Chapter 5 — New Mission

Damon was staring at Alistair with no little admiration and decided that would do anything to participate in this mission. He wanted his master to be pleased with him. However, Alistair was not only a ruler to him but something like a father, after all he took care of Damon who was found abandoned in the Underworld. It could not be said that Damon loved him, for such feelings were alien to him as a demon, but he felt the need to remain loyal to his guardian and king.

"My dear subjects, kinsmen, friends!" Alistair finally spoke up. "Each of you probably knows what day it is today... The time finally came and the "chosen one" turns sixteen. Today, the seal placed on her by mother broke, giving us the opportunity to attack and eliminate this girl, as we did with the two previous ones. The first time it went smoothly... But a thousand years later the sorceresses did a good job of defending the "chosen one" and we had to act deceitfully, and this time we will have to do so. Certainly not only we were preparing for this event, and after two lost battles, the sorceresses will surely guard their treasure even more closely." he looked at the crowd, reaching out to them in a pleading gesture. "I'm looking for volunteers willing to go to Earth and eliminate the threat. You can do it as you like, outright or by trickery. The decision is yours, as long as your way works as it should. And now I am asking, which of you will undertake this undoubtedly difficult task?" Alistair concluded, looking at everyone.

Damon was about to say he wanted to volunteer, but Salvatore, his worst enemy, beat him to it. He was standing on the dais now, and his buddies Marco and Chris, along with his younger brother Johann, were hanging around beside him. Salvatore was tall, blond, black-eyed, with medium length hair, well-built and extremely handsome. His brother differed only in that his shoulder-length hair was black and eyes were dark blue. Marco was a short-cut dark haired man with hazel eyes, but his muscles did not differ much from the rest, he was only slightly shorter. Chris, on the other hand, had heavily gelled, upturned hair, a color so gray shade of blonde that it sometimes appeared white. He was long and thin as asparagus and walked with an eternally bored expression on his face and looked at Alistair disapprovingly. Chris did not liked him and never hid it from others, many times loudly commenting on each decision of their ruler, especially highlighting the shortcomings. Surprisingly, however, Alistair never punished him for it, even agreeing with his judgment several times. This was perhaps because Chris clearly disliked Alistair and pointed out his mistakes, but always did so without using offensive words therefore, no matter how annoyed their ruler could feel, he did not have much reason to punish him.

"Me, my brother and two friends will be happy to take care of this witch." Salvatore said, giving Damon a malicious and triumphant smile.

"Oh, really? I'm glad then. So you volunteer..." Alistair replied hesitantly as he looked around the crowd as his eyes rested on Damon. He smiled heartily at him. "You can participate if Damon refuses to take on this assignment." Alistair said suddenly.

Salvatore looked indignantly at his lord, then turned his gaze to Damon, awaiting his reply. At this point, all faces of those present turned to him.

"Well..." Damon began, frowning as he looked at Salvatore, who was about to kill him with his eyes. "I am willing to undertake this mission. You know I would never let you down, my lord." he replied after a moment and bowed low to Alistair.

"So everything is clear." Alistair smiled broadly. "As for you gentlemen, well... If Damon would need some help, he can take you all with him." he turned to Salvatore, his companions and then looked questioningly at Damon.

"Not this time, Salvatore, I can handle it by myself." he replied with a malicious smirk and walked closer to the platform Alistair was speaking from.

"As you prefer. But remember that you screwed up this mission once." Salvatore replied and blended into the crowd. Marco, Chris, and Johann followed him, giving Damon an envious glance.

Damon clenched his fists, wanting to lash after them and punch Salvatore for what he said, but he felt Alistair's hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

~~~~~~

The birthday party was in full swing and everyone was having a great time. Only Isabelle sat on the sofa, and her husband did not leave her alone even for a second. He looked at her reverently, tenderly stroking Isabelle's cheek and holding her hand. They communicated practically without words, only exchanging glances, and from time to time whispered something to each other so softly that even the person sitting next to them would probably not hear anything. Tess was standing nearby, leaning nonchalantly against the wall, smiling maliciously at Alice, who was becoming more and more pissed off. Selene, noticing this, walked over to her.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Don't worry, everything is fine. It's just that I've been trying to hear what Tess is thinking for some time..." Alice replied, brushing her copper hair aside.

"Then why..." Selene began.

"She's blocking me. I think you remember what a gift she has." Alice interrupted her.

"How did you...?" Selene wanted to ask again.

"How do I know what you will ask and I won't let you finish? It is obvious. Before you can say the question, I read it from your mind. But with Tess, I fail, since she creates such strong mental shields... I can't break through them at all. For someone like me, this is very annoying. In addition, Tess also protects the mind of her sister Teresa. I think she does everything not to let anyone know something more about her." Alice replied clenching hand into a fist.

"I understand. It sure must be unpleasant for you." Selene said. This time, Alice was not ahead of her, apparently close to fury. "What's wrong?" she asked her again, startled.

"Tess blocked your mind now." Alice replied, trying hard to stay calm.

Selene looked at the blonde who was leaning against the wall. A triumphant smile spread across her face.

"Tess." suddenly Elisabeth appeared out of nowhere, glaring at her. "Leave the minds of the others alone, it's enough that you block yours effectively." she turned to her. At the same time, Alice clearly had calmed down, and it wasn't hard to guess that it was because Elisabeth had manipulated her mood.

"All right. But she..." Tess nodded at Alice. "...asked for it." she ended and walked away with a serious face.

"Don't worry about her, she's a bit mischievous. Tess is jealous of her sister's beauty and the fact that Teresa has taken all the clan's charm." Elisabeth spoke up again.

"What charm again?" Selene asked, not understanding.

"Ah, sorry, I forgot you don't know much yet." Mrs. Spelling sat down in the chair opposite Alice. "It is said that sorceresses from famous families, such as, for example, Monroe, have a charm that all creatures, good or bad, cannot resist. It is said that they owe it to the "purity of blood", that is, the fact that for generations their ancestors did not bond with anyone who belonged to a different race. Some believe that the excess of magic accumulated in the family in this way is emphasized in the form of this charm." Elisabeth concluded her story, smiling a little.

"And does anyone else has that charm besides Teresa?" Selene asked, curious.

"You for sure have it, silly." Alice replied and Elisabeth glared at her, for apparently she was reading Mrs. Spelling's mind. Alice, noticing this, only smiled apologetically. "Forgive me, sometimes it's hard for me to control my own gift." she admitted with a little embarrassment.

"A sorceress your age should be able to do that by now." Elisabeth said, sighing slightly.

"Ah, that's right, I come from a well-known family, so I should have this charm." Selene remembered, interrupting their little verbal skirmish.

"Relax, you'll get used to it all soon." Alice turned to her, smiling slightly. "Now it probably sounds like a fantasy movie script to you." she added with a little amusement.

"It's always difficult at first, unless you grow up knowing who you really are. But it was safer for you to live in ignorance, at least as long as you were protected by your mother's shield." Elisabeth spoke up, then smiled heartily at Selene, got up from the chair, walked over to Meredith and started talking to her about something.