"Hum, ha! Hum, ha!"

The chanting continued as the red-cloaked people walked in a single file, their hands holding the lacerated head of lambs. Lining the procession were cobbled walls and the yellowish flames of the torches hanging on them flickered across the narrow corridor.

The convoy of cloaked people slipped into a wider room in the shape of a circle. Sitting on the floor in the middle of the room was a black-cloaked being in the form of a human. Its face was an endless darkness and lying on both sides of its body were two black hounds, their red eyes glowing.

In the hands of the being was a golden cup. But as the rest of the world knew it; the Holy Grail. The flames from the torches licked the surface of the being's black cloak. Surrounding him was a circle written on the cobbled floor with chalk and intertwining in the middle were two triangles.

The chanting people in red cloaks surrounded the being in the circle. They held up the lamb heads to their faces.

"The lamb signifies purity," the deep voice of the being boomed through the room. "Lick it. Lick off the purity from the lamb and we shall replace it with darkness. London is the lamb and our tongues are disaster supreme."

The people outside licked the head of their lambs continuously and the being in the middle gasped and ran his finger over the Holy Grail, his red crystal ring glowing.

"All hail the Dark Magus," The ritualists knelt and bowed their heads to the cold floor. They were revering praise to the being in the middle of the room.

"Lamina Lubisca. Praise be unto Lucifer," The Dark Magus said, rising, his black cloak gliding against the ground. His hounds stood at attention, their body ready to protect their master. "With these lamb heads, we plead unto the to open the gates of hell and bless us with the gift of the seven deadly sins. All power belongs to you." He raised the Holy Grail. "We want to make this cup unholy and be able to do your doing. Bless us, Dark Lord."

"Bless us, Dark Lord," the members of the cult chanted.

"Bless us Dark Lord."

"Bless us with thy gifts."

"Bless us Dark Lord."

A blast of wind hit the walls of the room, the cloaks of everyone fluttering. Flames erupted from the middle of the circle but they didn't consume the Dark Magus. Instead, they embraced him and he breathed in the flames of hell. The flames dissipated and the Dark Magus sighed softly.

In a whisper, he said, "It is done. The first sin has been released."

******

This was one of the most irrelevant things Nikolas had done. The next day, all students were all dressed in their sporting gear and jogged through the football field in the school's football stadium, soft morning light licking the green grass and the rows of seats in the colosseum-themed stadium.

Some lazy baboons were already laid on the grass exhausted and breathing like dogs. But Nikolas and his brother with their superiority kept going for minutes while the exhausted students gazed at them with awe.

But the question remained.

Why were they jogging with these unhealthy lads? Nikolas and his brother were in pristine bodily form and this was a waste of his precious time. He didn't know why a private university made exercises compulsory. Failure to attend would lead to deadly penalties like a week's suspension. It was ridiculous.

"Oy, mate."

Jimmy Suther jogged up to Nikolas and his brother, a grin on the Scottish man's face. Why was he always smiling?

"I'm not your mate." Nikolas was seven hundred years older than him.

"Funny you are, aye?" Jimmy wiggled his brows and Nikolas internally cringed at the exchange. "You and your brother are da only ones still keepin' up properly with da exercise. Are you sure you won't join the team?"

Nikolas chuckled. "I see what you're doing."

"You do?" Jimmy pretended not to understand what he was doing.

"Praising me so I would consider joining your little gathering for little boys."

"I'm not little." Jimmy pouted and looked at Benjamin. "Do you think I'm little?'

Big mistake.

"My little sister is taller than you," Benjamin said, jogging alongside his brother.

Nikolas used the opportunity to size Jimmy up. He was indeed short. His head was at the same level as Nikolas' arm. And Sarai was indeed taller.

"How do you manage to play football with such a height?" Nikolas asked, stopping as soon as he heard the whistle from the sports organiser.

Jimmy scratched his ginger hair. "I play as a midfielder."

Nikolas glanced around the stadium and spotted Miss Smith. She was dressed in a black suit and sat on one of the benches for substitutes, her hand scribbling on a note with a pen.
She looked up from the note and they both locked eyes.

What she did next made his jaw plummet.

She showed him a bloody middle finger! That lady! She seemed to enjoy his reaction because she smiled so sweetly like an innocent child.

"It seems you and the coach aren't on good terms," Jimmy Suther said.

Nikolas raised a brow. "Coach?"

"She's the coach of the football team."

Nikolas laughed hard, his hands holding his aching stomach. What sort of joke was this world turning into? How could a woman be the coach of a sport? It was like building a team for failure. Women couldn't handle tense situations like men. This was why since the dawn of time, most coaches in sports have all been men.

"You don't believe she's good enough?" Jimmy asked, his hands on his waist.

"Of course, she'll be good enough." Nikolas stifled a laugh. "At failing."

"Come on, mate. That's not a nice thing to say." Jimmy shook his head in disapproval. "I admit Adeline Smith can be a bit prejudiced, but she led the Black and Asians lives matter movement that's currently battling racism. She's a strong and determined woman."

"Hmm," Nikolas said, looking at her as a soft wind quivered her voluminous afro curls. What she did was admirable. But that didn't change the fact that she was a woman. She wouldn't be able to handle matters as tense as training fully grown men.

What would she do if an argument breaks between teammates? Stand between them? Cry to her mother for help? It was a horrible idea to make her a coach.

"If you didn't care about the team in the first place, why are you criticizing her?" Jimmy asked, smirking.

Benjamin nodded his head in agreement. "He has a point, brother."

Nikolas opened his mouth to speak but no reasonable explanation seemed to come to his head. Jimmy Suther was one cunning son of a bachelor. He caught him off guard. But Nikolas would never admit that.

"Jimmy Suther," they all turned to see who spoke. It was a blonde man with low hair, his blue eyes sending chills down Nikolas' spine. Everything about this person made him want to keep his guard up. Something was off about the man, "in the midst of the Knight brothers."

"How adorable," the lady next to him purred. She was identical to the man but had long blonde hair. The twins wore black suits.

"Who are they?" Nikolas asked.

"Robert Williams and Sarah Williams. Both are twins. They are the president and vice president of the student union at Bishop Gregory University, the university owned by Bishop Gregory. Their school has won the league since it started and Robert is their football Captain," Jimmy explained, fingers tapping his laps nervously.

"That's a wonderful introduction, Jimmy. My school has won the league continuously for only one reason." Robert eyed Benjamin with distaste plastered in his blue eyes. "We don't admit black-skinned monkeys like these. Or those yellow chinks with their almond-shaped eyes that make them look stupid."

"Nik, does he think he's being insultive by criticising the colour of my skin?" Benjamin asked, his tone calm and showing no sign of anger.

Nikolas breathed in deeply. "Yes, brother. How stupid do you think he is?"

"Very stupid."

Robert's lips parted, his blue eyes looking astonishingly at Benjamin. "You're not offended?

"I only consider the words of people who know how to use their brain," Benjamin replied.

"Oh, shit." Jimmy chuckled, his hands over his mouth. The Knight brothers have lived for over seven hundred years. They've met all kinds of people, including people like the Williams twins. It would take more than some childish words to annoy them.

"Robert, let's leave these degenerates." Sarah Williams glared at the Knight brothers before she dragged her brother away.

Children. Nikolas shook his head at their silliness. This was what he meant when he said humans were dummies. What made them think criticising someone's skin was insultive? It was even stupid to think of doing such a thing in the first place. Every human has different phenotypes and isn't responsible for how God created them. So insulting someone's skin made the insulter appear naive and foolish.

Nikolas looked back at the twins who were now far away. They were standing next to a bushy thicket that was positioned behind a goal post.
Robert touched the green leaves of the thicket and they all withered, the dry leaves falling to the floor. No one seemed to have seen it. How did he do that? Was he a warlock?

He looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with Nikolas.

"I know you can hear me, Nikolas. Super hearing is quite a lovely talent," Robert said and Nikolas' heart paced. "I know you're a vampire. You and your little family of freaks. But don't worry, your dirty secret is safe with me."

Nikolas blinked again and the twins were gone. This was bad. It truly was.

*****

Author's note:

We didn't see that coming, did we?

Yours truly,

Lord Victor Hastings.