind Zephyr up into the sky.

"Uh, boss, who was…?" Eddy asked.

"Dick Sullivan's soul," Zephyr replied as he watched the wisp fly off into the horizon. "His death has terminated his contract, so there is no reason to keep his soul." Zephyr turned to the three and rested his hands on the desk. "Now, on to the ceremony."

"What? This is it?" asked Eddy once again. "I was expecting a bit…I dunno, more."

"Perhaps ceremony is the wrong word," Zephyr said, hands clasping together. "What it really entails is one last amendment to the contract you made with your brother. With this last amendment, you will be recognized as official contractors." Zephyr's hands separated, and between them materialized the new contract. Beneath the original dotted line where the eds signed their names was a second one meant for recognizing the amendment. "What separates contractors from the average henchman of this organization is the power and privileges that come with it. Signing this contract will grant you access to higher level jobs and special areas in the castle formerly inaccessible to you before today. Finally, becoming a contractor will unlock powers within you. Formerly dormant magical energy that lies within all humans will be released in the form of abilities unique to each of you." Zephyr pushed the contract to the end of the table, where three pens waited for the eds. "The downside is obvious: your souls still belong to me and my company. This will continue until you pay off your debt to me. However long this takes is up to you. Until then, you are bound to my command, is that understood?"

The eds nodded in sync. Zephyr smirked. "Well then, boys, whenever you're ready to sign."

Eddy stopped short of the paper, which stopped the other two from signing. Eddy turned around to look at the room around him. His eyes stopped on Cobalt, who smiled, genuinely smiled, at him. The two saw something, something that could be someday. So, with one final breath, Eddy turned around and placed his pen on the paper, and the other two followed suit. Their names glowed on the paper, and the paper disappeared.

"It is done," said Zephyr, who reached across the desk to shake the three boys' hands. "Welcome to the contractor program."

Cobalt came up from behind Eddy and put him into another headlock. "Now that that's settled, we can move onto the fun part!" She said.

"There's a fun part?" asked Eddy with a wry smirk.

"Hell yeah. Hungryface cooks up a gigantic feast for the entire castle whenever we get new recruits. C'mon, before the sweet rolls are all gone!" Cobalt grabbed Eddy by the hand and ran out of the office with him in tow.

"Well, she's certainly taken a likin to him," said Royce, who tipped his cowboy hat to Zephyr. "I'll show myself out as well, m'lord." Royce walked out of the office with a whistle.

Double d bowed to Zephyr. "Can we expect you at the party?" he asked.

Zephyr smiled and waved his hand at double d. "In a bit, I have some things to wrap up first. Go, have fun. Enjoy these moments of happiness. This job will take the rest."

Ed picked up Double d and put him on his shoulders. "Sweet rolls, double d!" he shouted, barreling down the hall with Double d barely hanging on.

Zephyr snapped his fingers, closing the doors behind Ed. He stood up and turned to a shadow in the corner of the room. Ritter stepped out from the shadow and gave a curt bow. "Anything?" he asked.

"Actually yes," Ritter said. "She contacted her superiors when she believed we were not listening. She has a message for you, my lord."

Zephyr straightened his suit, stepping into the shadowed corner with Ritter, where they both vanished.

Deep underground…

In one of the many cavernous pits that twist and turn in the bedrock beneath Castle Trotz, Mimi lied limp against the wall, her arms shackled above her. Her nurse outfit was replaced with a dusty rag that barely covered her beaten and burned body. Her haggard face looked up when she heard the metal creaking of her cell door opening.

Zephyr entered Mimi's cell and looked down his nose at the young girl. "I have been informed that you have a message for me?" he asked.

Mimi chuckled weakly, looking up at Zephyr. "My superiors wanted me to tell you, in the event that I was captured, who hired me in the first place. My employer was very specific about what he wanted me to say to you."

"Then speak."

Mimi gestured him closer with her finger. Zephyr leaned down to her level. Mimi pushed herself up to his ear and whispered. "Why are you asking? Who else could it be?"

Zephyr's eyes shot open wide and he stood back upright, looking down at Mimi with a mix of anger and shock. Mimi just laughed, her back arching backward with her head thrown as far back as it could go. Zephyr calmed himself and glared down at the assassin. Zephyr snapped his fingers, and the room grew ten times as dark as it had already been. Mimi's laughter didn't stop, not even when several cold, grey arms reached out from the blackness behind her and dragged her in with them. Her laughter continued regardless, even when joined by the sound of tearing flesh and crunching bones. Soon though, the laughter died, first replaced by dying gurgles, then by silence. The darkness dissipated, and Zephyr turned to leave the cell.

Ritter awaited him outside of the cell, a small rag prepared. Zephyr took the rag and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Sir," Ritter said. "Does this mean that he's making his move?"

"No, not yet," said Zephyr. "One rookie assassin eliminating a few recruits, that's not a hit, it's a formality. Just his way of telling us that the war is coming." Zephyr walked into the nearest dark corner, and walked out into his office, with Ritter following behind.

Zephyr sat in his desk and rest his chin on his clasped hands. "They won't be ready, sir," said Ritter

"They have no choice but to be ready," Zephyr replied. Then, he chuckled. "Most of the people here think I am evil. They have no idea what evil is…" Zephyr stood from his chair, put his hands behind his back and stared out the window and into the distance. "But they will. By god, they will."

And boom! Book 1 is complete! Thank you all so much for following me on this crazy adventure that's only just beginning. I can't wait to show you all what I have in store, it's gonna be one hell of a ride!

See you all then in book 2!