Julie and Roman made their way to where the motorcycle had been parked. She fiddled with her fingers, hoping Donovan wouldn't do something she wouldn't want to. Why did the Elder vampire even want to visit her uncle's place? Her eyes shifted to look at Roman, who picked up his helmet, and when he passed it to her, their eyes met.

  "Are you alright?" asked Julie, her tone worried and her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

  Roman placed the helmet over her head, latching the belt under her chin. His eyes were still red, and he gave her a nod, "Yes."

  His eyes traced the curves and lines of her face, watching her closely, and he said, "I am fine, Winters."

  "You don't feel thirsty?" asked Julie, and Roman stared at her as if contemplating how to answer her question. "We can stop by the hospital once again to get the blood bags for you."

  "Going there at this time isn't as feasible as it was in the afternoon," replied Roman, and Julie shook her head.

  "Why not?" asked Julie. "Aren't the doctors in there vampires who will be able to give it to you."

  Roman's lips pulled upwards, "Didn't you hear what Donovan said earlier? The hunters are spreading the Silverwater around the towns, which would also mean that it could increase the thirst of potential vampires turning thirsty. Who in turn would come to the hospital to get a good amount of blood bags so that they don't get caught by the hunters, who are probably taking not just taking stroll on the streets and keeping an eye. But also checking the hospitals to keep the count of blood bags."

  And though Roman explained it to her, he didn't answer her question if he was thirsty, which Julie only confirmed to be true.

  With Donovan, who had left and not hovering around them, Julie saw Roman coughing. He placed his hand on his chest, his body bent forward as he tried to maintain his balance. The cough felt like it wrecked through his chest, and the frown on her face deepened.

  "Maybe we should go somewhere away from this place so that you can get some blood," Julie wanted to make sure that Roman was well fed when it came to blood.

  "I don't think I can take the blood from the hospital, Winters. I want the blood, unfiltered and warm and a lot of it. Do you understand what it means?" questioned Roman, his red eyes fixed on her.

  Julie didn't respond to him because she knew what he meant. Too much bloodthirst meant Roman wouldn't be able to control his thirst, and there was a possibility of him killing a human.

  She wished she could give her blood to him, but by eating in the diner, she had contaminated her blood.

  "Come we'll figure out something," said Roman.

  But even though he said it, Julie could tell that he was struggling. After provoking Roman, Donovan had disappeared from the place just like that. Did he have too much faith in Roman, or did the man want to cause chaos?

  At the same time, she was glad that Roman wasn't pouncing on her like when they were in Veteris. He offered his hand for her, and she placed her hand on it before he pulled her behind him. She sat on the motorcycle, circling her arms around his waist.

  "Tell me, if it hurts," said Julie, and the gaze in Roman's eyes softened.

  If there was someone who could pull out emotions from Roman's cold behaviour, it was her.

  Roman pulled her arms closer, and he kick-started the vehicle before heading in the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Winters' residence. While Julie sat behind him, feeling the breeze pushing her hair backwards as they went against the wind, she felt slight stuffiness in her chest. She took a deep breath before exhaling the air out from her lips.

  But their journey was cut short when a couple of police officers stopped them from driving ahead. It wasn't just them, but some other people who were being stopped and questioned. One of the officers came near Roman and Julie.

  "Your license," asked the man.

  Roman pulled out his license card and handed it to the man.

  "Hm, you aren't from this town," commented the officer, but Roman didn't reply.

  Julie saw the couple who had been stopped earlier was allowed to pass, while the officer next to them scanned Roman's card before handing it back.

  "What's the inspection for?" inquired Roman.

  "There was a man who stole a diamond necklace from a jewelry store and we still weren't able to find him. No one knows where he went after he took the jewelry. We are seeing if the person handed the jewelry to someone or any outsiders," explained the officer.

  During the time while the officer was speaking to them, Julie felt her vision blur, and for a moment, she closed her eyes. It was as if she was about to lose consciousness, and she quickly shook her head.

  As if Roman heard Julie's heartbeat lower, he turned to look at her.

  "We should get going," said Roman to the officer, and the man looked at the couple before giving them a nod.

  [Music Recommendation: The Drowning - Le Castle Vania]

  But before they could leave, the officer's eyes fell on Julie's hand, which looked different as if veins were popping up, and his eyes narrowed. "You…" he looked at her in shock. "There's a creature here!" the man shouted.

  The other officers turned in their direction, pulling out their guns, but Roman immediately kickstarted the motorcycle and drove away. Gunshots echoed while he rode the motorcycle in a zigzag motion.

  "I think something is wrong," said Julie, feeling her stomach ache. Her hands clenched on Roman's sides while they were chased by the people, who posed themselves to be officers.

  "Looks like they are looking out for vampires in every nook and corner," replied Roman, and he said, "Hold tight." Julie did what she was told.

  "They know your name and the plate number of the vehicle.

  "Don't worry about it," responded Roman, and he decided to take a detour from their actual destination. The last thing they needed was the hunters following them to Julie's uncle's place. And with the hunters chasing them right now, it was better to take them to a place which was isolated enough where he could deal with them.

  Julie, who was sitting behind Roman, for a moment when she closed her eyes before opening it, it was as if everything changed around her. There were more trees, and the path they were riding on didn't have a defined road. Like they were in a time period before the current time.

  But at a distance, she could hear the sound of vehicles that followed them. Roman led the hunters into a forest while being chased by the humans who followed them with an intention to kill them. Parking the motorcycle behind a thick tree, he saw Julie's hands had slightly changed its colour. When she pulled the helmet off her head, her face didn't look the same as before.

  There were little roots like veins all over her skin, much more prominent than how it appeared on the vampire's skin.

  "Now I know why the Silverwater tasted different in the food and drinks at the diner," murmured Roman.

  "I am feeling sick," whispered Julie, her back leaning against a tree.

  Roman placed his hand on her face and said, "They added a substance called Chimera. It reflects a witch's true or innate appearance. It causes discomfort." He had tried to get his hands on things that spoke about witches, trying to be helpful to Julie. "Stay here, and I will deal with the hunters."

  When he was about to leave, Julie caught hold of Roman's hand. She heaved for air and said, "There are too many of them."

  "Stay here. I will be back soon," Roman promised her, and he left her side.

  Roman made his way towards the hunters, who were now looking for them. Even though the humans tried to walk as quietly as they could, he could hear the sounds of their footsteps and their ragged breathing.

  "Is it a vampire?!" asked one of them.

  "It's a witch! I heard they are deadly," informed the other person, who had earlier spoken to Roman. "Get the silver bullets out and make sure to aim right at the head."

  "I thought we're going to take the witch alive?" said another hunter.

  "If the witch doesn't kill us. But this seems like a witch with abilities," said the hunter, holding the gun near his face while his eyes moved back and forth, looking around the forest.

  The hunters continued looking for the witches, believing Roman was a witch too because of Julie's hand. "Do you hear anything?" asked one of them at the back. "Spread out from here in a group of two," he ordered.

  There were six hunters in the forest, but they weren't able to find the two creatures. It was because Roman had Julie hidden away from where the hunters were looking while he was nowhere on the ground. Right now, he stood on top of a tree's branch, watching the hunters scatter. When a pair walked nearby the tree, he slowly got down, walking behind them without letting them know.

  Grabbing one man's neck and covering the mouth, he snapped the head with not a single thought.

  Though Roman held some compassion towards people even though he didn't like people's company, he wasn't a naive vampire who didn't know the hate the hunters held towards the vampires or witches. And right now, his ripper side had overtaken his mind. As if sensing the fellow partner missing, the other person turned around to point the gun at Roman, but his hand was pushed upward and squeezed until the man dropped the gun.

  Roman caught the man's neck while twisting the human's arm, where the hunter groaned in pain while trying to alert the others by shouting, "The creature is here!"

  The human used his leg to kick Roman's side, and it worked only for a few seconds before his head was snapped.

  Right in time, Roman heard the sound of a gun clicking, and he moved to the side before turning around, and the silver bullet flew right into his arm.

  The pain dully spread across his arm, but it barely fazed Roman. When his red eyes met the human's eyes, one of them said, "You said this was a witch!"

  "I am sure it was a witch that I saw. Who cares, get them both!" said another hunter, who came to enter the scene after hearing the groans of one of his men.

  While they started to fire the bullets at Roman, he moved fluidly as if the bullets were moving slowly, and he got to one of the hunters, pulling the arm with the weapon and smashing the head with his own to hear the hunter wince and groan at the pain. The other three hunters tried to take a hit at the vampire, but one of the bullets went into the human.

  "Argh!" the human groaned in pain, feeling the bullet in his leg.

  One of the hunters pulled out a small flask that had liquid in it, and he threw it at Roman. This ended up with the flask breaking, and it created a collision of fire, burning and melting the vampire's skin. It slightly pushed Roman's button, and before the hunter near him could maintain a distance before attacking him again, he caught hold of the person's collar, pulling him back to him.

  "Let him go, you blood sucker!" shouted the hunter, who had thrown the glass flask at him earlier.

  Julie, who was hidden behind a tree, panting and waiting for the uneasiness in her body to leave, she heard the sound of collision and bullets. When she peeked to take a look, she noticed how everything around her changed one more time. She didn't know what was going on, but the time of night had changed to morning.

  She saw Roman holding one of the human's neck and twist the hand behind the shoulder.

  "I haven't even done anything yet to let him go," stated Roman, and a cold, sinister-looking smile appeared on his lips.

  When the smile on his lips widened, the hunters caught sight of the fangs, and one of them said, "Let my man go unharmed."

  "Why? So that you can hunt me down? It would be of no use," responded Roman, and his hand let go of the man's hand before it went to the shoulder. His skin was taking time to heal from the melting that had taken place. He then quickly ripped the man's head halfway off the human's body, such that blood started to drip down.

  This got the hunters angry and pissed, seeing three men down on the ground while the vampire stood there with a smug smile on his face. "Kill it right now!" ordered one of the hunters out of the three, and soon more bullets flew in the air, directed at Roman.

  Roman moved quickly towards one of the men, who used his sheer strength in handling Roman, knowing the bullets weren't causing much effect, considering how he was moving freely, unlike the other vampires they had come across.

  "Who gave you the order to hunt the vampires and witches come from?" questioned Roman while fighting the hunter physically and also trying to step away from the bullets that were targeted at him.

  "From hell to kill you," replied the hunter and Roman couldn't help but smile at the answer.

  "Then let me send you there so that we can meet once again in the future," and in the next second, his fist moved upwards at the man's chin. The hunter coughed blood because of the impact.

  While two hunters kept Roman occupied, who seemed to have good fighting skills and in dealing with vampires, the third hunter caught sight of Julie, who looked like nothing he had come across.

  He aimed his gun at her, and noticing this, Julie quickly hid behind the tree, hearing the sound of gunshot echo through the forest.

  Julie took a deep breath, watching her hands slowly return to its usual self.

  She wondered if the substance that had affected her was disappearing from her body. The root-like imprint had reminded her of her father, Knox.

  "Corvin," Julie called the creature, and right when the hunter was going to pull his trigger, the creature appeared out of thin air. It stood right in front of the hunter, who staggered behind and looked at the creature with wide eyes.

  "What the fuck is that?!" questioned the hunter, looking back and forth between Julie and the Corvin. Holding the gun firmly, he loaded all the bullets into the unknown creature in front of him, but that didn't affect the Corvin.

  'Do I kill him?' asked the Corvin to Julie, ready to execute her command on her word.

  Julie had never killed a person, and slightly hesitant, she said, "Make sure he doesn't cause any problem."

  The hunter quickly scrambled on his feet, and he tried to run away from there by turning his back at them.

  But when he took just five steps away from them, the Corvin brought the hunter back to its side with the help of its fingers alone, which grew roots. The roots had coiled and curled around the hunter's body, making any movement possible.

  "This works," said Julie with a nod, and she then looked at Roman, who was fighting with the two hunters. Three other hunters were on the ground, and one bled to death.

  From what Julie had known since the moment her eyes had fallen on Roman for the very first time, he enjoyed fighting. He broke bones by twisting or punching the person, and before they knew it, all the hunters were lying on the ground, while only one was caught by the Corvin.

  "Let me go, you fucking creatures!" he grunted and glared at Julie and Roman.

  "Why didn't you kill him?" Roman questioned her, giving her a look.

  "I wasn't sure," murmured Julie, and Roman turned his gaze to the human, who continued to glare and spit on them by saying,

  "The others are on their way. Even if you kill me, you won't be able to escape your death!"

  "This is why you kill them quickly," stated Roman, his voice sounding cold after speaking to Julie. "Hunters are grown up and trained in a way where they lack compassion to any who aren't human like them."

  "Fuckers!" the hunter cursed them, and his eyes then fell on Julie. "You will be burned alive just like how your kind are dealt with!"

  "Who is the one who gave you these orders? Who is your leader =?" Roman demanded an answer.

  "Like fuck I will tell you!" And his eyes dodged to the side as if waiting for people to come.

  "Why are you hunting vampires and witches?" asked Julie, and the human glared at her.

  The hunter harrumphed, "As if you don't know what your kind has done to humanity. Our families were killed right in front of our eyes, turning people into our enemies. Even now, you creatures know only to kill and have brought nothing but misfortune to us humans."

  "You cannot kill every person because of one or a few others' mistakes," Julie tried to reason, but the hunter laughed at her words.

  "It isn't one or two. There are hundreds and thousands of your kind, who have tried to use us humans for your own benefit. Manipulate and kill. It is time the vampires die. I would have never known that a witch still exists," commented the hunter with slight surprise.

  "Maybe you need the right motivation to answer my question," said Roman, and he walked towards the human, who the Corvin caught. But before he could reach, the man bit his tongue off, and blood started to drip down from his mouth.

  Seeing this, Julie cringed, and she asked, "Why would he kill himself?" The whole thing looked painful, and her eyebrows furrowed deeply.

  "The hunters who have spent enough time in the circle of other hunters and have hunted down vampires, they are often very dedicated to the groups or their families who are into this," replied Roman, watching the Corvin slowly uncoil its roots around the human, who fell slack on the ground. "Hunters, vampires, witches, and the ignorant humans, we have always hated each other with passion. There's no right or wrong side."

  Roman then turned to Julie and asked, "How are you feeling now?"

  "Just a little tired," replied Julie, "But much better than before." She turned to look at the Corvin, who had turned to face her.

  'What happened?' asked the Corvin.

  "I ended up drinking something that expose me. Chimera?" said Julie.

  The Corvin raised its hand towards her as if asking her to give her hand, and she placed it on its wooden hand.

  'It is very light dosage. Not good for witches. Too much will destroy the abilities,' said the Corvin before letting go of her hand.

  "You can sense the substance?" asked Julie, and the Corvin shook its bird-like head.

  'Can.'

  "Can you sense how much Silverwater is present in my body right now?" she asked it, wanting to know how much Silverwater she had consumed.

  The Corvins shook its head, 'Daughter of fellow Corvin, Silverwater doesn't have any effect on you. At least, it shouldn't now that your abilities are coming back to you.' The creature then turned to look at Roman, who stared back at it. 'Ripper,' it whispered, and because of the quietness around them, Julie heard it quite clearly.

  Roman stood unfazed and asked the Corvin, "Is she alright?"

  The Corvin nodded its head, 'Alright.'

  "Do you know what else happens when one consumes this Chimera?" asked Julie, and the Corvin shook its head. "I feel like I have been seeing things since I got on the motorcycle."

  "What are you seeing, Winters?"

  "I feel like the place changes its settings to an older time, but so far I haven't seen anything more than that," replied Julie before she pursed her lips.

  "It should probably be because of your growing abilities and not the Chimera," said Roman, and she nodded her head.

  Julie looked at the six dead bodies that now lay on the forest ground. She asked, "What are we going to do with them? We cannot leave them here like this." It was quite obvious that the death was caused by vampires, and more hunters would be alerted. Not that they wouldn't be alerted after seeing them missing."

  "We can leave that to your Corvin. I am sure it can fix the situation better than us," Roman turned to look at the Corvin.

  Julie turned to look at the Corvin, and the creature said, 'I will clean this place.'

  "Let us go from here before we get caught up with other hunters and see what Donovan is up to," Roman reminded her of something that slipped out of her mind. Oh God, Donovan, thought Julie in her mind.

  Giving a brief look at the bodies, both Roman and Julie left their place, making their way back to Julie's uncle's house.

  When they reached the house, Julie caught sight of the light lit at the front of the porch. And she saw the door closed. She wondered if Donovan had already entered the house, which was why the atmosphere seemed scarily quiet to her.

  They got down from the motorcycle and made their way towards the house.

  "He's not here yet," said Roman, and Julie let out a sigh of relief. Walking towards the entrance, Julie turned to look at him, noticing his face scrunched in pain. It was then she realized that he was injured. "It's not much," he said to her.

  Julie turned worried and decided to look at it once they were inside the room, that standing out here. But before she could knock on the door, Donovan appeared right behind them.

  "I wasn't sure which house it was and have been waiting in the tree. What took you both this long?" questioned Donovan. "Hm? Did you hurt yourself?" he questioned Roman, who wasn't in the mood to reply.

  Before anyone else could utter a word, the main door opened, and Aunt Sarah stood there, staring at them before her eyes fell on the man behind her niece and the delinquent looking boy.