When the bell to the Winter's residence rang, Julie walked to the door while slightly opening the door, not knowing if Roman was back or if it was some neighbour who had come to visit her uncle and aunt.

  She noticed three tall men wearing black suits, and they looked as if they were officers. For a moment, her blood ran cold at the thought that someone had informed about what happened. But then she heard the man at the front speak,

  "Is this Winter's residence?"

  Julie nodded her head, "Is there someone you are looking for?"

  The man at the front had peppered black and white hair, his physique lean and his cheeks hollower than his other companions. He replied, "I was here on Mr. Oscar's words. Heard there was someone that needed to be picked up."

  "That would be by my word," came Donovan's words from behind Julie, and she turned around before stepping away from the door.

  The Elder vampire walked to the front, his chin raised and his demeanour proud.

  "Mr. Donovan. What a pleasure to be meeting you," the man took his hat off his head before he offered a bow to the Elder vampire.

  "Do I know you or have I forgotten?" questioned Donovan before pulling open the door and welcoming them inside the house.

  "I have heard a lot about you, Mr. Donovan. Just my tales and stories of who you are. It is hard to notice the coat that you wear, which is quite unique and the gem on it," replied the man, and he introduced himself, "I am Parker Wade, I am part of the special service in the Common health Hospital. Here is my card," he offered it smoothly, where his hand had slipped into his coat before stretching it to Donovan.

  At the same time, Roman just came through the door. Parker's men, who didn't know if Roman was an intruder, one of the people used his hand to almost punch him. But Roman caught hold of the man's fist in his, stopping the person from moving his hand before tightening the grip for one to hear the sound of the bones lightly crack.

  "Are these the men who Remy called?" questioned Roman, pushing the man away from him while lightly glaring at the person before he made his way inside the living room.

  "It looks like there was a slight misunderstanding. Forgive us, we tend to like to be meticulous in the job that we do," apologized Parker, noticing Roman going to stand next to the young lady, who appeared to be human. "Here is my card, if you need my service."

  Roman didn't take any offence, and he took the card, reading one line on it before he disappeared it in his pocket.

  "How long will she be able to stay there in the morgue without raising any suspicion?" asked Julie, wanting to make sure nothing would happen.

  Parker turned to look at Julie, briefly weighing the girl before he replied, "Usually not more than three days. But we provide the best service, and we will try to push it for a week, but not more than that. Time is tricky right now with the hunters who are keeping a closer tab around the hospital and are tightening their security so that they can catch the vampires."

  Julie nodded, feeling something was better than nothing.

  "You will fix her up nice, won't you, Mr. Wade?" questioned Donovan, and Parker smiled.

  "We'll make sure all your requirements are met. Mr. Oscar has always been a generous contributor when it comes to funding our expenses. We would give his friends and families the best service we have. Is this the only person?" The man's eyes fell on Aunt Sarah, noticing how the neck had been slashed.

  "Yes, it's just one for now," said Donovan in a nonchalant tone, and with the word 'now', both Roman and Julie turned to look at him. "It was just words. I don't look forward to killing more, not unless they turn into a threat."

  Julie was still upset with how things had gone down. Aunt Sarah… she was as good as innocent, and Donovan had misread the room or her intention without knowing in-depth, and he had done the one thing he was good at. Kill.

  This reminded something her father had told her in Willow Creek. About how the people from Donovan bloodline carried a curse with them. Where death spread slowly to the people who were close to them. Was that what was happening?

  Roman came forward and said, "Take her and store her carefully. I will pay for the charges."

  "Of course," replied Parker with a slight nod, and when he turned to his men, one of them picked up the deceased woman, carrying her out of the house before she was put in the black van that had been pulled up close behind the house.

  Later, while Roman and Donovan were talking, Julie made her way to where her uncle was, and she saw him stare at her.

  "Can you trust me, Uncle Thomas?" asked Julie, without beating around the bush or spinning any tales.

  "That you or your companions won't kill me the way you killed your aunt?" questioned Uncle Thomas, and Julie felt the prick in her head.

  She shook her head, "No," she whispered. I don't know at what bad time it happened, something that shouldn't have happened. And I am truly sorry on behalf of the person, as I never wanted this to happen. I never came here with that intention… All I wanted was to spend time with my uncle, with my only existing family."

  Uncle Thomas stayed quiet, a sorrow coming to fill his eyes and his features, and he closed his eyes, where a drop of tear slipped from his eyes. He appeared to be much calmer than before. He said,

  "I wanted to make things right between you two. Knowing how Sarah was always on her guard when you were around, as if you would influence Joel badly," he paused for a moment before he continued, "But I didn't know that she was carrying a secret. But then I didn't know my sister and brother-in-law were carrying a secret. And I didn't know you were carrying a secret with you."

  "I am sorry that you had to find it out like this…" whispered Julie.

  If she had not come to meet her relatives, Aunt Sarah would have still been alive, and her uncle would not be a widow now. Her cousin would still have his mother.

  "I would have never known, isn't it?" questioned Uncle Thomas, his eyes looking directly at Julie, and she stared back at him. "I would have been in the dark."

  "Most of us were only protecting you…" and on Julie's words, there was a sigh of disappointment from the man. She quickly said, "I know you don't need protection, but the other side of the world, it is twisted. And… Aunt Sarah didn't want you to be part of it, because she didn't want to be part of it. How did you find out that your father killed your mother because she was involved in this. She was a hunter too?"

  Julie shook her head, "No, mother wasn't a hunter. She was just trying to protect me and keep me safe… I know you probably don't trust me."

  "No, it isn't that, Julie," replied Uncle Thomas. "I am just finding it hard to cope with my wife's death. And the truth doesn't make it any easier. It is painful…" his voice broke in the end, and Julie's heart broke on seeing her uncle in this state.

  She pursed her lips before saying, "There is a way if you want to forget the pain. The vampires can take away your pain and you will feel less of it."

  "I don't think it would help. No one can take away pain, because what we do is only hide it, when in truth the pain continues to linger in the back," murmured Uncle Thomas.

  Julie walked closer to Uncle Thomas, sitting down on the back of her heels, and she craned her neck a little before saying, "Tell me how I can fix this? I will do the best I can."

  Uncle Thomas shook his head, "It isn't your fault. You didn't kill your aunt."

  After a few seconds, Julie informed him, "They took Aunt Sarah to the hospital."

  "I see," replied Uncle Thomas.

  When Julie stood up, Uncle Thomas was ready to see her leave, but she surprised him by untying him from the ropes. He had a look of surprise on his face.

  Julie said, "You aren't a prisoner. You are someone whom I have always believed that, in a room full of people, you would be someone to understand me first or the situation. I can give you the information where aunt is, so that you and Joel can bury her in peace."

  Uncle Thomas stood up from the chair, rubbing his wrists. He didn't speak to her right away because he had believed that in the presence of the other two vampires, he would never walk out from here freely.

  "Yeah, I will do that," said Uncle Thomas.

  Julie felt her heart grow heavier with every second of silence that passed between them.

  She knew her uncle was not a bad man, and even though he had threatened to expose them, he was a sensible man who had the basic understanding that he wouldn't survive if he did something like that. Not to mention, people would call him an insane who had lost his sanity after losing his wife.

  "I would like some time for myself. I will go and pick Joel and take it elsewhere with me," said Uncle Thomas, and for a moment, he paused before adding, "I don't think it is safe for him or me here anymore. Also the memories… they will be too much for me to handle with the emptiness. It would be better for us to start fresh."

  "I understand that," replied Julie, and she saw him nod.

  When an hour passed, Uncle Thomas had pulled out two suitcases behind him before he made his way to the living room. Donovan and Roman, who were there, who had overheard what Julie had done and spoken, they stared at the men while the human stared back at them.

  Uncle Thomas looked at the spot of the couch where he had last seen his wife. He said to Julie, "I will call you once I pick Joel."

  "Okay."

  Julie saw Uncle Thomas take a look around the house as if he was going to miss it very much.

  Donovan asked her, "Do you want me to reduce his pain?"

  "Will it work?"

  "I am an Elder vampire, half of my words will pass through the Silverwater," Donovan let them know. "It's worth a shot."

  It took a great amount of resolution before Julie replied, "Just the pain, nothing else."

  Donovan walked to where the human stood before looking straight into his eyes. He compelled him, "Forget the pain that you feel. Feel lighter than before, and your worries weigh less on your mind."

  Uncle Thomas didn't react, nor did he speak to the words Donovan spoke. Julie didn't know if it worked, but she didn't go to check. She saw Uncle Thomas step out of the house, where the cab that had been booked was waiting for him.

  "Why did you let him go?" asked Roman, a grim expression on his face. "Aren't you worried that he will tell others what happened?"

  "Uncle Thomas is not like that. He's hurt, but I know he also loves and cares for me dearly. And I think it is better for him to stay away from me," replied Julie, as she stared at her uncle pushing the luggage into the cab.

  "You won't miss him?" questioned Roman, his eyes leaving the cab and falling on Julie, who looked hurt.

  "I will," came the faint whisper.

  "It's not too late to bring him back and compel him. You will forever get to keep him around and your cousin. Just the way, they have been with you until now," stated Roman, knowing this was the only family left for her since she had grown up.

  Julie had always had a soft spot for the human, and Roman could tell by the looks of it, Uncle Thomas felt the same way towards her.

  "I don't think I have the heart to do that to him. Even though… he cares for me, I don't think right now, I can look him in the eye," replied Julie, and when the cab pulled away from there, she took a deep breath before exhaling the air through her lips.

  Sometimes… all it took was one moment of a misstep that could leave people broken, thought Julie in her mind.

  Roman's phone started to ring, and he pulled it from his pocket, checking the screen before he picked it up to speak,

  "No, what is it?…… What are you doing there?" asked Roman to the person on the other side of the call, his eyes narrowing at something that was told. "I will send someone to get that done… Yeah." And he cut the call.

  "Who was it?" asked Julie, and Roman ran his hand through his hair.

  "Conner's father was injured by a rogue vampire last night. They were on a hunt with Conner and Melanie, and Simon was there. They are looking for the ash of the rogue vampire who attacked him," said Roman and Julie's eyebrows furrowed deeply.

  "Conner and Melanie were there?" she repeated and saw him give her nod. Did that mean that their family had finally exposed them to the dark side of the world? Julie asked herself. "What do they need the ash for?"

  "Some ashes of the vampire help in healing. It avoids the human from turning into a vampire or sometimes on death bed," it was Donovan who replied to her. "But if the vampire was killed yesterday, it is too late to be looking for it. There is a time limit for everything and like things in this world, there is an expiry for it."

  Roman turned to Julie and said, "Summon the Corvin."

  Julie slightly frowned, but she didn't question him. She closed her eyes for a moment, and the very next second, the Corvin made its appearance in the living room.

  "Sorry for calling you out of the blue," said Julie and the Corvin shook its head.

  "I was standing outside the house," it said to her and Julie's mouth turned into an O.

  Roman asked the creature, "Did you revisit the forest last night?"

  "Yes," replied the creature, and even though its voice was emotionless, Donovan took note of how it spoke much more freely to the witch than to Roman.

  "Did you pick up the rogue vampires who were killed? Do you have them in you right now?" questioned Roman and Julie turned to look at the creature. She remembered how the creature ate things that were dead, but she would have never thought that it would eat up the ash too. "There was a particular vampire that hurt a human."

  The Corvin looked like it didn't want to cooperate on this, and Julie said, "It is Conner's father, who is hurt. We cannot let him die."

  "You know, if you were to ask my personal opinion, I would tell you that it is better to let things be," Donovan shrugged, where he had taken back a seat on the couch, with his legs crossed. "Imagine you let the man live, and he creates some kind of catalyst, where he brings up more hunters and we lose our vampires. Friends or family."

  "Parallel lines," murmured Julie, remembering what Mr. Evans had told her.

  "Yes, parallel lines," Donovan pointed his finger as if that was what he was talking about.

  Roman didn't care about the parallel lines right now because he knew what could happen. He said, "Simon said Conner has been acting a little strange. It would be better to ease his mind than let his father die. I am sure that's what you would want to?" he turned to Julie, who was quick to nod.

  Losing parents was an awful feeling, and she didn't want her friends to feel the pain she felt.

  Looking at the Corvin, Julie asked, "Do you have the ash? If you do, I need you to go and give it to Simon, without anyone's notice," she added the last part because the last time Griffin had seen it.

  "Okay, I give it," said the creature, slightly unhappy that it had to give it away, and it disappeared in a blink of an eye.

  "Well now that everything has been cut short, why don't we all head back home?" proposed Donovan to Roman and Julie, more than happy to return to Veteris.

  Roman looked at Julie, wanting to know what she wanted, and he saw her nod. Agreeing to go back to Veteris.

  In the forest where the rogue vampires had been hunted, some of the people looked for the spot where the rogue vampires had been killed. Simon returned to where Melanie was actively trying to look for the ash by herself, while the others looked in the other direction.

  Melanie had volunteered to find the ashes of the dead rogue vampires in the forest. And since she had been here, she had been avoiding Simon like the plague, but somehow it seemed like she ended up near him.

  "I have something for you," said Simon and Melanie gingerly turned to look at him.

  Noticing him holding a small bag in his hand, she looked at him and asked, "What is this?"

  He tilted his head to the side and replied, "Medicine for your father-in-law."