Jeffery's face was as serious as ever, he rarely saw his father this serious, and he could immediately tell the man wasn't here for jokes. Daniel feared than any words of declination towards his father's request would attract consequences that wouldn't be in his favor, yet he took the risk. "I don't have it" he lied
"Ohh, is that true? Then where could you have left it?" Jeffery asked while conjuring a canine like object from thin air.
Daniel's heartbeat escalated, and cold balls of perspiration formed on his forehead. He was aware his father could be cruel and heartless at times, and now was probably going to be one of those times. He had watched his father train his elder brother most of the time, and it was one of the reasons he had rejected sorcery in the first place. The cutting of flesh and flowing blood were all too burdensome for him.
"I.... " Daniel paused, took a breath and a step backwards before finishing his sentence "I handed it over to the Stigma brothers before we escaped"
"Daniel, do you know what this is?" Jeffery asked, giving his son the opportunity to have a better look at the relic his father possessed.
"No" He answered almost immediately.
"You're a smart kid Daniel, but you act stupid most times and I know you didn't get that from me." Jeffery said while taking short steps around the frozen Daniel as if preying on him.
"This is the saber's Fang," Jeffery began, "an ancient relic imbued with curses over the years it has existed. A scratch from this can make a sane man loose his senses for a while, and a stab could result to serious mental damage and sometimes death. Our clan has used this to torture our enemies over the centuries and sometimes to get the truth out of those who aren't willing to say it." He explained.
"Now Daniel, I would never use this on my own children, I'm not a monster as you make me to be, but I will not stand here and watch my own son lie to my face" Jeffery said dropping the relic down on the sofa's arm. A wave of his hand signified that Rose left them alone and in an instant, she had dematerialized into nothingness.
Daniel wasn't sure if he was to trust his father's words or not, but he chose not to. Jeffery might be annoyingly honest most times, but that didn't mean he wasn't a deceitful monster who would do anything for power. He watched sternly as his father settled on the sofa and dropped the weapon. He had his eyes on the relic, and his father's fingers caressed it every once in a while.
"Now Daniel, why don't you tell your old man where the book is?" Jeffery asked, his stare and voice as cold as ever.
Daniel froze in place, he tried to talk but his vocal cords seemed to ignore their duties. He took a quick glance at his sleeping friends and noticed the peering eyes of Richard, a wink was more than enough motivation that encouraged him to keep lying.
Richard had the book and was already concluding his teleportation spell. He had gotten possession of the book immediately Jeffery had taken Daniel to wherever they had gone to.
Daniel was a bit disappointed in Richard, he should have left a long time ago. His best friend was smart, but he had made a mistake by staying behind to wait for him.
Daniel soon realized his own mistake, his had maintained eye contact with his pretending ally for too long, and Jeffery had caught up with their schemes.
Jeffery's cold stare lingered away from Daniel onto the pretending Richard whose lips were now moving. In one split second, he dashed towards the boy but Daniel had intervened, giving his friend the last second he needed to teleport.
Jeffery's large hands encircled his son's throat and the boy choked on his own breathe.
"You have no idea the danger you have put your friend and his family in" Jeffery said just before he threw his frightened son to the floor.
"You won't hurt them!" Daniel shouted.
"Is that a command?" Jeffery asked, his voice even colder and his eyes stained with bloodlust.
"If you hurt them, I won't host the curse of the book. You need me more than I need you" Daniel said. He had no idea where the strength he just mustered came from. He stood from the ground and now faced his father, his body was trembling but he wasn't going to make it obvious.
Jeffery broke away from their stare and scoffed, he adjusted his glasses before picking up his relic from the sofa's arm. His son was bluffing nonsense, but he wasn't going to let the boy know that.
A wave of fear swept past him as his father's finger made contact with the Saber's Fang, he had completely forgotten the weapon was still around, and the kind of threat the object posed. He had angered his father regardless of the danger in front of him, and he was trembling at that realization. It wasn't a new thing, but he was now scared more than ever. He knew his father well enough and he was a man of his words, but the man never kept them in the most just ways.
"Daniel Octavian Bruce" Jeffery called his son's name in full. "I will be coming for you soon enough"