After Jovanka told Edith that Julie was at the Bloodworth Coven mansion, Edith immediately rushed to the place with Kai. Kai guided Edith because he knew the fastest way in that direction. Edith also asked two warriors, Jen and Jed, to escort them during their journey to France.
Once they reached Versailles, Edith and Kai immediately moved at their vampire speed, while Jen and Jed shifted into wolves. The four meet by the lake according to the terms of the deal proposed by Kai. The mansion inhabited by the oldest vampire clan was protected by a veil from being seen by humans.
Only Edith and Kai could see through the veil that separated the lakeside from the spacious courtyard of the mansion. Jen and Jed watched until they turned their heads to the left and right, just to see what Kai had cancelled.
“Can you see it, Jed?” asked Jen when they had turned human again.
“Same as you. I only see the pine trees.”
“You hold Jen’s hand while I hold Jed’s. Only vampire blood can open the veil,” Kai explained as he bit his free wrist to make it bleed.
Edith followed Kai’s instructions. She bit her right wrist and then pressed her blood on the ground that Kai pointed out as the boundary of the veil. Afterwards, Edith saw the transparent veil making a gap by itself, getting bigger and bigger until they could pass through.
They did not want to waste any time. The four of them immediately ran with their strength while splitting up. Edith and Jed took a detour to the right side of the mansion, while Kai and Jen took the path leading to the main gate of the mansion.
When Kai and Jen arrived in front of the gate, they saw the body of a vampire lying on the grass with pale white skin covered by blackened blood vessels. Jen tells Kai to ignore the vampires’ dead bodies and continues their search inside the mansion.
The four meet at the revolving staircase after Edith has a vision of her pendant. Kai advanced down the stairs first to ascertain any attacks that might come from ahead of them. Jed morphed into his wolf form and took up the rear to guard their group.
“This basement was used for the vampires’ research while drawing my blood,” Kai said in a low voice.
Kai pushed open the half-open door at the end of the revolving staircase. He rushed into the room and stopped his steps when he saw Julie standing with her arms stretched forward. Kai frowned at the sight of Julie, who was different from usual.
“Juliette…” called Edith as she stood in line with Kai.
“I’ll go first. I feel that Skyler isn’t her usual self,” Kai told Edith as he held Luna’s elbow.
Kai advanced slowly. He sensed a different aura from Julie, who looked more like a late teenager than a child. Once Kai was almost one step away from Julie, his body felt light, and he ended up hitting the wall and landing next to the vampire with his head separated from his body.
“Kai…” cried Edith strongly.
“I’m okay. Skyler is not herself, so you better be prepared.”
“She is transforming into the most powerful monster ever,” Katarina said, opening her voice after regaining consciousness.
“You?” said Kai with widened eyes.
“You know her? Edith asked with a confused expression on her face.
“She’s the one who cursed me to be a fucking bloodsucker,” Kai replied.
“What? I can’t believe this.”
“More like I created you; unfortunately, you didn’t satisfy me enough. I like my niece with her perfect strength,” Katarina just smirked.
“What have you done? You’re so evil, Katarina. You made Julie become like that.”
“It was to defend her from the other monsters. Look at her. Take out the oldest vampire leader, which her natural enemy, the wolf, could never do.”
Katarina looked at the two werewolves standing beside Edith with a dismissive gaze. She bent her dislocated arms back into place. The action made everyone shudder in horror.
“You’re all noisy!” snapped Julie as she spread her arms out to the sides.
“Wait, Julie, my dear. Mummy is here to pick you up.”
Julie lowered her hands. She looked at Edith with a flat stare. She walked over to Edith and raised her head to get a better look at Edith.
“You have beautiful hair and eyes.”
“You have them too, Julie.”
Julie lowered her head, looking at her golden blonde hair that was flowing down. For the moment, Edith could feel that Julie was calmer after seeing her likeness. Edith saw Kai nodding his head from behind Julie’s body.
“Do you want to come with me?” Edith asked Julie.
“Where?”
“To a place called home. There, you can be yourself to the fullest.”
“Really?”
“Right, do you want to?”
Julie nodded and then wandered around. Her gaze stopped on Katarina, who was standing back and looking at her. Julie swung her hand, and the next second, Katarina moved to follow her without resisting.
“Julie cast a spell on that witch,” Jen shouted.
“She made Katarina follow her movements like a puppet master with a string puppet,” Edith muttered.
“Isn’t it dangerous for the witch to come with us?” Jen asked hesitantly.
“I trust Julie. She can handle Katarina on her own.”
Jen followed Edith’s instinct. She helped carry Kai, who had dislocated his waist, along with his brother, Jed. They would soon return to London to prepare the next plan against the Rogues.
*
When Edith and her group arrived at the pack house, they were shocked by the state of the house, which was a mess of broken pillars and walls. Edith didn’t find a single werewolf member until she heard a voice from behind Emma’s bedroom door. Edith went straight to the sound and saw Kellan lying, with wounds all over his body.
“I’ll help you,” Edith said as she carried Kellan to the bed.
Edith unhesitatingly channelled her healing powers towards Kellan. While she healed Kellan, Jen and Jed checked every corner of the pack house to make sure the members were still there. Kai was only silent to see Kellan’s condition.
“What happened?” said Kai in his first sentence after gaining control of himself.
“Rogue attacked us,” Kellan answered Kai’s question.
Kai thought about Alexandra and her son. He clearly saw the destruction of the house, which must have been fought in their absence. He wondered where the werewolves had gone; if they had lost the fight, then their bodies would still be there.
“Where are all the members of Red Crescent Moon?”
“That witch took the entire pack into the portal. Seth made it back in time, and he went into the portal. He dragged me out and took my place.”
This time, it was Edith who fell silent. She was shocked by Kellan’s description. Her body slumped to the floor, and she tried not to believe it. The situation became so chaotic that it almost made her despair.
“If Seth dies, then you will die too, my dear. Damn it! I was used by my own niece. If you let me go free, then I will be able to locate all of them, including your Alpha,” chided Katarina boredly.
“Ough! Someone, please. Can anyone shut her mouth? Julie put a spell on her to shut her mouth. I’m sick of hearing her disparaging werewolf ramblings,” screeched Jen with a look of horror at Katarina.
“I think that’s a good idea. Only high-level witches can track them, while Julie is still unstable. She’s the only one we can rely on in this situation,” Kai said, confirming Katarina’s offer.
Edith got up from the floor. She saw an opening that could be used to control the situation. Edith would take any risk to find Seth.
“Alright, but with one condition…”