Meanwhile back at home, Derek is going through the study. He is looking through their grandfather’s desk. First drawer he opens he finds it full of different jars. All jars are full of all different kinds of herbs, plants, and liquids. He picks up several of them. He looks at the labels on them. The first one he picks up says ‘Rosa Chyser Imperial’. It has dried deep dark red petals in it. The next one he picks up says ‘Blue Moon’. It has dried deep blue almost lilac in color petals in it. He picks two more up and one says ‘Salvia Argentea’. The other says ‘Lavandula’. The one that says Salvia Argentea has dried silver leaves on dried silver stems. There are a couple of dried white flowers in it as well. The one that says Lavandula has dried deep lavender flowers in it. He pulls three more jars out; the first one says ‘Aconitum’ and it has dried blue, purple, white, yellow, and pink petals with deep dark green dried leaves. The next 2 say ‘Dracaena’ and ‘Daemonorops’. They both contain a thick blood red substance. He sets all the jars on the top of the desk. He looks over the jars in the drawer. The drawer is still full of all different types of jars. He gently puts the jars away. He closes the drawer and opens the drawer above it. It has a little brown leather bound book. It has a small padlock on it. The drawer also has a smaller black book, some loose blank papers, a few pens and pencils, and an old scroll that is hidden in the back of the drawer. Derek pulls out the little black book. He opens it and sees several names. It also has phone numbers and addresses. He flips through the book. He notices it’s almost full. He puts it back and closes the drawer as Katryina walks up to the door.

“Derek, what are you doing in here,” She asks looking at him.

“Marie brought me in here and told  me to stay put. So, I’m looking around til she gets back,” He answers without looking at her.

“What do you mean til she comes back,” Katryina asks, confused.

“Marie took off with that butler looking guy,” He answers, “I think she called him Josiph.”

“Butler? When did we get a butler,” She asks with a yawn.

“I don’t know,” He answers looking at her finally. She has her shoulder length brown hair up in a ponytail. She has a white t-shirt with a Mario red mushroom on it. Below the mushroom it says ‘Grow Up’. She has a red beaded necklace with a mushroom pendant on it. She has Mario red mushroom earrings in. She has a nintendo controller looking skirt on. She has a red beaded bracelet with a nintendo charm on it. She has red velcro high tops on. She has red cat ear gaming headphones around her neck. She lets out a sigh and looks Derek’s outfit over.

“How are you not hot,” She asks. He looks at his outfit. He has a blue and grey plaid long sleeve shirt on with a smoky grey cardigan. He also has dark brown slacks with a light brown leather belt on. He only has white socks on his feet.

“It’s comfy for me to wear,” He answers, looking back at her.

“Well, don’t get heat stroke,” She says as she walks away. Alexzandra and Christina walk out of their rooms and see the study open. They look in and see Derek about to open the middle drawer. 

“Derek,” Alexzandra growls.

“What,” He answers as he jumps.

“What are you doing in grandpa’s study,” Alexzandra growls out a bit louder.

“How did you even get in here,” Christina asks calmly.

“Marie brought me in here to talk. This was grandpa’s study,” He asks curiously.

“Yes, it was. Where is Marie now,” Alexzandra asks growling more.

“She left with the butler,” He answers. They go wide eyed.

“What did he look like,” Christina asks worriedly.

“Like a supermodel in a suit,” He answers and they frown.

“Was she conscious,” Alexzandra asks.

“Yes,” He answers and sighs in relief. He looks at them worried. Alexzandra has her boyish cut hair spiked slightly. She has a white crop top and a light silver chain on.  She has tri colored leggings on. They go from dark grey to white. She has a pair of running shoes on. That goes from black and and fade to whit at the tip. She is holding a black leather jacket and a pair of black sunglasses. Christina has a light strapped heart cut pink dress that has a light silver heart in the middle of the waistline. She has a peach colored watch on, that has roses in the background of the hands. The hands and numbers are silver. She has silver and diamond bowtie with a pearl under it for earrings. She is wearing black long socks and black all star converse. She is holding a light fabric black cardigan.

“Will she be ok,” Derek asks in almost a whisper.

“As long as she is alive and awake she will be,” Alexzandra comments, trying to calm down.

“How about you come with us and grab a coffee or something,” Christina says and Derek nods. He leaves the study. Closing the door behind him. He runs to his room and grabs his shoes. Alexzandra and Christina wait for him. They meet up at the top of the stairs. They go downstairs and hear their mom. She is on her phone.

“What? Did you think I would forgive you,” Sarah, their mom, comments to the person on the phone. Alexzandra sighs and waves a hand to get her attention. Sarah looks at Alexzandra and Alexzandra picks up the keys. Sarah nods and waves her hand dismissing them. They sigh as they go out of the house. They get into the vehicle. Alexzandra in the driver’s seat. Christina in the passenger seat and Derek in the back. They start to drive down the driveway. They then head into town. They park near the town cafe’. It’s called The Jittery Ghost. They get out and head to the shop. They walk in and up to the counter. Someone is already there. He has short dirty blonde hair. He has a black anime shirt, black skinny jeans, black beanie, band bracelets, black combat boots, a wallet with a chain, and a rainbow earrings on. Derek keeps checking the boy out. Alexzandra nudges him trying to get to talk to the boy. The boy turns around and sees Derek blushing as Alexzandra nudges him again.

“Hey cutie, I’m Kyle,” He greets Derek and Derek smiles.

“H..Hi, I..I’m De...Derek,” He answers while mentally cursing himself for stuttering. Kyle smiles.

“So cute, you want to chat while we have coffee,” Kyle asks as he checks Derek out.

“O...Okay, th...that’s be n...nice,” Derek answers, hating that he keeps stuttering. Kyle gets his order and goes to sit down. Derek takes a deep breath as they step up to the counter. He decides to look around the cafe’ as Alexzandra and Christina look over the menu. It’s a small halloween themed cafe’. It is slightly dark to try to set a spooky mood. There are little white ghosts and little purple bat string lights along the walls. There are chairs and tables along the walls. There is a group sitting area. There are fake spider webs in the corners and above the menu. There are shelves with coffees, teas, and cups that can be bought. The menu is written in red on a black board with fake blood splatter. The center pieces of the tables are skulls with candles in them. The glass case that holds the baked goods has a couple of fake bloody handprints and splatter. He reads the menu trying to figure out what he wants. It says:

Ghost Cookies: 1 for $0.50, 6 for $2, 12 for $3

Bat Brownies: 1 for $0.75, 3 for $1.50, 6 for $2

Franken Berry Pie: 1 slice for $4, Whole Pie for $6

Mummy Wraps (with or without nuts): 1 for $1, 4 for $3, 8 for $5

Eye And Bone Cakes (vanilla and chocolate): 1 for $2, 6 for $10, 12 for $18

Witches Brew: A sweet brewed tea that is either hot or cold. It’s topped with a layer of cinnamon that looks like a broom.

Jittery Bones: The espresso drinks. Anything can be added to these.

Zombie Juice: A green tea with marshmallows that look like brains. Anything can be added to this as well.

Jeepers Creepers: Hot coffee with 2 espresso shots, sweetener, milk or cream, and caramel.

Pumpkin Patch: Pumpkin spice hot or cold. It is topped with a light layer of whip cream, dusted with matcha powder, and a fews small pumpkin marshmallows.

The Unicorn: A rainbow caffeinated seasonal fruit smoothie. It is a layered smoothie of different fruit seasonal fruity flavor and colors.

The Black Cat: Classic black coffee with a black cat marshmallow hanging on the side.

Hocus Pocus: A matcha smoothie with a pinch of pumpkin spice and a shot of espresso. Topped with whip cream, drizzled with caramel and chocolate as well as a chocolate dipped marshmallow witch’s hat.

They step up a bit more to order. The girl behind the counter has long curly blonde hair up in a ponytail. She is fairly skinny. She has hazel eyes and her nails look freshly manicured. Alexzandra is the first to  order when they get up there. She orders a Jittery Bones add 2 caramel, sweet cream, and iced. Shaken. Christina orders a Pumpkin Patch and a Mummy Wrap without nuts. Derek decides to order The Unicorn and a Ghost Cookie to try. The girl starts to flirt with Derek as she gives the total. Alexzandra pays and they wait for their drinks to be made. Derek nibbles on his cookie. It is sweet and buttery. It is soft. The icing is just enough to add some sweetness to it. The Mummy Wrap Christina got is flaky and buttery. Their drinks come out and Alexzandra and Christina go find a table to sit at. Derek shyly grows over and sits with Kyle.

“Hi,” Kyle greets with a smile.

“Hi,” Derek greets quietly.

“So, I haven’t seen you around here before,” Kyle comments as he gently blows on his coffee.

“My family and I just moved to town. My sisters and I decided to check out the town,” Derek answers as he takes a sip of his smoothie. It tastes refreshing and energizing.

“Oh where did you move from,” Kyle asks as he takes a sip of his coffee.

“Engeldorf,” Derek answers with a sigh, ‘Please don’t let him be one of the ones that makes a joke about the town.’

“Oh, that’s a few towns over,” Kyle comments with a smile.

“Yeah,” Derek says with a shy smile, “So, what did you order?”

“Oh, It’s my regular. A Jeepers Creepers with a Mummy Wrap with nuts,” He answers with a chuckle, “How’s your Unicorn?”

“It’s good and refreshing,” Derek answers with a smile.

“So, I have a quick question,” Kyle asks looking at Derek.

“Ok,” Derek questions.

“Is this your normal style,” He asks quietly and Derek is taken back a bit.

“Yes it is. Why,” Derek asks.

“It looks cute on you,” Kyle comments flirting.

“Th...Thank you,” Derek says blushing and Kyle smiles.

“Blushing looks good on you,” Kyle comments and Derek blushes more. Derek tries to hide his face. Kyle gently grabs Derek’s arm and pulls it gently away from his face. Derek’s face has a light pink blush on it.

“You don’t need to hide,” Kyle says sweetly. Derek nods and looks down at his drink. Kyle gets up and goes to the counter. Kyle asks for a pen and the girl gives him one. After she teases and flirts with him. Asking if he was going to give her his number. Kyle walks away while rolling his eyes. Kyle makes his way to Derek. Kyle takes Derek’s hand and writes his number on Derek’s hand.

“Call or text me sometime,” Kyle says with a wink as he gets ready to leave. Derek nods in shock. Kyle leaves and Derek sits staring at his hand blushing. He then joins Alexzandra and Christina at their table. Alexzandra and Christina are smiling with pride and joy. Derek blushes more.

“So, how did it go,” Alex asks as she answers a text.

“He gave me his number,” Derek answers while drinking his smoothie. Christina quietly squeals excited.

“He is extremely cute,” Christina says with a big smile.

“He’s my type but it’s too good to be true,” Derek comments, not believing that he got Kyle’s number.

“Well, take it slow. He seems like the bad boy or playboy type,” Alexzandra says and Derek nods.

“Can we go home,” Derek asks quietly as he finishes his smoothie. They nod and finish their drinks. They head out to the vehicle. They get in and start to head home. They pull in and their mom comes out. She takes the keys and leaves in a hurry. Alexzandra, Christina, and Derek head inside. Alexzandra and Christina head into the living room. Derek heads to the study. He goes back over to the desk and opens the top drawer, again. He grabs the scroll and the locked little brown leather bound book. He sits down and sets the book and scroll down on the desk. He then opens the middle drawer. He finds a small silver key, a picture, a ring, the other collar, a red feather quill, and several sealed ink wells of different colors. He looks at the picture. It’s of Marie, when she was younger, with their grandfather and 3 older women. He puts it back and pulls out the key. He tries it on the locked book and it works. The first page is just a plain blank page. The next page has a date and an entry. He decides to read it. It says:

May 26, 2013

Marie, Alexzandra, and Christina came to visit. Alexzandra and Christina failed the test that I gave them. Marie, however, excelled at it. Marie will and can be the strongest in the family. I will keep this journal to document everything.

He flipped through a couple more pages. Stopped on a random page and starts to read, again.

March 20, 2014

Marie’s training is already almost complete. The dogs are getting restless. I have to be careful. Marie’s marking is tonight.

March 21, 2014

Those witches are hiding something. I will find out what.

He flips through a few more pages. His curiosity getting the best of him. He stops on a random page. Then starts reading it.

 April 16, 2014

The witches finally told after some coercion. There is a prophecy about a pure hunter and a vampire of royalty. I have to learn more. Josiph also showed up today. He says he is the guardian for Marie. I’m going to keep a close eye on him.

Derek closes the book and thinks back to Josiph.

‘He does give off a weird vibe,’ He thinks, ‘He wouldn’t hurt Marie right?’

He picks up the scroll and gently opens it. He looks at it with a cocked eyebrow. It is written in another language that he doesn’t know. Which is weird since he has learned almost all the languages out there. He sighs in frustration as he gently rolls it back up. He puts the scroll and book back in the drawer. He opens the other top drawer. He finds several different types of crystals, candles, a candle stand, and a large pitch black round piece of what looks like glass. He shuts it, not interested in any of it. He then opens the last drawer on the bottom of the desk. In it he finds a leather wrapped bundle and a black box. He hesitantly and gently pulls the bundle out. It isn’t heavy but it is light either. He gently sets it down on the desk and rolls it out. Opening it. He instantly jumps up from what he sees.  Knocking over the chair. Thankfully no one comes to check on him because of what is laying out on the desk. The bundle that is laying open has tools made for torture that have dried blood on them. He stares at them in disbelief. He quickly puts them away and shakily grabs the black box.