"You have been a loyal man, Abel but that doesn't make the loss we have been experiencing to be less," said the man, his hand peeked out in the light to lift the gla.s.s of blood that was on the table to disappear when he brought it to his lips which moulded into the darkness. 

Abel didn't speak a word but stood quietly listening to what the man had to say. It was clear that he was upset for the little mishaps but there was nothing he could have done at that point. Not to forget, the first parchments being lost was not his fault but another councilman who was killed a few years ago after the death of the white witch who was also the wife of the second Lord of Valeria. 

"Lancelot said he met with Ester last evening. She conveys her regards to you," Abel said bowing his head again and then looking up to hear no murmur of words being spoken to him. 

"The young black witch," hummed the man, "What did you find out about her?" 

"She has been trying to kill some of the pureblooded members in society. There's no telling when she'll have our own man infiltrate this place," Abel spoke his thoughts out. They had only found out about her existence of what she was trying to achieve but then they had similar goals and interest. As much as the woman showcased that she was trying to poison and corrupt the nightly creatures, it felt that she had more than one motive under her cloak. 

The man didn't speak for several seconds, placing the gla.s.s which he had previously picked, he kept it on the table which was empty, "Kill her then. We do not want another liability case where we already know what she's going to do. Witches have been of a grave problem for our kind. They not only meddle within other lives but also ours which is very problematic, don't you think so, Abel?" 

"Yes, Sire."

"The previous white witch hailed from a reputed family. Married into our kind, best friends with the current head council but instead of keeping it there she dug where she had no business. It is good that she was executed meticulously," the man finally got up from his chair, his eye patch coming in view his expression calm as his lone red eye peered into s.p.a.ce in front of him.

"With her trying to expose us it was going to come at her one day," said Abel as he had been present at that period of time. It took place two decades ago. 

Creed walked to the rabbits that he had caged in the room. They looked scared, scurrying to a corner at his presence, "A prey should be aware of what they are in the presence of a predator. If you try to ignore it, the food cycle will trample you. I befriended her to get the first parchments which are a complete set of inscriptions. It is told to be pa.s.sed down from the old ancestors. Instead of doing that, she wanted to expose what we were doing," said Creed, opening the cage to pull out a rabbit. He tore the rabbit's neck and drank the blood from it as if what he drank wasn't sufficient enough." 

He then continued, "Make sure you kill the woman once you feel she is of no use. Keeping sc.r.a.ps will only burden us."

"Yes, Sir. That is why I discarded mine," Abel smiled for Creed to look up at him from the rabbit he drank from. 

"I would expect nothing less from you," commented Creed, "For a person to have his own sibling killed to save his neck, I must say I was impressed but be careful Abel to not pull a trick like that with me. I won't show you mercy if I sense you stepping out of the line," Creed gave him a pleasant smile, "You can go now."

In one part of the council building, Vivian and Heuren stood behind the tall walls during the time of noon where they saw two guards walking back and forth guarding a big door. 

"Is this the forbidden door?" asked Vivian in a whisper to have the man nodding.

"That's right," Heuren whispered back in the same octave, "Getting past those doors are really difficult," he jerked his head for her to follow him and they disappeared from the floor to step into the lower one, "I have tried to get past it several times but not once have I been successful. And even if you befriend them, they are only going to put you in the cell room."

"They can do that?" Vivian asked slightly taken aback. She thought councilmen and women didn't have to go to the cell room. 

He chuckled, "It very much happens because I say it out of my very experience. I have been put in the cell room twice now and I cannot say how furious Lionel was when he found out," she could imagine it, "Lady Vivian you don't have to go through those doors-"

"But that's the only place where we can find Oliver's belongings," she said diminis.h.i.+ng her voice when a pair of councilmen entered in their line of sight.

"Which we don't have to. We'll be approaching the regular ways of our job which might take time but we'll eventually get there," he tried to a.s.sure her as it seemed that the lady here had pulled him with her, sneaking away from his superior so that she could get some information privately from him on those doors. 

It had been more than three weeks but there was nothing they had found. Even Maximilian who had offered to help them had come back yesterday to tell them the man was clean and there were no dirty tracks he could point. But there was something he had mentioned before he had left their department. 

"It is as if someone cleaned up his traces because his records are cleaner which includes one of the cases that disappeared from the list," conveyed the blue-eyed pureblooded vampire, his eyes looking lazily. 

"It must be put in the forbidden room of previous case files," stated Leo who looked grim, "Thank you for looking at it," he thanked the man for Maximillian to bow his head.

"Anytime," he replied back with the corners of his lips being pulled up for a wide smile but before he left he found Vivian standing close to the door and he whispered to her, "Go find the files. Your answers might be in there," but Leonard had heard it quite clearly.

"The room is a place which is locked for everyone except for the head council. There is no need for it," Leo's words didn't allow room for argument but Maximilian gave her a grin and then took his leave. 

Thinking about what Maximillian had adviced she had seriously tried considering it. It would not only save them time but they could solve it before moving on the switcher's issue. 

They were only walking when Vivian started to experience sudden pain in her chest. Her expression first flinched and she thought it was a mild discomfort but the pain didn't subdue. Ignoring it, for the time being, she walked along with Heuren to ask, "Why were you put in the cell room twice?" she asked him curiously, it seemed that it was true that Hueren was that one person in the team who liked to annoy Lionel more than anyone. Sometimes it was his questions which didn't make sense or sometimes he would get warned for not completing his paperwork which he hated to do. 

"I was found snooping in one of the departments last year when I had just joined the team," answered Heuren a little bashful at the memory, "It was on the third week of my time here. Newbies make mistakes," he shrugged his shoulders and to agree with him she said yes.

"Couldn't agree more with you on that," Vivian had lost her way in the council when she stepped on another floor and in a different corridor too late to realize until she found Maximillian walking in the same corridor. 

Reaching the department door, Vivian had only pushed the door to be interrogated by Leonard, "Where were you both?" his eyes were sharp on them.

"We went down to eat."

"We went out to get some air."

Came the two different responses. Dutan looked up from the parchment he was currently writing to submit in the court proceeding, looking at the pair before putting back his eyes where he continued to write. As much as he was interested to look what his senior was going to say, he had a file report in less than, he looked at his pocket watch which he had placed on the table, ten minutes from now!

Vivian then clarified, "What Heuren meant is that we ate and then went to get some fresh air." 

"Is that so," Leo's eyes narrowed at both of them. Heuren quickly nodded his head, "Heuren, if you help Vivian in crossing the forbidden door, I will personally make sure that your days in the cell room is h.e.l.l enough that you wouldn't have imagined it to be. Or rather," the blonde man drawled his voice, "I will make you clean the cemetery of all the graves in this part of the land," if the previous warning didn't work for Heuren, mentioning him about him spending time with ghosts had got the point across. 

"Yes, Senior Leonard. I will make sure that doesn't happen," Heuren replied back, bowing his head he went to take the seat behind his desk. 

Vivian pursed her lips. Leonard was sharp enough to catch hold of the story they had come that he had warned Huren directly. She saw Leo go pick up his coat, wearing it,

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

Leonard who was straightening the collar of the coat spoke, "I need to go see Sister Isabelle. One of the men reported back to the higher elder councilmen that she hasn't been seen in the church for more than four days now."

"Maybe she went to travel somewhere," said Vivian for him to shake his head.

"White witches who are stationed at the Church are not allowed to step out of the city. The rules have been stated strictly. If a white witch does that, it only means trouble calls. Don't wait for me, Vivi. Go home after an hour," he advised her.

But she had work to do. With her planning to enter the forbidden door, she had forgotten to complete the given tasks in hand, "What about work?"

"You can take it home. No need to stay here late," his eyes narrowed at first and when it turned back to normal, he leaned over to kiss her lips, "Be good," he whispered on her lips.

"Yes," Vivian smiled, her eye twinkling until she realized Heuren and Dutan were in the room too. By now everyone had gotten used to Leo's display of affection where the love dropped in the department or in the corridors of the building. 

Giving the two men a pointed look which was opposite to what he offered to Vivian, Leonard left the room. Vivian wondered if Sister Isabelle was in some sort of danger due to which she wasn't in the Church for four days. 

When an hour pa.s.sed, Vivian had forgotten about the forbidden door of files and decided to take her work, carrying it in a bag as she headed out of the room. Just when she was descending down the stairs, she came to meet the man named Abel. Wary of him, she tried to move past him but to her dismay, the man stopped her. 

"Councilwoman Vivian Carmichael."

He greeted her which made her hurried footsteps stop so that she could look at him. 

Book 4: Young master Damien's pet

"Who touched you?" he asked, his eyes brooding down at her and when she didn't answer, his voice thundered in the room, "WHO?"

The butler who stood near the wall spoke shakily, "Sir it was Mr. Reverale," Damien's face turned sour, his jaw ticking in anger he turned his face to the side where the butler stood behind.

"Bring the man here."

"N-now?" stuttered the butler. It was the time of night.

Damien who hadn't broken his eyes contact with the girl in front of him pushed his hand against the wall which previously rested beside his beautiful girl's head. Turning his body, he first looked at his butler who had his head bowed. With great courage, the butler came to meet his master's eyes, "Do you have any other better time? Or should it be after I wring your neck?" Damien asked calmly tilting his head. Not a second later, the butler ran out of the room to return back with Mr. Reverale after twenty minutes.

"Damien, are we having a late tea party?" Mr. Reverale came to greet but the master of the house had other plans. Spotting the knife that was stuck to the apple on the table, he reached for it to pull it out.

Just as Mr. Reverale went to exchange a handshake with him, Damien took hold of his hand to place it on the table. In one swift movement as if he were chopping onions, he chopped the four fingers of the man off his hand making him yelp and cry in pain.

"No one touches what is mine. I am sure this will remind you the next time you even think about touching her," sighed Damien as if he were tired of telling people to keep their dirty hands off his belongings.