Chapter 17: Survival Instinct

'Romeo? Does that mean he found his mate?' Red wondered silently. She had been in a relationship with Xavier for a long time, and she hoped that if she hung around him every time and showed a lot of affection to him, fate would link them both together. 'No way, I'm sure if he did, he would have told me.'

"Valarie, you should know better than anyone that we're not here to play. Time is not on our side, and we're all anxious about the energy we felt today," Red stated.

"Okay, I didn't wait here for five hours to watch you guys go back and forth and give a speech," Drake stated. "Now, can we know what those powders are for, or did we just pick up random dirt?" Drake was more on edge than anyone. He wasn't from the Wolf Creed pack, but he was curious as to what that energy was. If it was that of the hybrid, then he and his pack might have to change tactics regarding attacking the vampires.

"Well, they are..." Valarie paused as she tried to think of a way to explain to them what the powders were for. "How do I put it? Umm, this one over here with a bit of yellow color is a powder gotten from-"

"Just go straight to the point," Drake sighed with an eye roll and received a death glare from Valarie.

"The powder with a bit of yellow is used with a spell to reveal energy or a person's scent. It wasn't as much as this one with a bit of dark green, so it was difficult to find out if it was a revealing powder. The one with a green tint is a coating powder. So, if you found these two powders together, I have no doubt it had something to do with the energy that you told me about. What I can't say is if the energy was indeed that of the hybrids."

"How can you tell the colors of each powder? They look exactly the same to me," Drake stated.

"Of course. You don't have the eyes for this type of stuff," Valarie replied.

"We're here to discuss the incident at school, and you are more concerned about the colors of a powder," Xavier stated with his arms crossed.

"You do have something like this powder, right?" Red asked. It was because she had smelled something like it with Valarie that was why it got her attention in school today.

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean by yes and no?" Drake questioned.

Valarie had enough of Drake's questions; he was annoying her with all his questions and statements, and she just couldn't deal with it. She muttered some strange words, and Drake's mouth was erased from his face. It looked as if he was never born with a mouth.

"Much better," Valarie sighed with a smile of satisfaction. Everyone laughed at the sight of Drake in his attempt to speak. He placed his hands on the part where his mouth would be, but it was sealed.

"I have similar powders, but I don't have this type. I was surprised when I figured out what they were. This powder is actually very rare, and only witches with a certain level can attain it. They are both stronger than any coating and revealing powders I have worked with."

Drake tried communicating with his hand, but they couldn't understand him.

"Valarie, could you please release him," Leo pleaded, and she did with a snap of her fingers.

"First of all, Valarie," Drake stated loudly the moment he was set free while throwing up his middle fingers at her. "Secondly, there's someone in Dark Knight who can help us; her name is Penny. She's also a witch. The most powerful I've ever seen." Drake was a werewolf from Dark Knight pack, and Penny was a witch who had joined forces with them a long time ago, so he trusts that she'll have valuable information for them.

"Okay then, let's go," Red stated, about to walk out of Valarie's room.

"I don't think that's advisable. If she's as powerful as you say she is, you won't see her when you get there," Valarie stopped them.

"Why?" Xavier questioned.

"There's a general meeting being held for witches until tomorrow night. You won't meet her."

"Then why are you back?" Drake questioned and received another eye roll from Valarie.

"You see, being a witch is in stages. Just like how babies grow: they sit, crawl, stand, then walk. Those who are still sitting as witches had left their meeting much earlier. I'm a crawling witch; that's why I'm back by this time. My mum is a standing witch, and she's not back. So, if Penny is as strong as you say she is, then she's at the top of the chain and will not be back until tomorrow night.

"We'll just have to wait... again," Xavier said. He had had enough waiting for one day and would just love to have all the answers to his questions, but he didn't have the power to bend things to his will. He had no option but to wait.

***

"Now tell me the names of your friends, or your dad gets it," Venzy said, pulling the sharp blade closer to his father's neck. Clark's father had a trail of blood dripping down the side of the blade.

'She is really going to use my parents to get the information she needs.' Clark had his head down. He now felt what he thought those orphans felt when they were attacked by those killers. However, Clark wasn't ready to give up so easily.

"You can do whatever you want with them, I don't care. Besides, you'd be doing me a favor," Venzy's eyes widened as she heard what Clark said.

"Oh really? An hour ago, you were pleading for me to spare them. All of a sudden, you don't care anymore."

"Ha-ha, I only did that because I thought this was a test set up by my parents to see if I really cared about them. I'm just so tired of pretending." Clark was trying to play a mind game. If Venzy was using his parents to get what she wants from him, then it's likely she believes he cares so much about his parents.

Frowning, Venzy walked towards Clark, still tied to his chair, while dragging his father on the floor after her. Venzy kicked down the chair, and it fell. The impact made Clark groan in pain. She placed her right foot on his chest and stared him deep in the eye.

"Don't try to act smart with me. This is a situation of life and death; you've had the privilege of being alive till now. Don't make me change my mind."

"Are you dumb or what? I have the answers you need; you won't be so quick to kill me." Being in the situation he was in, Clark had unlocked his survival instinct and was doing everything to survive till he got an opportunity that would throw Venzy off her feet.

"You want to play tough, huh? I don't think I got to introduce myself. I'm a psycho, and I would do anything to get what I want. And right now, I'm kind of desperate, which means I'm also wilder." Venzy said as she trailed her fingers from Clark's father's chin up to his eyes. Venzy had a weird smile on, displaying her full set of teeth as she made Clark watch when she dipped a finger into his father's eyes.

Clark's father, whose mouth was tied shut, could only move his shoulders and sob in pain. The only thing Clark could do was shout as he watched and jerk upwards on the chair he was restricted to.

Venzy slowly trailed her fingers to the other eye, but before she could repeat her actions, Clark spilled the beans.

"Her name is Sage. She lives on the outskirts of town, in a very isolated building within the woods. It's about an hour's drive from town," Clark said as he shook with fear at what he had caused to his father.

"That wasn't so hard, was it? Any more friends?" Venzy questioned. Clark's reply to this was a simple shake of the head as he cried.

"Great. That makes my work so easy." With that, Venzy went down on Clark's father's neck and stuck her sharp fang into his skin. The next moment, his body dropped lifeless beside Clark.

"No, why!" Clark screamed until his voice seized.

"What? I was only doing you a favor. Ha-ha," Venzy laughed as she reminded him of what he said earlier.