In one of the secret rooms in the infirmary building, Olivia and Maximus watched Elder Remy heating a liquid that left black fumes in the air. When he poured the last remnant of the liquid from the vial into it, the liquid in the container turned hard like a cement.

  Elder Remy held a grim look on his face, and he said, "The hunters have progressed far, and to create an antidote, there's no more liquid left in the vial."

  "We have asked the hunters' children to get a few more glass vials," replied Maximus.

  Hearing the plan, the Elder vampire didn't look like he supported the plan. He said, "All of you seem to trust them. I wonder if it is blind ignorance, or faith that has been developed over time."

  "Melanie and Conner are on our side, Elder Remy," replied Olivia, and he offered her a stare that had the vampiress close her mouth.

  "Vampires are easy to manipulate, but humans believe what is shown to them, without questioning the whys. Do you think your friends will be friends if something happened to their parents?" questioned Elder Remy, leaning closer to the container in front of him and taking a closer look at it. "Sometimes, one death is all that it takes."

  Unlike the other Elder vampires, who had lost their abilities and were mostly frustrated, Elder Remy used his knowledge to find answers to the cure of the weapon that the hunters had created.

  Olivia took Maximus out of the room, and said, "How are things outside?" It was because she wasn't able to step out much or attend the meetings that was being held by the Elders.

  The first thing that came out of Maximus' lips was, "Griffin is missing."

  "He ran away?" questioned Olivia, and Maximus laughed at that thought.

  "Maybe someone kidnapped him," Maximus hinted at the possibility.

  "I wonder who would ever want to do that. It would be a waste of time," muttered Olivia. "I can only imagine that Luciano is going crazy right now."

  "You bet," replied Maximus, and he said, "I heard you are planning to skip the exams. You sure about it?"

  Olivia gave a nod, "Remy said he wants me to travel with him."

  She turned to her right, looking outside the window in the corridor. Her blue eyes are not flickering, and her features almost doll-like. She could feel Maximus' stare.

  "Did you tell him that you want to work here after graduation?" questioned Maximus, and Olivia's gaze shifted back to look at him.

  "I did. He said our lives are longer than the humans, and I can always return here where people would never suspect our ages," answered Olivia, their eyes staying two seconds longer before Maximus smiled.

  This time, he turned away from her and looked outside the window. Watching the serene atmosphere and the soft breeze move across the land. Olivia and his relationship was a little odd compared to the other people around them. Though they liked each other, they weren't in a relationship, nor were they a couple.

  "Do you know how long you will be traveling?" inquired Maximus without appearing to be fazed in front of her.

  "Maybe three to five years," or maybe more, thought Olivia in her mind. She didn't have to say the rest as he already understood it. "I heard Castiel is planning to establish a company in the North."

  A soft sigh escaped from his lips, "Everyone wants to do something once they catch Joaquin and his brother. I should go see if I can finish studying for tomorrow. I will see you later."

  "Yeah," replied Olivia, their conversation slightly stiffer than usual, and she saw him leave the infirmary.

  Maximus walked in the corridor of the boy's Dormitorium. Reaching the dorm, he was about to knock on the door when he noticed the door was already open. He pushed the door and noticed Simon sitting on the edge of the bed while Roman stood near the study table, now covered in coke cans.

  There were at least more than fifteen cans that decorated the table right now. His eyebrows shot up, and he asked, "Are we celebrating something?"

  Simon grinned at Maximus' question and replied, "Roman's appetite has grown bigger than before." But the grin fell quickly, and he added, "Welcome Ripper Roman in the house."

  Maximus frowned, "How did that happen?" he took a closer look at Roman, noticing his features hadn't changed in appearance.

  Roman, who finished taking a sip from the new coke can filled with blood, responded, "My body just needs a little time to cope with the new intrusion."

  "You didn't reply to what happened. Did it trigger by itself?" asked Maximus, watching how Roman's eyes turned darker with the taste of blood on his lips. "We'll have to inform Remy about it."

  "I have no interest in being an experimental mouse. Do you want a drink?" Roman offered Maximus, and the boy shook his head.

  "I am full, thanks," Maximus continued to stare at his friend when Roman finally decided to reveal.

  "Julie was affected after she tried to revive the Corvin. I just found out that witches often die, by picking up some rare incurable sickness that leads to their death. So I decided to take it from her," replied Roman calmly.

  "Is that even possible?" questioned Maximus, as absorbing someone's pain was unheard of. The only person who could heal the wounds and reduce pain was Elder Remy. "If it could kill her, won't it kill you?"

  Roman didn't answer Maximus's question, and he continued drinking the can. Simon stated, "We shall remember you for your passionate love and your temper, Rome."

  Maximus looked at Simon and said, "Please tell me you have been here with him, to keep an eye and not because you are enjoying him drink."

  A chuckle escaped from Simon's lips, and he said, "Of course, it would be both. It is better he drinks blood in here, than going and attacking people out in the open."

  Roman rolled his eyes, "It is just my body craving for blood since this morning. More than it usually does."

  He rotated his wrist that held the can in a circular motion before taking a sip from it. Even though he didn't feel like killing anyone for blood, he could sense that something inside him was changing. Not too quickly, but slowly and surely like a creeping shadow that would conquer his entire body.

  Maximus turned to Simon and asked, "How was Mr. and Mrs. Davis' basement? Did you get to take a look at it."

  "Not properly. The place is tight with security much better than what we have here in Veteris," Simon shifted his leg to place it on another leg while he leaned back on the bed. "I didn't get to go far, but from far it looked quite fancy. Did Castiel ask you about it?"

  Maximus shook his head, "I am worried if Melanie and Conner will be able to get another glass vial from the existing collection."

  "Hm?" Simon titled his head to the side.

  "Rome has already asked them to bring another similar glass. Olivia told me that they are running the tests on the last drops of the liquid that was handed by you, and they haven't found the cure for it yet," explained Maximus, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Our exams start tomorrow, and it feels like I might need to repeat a year, if I don't study."

  "I am sure Uncle Castiel can pull some strings. Just with the snap of his fingers. That is if Dante listens to it," Simon grinned in the thought, and Maximus shook his head. Though they came from influential families, to Dante, it meant nothing, and she wouldn't blink an eye if she found the students weren't up to the mark and were ineligible to graduate from the university.

  Simon was more interested in the little adventure that Melanie and Conner were going to take. He said, "I don't think they will be able to get it that easily. Melanie's parents have made sure to keep it locked, and one would need their access keys."

  "Maybe they can steal it," responded Maximus, but Simon wasn't convinced.

  Roman licked the last remnants of the blood on his lips and said, "As much as you want to be part of it, this is something the humans will need to figure it out. I am sure Melanie's parents have put you on the suspicion list, and there are chances where if you once enter the house, you might not come out alive."

  Simon brought his hand to his ear, playing with the little cross that hung from his ear. This was indeed true. Mrs. Davis was on alert after he had slipped the vial in his pocket. One mistake could cost his life.

  "Now if you are done chit chatting, get out of my dorm. I would like to rest," said Roman, and Simon stood up from the bed and left the dorm with Maximus following him.

  With the dorm door closed, Roman let his lower back lean against the table. He picked up one of the empty cans, bringing it to his lips before he threw up the black blood into it. His body was rejecting blood, not ready to consume and depend on what he was drinking. He wondered how long it would be before his body would accept the blood.

  Away from the boy's Dormitorium, Julie and Cillian walked on the restricted side of the forest, with the book of spells in Julie's hand.

  The atmosphere between them was slightly awkward on Julie's side because she didn't forget the words the Corvin had spoken before she had tried to revive him. She tried to distract her mind by asking,

  "Now that you are a witch, will you be able to touch the potions and know what each of their purposes are?"

  "Yes, it shouldn't be that hard. One of my hands is still having flesh on it," replied Cillian, bringing his hands up and looking at the gloved and ungloved hand.

  Julie hadn't got all the details of what had transpired last night, which had led her to believe that the resurrection hadn't taken place properly. But she was glad to see him alive even though he wasn't completely human by appearance.

  "But I don't think I have all the abilities when it comes to performing spells. The dead cannot fix things," came the thoughtful words from Cillian.

  Bending down, he placed his hand on the ground, feeling the reverberation as if it was whispering something, but he didn't know what.

  "Do you think summoning ghosts is possible?" inquired Julie, and Cillian stood up from where he had bent down earlier.

  "Whom did you plan to summon?"

  Turning to look at Cillian, Julie said, "I was thinking of this witch who ended up leaving the magic to be pulled away from the others. She must have done something for something like that to happen."

  But Cillian quickly shook his head, "Summoning isn't as easy as what you did with me. Though it is true that you will need to open the door once again. I would advise you not to do it."

  "Is it because of the dark magic that latches on to you?" she asked him, and to her words, Cillian responded with silence.

  Cillian looked in the direction where he had been near the cemetery last night, which seemed quiet.

  Julie hadn't been informed that Roman had taken some part of her darkness into him, but she could feel something very heavy, and the way she moved or breathed, there was a difference. A heaviness in her mind that was hard to get rid of.

  "Is there no way to divert this dark magic from latching on to us?" Julie inquired with him, and Cillian turned his gaze on her.

  "Witches often forget to steer clear from the darkness. You must have seen people in there, Julie. Those things, they are like parasites, who are waiting to devour you and take your place here," explained Cillian. "Many witches often get in there, with the thought that nothing will happen to them. But before they know it, when they step out of the door, they fall immensely sick."

  Both Roman and Julie had a peculiar case, where both of them had a part of them that was dead. Though death was something people would never wish to be part of, in their case, she wondered if it was considered to be a lucky charm.

  Julie pondered over Cillian's words before she asked him, "You never felt like opening the forbidden door?"

  "I don't know. I didn't have time to wander around. Your mother and your uncle were a handful and I used to keep an eye on them," said Cillian, and they continued to walk from where they had paused earlier. "Also, there's a level of difficulty, as time goes. It is harder to summon a person who was dead centuries ago, than summoning a person who was dead yesterday."

  So that is how it was, thought Julie.