Silvana thrust the door to her house open and tossed her keys on the counter. In minutes, she threw together a spell like the one she had cast to find Bruce, except the glowing parchment in the middle of the burning purple flames on the kitchen floor showed nothing when she searched for Solaris. She tried again and again, plucking plants from her garden to be used in the spell, and despite all her efforts, each magical map she conjured showed no sign of her father. She rubbed both her hands to her head, knowing that with her location spell in particular, if there was no blue dot, no area highlighted on the map, it meant the person trying to be found was dead. Silvana dropped to her knees and the purple flames of her spell died out. She was so incredibly tired, and whatever energy she hadn't expelled by freaking out on Kurt and Bruce she had depleted with her last-ditch efforts to find her father. She tried to tell herself that everything would be okay, and that Bruce was on her s

The front door to the house and the back door to the kitchen both flew off their hinges, and Silvana tried to stand, but the conflagration of pain in her abdomen kept her on the ground. She winced and coughed as smoke and ash crept near her from both sides of the house, and she was attacked by two recognizable voices, one belonging to a man, and the other to a woman. "Get down!" Amelia and Bruce both shouted at one another from across the house. By the kitchen door and through the plumes of smoke from the fires outside, Bruce dove to the floor and beside Silvana, wrapping her up in his arms. A bolt of green energy flew above them and to where Bruce had been and collided into a frightening figure entering the house. The spirit of a man made from crimson lightning and holding a huge axe stumbled backwards a few steps, shaking off the green magical blast that had hit him.He regained his strength, then stepped through the hole and into the kitchen with lethal intent. Silvana's ey

It didn't feel like they'd been driving for several hours but they had been. Everybody was catching their thoughts, their breaths, their attitude towards the power of the attacks against them. Would they be safe anywhere?Amelia seemed to think so. She leaned over from the backseat and said, "Okay, down this driveway."The car rattled down a secluded dirt road that was nearly a mile long until the trio found themselves at a cabin covered by crooked trees. The moon shimmered over the water of the large lake at the foot of the hill the cabin resided on, and it gave Silvana an uneasy feeling in her gut. "Isn't this the cabin Kurt got you?" Silvana asked, parking the car and killing the engine. "My brother got you a cabin?" Bruce asked, startled. "With what money?" Amelia looked at him, brushed her hair over her shoulder and responded, "Apparently he's got some side hustles. My first red flag."Bruce dragged his feet and stretched his big arms after being cooped up in the back

"That's the same figure I saw before!" Amelia shouted, pointing a finger at the door."Why isn't your magic removing it off the property?" Silvana asked, joining Bruce's side and readying herself for a fight."The spell only repels werewolves," Amelia said. "So whatever that thing is out there, it's something we'll need to dispose of the old-fashioned way," Bruce said. His fingers extended out and into sharp silver claws.The doorbell rang again, and the figure poked its hooded head beside the window by the door. No features could be seen beneath its hood or robe, and it gave off a chilling vibe for the three to see a person hidden by clothing as dark as the night itself. "We shouldn't answer," Amelia said, taking a step back. Maybe Bruce and Silvana were up for another battle, but Amelia wasn't. Her arm and back and neck were sore, and all she wanted was to heed Solaris's advice and take an evening to relax. But no matter how much she hoped this problem went away on its own,

What happened next was like fireworks. Spirits clashed their electrified weapons against the hides of furious, howling werewolves, and witches too late to cast their combat spells fell in troves by the slashing and cutting and beating of the insidious spirits. With all their numbers combined between the species, they were no match for all the spirits flooding out of the manor, some floating on spectral dark clouds and others fully formed, human-looking monsters, all of whom irradiated with deadly sparks that zapped any werewolf or witch who had the misfortune to touch them. Silvana's heart thumped in her chest as the harrowing sounds of screaming and death surrounded her. She took a step closer to Bruce, took a deep breath as she assessed how the forces against them seemed neverending, and Silvana ground her feet as magic flowed through her. This was it, and no matter how uneven the battle was, she would win. Silvana charged before Bruce could, and Amelia hid behind Bruce. Br