Silvana Sparks hadn't expected to blow up the house on her 21st birthday. Pots and pans from the wooden cabinets flew around the kitchen while the refrigerator door slammed open and closed. A massive purple ring of fire blazed on the tiled floor, and Silvana rushed about, having no clue how to fix it. She was young, fit, and gorgeous, but she should have obeyed her father and studied harder for this spell exam. Every birthday, a witch needs to prove their abilities by casting a spell that conjures a cake with candles that the witch needs to blow out and make a wish upon. Although she'd been casting the birthday spell for two decades, her wish never came true. The spell got harder to cast each time, and with each passing year she was meant to become stronger. Except, she hadn't cared about strength for a while now. What Silvana wanted and wished for each year was love, and to be in the arms of a handsome, powerful, protective man. Of course, Silvana's father Solaris, the town's G
Silvana's head pounded and the murky voices of people crying out in horror filled her ears. More bolts of crimson lightning slammed down on the carnival, destroying rides and prize booths in a flurry of yellow sparks. The Ferris wheel unhinged and in a shrieking screech landed in front of Silvana, crushing the wire link fence beside her. Lightning hammered mere feet from Silvana, sending her flying in an explosion of dirt and fire. For a second, she had felt as though she was hovering, her body numb and ears ringing. Then she cracked against the fallen Ferris wheel, and as trees and grass burned in a crimson flame around her, she patted her bloody stomach. She had been sliced open deeply on her abdomen, and she was losing blood fast.Silvana groaned but doing so shook her entire body. She started sweating. Every breath was like needles in her lungs, and she watched as everybody in the carnival ran and dodged past more red lightning.She watched as everybody left her behind.Bloo
Silvana blinked in shock. "Werewolves and witches are at war," she said. "I don't understand. Why would you save me?" Headlights shone through the window in the room. "Your father is here," Bruce said, his eyes lingering on Silvana's rosy lips for a long second. She felt his warm breath and saw his sharp fangs when he said, "Let me help you to the car." Silvana was speechless. To be Guardian Witch meant to work against the werewolf families. Her father had trained her to despise werewolves, even taught her spells to kill them, and here she was, draped in the arms of a giant one guiding her through his cozy house and out the front door. She didn't feel ready to leave. She rubbed the scratches on Bruce's back and asked, "What about you? You're hurt.""I'll be fine," Bruce said defiantly. Silvana believed him. His touch made her senses go wild, and she had trouble believing that anything could even hurt somebody so powerful. The two exited Bruce's home, stepped down the stairs,
It was late into the afternoon when Silvana awoke the next day to her best friend Amelia showering her in gifts. Silvana had been given a potion to accelerate her healing from her worried father, but she was still weary and weak, so she smiled brightly at the sight of her stunningly beautiful friend clasping the handles of a dozen shopping bags. Amelia set the bags down on the bed beside Silvana, and Amelia's long, straight brown hair curtained over her shoulders. She wore a form-fitting scarlet wool dress that fell above her knees, and her wrists were covered in silver and gold bangles."Your dad told me everything," Amelia said quickly, blowing a pink bubble with her gum, then sipping from an iced coffee. But Silvana knew her father hadn't told Amelia the truth. Her father would never admit that a werewolf saved his daughter's life, especially to another prominent witch like Amelia. "I'm so happy you're okay, and that your dad got to you in time," Amelia said, reaching insid
It was a little after eight at night when Silvana tiptoed out of her house. Before Amelia had left, she had helped to make Silvana look dazzling with a sage green wool dress, black stockings, and knee-high brown boots. "I'm going to make you look irresistible," Amelia had said, brushing mascara onto Silvana's eyelashes. Silvana was so excited she hardly felt the pain from her wounds as she clipped her seatbelt and drove off onto the highway. The lights from the city buildings gleamed as she sped by. Would Bruce even be home? She hoped he would.The drive was fast but felt like forever, and as Silvana pulled off the highway and into the gravel driveway inside the forest that Bruce lived in, she second guessed herself that she was arriving at the correct place.As she stuck her car into park she heard a loud rustle in the leaves nearby, and saw a slender gray wolf with amber streaks in its coat rush into the woods. It was gone as soon as it came, so Silvana thought nothing of i
The figure of the man stepped out from the doorframe and into the light of Bruce's room. He had shaggy, cider-colored hair stuffed beneath a red knit hat, and he wore a sleeveless dark, denim vest, straight black jeans, and steel-toed boots. What Bruce had in strength this man had in agility, and his slim body let him move fast when he unfolded his arms and closed the door behind him. Silvana went on the defensive. The man's nostrils flared twice. "I don't like your scent," he said. Silvana grounded her feet and raised her hand, preparing to cast a spell. She asked, "Where's Bruce? Who are you?" "That stings," the man chuckled, walking slowly around the room and in front of Bruce's investigation wall. He added, "You seem to know my older brother so well, and yet he hasn't even mentioned me to you?""No, he didn't," Silvana snapped. "We must've had more important things to discuss."The man sniggered and then it really hit Silvana how wreckless this all had been. What did she
Amelia was already outside Silvana's house when Silvana pulled into the driveway. Amelia's hair was up in pink curlers, she had a green cucumber face mask on, and even her purple and gold silk pajamas were extravagant. She held two steaming mugs in her hands. "Oh!" Amelia shrieked gleefully, careful not to spill her drinks. She handed one to Silvana and said, "Pumpkin Spice and Rum lattes that I whipped up in your kitchen, along with a few daiquiris for your father. I figured some rum might help your daddy sleep so we can chat uninterrupted."They clinked mugs in a cheers to their friendship. Amelia ran a hand down Silvana's dress, so proud of how amazing Silvana looked. Amelia picked up a trussel of Silvana's strawberry-blonde hair and said, "Your hair's a mess and your makeup is streaked. Am I taking this as a sign that you found Mr. Hunk and spent some quality time together?"Silvana took a large gulp of the spiked latte and through a foamy smile licked her lips and said, "Ye
The lights were on in Bruce's house, and as Silvana closed the door to her car, she couldn't help but think how Bruce left the lights on just for her, so she could find her way to him. She fixed her hair best she could and Bruce opened the front door, looking fresh and showered in a long flannel, opened shirt, and dark jeans. At the sight of Silvana he smiled and stepped aside so she could enter the house. Silvana touched a soft hand to his chiseled cheek and said, "You look like you've gotten some rest.""Is that right?" Bruce laughed, knowing how busy he'd been. He kept a large hand on her waist while they walked to his room. "I thought you might help me stay up all night."Running a hand over the massive muscles of his chest, Silvana bit her lip. She handed over the potion. "First thing's first," she said, "get this to your aunt."Bruce stared at the potion vial in his palm. He was completely stunned and lost for words. "I wasn't expecting you to get this so soon," he said,
A cooling, tropical breeze blew the leaves of the palm trees overhead, and Silvana stuck her toes in the warm sand as the sun beat down on her. Waves slapped the shoreline several feet ahead of her, and she reclined into her comfy beach chair. "I can't tell you all how happy I am," she said, "to be away from the snow and the cold." She sipped from a giant margarita that had been put inside a hollowed-out coconut with a large pink straw. "I'll stick to the shade," the pale Angus said, hiding underneath the large, canopy-style leaves from the trees. He was working shirtless at a grill, spreading out lemon slices on top of freshly caught fish. "Oh my god," Amelia said, a cocktail shaker in her hands. "Can you imagine my big Angus with a tan?" Angus peppered some potato salad, laughed, and said, "You all enjoy the sun. I'm hot enough as is at the grill. Amelia pulled down her oversized purple sunglasses, observed Angus's tight rows of abs and murmured, "Hot is right."She gave
Months later, big bells of silver adorned with blue ribbons rang loudly in the newly refurbished Silverclaw mansion. The mansion was owned technically by the silverclaw kin, but it had become a retreat for vampire, werewolf, and witch alike, and certainly required the aid and unique talent of the three separate species to be rekindled to a state beyond its former glory. Down the winding aisles of mixed company and standing at what had once been a court podium but had since been remodeled into an altar, Bruce stood tall and handsome, his chest out, ready and waiting in a dapper black tuxedo with a black bow tie. His messy brown hair had been cut and trimmed, and his face was clean shaven. He stood with a large smile on his face, though truly he was starting to get worried. Bruce glanced at his silver-strapped watch, then looked out into the stone benches filled with people casually chatting. A firm, supportive hand pressed against the top of his back. "Quit checking that thing,
Solaris grabbed the vampire's wrist and stopped her sword from decapitating Duponte. "This woman," Solaris said very seriously, "Is not the same demon who has caused us all great strife." "You speak nonsense, old man!" the werewolf next to the vampire roared. His claws dripped with Duponte's blood, staining the snow at his hind legs red. "Just because you do not have the strength to finish her does not mean I won't.""Stand down," Bruce said with a chill to his voice. He and Silvana ran over. Silvana knelt and observed Duponte's wounds. "They're bad, but she'll live," she determined. "This woman here is my family," Solaris confirmed to the werewolf and vampire, who looked dubiously at one another. "Any ill intent has been removed from her because of these two talented," Solaris paused for a moment, then addressed both Silvana and Bruce as he said, "children of mine."Bruce smirked, as he'd finally gotten the approval of the father of the woman he loved. On the snowy floor,
Bruce reverted from his massive werewolf form and back into his regular human body. His waist was covered by only the fragments of torn jeans that remained from his transformation, and he and Silvana both smirked to one another, both privy to what needed to be done now that Duponte had revealed her true form, and as the demonic energy continued to corrupt her. "You'll never be strong enough to fight me like that," Duponte angrily hissed at Bruce. Her arms grew thin and long and skeletal. Lightning whipped all around her. "I don't plan on fighting you," Bruce replied calmly and in complete control. He took Silvana's hand. "Are you ready?" he asked her. "Always," Silvana said with a smile that confused and angered Duponte. How were these two so calm in the face of her? It infuriated Duponte, and she unleashed a fierce, howling wheeze. But the truth was, Silvana and Bruce were privy to secrets that Cecilia Duponte were unaware of. It had all been inside of Solaris's journal, w
"Don't you see," Duponte said to Silvana with outraised, welcoming arms, "That I'm not your enemy."Duponte pointed to the goopy mess that was the remains of Kurt. "He, now he, was your enemy. He wanted nothing more but your blood and your father's blood."Getting even closer, Duponte pounded a palm to her chest and continued, "I, your family, want you to thrive." Silvana breathed deeply at the sight of the horrible fate that had befallen Kurt. Her heart was heavy with guilt, and for all the troubles that Kurt's mischief and sin had caused her, she still felt a sense of regret that she was not able to save him when he was in a state of delusion and pain. She stepped away from a small collection of bright orange sludge oozing towards her. Kurt hadn't been a good or decent man, but he didn't exactly deserve this. "Don't feel sympathy for this beast," Duponte said, as if reading Silvana's mind, or perhaps her crestfallen face. "Feel sympathy for your mother, for her sacrifice. For
Though Kurt's roars were strong enough to topple over trees still standing in the forest, Silvana and Duponte both stood their ground as the beast hollered. The rest of those still alive, Solaris, Angus, Amelia, and Bruce were all left frozen by Duponte's unwavering magic. Orange sludge dripped down from the blistering welts lacing Kurt's silver and black furred hide. His once amber eyes flared with the same bright, unhealthy orange. "What the hell happened to him?" Silvana asked. Duponte looked at Kurt with absolute and unequivocal disgust.She said, "He's tried, rather unsuccessfully, to enhance himself with the blood of a witch."With a tilt of her head and sniff from her nose, Duponte inspected Kurt. "Our blood, Silvana, no less, is what he's taken" she sneered. "From your father. And look at what it's done to the mongrel." Kurt howled with a raspy, unearthly voice, and driblets of orange saliva flew from his infected and rotting fangs, leaving behind acidic and flaming
Duponte walked forward leaving fiery steps behind her. A curtain of black and red lightning crackled around her skin, and her smile was both wicked and wide, as if all of Silvana's efforts were nothing more but mere entertainment. Silvana, though, could barely move; she tried to bring herself from her knee to no avail, and with one eye shut and the other squinted, she hazily watched as Duponte smacked away Bruce and Amelia, sending the two barreling into the forest. As much as she wanted to retaliate, Silvana was depleted of energy, and sealing the spirits away had drained her of any remaining magic. Duponte clutched Silvana's face with a single hand, and Silvana felt a burning that was completely unique and unlike anything she ever experienced. The pain was not like when she burned her hands ripping the bindings off of Bruce's arms when he was in her father's basement, but the burning caused by Duponte's touch was raw, unnerving, and rattled her from head to toe. Duponte glared
A flurry of crimson lightning slammed into the blue sigil left behind by Solaris and the witches, fracturing the very ground itself. Solaris reached out a hand to his daughter and shouted, "Silvana!" But it was too late. Silvana was struck with a bolt of lightning before Bruce or Amelia could do anything to stop it. Her body flew into a tree that splintered into sawdust from the impact. "No!" Bruce yelled, running over. Cecilia Duponte's laughter could be heard taunting them from the reddened skies. Bruce charged over to where Silvana had landed but was stopped by the bursting of the witches' sigil. Blue sparks surrounded him though not as fast as the hundreds of hands belonging to the once-sealed spirits. They dragged him into the dark abyss as he thrashed and roared. Solaris did what he could to repel the forces, though in truth it was little. His magic couldn't protect everybody, and spirits twice as strong and large as before, bigger than the tallest trees in the fo
The forces all paused outside of The Forest of the Damned, taking in the thick air that smelled rotten. Most of the trees were dead, black and gray husks ready to teeter over at the next sharp wind, and the few large pines that stood firmly had branches that drooped like wilting flowers, as if the very bark had been poisoned. Lightning roared above the mess of long-dead trees, but it wasn't anything new to Bruce and Silvana, who had been fighting these evils since they had returned. What hit them both differently, though, was that ghastly, heavy air, and with each breath they took it was like swallowing toxins. Everybody felt it, from the witches to the werewolves to the vampires. It was a smell of sour blood that tainted the very grass beneath the snow they all stepped on. Angus held a hand before his mouth and tried not to cough in front of Amelia for fear of seeming weak, but as he plugged his nose, she turned away and hacked into her folded elbow. Even Solaris struggled t