THINGS COULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN ANY WORSE.

"Crap!" Victoria muttered continuously as she paced back and forth, her shoulders hunched. She was probably the worst babysitter ever. So far, she had blown up a kitchen and lost a child-under an hour! She was sure Liz was going to scream her back to Aurora's Haven when she found out.

She had successfully put the twins to sleep after explaining to them that Anika went out for a run. Sure it seemed like a lie, but that depended on your definition of lying. Victoria defined it as not having to explain to two five year olds that their sister was currently missing. Jason had gone out to see if he could track her. She hoped he would find her.

Where would she even start from? Anika had a lot of friends and most of them came to pick her up. Maybe she had a boyfriend? Victoria gasped at the realization. Anika did have a boyfriend. Maybe she could get his number from her phone. Victoria beamed at her idea as she bolted for the stairs to go to Anika's room.

Getting to the stairs, Victoria hesitated to take a few steps back facing the wall by the stairs. Her smile faded as she felt the last hope she had vaporize. She stared dreadfully at Anika's phone that had a knife going through it, courtesy of the one and only ignoramus Jason.

Breathe Victoria,

Breathe.

Victoria sank to the floor in melancholy. She felt like a waste. She could now probably see why most of her clanmates back in New Orleans didn't want her involved in any clan business. She couldn't do anything right. She couldn't even go to a battle without having her father killed. Now she had lost a thirteen-year-old girl in a gigantic city with no hope of finding her.

Victoria was brought out of her haze by the sound of approaching footsteps. She looked up to see Jason arriving from the shadows through the front door-alone as expected. Victoria felt like crawling into a hole.

"No sight of her anywhere," Jason spoke. His hair and clothes were disheveled, indicating that he had probably shifted while he was out.

"Bite me, Jason," Victoria muttered.

"Can I say something?" Jason inquired.

"You just did," Victoria uttered blankly.

Jason rolled his eyes at her comment before proceeding to speak."Though you have done such a horrible job in caring for children, letting one of them run away, and, blowing up a kitchen-"

"Get to the point, double joint?" Victoria interrupted.

"I think I know how we can fix all your problems." Victoria jolted to her feet hearing Jason's words.

"How do you suppose we do that?" Victoria questioned.

"With our help!" A ringing voice shouted from the darkness at the front door. Dark figures approached from the shadows. What was left of Victoria's hope drowned as she saw Bruce, Mark, and, Parker walk in through the front door? They were dressed in black cloaks covering their normal clothes.

"Oh Caesar's ghost!" Victoria exclaimed.

"Nice to see you too!" Parker sarcastically blurted.

"I still don't like being here nor do I trust you," Bruce said flatly.

"How ya been, Jellybean?" Mark greeted.

Victoria narrowed her eyes, making a sidelong glance at the three boys, before turning to Jason. "No. You've got to be kidding me!" She shouted.

Jason had a slight, closed-lipped smile plastered. He was enjoying the shot of Victoria being hopeless. He was probably thinking I am so smart.

"Three noses are better than one, aren't they?" He asked.

"Fine!" Victoria caved. "But why are they wearing cloaks?"

Parker then turned to Victoria."They are magic cloaks." He said. "They make the clothes of shapeshifters to disappear in shifting and can amplify the powers of wizards like me."

"Is that really necessary?" Victoria questioned. "We're just looking for a thirteen-year-old girl."

"We keep them just in case!" Bruce blurted in an abrasive tone.

Bruce never did seem to like Victoria. She didn't know why. She did know wasn't because he didn't trust her. It was something else. She'd have to figure that out later. She had to find Anika first.

"We better get going," Victoria said.

Parker claps his hand together. He must have cast a spell non-verbally as all the lights in the house went off.

"Fotiá" He muttered. A blue flame conjured in his right palm lighting the house a little.

"Ready betty?" Mark vocalizes annoyingly, causing the rest of the gang to give a long-suffering sigh as they proceeded out of the house, the door magically closing behind them.

They went off across the pitchy grounds. Parker made Jason's cloak to appear out of thin air. Victoria wondered where Anika might be. The quarter moon shone with streaks of clouds occasionally moved across it leaving the surrounding a tad gloomy all except for the blue flame in Parker's hand.

Jason, Mark, and, Bruce all shifted as soon as they were a great distance from the Siller mansion. Bruce and Jason first both grew hair all over their faces as their bones began to crack and bend at unnatural angled until they were both fully wolves with amber colored eyes.

Mark grew more hair on the side of his head and other parts of his body. His eyes glowed a luminescent blue-green color. His ears became more rounded and his face became pointed. His teeth became sharper and nails became more curved. His skin turned dark orange and he began to shrink until he was a full fox.

Victoria dropped a blue shirt beside them. It belonged to Anika which she had brought along with her. The three animals instinctively began to sniff the shirt. After sniffing, they turned to Victoria and Parker.

"They want us to follow them," Parker said. The animals ran forward together, with Victoria and Parker following behind.

They were led to the edge of the forest. The moon now visible through a lattice of leaves. The Fotiá charm revealing a barely visible black trail snaking through the dark trees.

For the first time ever, Victoria wished she didn't have enhanced senses. She could hear the wind slipping through the leaves, the creaking tree trunks, the flitter of wings unsighted, and, the breathing sounds of the rest of the gang. She glanced at Parker whose bushy brown hair shone in the moonlight.

They moved further into the forest. Victoria's mouth had a cold metallic tang, her throat becoming dry. She kept on walking beside Parker, the dewy leaves sliding on her forearm like soggy feathers. They walked in silence, their eyes fixated on the animals leading them.

Victoria noticed that Mark would lean towards Bruce, who would immediately growl back at the fox. Victoria kept on watching the continuous scenario. At first, she thought it was just their thing, but she had seen that Bruce was usually abrasive towards Mark, but to a lesser degree than the way he acted towards her.

Victoria widened her eyes. "Bruce," she said. "He's gay isn't he?!"

Parker covered her mouth with his free hand. Victoria shocked by his action struggles at first but came down eventually.

"Not so loud, he'll hear you," Parker whispered, releasing his hand from her mouth.

"How did you know?" Parker uttered.

"I just guessed." She answered.

"You absolutely cannot tell anyone," said Parker.

"But you all know, right?" Victoria asked, indefinitely.

"Not all of us," Parker said. They had made sure they were a good distance away from the others, but not too far they would lose sight of them. "Only Mark and I know about Bruce. He doesn't want Jason to know...at least not yet."

"Why is he scared? It isn't like it's a crime to be gay in Blood City is it?" Victoria asked.

"It is to his parents," said Parker. "His father is part of the Council and his family is one of the biggest in Blood city. They would probably disown him if they found out."

"But he does know Mark has a crush on him?" Inquired Victoria.

"It's hard to tell for sure," Parker responded.

Victoria could hear running water, there must be a stream somewhere close by. The three animals before them come to an abrupt stop.

Victoria spoke. "What's happening-"

"Something is wrong," Parker announced. He extinguishes the flame in his hands, throwing them into the darkness.

The five of them listened. They could hear something moving over the leaves around them. It sounded like a very faint pacing, but after a few seconds, the sound faded.

"Fotiá" Parker conjures the flame again. He turned to Victoria.

"I need you to conjure a flame like me." He requested.

Victoria felt excited. She felt like she'd been given a big promotion. She had left from color switcheroo to flame conjuring.

Like he taught you, She thought. Breathe Victoria, Breathe.

Mark, Jason, and Bruce stood at alert, baring their teeth, ready to counter any attack. Parker kept nervously looking over his shoulders.

"Fotiá" She muttered. Nothing happened. She was confused.

"Don't worry, it's just beginner's drag," Parker explained. "Visualize the fire in your palm. Imagine it just floating over it."

Victoria tried again. She breathed and focused, visualizing the fire in her palms. "Fotiá" She mumbled. Out of her right palm, a blue flame appeared, floating over her hand. She couldn't even feel the heat. It was like carrying a gas.

She exclaimed. "I did-"

Suddenly, the ears of the animals perked up. Victoria could hear the faint sound, but this time it sounded like it was more than one something. The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up straight.

"EVERY ONE GET DOWN!" Parker screamed.

They all fell to the ground, lying on rotting leaves and the rich earth, which when Victoria tasted, didn't taste so rich. Suddenly, arrows began to fly above them, penetrating into the tree trunks around them. She could hear growling and yipping.

Victoria and Parker crawled behind a wide tree trunk just off the trail. Hearts forcefully colliding with their ribs, they filled at the air with fear, trying to slow their breathing enough to hear what was happening.

Out of the clump of bushes, about twenty shapeshifters, some werewolves like Jason and Bruce, werefoxes like Mark, and, creatures that were purple in skin tone with visible dark jaguar spots. Their large claws are curved and they also have large fangs. Jason and the others were surrounded.

Many voices shouted at once. "Entang Vigne!" The vines from trees and weeds suddenly came to life and wrapped themselves around Jason, Mark, and Bruce. They growled and clawed at the vines, but they wouldn't budge as the enemies closed in on them. Back in the shadows, branches thrashed and cracked as five wizards continue magicking the vines.

Victoria pressed her face against the bark, the ridges piercing into her skin, and tried to blend in with the tree. She and Parker watched as the three other boys were dragged into the stygian darkness.

What was Anika doing in a place like this? Victoria thought as she stood up from beside the tree. Parker holds her hand, pulling her back.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Are you insane?" Victoria replied. "I'm going to save Anika and the boys."

Parker had a quizzical expression on his face. "Are you kidding? They outnumber us ten to one. I say we go get help."

"Help?! What if they die by then?" Victoria asked releasing herself from Parker's grasp. "I'm going whether or not you come with me."

Parker rose to his feet. "Fine. What do we do now?" He whispered, looking around.

"We'll have to follow them, but we can use the blue flame. Well move in the darkness," said Victoria, who looked more scared than courageous.

"We can't track them by scent nor footprint because the wizards would have masked it all." Parker enunciated.

Victoria ran her hands through her red curls, feeling a little distressed. "How then do we find them?"

Parker picked up from a small twig from the ground, resting it in his palm. "Kyvernó" He muttered at the twig. It suddenly turned north and remained that way. The twig had become a compass.

"We navigate our way," said Parker.

* * *

Victoria was sure they were close to finding the others. They treaded around the edge of the forest, the murk enveloping them thickly until they hid behind the trunk of a tree. Victoria stared into the darkness. She could see dark figures surrounding something. They stood at the edge of a rivulet that drowned out the sound of what they were saying.

"Look over there!" whispered Parker.

Beside a clump of bushes, was Anika and the boys. Anika was manacled by vines that were wounded around her. She was shaking and trembling, her shoulders hunched. The boys had shifted back to human form. They were snarling, the teeth bared and jaws clenched.

"I'll distract them, you free the others," Parker said.

Victoria nodded as he ran out from behind the tree yelling spells at the enemy, who were shocked to see him. He ran back into the forest, the creatures chasing. Victoria took this as her cue, darting out from behind the tree, running towards Anika.

"Victoria?!" Anika whispered, thankful that the former had come to her rescue.

Victoria conjured flames from her hand. Anika was startled, but at that moment nothing could have been better. Victoria burnt through the vines, freeing the blond girl. She went over to the boys who were smashed together under the vines.

"Nice to see you, Tori," Jason said playfully.

Victoria started burning through the vines. She suddenly felt at alert, all the hairs on her arm standing up straight.

"VICTORIA WATCH OUT!" That was all Victoria heard before she felt someone lift her up from behind, flinging her across the ground.

Victoria groaned in pain. Her body hurt like hell. She wasn't sure what happened, but she quickly unsheathed her fangs and claws, rising to her feet, growling at the enemy. Standing in front of her was no human creature she had ever seen. It was the size of a man but possessed a purple-black, scaled skin, bulging black eyes, a fanged mouth, and, long serpentine arms and legs.

"Victoria, that's a Ribyllin. Get away now!" Shouted Bruce.

Victoria did not regard his comment and charged the monster. The Ribyllin grabbed Victoria by the arm, throwing her against a tree. Victoria growled as she climbed the tree, jumping over the monster. She claws it across the chest and kept on hitting it with lightning speed, but it had no effect. The Ribyllin throws Victoria on the ground.

Pokily, Victoria stood up, leaning in a tree for support. The monster growls, barreling itself at Victoria.

Victoria grabbed a dagger from her shoes and charged the monster. For a moment, She was sure she would drive the blade into the monster. That was, until the Ribyllin sidestepped, clawing Victoria to the ground.

Victoria jumped back up, lunging at the monster. Except for this time, the monster grabs her by the neck, choking her. Victoria tried slicing the monster, but she was too weak.

She was sure the monster would break her neck. That was until she heard a loud growl coming from behind the monster. The Ribyllin turned to see the three shapeshifters growling, their fangs and claws unsheathed, their eyes glowing.

They charged the monster, clawing it at its leg. The monster released Victoria, who drop on her knees. She gasped, trying to inhale. She was about to stand up when she heard noises coming from within the depths of the forest. She saw Parker dart out from the darkness, the creatures still chasing him, though reduced in number. Parker had lost the color in his face. He was very weak after overusing his magic.

Jason and the others noticed this and stopped fighting the Ribyllin. They were outnumbered and defenseless. They all hurdles together as the enemy covered around them, closing in.

One of the Werejaguar shifts back to human. It was a boy and he was wearing the warrior's cloak (thankfully). He walked into the moonlight, revealing his face.

Victoria froze, staring with wide eyes, her eyebrows raised. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Zack?" She faintly said.

"Nice to see you again Victoria," The dark-haired boy said, moving closer to Victoria. "You didn't expect to see me, did you now?"

Victoria clenched her fist. "She's your girlfriend. Why would you do this?"

Zack has a malevolent smile, his chin up, chest out, and, shoulders back. "For the greater cause," answered Zack. "Finally we can begin the ritual."

One of the wizards walked over to the small stream, putting his hands into the water, muttering a spell. The ground began to shake violently. From the water, a sarcophagus rose up, water trickling down the side.

Jason's and the other boys' eyes widened at the sight of the coffin. She could hear the way the way their hearts beat. They were scared. Victoria could feel it too. Whatever laid in the coffin was a horror to mankind.

"You are a Nikonian. Followers of Nikon, aren't you?" asked Parker. "You want to raise him from the dead with a virgin's blood."

Zack stood, his face plastered with a maniacal smile. "You have always been a smart one Parker, or rather Sherlock."

"Victory shall return to Niakos!" Zack exclaimed. He walked over to Anika and grabbed her forcefully, earning a growl from Bruce, Mark, and Jason.

Victoria didn't know what to do. She couldn't let Anika die. She had to at least try. Victoria focused. She focused on every sound that surrounded her. The cracking undergrowth, the snapping twigs, the breathing sounds. She let her senses take over.

She allowed the wind to blow across her ear. She could hear voices, a voice actually, whispering through the wind, telling her what she needed to do-the words she had to say.

Zack dragged a struggling Anika towards to the water. Victoria took a step forward.

"Let her go," she said.

Zack turned around to face her. "What did you say?"

"I said let her go!" She said, her voice loud and clear.

Zack smiled and threw his head a head back in laughter. "What are you going to do? Tickle me to death?"

Victoria let all her emotions flow over her. She let them all pour out. With lightning speed, She ran towards Zack, grabbing his forearm tightly. Her arm began to turn steamy white. suddenly, Zack released Anika, shouting in pain, jerking his hand free from Victoria's hold. Anika quickly backed away from Zack, running to Jason's side.

The surrounding creatures stood at high alert, watching Victoria intensely, ready to attack if need be.

The startled expression on Zack's face faded, his maniacal smile returning. "Marvelous!" He exclaimed. "A virgin vampire who can do magic. You are even better than any virgin werejaguar."

He turned to the Ribyllin. "Sieze her!"

The monster charged Victoria, who just stood there, staring intensely. Just as the Ribyllin was about to grab Victoria, she screamed, her eyes blazing.

"FOTIÁ MÉGISTA!"

A ring of blue flames surrounded her friends, blazing outwards, engulfing the Ribyllin and other creatures. The creatures ran around, trying to put an end to the fire that engulfed them.

Victoria turned to face a terrified Zack. He trembled, falling into the water. Victoria raised her hands towards him and he began to float, choking. She clenched her fist, suffocating the life in the dark haired boy.

"Victoria stop!" She heard Jason shout. She swerved to face him, not loosening her grip on Zack.

"He tried to kill us. He deserves to be punished!" She fumed.

"He will be. The Order will see to it, but Victoria this isn't you" shouted Jason.

Victoria's expression softened. She opened her fist, dropping Zack in the water. She caused the fire to extinguish, leaving ashes and bones surrounding her. She walked over to Zack and threw him in front of her friends.

"Vythizo." Victoria said, and the water to enveloped the stone coffin.

She fell into the water, feeling very weak. She had never done so much magic before. She felt like she had run thirty laps around the grand canyon. Jason carried her bridal style as they all departed into the depths of the forest.

* * *

Victoria had regained her strength. She had met Liz at home. The auburn haired girl was furious when she heard what happened. She hugged Anika who was still pretty shaken.

The kitchen looked pretty good now. Parker had used a little abracadabra to fix everything up. Liz wasn't angry that Victoria had lost Anika, She was just upset that Anika had to go through the horrible ordeal and she wasn't there.

Bruce and Mark had left to deliver to the Aeon dome. Victoria remembered the look on his face. He was scared of Victoria. He was frozen in utter terror. She felt confused about what happened at the stream. She was filled with so much power. She liked it, but she hated the way the power caused her to lose control.

She would have killed Zack if Jason hadn't stopped her. He was right. That person wasn't Victoria. That person was out of control, dangerous-a threat.

* * *

Author's Note

Hello! Hello!! Hello!!!

I have finally updated. I have been thinking of what to write for a long time, but I didn't have the inspiration. My favorite parts in this chapter are where spells are used and the fight scenes.

So, what do y'all think of the chapter? What is your favorite part of this chapter? P!ease comment your opinions. I love to hear from you.

Remember to Vote, Comment, and, Share...

#Joaquin ❤