Dear Diary,

The wind is howling through burning willows and crackling bark. Embers from burnt down trees dancing through the blood tinged sky. Screams encompassing us at every corner on this blood-sodden earth. Houses are destroyed, families are torn apart. The world is coming to an end faster than anticipated and it is up to us to put an end to all this destruction and chaos.

It has not been too long since the War of the Races broke out and life as we know it is over. Witches are banding together to fight off the evil that has seeped through the earth’s surface. Vampire’s minds are being controlled by the hell that has broken loose. The problem is that we do not know what we are up against or how to banish it back to where they came from. My goal is to seal off the Dark Dimension to, hopefully, keep them out of our world for good.

“Blaze, come quickly!” Samuel hollers over the blast at the south entrance of the castle.

Tossing down my diary, I say a quick chant to the Goddesses watching over us as we try to lay this evil to rest, “Elements, I ask that you wrap yourselves around us to aid in our safeguard for whatever has come to us on this sorrowful night.” As I feel the warmth and protection flowing through me, I make my way to the south entrance prepared for battle.

As I make my way downstairs I am suddenly engulfed in smoke and debris. “Air, I call on you for your assistance in clearing this smoke.” In a matter of seconds, the smoke began to swirl around and slowly dissipate from the area. “Thank you, air. Please, make your way to the others and aid in their protection.”

“Samuel, Derek, Aria, what in the hell happened? Is everyone alright?” I feel slightly relieved that there is nothing waiting for me down here, after the last battle with the mind-controlled vampires, I need a little more time to rejuvenate.

“I have no clue as to what happened. We were just in the middle of discussing how we are going to figure out what we are up against and the next thing we know, the wall was blasted out,” Samuel says.

“Yeah, I definitely will not be sleeping anytime soon after this. This is supposed to be our safe haven, and suddenly it is being destroyed and we have no idea from where or by who,” Aria states.

“Derek, are you alright? You are oddly quiet tonight.” He is never this silent, especially when something terrible has just happened. He is usually the voice that calms down the crowd, the voice who uplifts those who surround him. Something is wrong.

“Y-yeah, fine,” Derek says in a tone that sends shivers down my spine. Everyone looks at each other and immediately know what is wrong. In that same instant, everyone begins to move at the speed of light. Sam and Aria quickly grab Derek and restrain him to the best of their abilities.

“Nyx, I call upon you in this dire time of need to provide me with the strength to heal this broken mind. To be able to give Derek the freedom that he has been fighting for.” I close my eyes and take a couple deep breaths, breathing in the energy and strength that begins surrounding my being. I can feel the power surging through my veins.

“Spirit, I call on you. I need you to engulf Derek with your essence. Provide him with the necessary relief so that he is no longer feeling the pain and anger that has taken over his being.”

Derek begins to laugh in a way that throws everyone off balance and in that moment, he vanishes. That is when all hell begins to break loose.

To be continued…