Jon stepped forward and looked at the large, intricate door in front of him, wondering how many times he had an adrenaline rush in Raven's room. When he wasn't using his fire to protect her from some monster with happy hands, he was banging her brains out. That woman was unpredictable with a capital… everything. He sighed as he steeled himself for whatever she had planned this time. He still had idea how he gets himself into these situations. He loved Tarot deeply, that was why he let her continue to date Boo Cat since she meant so much to her. It took a while, but they finally had a sit down about where they stood with each other. They agreed that they loved each other deeply and for now, they would continue to keep their relationship open: Tarot would date Boo and Jon would continue to be Raven's student/man toy… but Jon was hoping to change that soon…

He placed his hand on the dark surface and opened the door. Nothing could prepare him for what he saw next. Raven was laying on her bed wearing her Dress of Shadows. . Her body was trembling. Sobs wracked her body as she buried her face into her pillow, clutching it like it was a life line. He had never seen her so broken.

"Raven?" Jon cautiously walked over to her. There was no telling how she would reach to seeing him.

Raven looked up to see her lover standing in front of her with concern in his eyes. "J-Jon? Don't look at me!" she shrieked. He jerked his head to the side so suddenly, it almost snapped. "Raven… what's wrong? Is there anything I can do to help? He asked.

"No Jon. There's nothing you can do to help me. No one can help me! The only person who can is dead!" she sobbed as she fell into her pillow again.

Jon turned his head back to her again and walked forward to her again. There was a chance he might get zapped from getting close to her but he had to take that chance. He sat down on the bed and put his hand on her shoulder. "Raven… talk to me. What's wrong?" Raven lifted her head again and looked at Jon. She saw the care in his eyes. This calmed her down a bit. She pulled out a black spell book from her dress and showed it to Jon.

"Remember when I lured Raven into that library. I got this from it. An ancient spell book containing the darkest of dark magick from across the ages. It took me some effort but I finally got it opened…" she turned the pages until she stopped on an illustration showing legless spirits with mouths for eyes holding a noose. "… I tried to use this one specifically. A ritual designed to bring back lost loved ones… To bring back…my father." Jon's eyes bulged when he realized what she was up to. She tried this before and Tarot was nearly killed.

"I know I promised I wouldn't try this again but the temptation was too strong. I did the ritual and those spirits appeared before me and… and…" Raven pulled down the collar of her dress and Jon's blood turned cold. A rope burn ran around her neck. "The hung me."

"Raven! I can't believe you!" Jon shouted. "You were willing to throw your own life away to bring back your father?! Don't you remember what happened last time?!"

"I KNOW!" she shrieked. "I know… but I didn't know that would happen. The thing is… they didn't really kill me. They left the noose loose enough that I experienced near death. There I was in the Summerlands and on the other side of the bridge… there he was. My father! I was so happy I ran towards him. I was so ready to embrace him again. But then the rope broke and I was snapped back to the land of the living. I-I was so close…" she collapsed into Jon's shoulder and broke into tears again. Jon was devastated. Raven was usually so strong. So stoic and calm that he almost never saw her show any emotion except pride and anger. Yet here she was bawling her eyes out. Jon didn't know what else to do. He simply wrapped his arms around her and held her until she ran out of tears. When she was finished, she looked into his blue eyes. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this Jon. This must be awful for you."

He cupped her face with his hands. "It is. It's awful for me to see you like this. To see anyone I love to be reduced to this. I'm sorry about what happened to you. What I'm about to say may be a bit mean but I'm saying it because I love you: you have to accept that he's gone." He said sternly. "Whatever price you want to pay to bring him back is not worth it and even if you did find a way to bring him back to life, he probably would not be happy with you hurting yourself like this. You can't dwell on the past. You can only plan for the future and live in the now. With Tarot, your mom… and me."

Raven simply stared at him as his words sank into her being. He was right. It was time for her to move on. There will come a time when her life will end and she will be reunited with him but for now, she had to live. She was going to live. Raven suddenly realized something and began to smile up at her lover. "You just said you loved me" she said deeply.

"W-what?!" Jon stuttered "I did?! Well…uh…I…"

Raven interrupted him by crushing her lips to his. He was caught off guard but simply returned the kiss. He pushed his lounge into hers as they began to dance their familiar dance. She needed this. She needed to be with him. To love him… and she was going to with all her heart.

"If he was here, he would have loved you and would be proud of me for finding such a catch." She stated.

"Really? Rave?" Jon asked

"Really." They kissed for a little longer until they ran out of breath.

Jon picked up the black spell book and flipped through the pages. He was a little disturbed by the images inside. "You're not going to try any other creepy spells from this book anymore are you?" he asked Raven.

"Hmmm… no. That thing is just way too much trouble for me. I think I might just seal it away until I have a little more experience." She stated. Jon eyes suddenly bulged when he noticed one of the pages contained a very familiar pictured of a man wearing a horned mask. "Uh Rave? Is that who I think it is?"

"Oh yes. That is Thornwic. I tricked him into undoing the curses on that book and stuck him with the last curse. Serves him right for nearly getting us killed." She cackled loudly. Jon simply looked at him with a fearful look.

"Man, I love this girl and all but she can be really scary sometimes. I have to be careful or I could be next"

He stood up then picked up Raven fireman style. "So how about we get to the healing cauldrons and see if I can't help you get rid of the mark on your neck?" he winked

Raven bit the bottom of her lip coyly. "I hope were thinking of the same definition of 'helping'.

"At this point, I'm sure we are" he responded just as coyly as he carried her off to the bathroom ready for their 'lesson'.

Deep in the mist realm, in a secure magickal prison where only the worst of the worst was imprisoned, the decapitated body of a fearsome dark elf lied motionless. Held by chains in a room designed d to contain its magick. Nothing could get in or out. Except for a legless sprit with mouths for eyes as it phased through the walls like it was nothing. It noticed a jar of salt nearby, picked it up and shattered it. Inside was a skeletal like head with a deep blue color, pointed ears and fangs. The spirit picked it up and placed it on the body. The neck wound suddenly healed itself and small red pupils began to glow from its empty eye sockets….

(A/N: Alright this was part 2 of The Skeleton Man and his Lovers. I thinks this really shows how Jon cherishes his relationships. Dude knows how to value the love in his life. The next chapter will detail how He and the Black Rose witches go up against the Krampus. Tarot #96 is supposed to feature a She-Krampus against Jon. Can't wait for it to come out. The next chapter will feature the return of Franken-Doll. Unfortunately that won't come out in a while. The next chapter I'm working on is a Kane Chronicles fanfic. The story is basically a lemon with Bast and Carter. Yeah. I'm into obscure stuff… May your hearts have love! ;)