When Gabriel went to bed for the day, Alyssa had assumed his brother would do the same but the big Vampire had other plans. He reached into his small bag and pulled out a leather trench coat that had a hood attached to it. He quickly put it on and while it looked outdated and even something out of a cowboy movie, the Dark Prince was wearing it more for convenience than fashion.


    "Alright, let''s go." he suddenly said to Alyssa.


    "Excuse me?" Alyssa asked.


    "What do you usually do this time of day?" Cornelius asked.


    "Well, Pablo and Diane left for breakfast." Alyssa replied, "I was going to meet them at the hall and then walk Diane to school."


    "Sounds good," Cornelius said, "I could go for some eggs."


    "Hold on," Alyssa interrupted, "The sun is out."


    "It doesn''t harm me as much as the others," the big vamp replied, "And I also have this. It''s from a creature that no longer exists, but when I''m wearing it, the sun has zero effect on me."


    "Oh, does Gabriel know about that?" Alyssa asked.


    "No one does," Cornelius answered, "But I''m sure I can trust you."


    "What makes you so sure of that?" Alyssa inquired.


    "That I can''t tell you," The prince said, smiling back to her. "Let''s go."


    As they were walking to the town hall for breakfast, Alyssa could tell that the coat was tightly zipped up and the hood was huge. Cornelius also kept his hands in his pockets at all times, and despite the sun being out he didn''t respond and kept rather quiet while walking with her. Once they were inside, Cornelius was able to put the hood down and seemed in a better mood. He grabbed a tray and followed Alyssa through the cafeteria like setup and got himself a good helping of food. For some reason women who were always stingy with their services had no trouble giving the prince extra food and filling his platter up without protest.


    "Thank you, ladies." Cornelius said, giving them a polite nod.


    He then followed Alyssa to the table where Pablo and Diane were sitting, and Pablo has a look of absolute shock on his face as the big vampire walked up to their table and places hid tray down. He took off his very heavy coat and draped it over the back of his chair before sitting down. Alyssa was sitting beside him, while Pablo and Diane were sitting across from him.


    "What are you doing here?" Pablo asked.


    "I''m hungry," Cornelius said, "I heard the eggs here were pretty good."


    "They are," Diane said, "I prefer them scrambled though."


    "I do too," Cornelius agreed, "Maybe if I can get some supplies from one of the cities, I''ll make scrambled eggs for you sometime. And I''ll make it with fresh eggs, and none of that powdered stuff."


    "I didn''t know you liked eggs," Diane said, "I thought you only liked one thing."


    "It''s true most of us do." Cornelius corrected, "But while your food doesn''t sustain most vampires, I still get a little bit from it. Father believes is has to do more with how long someone has been here I believe."


    "You father?" Pablo repeated.


    "Yes, I realize he''s a little infamous in these parts." Cornelius conceded. "He''s napping so no need to worry about him. I guess Gabriel doesn''t mention him that often, I suppose. A shame really, cause I think dear old dad might have enjoyed the zombie apocalypse. He definitely would have enjoyed the chaos from it, that''s for sure."


    It was at this moment, when Max suddenly showed up at their table. He was unaware of who the big man was sitting there. Diane sat at the table and smiled at the mayor to give him a pleasant greeting.


    "Hello, Mr. Mayor." Diane said, deliberately giving Cornelius the heads up to who had just joined the table, as they had yet to meet.


    "Hello Diane," Max said, smiling at her. "I noticed we have a new person here at the table."This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    "How rude of me," Pablo said, gesturing to Cornelius, "This is my older brother, Matthew. He''s not staying long, and is just in town to check up on me and Gab."


    "I had no idea you had a brother, Pablo!" Max said, clearly surprised.


    "We try to keep sensitive information to a minimum," Cornelius said, "My apologies."


    "I understand," Max said, as he started to fish for more info. "So where do you reside when you''re not here?"


    "I have my own place," Cornelius lied, "Somewhere between here and the cities, so I keep to myself mostly. But I am grateful for how you''re taking care of my family here and if I have anything you might need... consider it yours."


    "Oh," Max said, taken back by the offer. "Thank you."


    "My pleasure, Mr. Mayor." Cornelius said, "You must be a very busy man, we shall finish our food and be on our way."


    "Of course, thank you for your time." Max said, and he suddenly stood up and left the table and was gone about as quickly as he left.


    "How the hell did you do that?" Alyssa said, "Usually I have to leave the table to get away from him."


    "One of my special talents," the Dark Prince answered, "Older vampires have the power of strong suggestion, but it only works on simpler minds. Most people still alive these days are mostly strong willed so it barely works anymore."


    "Fascinating," Diane said, as she finished her breakfast, "That was pretty good."


    "I can tell you''re still hungry," Cornelius said, as he shared an extra fried egg and piece of toast, "You have time, so don''t worry about it."


    Diane smiled back at him. "Thank you."


    When they were finished breakfast, Cornelius put his coat back on and walked with Alyssa to escort Diane to her school.


    "Have a good day," Alyssa said, hugging her sister.


    "Thanks, you too." Diane said, looking at the bundled prince. "Are you still going to be here after school?"


    "I''ll be here a few days," he informed her, "So yes."


    "That''s good," Diane said, "I have a history test in a few days. I''m sure you can help me out with that."


    "That I can," Cornelius said, "Considering I was alive for most of it."


    "That is so cool." Diane said, "See you guys later."


    They both stood there and watched her walk into the school with the other kids.


    "She''s a good kid," Cornelius said to her.


    "She''s a witch," Alyssa told her.


    "I know," Cornelius said, "I could sense her aura, which is very rare. I haven''t seen a witch with heavenly aura in a while, and I mean centuries."


    "Mrs. Goldman told us other creatures will feel her presence." Alyssa added.


    "She''s right," Cornelius said, looking back at her. "I''m surprised a contingent from the council hasn''t already arrived. I also haven''t seen this many guardians since I last visited Salem. Quite impressive."


    "You can see them?" Alyssa asked.


    "I can feel them." Cornelius said, as they started to walk back to her building. "That child''s aura is so powerful that just being in her presence sustains them. There doesn''t even have to be a bond for them to feed."


    The big vampire walked around with Alyssa, taking a stroll outdoors in the fresh air. Alyssa couldn''t believe the sun wasn''t harming him, but if it was... the Dark Prince wasn''t letting her in on it. He was keeping all his feelings to himself.


    "Why do you trust me?" Alyssa asked. "What did I do to make you feel this way around me?"


    "I have my reasons," Cornelius answered, "I''m afraid that''s all I can say."


    A few moments they arrived at the town gardens but Mrs. Goldman was no where to be found. Alyssa looked around the garden but was confused. This was the first time the old woman wasn''t out and tending to her gardens.


    "This is awfully strange," Alyssa said, "Where did she go?"


    "Let''s find out," Cornelius said, as he reached into a bush and pulled out a cat that had been hiding in the shadows.


    The cat hissed and tried to scratch the big vampire''s hand.


    "You do not intimidate me, little one." The Dark Prince told the feline, and paused for a moment as the cat made some sounds. "I don''t care how urgent her business is, I demand to speak with her right now."


    Cornelius dropped the cat and they followed it as it lead the way to the same stairwell where Oscar had used to lead them to the cauldron. The same black cat was on the stairwell, guarding the entrance. When Cornelius entered the building, he took his hood off to reveal himself to the black cat.


    "I demand entrance," He called out.


    Even Oscar knew better as he stepped aside and opened the door for him.


    Alyssa walked in first, and when she walked in there was Mrs. Goldman and three other women her age, and they were all arguing about something.


    "The girl needs to be in the city," one of them called out. "Where we can protect her!"


    "It''s not up to me," Mrs. Goldman replied, "It''s up the child and her sister."


    "We do not answer to humans!" one of the other women chided.


    "You will answer to me." Alyssa called out, "Cause if you''re talking about my sister, I''ve got plenty to say about the issue."


    "Who gives you the authority to speak to any of us like that?" one of the women called out.


    "I do," Cornelius called out as he stepped out of the darkness and into view. "Hello, Florence."


    "Cornelius?" the woman replied as she gave a bow. "I had no idea you were in the area, your majesty."


    The other two women also bowed to the Dark Prince to show their respect.


    "It looks like we arrived in time," Cornelius said, as he walked closer to the caldron. "I was expecting Salem to send someone, and I know why you''re here. I could sense her aura as well. Even the elders in Transylvania felt it. I am here to represent the council and make their wishes known regarding this matter."