30+ Advanced Chapters can be found at - patreon.com/Nevvan
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Parking their vehicles at a campground, they made the trek through the woods to their rival's compound.
Cresting the hill, they could only see a clear meadow.
"Is this the place?" asked Finn, unable to spot anything unusual.
"It is, they must have cloaked it," said Florence.
"And you didn't know?" questioned Finn.
"This is new, they didn't have this last time," said Betty with a nervous edge at the unexpected situation, sharing a look with the other two old witches.
"One of the other nearby Covens likely got hit. I doubt it means anything," Mary assured.
Finn held his snort and asked, "Do we need to change our plans?"
"No, an added layer or two of protection won't make a difference. Wait for us to do our thing, and the cloak should go down along with every other protection, including their invitational privilege to keep vampires out. Then you can run in and create havoc," said Mary, waving the others to put down their packs and take out the supplies.
"Invitational as well, huh? How'd you manage that?" asked Finn.
"We reverse-engineered our ancestor's protection spell," answered Mary casually while making a magical circle.
"You should stand behind us," advised Betty as the rest set up their circles in an arrow formation.
Moving behind the group, he patiently watched them work. And when ready, they began their chant.
Magic converged, flowing from one circle to another, to the arrow's point, where it gathered in Mary's circle. She harnessed their united magical energy and directed it outward toward the cloaked compound, completing the chant.
The area trembled as it connected with the invisible barrier and smashed through, revealing the hidden compound.
"That's my cue, see y'all on the other side," said Finn, vanishing in a blur.
"Do we have to do this? Can't we just keep being allies?" Eva asked dolefully.
"You can't be serious? Don't forget what he is and how that will never change," said Ana obstinately.
"This is an opportunity we can't waste; we may never get another shot like this again. We have to take it," said Florence resolutely.
"Agreed, now get ready, this isn't over yet," said Mary.
"I was born ready," said Lucia, flexing her hands, eager to throw her deadly magic at the drop of a hat.
"I bet I kill more than you," said Holly just as eagerly.
"Girls," Tina sighed, "Must you be so bloodthirsty?"
"Yes," they responded simultaneously, grinning at one another.
.
Moving swiftly inside, he encountered a group of unsuspecting individuals and quickly dispatched them before proceeding to the next. It didn't take long for them to realize what was happening and attempt to thwart him, but with Amulet in hand, he was unstoppable.
At the last building, things became tricky as he circled it, discovering no entrance—completely sealed off.
Hearing his witch allies picking off the stragglers he left, Finn swung his arm, demolishing the wall. However, he could not enter, as he sensed the need for an invitation to cross the threshold—something the amulet could not assist him with.
.
"This isn't right," muttered Mary as she walked through The Night Garden's compound.
"What isn't?" asked Florence while the younger ones finished off the ones Finn left behind.
"I don't know yet," said Mary, slowly realizing there were too many young witches here. "Come on, I think Finn's been stopped at their inner sanctuary. We'll need to get him in and fighting their best before we make a move."
"Careful with what you say," hissed Betty, "Remember their hearing."
"You don't think I thought of that?" Mary scoffed, waving her hand to show they were protected as shimmering light appeared around them.
"Apologies, I'm still on edge," said Betty.
"Understandable, but learn to control yourself better," Mary reprimanded.
"I will," said Betty, bowing her head in acknowledgment.
"Stuck?" Ana asked mockingly as Finn waited for them.
"Perks of being a vampire," Finn said self-deprecatingly.
Ana scoffed as Mary placed her hand out towards the hole he made, reading the magic.
"We don't have time to do another siege spell; we'll have to brute force it. Girls, follow my lead," said Mary, starting a new chant.
The building trembled as their magic collided, causing the walls to crack and crumble as their protections exploded one by one until none were left.
"There we are, time to finish them," said Mary.
Unmoved, Finn said, "Still can't get in, I need to be invited."
Mary scowled, "Let me think."
"Since most of the walls are already nearly destroyed, why don't we just finish them?" Holly asked thoughtfully.
"Hmm. Good idea, let's do that," said Mary, extending her hand again.
"If you do that, won't the roof just do our job for us?" asked Tina.
"No, I don't see anyone. I'm betting they're likely in an underground bunker. Now help me," ordered Mary.
Surrounding the building, they extended their hands, blasting the walls with magic.
Deciding to help, Finn sped around destroying more of the wall until it all came crashing down.
The witches waved the dust away with magic, and Mary led them across the top of the rubble, searching for the underground entrance.
"Over here," said Tina, hands stretched out above a fallen alcove and broken pillars.
"I got it," said Finn, using his vamp speed to clear the obstructions, revealing the hidden passageway leading down.
"Can you feel that? That's a lot of magic down there," said Ana.
Mary frowned, feeling once more like something was wrong, but couldn't quite place it.
"So this is where the real plan starts. I'll go in and distract them, and you'll come in and finish them off," said Finn, speeding down the underground passage before they could say anything.
"Should we do that? Or do we wait until it's all over?" asked Ana.
"Hmm, I have a feeling we might want to see how this plays out," said Mary, leading the way.
Further down, Finn reached an entrance to a vast area that could only exist through magical means, given its impressive size and depth. The space featured a grand, flawlessly sculpted round cave with a row of ornate pillars and structures on either side, leading towards a central pyramid with a flat top.
He was surprised to see even more young witches waiting underground, with their leaders standing at the top of the pyramid.
Magic began to fly at him as soon as he appeared.
Vanishing in a burst of speed, he quickly took out the nearest ones, working his way up towards the pyramid.
"Who the fuck is this? He's ruining everything!" shouted one of the male leaders as they watched each of their young acolytes drop one by one.
"What should we do? Should we hurry and finish in case there's more?" asked a female leader.
"We should kill him, obviously!" yelled a second female leader.
"Don't be foolish! I can see from here that magic isn't working on him, the way he's running through them like it's nothing. We should finish, we're this close already," said a third female leader.
"I don't think we have time," said the second male leader as Finn came for them.
"Quick, help me shape the stone and get rid of the steps so he can't climb up! Smooth them out! And make it slippery!" shouted the third female leader.
Finn made it a quarter of the way up before he slid back down.
"This could be a problem… Or not," said Finn, grabbing a loose rock and throwing it, exploding one of the leader's heads off as it blasted through the unsuspecting man's head.
"Get down!" shouted the third female, all of them hitting the deck as a few more rocks came sailing over, pelting the ceiling behind them like bullets or small hand cannons.
"Do you have any idea who you're messing with!? You're going to die vamp, you and those dumb fucks who helped you!" shouted the first and last standing male leader of the group.
"You know, I was beginning to think there weren't any Warlocks left. I'm glad to see there are," said Finn casually, and then grinned, "Well, at least one left."
"You won't be in a minute!" shouted the man angrily as he prepared a spell.
"What are you doing?" asked the third female leader.
Finishing his chant, he pushed his arms out towards his target. "Burying him," answered the warlock, turning the area around the pyramid's base into quicksand.
Using his supernatural speed and strength, he fled without getting stuck, moving a distance away to wait for his temporary allies to arrive and see what they would do.
He had no intention of exerting additional effort for those who might betray him. A sneer crossed his face as he recalled their insistence that they could not afford to miss this opportunity, claiming their adversaries were vulnerable enough to be defeated with his assistance. It was laughable. Without the amulet, achieving this would have been unfeasible without thorough planning based on precise information and significantly more support.
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30+ Advanced Chapters can be found at - patreon.com/Nevvan