Chapter 185 - The Time Of The Calling

Music Recommendation: Face the truth- Joseph Trapanese

—

Hearing Melanie's words, Julie wondered if she should make it easy for her friend by telling her that she already knew about it. But what if Melanie wanted to speak about her and Conner? Then that would be a problem, she thought in her mind. Thinking this, she decided to listen to her first before speaking about anything. 

"Anything, Mel," replied Julie, watching her friend's worried expression while she slightly fiddled with her fingers. 

"When Conner and I went over to stay with our parents for the weekend, we found out about something. Do you remember that I told you there was this gathering?" asked Melanie, and Julie nodded. "That… it wasn't just any normal gathering. But before I tell you more, you are supposed to maintain absolute secrecy, like you cannot tell Roman about it or speak about it to your uncle. Or think I am crazy." 

Melanie had continuously spoken to Julie without a break due to nervousness, where she noticed Julie staring at her. 

Julie pursed her lips before she said, "I know what you want to speak about, Mel." She held her breath a little, watching a confused expression coming to settle on her friend's face. 

"You do?" asked Melanie, and Julie nodded her head, her eyes darting towards the door before it shifted back to look at her friend. She said, "No, this is something you wouldn't know. It's like totally out of the world—"

"I know your parents are hunters and I know about the existence of the vampires," said Julie, coming out clean and saving her friend from fretting more than she already was. 

"—is something whic—wait," Melanie paused, speaking after being interrupted, and she blinked, "You do?" 

Julie awkwardly smiled before saying, "I found out about it during the university's Annual fall. I am sorry I didn't tell you about it." 

She was ready to see Melanie turn upset because she had hidden something like this from her, even though they shared most of the things that happened around with them. Julie had kept it a secret, as most people were not aware of who she was. She waited for her friend to look at her in disappointment as if she hadn't followed their girl's code of being friends. 

But Melanie surprised Julie by coming forward and putting her arms around her, "Oh, God, I am so glad that you do. I was worried all this while that you would think I am crazy."

Julie softly laughed, "You aren't angry at me?" 

"Huh, why would I be?" Melanie pulled away from the hug and let out a relieved sigh. "Wait, before that, what did you mean you found out about it during the Veteris' festival? Where was I?" 

"It was right after I left the gallery which we had gone to view," explained Julie before adding, "Things I am going to tell you, you cannot tell it to anyone, Mel. Not even to Conner." Even though Conner was their friend, he was someone with a mouth that could make slip-ups, and it could cause issues, worse, death could be waiting for them, and Julie didn't want anything like that to happen. 

Melanie stared at Julie before she gave a nod, "I guess we can skip one or two classes," she proposed so that they could catch up with each other. Julie laughed because this was something she and Melanie hadn't done before, especially when they had their exams approaching. 

"I think it would be better to leave the building quickly, before they close the gates and this class gets occupied," said Julie, and they headed towards the door. The last thing they needed was Mr. Borrell catching them and handing them detention for not being in their respective classes. 

Passing through the crowd of students, who were walking in the opposite direction, both Julie and Melanie left the area where the buildings were located, and they went to the more deserted area, like the forest. 

On their way, Melanie whispered to Julie, "Does this mean you know about Simon?" 

Julie hadn't heard about Simon revealing himself and not knowing much about what happened during the weekend in the town of Greasy Corner, she replied, "Yes, I do."

"How did you even find out about it? Did you get attacked by a vampire?" Melanie continued to question. 

"Veteris has a history of its own, Mel. This place once used to be a town. That is before a horrible and scarring incident that fell on the people who once used to live here. This whole place consists of vampires and humans. There are vampire students, teachers, and it is managed by vampires." 

"Shit," mumbled Melanie under her breath. 

Melanie looked like she was in a whole lot of shock, and Julie could understand her friend's emotions. Only that Melanie had got a little heads up from her family, while to Julie, she had come to see the graves of the people whom she had spoken to in the university. 

"H-How is it possible?" questioned Melanie with a look of disbelief. "How haven't the hunters come to notice this? This place is a ticking bomb." 

Julie pursed her lips, letting Melanie digest the information. She gave a little more details when it came to the history of the university, while also telling about the Elders and then coming to Simon, which she already knew about. 

"This is more than shocking. Simon and his friends, which means Roman and his friends… no wonder they are the way they appear and speak. I always knew there was something very peculiar especially about Simon, I would have never guessed the others until now…" said Melanie, rubbing her forehead. "I am internally freaking out. How come you are calm with all these things, Julie?"

"There is more than just the vampires…" Julie's voice drawled, and she said, "My father is a hunter too. He shot my mother because he thought she was a witch. But she wasn't a witch." 

"My parents must know your father then. They said something about the hunters running in the same circle," Melanie mentioned, and Julie nodded.

"It is possible. I haven't heard anything from him nor has my uncle," replied Julie. 

"Why did he think your mother was a witch?" asked Melanie, and Julie shrugged her shoulders, "I am not sure how he came to that conclusion. But my mother… She was a human. I am a witch."

Melanie raised her eyebrows and said, "I think I will need some time to absorb all of these. My brain is overloaded with too much information. But, oh my God, you are a witch. How does this work, like?" 

Julie gave the shortened version that she could to Melanie, glad to be able to speak to her friend like before, where she didn't have to hide things. By the time she was done explaining, Melanie had moved to lean against the tree while wrapping everything around her head. 

"I am sorry to hear about your aunt, Julie. And everything with your family. I thought my family was messed up, being involved in this situation, but yours seems out of the world," said Melanie, a small frown on her face, and she said, "Is there anything that I can do to help?" 

"Be my friend forever, and it will be more than enough for me," said Julie, and Melanie nodded. 

"I will always be your friend. I knew we would be friends forever since the time you opened the dorm door," chuckled Melanie, and both the girls could feel their burden had been lifted from their chest. "We should let Conner know about it too, just so he doesn't go poking and probing into things around here. Since Uncle Rob was attacked and almost died, Conner has taken the part of being a hunter more seriously than me." 

Julie shook her head, "I am not sure if it will go well, Mel." 

"Why do you say that? I do know that he's terrible when it comes to keeping secrets, but if we tell him many times, he will make sure not to." 

"No, it's not that." 

Julie wasn't sure how to tell it to Melanie, but she doubted there was another way to tell it. Her lips parted, "The human students in here, they have been compelled, and when a person is compelled too many times, it builds walls and at the same time, there's the probability of the wall breaking."

"I have been compelled too, haven't I?" asked Melanie with a slight grimace. Seeing Julie nod, she asked, "Do you know when?" 

"It was the time when Elder Donovan wanted to kill me, when I left Veteris, and went to Queenstorm. You had seen something that was later erased," replied Julie. "It was Reese's death, they made it look like she was attacked by wolves. I was supposed to die in place of Reese, but Donovan mistook her to be me."

"Oh dear, God," Melanie rubbed her temples, feeling the slight headache rise in her head. She was in a land mine of vampires, who could snap her neck or compel her at any time. "Are you not worried that he or any other vampires might try to kill you? This place is not safe for humans." 

To this, Julie said, "This place was built to bring in harmony. To be able to balance the light and the darkness. And the people who run this place, especially Ms. Dante, believe in fairness. She wouldn't let a human die for no reason, unless in a dire situation which is hard to control. The vampires are trained and taught to follow rules."

"A part of me wants to run away from here, doesn't want to study here anymore. But a part of me wants to complete my graduation here, while also knowing you and Conner are going to continue studying here. Not to mention," Melanie paused before she continued, "If Reese was really killed… then Conner won't take it well."

Julie nodded, "I know. That is why we cannot tell him." 

"I will try to see what he's up to and make sure he doesn't get into trouble with these vampires," stated Melanie with a deep frown. "Everything… It's so hard to wrap my head around, but I am glad I have you with m-AHHHH!"

The sudden scream startled Julie, noticing Melanie staggering backwards as if she had just seen a ghost now. 

Julie quickly turned, noticing the Corvin, who was peeking from behind a tree. And for someone who was peeking, he wasn't doing a good job. 

"What the hell is that thing?! We need to run!" panicked Melanie. 

"Calm down, Mel. I know him, he's my…" friend? Servant? Pet? "Friend," Julie settled on it. 

"I feel like I stepped into the gothic version of Alice in wonderland, and so far, I am not liking it that much," muttered Melanie under her breath. 

Julie offered an assuring smile to Melanie before she turned to the Corvin and whispered, "What did I tell you about not showing up out of nowhere and in front of people." 

'I thought it was okay since you told her about the other things,' said the Corvin in a monotonous tone. At this rate, they were lucky that Melanie had not received a heart attack. 'Didn't tell about me.'

Julie blinked at the creature. Once. Twice. 

It felt left out…? Asked Julie to herself, not knowing that one day she would view the Corvin like an abandoned puppy. 

Julie slightly frowned and said, "I was going to. Melanie is still trying to absorb everything and you popping up like this, don't do that. It's not safe for either of us." She lightly scolded it, noticing the bird-like face continue to look in her direction. "What are you doing here?" 

'Didn't sense your presence in class. Looking for you,' said the creature. It was taking care of her, thought Julie in her mind. 

"I see," replied Julie, and she then turned to look at Melanie, whose eyes had turned wide as saucers, while staring at the Corvin. 

"I am hoping it is someone doing cosplay under that bird thing and cloak. But I know it isn't," said Melanie, her face turned pale, and fright of shiver ran down her backbone. 

"This is a Corvin. Someone who came looking for me, and has been protecting me when I need him. He's also the one who helped in finding the rogue's ash to help Conner's father," informed Julie. 

Melanie was shell shocked to interact with something so strange, and she only nodded her head without any more words coming to spill from her lips. 

Julie turned back to the Corvin and asked, "Did you see where Uncle Tom and Joel are?" 

'They are in a motel. Uncle Thomas has been arranging the funeral ceremony for your aunt and plans to hold it tomorrow. They have a viewing,' informed the Corvin. 

"Is that so…" replied Julie, feeling a certain heaviness in her chest, and she tried to push the feeling away from her chest. "Can you keep following them? Just make sure that nothing bad happens to them and they don't get questioned about anything."

'Do you want me to discard the ones that cause trouble?' 

For a moment, Julie wasn't sure what discard meant, and she quickly shook, "No. Don't do that. Unless the person causes a direct threat to their lives. It would be best to avoid troublesome situations that could attract attention." 

The Corvin obliged to her words, 'Okay. I will do that.' 

Julie was glad that both the Corvin and Roman were making sure that her only living relative was still alive and no more pain or harm would come to befall on his family. The Corvin disappeared in thin air, and Julie sighed. She turned and saw Melanie staring at the spot where the creature had been standing. 

"Is there any other creature that I need to worry about or know?" asked Melanie. 

"So far these are the only ones that I know of. Mel, you need to make sure that if a vampire tries to compel you at any time, you need to behave as if you are being compelled. You cannot get caught. If they know you have Silverwater in your body, they will make sure to get it out of your body before compelling you," Julie warned her, to make sure nothing would happen. 

Melanie quickly nodded her head, "Yeah, I will do that and also avoid getting into trouble." Subconsciously, she placed her hand on her neck, wondering if anyone had ever taken a sip from her in the past. 

"The Silverwater doesn't affect you?" asked Melanie, remembering how her parents had mixed it in the food and had served it to Simon. 

Julie shook her head, "No. Corvin said we witches are immune to it, though there is something else, I forgot the name of it. If I consume it, it brings out the nature of the witches, letting one see that we are witches and not normal humans. Come let us get back to the class, we don't want people turning suspicious." 

Nodding, both Julie and Melanie started to make their way in the direction they had come. But when they took a few steps from where they had been standing to hear a scream come from behind them. 

"Did you hear that?" questioned Melanie, turning her head and looking at the trees where she didn't see any person. 

Julie, who had turned her body, her brown eyes took in the place, "Yeah, I did." 

"Is someone being attacked?" asked Melanie, slightly wary about the place around her. 

"Let us take a look," said Julie, and Melanie reluctantly followed because the university she thought to be safe had turned to something else. 

"It sounded like a female screaming. Do you think the vampire students actually spare the humans? What if people in here cover up? Is that what the wild attacks have been about?!" Melanie had slowly started to piece things, her eyes turning wide and her eyebrows raised and high. 

The two girls walked through the forest, trying to find a vampire or an injured human, but they couldn't find anyone around. 

Melanie said, "It surely came from somewhere here, isn't it?" 

"It must be an echo of a past memory," whispered Julie, that gained Melanie's attention. "Some places, they have the ability to capture something that happened. Or some incidents, it attaches itself to the place, to leave an imprint."

"What do you think happened here for the female to scream?" questioned Melanie, and she noticed how the atmosphere around them had turned denser. 

Julie took two steps forward, taking a closer look at the place before her eyes fell on a tree that had a deep mark on it. Her hand raised, ready to touch the spot when they heard something rustle not too far behind them. 

"Julie, do you think we should head back?" inquired Melanie, doubt in her voice. 

"It's fogging up again," said Julie, noticing the fog starting to crawl. "Stick close, Mel." 

"What's going on?" 

"I think it's Willow Creek. Something like this happened even last time," stated Julie, and the two girls continued to walk until they came to stand not too far away from the bridge. 

The bridge stood lonely as she had last seen it, and the fog was the only one that accompanied it. Everything looked the same, and she said to Melanie, "Stay here. I will be back soon." 

"No!" Melanie said, a little worried for Julie and a little scared for herself. "Let me come with you." 

Julie gave a nod, and they started walking, their feet touching the beginning part of the bridge. She brought her hand to her front, and a golden ball of glow appeared right above her palm. It made it a little easier to look at the things around them without the fog obstructing their view. 

When they were halfway on the bridge, they heard something creak from behind, and they paused their footsteps. Julie, who was at the front, stepped forward, bringing her hand in front of her. 

"Who is there?" asked Julie, a small frown on her forehead and her lips pursed. 

She hadn't learned many spells, but the formation of the light was something she had first learned to create. When the glow in her hand increased, she finally saw the person who was standing on the side of the bridge, where they had just passed by. 

"Isn't that…" Melanie didn't complete her sentence. 

Julie took a deep breath on seeing the Corvin standing there. It stood there, facing them in its cloak which was half hidden behind the fog. She had sent the Corvin to where her uncle was, what was it doing here?

"Corvin?" Julie called it, and the glow in her hand reduced as she dropped it to her side. 

The creature brought its twig-like hand, where its fingers turned sharp and in one swift movement, it swiped its hand on the bridge's ropes for it to break. Soon the bridge loosened and Julie's eyes widened, feeling the gravity pull her towards the ground, while Melanie screamed. 

And all that time, the Corvin not move from its place, watching them fall.