asked, brushing hair away from his sweaty forehead.
“Like I never want to see the sun again.”
I turned to Ibrahim. “How long do you think it’s going to take for him to gather his strength again?”
“It’s so hard to say. It also depends on how strong a potion he can stomach…”
Ibrahim’s voice trailed off as Derek stepped away from us, stretching his arms and rolling his neck. Then he closed his eyes, balling up his hands into fists. We watched with bated breath as his chest began to heave.
After all this, his powers had better still be there.
As if on cue, Derek pointed his hands toward the ground. His fingertips began to glow redder and redder until fire blazed out from them, singeing the grass at his feet.
His eyes were alight with triumph as he looked at us.
“Give me the strongest potion you have, Ibrahim,” he said.
Chapter 21: Caleb
A fter everyone had finished donning their armor and the witches had made sure each of us had a tight fit, it was time to return to the beach. None of us knew for certain how much longer the white witches would hold them off, but when Aiden came running toward us with a panicked look on his face and the two ogres trailing behind him, I knew that whatever time we’d thought we had had just been cut short.
Eli and I hurried toward him as he neared the Armory. “There are now an equal number of white and black witches,” he panted. “An insane number have either fled or fallen in the last two hours. Is everyone ready?” He looked around at the crowd.
“Yes,” Eli replied.
“Where are Derek and my daughter? Have they returned?”
“Not yet,” I said.
“What about Mona?”
Eli pointed to the witch, who was standing on the other side of the field, tightening up the armor around Kiev’s newly installed prosthetic arm.
“What have I missed?” a deep voice boomed across the field toward us from the direction of the woods. We spun around to see Xavier racing toward us… now a vampire.
A vampire Rose had introduced me to by the name of Landis—Xavier’s brother—ran up to him. “You recovered quickly,” Landis said, gripping Xavier’s shoulder. “We’re about to head to the beach. Grab a gun and put some armor on.” He hurried with Xavier into the building.
Aiden turned to address the throngs of vampires and werewolves. “To the beach!” he shouted.
Everyone launched into a sprint. Running at the head of the group, Aiden said to me beneath his breath, “It looks like we’ll just have to get started without our king and queen.”
Chapter 22: Caleb
B y the time we arrived at the beach, the scene was already far worse than Aiden had described. There were only a couple of dozen white witches left.
“Gather round me!” Mona yelled to our witches, her eyes filled with panic.
As the vampires and werewolves lined up along the beach, Corrine, Ibrahim and the other witches huddled around Mona.
“Lend me whatever powers you possess to help reinforce the spell,” she said, closing her eyes and reaching out her hands. The witches took it in turns to step forward and touch palms with her before they all shut their eyes tight and formed a circle.
I turned my gaze back toward the ocean in time to see the last of the white witches cave in and vanish. Hovering above the waves like a dark cloud, the black witches swept toward the island. In a shaky voice, Mona began mumbling a chant. Sweat dripped from her forehead as her face contorted in concentration.
I knelt down on the sand, tightening my grip around my gun as I adjusted my helmet. I stared at the black witches beginning to assault the boundary with curse after curse. I scanned the crowd until I caught sight of Rhys at the forefront, Isolde and his two sisters by his side. Rhys was the first warlock I would aim to take down, followed by Isolde. That witch, I would take particular pleasure in taking down. She had been one of the major influences on Annora.
The next hour was passed in
“Like I never want to see the sun again.”
I turned to Ibrahim. “How long do you think it’s going to take for him to gather his strength again?”
“It’s so hard to say. It also depends on how strong a potion he can stomach…”
Ibrahim’s voice trailed off as Derek stepped away from us, stretching his arms and rolling his neck. Then he closed his eyes, balling up his hands into fists. We watched with bated breath as his chest began to heave.
After all this, his powers had better still be there.
As if on cue, Derek pointed his hands toward the ground. His fingertips began to glow redder and redder until fire blazed out from them, singeing the grass at his feet.
His eyes were alight with triumph as he looked at us.
“Give me the strongest potion you have, Ibrahim,” he said.
Chapter 21: Caleb
A fter everyone had finished donning their armor and the witches had made sure each of us had a tight fit, it was time to return to the beach. None of us knew for certain how much longer the white witches would hold them off, but when Aiden came running toward us with a panicked look on his face and the two ogres trailing behind him, I knew that whatever time we’d thought we had had just been cut short.
Eli and I hurried toward him as he neared the Armory. “There are now an equal number of white and black witches,” he panted. “An insane number have either fled or fallen in the last two hours. Is everyone ready?” He looked around at the crowd.
“Yes,” Eli replied.
“Where are Derek and my daughter? Have they returned?”
“Not yet,” I said.
“What about Mona?”
Eli pointed to the witch, who was standing on the other side of the field, tightening up the armor around Kiev’s newly installed prosthetic arm.
“What have I missed?” a deep voice boomed across the field toward us from the direction of the woods. We spun around to see Xavier racing toward us… now a vampire.
A vampire Rose had introduced me to by the name of Landis—Xavier’s brother—ran up to him. “You recovered quickly,” Landis said, gripping Xavier’s shoulder. “We’re about to head to the beach. Grab a gun and put some armor on.” He hurried with Xavier into the building.
Aiden turned to address the throngs of vampires and werewolves. “To the beach!” he shouted.
Everyone launched into a sprint. Running at the head of the group, Aiden said to me beneath his breath, “It looks like we’ll just have to get started without our king and queen.”
Chapter 22: Caleb
B y the time we arrived at the beach, the scene was already far worse than Aiden had described. There were only a couple of dozen white witches left.
“Gather round me!” Mona yelled to our witches, her eyes filled with panic.
As the vampires and werewolves lined up along the beach, Corrine, Ibrahim and the other witches huddled around Mona.
“Lend me whatever powers you possess to help reinforce the spell,” she said, closing her eyes and reaching out her hands. The witches took it in turns to step forward and touch palms with her before they all shut their eyes tight and formed a circle.
I turned my gaze back toward the ocean in time to see the last of the white witches cave in and vanish. Hovering above the waves like a dark cloud, the black witches swept toward the island. In a shaky voice, Mona began mumbling a chant. Sweat dripped from her forehead as her face contorted in concentration.
I knelt down on the sand, tightening my grip around my gun as I adjusted my helmet. I stared at the black witches beginning to assault the boundary with curse after curse. I scanned the crowd until I caught sight of Rhys at the forefront, Isolde and his two sisters by his side. Rhys was the first warlock I would aim to take down, followed by Isolde. That witch, I would take particular pleasure in taking down. She had been one of the major influences on Annora.
The next hour was passed in
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