Chapter 198 - Dearest Daughter

Spreading the letter wide open in her hand, Julie noticed the dust that had collected on the surface of the paper. She blew air on it before she started to read what was written there. The letter read—

'To my dearest Julianne,

If you have found this letter in your hand, then it must mean that my time in this world has come to an end. Time is scarce in my hands, and I wanted to leave you something that might one day come in use for you. It is strange to be writing this letter for you while you are still in my womb, and I want you to know how much I love you. 

You must be able to channel your soul energy now, just like how I am able to use mine. And I want to tell you how proud I am of you. Do not doubt yourself, Julie, because you aren't anybody but Knox and my daughter, our special daughter. 

I wish I knew it was you that day when I first opened the door and saw you standing there. That you were going to be the last surviving person of our family, that you were my daughter whom I didn't get to spend time with. Even without me or your father in your life, you have grown to be a decent witch, and henceforward, you will only grow more powerful. Use your gifts wisely and do not misuse them, which I know you won't. 

You are beautiful and kind, and I am glad to be leaving you in Roman's care. Yes, I have met the boy, the one you have chosen to spend your life with, and as much as I dislike... that you are spending your time with a Donovan, I still support you and your love. He seems to care a lot about you and is in love with you. I can tell it with the way he talks about you. Though I must tell knowing he was Azazel Donovan's son came as a surprise.'

Julie paused, reading the letter, and took a quick look at Roman, who was quietly watching her. She then went back to read the letter—

'My dearest girl, I am sorry for not being able to stand next to you in these hardest times you find yourself in. But do not forget that I will always be near you, if not physically, then in the fondest memories that we shared for the briefest of time. I still remember the day when I combed your hair, and even though I didn't know who you exactly were back then, it still felt like you were one of my own. 

I need you to be careful because some vile creatures will come for you. To make use of your abilities for their own, I will need you to protect yourself. The vampires who visited Willow Creek, one of them is filled with destruction, and it stems from his sibling.

A few years ago, when you visited and disappeared after the massacre, a new Corvin was born. It was probably Cillian's wish and will that he turned into a raven. I will be sending him with Natalie in hopes that he can guide the girl and keep you safe. I am leaving you these vials of potions in hopes that you will use them when you feel you are unable to stop time. 

Don't be sad, because the day today might be dark, but tomorrow it will be bright and look forward to it. Remember that you are very loved and cherished, my dearest daughter. And if possible... one day we shall meet each other again.

— Your mother'

At the bottom of the letter, there was a line that read— 'I will let you find what the potions are, just in case the box and this letter falls into wrong hands.'

Julie didn't fold the letter, and instead, she read it three more times before letting her wrist relax with the letter. Roman came to sit next to her on the bed, slipping his hand into hers and Julie's fingers were quick to tighten around it. 

"Was it a good letter?" questioned Roman on noticing how Julie's eyes had turned moist and her gaze had lowered in thought. Understanding how personal letters were, he didn't take the letter to read it, nor did he ask her about the contents written in there. 

Julie's gaze lifted, and she turned to look at him. She gave him a nod, "It was a good letter," her words were soft, and she took a deep breath before releasing it. She let her head rest against his shoulder, and Roman let her, putting his arm around her to hold her while they sat in his dorm. 

"Do you think it would be alright... to go and visit my mother one day... maybe to look at her from a far distance," asked Julie. 

"It shouldn't be a problem," replied Roman, rubbing her arm. 

The trip to the past that Julie had returned from, it was painful yet sweet. She had witnessed the death of her uncle and her young aunts, but that was compensated with the time that she had spent with her mother and the others. 

While recollecting the words that were written by her mother, Julie's eyebrows furrowed, and she asked Roman, "Did you find the Corvin?" 

"No," responded Roman. "Evans and I tried to look for him, but the Corvin didn't respond to Evans' call."

"I know who the Corvin is, I met him when he was in his human form the past," said Julie, moving her head away from Roman and turning her body so that she could face him.. "His name was Cillian. Cillian Blackburn."

Roman frowned by the mention of the name, "Blackburn?" 

Julie gave him a nod, "I feel like I have heard the name before but I am unable to place my finger on it."

"Blackburn is my mother's family name," stated Roman, and Julie's eyes widened. "She was a Blackburn."

"Does that mean that you are related to the Corvin?" asked Julie, feeling a little confused. "Cillian had a sister, and she had two children. Now that I think about it, she and her family weren't there for the bonfire. It was just Cillian and his parents. And if the children survived and had more children..."

"One of the grandchildren could be my mother or great grandchild," remarked Roman with a grim expression on his face. "Donovan said that he tried to get more information about my mother, but by the time he could trace anything, they were all gone without a hint." 

Julie couldn't hide her surprise, and she stared at Roman, realizing that Roman was not just a vampire's child but also a descendant of a witch's family. But wouldn't the dynamics be the same? A vampire and a witch. 

"Does Donovan know that your mother came from a witch's family?" inquired Julie. 

"He had his theories, because of the condition of my heart. He said my heart possibly holds the dark stone, which many have been trying to get a hold of. Which is why I didn't die, but continued to live. Which is why even though my heart is being corrupted by the thoughts and needs of a ripper, it still continues to try to be sane for you," replied Roman and Julie pursed her lips. 

The dark stone existed within Roman? 

This turned Roman's mother into a mystery. He had told her that his mother had run away from her family, which made her wonder why she had run away from her family of witches. 

Julie closed her eyes to summon the Corvin, and in less than two seconds, the creature appeared in front of them in Roman's room. 

Roman quickly brought out the flame in his hand, and the creature stared at him before it looked at Julie. 

'Welcome back,' the creature greeted Julie, and Julie blinked at it. 

"You broke the bridge," accused Julie, and the creature offered her a slight bow. 

'I did what I had to do to keep the events to follow one after another,' replied the Corvin in a dull voice. 

"If you wanted her to go to the past, the least you could have done was to let some of us know before sending her than breaking the bridge while lying to our faces," commented Roman, and the Corvin didn't look pleased with the way Roman spoke. 

'I do not answer to anyone but her. You are not my master,' came the crisp words from the Corvin, and while the two of them spoke back and forth, Julie tried to fit in the image of Cillian in the Corvin, which was hard to do. Especially when all this time, she had viewed the creature to be someone who was like a child or a little pet of hers. 'I wouldn't have been born and been able to help her, if I didn't send her,' came its words. 

Julie closed her eyes for a moment. The amount of information that was influxing into her brain was too much to handle. She then opened her eyes and asked, 

"What do you mean you wouldn't be born?" 

The creature turned quiet for a moment before it raised its hands and said, 'My abilities have been fluctuating, as if I was going to disappear. Unable to use some of my abilities at the moment. You were supposed to visit the past a few days before, and I kept waiting but you haven't been able to open the portal. So I sent you there myself.'

"You can open the portal?" Roman's eyes narrowed at the Corvin, distrust written clear in his eyes regarding this shady creature. 

'I can open and send her. Didn't know her friend would be there. I had to think quickly, so I picked a place that was once abundant with magic. If I didn't send you, I wouldn't exist, you wouldn't exist without my guidance to the other girl,' it referred to Natalie, the flame that was in Roman's hand disappeared. 

"When was she supposed to appear?" questioned Roman, and the creature went quiet as if it was trying to remember. 

The Corvin then replied, 'Two weeks ago. I thought she would be able to open the portal and leave, but it never happened. The more time she took, the higher the probability of me not existing in this time line and she not appearing either. Because if I remember, you came many days before the massacre took place. How long was it this time?'

"It was around two days I think," replied Julie. 

The creature stared at her before it shook its head, 'Something must have changed apart from my abilities,' said the Corvin. 'There is bound to be some effect, because of your actions that took place in the past, but with you having gone in there late, it would remove some of the impressions.' 

"So far everything seems alright, doesn't it?" Julie turned to look at Roman, who was here all the time. 

"Nothing out of the blue that stood out. Maybe we'll know once we leave the dorm or university," stated Roman, and Julie nodded her head. He then looked at the creature and questioned, "Is it true? Are you related to me?" 

Julie looked at the creature, who stood there with its arms folded, which was nothing but branches covered in its sleeved cloak. 

'An old related ancestor. You come from my sister's children's kins,' answered the creature.

"Cillian," Julie murmured the Corvin's name to gain its attention, and she couldn't help but feel how odd everything had come to be. To think that her Corvin wasn't someone random but related to Roman's mother's family. "

"Do you know what happened to the Blackburn family?" questioned Roman, and the Corvin gave him a slight nod. 

'Killed. One of the vampires killed the entire family, so that the dark stone would not come to exist.'

"Do you know who the vampire was?" Roman's eyes were trained on the creature, and his eyes narrowed when the creature slightly moved. 

'I don't know the name, but I have seen the person the night when Julie tried to escape into the portal. Blonde hair, red eyes, tall,' said the Corvin. On hearing the Corvin's vague description of the person, she was quick to catch that it was the person whom she had fought before leaving Willow Creek. 

"Why does it sound like Luciano?" asked Roman, and Julie was quick to shake her head. 

"No, not him. I have met him too, but I have never come across him before," stated Julie, her words coming out quickly. "He was there in the woods, probably orchestrating the whole witch's attack on the humans so that the witches living in Willow Creek would be erased completely. He said we would meet again."

Roman didn't like the sound of it. He then said, "Give me a moment," and he stepped out of the room, leaving Julie and the Corvin by themselves. 

"Did you always have your memory and lied about not having one until now?" questioned Julie, wanting to know what else he had hidden. 

'It was only a few weeks after the Elder vampires woke up that I remembered. The stones that they carry with them, it evoked some of the things that were lost,' replied Corvin looking her way. 

"So you decided to be my Corvin of guidance because my mother asked you to?" 

Cillian shook his head, 'No... Do you remember the time when you drowned in the river?'

"Yes, because you broke the bridge," replied Julie, her eyes darting to look at the door where Roman had disappeared. "What about it?" 

'Your Uncle Ottis and I were never supposed to be there that day. That day, we were supposed to return to Willow Creek many hours before we met you and Melanie. But the wheel of our cart broke and we had to get it fixed which delayed our time,' the Corvin explained to her, uncrossing its arms to bring them back to its sides. 'And I never intended to bring you to Willow Creek. There were many witches and vampires, who were trying to get through us.'

"I heard about it from mother," commented Julie, and the creature moved its head, which left a slight creaking noise. 

Cillian said, 'After helping you out of the river, Ottis and I were on our way home, when I felt something ache in my heart. I don't know what happened, but the more steps I took towards Willow Creek, the worse it felt as if someone was trying to rip my heart out. And I realized it wasn't because I was approaching home, but because the distance between us was growing more.'

"So you came back to take us to Willow Creek," murmured Julie, and Cillian made a gurgling sound. 

'At that time, I couldn't explain about it. So I wanted to see what was going on, to make sure there was no spell. It is easier to watch my back if the enemy is in front of me,' stated Cillian, bringing one of his hands up, he took a look at his twig-like fingers. 

'It was the bond that I made and shared with you. Even though in my timeline, I hadn't bound myself to you, but you were bound to me, making the process half effective.' So that's what happened, thought Julie in her mind. 'Though I didn't like it, I was compelled to listen to you. Call it a trick of time, which is similar to you where you don't know where something starts or begins. You and I were like that,' explained Cillian. 

Was this what people meant when something was written in fate, and they couldn't look away from it?

"I still don't understand what changes I might have bought in the last two days of me staying in the past," Julie expressed her thoughts to him. 

'If you are asking about changes, an error has already been made and we don't know how it will reflect in the future. You sent a man from the past to the present,' said Cillian, and Julie remembered that incident. 

Julie shook her head, "He was going to hurt mother, and I didn't know I was going to open the portal. Where is that vampire?" 

'Escaped with the boy who had been tied in the dungeon.'

Dennis thought Julie in her mind. 

Cillian said to her, 'It isn't important what changes you brought since you visited there. There are some pieces in the world, which are needed to support the others. Like a bee that doesn't know its significance, a stone that supports the other rocks. Your purpose was to see that the events followed.'

Before more words could be exchanged between Julie and Cillian, Roman entered his dorm with Maximus, who closely followed him. Maximus looked slightly taken aback by the sight of the creature, but he didn't comment on it. 

"Glad to have you back in our timeline, Julie," Maximus greeted her with a slight nod. 

"Likewise," replied Julie with a smile. 

Roman picked up a book and a pencil from the table before throwing it towards Maximus, who caught it. He said, "Winters, give the description of the man that you saw." 

Julie gave a nod before she started to describe the vampire she met in the forest. Because of the shadows of the branches and the leaves, she couldn't get every single detail to the point, but she noticed how Maximus listened to her patiently while he drew. Once the sketch was complete, he turned the book to show Julie, and she nodded. 

"That's him," Julie confirmed and said, "Wow, you were quick." 

"It was pretty easy," responded Maximus before looking at Roman, whose gaze met his. "We haven't come across this person, have we?" 

"No, but the Elders might have come across him," replied Roman, watching the vampire's sketch on the book.