Coveted [New/Revised Version]

OLD FLAMES BURN

     Zairian stood in front of the glowing flames in his fireplace. He was spending more and more time there, simply studying the fascination that they were. The hybrid swirled his Brandy in his glass methodically. It was his sixth. He thought maybe he should be cutting back on his alcohol intake, but it was all that kept him from completely losing his sanity.

More things kept piling his plate and the timeframe before him didn't seem to stretch very far. He still had to find a way to break through the ward around the Coveted witch's home. The issue with that was the Chancellors were a resilient line of witches. He realized he shouldn't have underestimated them seeing as they descended from his old rival. Of course, their magic was formidable and he had no doubt they kept to the custom of bringing strong bloodlines into their fold.

He could sense the changes in the Coveted witch miles away. They were gradual but he knew in time she would be a force to reckon with. Samael was terrifying in his own right. Penelope Meyer, Lena Rey, and if rumors had it right, Patricia Cassidy too. Zairian was all too aware of the dark tales that circulated about the oldest new generation witch, Chantelle Hawthorne.

She was the young witch that made supernatural persons in this community cower. He'd never seen her in action. Neither Lena Rey nor Penelope for that matter. On the other hand, he knew fear came from a valid place.

It occurred to him that if he were to be absolutely successful, he'd have to deal with her at some point. All of them really. Gregory, Penelope, Lena, Skylark, Valentine, Chantelle, and Susanna. However, Gregory Cassidy sat at the top of that list. Zairian grunted and made a mental note to ask Brayden to look into Chantelle. He was quite sure he knew how to handle the others.

His bloodshot eyes squeezed shut.

Focusing on anything was horrendous in this state. Overworked, overstressed, and zero ounce of sleep. It certainly took its toll on his powers. He could read thoughts fine but he couldn't enter minds as he'd once been able to. Moving a drop of water across his desk was almost taxing.

He exhaled deeply.

How utterly frustrating that he was slowly running out of options. It seemed so feasible to go along with Connor's plan—to catch the girl off her guard and take her. Somehow, it didn't feel justified. It felt too guileless. Ennoble.

On the other hand, it would give him one less thing to worry about. He already had three other crucial things to do: trace Nefarious's whereabouts, locate Drusilla Presley's talisman, and find Annalisa. Zairian puckered his brow at the list.

Brayden was doing his best to locate both Annalisa and Nefarious through technological means while Galilea used her various acquaintances. Acadia had the task of helping find Drusilla Presley's talisman. Connor and Blake were still coming up with plans on how to, for lack of a better term, abduct the girl. As for Kay, she was researching the Jayden brothers—trying to trace their history, bloodline, and connections as far back as possible.

Zairian's sensitive ears picked up on the rustling of dried leaves outside. Someone was on his property. It wasn't anyone from his clan. Vampires walked with a greater deal of light steps. The culprit was human. But what would a human be doing so far out in the woods?

As he thought this, he heard the front door squeak open. It was the smallest sound, far too faint for human ears. Someone is very friendly, he thought. Yet, he didn't move from where he stood. He just waited for the perpetrator to find their way back out.

There was nothing incriminating in the house. At least, not in plain view where unsuspecting visitors might stumble across it. Everything was kept neat and orderly thanks to his head maid Olga and the rest of her staff. Not a speck of dust anywhere. He had to commend her for such a fantastic job. It wasn't easy to keep a residence as large as this so immaculate.