Donovan placed the octagon-shaped stone on Luciano's hand while the other Elder vampire stared hard at the dull-looking stone.

  "Are you fucking with me, Azazel?" questioned Luciano, his eyes snapping to look at Donovan and glaring at him. "This is a stone."

  "I know," came the solemn reply from Donovan, who kept a straight face. "I found it on my way to Veteris and as you seem to have taken such an interest in it. I think you should have it. Consider it as a Christmas present."

  "Why does the stone have a similar shape as the dark stone?" questioned Luciano, bringing the opaque looking stone in front of his face.

  "Looks like you have quite some knowledge about the dark stone, Lucy. Trying to find one for yourself?"

  Luciano thoroughly inspected the stone and said, "Not as much as how you are looking for it and have been working alongside the Mortimers. And I am not a child to not know about the dark stone."

  Donovan chuckled, "What makes you think that I have anything to do with the Mortimers, Luciano. If I was really taking part in their plan, I would have burnt down the entire Veteris in less than a week."

  "Maybe the Mortimers don't trust you like how I don't trust you. Useless thing!" exclaimed Luciano at the stone and threw it back at Donovan, who caught it in his hand. "Or have you perhaps got your hands on the dark stone?"

  "You know," Donovan drawled, taking his own time to continue the sentence while watching Luciano's patience being tested. The blonde vampire gritted his teeth, and the vein on his forehead popped in sheer annoyance. "Even if I found the dark stone, I would not tell you about it."

  "I knew it," Luciano continued to glare and spoke loudly. "Did you hear that, Remy?"

  The third Elder vampire, who was peacefully resting in his room, stepped out of the room. But the peace had been disrupted due to the collision between the two Elder vampires, who stood in the mansion's hall.

  Elder Remy turned his gaze from Luciano to look at Donovan before his eyes shifted back, and he calmly replied, "He's lying."

  Remy started to make his way towards the main doors when Luciano stopped him, "Where are you going?"

  "Stop being so clingy, Luciano. It doesn't suit an Elder's appearance," remarked Donovan, and Luciano snapped, where he tried to capture Donovan's shadow. But before he could, Donovan disappeared from his spot and appeared next to Remy.

  "Was there something important you needed to speak about?" questioned Remy, wanting to stay far away from these two Elder vampires.

  "Yes," replied Luciano in his proud voice, "One of the hunter's boys has been caught and the compulsion won't work on him anymore. Eloise said a meeting would need to be held before the boy is executed. Donovan has already agreed to it. We'll need yours and Castiel's vote on it."

  Remy stared at Luciano with a blank expression and then replied, "Okay. I will be there at the meeting. I will be at the infirmary."

  But before leaving, Elder Remy's eyes fell on the stone for a moment that Donovan was playing with, and he took his leave from there.

  Luciano glared at Donovan, his eyes full of suspicion. Before either of the vampires could continue their couple-like quarrel, they heard a light commotion right outside the mansion.

  "Elder Luciano!" It was one of Veteris' guards, who had been with Griffin until a few minutes ago. He huffed for air, as he had come running to this place as fast as he could. "Elder Luciano!"

  Donovan and Luciano stepped out of the mansion and noticed it was the guard, who looked paler than his usual self. The guard's eyes were wide in fear, and his throat dry. He took two seconds before informing Luciano,

  "Elder Luciano, there's a creature in the restricted side of the forest!"

  Luciano frowned, "What creature?"

  The guard was clearly out of breath, and he gasped, his eyes met Elder Luciano's where he parted his lips, but no words came out.

  "Speak out!" demanded Luciano, who turned slightly annoyed for not getting the answer immediately.

  "I-It was a creature that looked like a b-bird. Dead bird, it's head," the guard brought his hand up to his face to emphasize on what he saw, "It was a skeleton head, and it wore this black long cloak and had—"

  "And had its hands and feet made out of twigs and branches?" questioned Donovan with a dull and bored look on his face.

  "You saw a Corvin?" Luciano raised his eyebrows in question, and the guard didn't know what kind of creature it was, but it did have twigs like hands when it held Griffin's neck.

  "That was the creature, Elder Luciano!" the guard nodded his head in such force that it could come off his shoulders.

  Luciano's face turned sour, and his gaze moved from the guard to look at Donovan with an accusing look on his face. He demanded, "Do you know why a Corvin is attacking the guards out of the blue?"

  "Sadly I haven't made friends with the Corvin's to know about it. You are asking the wrong person here, Luciano," Donovan answered in a nonchalant tone.

  "The little witch has a Corvin, doesn't she? What is she trying to do? Surely you cannot tell that you don't know anything about it," Luciano's ever accusing eyes didn't stop sending daggers at Donovan.

  Donovan shrugged his shoulders as he had no clue what was going on.

  The guard, who stood at the side with his hands folded and his head slightly bowed, spoke up, "Sire……Griffin, Mathew and myself were scouting the area to make sure there was no one trespassing when we came across these two students. It was a girl and a boy, who were trying to manipulate the camera that was fixed in one of the trees. When Griffin told them they should come along to talk to you, they refused like thieves and started to fight with us. It was then that the creature suddenly appeared and tried to kill Griffin!"

  "Where are they now?!" demanded Luciano in irritation.

  "They are still in the restricted side of the forest. I came to seek you out for your help, Elder Luciano. Griffin might die and Mathew if we don't go to help them!" the guard exaggerated more than what the truth was.

  "Lead the way right this instant!" ordered Luciano, and both the guard as well as the blonde Elder vampire disappeared into the forest, leaving Donovan behind.

  When Elder Luciano and the guard reached where Griffin was, he caught sight of the other guard's leg still stuck to the ground. The younger vampire stood in the same spot Julie and Caleb had left him in a shocked state. Luciano called his disciple, "Griffin!"

  Griffin snapped out of his thoughts, and he saw Elder Luciano was here.

  "Elder Luciano, Julianne and another boy were caught red handed while they were tampering with the camera," informed Griffin, and Luciano noticed that the younger vampire looked paler than how he looked. "They brought this creature with them to attack us."

  "Where are they now?" questioned Luciano, turning his head left and right. "Help this one to free himself," he ordered the guard to help the other guard who was in evident pain and was bleeding right now.

  "They ran away!" exclaimed Griffin, suddenly gaining confidence after seeing Luciano was with him here, and he knew nothing bad could happen to him. "They must have been helping our enemies, who have been trying to infiltrate the university. She was with a morm."

  "So it is the morms the Mortimers have chosen and a witch to break through our security," glared Luciano, and he then ordered, "Find the both of them and bring them to the main building right this instance!"

  To make sure, Griffin asked, "Earlier she refused to come along with me."

  "Bring her to me by force then," came the firm words of Luciano. "Any person that shows suspicious activity in the university will have to face interrogation from us and will be required to comply until their names are cleared. Tell her that Elder Luciano would like to speak to her."

  Griffin quickly nodded and left the place along with the two guards following closely behind him. At the same time, Donovan apparated behind Luciano and looked around. His eyes fell on the ground where blood had been spilt.

  "Where is your useless disciple?" questioned Donovan, asking about Griffin, and Luciano turned his head to meet Donovan's gaze.

  "He has gone to get hold of your witch whom you have been using to get hold of whatever is there in Willow Creek," stated Luciano, his eyes narrowed, and there was a sneer on his face. "Now are you going to feign ignorance saying that you don't know anything about it and you had no hand in using the witch to manipulate and damage the camera's that have been secretly placed in this area?"

  "Manipulate?" Donovan raised his eyebrow.

  A huff escaped from Luciano's lips, and he said, "Ms. Winters was found with a morm, trying to damage the cameras."

  "Maybe they were trying to see if it was working fine or not," proposed Donovan, but Luciano didn't buy it.

  Luciano came to stand in front of Donovan, where their eyes met each other, one glaring while the other looked amused. The blonde vampire then said, "Years ago, before Willow Creek disappeared from the map, you had been too keen on going and visiting the town. You didn't have to accompany Enoch, but you did anyway. Don't give me the bullshit that it was for the sake of the witch, I know you care more about the stones compared to the woman."

  A faint smile appeared on Donovan's lips, and he replied, "How rude of you to think of me to be heartless. For the record, I am the most caring person out of the four Elders. Why can't it be for that woman, after all, we did have an affair."

  "Because as far as I know, your sole purpose has been to find the dark stone. But I know there's more to it," Luciano didn't drop his guard, and he knew there was something about this vampire that left a distaste in his mouth.

  "You're hurting your pretty head by thinking too much about it," responded Donovan, and he said, "It is true, I had an inkling that Opaline was there and she was someone I believed was an alliance, which was the right thing to think. Our orders were pretty clear and we were not supposed to hurt the witches, because even Avice knew how important the La Fay's were."

  "I will get to know once Griffin brings the witch and morm to me. Let me see what she's hiding," said Luciano, and he pushed his cloak behind him before he walked from there.

  Donovan stared at Luciano's back, his eyes steady, and the faint smile that had appeared on his lips was quick to fall. His hand slipped into his pocket, and he pulled out a stone that the Corvin had pulled out from Lilian's grave. He took a look at it, feeling its coarse texture before slipping it back in his pocket.

  Back at the centre of the university of Veteris, Julie and Caleb made their way towards the girl's Dormitorium. Caleb, quietly following her, finally decided to break the silence, "Was that thing yours?"

  Julie turned and looked at him and gave him a nod, "You could tell it is something like that. Can you keep it a secret and not tell anyone?"

  "Not even if I wanted to," replied Caleb, and he said, "You should go and find Moltenore. Don't think Griffin will let you off the hook after trying to embarrass him in front of his underlings."

  She pursed her lips. She knew Griffin could be a problem, but there were other things to worry about right now. She said in a low voice, "I will go and meet Ms. Dante. She needs to be informed that the security cameras in here have been compromised, and who knows how many more have been damaged."

  "That would be a good idea," agreed Caleb, who had goosebumps all over his skin after witnessing things in the forest. He then said, "Let me come with you. Just in case, you know."

  Julie was mildly surprised by his suggestion but didn't refuse, "Okay."

  They started to head towards the main building, where the headmistress was often found. But when they reached, Ms. Dante was not there, and upon further inquiry, Julie found out from a worker that the headmistress had stepped out from here ten minutes ago and hadn't informed where she was going. While they stood in the inner side of the corridor halls, Griffin called,

  "Julianne Winters," from one end of the deserted corridor.

  "Ah, he caught up too quickly," muttered Caleb under his breath.

  Griffin was accompanied by both guards, who were with him earlier, and one of them looked extremely angry as he looked at Julie. After all, she did stab him with a wooden stake.

  "You and the morn are supposed to come with me to the dungeon, for harming a fellow student and also attacking the guards. It is an order from Elder Luciano Sterling and you cannot refuse it unless you want to face the worst consequences," stated Griffin in a loud voice, which slightly echoed in the corridor as there wasn't anyone here.

  Julie didn't know why, but Griffin reminded her of a fly that kept coming back to annoy a person no matter how much one tried to swat the fly away. On the other hand, Caleb wasn't too pleased by hearing that an Elder was now involved in the matter, and he became worried. He looked between Julie and Griffin, where neither of them were ready to give up.

  "I guess you didn't learn your lesson earlier," replied Julie, and hearing her words, Griffin ground his teeth in anger.

  "Maybe it is you who will learn the lesson. Come with me, unless you don't want to be punished," replied Griffin, taking a position and bringing his hand forward. "Now."

  "I do not answer to you, nor to your Elder," Julie returned his words with her answer.

  Maybe there was a hierarchy within the vampires, but Julie was no vampire, and she was a free person. She was a witch, and from what she knew about her family, especially from her mother, it was not to bow her head down.

  "Then suit yourself. Don't tell me that I didn't warn you," retorted Griffin, and Caleb stepped closer and whispered,

  "Maybe it is time to call that strange bird of yours, or just listen to him and speak to the Elder once to clear up things. It is never good to go against an Elder's order. It usually ends up ugly."

  "Go find Ms. Dante," replied Julie. She had her eyes on Griffin, who raised both his hands, and he turned his hands into fists.

  Julie wasn't sure what hidden powers Griffin had in him that he hadn't revealed until now. But he seemed to be concentrating on attacking her without blinking his eyes even for a moment. Caleb gave one last look before he slipped out of there to find the headmistress before something bad happened. Knowing Julie could take care of herself, he quickly sprinted from there.

  Griffin then started to walk towards Julie while she braced herself, but she saw nothing.

  A second later, Julie suddenly fell on the ground, feeling a sharp pain between both her ankles where she was unable to stand on her feet anymore. What the hell just happened?! She questioned herself.

  Griffin grinned, watching the girl squirm in pain. He said, "My ability is not something that you can see but you can feel it. Feel it in your blood," he chuckled in the end. He was able to shift the blood in a person's body to another part. He could use it only on his Elder's command. "I told you to follow my orders, but you have trouble following it. How does it feel now?"

  Julie's face scrunched in pain, feeling the numbness start to spread in her legs, and she brought her hand forward to whisper a spell. But the moment her hand made contact with the ground, her hand suddenly turned painful because Griffin had shifted the blood away from her wrist and a painful cry escaped from her lips.

  "Keep squirming and resisting. I will kill you here and tell the others that it was you who brought your death upon yourself while I was only following the orders," came Griffin's cold voice, which was audible only to Julie. "Do you want to know how it feels with no blood in the heart?"

  On his word, Julie started to cough, feeling uneasiness in her chest. With great difficulty, she got the markings done on the floor. But as the markings started to glow, Griffin caught sight of it, and he twisted his wrist for Julie to shriek in pain.

  "Keep struggling," laughed Griffin while watching Julie wheeze and glare at him. She could feel her body starting to ache, and it made it hard for her to concentrate on anything apart from the pain that she felt. "Once I have all the blood shifted to another side of your body where your heart isn't located, slowly everything will start faili—"

  Before Griffin could completely drain the blood from one side of Julie's body to kill her, suddenly, a gust of fire blew up the place where Griffin was standing. Griffin dropped his hand and quickly jumped away feeling the heat from behind, but the fire was too intense, burning some parts of his clothes and skin.

  "Fucker!" Griffin cursed, turning back to order the two guards, but they had fallen on the ground.

  Next to the fallen guards stood Roman, with narrowed and he looked pissed.