Chapter 143 - Protective Father

Julie caught sight of the vampire, whose eyes were blood red and skin as pale as the snow. And though the vampire looked as if he was weak, she could tell by seeing the clothes that he wore that this person here was no ordinary vampire.

'Run from here,' whispered Knox, and Julie turned to look at the Corvin, with whom she had been speaking to until now. 'My powers are very limited and I cannot protect you right now. I will try my best if I can find something that might be of use to you.'

She could feel dread starting to fill up her whole body, and she took one step backwards before she started to run, hearing the sound of footsteps that were quick to follow her, that belonged to the vampire. 

Julie hadn't expected to come face to face with a vampire in here. That was the last thing she had been worried about when she found herself stuck in here. She didn't run in a  straight line and instead moved left and right, hoping to distract the vampire who was on her heels. Her eyes quickly looked for a possible wooden stake, but the adrenaline coursed through her veins made it hard for her to focus her attention on searching for a piece of wood. 

She brought her hand forward, smacking both of them as if trying to get her ability started, but nothing happened. The vampire was quick to get a hold of her, placing his hand on her shoulder and having her turn around. But at the same time, she used her hands to push the person's face, trying to avoid being bitten.

A sudden blast of light appeared in Julie's hand, which was blue, and it caused an impact on the vampire, causing the night creature to fall on the ground. 

It wasn't enough to kill the vampire, and the creature lifted himself while baring his fangs at her. The vampire was a coachman who had smelled Julie's blood that drifted in the town's stale atmosphere. 

"B-blood," the vampire raised his hand towards her, and Julie tried to bring back the blue light before it emitted from the palms of her hand. The vampire screamed, but at the same time, he came right at her, putting his hands around her neck and pushing her against one side of the wall of the building. 

Knox, the Corvin, quickly came to her side, trying to use his hands to stop the vampire from squeezing the very life from Julie. It was as if his hands passed right through the vampire, and he was unable to touch the night creature. 

Julie used her hands to push the vampire from the bottom of his jaw, using all her strength, and suddenly the vampire blew into pieces, splattering on the white, snowy ground around her. 

"Well well well, I was wondering whose blood was this sweet and  tasted divine, I didn't know there was another witch alive in here," said a voice from above the building where Julie stood. She raised her head to notice a vampire, whose clothes, even though faded, didn't take away the dignified air around him. He looked as if he was an important figure in the past. 

He quickly jumped on the ground, and Knox tried to push Julie behind him protectively, even though it was of no use as the vampire could still get to her effortlessly.

"Not to mention, we have a Corvin here," stated the vampire, showcasing his sleek fangs. 

"Who is this person?" 

'Enoch. Enoch Mortimer,' Knox murmured the name, which Julie was quick to catch.  She leaned to the side to look at the vampire, who possibly held the politest smile she had ever come across until now. 

The creature had a calm looking appearance even though it held an obvious look of thirst in his eyes that betrayed his true intention since all he wanted to do was sink his fangs into her. He had blonde hair, and his slanted eyes gave a laid back appearance to him.

"And who might you be, Corvin? I thought I kept hearing rustling sounds,  even during the time of my unneeded slumber. I should have known that the witch would have left something to guard the town," Enoch smiled at them. "You don't appear to be someone I have ever seen here before," the vampire commented, staring at Julie. 

Julie noticed the way the vampire's tongue ran across his lips as if he had just tasted blood. 

'Stay away from him, he was the one who ordered the La Fays to be executed, to set them up,' Knox warned Julie. 

"Don't listen to the Corvin, little witch. I am a gentleman who would never harm anyone, let alone a witch," chuckled Enoch. "You Corvins are such prudes. We gave the witches our blood in return for the offerings you made us, just so that your kind could live in the afterlife, and this is how you repay us?" he clicked his tongue.

"Blood?" whispered Julie, as this was something she had never heard about. 

"Hm? You don't know?" asked Enoch, and he started to make his way towards her. 

The Corvin, without waiting, went straight at the vampire, intending to stop him, but as much as Knox wanted, he only ended up being incorporeal, and the vampire walked past him. 

Julie quickly stepped backwards, but the vampire, even after being stuck here for decades and hadn't drank blood, was still more agile. However, before he could get too close to her, something came flying right between the two of them, stopping the vampire from stepping one more step forward. 

"I thought I sniffed another vampire in here, the stench of betrayal was too strong to not notice." 

Julie turned in the direction of the voice, and she noticed it was Donovan standing not too far away from where they were. 

"And I thought I would not be seeing your face for the next few years," replied Enoch, and Julie quickly ducked and went to stand back near the Corvin. 

"Mm, disappointment is heavy in the air just like I am with you. I was wondering why I didn't find you all these years. I should have known that you were stuck in this place," commented Donovan, and he made his way to where Julie stood. On his way, he noticed the bits of the vampire that now inked black on the snowy ground. 

Julie was more than surprised to see Donovan in here, and she asked, "How did you get in, Mr. Donovan?" 

Donovan straightened his coat, where the sides of black fur ruffled gently because of the wind. "Just like you did. One moment I was about to leave and the next  moment I was in this lost town. Maybe if Roman was still there, he would have been here now, but he got tired of waiting for you."

Julie's eyebrows furrowed. She heard the Elder vampire say to her, "It has been three years now, since you have been stuck in this place." Three years?! She panicked at the thought of it, it was only a few hours since she had got in here, did time not go hand in hand with this cursed town and the world outside it?!

Donovan enjoyed the girl's panicked reaction, somewhere he liked the fact that he could make the girl's mind run, and she would blindly have to believe him. Call him petty, but he didn't like the fact that Roman was deeply involved with this girl. 

Ignoring Enoch's presence, Donovan continued with his little chit chat with Julie, "Roman has been coming to the East side of the forest for a while, I mean he used to until he finally realized it was a lost cause. It's not like we know any witches or relatives who can help in opening the path to the bridge. I am the headmaster of Veteris and was taking a stroll, when this little mishap happened." 

Julie wondered if Donovan was making up stuff, but why would the Elder vampire even bother with it. Unless he was bored, she said in her mind. 

"Your lies never seem to end, Azazel," commented Enoch, slightly annoyed by the fact that Donovan had interrupted his time with his meal. He said, "The witch is mine. I saw her here first, and she is my meal." 

"I don't know which year you are living in, but we are in an era where I need everything in writing. Show me proof and I will let you have the girl, what do you think, Ms. Winters?" Donovan raised his eyebrows at her. His eyes fleetingly moved to look at the Corvin, who protectively stood next to Julie. His eyes subtly narrowed before he went back to look at the other vampire. 

"Looks like your mind has turned rusty, but whoever catches the prey first, the person becomes theirs. That's how the vampire's rules have been and it stays forever. What? Are you also keen on the little witch?" questioned Enoch, but the very next second, he zapped something from his hand that seemed like a thunderbolt that made a shattering sound. 

Enoch went right at Donovan while the Elder vampire stepped forward, bringing his own hand forward for smoke-like clouds to appear. Soon both of the vampires started to fight with each other, where there were clashes of their two abilities, and some of the walls and buildings were damaged because of their fight. 

"You could have easily greeted me, Enoch. We were friends weren't we?" questioned Donovan with a pleasant expression on his face. 

Enoch was no different when it came to concealing his emotions, and his face was calm. He said, "Don't think I didn't know that you had something to do with the witches in here before I decided to attack them. We were supposed to acquire the jewels and you knew they were right here, didn't you?" 

Donovan's hand moved quickly in the air, and at the same time, Enoch jumped backwards to stop the other vampire from attacking him. 

"I have no clue what you're talking about, Enoch," came the blatant lie from Donovan's lips. 

"You stole the jewels and kept them for yourself. You think I don't know about it? I could sense they were here," Enoch's eyes narrowed at Donovan, and from where he stood, he used the lighting to strike the land, and it shook the ground, cracking some parts of the soil. "Why don't we try to settle it with sharing as we always have." 

"Staying here in the land of witches must have rusted your mind with the lack of blood in your body to not get the fact that I have no idea what you're talking about through that thick head of yours. I believe the sole reason why we even entered this town was to catch hold of witches, but what did you do?" questioned Donovan. "What did you do that you ended up in here for decades? How pitiful that a vampire like yourself couldn't even step out of the curse." 

Donovan's words angered Enoch, and the vampire continued to use the bolts of lightning against Donovan, which the elder vampire jumped and hopped away with ease. 

While the two vampires fought each other, Julie turned to look at the Corvin, and she asked him, "What did the person mean when he spoke about vampires offering their blood to the witches?" Was there some sort of voodoo or sacrifice that had been done?

'Let us go from here, far away from the vampires, the better. Especially the ones that wield abilities,' the creature's hand reached out for Julie's hand and tugged her along from there. 

"Wait, what about Donovan?" she asked. 

'He can take care of himself. If not, good that he's dead,' came the blunt response from Knox and Julie followed the creature. 'You need to stay safe and have more protection than the others.'

"Why are you not able to touch the vampires?" questioned Julie, her eyebrows furrowed. 

'It's a curse for committing a sin that goes against nature.'

"What do you mean?" questioned Julie because the conversation that had taken place earlier had left her slightly confused.

'Let me show you,' said the Corvin, and it entered one of the houses, which Julie was quick to follow. The house was old, and it was filled with dust. Enough to let one know that the town hadn't gone quiet recently, but it had been many years. 

She watched the Corvin's hand reach for the cupboards, and it pulled out a vessel filled with a shimmering liquid. There wasn't enough liquid, and when it dipped its hands into the vessel, it was as if its wooden fingers absorbed the liquid, and when that happened, the Corvin's appearance started to change into a human. 

Julie's eyes widened, noticing the brown hair and brown eyes that stared at her right now.  She drank in his eyes that held a seriousness in them and the grim expression on his face. He was no longer a Corvin, and her lips parted in surprise. 

"I once used to be a witch. A witch who fell in love with Opaline La Fay," said Knox, pushing the vessel away from him, which had no more liquid in it. "Unfortunately, when the witches turn into ravens and Corvins they lose some parts of their memory, so I don't know much about my past life, but some things have continued to remain intact. When I turned into a Corvin, Opaline was quick to recognize me. And she tried to find a way to bring me back… temporary measures, but it took half of her existing life. The abilities and the powers that a witch has, it has consequences."

So that was how he was able to consummate his relationship even after death, thought Julie in her mind. 

"But there's more than that…" the man stared at Julie before he said, "I have been wanting to see you for a long time now. To meet you, Julianne."

"You did?" asked Julie, a slight surprise in her voice. 

Knox nodded his head before he said, "Yes. Both your mother and I, we were curious to know how you would turn out to be because of our curious case."

It took a second for Julie to wrap the words around her head, and she blinked, "My mother and you?"

"I don't know if Sullivan told you, but Opaline is your true mother," Knox dropped the ball for Julie to stare hard at him. "And I am your father, Julianne."

For a spare second, Julie didn't react before she smiled, "That's not possible. My mother's name is Harriet. Opaline can be my great great ancestor, but she cannot be my mother, or you… my father." 

But they had similar hair and eyes, and it felt as if Julie's stomach dropped to the ground. All these years, she had grown up knowing Harriet Winters and Douglas Leighton to be her parents, how did she end up having her parents switched?

Knox picked up the vessel and placed it back in the cupboard as if it was something precious, and he said, "Your mother wanted to keep you safe and knowing no one would ever come to track you, she sent you with the girl, who had come from the future. The girl's name was Addalie. No not that," there was a rasp in his voice even though he had turned into his human-like appearance. 

Julie's face turned pale because the memory of what happened in the last two days was still fresh. She asked, "Natalie?"

"Yes, that was the name." 

No, that was not possible, thought Julie to herself. Natalie couldn't be her mother, this was some twisted joke. 

While Julie tried to understand what exactly was going on, away from Opaline La Fay's house, Donovan and Enoch continued to fight and ended up crushing the skeletons that were out in the open. 

"Aren't you getting a little too worked up about the prey? Or are you worried that you won't be able to get out of this place and will need something to survive on?" questioned Enoch with a hint of glare in his eyes. 

"No, I am just annoyed with the fact that you are still alive. If it weren't for you, this town would have continued to thrive," came the cool words from Donovan. "I might as well kill you now than drag the inevitable." 

"How about we both join hands like before and try to bring out the little witch's abilities?" proposed Enoch. 

"As enticing as the offer is, I will have to pass. Maybe if it was another witch I might have considered," the smoke from Donovan's hands suddenly spilt on the ground, and the things it touched were quick to engulf any matter, and it included the snowflakes that had come to settle on the ground. 

"Hmph!" Enoch's face slowly turned into a scowl. He threw the bolt at Donovan, where the Elder vampire's smoke engulfed it. "Looks like you want to use her for your own use. Or is it something else?"

Donovan smiled at the vampire, "Not for my own use, but there's someone who wouldn't be happy if a single strand on the girl's head went missing."

Enoch sensed something to be wrong as if Donovan had grown powerful or he had grown weak. Knowing it wasn't wise to fight now when he was in need of blood, he used one attack that stopped Donovan from moving forward, and he disappeared from there. 

After a few minutes, in La Fay's house, the door suddenly opened, Julie and Knox turned to look at the door. There stood Donovan, dusting his coat, "Enoch ran away somewhere and it's boring to be out here alone. I thought I could use some company."

The last person Julie had wanted to get stuck in this place was Donovan, and she wasn't sure what he was up to now. How did he get inside the town while Roman couldn't? Questioned Julie in her mind. 

"Greetings to you, Knox. It has been a while since I last saw you, thought I saw your dead body," remarked Donovan, and he casually stepped inside the house through the door. 

"I was," replied Knox with a straight face, his emotions barely changing. "I can tell you haven't changed much."

Julie looked back and forth between the two people, "You know each other?" she asked them. 

Donovan stared at Julie and then Knox. He asked, "I do. I once used to know him. Is this a witch's gathering with the old witch?" He looked at them curiously, and when no one replied, he said to Julie, "Now that the other vampire has been chased away, how about we try to get out of this place, hm?" 

When the Elder vampire went to reach out for Julie, Knox put his arm in between to stop Donovan from advancing.. The Elder vampire's gaze moved to the Corvin, where both the males stared at each other.