Lehi stood over a burning coffin, he was watching Upir cast a spell. She raised her hands in the air and looked up to the sky as if imploring it’s aid.
“I call upon the moon!” she shouted, as a cool breeze blew through the trees in the woods, “and I call upon all who are tied to it. Let them be mine both in this world and the next! Let their souls seek to do my bidding all the days that they live!”
The breeze grew stronger. It was still quite harmless though.
Lehi walked to Upir and stood beside her, taking a dagger in his hand.
“I summon the full moon and all her children. I bind them to myself and I command them to lose their will to me!” She shouted again as the wind became stronger and started moving the trees dangerously.
Lehi cut his arm with the dagger and let his blood drop into the fire. It began to burn brighter and hotter.
“Let them be mine!” Upir shouted one last time as the wind began breaking off branches of trees and tree trunks.
In the town, the incessant howls of werewolves could be heard as they changed to their wolf form. It was as fearful as it was loud.
Darfalls was kept cowering in fear as howl after howl of werewolves filled the air.
Lehi felt a slight vibration under his feet, he put his ears to the ground and smiled to himself.
The werewolves were coming.
They came pack by pack, drawn by the powerful spell that Upir had cast. They were not insane – they simply felt that this vampire standing in front of them with her black orbs for eyes was their ruler.
Lehi smiled broadly, and Upir slowly let her hands fall as she looked around at the werewolves.
Then she started laughing hysterically.
“Let the reign of Upir begin!” She shouted.
The wolves howled again, as if expressing their consent.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t hear all that noise last night.” Kenneth said to Nella as they sped down a lonely road in Kenneth’s car.
“I did,” Nella replied, “whatever Upir’s plans are, she’s already started.”
“I don’t think I want to see what she has in store for vampires.” Kenneth said.
Nella bit her lip. She was beginning to regret asking Kenneth to turn her into a vampire.
Suddenly a man stood ahead of them on the road.
“Kenneth watch out!” Nella yelled as Kenneth hit the brakes and the car screeched to a halt right in front of Evan.
He rushed over to the driver’s side and leaned close to the window.
“I saw something bad last night.” Was all he said.
Nella and Kenneth exchanged glances, they knew he must have come in contact with Upir.
They let him into the car and as soon as he got in, he started narrating what he saw.
“That’s Upir.” Kenneth said after he was done.
“Who’s that?” Evan asked.
Nella spent the next fifteen minutes explaining who Upir was and why they had to kidnap Agnes for a sacrifice.
Evan listened patiently as Kenneth continued driving, occasionally chipping in an apology.
“So now you see how important it was for us to get the sacrifice.” Nella said again.
“But…” Evan’s voice trailed off, emotional, “it’s not fair.”
Kenneth sighed deeply, he was thinking the same thing.
“None of it was,” Kenneth said, “and we’re sorry because in a way, we caused Agnes’ death. But she’s gone now, so is… Lucy. All we can do for them now is to stop this Upir before she does to others what she did to us.”
Evan nodded.
“I’m in.” He said firmly, “so what are we going to do now?”
“To defeat Upir we’ll need a whole coven of witches,” Nella said, “so I’m going to see my people.”
“Your people?” Evan asked.
“The Lighthood coven .” She replied, “they are a group of experienced witches. I was trained there.”
Nella bit her lip in anxiety as they approached Lockwood, the town she was raised in. She had left a lot of uncertainty behind her when she left, with her parents getting a divorce and her elder brother deciding to quit magic altogether. But it was her home, and if anyone was going to help her, it would be the witches of Lighthood coven – of which her family was a main part.
“One more thing Nella,” Kenneth said as they pulled into the parking lot of a library.
“Yes?” Nella asked.
“Does your family know you’re now a vampire?” Kenneth asked.
Nella swallowed hard, she knew it would be hard for them to accept that their only daughter had turned herself to a vampire.
“No.” She replied curtly and got out of the car.
“This is no time for family drama.” Evan groaned.
“You can say that again,” Kenneth said as they both got out of the car.
Nella walked ahead of Kenneth and Evan, trying to control her anxiety.
Soon they were in the library and she walked up to an old librarian who was flipping away at book.
“Good morning.” Nella greeted as she approached the librarian.
The woman looked up at Nella and smiled.
“I seek a book on lights.” Nella said quickly.
The smile faded instantly from the librarian’s face. Only members of the lighthood coven could say that and she knew all the members of the coven. This lady standing in front of her was a vampire so how did she know the code?
“What kinds of light dear?” The librarian smiled again, trying to confirm if Nella actually knew what she was saying.
“A book on lights.” Nella insisted.
“What kind of lights?” The woman asked again, trying to set Nella off the scent.
Kenneth was about to interrupt them but Nella held his arm.
“These kind of lights.” Nella said and opened her palm. A small glowing orb was sitting on her palm.
The lady opened her mouth in surprise.
“Who are you and how did you know about us?” She asked.
Nella smiled reassuringly.
“I was once one of you.” Sha said.
“But I don’t know you.” The woman said.
“I left six years ago.” came Nella’s reply.
The woman looked at Nella and her companions. She wondered if they could be trusted. After all vampires could be very crafty at times.
“What do you want?” She asked carefully. If the lady talking to her was truly a vampire and a witch then it would be unwise to declare her an enemy immediately.
“I… we need help,” Nella started, “something really bad is happening in Darfalls and if we let it, it could even spread to Lockwood.”
“What exactly is the matter?” The woman asked again, casting a quick glance at Kenneth and Evan.
“I can’t tell you everything here,” Nella replied, “I need to see the coven.”
The woman stood up and asked Nella to follow her.
Kenneth and Evan made to follow her but the woman stopped them.
“I don’t know why one of you has magic,” the woman said, trying to wrap her head round th fact that she had just seen a magic – weilding vampire, “but since you don’t you have to stay back.”
“But…” Evan started.
“Bringing vampires into the coven will desecrate it.” Nella explained.
“But you’re also a vampire!” Evan pointed out.
“We’ll find a way around that,” the woman said, “but we have to go now.”
Kenneth and Evan were left there while the two witches went into what seemed like an inner room in the library.
Once they got inside Nella found that the room was much bigger than it looked like from the outside. It was just as she remembered.
“Tricia,” the librarian called, “we have a situation.”
“What’s going on?” asked the woman being referred to.
“A magic – weilding vampire,” came the librarian’s reply, “and not just baby magic – witch magic as far as I can tell.”
The woman turned around and gasped once she saw Nella.
“Nella?” The woman said, close to tears.
“Mum.” Nella said, tears brimming in her eyes.