Ivy and Marina lost themselves in a sea of creatures. Fairies, werewolves, witches and vampires among others danced in the confines of the Thirsty Fork, a haven of sorts for all. If you had a problem with another creature just based on what they were, you weren't welcome. You would immediately be turned away. Bigotry was not an option here. Everyone needed a safe spot, and this placed embodied that to the fullest.

The music never slowed, but eventually Ivy and Marina had to, especially the former. Ivy felt too many hands try to wrap themselves around her waist. Marina rested oblivious and opted to stay that way.

As the two made their way to the bar, Ivy knocked into a figure. Almost instantaneously, her head cleared, and her body burned in a cross between pain and pleasure. She had never felt something like it. She whipped her head around to try to catch a glimpse of the figure. It was gone quicker than a ghost. For a second, she thought she had imagined it until Marina spoke up.

"Ivy, you...I can't place it." Marina tapped her lips with a finger. All of playfulness from earlier disappeared. Her voice took on a more serious tone. "It's like...something in your aura changed, but I can't see it."

"Wait, what do you mean? Are you saying something is wrong with me?" Ivy's voice rose and began to border on hysteria. She didn't need anything else weird happening to her.

"You're fine. I promise." Marina gripped her by the shoulders. "I was just making an observation."

"Well, there is something I need to tell you girls about." Ivy's eyes darted around the room searching out Ella and Aura. She had to tell them the story all together.

After some searching, the earth witch caught site of the two witches deep in conversation in a corner. Two untouched drinks sat in front of them. Ella moved her hands animatedly while Aura nodded along in agreement. With a roll of her eyes, Ivy grabbed Marina by the wrist and marched to the other two.

"Oh look what the cat dragged in." Ella gave hera hard look.

"Ella..." Marina already sensed the pettiness Ella exuded. Ivy didn't even need to be an empath to sense it as well. She knew she deserved it. Aura stayed quiet and waited for the interaction to take place.

"Finally realize you weren't sh.it on your own?" Ella raised an eyebrow and glared back at Ivy.

Ivy knew Ella was mad, but she didn't realize to this extreme. This was typical Ella. She put on a tough girl show and got all high and mighty to protect herself from getting hurt. Thankfully Ivy was in the right mind not to snap back and had come to the realization that she did indeed need them. She was wrong to shut out her powers and the Pentacle. She needed them as much as they needed her.

"I do need you," Ivy admitted, sliding into the booth. She looked each of them in the eye. "I need all of you. I was wrong."

"The great Ivy admitting she was wrong, what has the world come to?" Ella shook her head, but no hint of malice touched her eyes. In fact, a flash of relief reflected in her eyes before icing back over.

"Oh shut it." Aura swatted at the fire user and turned her attention to Ivy. "What happened?"

"Aren't you the clever one?" Ivy teased, earning a smile in return. As she dove into her explanation, her tone grew grave. "I think I saw Cassie again tonight. She saved me."

"Wait, hold up." Ella rotated her shoulders to face Ivy completely. Curiosity shined in her irises as the detective in her came out. "Cassie appeared to you, and it wasn't in a nightmare form?"

"Maybe a literal, living nightmare." Ivy's eyes slipped past the group as she recalled the events of just hours earlier. Even thinking about it caused her to shiver and the fear to grow in the pit of her stomach. Marina's hand moved to rest on her knee. The feeling of security and calmness spread over her, giving her the strength to continue on.

"I was walking here and became lost in my thoughts which caused me to become literally lost. I didn't even realize where I was going when this fog started to roll in." Her eyes moved back into focus as they bounced around to look at each of them. "This devil appeared in front of me and essentially rendered me useless. He kept talking and talking, his voice sending me deeper into a trance."

Aura and Ella muttered something under their breaths, likely a guess as to what the creature was. Marina kept her eyes trained on Ivy, her powers continuing to push the feelings as the agitation grew within Ivy.

"I didn't and still don't know what he was. Lucian exuded the same sort of power, just nowhere near as powerful." She spared a glance for the bartender who was busy flashing his smile at unsuspecting women. "This man from earlier, he said it was clear I was a witch and that my powers just rolled off me. Then he was interrupted by a voice in the alleys and they called him Mammon."

Ella let out a small squeak. All the heads snapped toward her.

"Mammon is an incubus and his counterpart is Mora, the queen of the succubae," Ella explained. "Neither is to be trifled with. The fact that you made it out of there without a scratch is a miracle. Continue." She motioned with her hand for the story to keep going.

"He also said it was clear I was in a lot of pain. This whole time I just grew more and more drowsy, and I began to feel a pulling sensation." Ivy's eyes darted down to the hem of her dress where her hands played with it. Her arms then wrapped around her torso, and she held herself tightly. "That's when he asked if he wanted me to take the pain away.

"I didn't even know what to do. I was frozen to the spot. I tried to make a breakaway earlier when he was distracted, but he caught me. My powers were completely blocked." Her brows furrowed at the memory and the feeling of weakness. "Then I saw a figure in the distance reaching out, just behind him. The light hit it to reveal Cassie. Her voice echoed in my head and told me to stay strong and not to give in."

Ivy paused to steal a sip of Ella's watered down drink. She rubbed her eyes with the edge of her fingers and sighed.

"What happened next?" Aura prompted, being the first one to probe her to continue. Marina shot her a look. "Well, Marina, we do want to know!"

"You don't feel what I feel," Marina shot back in defense of Ivy. "When she walked through the bar, all I felt was pure despair and fear. Mammon and an appearance from Cassie shook her up."

"But then you got drunk with her and let her push back her feelings." Aura pointed a finger at the two of them. "Speaking of which, how did you two sober up so fast?"

"Honestly I have no clue." Ivy shrugged her shoulders even though she kind of knew why. It had happened when she ran into that figure. She just wasn't ready to share that with Aura and Ella. "Anyway, let me finish the story."

"Yes, please do." Ella sat forward with her elbows on her knees. "How did you get away?"

"Cassie cleared my head when she spoke to me. I wasn't under his seductive spell any longer, even though he was right next to me and was trying to blocked my connection to the earth." Ivy bit her lip and twirled her hands. "He had stopped me from using my powers earlier with the touch of his hand, but he couldn't this time. But after she helped me, I stepped away and the cement cracked between us. I couldn't even feel the ground underneath it as it had been laid so thick. Somehow I forced the ground to crack and summoned a giant wall of dirt between us. This gave me just enough time to get away. Then I came here."

"Damn, wow, okay. That's a lot to process." Ella leaned back into the booth and closed her eyes, trying to wrap her mind around it all. "Cassie just appeared to you?"

"I swear I wasn't imagining it," Ivy insisted. "It's like she sensed I was in danger. She wasn't physically there though. She was covered in these dark tendrils that grew out from her."

"At least she found you in time." Marina wrapped Ivy in a hug. "I wish the circumstances were different, but I am glad to have you back. You are back, right?"

"This night proves that no matter how hard I try to run, I can't escape who I am." Ivy let out a small chuckle. "Literally. Just my scent gives me away. It's time to embrace who I am and become the witch Cassie knew I could be."

"It's about damn time." Ella snorted as she gave Ivy a sidearm hug.

Marina beamed as she dragged Aura into a group hug. The group resembled a little family, a dysfunctional one but nevertheless a family. That's exactly what these witches would need to be in the coming weeks ahead.

-----

A/N

I had originally planned to post this yesterday, Friday the 13th and all, but alas, that did not happen.

Work has been crazy, especially with the virus. Stay safe out there everyone!

Quick note: I may change the name of the novel. I'm not in love with the current one. So, I'll be sure to say something before doing it :D

Thank you to everyone that has stuck with me this far and continue to read/vote/comment. I appreciate y'all  more than you know.