Within that precise time, inside Mr. Collin's office, Ace leaned to retrieve the bottle near his shoe, eagerly uncorking it to read the enclosed note. His eyes widened as he read Kai's written message.
"We need to give this to Chester!" he exclaimed, hastily hurrying out of the doorway.
Almost immediately, Ace, Ivan, Rome, Glenn, and Jack found Chester pacing anxiously outside his parents' bedroom, where his mother's laborious screams bellowed down the corridor.
With Mr. Collin preoccupied with supporting his wife and Kai's whereabouts unknown, Chester stood next in line for full authority over the entire Coven. In the circumstance of his incapability to rule, then leadership is passed to Zen, Vlad's second-born son, and his male offspring because his wife birthed Henry as their firstborn. However, with Zen and his wife's current resting detainment, exclusive leadership would fall to Henry and his sons because his firstborn offspring was also a male. Any Royal whose wife first birthed him a male offspring would also play a factor in their leadership role unless deemed otherwise by the Headmaster.
Since Chester's daughter Madeline was his firstborn offspring, superseding Troy, his firstborn son born as second, Kai might have a chance to permanently demote his rank to third if one of his sons were born first. However, Chester's role had already ranked third the day his dad granted Kai Second Command.
Nevertheless, it did not matter much. Vlad always granted Kai Second Command or full leadership of the Coven in his absence, even over their father, and no one in the family opposed it. Greed for power was never an issue in their family because vampires nurtured a close family relationship, unlike some humans.
"Kai has orders," Ace affirmed, handing him the note.
Excluding their father's clan, Chester read that his brother wanted everyone's advisors and highest-ranked guardians, of those only stemming from a bloodline of advisors, to prepare for battle. Knowing what he was doing, Kai requested the best of the best.
Only five advisors are required to work for each Alpha throughout the Coven's individual clans. Inherently, there would be more than several qualified guardians capable of governing the protection of the Alphas in their respective clans and managing the defenses of the Coven army.
Sometimes, there would be duels, then the champion would be honored with the highest rank under the Alpha, or individuals would temporarily step down to take a break from the hardship it requires to maintain such a responsibility.
Near the end of the note, one last instruction was boldly underlined, "No female warriors are to participate," Kai wrote.
Chester understood the rationale behind this strong directive was for their safety. Plus, the tasks at hand weren't suitable for all females. Except perhaps for Rose and certain vampiresses known for their ferocity, akin to the males. Along with these orders, Kai hinted at the phrase "crystalline with a single D."
Instantly, Chester knew he was on Devon's and Sean's home planet, more particularly at Devon's territories. Lastly, Kai concluded the name of their first targeted planet and the estimated time to convene for battle.
"Do as he instructed, but do it quietly and quickly," Chester ordered in a hushed tone. "I'll telepathically alert all my family members to prepare their advisors and finest guardians for battle."
In a whisper, Glenn inquired, "How do we evade the Vampire Covenant's Seekers?"
"First, let's get everyone assembled," Chester hushingly replied. "Everyone should bid farewell to their loved ones. Now go. I'll think of a plan to divert the Seekers once we're ready."
In understanding the instructions, they nodded, but before they could carry out the order, a vampire Seeker loyal to the Vampire Covenant emerged, overhearing every detail.
Unbeknownst to them, his scent had been masked with an extract plant, so he stealthily eavesdropped from a nearby room. Although the use of the extract plant was illegal on most dimensional planets, nevertheless, the Vampire Covenant had authorization to use it when necessary for sustaining the highest rank above all Covens to stabilize a balance of justice and peace among their Kind.
Spine-crawling silence crept among them until the Seeker named Cane randomly remarked, "It's nice to see you've found your father."
Everyone gawked in bewilderment at Cane's peculiar statement, but then, from another room towards the right, Ian revealed himself, bestowing a faint smile. Jack knew his son was nearby, but he was puzzled by how Ian seemed to recognize Cane.
"I remember you," Ian remarked, recalling his encounter with Cane and his partner from that night, moments after he first met Lily whenever he hunted a rat in the alley, which she ate before he could catch it.
Months before those events, and just weeks prior to their encounter involving that rat, Ian and Lily discovered their true nature as non-humans. Unknown voices called to them on the fateful morning that their instincts awoke, yet they didn't comprehend the significance of the callings, much like their newly uncovered vampiric nature.
Matters worsened during breakfast as an unnatural hunger ached within, and human food evolved distastefully for putrid. Aware that their dangerous thirst for blood posed a threat to their human families, their triggered instincts encouraged them to wisely leave out of the dread of accidentally feasting on their loved ones. Given their inability to control their newly uncovered vampiric instincts concerned them with the lack of retaining proper hunting skills.
In Lily's case, Ian recalled, her family had disowned her after she dropped out of college because they believed she had become pregnant. Little did her awful stepfather and mother could comprehend that Lily had only quit college for fear of harming someone.
In contrast to Lily's harsher judgment and rejection by her family, Ian's stepfather and mother had been more understanding of his decision to leave college, even though he couldn't reveal the true reason behind his dropout.
Prior to his run-in with Lily months back, Cane, who stood before them now, appeared with his partner and helped them to realize that those unknown voices they heard were their fathers trying to communicate with them. Cane advised Ian and Lily to heed the calls of their fathers and warned them to be wary of other vampires.
Human-raised vampires and vampiresses faced this first dark trial of their vampiric life alone, but in Ian's and Lily's case, they confronted it together.
However, during their journey, they failed to find their dads while Tyler's clan hunted them. Fortunately, they got blessed to be taken in by Alpha Mitchell and Elizabeth before they left for the masked ball. Luckily, Mitchell eventually recognized Ian and Lily as the offspring of his friends. Adding to their luck, after the masked ball, their dads and their clans, including Mitchell and his clan, all intervened to save Lily and Ian from Tyler and his clan on the field, dividing all three of their territories beyond the woods.
"Did the young vampiress find her father?" Cane asked.
"Yes!" Ian happily confirmed, "She's safe."
Most human-raised offspring didn't always endure this first trial. Male vampires were typically detained, and the females were often captured to serve as enslaved breeders.
As Jack joined Ian's side, he questioned Cane, gently placing his hands on his son's shoulders, "How do you know my son?"
"Cane and his partner found Lily and me," Ian clarified, slightly peering up at his father. "They provided us guidance and explained what we were as non-humans."
"It's part of my duty within the Vampire Covenant," Cane interjected before shifting a pointed look at Chester. "Now, what is on the note that Kai sent? Did he tell you his location?" he asked as the sternness reverberated in his voice.
Despite the more amicable interaction with Ian, Cane had a job to do as a Seeker.