RUNNING DEPARTURE

As they returned to Dunluce Castle shortly after midnight, Alisa and the others immediately set out to search for Hindrik. They found him with a few servants of the Lycana in the cave beneath the castle.

"What are they doing?" Luciano asked after they had watched the servants for a few moments, working with stones, boards, ropes, and thin wires.

"They are setting up some traps to prevent any uninvited guests from infiltrating the cave. The death of the foreign servant has given them quite a fright. It could have easily been one of the heirs!" Hindrik explained.

"Have you found the intruders?" Alisa inquired.

Hindrik shook his head. "No, but we have burned the coffins."

Alisa was shocked, while Luciano and Franz Leopold unanimously argued that this drastic measure was justified, even though they did not yet know if it was the vampires or their human companions who wielded the deadly sword.

"It was necessary to cut off their retreat," emphasized Hindrik. "It was a victory fire - albeit a bit premature in my opinion. They have eluded us, and we don't know who they are or where they come from. Donnchadh believes they are not from Ireland."

"The question is: which country do they come from? Do they belong to a clan, or are there vampires who exist independently of the families? At first, I thought I sensed a familiar aura, and then something completely foreign that confused me," Alisa pondered.

"Many intriguing questions," confirmed Hindrik before he was called by a young, very pretty servant who asked him to help with the construction of a complicated trap.

"That's not good!" Franz Leopold said bluntly.

"What?" Ivy and Alisa asked simultaneously.

"That they let strangers help with the installation of the traps."

"Strangers? That's just Hindrik!" Alisa objected.

"He is a stranger from the Lycana's perspective," Franz Leopold insisted. "This trustfulness could prove to be a great mistake."

"But they founded the Academy to bring us together and build trust between the families!" Alisa exclaimed.

"And yet these intruders might be members of one of our clans who think differently and want to destroy the new alliance while it's still fragile," Luciano remarked. "Think of Leandro and all the others in the Domus Aurea who were not thrilled about the plan to bury the hostilities."

"Perhaps they have accomplices among the students or their shadows," Franz Leopold looked meaningfully around.

"What? You don't seriously believe that!" Alisa was horrified. "I don't even trust you not to scheme against the Academy and bring foreign vampires into the castle to harm us."

Franz Leopold nodded slightly. "That's very kind of you, but also naive and therefore dangerous! I'll remain cautious - and I want to find out who these intruders are." Franz Leopold turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Alisa called after him.

He turned around once more, looking at her with incomprehension. "To see what information the Lycana's surveillance has yielded, what else?" The three followed him, trying to look innocent as they strolled past the Lycana who were still busy with their traps. The Irish vampires, however, paid them no mind. Alisa was relieved that Hindrik didn't look their way. He surely would have noticed that they were up to something against Donnchadh's wishes. As soon as they turned the corner and were out of sight of the others, they began to run. Luciano grumbled to himself, "As if I haven't run enough in the past few nights," but he kept pace with them, following Ivy along the narrow path through the gorge and up the cliff on the other side. Before they approached the hidden hut on the rock wall, they made a detour and stealthily crept closer. They didn't want to be discovered from any side!

"There are two of Donnchadh's men hiding over there," Franz Leopold said quietly. The others craned their necks, taking a while to discern the two figures.

"You have a sharp eye, Leo," Ivy nodded approvingly, but he waved her off.

"Any vampire who hasn't rotted away on the deathbed of an Elder must see them."

"That's the typical Dracas reaction again!" Alisa scolded. "How about saying: Thank you for the compliment?"

"Mentioning the obvious is not a compliment," Franz Leopold coldly retorted. "In fact, it borders on an insult. Doesn't it imply that the other person has completely underestimated your abilities until then?"

"Oh, so now you're suggesting that Ivy meant to insult you with that remark?" Alisa exclaimed heatedly.

"Let's stop this childish bickering and lower our voices!" Luciano snapped at them. "Why did we sneak around if we're just going to shout? Look, there are two more over there, and if I'm not mistaken, there are two more hiding down in the cove, in case the intruders try to land with a boat. So, just like the intruders, we won't be able to approach the hut unnoticed."

"That's not our goal anyway," Alisa corrected him. "We just want to see what's happening here."

For a while, they fell silent, keeping both the hut and the Lycana guarding it in their sights.

"I don't think they'll fall into our trap so easily," Ivy suddenly remarked. "The smell of the burned coffins still lingers in the air. That will warn them early."

Alisa took a deep breath. "Can't they mistake the smell for one of the fires the humans light to warm themselves or cook their food?"

"Even here in the area, people heat and cook with peat. It's cheaper than coal or even wood, which has become a valuable commodity in Ireland after centuries of deforestation. A peat fire smells completely different from burnt wood!"

"Most vampires don't think much about humans - as long as they're plentiful and serve us for sustenance," Luciano hesitated before saying, "If only we knew from which direction they were approaching, then we could ambush them there."

"Or we follow the aura of the foreign vampires. Who knows, maybe their hideout is closer than we think." Again, that gleam appeared in Franz Leopold's eyes, giving him, despite his flawless beauty, a predatory air.

Alisa nodded. "Up there, when we made the detour, we crossed their trail. That would be a start."

"Are you sure?" Luciano asked. "I didn't notice anything."

"Of course not!" Franz Leopold muttered, but Ivy interrupted him.

"Seymour and I smelled it too."

Alisa had already begun to retreat on all fours until they were out of sight of the Lycana. The others followed her. They moved in a crouched position until they reached the spot where they had detected the trail. Somewhat reluctantly, Franz Leopold had to admit that the two girls were right.

"Perhaps Seymour picked up the scent," he grumbled, but left it at that. The hunting fever had seized him. Bent forward slightly, eyes and all other senses focused on the ground, he followed the trail. Seymour overtook him and took the lead. His sense of smell was so sharp that he practically flew along, and the young vampires had to break into a jog to keep up with him.

"He's fast!" Luciano gasped. "I wonder how he can still smell anything at that speed."

"Yes, he's good. We'll get them," Franz Leopold exulted. However, Ivy and Alisa were not inclined to share his confidence.

"I wonder why members of your clan haven't found them," Alisa said quietly, without slowing her pace.

Ivy nodded. "Yes, that question has been swirling around in my mind too. Leo may not think much of the abilities of the Lycana, but I assure you, they are quite capable of following a trail that's barely a day old!"

"I don't doubt that. If the trail is on the ground," Alisa remarked.

The two vampire women exchanged meaningful looks. "I see our concerns are heading in the same direction," Ivy said.

They followed the trail across a rocky potato field and along the edge of two sheep pastures before turning onto a path lined with fieldstone walls, which soon descended into a creek bed. A narrow wooden bridge spanned the clear water flowing between black rocks towards the sea. Seymour ran out onto the bridge, stopped, sniffed in all directions, and then howled with his head tilted back.

"Does it mean what I think it does?" Alisa asked, squeezing alongside Ivy onto the bridge. Ivy nodded.

"Move on!" Franz Leopold scolded the wolf, pushing past him and leaping to the other side of the bank. The Dracas slowly turned his head left, then right, and left again. With a sigh, he turned back to the others.

"They didn't come over here. Is that what the wolf's howling is telling us?" he asked.

"Yes, the foreign vampires didn't cross the bridge," Ivy confirmed.

"Perhaps they waded through the water to erase their tracks?" Alisa suggested eagerly, beginning to search along the bank for their scent. Seymour joined her and helped. They found a spot where the scent was much stronger. They must have lingered here a little longer. Then the trail led down to the creek and disappeared into the water.

"So it seems!" Alisa exclaimed. "They're using the flowing water to their advantage. We need to search both banks. Maybe they only took a few steps in the creek, and we can pick up their trail where they left the water again."

Franz Leopold returned over the bridge and approached Ivy. "Am I mistaken, or can I sense relief from you?" he asked. Now Alisa and Luciano also stared at her. Ivy smiled slightly crookedly.

"You sensed right, Leo, but hold on," she raised her palms and stepped back. Seymour immediately positioned himself in front of her and growled. "Before your mistrust bursts into flames like dry wood, listen to why I felt this way when the trail disappeared into the creek. Alisa had already figured out that we wouldn't be able to find the intruders. Otherwise, why would the other Lycana have given up the trail?" Franz Leopold snorted disdainfully, but Ivy ignored it. "Washing away a trail with water so that even a bloodhound can't follow it is a simple trick that many humans know. However, vampires have other ways of not leaving traces - depending on how powerful they are and what special abilities they have."

"You mean, if they could dissolve into mist or turn into a bat, they would have done that too," Luciano, who had been silent for a while, commented.

"Yes, exactly. Isn't it worth feeling relieved to find out that the enemy's powers aren't as strong as you initially feared?" Franz Leopold shrugged. "And even if they could turn into some kind of flying monsters, what difference would it make? They're probably only five of them and they're in a foreign land."

The friends decided to follow the creek on both sides until they found the trail again, but that didn't happen.

"Someone's here!" Luciano exclaimed, and they all turned around.

"That looks like trouble," Alisa said as she recognized the figures rushing toward them.

"Yes, I suspect so too," Franz Leopold confirmed, unfazed. Luciano, on the other hand, lowered his neck slightly as the three shadows rushed toward them.

"Don't you ever learn?" Hindrik groaned. Matthias and Francesco contented themselves with casting their masters dark glances.

"We do learn," Alisa retorted, grinning. "It's getting easier and easier to evade your vigilant senses. Those are valuable lessons!"

Hindrik gave her a stern look. "Alisa, you're too cunning for an aged vampire." She jabbed the servant, who appeared to be in the prime of his years based on his appearance, in the ribs. "Don't mock!"

"I'm completely serious. And the situation is serious too! This is not a game! A servant has been destroyed. Have you forgotten that already?"

Alisa hung her head in shame. "No, of course not. That's why we want to help find the murderers."

"And put yourselves in danger!" Hindrik thundered.

"We're four of us and we have Seymour with us," Alisa defended herself timidly, but Hindrik didn't address it.

"Follow me quickly if you don't want to experience what it's like when Donnchadh has one of his infamous fits of rage," Hindrik urged.

Alisa threw a quick glance at Ivy, the steep worry line on her forehead urging her to quicken her pace.

"Is there any news?" Alisa pressed, flying over the field beside Hindrik as if driven by a storm, her feet barely touching the ground.

"Donnchadh and a few other Lycana are waiting for you in the grotto. You are the last ones who must come on board before we set sail," Ivy joined him on his other side.

"What? We're leaving Dunluce Castle? That wasn't planned! At least not yet," Ivy exclaimed.

"The brave Lycana are fleeing from five foreign vampires! I can't believe it," Franz Leopold exclaimed.

Luciano said nothing. He was too busy keeping pace with the others.

"And? Is there any progress?" A figure approached the observer who had been standing completely still on the narrow rocky ledge for over an hour.

"Jovan, you're back. Have they given up pursuit?" The tall, gaunt man spoke with a hard accent. His hair and bushy brows were dark, and his cheekbones sharply protruded in the angular face. Unlike the man he called Jovan, he was by no means considered handsome.

The other laughed harshly. "Yes, Danilo, they gave up. They lost our trail in the water. Although I still wonder why we had to go through the creek."

Danilo looked at the other vampire with an inscrutable expression. "Because the Lycana should notice that the trail is lost in the water. They, of all people, know that there are other ways to disappear without a trace. Why should we reveal more about ourselves to them than is necessary at the moment?"

Jovan nodded slowly. "Yes, you're right. It's always good to keep a few surprises in store."

Three more vampires joined them. One of the women was as tall and gaunt as Danilo, and her features resembled his. However, her hair was longer, her brows were only fine, curved lines on her white skin.

"Ah, Tonka, there you are. Did she make contact?" The vampire woman nodded. "Good. Is there any news?"

Tonka smiled coldly. "They are preparing to depart. What else would you expect from them? They're like their Celtic ancestors. They just sat in their fortresses, each family a little túatha kingdom," she translated, noticing the questioning look of the vampire, a large man as massive as a bear with black shiny hair.

"There were no villages or roads, let alone cities. Everyone cooked their own broth. They quarreled and fought each other over a few women or sheep and let the invaders flood the land unchecked - first the Vikings, then the Normans or Anglo-Saxons, as they later called themselves. Instead of banding together against the invaders, the Irish retreated into the woods and bogs, and they still do that today when they feel threatened, humans and vampires alike," she laughed. "We've flushed out the prey. Now we just have to follow it, and then we'll have them right where we want them!"

"You know a lot about this despicable family and their backward land," Piero, who gave the old vampire language a soft, melodic tone, remarked.

"Yes, I've planned everything carefully. One mustn't leave anything to chance, but must know about one's opponents - or should I say, victims?" She twisted her mouth, revealing her dangerously sharp predator teeth. The second vampire, who had remained in the background, laughed loudly. She was smaller than Tonka and Danilo and more robust. Her hair was gray, and her face was like crumpled parchment.

"Is the entire clan heading west?" Piero, as he called himself to his new allies, wanted to know.

Tonka looked at him contemptuously. "No, of course not. That wouldn't be in our interest. Most of us will stay behind to catch the intruders who dared to desecrate the venerable halls of Dunluce." Again, that wolfish grin. "They're only sending the valuable heirs with a few companions."

Danilo nodded. "Good, then we'll set off now too."

"We should hope they don't have too many experienced protectors with them," Piero said, gazing at a ship that now appeared at the foot of the cliff. "Not to mention the servants of the young vampires."

Danilo made a dismissive gesture. "That's entirely irrelevant. They won't stop us."

The two ships of the Lycana sailed close to the wind to the northwest, aiming to round the northernmost tip of Ireland. Alisa, Ivy, Franz Leopold, and Luciano traveled with their shadows accompanied by Donnchadh, Catriona, and two other Lycana on the small coastal sailboat that had already taken them to Dunluce Castle. The others were on a larger yet faster ship ahead of them. The hull was narrower, its two masts higher, so it couldn't enter the cove. It always anchored in the bay to the west beneath a rocky arch of white shimmering rock. The vampires and their coffins had to be brought to the ship from the pier in rowboats, where they impatiently waited until Hindrik finally jumped on board the Cioclón with the friends and Donnchadh gave the order to set sail. A strong wind filled the sails and swiftly carried them forward. As the sky faded, the rocks of Malin Head emerged from the mist in the west. Alisa watched the waves crashing against the rocks, throwing their spray high into the night sky.

"What kind of tower is that?" she asked Ivy.

"It's a watchtower that the English built at the beginning of the century out of fear of a French landing. They thought Napoleon might set his sights on Britain and start an invasion in Ireland. After all, the French and the Spaniards were Catholic brethren of the Irish, whom they were happy to support in the fight against the hated Anglicans. Queen Elizabeth I was afraid of almost nothing as much as the Spanish Armada. Throughout her life, she did everything in her power to ensure that Ireland did not become a gateway to England for the Spanish."

"Did the Spaniards at least try?" Alisa asked.

"They did try, but they didn't succeed in landing. Except for small bands occasionally, which couldn't accomplish anything. The stormy sea was their downfall! The proud Spanish Armada sank in a storm off the Irish coast. And what did the Irish do after seeing that the Spaniards were no longer capable of freeing them from English rule? They plundered the wrecks and sold the sailors and soldiers who managed to survive to the British as prisoners of war. Well, at least they filled their pockets a bit if the great war of liberation fell through!"

"The people here have a strange notion of honor and loyalty," Franz Leopold remarked, who stood nearby and had been listening to them.

Catriona came on deck and sent everyone to their chests. Even Murrough, who was once again their boatman, went to rest.

"Are they just letting the ship drift until it gets dark?" Alisa asked confusedly. "We're at sea. You can't anchor here."

"No, we will continue sailing," Ivy confirmed. "There are means and ways to stay on course."

Alisa wasn't satisfied with that, but Catriona accompanied Ivy to her chest, and Hindrik stood solemnly next to hers, leaving her no choice but to rest.

A new night descended over the sea. Ivy stood at the railing and looked down at the waves with their white caps. Her forehead wrinkled and then smoothed out again. Franz Leopold watched her for a while, then joined her side.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"I was just wondering if the foreign vampires ever intended to return to their chests in the cabin."

"We vampires need a dark place to retreat to during the day! These chests seemed quite suitable for that purpose and were indeed used by them for that purpose," lectured Franz Leopold, raising his index finger.

Ivy laughed, but then she became serious again. "Oh Leo, when will you understand that others can also use their minds. It could prove to be a tragic mistake one day if you underestimate not only your friends but also your opponents."

"Fine, then explain your thoughts to me. I'll tell you whether they're worth pursuing or just the overactive imagination of a female brain."

Ivy decided not to respond to this new provocation. "They must have realized beforehand that they wouldn't reach Dunluce until it was too late to do anything that night."

"They destroyed the Unreine," Franz Leopold countered.

"But was the deed planned? To me, it looks more like a spontaneous reaction. They were surprised and acted!"

"What are you getting at? Even if they had tried, they couldn't have erased the traces of their crime. The smell of blood doesn't just wash away. Plus, Ireen escaped them and was able to report to us."

Ivy shook her head. "That's all true, and yet I wonder: why did the sailors even go into the cave and moor there at this late hour?"

The Dracas shrugged. "That was their order. The sea is unpredictable. A journey can easily be extended by a few hours."

"And why didn't the vampires change the order? It would have been easy to sail to another bay or even the nearest small port, just a few miles from Dunluce."

"Then the sailors here didn't know their way around."

Ivy gave him a look. "Leo, you know nothing about seafaring. They wouldn't have come unscathed into the cave if they didn't know their way around here. The sailors aren't from a foreign land! No, I think they did what the vampires commanded them to do, and I wonder: why did they give them exactly that instruction? Did they think we couldn't follow their tracks to the cabin? Did they think we would just accept the murder of a foreign shadow?"

"Then they simply accepted the discovery of the trail. They knew they would have left their chests long before the first Lycana arrived at the cabin," Ivy nodded. "Yes, and that's why they never intended to return there. They knew the Lycana were waiting for them."

"Possible. What's your problem then?" Franz Leopold asked.

Ivy took a deep breath and let it out in a rush before continuing. "I wonder if they didn't want us to know they were there. Why else would they arrange the body of the servant so gruesomely instead of throwing it into the sea? That's the only logical conclusion."

Now Franz Leopold looked at her bewildered. "But why would they do that?"

"That's exactly what worries me," Ivy replied. "I can't think of many possibilities."

"And what are the few?" Franz Leopold wanted to know.

"An old Celtic proverb says something like: If you hit the bush, you expect the birds in it to fly away. What if our reaction is exactly what they wanted to achieve?"

Franz Leopold whistled through his teeth. "You mean they scared off the game to drive it away?"

"Or to hunt it!" Ivy added.

"So you don't believe the Lycana are their target? We are, the heirs of the clans!" he exclaimed.

"I hope I'm wrong," Ivy said, but Franz Leopold's eyes began to light up.

"So we'll soon be back on their trail. I like that. It felt like a gulp of foul blood in my throat, just running away without finding the intruders or even understanding their intentions. Aren't you excited?"

Ivy shook her head. "No, I hope I'm wrong," she repeated.