Chapter 120: Chapter 120

Azraiel, Theo, Kira and Charlotte look at Katya in awe as she finishes narrating what she experienced in the woods. Matt and Daniel are in the woods, keeping an eye on the species gathered and the white wolf.

“So..my parents knew Charlotte’s mother and grandmother?” Azraiel couldn’t believe his ears. He has gone through every record he can find written by his parents and there is no trace of anything like this. Maybe the ones having information about Charlotte’s grandmother and mother got destroyed during the attack.

“I think so…” Katya bites her lip. “I am not saying that what I saw in the woods happened but there surely is a connection between her ancestors and yours. Though I believe they met way later in life, you know when Charlotte’s mother wasn’t a child anymore.”

“Yeah…I believe that too.” Azraiel nods. “Charlotte and I are 5 years apart in age, so my parents were likely a bit older than Charlotte’s mother but not more than a decade.” Azraiel tries to work the timeline in his head.

“Azraiel…I really think you should talk to Aunt Caitlyn.” Theo says to Azraiel.

“Yeah.. I think it’s time.” Azraiel says grimly. He loves his Aunt to death but she can be scary sometimes.

Azraiel turns towards Katya, “Caleb, the white wolf mentioned a witch who has been helping Richard. Her name is Alana. Does that name ring a bell?”

Katya scrunches her brows for a moment and then Azraiel sees the realization dawn in her eyes.

“You don’t mean Alana Seashore, do you?” She asks wide-eyed.

“I don’t know about her last name. Maybe you could ask Caleb about her. Do you think it could be the same Alana?”

“Yes….Yes…” Katya scoffs in disbelief. “The Seashores’ have been amongst the oldest covens of witches. Alana comes from the same bloodline. As far as I know, she was thrown out of the coven for practicing dark magic a few years back.”

Azraiel sighs. “It would make sense for Richard to take help from someone who is alone and whose absence wouldn’t be noticed easily.”

“Can I talk to Caleb?” Katya asks and Azraiel nods.

“There are warriors guarding the cells. You’ll most likely find Matt or Daniel there too.” Azraiel looks at Theo. “Escort her to the dungeons.”

Theo and Katya leave the office and Azraiel, Kira and Charlotte sit there in silence contemplating what’s to come next.

“You should go home, Charlotte. Get some rest. I’ll try to be home for dinner.” Charlotte nods and leaves the room.

It’s just Kira and Azraiel in the office now.

“Not a boring day for the first day back?” Azraiel tries to joke but fails miserably.

“Nope.” Kira cracks a smile.

“You should go home too.” Azraiel says to her. “Don’t exert yourself just yet. We’ll have a lot to do in the coming days.” Katya nods and leaves the room too.

Azraiel leans back and sighs.

Well…looks like he has no other option but to call his aunt.

He takes a deep breath and picks up the phone.

Here goes nothing!

********

Theo and Katya walk through the woods towards the dungeon and Katya feels like she is being watched.

“Theo?” She whispers.

“Hmm?” Theo turns to her.

Katya takes her cell phone out of her pocket and quickly types, “I think we are being watched.”

Theo nods silently which makes her think that he felt it too.

They don’t stop but keep looking around for any signs of another being.

Once they are safe inside the dungeons, Theo turns to her, “I couldn’t sense anyone around us.”

“Neither could I.” Katya frowns. She can swear someone was watching them.

“I’ll ask them to look into the camera footage just to be sure.” Theo says and mindlinks others.

Theo walks in front of her as they descend the stairs into the great hall. She knew about this dungeon since Ayleen loved narrating stories about her brother and his Trueblood status.

There is only one occupant in the cell, Caleb the white wolf.

They were right about his aura. It clearly isn’t that of a strong wolf let alone that of a Trueblood.

“Caleb?” She softly calls out his name when she reaches his cell. God…he is just a child. He looks malnourished.

He jolts awake from his sleep and pushes himself into the wall.

“Y-yeah?” He looks at her.

“Hey… I am Katya and I just want to ask a few questions, if that’s okay with you.”

“S-sure.” He nods and pulls the sleeves of his shirt to cover his palm.

Poor child…Katya thinks to herself. From what she has been told, he hasn’t had the easiest of life and now he is in a foreign territory among people he has no idea want to do what with him.

“You mentioned a witch earlier, Alana. Can you tell me more about her?” She asks gently.

“Like what?” His brows scrunched in confusion.

“Like…if you know her last name…what she looked like…any particular thing about her that makes her different from others…uh- tattoos, birthmark, anything?”

Katya watches as he tries to remember with a focused look on his face.

“I don’t know her last name but I can tell you what she looks like. She is about as tall as you. Her hair is black but I don’t think it’s her natural hair color. She had a nose piercing and wore a silver nose ring the last time I saw her. She usually dresses in floral prints, you know…to ward off the suspicion that she is doing anything related to witchcraft…since you know…people assume that witches practicing dark arts wear dark clothes all the time.”

Katya controls her tongue to not comment on that. This kid is not dumb.

“She has a tattoo…a black rose on her collarbone. She also wore a black stone necklace on her neck. I don’t think I have ever seen her without it. Other than that….” He squints his eyes to remember anything useful.

“Oh…her eyes are a weird shade of aqua blue…gave me chills every time I looked at her.” He visibly shudders at the memory.

“Great..thanks.” Katya smiles slightly. “Did she perform magic in front of you?”

“No..” Caleb shakes his head. “She never performed magic in front of me. In fact, I don’t think she liked me very much. She never talked to me directly.”

Katya nods at the information.

“Do you remember anything from your childhood before you were adopted?”

“I-I don’t remember much from that time…but one memory, in particular, has been very clear in my mind.”

“Go on.” Katya encourages him to reveal the memory. His memories might disclose the source of magic covering his identity.

“I remember going to a nearby park when I was in the orphanage. A- A lady used to come to the park and watch us kids play. She offered me some candies one day and I soon began liking her as she started giving me sweets and candies every day. But-but she asked me to not tell anyone that I’ve been taking sweets from her… or else she’d stop seeing me..” Caleb chuckles.

“I was really young back then…I craved sweets and..well…I craved love and attention…She was I followed what she said and never told anyone about her…until now…” He looks at Katya strangely.

Katya nods, “Do you remember what she looked like?” This woman could be the one who cast a spell to protect him.

Caleb doesn’t speak anything for a few seconds. Then suddenly he squints his eyes and crawls forward. He looks at her strangely and mutters something that she doesn’t catch but Theo hears it. Theo looks at her and then at Caleb.

“What did he say?” Katya asks Theo.

“She actually looked just like you…except she had blue eyes!” Caleb answers for Theo.