"COME in."
Blanc swivelled his chair around to see Dominic walk into his room.
"Good evening, Uncle," Dominic said as he waved his hand at him.
Blanc gritted his teeth. "When will you stop calling me Uncle, Nick? We're not related and you're old enough to call me by my name."
Nick chuckled. "Sorry, Uncle Noah."
Blanc sighed and beckoned for him to sit.
"So to what do I owe the pleasure..." Blanc paused. "Scourge of Demons?"
Blanc knew he hated that title. It was given to him because of the vast amount of demons he had killed.
"Fair point," Nick chuckled. "It's about the council meeting."
Blanc knew he hated that title. It was given to him because of the vast amount of demons he had killed.
"It's scheduled for next week. What more do I need to hear?"
"Yeah, about that..." Nick said while scratching his head. "Camilla -"
"WHAT DID SHE DO?" Blanc yelled, losing his composure for a little bit. "Forgive me. Continue."
Everybody knew that Blanc and Camilla were like water and oil. They never agreed with each other.
Blanc rubbed his temples. He knew what Nick was going to say as soon as he heard Camilla. She was going to volunteer to host the meeting. Anytime Camilla stepped forward for anything, she always had ulterior motives. She was greedy, and Blanc mostly didn't associate with her. It was surprising that their children were friends.
"She's hosting the meeting at her villa -"
"I know where her villa is, Dominic," Blanc interrupted him. "Let's forget about Camilla. I'm sure you didn't come all the way to my school to tell me that?"
Nick chuckled. "I came to see my brother."
Blanc raised his eyebrow.
"And to satisfy my curiosity," Nick added.
Blanc smiled.
Nick was a good kid. Losing his parents at an early age, he was the one who fended for his brother. Even with the mantle of being the strongest exorcist, Nick wasn't corrupted by the harsh life of being an exorcist.
But he was alone.
His charism was one of a kind.
The Divine Charism.
Finally, Isaac came into the picture.
There was obviously no way Nick wasn't excited.
"I hope you won't do anything reckless," Blanc cautioned him.
Nick nodded.
"Before I forget, we need to talk about the demons," Blanc told him, and the air in his office became tense.
* * * * *
"Axel!" a voice said.
"No. Sounds too... I don't know. It doesn't fit him," another voice complained.
"How do you know it's a he?" the first voice asked.
"I've checked," the second voice replied.
"Would you two keep quiet?" a third voice said. "I'm trying to sleep here."
"Cut them some slack, Kevin," Raj said.
It was lights out, and they were in Isaac's room.
His guards were supposed to keep an eye on Isaac 24/7, which meant throughout the night, too. Josie spent the nights in the girl's dormitory while Kevin and Raj were in Isaac and Leo's room.
The first night they were on the job, Isaac had wondered what was going on when they were following him to his room. He thought they were going to stand guard in front of his door, but they'd insisted on coming inside.
Isaac had reluctantly let them in and found out that the other beds were already packed with their stuff.
Raj and Kevin alternated their night shifts daily, and tonight was Raj's turn, which meant Kevin had to sleep early. Ever since they'd arrived, Kevin had been cold to him probably because he was a witch. Raj and Josie were kinder, and they'd even had conversations with him. Raj's wolf, Romulus, had made himself comfortable under Isaac's desk.
Presently, Leo and Isaac were arguing on what name to give to the dog. They were lucky that pets with charisms were allowed in the school, and no student was looking for a puppy.
The cause of the argument was trying to snuggle with Romulus. As soon as Isaac had brought him into the room, he ran around, sniffing everything.
"Axel," Leo suggested.
"Pero," Isaac lashed back.
Isaac and Leo had come to a silent agreement that no one was going to win the argument. They both turned towards Raj at the same time.
He was busy reading on his bed, trying his best not to join the banter that had been going on for the past thirty minutes. He sighed, knowing he couldn't avoid the inevitable any longer.
Raj dropped his book and stared at both of them.
He suddenly felt like a father taking care of his two children who could never get along with each other.
"Calm down, boys," he started. "We're talking about naming here. The name you give him has to have a meaning attached to it. Don't forget the primary rule in Demonology 101. Names have power."
"Demonology?" Isaac asked.
"You'll learn it starting from your third year," Raj explained.
"If you're still alive," Kevin added from his bed.
"Thanks a lot," Isaac said sarcastically, "for reminding me that I might not live past sixteen."
"So what do you want to name him?" Raj asked.
Isaac thought deeply.
There was a knock on the door, and everyone momentarily forgot about the dog naming.
Isaac opened the door to see Ethan in his pyjamas and a package in his hands.
"What is this?" he asked Ethan as he collected the package from him.
"It's from my brother," Ethan explained. "Something about a dog and him owing you."
"You met the Scourge?" Kevin said, jumping up from his bed.
Isaac was a little confused and opened the package.
"It hasn't even been three hours yet," Isaac whispered to himself as he tore through the wraps.
As he had guessed, it contained everything you needed to take care of a dog. From dog food to chewy toys to an automatic feeder, Dominic had thought of it all. The canines in the room rushed over to him, smelling something delicious.
At the bottom of the box was a book Isaac knew too well.
It was his mother's grimoire.
He dropped everything else and stared at it. How did Dominic get the book? Did he know?
He opened the first page and slapped the book shut.
He had promised himself that he wouldn't cry.
"What is it?" Leo asked.
"Um... a guide to keeping pets," he lied.
The puppy climbed up on Isaac's lap with his tongue out.
"Covi," Isaac said, and the room went silent. "I'll call you Covi."
"Fits him," Raj said and went back to his book.
"Oh yeah, he also said that your trial's next week," Ethan added.
"What?!" Isaac yelled.
"Huh!" Leo exclaimed.
Raj nodded.
"Finally," Kevin said happily.