It was the time of night at the church when a letter came to Father Antonio by a fellow councilman who was scrawny looking by appearance. Seeing the man leave immediately, he tore the envelope to pull out the thin parchment of the letter and read it. Once he was done, he looked down at it grimly.
Putting a protective spell on the door, he turned around and walked through the back door of the church which led down to the bottom dungeon of the church which was cold and quiet. Walking through the rooms, he noticed how some of them had already gone to bed while some were awake working on the weapons and potions.
After some time, he pulled Sister Jera who by chance was readying herself to go to her room to sleep. Father Antonio took her to the office room, closing the door shut that made the young white witch ask,
"Is everything alright, Father Antonio?"
"Yes. I have a task for you. Do you think you will be able to do it?" he asked her.
The girl blinked at him. He hadn't told her what it was and was asking if she could do it, "What is it?"
"You need to attend an exam. An exam the council is hosting. There are two parts- one which is written and two which is practical. Councilman Quinn sent a letter a few moments ago. He wants some of the white witches who are good at what they do. Be it knowledge or in weapon making. Are you willing to take it up?" he asked her.
Sister Jera was unaware of the council's exams as most of the white witches including herself didn't involve in their matter unless the assistance was asked by the council. Thinking it was just a meager exam, the girl nodded her head to have the glasses that she wore slip down her nose and she pushed the glasses back on her nose.
"What will I need to study?" she asked him enthusiastically.
Father Antonio could only smile and hope that the girl would survive. She was one of the decent white witches here, someone who was reliable. Sometimes more than strength and knowledge, it was necessary to trust a person as loyalty mattered.
"The books will be given to you," in the letter it was told on how the exam being commenced wasn't fixed yet if there was an exam held by the council, they would need to have the white witches who were prepared for it, "There will be some others who will be writing the exam along with you so you will have company."
When Damien reached the mansion, the butler helped in removing his coat and he went inside where the butler quickly followed him with a good distance if Master Damien needed anything.
"How was your day, Durik?"
The butler looked surprised at why his master was asking him of his day.
"It was good, Master Damien," Durik who was following the pureblooded vampire gave a skeptical look to the man's back.
"Anything special in the mansion than the normal?"
Durik wondered if anything in this house was normal. Since the time he had started to work here, everything was abnormal, enough to make him want to escape. Then remembering what happened during the time of lunch, he said,
"Mr. Wells was here for lunch and Senior Quinn approved of him to go out with Lady Maggie," Damien turned around and raised his brows.
"That's a development I wasn't expecting," Damien whistled before saying, "What else?"
Durik wondered if it was alright to mention that there was the 'usual bickering' at the dining table but feared Master Damien would pull out his tongue and cut it out.
"I caught a rabbit in the forest," said the butler, something that amused Damien.
"Did you drink its blood? Rabbits are very sweet to taste," commented the pureblooded man as they walked through the lonely corridor.
"I let it go when it started to struggle," replied the butler. He had gone to the woods with the other two servants to get logs of woods for the mansion so that it could start drying and be used for next week as one wouldn't know when it would start raining. In the forest, he had caught the rabbit but only to let it go. It wasn't too long since he had turned to a half-vampire and was still learning the ways of the night creatures.
"Let me take you out hunting to show how it is done," Durik gave another look with his lips pursed when Damien noticed his butler's expression, "What is it? Do you think I will place an apple on your head and then try my aim?"
The butler quickly shook his head and he then heard Master Damien say,
"If you are thinking that, you are right. You will be a good bait," said the pureblooded vampire with a cunning smile on his face as if he had already made up his mind on what to take during his next hunting trip. Durik gulped softly.
The man walked up the stairs leaving Durik in shock. The butler had to remind himself to never ever go hunting. The Quinn's family were as crazy as they came. He thenmade his way back to the kitchen to get the work done by the servants of the mansion.
Late in the night, he was blowing the candles out one after another while leaving some of them as it was not because to help the others but himself as he didn't want to be surrounded by the darkness.
As it was past midnight, Durik couldn't stop but reflect his life choices. He dragged his feet across the floors of the mansion, walking through every corner in the middle of the night by making a patrol. While he was doing his usual rounds, the butler was only passing by the windows when he heard something creak outside.
Stepping closer to the window where his nose squished itself on the windowpane, he saw the gate move back and forth creakingly. The butler decided that oiling the gates would be his first job when he would wake up the next morning. Right now, he was timid as a mouse to step outside the mansion.