Artemis had also tried to talk to Skully when Ellie had gone to work. She was quite confused as to why the skull didn’t say anything, he had been so talkative that day. Ellie’s gloomy spirit confused her as well, did Dawn get to her this fast? Perhaps Ellie needed some cheering up, in any case, Artemis was the right person for that job. 

“I’m gonna talk to Ellie and find out what’s up,” Artemis told Luke as he flipped a pancake. 

“Why? Perhaps she will simply decide to move out on her own,” Luke muttered dryly. 

Artemis giggled, “You’re so silly, we want her to stay. She’s such a sweet person, I don’t mind her at all.”

Luke clicked his tongue and lifted the pancake out of the frying pan, “She’s too nice. Dawn is not for her. The sooner she finds that out, the better.” 

“Today is Sunday so she will be home, it’s perfect. Lure her out with some breakfast and then I will talk to her, maybe even suggest we spend the day together,” Artemis beamed, ignoring Luke completely. 

“Do whatever you want,” Luke sighed, he had no intention of getting in his sister’s way. He knew she was persistent, and if she wanted to find out why Ellie was down then that was exactly what she would do. 

“I think she likes strawberries,” Artemis smiled and started humming as she wandered over to Ellie’s door.  

She knocked lightly, “Ellie? Are you awake? Would you like some delicious pancakes for breakfast?” 

“Huh? Pancakes? I’ll be right out,” Ellie replied from inside the room, she had been awake for a while and kept pondering what was wrong with Skully. 

Maybe he was talking but she had stopped hearing him. That was her strongest theory, but how could she start hearing him again? And why did she suddenly stop hearing him? She didn’t like the other theories so this was pretty much her only one right now. She let out a huff as she changed out of her violet kitty pajamas. Skully called them childish, Ellie simply thought they looked cute. In that moment she wanted nothing more than for Skully to tell her how childish they were. 

“I guess you’re not here today either,” Ellie mumbled before leaving the room. 

“There you are, come sit. Luke made his best pancakes today, and we have strawberries,” Artemis exclaimed with a large and vibrant smile. The whole place seemed a bit brighter.

Ellie placed herself on one of the dining chairs, “It sure smells nice,” she muttered and tried her best to smile. 

Artemis leaned in and whispered, “So, what’s bothering you? You seem a bit down lately. Does it have something to do with the skull?” 

Ellie’s eyes widened, “What do you mean? The skull is just a decoration. I’m- Um- There’s a lot to do at work. That’s all.”

“I know about the skull, Skully. I’ve talked to him,” Artemis admitted with a friendly smile. 

“What? You’ve talked to Skully? When?” Ellie exclaimed a bit too loudly. 

“Shh,” Artemis whispered, “On your first day of work, I believe it was. I noticed him being very non-talkative the last couple of weeks.” She glanced at Ellie. 

“Um- It’s true. I- I’ve not managed to get a word out of him for nearly two weeks now. I don’t know what happened. I miss him,” Ellie blurted out, tears welling in her eyes. 

Luke glanced at them both whispering, he knew they were talking about something. He heard Ellie mentioning Skully and wondered what that was. Luke tried to focus on washing the dishes, but couldn’t help but be curious. 

“That sounds strange,” Artemis mumbled, “So he’s not talked to you at all? He is quite the mystery. Now don’t worry, I know about vampires. In fact, I told him I would help him as well, but it turns out I am quite bad at research,” she giggled lightly. 

“Really? You wanna help him too? That makes me so happy to hear.” Ellie started bawling, and tears drizzled down her cheeks. 

Artemis grabbed Ellie’s hand, “Hey, it’s gonna be fine. We’ll figure this out, alright?” 

“Figure what out?” Luke raised an eyebrow as he sat at the table.

“None of your business,” Artemis told him and narrowed her eyes. 

“What’s going on here? I think I should know since I stay here too, and since Ellie looks very distraught,” Luke asked Artemis, his face as expressionless as always, his fingers traced the top of his coffee cup. 

Artemis appeared pensive for a moment, “I’m sorry, Ellie. I’m gonna tell Luke. He might be able to help better than I will,” she mumbled. 

Ellie stared at Artemis, she wasn’t sure what to say, whether was a good idea or not. Ellie simply nodded her head in agreement, she felt desperate, and Luke had been nothing but nice so far. 

“So here’s the deal. The skull can talk, it’s an actual vampire. Don’t try to kill him or destroy him, Ellie is very fond of him. The last couple of weeks he’s not been talking for some reason. Ellie needs him to talk again, maybe you can help?” Artemis explained briefly to Luke.

His eyes shifted between Ellie and Artemis, “So the skull is an actual vampire? How the hell did he not turn to dust?” Luke questioned. He was in fact quite curious about this because he had never heard of it happening before. 

“That’s anyone’s guess,” Artemis giggled, “Apparently he has no memories so he doesn’t know himself.”

Luke clicked his tongue and took a sip of coffee. His lips lingered on the cup for a moment, “That seems awfully convenient, though I’m not surprised. Vampires are all a nasty bunch. Ellie, don’t be fooled. This skull is probably just trying to take advantage of your naivety.” 

Ellie glanced at Luke, surprised by his words. Why would he say that? “I- Skully wouldn’t do that,” Ellie stuttered. 

“I’m curious though, so I suppose I will help you figure out why he’s not talking, or why he’s even talking in the first place,” Luke muttered monotonously as he glanced down at the glove on his left hand. 

He wanted to find out more, who was this skull, why was he so powerful? For some reason, this brought to mind a book he had read recently at the Geirmund’s large library. They had some of the oldest books in the world, untouched by the cataclysm. In this book, he had read about a vampire known only as the Necromancer, master of life and death. Could this vampire who did not die from having his head removed have something to do with this Necromancer? Luke wanted to know, he needed to know. Knowledge was everything.  

Artemis breathed out, relieved that Luke agreed to help instead of trying to destroy the skull. She smiled and turned towards Ellie, “Why don’t you go get Skully?”