At first I wasn't sure what had occurred when the wall broke down and I was dragged outside. When I looked back, that dungeon where I had met Deli was gone and I was in some sort of a garden, with a glass roof. It was beautiful but scary. And at night, it was mortifying. I held my breath as I looked around for whatever had brought me out. I couldn't see very well, the moon was hidden once again in the embraces of the thick dark clouds and it only occasionally came out teasingly.

Drops of sweat rolled down my face despite the chilly night. I clutched Ebony tightly as if my life depended on it. Soon I heard a brush in the nearby bushes which was followed by the footsteps on the stony path. I kept my eyes peeled for whatever was headed my way. But before I knew it, it seized me and I'd have been impaled if my reflexes hadn't made me duck out of the way of the chained dagger that was headed my way.

My arm did get slashed but it wasn't something I couldn't handle. I looked sternly at the direction where it came from, where now stood an old man with a round glass on his right eye and clad in a black suit and white gloves.

"Did you not like my welcome, sir? So I presume. Forgive my rudeness, I just had to be cautious, that is the duty of a butler, after all", and he did in fact look nothing like anything but a butler.

I straightened up and got on my guard.

"You are a special guest of the family. I'd rather not have to engage in any extreme gesture toward you. Oh, but pardon me! I shall have to introduce myself first. I am Albus, the butler of the family of Vlad. My family has served in this very mansion for countless years. I beg your pardon for my abrupt greeting. I shall lead you inside, if you'd like".

"I'm going to have to refuse that", I couldn't tell whether he wanted to fight or not.

"Is that so? Well sir, you have something of a heritage on you that I shall have to retrieve before you take your leave. Would you mind surrendering it so peacefully or do I have to convince you to hand it over?"

"What...are you talking about?"

"Hmm? Beg your pardon? Have you perhaps...lost it?", his eyes turned a wild color and he looked at me like a predator, "In that case, you won't be needed in this castle, now would you?"

With that, he awaited no longer and launched at me with his dagger. For someone his age, with a head as silver as the moonlight, he sure was extraordinarily nimble. Still, I could keep up with his movements fairly well. However, returning a blow was a different story. He was very cautious, and I could tell that we were an equal match. My best option would be to exhaust him and then finish him off. But I wasn't sure I had that sort of time.

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For one I wasn't sure we could stay long enough in Wallach, back in time. Secondly, I had to find Deli's children. Then I had to get her back. I simply couldn't wait any longer. Especially considering Felix hadn't joined up with me, I didn't even know where I was. It seemed to me we were being played with, as if someone was just getting a kick out of pulling our strings. I didn't even know the number of enemies we were facing and in such a situation, I couldn't lag around with just one old guy.

"You're losing focus!", the old man sure was in a mood to be messing around with me.

I stopped holding myself back and went on the offensive. I had no choice but to take this risk, I grabbed the chain as the dagger pierced through my hand. I readied Ebony in the other hand and leapt toward the old man. The old man did a backward handspring vault and let go of the chain. I proceeded toward him without holding back and was inches away from slitting his throat when I felt a stinging feeling in my side.

I lost strength in my arm and was pushed back. Albus got away and I only now noticed that my side was bleeding, with the dagger inserted.

When and how did it get there? I was sure I had separated Albus from his weapons. I looked back where I had discarded his chained dagger and there was nothing there. But then the moon peaked in for a while and I was shocked to see water.

I turned back to the old man who was grinning ear to ear. The dagger inserted in me had no chain attached to it. And that's when I understood what he had done.

"You are...an ice mage...?", I groaned in pain as I pulled out the dagger.

"A mage!", he laughed, "Hardly, sir! I am but a humble servant of the noble house of Vlad. In any case, are you sure there is any time for you to be asking such questions? It appears you are getting rather cold there."

And he was absolutely correct. I did feel like I was getting frozen from inside out. I began to get dizzy and breathing got a lot harder for me. I tried to focus my vision.

"Huh?", my breath was turning into smoke, though I'm sure it wasn't that cold a weather yet.

"That dagger is a gift from my master's collection. I wouldn't hold it for too long if I were you, sir. Not that anything would change in your case, since you've already been impaled by it. My work here is done. Do enjoy the winter springing inside you as your consciousness fades away. I dare say, this would be your last winter."

I saw through my blurred vision as he pulled his gloves tighter and moved the dagger without touching it. He used magic, low level magic, telekinesis. It was chained only so I could be deceived. It freezes everything it touches. In fact, that chain earlier was made of ice. The chain broke due to the heat of my hand when I pulled it earlier. I didn't notice it but it separated from the dagger. And now, I was running out of life, so easily.

My eyes felt heavy and my whole body grew numb. I fell down on my knees and all my efforts to stay awake were proving futile.

Suddenly I heard a crashing noise. I couldn't move myself to look toward it but the butler turned quickly and looked at the roof. The sound was soon followed by a black flowing figure that landed right in front of me.

"Goodness sake, you useless mutt! Don't go wasting Ebony's potential dying like that!", that was the last thing I heard before I zoned out.