The next day Nico woke up determined. He had a lot of things to do today. First he had to cure the elk meat and had to store it for sale. And for that, he needed a lot of salt and condiments. There are two ways he knew of to cure meat. The first one is to smoke it dry and the second one is to salt it and dry it in the sun. For both these methods, he needed condiments The vampires here did not eat human food so they did not have it. he had to buy them from the human towns. Raven made him a map of all the villages nearby. Turns out they were actually on a small island close by to the river. This was the place where the river met the ocean and it was prone to whirlpools. So not many wanted to come and inhabit this land. Only at a particular time of the day, the water was calm and they can row their boats out. The island was not that bustling with wildlife. Only a few elks lived here. So the vampires usually never ov

 After two days of rowing Raven and Nico reached the small village he was familiar with. They stopped a few meters away from an abandoned-looking shore.“You have one hour. Go on purchase everything you will need and come meet me here,”Nico just blinked at him. “We are not going to dock?”“No, it’s too noticeable. I’ll be floating far away from here in the ocean that they won’t spot me. In an hour ill get here. So make sure to come back on time okay,”Nico nodded. He jumped down into the water. Thankfully, these wasters did not have crocodiles or anything. He grabbed onto the edge of the boat. “Wait how will I bring the salt in here? it will melt in water,”Raven sighed. “I can move closer when you are coming back Nico.”“Done,” he felt slightly silly for even asking that question. he mentally slapped himself and got to work.Nico s

 Nicolai continued to cut the elk and smeared salt all over it. Raven was beside him, starting a small bonfire.“So what happened there? I thought you were going to sell meat,”“Change of plans. Someone saw me there. I’m pretty sure I would have wolves sniffing up my butt soon. We might have to try the other towns.”“The other town nearby is five days from here. You sure you want to travel that far?”Nico paused. “I don’t know. I’m not sure that travel will be worth it.”Initially, he had a great plan to start selling jerking to feed the young vampires but all plans got spoiled when he escaped the village with the new vampire twins. They both were hiding in the corner of the house refusing to let anyone close.Their bodies still reeked so much of blood.‘I have to give them a bath... how do you convince a kid to bathe? With candy? I don’t have c

  A bright white light flashed in front of his face the next second Nicolai was standing by a frozen lake. In front of him was a huge cedar tree, all lush and green gently swaying in the cold wind. “What the....” he glanced around. This place looked very familiar. ‘I have definitely seen this tree before…..’ He turned back slowly. There it was. His father’s castle stood there majestic. The wall and the decor looked brand new and even the windows looked well cleaned, unlike what he was used to seeing. Nico stumbled back in shock. “How... did I get here...” His mind could not comprehend what was going on. One minute he was writing down the spell and uttering those Latin words and the next minute he was at his old home. ‘I…. I am home… it’s unbelievable…’ He gently fisted a bit of the fresh snow. His hands were freezing in just a few seconds. it all felt real. Nico shot up and ran towards the castle. He ran, a

 “Nico... Nicolai...” a soft whisper was heard.. he felt a hand touch his cheeks gently. “Nicolai, wake up... what’s wrong with him? Did he get bit by something,” a familiar voice said in worry.Nicolai blinked awake.“Oh thank god,” Raven pulled him up and handed him a glass of water.“What happened....”“You were out.. God knows...” Raven gently wiped the sweat away.“Mum... where is she...” Nicolai frantically glanced around. But only the familiar forest stared back at him. He realized that he was back to reality. The ghost of his mother was gone. Tears pooled I his eyes. he vigorously wiped them away. ‘it was all just a dream.. who am I kidding...’“Nico,” Avery threw himself into his embrace. “Are you really okay? Do you feel dizzy or woozy? First time is always hard. I fainted too but I also puked. You are not having