Carina read over the invitation a third time as Abby's grandmother paced the room a frown etched into her forehead. 

"You cannot go," Milana stated firmly her voice thick with her accent as she watched the newly discovered witch.

"Okay," Carina replied still looking at the invitation.

"Carina, it's dangerous," Abby spoke up, "there's a reason I wouldn't let you go on that tour."

"So a supernatural mob runs the city?" Carina shrugged.

"They're not like us." Abby shook her head, "one wrong move and they could kill you, even by accident. Not to mention the fact you're untrained and you could loose control."

"What are they?" The short brunette asked.

"Demons," Milana hissed through her teeth leaving the room with anger etched across her features. Abby watched her grandmother leave, then turned her concerned gaze to her friend. 

"There are a multitude of supernatural creatures out there," the blonde had never looked at Carina with such serious eyes before and it made her feel uneasy. "Nearly everything that can exist, does." She hesitated to continue and instead headed for the bookshelf. Carina's calm gaze followed her friends movements as she presented a heavy book.

Turning the fragile skin pages, Carina looked upon the foreign language with confusion. 

"It's Latin and Ancient Greek," Abby explained as she turned to some old ink sketches. "In our world there were three species at the top of the food-chain. Us, the witches." Carina watched in awe as a sketch of a young girl came to life on the page. She danced over the words with a mischievous grin,  "The werewolves," she watched another image, this time a man in front of a clouded moon, he was large wore a sinister grin as the moon revealed his true nature turning him into a beast, "but they fell extinct to the third,"

Carina peered closely at the drawing. There didn't seem to be anything out of place. He looked like a man, though his features were perfect. Too perfect. The picture held no colour but Carina could feel herself getting lost in the obsidian eyes. She watched as the scene changed and the man walked through piles of bodies, inky black blood pooling on the pages. 

"You're telling me vampires are real?" Carina whispered in awe.

"They're insanely beautiful, everything about them is a trap for their prey, but us, we are not their prey. Yes they can feed off us, and turn us into their kind, but we are powerful and can fight back. There are rules." Abby explained. "The Volturi are the largest and most powerful coven, and they reside in this city. They signed a treaty with The Council to not harm or turn our kind."

"What's The Council?" Carina interrupts. 

"They're in charge, they're our political leaders. There are thirteen members of The Council of Elders. Six are light, six are dark and one seat has been empty for centuries. "

"How do they get on the council?" 

"No one votes," Abby frowns, "we don't age the same way humans do, and if a council member dies, the seat remains empty until someone with the same magical signature comes along."

"I don't understand."

"Your magical signature is as unique as a fingerprint, so when someone is born with the same signature as the previous occupier of a council seat, they take their place. It's very rare and normally only occurs in family bloodlines, but there are some odd cases. Anyway, that's not the point I was trying to make. The vampires can't touch us without consent or they risk declaring war."

"Then it shouldn't be an issue if I go, you said so yourself, they can't touch me, so why do they want to meet me?" Carina looked up in confusion as though the heavens would provide the answers she needed. 

"Il Grigio," Abby's grandmother spat distastefully as she passed the room again looking at Carina who turned to her friend in confusion.

"The Grey," Abby sighed, "times have changed, you're a grey witch Carina, it is why they wish to meet you. Grey witches have no limits to the magic they practice, they don't rely on the light or the dark. It's hard to explain but you'll figure it out in time."

"The Twins is why they wish to meet you." Abby's mother entered the room followed swiftly by her father.

"Twins? Mrs Banks, I don't understand."

"Over a thousand years ago the twins were turned into vampires, the humans were going to burn them at the stake." She informed as though she was reciting a history lesson. "Aro, leader of the Volturi had been watching them as they were quite powerful in their youth. He saved them, and turned them into vampires, the most feared and dangerous members of the Volturi guard. They would have been about your age."

"That makes no sense, you just said because of an agreement with the council, they can't turn us without declaring war."

"The treaty specifically states those who follow the light can never be turned into a vampire, we become unstable and self destructive, and those who follow the dark can never become a vampire because they are too volatile and dangerous. The Volturi agreed to these terms and agreed to help destroy any light or dark witches that become a vampire." Abby's mother frowned slightly as she continued, "not once are Il Grigio mentioned, there is always a loophole child."

"So they want to meet me, because I can become a vampire?"

"You would be a powerful asset, a collectible essentially. Grey witches are uncommon, by your age, they tend to choose a side."

"What do you mean?"

"Light magic and dark magic are essentially the ways in which you practice magic. Someone who practices dark cannot practice light and vice versa. Those that are grey have no limitations, but say you practiced dark magic and nothing but dark magic, after a time it consumes and you become dark. I can feel your magic Carina, you radiate both, even when you're consumed by one emotion, your aura is always grey."

"So I could just pick a side?"

"It's not something you can force."

"Then what do I do?"

"First, you need to learn control." 

***

"So this grey witch, do you really expect her to show?" Felix asked as he and Demetri waited by the main entrance, the setting sun casting them in an unusual orange glow. 

"She's too curious not to." The tracker replied smirking as a familiar scent blew in his direction.