As Kyle walked out of the office, he walked right past Phineas M. Carter.
Phineas had been standing there the entire time, cloaked in invisibility, still holding the crossbow bolt he had taken from the Headmaster. Many of his abilities were beginning to fail him, but that one was still in working order. Their wards were good, but not good enough. The witches they had here were either sloppy. or didn't know enough.
After he had been confronted with the three protectors, he decided to remove himself from the situation. He had became invisible and simply walked away…but not too far.
He heard the one who was apparently in charge tell his doppelgänger to go back to this office. Phineas wanted to know about all of these people, so he followed Kyle and the girl, knowing the leader would appear there later.
He had been standing with them the entire time. Watching his young descendant try his best not to ogle his protector's bosom. Phineas was in dire straights, but he had to stifle a laugh. He had always had an eye for the ladies, himself, no matter how old he got.
It must run in the family. He thought.
When the girl had surprised him, and he whirled to face her, he had immediately recognized her from the skirmish in Colorado. Except now, well…her shirt was torn open.
He had been about to say "You have bountiful breasts, girl!"
But the fool witch had set him on fire before he could voice his appreciation for her womanly shape.
Fire, crossbows, and whatever weapon that last man had appeared with were obstacles that he could easily deal with. However, doing so cost him precious energy. He was using up power at an alarming rate, and he was going to need every last drop. He could not afford to trade punches with these fools.
Although…they were not as much the fools as he thought. They uncovered his name fairly quickly. They worked together, and had skills he could not discount.
He had never seen a place like this before. So many of the supernatural breeds together in one place…not tearing each other apart. Working toward a common goal. It was incredible.
Phineas actually considered taking this place for himself, once he completed the ritual. He did not think he would care to actually run it, but it might be nice to have as a base of operations he could use as a resource.
Except for the werewolves. Filthy creatures. Those would have to be destroyed.
He thought about simply grabbing Kyle and disappearing, but the talk of the library made him hesitate. He couldn't go just yet. He never turned his back on knowledge.
The fact of the matter was, they had been right about more than he cared to admit. Yes, he had created a doppelgänger, and yes, it had been botched. But not by him, by that filthy witch…that Bennett witch.
Just thinking of it made him angry. He had realized within 10 years that he had been betrayed. It had taken him another 20 years to find the witch again, and when he did…
…the thought of what he had done to her made him smile. He had not managed to kill her, but she had paid the price for crossing him. Unfortunately, he had not been able to force her to undo her sabotage. This decayed body was proof of that.
If he ever found another one of that traitorous breed he would kill them on the spot.
Phineas walked out of the office, the two men were retreading the same ground. He wanted to get to their library before they did.
Walking the dimmed hallways of this place, still turning the crossbow bolt over and over in his hands, he thought he could see many ways to improve it. Maybe expand out into the grounds a bit more, create a curriculum of martial disciplines, a standing army of sorts.
There were directional markers showing where the library, as well as other common destinations would be, but Phineas just walked toward the sensation of the greatest collection of magic. It was either the library or it would be something else he would want to investigate.
Then he stopped. There was a picture. Student of the month. He read the name under it on the gold plaque:
Elizabeth Saltzman.
It was her. The girl he had seen in the woods earlier. The tall blonde goddess with the lithe body furiously pleasuring herself when she thought she was alone.
"Incredible." He said, before remembering not to speak. He had an aura of silence as well, but there was no point tempting fate.
She had been just the type of woman he loved back in his day, when he was still Human. He would love to see this one with her hair up, neck covered in pearls, and on his arm for a graceful dance. He always loved the envious eyes of other men when they would see him with one of his beauties.
"Elizabeth. Saltzman." He spoke again, and this time didn't bother to rebuke himself.
Phineas then continued on to the library, which he found empty.
Perfect. He thought. This will work perfectly.
He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice he had dropped the crossbow bolt.