"You better hurry up,"

"Alright,"

Chris went forward and placed both his hands on the sides of Verminton's head. His hands slowly glowed with his neon-blue essence as he closed his eyes and saw flashes of the other twin in his mind. He saw a number and called out to Calice.

"3427,"

Calice let the vampire go as they proceeded to head out. 

The vampire suddenly cackled as he got back up.

"I might be dying but at the moment, I am as strong as the two of you,"

Calice rolled her eyes and sighed as she shook her head. 

"Go,"

"What? Calice I can't leave you here!"

"Oh relax, he's just a fly in my eyes,"

"You should go free her and alert the others to leave as well,"

Chris frowned out of concern as he looked at the vampire radiating a sick grin towards both of them. 

"Ugh!"

He grunted as he wisped out the door and proceeded to free the other twin.

"Now, where were we?"

The vampire lunged at her and tried to bury his fangs into her but she was quick enough to grab his throat and squeeze it hard. 

"You think I am some normal protector?"

She threw him across the room and banged him on the wall nearby. He coughed brutally as he tried to get up slowly, blood spilling out of his nose and mouth. 

"I'll tell you what I am since you are taking your last breath," With that, she ripped his heart out, the blood spilling in gallons on the floor. The vampire looked shocked as he noticed his blood not burning her skin as it burnt the other protectors he killed.

"I know that the blood of vampires like you at their last breath can kill a protector,"

"H-how?" He questioned.

"Let's just say, I am immune to it. H-How?"

She continued as she clutched his knee and crushed his joint completely. 

"Oh, why won't you heal?" Her facade was consumed by sarcasm.

He tried to heal but that only gave him more pain. 

"How is this possible?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're not as smart as I thought,"

He frowned out of fright now. 

"You shouldn't have consumed my blood,"

He widened his eyes as he began to melt by himself. His skin melted as his muscles and flesh began exposing him to the sun. 

"You should've known that I am the first ever protector to exist,"

"B-but don't the other protectors you're friends with know?"

"Well, the only beings who knew are dead,"

He was almost liquid before he heard something that sent him off his living edge.

"I'm not the type to live on publicity,"

***

Present day

"No matter how she freed us, we know for sure that her half-sister, the hybrid turned me over to Vermington," Tamara said as she continued reading while Tia played her game on her phone as if barely bothered.

"Sis, I get it, but don't worry, we made a deal with the shamans. Have some patience,"

"I hope the shamans hand her over to us,"

"Why would you think that?"

"I just don't trust them. That's that," Tamara flipped to the next page.

"Suite yourself," 

The door to their spot suddenly burst open as the shamans returned with Julia.

"Oh, you got her, thank you,"

Tamara closed her book and stood up as she grabbed Julia, helping them put her in a chair.

"My Frenchie god! She's heavy!"

She whined as she witnessed them leaning to take the rope out from the duffle bag. 

"Wait! Lace it first!"

Tamara stopped them.

"With what?"

A snap echoed across the room as they looked at Tia on her phone, her finger pointing towards another bag on the floor beside her armchair.

"Alright, you guys do it,"

Rake said as he tossed the rope to the floor.

"Thank you for keeping your end of the deal,"

"We hope you keep yours,"

"Ugh!" Julia grunted as her eyelids lifted themselves with the little energy she had left.

"Oh, the dead have awakened," Tamara said as she pressed her book shut with her palm and stood up before walking up to Julia's confiscated figure. 

Julia blinked her eyes as she adjusted to the dim brightness. 

"Wait, I know you," Julia groaned.

Tamara scoffed with a smirk smeared over her lips. 

Julia widened her eyes as she recognized her.

"I'm the protector you sold out to Vermington,"

"Look Tamara it wasn't anything personal I-,"

"Oh, but it was," Tamara's fingers lit up with her neon blue essence as she held her palm at the side of Julia's forehead.

"And looks like you had no control over your protector side then," Her eyes glowed as Julia's brain began to burn and her blood pressure increased a little.

"Tamara, I can explain, please," She whimpered in pain.

"Oh, now I like the way that sounds because guess what?" Tamara neared her eyes and made Julia open her eyes so that she could see the pain she was inflicting herself.

"This is exactly how I whimpered, screamed and cried ever since 1923,"

Julia had nothing to say as her guilt was consumed by every atrocity she imposed when her protector side awakened.

"I have no words to express how guilty and ashamed I am for what I did to you Tamara but that is not what I wanted to explain," 

Tamara frowned, demanding an answer.

"I awakened my protector side at that time because I have been followed by Calice for 1000 years now. She wishes to torment me and I needed an escape,"

Tamara stood back, distancing her face from Julia's, and crossing her arms.

"I killed her with my powers and escaped but returning to my vampire side was not easy,"

She looked down as she couldn't look Tamara in the eye anymore. 

 "I do have one question though,"

Julia slightly sighed and looked at Tamara.

"If she is the first-ever wolf to be turned into a protector, and the lire knife has no effect on you, how did your wolf side manifest protector powers?"

"After she became a protector, she bit me,"

"But that would've killed you,"

Julia muttered something.

"What was that?"

"I said that's the point!"

"I didn't die somehow and part of her protector powers blended with my wolf side,"

"Well, I suppose this is where the shamans would come in. Too bad you don't have today to be sent to them,"

She walked to the rusty table in the near corner and unfolded a cloth. 

Julia widened her eyes as she saw her spread out a long line of tools with sharp and curved ends.

"Tamara you don't understand! If you do that I might end up repeating history!" 

"Buckle up, chienne. It is going to be a long night,"

***

"Alright, what would you wish to tell me about the Geminus?" Calice asked Chris as they continued to unpack everything from the package they received anonymously. 

"They are smarter, slyer and most of all, more enhanced,"

"Elaborate,"

"They can conserve and use their powers at full potential even without their other half. It lasts for about 6 hours or so. I just don't know how they do that,"

Chris pulled out another one of those mythology books and placed them on the study. 

"I am still researching the rest,"

"Alright,"

"By the way, this boarding house is quite classy,"

"Yes, I had no idea to whose it is until I took a look at the deed,"

"You don't say,"

Chris smiled sarcastically, knowing who it is.

"Tia," Calice smiled at him deeply, being all cheeky.

"Where's your sidekick though?"

"He is not my sidekick. He had some urgent matters to attend to,"

Chris took a seat before the study as he took his jacket off, revealing his sleeveless, skin-tight black shirt and his detailed triceps on full display. 

"Well, I guess you have a few hours,"

Calice proceeded to head out of the house.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to have Julia here. How else are we supposed to finish going through all these books?"

"Alright, see you in a bit!"

***

"Hey, sleepyhead! I need yo- what?" Calice felt shaken as she noticed Julia's place empty, with only half her boxes unpacked. 

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know, take a guess I suppose?"

Calice swivelled back as her essence occupied her palm again.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I wanted to know where my sister was,"

"Tia,"

Calice got more anxious as she realised Tamara must be maiming Julia at this point.

"What's wrong? Anxious?"

"Tia, you don't understand. If you push her off the edge, it's over,"

Tia scoffed as she thought of Calice's words as a threat.

"You must think this is a threat but not from my side,"

Tia squinted her eyes as she continued smirking.

A moment of silence followed.

"I supposed it's too late for that but feel free to follow me,"

Tia dived out of the balcony into the woods as Calice did the same but something about it was strange. She took a completely different and unknown route as she continued to race through the woods. 

All of a sudden, Calice sniffed the scent of ropes and a net, realising that the route had been filled with traps. She took every single step she could carefully and reached Tia before pouncing on her. 

"Stop stalling me and tell me where Julia is!"

Calice yelled as they both turned back.

"If you are so desperate, why don't you ask her yourself?"

Calice frowned but before she could say anything she got hit harshly by something and went flying across the woods. 

"Ugh!"

"Hey! You okay?" Chris reached her just in time. 

"I thought you were at the boarding house,"

"I was until I read something you might be familiar with,"

"What?"

"The Geminus can not only hide their werewolf aura completely,"

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"You told me Julia said she couldn't figure out someone's aura, which meant they were neither werewolf nor human,"

Calice frowned before widening her eyes as if realising something.

***

"So, how does it feel? To let go of your true self?" Tia asked as Julia followed her back to the very spot she was tortured in.

Tia proceeded to have water as she walked to the table and grabbed her sipper. 

"Urk! Uff!" She suddenly gagged and coughed as she pulled the sipper off her lips.

She couldn't look back but felt her heart wrapped by a set of fingers. Julia leaned closer to Tia's ear.

"Give Tamara my regards," 

Tia's body jerked before it thumped to the ground, revealing her heart resting on Julia's palm, her hand drenched in blood as her eyes glowed sea-green (Because her hybrid side has blue eyes and her protector side has green due to Calice's bite and sire bond). 

"Hello, other me. It has been 95 years now,"

~To be continued