Jeffery rose from his seat, he had been sitting for more than three hours straight, and his butt was beginning to ache while his legs begged to be used.
He summoned for Rose mentally and waited for her to appear but she didn't. He left the house without her, he didn't have time to waste. The only thing she did was to be his guard, but he can take care of himself for this brief walk. The book still called for him, but he had to give his body a little care time to time.
He had casted a protective spell over the book, and had linked it's usage only to his family's blood. The only people that could think of using the book now was only he and his son's, but since they weren't here, he had nothing to fear.
He made his way out of the house, fortifying it's defense and barrier as he walked out. Jeffery was aware that he didn't have much friends, and his enemies would be looking for the slightest opportunity to mow him down.
As usual the streets were quiet and he worshipped quietness. Serene places gave him this mental satisfaction, and that was why he chose here to build his house in the first place.
He furthered his walk down the streets and eventually left the streets. He intended on half an hour walk, but his stomach had started making demands. And since he wasn't with his car, he was forced to walk over to the closest eatery near him to feed himself. He has decided against eating, if he did then he would be bound to sleep, and he didn't want anything to come between the time he spent with his spell book, sleep had it's time and that was at night.
He began his walk back while cursing himself for letting his desire for food thrive over his obsession for the book.
He stopped amidst his walk abruptly, there was nothing he hated more than cowardice, and he couldn't hide his disappointment when he perceived that it was someone from the Infernal Judgement, an elder to be precise.
These were also among the threats that he feared, he knew about Manuel their leader, and he knew the man was definitely a beast when it came to power. Manuel was rumored to have struck a deal with the prince of demons himself, Satan, and this beast had yielded to be his familiar. The strongest prince of hell, wrath and rage itself were Manuel's ally, and it made people tremble anytime they heard about the man.
Manuel could still be stronger than he was currently, but as long as it wasn't Manuel, he would be happy to reduce the headcount of the Infernal Judgement Elders without a second thought. It was foolish of this man to attack to him alone and he would pay for his stupidity and cowardice with his life.
Jeffery felt a little happy for being stalked by this Elder, he had been looking for a test subject to practice his newly acquired power on, and an Elder fufiled all his requirements. They were strong and would put up a good fight, which meant the fight wouldn't end easily and he wouldn't be bored.
"Why do you chose to linger in the shadows, when the light offers itself to you free of charge?" Jeffery asked the emptiness that surrounded him. He wasn't expecting his stalker to materialize in a place where they were still little humans around, so he made his way towards a lonely alleyway.
Finally, his stalker materialized showcasing a familiar face.
"Clinton Allen, what a pleasant surprise" Jeffery said while stretching forth his hand for a handshake, but was ignored. "I see you still have your disrespectful attitude" he remarked before retracting his hand.
"Jeffery Bruce, I believe you know why I'm here" Clinton asked. He had never for once ever liked blood sorcerers, not to talk of the Bruce family. He was just here to inform Jeffery that his son would be in their custody, and if he didn't hand over the Maledictio Caelum et Infernium before fourty eight hours, they would return the corpse of his son to him.
"Please do make yourself clear" Jeffery pleaded, maintaining his gentle composure. He was restraining himself from attacking Clinton, he could feel his mana being drained by the seconds, and he knew the reason why. The Grimoire was calling for him, and he needed replenishment of his depleting mana.
Clinton would serve as replenishment for his depleting mana, but he wouldn't make any actions until the man had spilt all he had to say.
"Which of my son's?" Inferno questioned for clarification. He knew Alexander was more than capable of handling himself, and as for now he didn't really care much about him. The boy had tried to murder him and he was still mad about it.
Alexander's confrontation made memories he had buried long ago resurface, and it still pained him that his son had actually pushed him to thinking he was weak. He stirred his mind away from Alexander, and focused on the more important issue.
The only son he had that the Infernal Judgement could easily get their hands on was Daniel. He smiled angrily at the unshaken Clinton, no one touched Daniel apart from him. He still needed the boy for things, and until he was done, nobody was to lay a finger on his boy.