The first thing Cassandra noticed was the cold. She lay on a hard slab in the center of a stone circle. An IV ran to her arm from a blood-filled bag hanging on an IV stand. Her stomach lurched as the blood seeped up the line into the bag.

They were taking her blood. Why were they taking her blood?

The three maids who had dressed Cassandra like a doll for Arthur's dinner now wore red robes with hoods. They stood around an altar holding hands and chanting like a scene from a bad witch horror flick. On the black altar cloth a scroll, dagger, and a ring had been placed inside a ring of blood red votive candles.

The candlewicks burst to life with bright black flames as the chanting grew louder. Beyond the witches, a dark barrier shimmered with glints of poisonous green firmly imprisoning everyone in the stone henge.

Mad Scientist who had been monitoring the blood draw, carefully removed the bag from its hook and crossed the snow covered clearing to the witch's circle.

Still chanting, the blonde witch took the bag from him and slit the plastic with the dagger. Blood drained into a goblet that she soon mixed with wine. She tipped her head back taking a long draw, the blood and wine mixture trickling down the long column of her throat.

When the blonde drained the goblet dry she set it firmly on the altar. "The blood of our enemy has been spilled and consumed beneath the full moon. Arise Morgan le Fey! Great sorceress! Harbinger of power!"

The scroll on the altar burst into flames and vanished in a curl of black smoke. The ring glowed as hot as a coal in a belly of a stove then disappeared as quickly as the scroll.

Mad Scientist returned to Cassandra's side. He fixed a pleasant smile on his face when he noticed she was awake. "Ah, I was wondering when you'd come round. Don't worry. We're almost done here."

Cassandra wasn't reassured.

The ground had begun to tremble, the stone monoliths swaying from the violent quaking. The slab Cassandra was strapped to tilted downward. If she weren't bound to the slab, she'd have tumbled to the ground.

"Arise!" The blonde witch cried with blood-stained lips, her eyes glowing with a fanatic light.

A rift appeared in the air, ripping, twisting tearing. One of the monoliths toppled, landing with a thunderous crash, creaming a handful of Arthur's guards.

Cassandra squeezed her eyes shut but the image of squished bodies was burned into her mind. The slab tipped forward again, and her eyes popped open as the opposite end slammed into the dirt.

The living bodyguards surrounded the billionaire and Cassandra's mother two hundred deep.

Madeline was bundled in a thick coat sitting in a wheelchair but like everyone else she was watching the horror unfolding in the sky.

A gelatinous green hand gripped the edge of the rift and pried it further apart.

A blob oozed out slowly dropping to the ground. It rolled across the fallen monolith. The stone, and the bodies crushed underneath started to dissolve.

"Morgan le Fey is coming." Mad Scientist said reverently, the thin wispy hair on his head standing on end.

Energy buzzed in Cassandra's veins, a parting gift from the enigmatic Nimue. "Yes, I feel so much better for knowing."

"Don't be that way or you won't get a sucker." Mad Scientist patted the front of his lab coat and plastic crackled in his breast pocket.

Cassandra's lips still tingled from the nymph's kiss and the magic Nimue poured into her, chasing away the numbing effects of whatever poison Arthur had been using to subdue her power. "I'm going to cram that sucker down your throat, asshole."

The ooze rose, forming a slug like body. More of the alien acid creatures were pouring out of the rift.

"My, my, aren't we cranky. Perhaps you need another nap." Mad Scientist suggested ominously withdrawing a syringe from a small case.

Okay, it was time for Cassandra to get off her ass and do something.

With a flick of her fingers, the leather straps binding her to the slab unbuckled. Cassandra sat up, hair spilling down her shoulders to her waist. Her head spun for a second then cleared as Mad Scientist advanced on her. 

Evidently, they hadn't taken too much of her blood, otherwise she'd be lying on the ground. 

For the first time since being abducted Cassandra was completely calm. "I don't think so."

The needle descended toward her arm. Cassandra caught Mad Scientist's wrist in a bruising grip causing the weasel to yelp in pain.

Jerking the syringe away, she stabbed the needle in his arm and watched with vicious satisfaction as the evil doctor swayed and crashed to the ground into a pile of snow. "It's freaks like you that made me never want to go into STEM."

Cassandra carefully removed the IV needle embedded in her arm, a thin trickle of blood oozing across her skin. Not enough blood to worry about.

Something heavy hung from her hair. She reached up and pulled a bit of white lace into view.

She was wearing an honest to God veil on her head. Cassandra slowly looked down and saw she was also wearing a wedding dress with a fitted bodice covered in seed pearls, the long train spilled past her feet into a tangle of white silk embroidered with red roses.

Arthur, that delusional prick, had dressed her as a bride.

Cassandra shook her head. Well, there was no time to worry about it now.

Using her magic, she shortened the hem of the dress to her knees and removed the veil from her hair. She swung her legs over the side of the slab and conjured a pair of thick sturdy boots to replace the silk slippers.

Cassandra took an experimental step. Her limbs were a bit stiff, making her wonder how long she'd been unconscious.

No one else had witnessed what transpired between Cassandra and Mad Scientist. She took the opportunity to massage her legs and arms to get the blood flowing while she scanned her surroundings.

Arthur was busy chewing out some poor unfortunate soul on his cell. "I don't give a shit how complicated it is. I want those funds transferred now!"

Madeline's eyes locked with Cassandra's as she noticed her daughter moving around.

Cassandra pressed a finger to her lips.

Her mom nodded ever so slightly and sank deeper into her coat and the thick plaid scarf bundled under her chin.

The rift stretched forming an arch. The blob men finished pouring into the henge, the shadowy barrier stretching to accommodate their increased number.

Before Cassandra could contemplate dealing with them, she had to remove her mom from the playing field. She was laughably outnumbered, between, Arthur, the witches, the guards, and the blob men.

She raised her hand drawing a portal around her mother. It shouldn't be possible without a sling ring, but as Nimue said the Merlin was a wildcard.

Her mom realized what she was doing and released an involuntary cry as a door to Kamar Taj opened behind her.

Arthur dropped his phone with an angry squawk. He swung in Cassandra's direction. "She's awake! Subdue her!"

The portal swallowed Madeline and vanished in a shower of orange sparks as the witches and guard advanced on Cassandra.

"There. Now you can't use my mother against me." A cold smile curved Cassandra's lips, the image of her future daughters fixed firmly in her mind. The time for softness was over. She had to fight for herself. Fight for them. Fight for everyone.

The witches were closing in.

"Now, I can wipe you off the face of the earth." She summoned the biggest ball of energy she could muster and hurled it at the witches sprinting toward her with drawn daggers.

A big blond giant dropped out of the sky, batting the energy blast aside with a flick of his hammer. The power slammed into the dark barrier and fizzled out.

Cassandra clenched her fists. She had forgotten about Thor.

The god straightened slowly, lightning crackling around his body. Looks like they were about to go a second round.

Terrific. Cassandra couldn't take Thor head on. He was too physically powerful and the lightning sparking off his body too deadly.

Loki would know how to handle his brother.

Cassandra supposed now was the time to see if Nimue was right about their connection. She concentrated on the image of Loki's narrow face and sent out a tentative thought.

Loki.

A few seconds passed.

Nothing.

Cassandra tried again, this time adding a thread of magic.

Loki.