Letters to Romeo

When the sketch of the vampire was brought in front of the Elders, as expected, every one of them were able to identify the person.

"Joaquin Mortimier," Luciano clicked his tongue in disdain.

"So it seems like we finally know who was behind setting up ill witches to go and attack the people of the Willow Creek many years ago," said Castiel with a grim expression on his face. He turned to look at Donovan, who was quietly staring at the sketch. "Did you see him that day?"

"Not a single glimpse of him that day," responded Donovan. "For most of the time, I was with Opaline, and when we heard the screams, she wanted to leave the place right away. I did offer to go with her, but she forbade me from going along with her. I did take a look later, when things had returned to normal, but all of the witches who used to live there had their throats slit or their bodies had burnt down. Opaline had left the place and I met her many days later."

"It is clear that Joaquin always wanted to get something from Willow Creek. Else why would he send Enoch there and kill the witches again?" questioned Luciano and his gaze turned to look at Julie, who stood in the room next to Roman.

"Even though many years have come to pass, we are still unsure of why they have been intent on killing the witches," responded Remy, and he shook his head with a sigh. "Eloise, you said the boy escaped from the dungeon?"

Ms. Dante nodded, "Yes, he did. Along with a man through the secret path inside the forest. We thought it was securely closed, but the boy must have got the passage ready over the years he has been here in the name of being a student."

Right now, Julie was in the manor of the Elders, with the four of them, the headmistress, Maximus and Roman. With the event that had taken place recently, she tried to recollect the vampire's memory, Joaquin Mortimer. For someone to be in the shadows and not take part in the death of the witches, she wondered what the man wanted. Was it the box that her mother had left for her?

"First it was Enoch who escaped and now it is a mere morm who ran away from here," Luciano clicked his tongue one more time, "Looks like Veteris truly lacks efficient people when it comes to guarding the place as we easily keep letting people get away."

"Maybe it is time for you to take up the job of securing it," stated Donovan to poke the blonde Elder vampire.

But Luciano took it too literally and nodded, "I think I will. Eloise," he called the vampiress' name, and she turned to look at him. "I would like to take full control of this securing system, and to make sure who gets in and out of Veteris from now on."

Dante wasn't sure if Luciano understood what he had just proposed. She said, "I don't think it would suit you—"

"Shh, you don't have to decide that. Considering how terribly this place lacks efficient guards. Get me in touch with the person who is in charge of it right now so that I can work on it right away. I don't think the others are fit to do it," commented Luciano, and he excused himself and left the place to get the job done right away.

The other people in the room stared at Luciano's back, hearing him speak to one of the servants in the manor and ordering him to fetch Griffin right away.

"Who would have thought that Luciano would one day turn into the head of the guards," murmured Castiel under his breath, speaking everyone's thoughts out loud.

Remy, whose gaze held laziness and boredom in there, said, "It is his way of telling that he cares a lot about the welfare of Veteris, and wants to keep it unharmed."

As prudish as the Elder vampire appeared to be, Julie wondered if the similar interests were what kept the four Elder vampires together. Tolerating each other even though many times they didn't get along.

Donovan turned to look at Julie and questioned, "Did you have a good rest, Julie?" and she gave him a nod. "Can you brief us what had happened there? I mean in the past, it would be better to get a wider picture from your side to know if we missed anything."

When Julie mentioned briefly what had happened while skipping her discussion with her family, the people in the room held a grim look on their faces. Julie said,

"Joaquin told me that we would meet each other again."

"Of course, he did," said Donovan. Walking near the sketch, he picked it up, handed it to Roman, and said, "How about we put a wanted poster around the towns and see what reaction it brings? I am sure we should be able to know where their hidden base is."

Roman took the sketch in his hand, and after a few seconds, he said, "Until now, witches have only been killed in Willow Creek. More like a sacrifice that has been taking place over the last few years, what if it was for something bigger than we thought which was through sacrifice?" he posed the question, which got everyone thinking.

To this, Julie said, "But Enoch had tried to take a look in the house of the La Fay's. What if there was something that he was looking for? Like some kind of potion which he and his brother were trying to get their hands on."

Because she remembered, when she and Melanie had escaped from the house after hearing footsteps approaching the place where they were, she had seen Enoch entering the house to go through the things, and he looked frustrated, and she was yet to know what the potions did.

Roman replied, "The most valuable thing from a witch is the abilities that they possess. The potions and their spells. But there is something even more important than those things."

"Their souls," commented Remy in a quiet voice, and Roman nodded.

"Yes, their souls," agreed Roman, while looking at everyone in the room. "Opaline could have cursed only the people of the Willow Creek. But instead, she cursed the entire town, so that no one could get in or out of it. But most importantly get inside the town. The place must be blessed with their souls."

Hearing this, Julie's eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat. This was something the vampire's picked.

"Did you notice something, Julie?" asked Roman, and her brown eyes met his.

"The day when I went to the market, I was with Cillian, when I felt this pain in my head. My abilities were trying to come out, that's where my body started to emit the light," explained Julie, and she closed her eyes.

Suddenly another person appeared in the room with them, and it was none of that Cillian, the Corvin.

"Fascinating creature, isn't it," murmured Castiel, while his eyes fell on the creature, and so did the others in the room. The headmistress looked at the Corvin with wariness, noticing how it moved its hands to bring it down towards its sides.

Donovan had met the creature many times before, and he seemed one of the people in the room who was least bothered by its presence.

Over the years that he was living, Donovan had met several witches. Enough to know that each witch, be it male or female, held their own charms, which were different compared to the humans or vampires. The prettier or handsome a witch, the more ability they held within them,  who were able to tap into magic. He wondered if this was the true appearance of the witches, the skin of the witches that showed up only after their deaths and turned into Corvins.

'You wanted to see me?' the Corvin asked Julie.

"Do you remember that day when I fell a little sick near the market and you took me back home? You spoke something about the place trying to pull my magic, can you explain more about it?" Cillian was the only survivor of  Willow Creek, and if there was anyone who could explain about the place and the witches, it was him.

The creature turned its bird-like head to look at the people who had gathered themselves in the room. It replied, 'The land of Willow Creek, it is abundant with the soul energy of many deceased witches, including people from your family. Your mother went back to live there because she wanted to create a potion because she believed that was where it could be created. A potion that could sustain the life force in her.'

"What do you mean by that?" Roman questioned something that was on Julie's mind.

"She was dying," remarked Donovan, grabbing everyone's attention.

The Corvin stared at Donovan as if not too keen on wanting to interact with him. It then said, 'Her body was overused with the number of potions that she kept trying on herself in the beginning. To create new ones, one of the potions turned fatal, and it must have speedend a hidden infection that was within her. She might have lived a hundred more years, but that was the most her body could sustain itself, as it had started to deteriorate and there was nothing that could stop the spread of the infection.'

Donovan's eyebrows subtly frowned, knowing the kind of woman Opaline was, he knew she was stubborn about keeping on working.

Julie didn't know how to take this little piece of information because until now, she had never heard about it from Evans. She had believed that he was the closest person to her mother, but it seemed like even though Cillian was a raven at that time, he had watched her mother closely.

The Corvin then continued, 'Opaline was aware that she had to choose what was better for the future than momentary happiness, and she chose to sacrifice herself along with the rest of her children.'

Remy interrupted the conversation by saying, "Some of the witches do catch rare diseases or infections, which they haven't been able to find a cure for."

"Does that mean Julie may have it too?" asked Roman, concerned by this sudden revelation.

'Julie won't catch any of it,' stated Cillian in confidence. 'She is the daughter of a witch and a Corvin, which makes her immune to them.'

Julie had been different since the moment Opaline had conceived her because the woman was involved with Knox. The three Elders in the room couldn't help but wonder what the little witch was capable of. Being Opaline's daughter, they already expected a lot from her, expecting her to surpass her mother's potential.

"Can you control the portal of time?" questioned Donovan, his eyes fixed on Julie, and she nodded.

"I think so," replied Julie.

"If Willow Creek is as important as we think it is, then we can only expect a visit from Joaquin and Enoch in Veteris," stated Castiel, and he turned to look at Ms. Dante. "Has the memo to the students been sent about their exams?"

"Yes, Borrell has already relayed the message," answered Ms. Dante. "Luciano is already working on security, so I am guessing we will have nothing to worry about?"

At the mention of it, Donovan chuckled, "I guess, now let us lure the old vampires in the meantime."

"Luring the old vampires will also lure the hunters in here," pointed Roman because he nowhere wanted a repeat of the massacre that had taken place when he was a human in Veteris.

"Then we prepare ourselves against both of them. It isn't like we have never tackled both kinds before. This time we aren't just four but there are many to fight. Not to mention, my wonderful daughter-in-law can open the portal of time and send the unwanted to a place for the vampires to feast on in the past. No one ever refuses free food," Donovan's eyes twinkled in mirth.

Away from the Elder's manor, in Veteris' lunchroom, Melanie was standing in front of the food counter with Conner, who appeared a little dull.

"You alright there, Conner?" inquired Melanie with a look of concern in her eyes.

Conner, who was staring at the counter, broke his gaze to look at her, "Yeah, I am good."

Melanie gave him a stare before nodding and moving to the side to get her food.

When they picked up the tray of their food, Conner asked Melanie, "Hey, Mel, I was wondering if you were interested in going camping after exams."

"Camping?" asked Melanie, her eyebrows slightly raising as she never considered Conner to be someone who enjoyed camping.

"Mm," Conner nodded, and they sat down on one of the empty tables in the lunchroom. "Father even mentioned how it was an excellent way to hunt these blood sucking creatures. What do you think? Maybe we can invite Julie too."

Melanie looked around the place to make sure no vampire or human like them was eavesdropping on their conversation. She looked back at Conner and said, "I don't think I am interested in turning into a trap, Conner. And it isn't safe for Julie."

"Well that was just a bonus, but weren't you interested in going to camp? I just thought it was time for us to spend some time," and at Conner's careful words, Melanie turned to look at him, giving him a suspicious look.

Melanie then laughed and said, "We have been spending time together. What's gotten to you?" she shook her head before digging into her food. The way he was behaving, it was as if he wanted to spend time along with her. Not that they hadn't spent time together in the past, but it was the way he phrased it now.

Conner watched Melanie eat while he played with the fork in his hand.

"You don't want to go to the camp?" asked Conner, and Melanie shook her head.

"If you want to go, sure," replied Melanie, before she added, "But let us minus the hunt."

"Okay," Conner agreed readily, where he had brought up the hunt only as a reason. Since the weekend in their hometown, he felt like the dynamics were suddenly changing. "I am guessing Julie will be eating with Moltenore?"

"I guess so," and Melanie turned to meet Conner's eyes, and she asked, "Did you use the… Silverwater in here?"

Conner looked slightly sullen, who replied with, "I was sure I brought the Silverwater with me and placed it in the bag, but I think I left it back at home."

On hearing this, Melanie was more than relieved that Conner wouldn't be able to try gaining the vampire's attention. At least there was one less thing to worry about, she thought in her mind.

"Did you bring the Silverwater with you? I thought of borrowing some from you," said Conner, but Melanie shook her head.

"I am not as brave as you, Conner. Also, I didn't think there would be any night creatures in Veteris," not until I found Simon and his friends are vampires, said Melanie to herself. "We have our exams, so let us concentrate on that and get back home safe. We will have less things to worry about here."

Conner wasn't particularly happy about it and noticing him think something deeply, she asked him, "Is everything alright?"

To this, he let a sigh escape from his lips, "I don't know, Mel. I feel like... since our parents exposed us to this side of the world, my mind keeps making these scenarios where I have been compelled and I see blood."

Melanie stopped eating, and she asked him, "What do you mean scenarios?"

"It is hard to explain."

"Try me, and I will try to understand," assured Melanie.

Conner's eyes looked around before he said, "I dreamt about Reese, Mel." Hearing this, Melanie felt the hair on the nape of her neck raise. He continued, "I know it is going to sound absurd, but something about her death doesn't feel right. Like I can feel it in my bones, that she didn't die naturally."

Melanie's hand gripped on the spoon, and she said, "But we met her parents, didn't we? They confirmed it to be natural death."

"No, what if they were compelled too? Vampires can compel anyone who doesn't have Silverwater in their body. I will make sure to know what exactly happened with Reese," stated Conner with a resolute voice. Melanie wished to tell Conner because she had never hidden anything before. And she wished to tell him to not look into things that had passed but that would affect him.

Conner was someone whom she grew up with, and she would forever hold a soft spot for him in her heart.

"You will help me with it, won't you, Mel?" asked Conner, looking into her black eyes, and she felt she was stuck between a wall and a rock.

A pair of girls, who were walking past their table, one of them commented, "I thought she was dating Simon, was it a false rumor?"

Hearing the devil's name, Melanie and Conner both turned to look at the girls, who were looking at Melanie.

"Pfft, do you really think Simon would date a thing like that? The boy next to her is more suitable for her," replied the other girl.

"I was sure I heard it right, but then it must be exaggerated," said the first girl before they walked away from the table. Melanie cursed under her breath. This had happened because of that little comment that Simon had passed near the infirmary.

Melanie tried to act calm as if she heard nothing, and she went back to eating. But it wasn't the same for Conner, who continued to stare at the two girls.

"I didn't know Simon and you were close," remarked Conner.

"Of course, we aren't. Simon is just being Simon," replied Melanie, but Conner ended up in another deep thought.

Conner's next words were casual, "I mean Simon is a cool guy, and we do hang out together. Oh, there he is. Simon!" he waved his hand for the red-headed senior to turn to look towards them. Simon waved at them, his eyes shifted from Conner to Melanie, and the corner of his lips pulled up. He was with his other friend, who looked as grumpy as Melanie.

Simon came to sit next to Melanie, and Victoria, who was with him, went to the counter to get her dinner.

Simon and Conner started to speak while Melanie tried to eat her food faster so that she could leave the table sooner. She could see some of the students turning to their table and looked at her. In an attempt to finish her meal quickly, the food got stuck, and she coughed.

Melanie was about to get water when Simon pushed a glass of water towards her, "Don't die so soon, sweetheart," remarked Simon.