A month and a half after the hunt
Jules jogged across the empty schoolyard, looking at the darkening sky with a frown. The teacher held him back for so long that he was almost two hours late. He hadn’t expected the old lady to have so much to say. Although he transferred in the middle of the semester without rhyme or reason, there was no need to have this kind of half-hearted conversation.
So what if Jules came from a single-mother family? His mother never neglected him and instead showered him with love every day. He wasn’t lacking worldly possessions either. He wasn’t suffering from the hardships the teacher alluded to, but whatever he said went in one ear and out the other. She didn’t want to listen. No, she wanted him to be pitiful and in need of her help. He hadn’t made a single friend and barely talked to his classmates since his arrival, which, according to her, was a sign of great distress. That being said, she had to take things into her own hands for his sake, leading to this little discussion after class.
‘What a self-centered woman,’ Jules silently scoffed. But regardless of how he felt, it was better to be quiet and obediently nod to whatever nonsense she spouted. Otherwise, he’d never hear the end of it. Measly excuses wouldn’t cut it.
How annoying. Jules had switched schools not for the reasons the teacher hinted at but because of the mess that was his first hunt. The lamias were well informed, and Elisa feared her family’s whereabouts had been leaked. She had always been careful, yet they knew about her past identity and Jules being her son. It was impossible to tell how much they actually knew, and she didn’t dare to gamble, not with her son’s life. Thus, Elisa decided to move out. She forged new identity papers and fled across the country with her kids, far from her old home. Greg and his family also followed and settled in the same district, though they sent their son to another school. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t do to keep the kids at home and arouse suspicion among the neighbors. They did not want to handle uninvited guests such as police officers.
At first, Jules wondered why they didn’t move to a remote area. When he asked his mother, she helplessly shook her head and told him it was one heck of a bad idea, considering how dangerous living in a secluded place could get. In a town, supernatural beings tended to be more low-key, not wanting to attract unwanted attention. Hunters were everywhere, and it’d be suicide to try anything flashy. But in a remote area, supernatural beings didn’t give a damn about being discreet. They tended to swarm the place and happily slaughter all living beings in the vicinity. There was no need to hold back when the massacre would reach the hunters’ ears after they were long gone. Monitoring countryside and mountain areas had always been a headache for the Association, and Elisa was fully aware of this issue, having been dispatched too late, too often.
All in all, it was easier to deal with a few supernatural beings than a herd. And although Elisa wasn’t fond of hunters, it was somewhat reassuring to have them close by, even more so when old colleagues had settled in the area. She could always call them in the worst-case scenario and rely on their help. Jules hadn’t met these so-called colleagues before, but seeing how his mother’s voice softened whenever she spoke of them, he knew he could count on them.
“If you daydream while walking, you’ll run into a pole.”
Greg’s voice snapped Jules out of his thoughts, and he smiled faintly at the witch leaning against a car. Per Elisa’s order, Greg was wearing the hat of a taxi driver; he had been driving the kids around, whether to school or the grocery store. Due to the previous incident, the teenagers weren’t allowed to be on their own outside of school, but neither Cains nor Jules dared to complain. Being chaperoned was always better than being confined at home.
“Sorry,” Jules apologized, “I’m late.”
“Don’t worry, you notified me in advance,” Greg winked. “And I didn’t wait that long either since Cains was also held back by his teacher. Although not for the same reason as you.”
Jules felt his mouth twitch as he opened the door, peering inside at the teenager playing on his phone. Cains barely lifted his eyes to peek at his face, even as Jules climbed into the backseat, visibly more interested in his game than him. Still, it didn’t deter Jules from asking, “What did you do this time?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Rbatlcu wemt.”
“Nothing much?” A female voice scoffed, and Jules glanced at the woman sitting in the passenger seat. It was Veronica, Greg’s wife. “You pulled a classmate’s pants and underwear down to his ankles and kicked him in the butt! And mocked his genitals in front of everyone! Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you said something along these lines: “It looks like a fat worm with two balls of shit stuck to its ass. Are you really a man and not some kind of monster?” Son, you destroyed that kid’s self-esteem!”
C rcbga kjr atf bcis jcrkfg Nfgbclmj gfmflnfv.
“Tbe’gf geatifrr,” Aeifr mbeivc’a tfiq yea rlut, uijcmlcu jrxjcmf ja Jjlcr. Obbxlcu ja tlr yjys ojmf wjvf la tjgv ab yfilfnf atfrf neiujg kbgvr mbeiv mbwf bea bo tlr wbeat. Lbkfnfg, tf’v tfjgv rb wjcs rlwlijg rabglfr atfrf qjra ofk kffxr atja tf vlvc’a vbeya Jjlcr rjlv remt atlcur. Snfgs alwf tf uba lcab atf mjg joafg mijrr, tf kbeiv tfjg Xgfu bg Nfgbclmj mbwqijlc jybea sfa jcbatfg “qgjcx” atflg rbc qeiifv.
“Say,” Jules continued, “what will you do if it leaves the poor lad with psychological shadows?”
“What will I do? Throw a party!” Cains laughed coldly. “That guy has been harassing the girls and ogling at their bodies every damn day. And yet the teachers don’t say shit because of his family background! It was starting to get on my nerves, so I gave him a taste of his own medicine. Let’s see if he dares comment on a girl’s physique again.”
“If he does,” Veronica smiled after a short silence, “undress him and tie him to a soccer goal. Don’t forget to put a sign about what he did so other people will gather around. Let the crowd scorn him until he begs and cries for mercy!”
“Oh, I like that! Let me note it.”
Jules wisely decided not to comment lest he got caught in the crossfire. He had come to learn that Veronica, this delicate-looking woman, was as ruthless as his mother. She had greatly influenced Cains as he grew up, twisting his personality into what it was today. But maybe because the teenager vented his pent-up frustration on bullies, no one saw the need to discourage him.
Although Reyes prevented Cains from losing all his powers as a witch, he couldn’t freely use witchcraft like before. He had to rely on artifacts, which didn’t settle well with him. In a way, he was still disabled. He’d need time to accept this fact and even more time to learn how to wield his power through an artifact. As of now, he could do simple things, but for someone who was used to easily cast grand arrays, it was a big blow to his ego. He had to relearn everything, down from the basics. It was impossible not to feel frustrated. So what if he released his anger on bullies? They just had not to bully others!
“Avenging your classmates is fine and all,” Greg said as he turned the key in the ignition, “but don’t go overboard. How about taking Jules as an example and being a good boy at school?”
“Yeah, sorry, can’t do that. Unlike a certain someone, I’m no angel.”
“I’m only half-angel,” Jules corrected amid the laughter. “I can be ruthless too.” And time proved that, indeed, Jules could be more cold-blooded than anyone.
.
.
The car stopped in the driveway, a few meters from the door. Jules took his bag and got out of the car, soon followed by Greg, Veronica, and Cains. They had plans to eat together tonight, and considering how late they were, Elisa must have finished preparing supper and should be about to set the table. They shared a glance and smiled weakly; they were about to get scolded senseless for not being on time and letting her do everything. Veronica and Greg had promised to help in the kitchen, yet hadn’t. This was bound to grate on Elisa’s nerves, even more so since it wasn’t the first time it happened—punctuality wasn’t Cains’s family’s forte.
“Mom, we’re here!” Jules yelled as he closed the door and threw his bag on a chair in the entrance hall. However, there was no answer. “Mom?”
Silence. Jules frowned and ventured further inside. The lights were on, and after hearing the car entering the driveway, his mother should have moved to the living room to wait by the door and greet them. So how come she wasn’t there and didn’t answer his calls? Was she in the bathroom? And where was Annabelle? She usually rushed downstairs to hug him after hearing his voice. His sister was a little leech that loved to plaster herself to his leg whenever he returned from school, sulking that he had left her for so long.
But there was no noise in the house. It was oddly silent.
As Jules bypassed the living room, the smell of a burned meal wafted to his nose, and dread suddenly welled in his chest. He hurried to the kitchen, only to find his mother lying in a pool of blood. Shattered porcelain from two cups littered the floor near Elisa’s hands and head; a ghastly wound on her back had dyed her blue dress in red.
It took a few seconds for his brain to process the scene, and once it did, Jules scurried to his mother’s side, falling on his knees. His kneecaps made a loud thud, yet he didn’t feel the pain.
“Mom, open your eyes, please,” Jules choked up as he put pressure on her back, trying to slow down the blood flow. It did nothing. The warm blood seeped through the gaps between his fingers, gushing out at the rhythm of his mother’s heartbeat. Panic was about to get the better of him when Veronica knelt beside him.
“It seems like she was attacked from behind by someone she knows. There’s no way Elisa would let her guard down around a stranger and allow them to hurt her,” Veronica said through gritted teeth as her hands hovered above Elisa’s wound. A white halo with hints of orange spread from her fingers to her friend’s back, covering the injury. “The wound is fresh enough. I can heal her.”
“The attacker shouldn’t have had the time to go far then,” Greg pointed out after hearing his wife’s words. They were used to stumbling upon wounded or fallen comrades and knew to keep a cool head in emergencies. The first thing to do was to tend to the injury and understand what happened. “No trap was activated, so the intruder shouldn’t be a supernatural being. The whole place is covered in arrays; only humans and half-angels can enter the house without triggering the protective layers.”
“It was most likely a hunter and one of Elisa’s old colleagues,” Veronica laughed wryly as sweat beaded on her forehead. Although she concentrated on treating her friend’s injury, she didn’t forget to tell her husband what she noticed. Time was ticking, and they couldn’t waste a second. “The cut was made by a dadao, and I only know one person in her entourage who uses this kind of sword.”
“That damn wench!” Greg howled. “Wait until I get my hands on her—her death won’t be a painless one!”
Jules half-listened to the witches. The panic receded after Veronica assured him she could heal his mother, but it didn’t take long before uneasiness twisted his belly again. His sister was nowhere in sight. Cains had gone upstairs to search for the child when he noticed his parents had the situation under control. He rummaged through every nook and cranny yet came back empty-handed. He could only shake his head at Jules when they met eyes.
Annabelle was missing.
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Author has something to say: Today, it’s been one year since doggy’s death. I still miss my old dog, so here is a small chapter to commemorate her death. Most of chapter 14 was written the day after we had to put her to sleep, and many details I wrote about were inspired by the last few days before her death. And yes, this kid really did headbutt me the last morning we spent together! She looked so offended and confused! I’ll never forget that scene and how cute she looked.
Rest in peace, Lady! ♥
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Edited by Clozed! ♥
Thank you for the chapter!! <3
Thank you for reading!!! ♥