“Erase them?” Izzy repeated his words, thinking only about Ben.

The grey-haired man nodded once, his determined expression unwavering. “You’ve had your brush with them already, and you were lucky to survive.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can see the fear they’ve instilled in you.”

“You’ve snuck into a hospital, knocked out a security guard, and locked me in a room with you. This fear is all you,” she lied. She would have felt quite pleased about somebody turning up to kill all the vampires had the only vampire left in town not been her best friend. Sadly, the self-professed antidote had arrived too late.

The door behind her clicked as the man unlocked it without moving even a finger. “Does that assuage your fear at all?”

Izzy eyed him suspiciously, trying to figure him out. “A bit. What are you, a warlock?”

The man chuckled and his smile dispersed much of the menace from his aged face.

“No, I’m just a humble hunter. Let’s start again. I’m Gideon and you don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m one of the good guys.”

Izzy said nothing in response, she merely looked at the downed security guard.

“A vampire would have killed him. Just look back at all those people they killed in this very hospital. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Did you hear about all those people who burned to death in a house fire across town? I’d put money on vampires being responsible for that too. Think about it, the lead detective in the murder case was one of the officers who burned in that fire. It doesn’t take a genius to slide the pieces together. Vampires have left tracks all over town for me to follow.”

“Not all vampires are bad,” Izzy said. It was all she could say, nothing else he’d said was incorrect.

Gideon tilted his head to the side. “You’re friends with one?”

She nodded, a small amount of shame pooling inside her as if her friendship with Ben was something dirty. She hated Gideon for making her feel that way.

“Vampires of a certain bloodline have a way of getting into your head. They can make you think they’re the best person in the world, but it’s all subterfuge. You can’t trust a vampire.”

“We were friends before he became a vampire,” she said, a little more hotly. How dare this man waltz in and try to pick apart a friendship that stayed strong for twenty years.

Gideon seemed taken aback by that but he recovered quickly. “So, he was turned in the last few weeks. That suggests the start of a brood. I need to eradicate it before it can grow or this town will turn into a buffet.”

“No, there is no brood or anything like that,’ Izzy said quickly. “The vampire who was responsible for all the murders is gone. He’s dead,” she said, choosing to blame it all on Theo for the sake of simplicity. “My friend is the only one still here and he is not a threat to anybody.”

“I’d like to believe you, but I need to be sure. I can’t leave until I’ve assured the town’s safety. It’s my duty, you see. Take me to your friend so I can see for myself.’ His words were softly spoken, but the malicious glint in his eyes told Izzy not to trust him. There was a nasty prejudice in this man and she was not going to let him get anywhere Ben.

“I know my friend,” Izzy said firmly.

Gideon nodded as if he’d been expecting that answer. “Your friend isn’t human anymore. He’s a vampire now and that is a stain that runs right through to the soul.” He pressed his fingers into the centre of his chest. “He might still seem the same right now, but in time he will turn as black as the monster who turned him.”

Her fingers closed on the door handle again. “I’m getting security,” she said as she pulled open the door and fled into the corridor.

She didn’t look back until she was at the end of the corridor and when she did she saw Gideon standing outside the security office watching her. He did not attempt to follow.

She managed to find a security guard in the nearest staffroom. She practically dragged him out of his chair and led him to the security office, rambling about an intruder all the way there. By the time they arrived Gideon was long gone.

Izzy wanted to leave the hospital and go straight to Ben’s to warn him about Gideon but that was not an option. A member of staff had been attacked and she was the only witness. She had to remain at the hospital until the police arrived. She sat in the staffroom tapping her foot on the floor whilst she waited impatiently.

Izzy hadn’t even considered how the news of the attack would go down, but in hindsight, she really should have done. It had only been a couple of weeks since all the murders which were still unsolved. Gideon was now a suspect.

She called Ben and was giving him a rundown of the entire event when a sour-faced plain clothes detective showed up.

“Hello, Miss Butler, I’m Detective Inspector Karen Shole. I just need to take your statement and ask a few questions and then you should be able to go home. I’ll try not to keep you for too long.” Her words were probably supposed to be friendly and reassuring, but they were delivered flatly with no emotion whatsoever. Karen Shole seemed to want to be there about as much as Izzy did.

The detective sat in silence, nodding along like a nodding dog, whilst Izzy delivered an edited version of what had happened. She left out all mention of Ben and vampires and said that Gideon had rambled on about cleaning up the town. Detective Inspector Shole then asked a series of questions whilst maintaining the same flat and emotionless tone of voice.

The whole thing felt surreal; she kept wondering if this was how Ben had felt when it had all started for him. The big difference between them was Ben had asked for all this, and Izzy wanted nothing to do with any of it. Actually, that was unfair; he had only wanted to be a vampire, he hadn’t wanted all the dramatic baggage that had come with it.

Gideon had not erased any footage whilst he’d been in the security office and the police had plenty of evidence of him breaking in and moving through the hospital. What he had done, was copied all of the archived security footage from the last four weeks onto a flash drive. Naturally, Izzy knew exactly why he’d done that, but the police detective was baffled.

Izzy was stuck at the hospital for over an hour before Shole was finally done questioning her. She hurried back to her car without feeling the need to keep looking over her shoulder. The police presence had given her a false sense of security, and of course as soon as she realised that, the creeping sense of unease grew within her.

Ben’s car was parked right next to hers and Ben hopped out as soon as he saw her coming. She was in his arms before either of them had even said hello. She hadn’t realised how badly she’d needed a hug until she was getting one.

“Tell me everything,” he said as they pulled away from one another.

“What say we take an excursion to a more secure location first?” Rik said, poking his head out of the car window.

“Hello, Rik,” Izzy said, smiling at him despite everything that had happened. Something about his insistence to get moving just amused her.

She slipped into her car and headed for Ben’s place whilst Ben followed. She felt a lot safer with him behind her. She kept checking the rearview mirror to make sure that he hadn’t suddenly vanished. In all honesty, she had little to fear from Gideon. The only person in the hunter’s crosshairs was Ben.

Her sense of security magnified tenfold as soon as they were inside Ben’s apartment. The bright lights and the magical protection worked wonders for her sense of safety. As she talked him through everything in full detail, her eyes lingered on Ben’s enlarged pupils, even after the weeks that had passed she still hadn’t got used to them. If he noticed her staring he didn’t say anything.

Midway through her story Rik came back from the kitchen with a glass full of wine that he held out to her with one of his sly smiles. The first time she’d seen that smile she’d hated it; it made her feel like he’d seen her naked without her knowledge. Over time it had grown on her and she’d learned to accept it as a part of his character. His incredibly weird and yet still oddly charming character.

“How did you know?” she said, gratefully accepting the offering.

“I have long possessed the ability to sneak a peek into one’s mind,” he replied, tapping his temple.

“Really?” Izzy immediately tried to empty her mind of all thoughts.

“No,” he laughed. He fell down on the sofa next to her leaving a comfortable gap between them.

She sighed and laughed herself. “It’s hard to tell what’s real these days.” She took a huge gulp of wine and savoured the rich taste as it flowed over her tongue and down her throat. Wine was always a perfect mood improver but it would take at least a bottle to relieve the stress she’d been put under tonight.

“This guy is an old man, he’s hardly able to pose an exorbitant threat,” Rik said. Izzy appreciated his effort to find a positive in a negative situation, but he’d obviously not been paying attention. Ben had, however, as was referenced by his reply.

“An old man who can unlock doors with his mind. What else might he be capable of?”

“If you’re worried about him letting himself in here—don’t be. My protection spells will keep out a vampire hunter,” Rik assured him. Izzy breathed a sigh of relief, that meant her house was safe too.

“What do you know about vampire hunters?” Ben asked. He was surprisingly calm for somebody who had just been told that a hunter had turned up to potentially kill him. Then again, Ben had always had a knack for remaining composed under pressure, it was one of the things that Izzy had come to admire about him as they’d both grown up.

Rik shrugged and raised his hands in the air. “It depends on what kind of hunter he is. He could be a bounty hunter, a hobby hunter, or a career hunter. Does he just hunt vampires or does he do all kinds of things? There’s too much unknown to make any useful assumptions.”

“He said he hunted monsters,” Izzy added, remembering the conversation. She also remembered that he’d said Ben would inevitably turn bad, but Izzy didn’t think Ben needed to hear that bit.

Ben sat on the sofa with his head in his hands staring down at the carpet. Izzy knew what he was doing because she’d seen him do it plenty of times in the past. He was running through all the information he had and trying to figure out what to do. If anything.

“Well, at least it’s not Darius,” he said finally.

“Yet,” added Rik.

“You’re not helping,” Izzy said, though she didn’t say it unkindly. There was something oddly charming about Rik, even if his hair did look like it needed a wash and a good brush.

“I never claimed to be. But seriously, we’ve got a pissed-off coven, a vampire-hungry hunter, and the impending arrival of one of the oldest and most dangerous vampires in existence.”

“For all we know Darius has been and gone if he’s even coming at all, and the Coven hasn’t got back to us, so let’s just deal with the immediate threat, shall we? What do we do about the hunter?”

Ben’s words were followed by three loud knocks on the door. Like a debtor at the sound of a bailiff, Izzy turned rigid, her eyes fixed in the direction of the front door. Ben stiffened and turned his head.

“Who wants to wager on that being the hunter?” Rik said. Izzy shot him a sideways glare that told him to quit joking.

“I’ll get it,” said Ben, already heading for the door.

“Well it is your apartment,” said Rik. He stood up with Izzy and they both followed Ben. They lingered at the rear of the hallway, remaining behind Ben as he pulled open the door.

Ben’s demeanour had changed since becoming a vampire, and Izzy had to admit that it was a change for the better. He walked with more confidence and carried himself with purpose. Gone was the timid, head-bowed shuffle that used to see him from a to b. He wasn’t a tall man by any standards, but his posture was straight, strong, and commanding, so when he pulled open the door he projected pure assertive fortitude. But if it was the man Izzy had met at the hospital, it would take a lot more than an imposing stance to send him packing.

Something inside Izzy shrivelled up when she saw Gideon on the other side of the door, his hood down and his face on full display. His eyes narrowed as he took in the vampire before him, the expression combined with the curve of his nose made him look like an annoyed bird. The hunter was a thin man and looked like he wasn’t carrying much muscle. The only thing he had over Ben was his height as he stood a good few inches above him. But Izzy had learned already that appearance didn’t count for much in the supernatural world. Ben resembled the average TV nerd and yet he could easily take on an entire rugby team.

“You must be the vampire,” Gideon said, smiling falsely at Ben. His hatred was impossible to mask.

“Must I?” Ben asked. Izzy couldn’t see his face but she doubted it was friendly.

“I know a vampire when I see one. Even if it is a little baby one.”

Ben snickered. “You’re the hunter then.” It wasn’t a question.

Gideon looked around Ben and waved at Izzy. “Hello again.”

Izzy took a step backwards and hated herself for giving in to her fear even though she had Ben and Rik with her. Gideon was outnumbered; there was no reason to be afraid of him.

Gideon turned back to Ben. “Your friend told me you’re a nice vampire. If that’s the case then I’ll pack up and get out of town. So long as you are the only vampire around.”

“That is the case. I’m perfectly tame. And I am the only vampire in town.”

“I’m sure you understand I can’t just take your word for it. I’m going to have to come in and see for myself.”

“That is not going to happen.” Ben’s shoulders tightened, preparing for a fight. As long as they all stayed inside the apartment there would be no fight.

Gideon took a step back and surveyed Ben the way a photographer surveyed the subject of his photograph. “I don’t want any needless trouble. If you are what you say you are then you have nothing to fear and therefore nothing to hide. Let me do my job and I’ll be on my way.”

Gideon’s speech reminded Izzy of when she was a child and the TV Licence people used to come round to make sure her dad wasn’t watching television without a licence. A small giggle escaped through her lips and Rik looked at her in surprise.

“You say that as if you have the right to roll into town and demand access to people’s homes. You don’t. So go away,” said Ben. His grip on the doorframe tightened.

“A lot of innocent people died in this town. That gives me the right to investigate.”

“The vampires responsible are gone.”

“Vampires plural? Your friend led me to believe there was only one,” Gideon said, exposing Izzy’s creativity with the truth.

“There was only one bad one,” Ben said. Although Izzy considered Erin to be just as bad as Theo since she had murdered all those hospital patients. “And they’re gone now.”

“Gone? That’s ambiguous. Are they dead or did they just leave?” Izzy noticed a slight Scottish twang to the hunter’s accent. Or it might have been Irish, it was so faint that she couldn’t tell.

“Both,” Ben’s tone displayed his rapidly diminishing patience.

“Interesting. And you took care of that, did you? The baby vampire. All by yourself?”

“I helped,” Rik said, raising his hand and drawing Gideon’s attention to him. “Warlock here.”

“Ah, it’s like a den of nasties.”

“Well that was impolite,” said Rik.

“Look, I’m afraid I can’t leave without getting the answers I need.”

“And I’m afraid if you stay you might end up missing a limb or two,” Ben growled, his voice low and deadly. Izzy caught a glimpse of her friend’s face as he turned his head and it looked almost like he was enjoying himself.

“Oh, classic vampire threats.” Gideon waved a hand dismissively like he got threatened every day. Rik stiffened at the gesture and his eyes widened, but Izzy didn’t see what had captured his attention. “Clearly we’re getting nowhere tonight and I know where you live now, so I dare say we’ll bump into each other again. Good night all.” He waved cheerily before turning and sauntering away seemingly without a care in the world. Ben watched him go, but it was Rik who strode forward and slammed the door shut behind the hunter.

“What’s your problem?” Ben asked, turning to the warlock.

“He had a ring on his finger. Two snakes coiled around a golden stone.”

“So?”

Rik’s face had turned ashen. “So he isn’t some run-of-the-mill hunter. He’s a hunter from the Order of Malakai.”

“Sounds fancy.”

“It is fancy. They’re an elite organisation. Their hunters are the best of the best and they don’t just hunt vampires, they hunt anything supernatural. Even me if they fucking feel like it.”

“What are you saying?” Ben asked. A concerned line appeared on his forehead.

Rik ran a hand through his tangled hair. “I’m saying we’re fucked.”

Rik stared through the blinds to make sure that Gideon was gone before he allowed the group to return to the living room. His jitteriness shook the confidence that Izzy had previously had in his magical protection spells.

“The Order of Malakai is the best hunting organisation in the world. Their hunters are to other hunters what progenitor vampires are to regular ones. They have branches in most countries,” Rik said once they were all sitting down in the living room. “They train for years and extend their lifespans so they continue to get stronger and better with age.”

“Extend them by how long?” Ben asked, his brow furrowed thoughtfully.

Rik shrugged. “I have no idea. They’re a secretive bunch. I used to think they were just an old legend. All the information I have is just rumours.”

“But he’s still just a man, right?” asked Ben.

“Wrong. Hunters from his order go through trials and when they pass they get enhancements. Abilities.”

“Like the abilities I’ve got?”

Rik nodded. “They all get extended lifespan and enhanced strength—that’s like your basic hunter’s package. But the other stuff is kind of random. Even they don’t know what they get until they’re given it.”

“Or they don’t get anything since you just admitted this is all rumours. Maybe they spread it all themselves to scare everyone,” Ben suggested. It was tempting to accept his theory but Izzy already knew better.

“He can lock doors,” she said, reminding them that Gideon had locked her in the security room without going near the door.

“That’s probably psychokinesis which means he might be able to move just about any object just by thinking about it,” Rik said. It was rare to see the warlock worried, in fact, this may have been the first time Izzy had ever seen it.

Ben fell back against the sofa and hid his face behind his hands. “Fuck,” was all he said. He remained in silence frozen in the same position, letting the despair of yet another problem soak into him. “What can we do?” he said eventually, pulling his hands away and looking at Rik.

Rik laughed drily. “I have no idea. But if he comes across the Coven then they might think that teaming up is a great idea to deal with all their problems.”

“We need to get rid of the hunter fast,” said Ben.

“Killing him isn’t an option. If he dies, the Order will send more hunters.”

“Cooperate,” Izzy said. They both turned to her as though she’d asked them to take turns fucking her in the arse. More than anything she wanted to be far away from all this mess. Somewhere nice and warm where she could put her feet up and read a good book with a bigger glass of wine than the one she had currently.

“Cooperate?” Ben repeated, his tone demanding more of an explanation.

“Gideon said that if you show him you’re not a threat then he’ll leave. So just do that.” It was a remarkably simple solution and apparently the only option they had. Ben was not evil so it shouldn’t be hard to convince Gideon of that. Although that little confrontation on the doorstep had probably not helped matters.

“You’re on first name terms with the hunter?” Rik said, recovering some of his playfulness.

Izzy rolled her eyes at him and smiled. “Well, he did lock me in a room with him. I guess you could consider that a date.”

“How do I cooperate with him? What exactly does he want me to do?” Ben asked. He was in no mood for jokes and Izzy could understand why. Ben was the one Gideon wanted to erase. His life was on the line. Again.

“Next time he shows up just talk to him. He wants to ask you some questions so let him.”

Rik nodded his agreement. “That would appear to be the most logical solution. And I doubt he’s gone far so he’ll probably show up again quite soon.”

“Fine. Fine.” Ben nodded his agreement. “We’ve got enough problems without adding one of the world’s deadliest hunters to the list. I will do his interview or whatever he wants and then send him on his way.”

Ben tried to get Izzy to stay at his until the hunter had left town, but she refused. She was a bit of a hermit and hated to stay away from her own him. She liked the familiar. Besides, she didn’t think Gideon meant her any harm. He hunted supernatural beings of which she was not one. And so reluctantly, Ben agreed to let her go home. But he insisted that he take Rik over to make sure the magical protections were completely sound.

🦇 🦇 🦇

The cool night air was refreshing as it washed over Ben’s face. Rik was inside the house with Izzy reinforcing each of his protection spells and explaining to her exactly how they worked to give her peace of mind. Ben would need Rik to explain it all to him at some point but right now his mind was cluttered enough.

He looked up and down the street and didn’t see a soul. The street was empty, his only company was the fluffy cat that was perched on top of a nearby parked car. The cat glared at Ben as though he’d interrupted something before rolling over so its back was to him.

“Charming,” Ben muttered to himself. At least the cat was only snubbing him and not trying to kill him.

Although, nobody was actually trying to kill him. Yet. The hunter merely wanted to figure him out. The Coven only wanted Rik. And Darius hadn’t shown up and might never show up. The whole point of Erin and Aiden fleeing had been to stop Darius from learning the truth. Ben’s only real problem was Gideon, and if Izzy was right, the hunter would not be a problem for long.

A flicker of movement across the road caught his attention. He focused on the passage that ran along the side of the apartment block that stood opposite Izzy’s house. Something had moved by the bins. It was probably just some animal scavenging for food. A cat, a rat, or maybe a fox. Still, he should check it out to be sure. He’d never forgive himself if he left without checking and something happened to Izzy.

Ben strolled across the road and down the short side passage. He expected to hear scuffling or some animalistic sounds as he neared, but he heard nothing at all. Whatever he thought he’d seen had obviously not stopped for a scuffle through the bins after all.

He stopped to turn back but then he heard it. Not scuffling, or nibbling, but a low and steady heartbeat. He focused his hearing and sure enough, he heard the slow, controlled breathing of somebody who was trying not to be heard. It wasn’t an animal but a person.

“You know the quiet breathing thing doesn’t really work on a vampire, right?” he said as he turned back to face the bins.

The heartbeat quickened and the breathing stopped altogether. Now they were holding their breath.

“Seriously? So much for the best hunters in the world,” Ben said. He strode forward decisively, determined to show Gideon that he would not be intimidated.

The man who stepped out from behind the bins was not Gideon. Instead, Ben saw the plain, featureless face of David, the witch from the pub. He was unarmed, although he was a witch so perhaps all the weapons he needed were inside him.

“What are you doing here?” Ben demanded.

David’s eyes darted to either side of Ben and two more people appeared seemingly from nowhere. Ben wheeled around to face the newcomers. The three of them formed a triangle around him. There was a bulky man with a plaid shirt and a ponytail, and a woman with a dark pixie cut. Grace had not joined David on his little ambush.

“What the hell?”

“We’re witches. We can hide when we want to,” David told him. There was conceited smugness about the witch that made Ben want to punch him right on the nose.

David had lured him into a trap. Ben did not hang around for a chat. He ran at the man with the ponytail, or he tried to, but he found that he could not move his legs. They were stuck firmly to the ground like the roots of a great tree. The ponytail man laughed at his predicament.

Looking down, Ben saw that he was standing in a chalk circle with several odd little symbols around his feet. “What is this?”

“A trap,” said David, rather unhelpfully. “You got involved in Coven business and this is what you get for that. Fair is fair. You should have left Rik to us.”

The woman hadn’t spoken yet and Ben realised it was because she was busy. She was muttering an incantation under her breath, no doubt the spell that was trapping him in the circle. If he could find a way to interrupt the stream of gibberish she was spouting then he should be able to regain movement in his legs.

“What’s the plan, just leave me here forever?” Ben asked, stalling for time whilst he tried to think.

“Now you’re stuck we can just kill you,” Ponytail said. He strode forward and pulled out a stake that was tucked into his belt. Unfortunately for him, it was only Ben’s legs that were frozen.

As soon as the witch got close enough, Ben snatched the stake from his hand and whacked him over the head with it. The man backed up fast, both hands flying up to cover the gash that Ben had opened on his forehead.

“Would you like to try that again?” Ben asked. He was hiding his fear as well as he could, but he could not deny the very real possibility that he was going to die next to some bins. They’d probably throw his body in them when he was dead.

“We can kill you just as easily from a distance. A fire spell would take you out in no time at all,” David said.

“Is all this really worth it?” Ben asked. his question was met with confused looks from all around. “Rik didn’t follow your rules. So what? It doesn’t matter. If you go to all this trouble just to punish him, will it be worth it in the end? Let’s say you do manage to kill me. How do you know Rik doesn’t have another vampire on the payroll? What if he’s got another ten? What if he’s got another kind of creature waiting in the wings to take my place? There could be a never-ending line of supernatural baddies just waiting in the wings to sink their teeth into your silly little coven. Do you want to risk all your lives to punish one little warlock?”

For a moment David was dumbfounded by Ben’s speech but it didn’t last long. “What a crock of shit. Rik doesn’t have any more vampires.”

Ben chuckled and flashed him a cheeky grin. “Yeah, I am talking shit, you got me. I just needed time to think.”

Ben threw the stake at the chanting woman. It hit her in the face and took her right off her feet. He hadn’t used all of his strength as he thought that might kill her on the spot. Her chanting ceased and Ben’s legs unstuck from the ground.

Ponytail tried to take over the spell but he was not fast enough. Ben was on him in a heartbeat. He pounded his fist into his head hard enough to knock him out cold.

Ben moved just in time to dodge a silvery orb sent at him from David. The wall behind him exploded sending a shower of brick everywhere. Ben wondered if he would have exploded into little vampire chunks had the spell hit him. He did not give David a chance to cast a second spell.

Ben shot toward David, moving faster than the blink of an eye. He went straight for the jugular—literally. He sank his fangs into David’s neck, delighting in the scream of outrage and pain that followed.

The blood hit his tongue. Sweet delight rolled over through his mouth and a surge of pure electrical power came with it. A fiery blast of pain slammed into him like a giant fist and sent him sprawling across the concrete. He barely felt the ground as he skidded over it, the euphoria from feasting on magical blood drowned out the pain.

David was on his knees, one hand clutching the gushing wound on his neck. The female witch, now back on her feet, went to his side. There was an angry lump forming on her forehead but she was lucky he hadn’t knocked her head right off. She didn’t look like she appreciated his effort to hold back his full strength.

Ben rose to his feet as Rik came running to his side. His hands were raised, ready to fight. Izzy arrived at Ben’s other side, a small purple dumbbell clutched in her hand. Despite the situation, Ben couldn’t stop the giggle that tumbled from his mouth.

Izzy rolled her eyes but said nothing. Rik glanced her way and then he laughed too.

“What’s going on?” Izzy demanded in an effort to take the focus off her weapon of choice.

“These clowns were just demonstrating how ineffective their magic is in a fight,” Ben said.

“He fed on me!” David screamed at Rik as though it was all his fault.

Ben shrugged. “Being stuck in a magic circle makes me peckish.”

“Is this Christine’s decision then? She sent you nincompoops to kill us?” asked Rik.

David’s face twisted into a snarl. “You’ll regret this,” he spat the promise at them.

“I think you are the ones with the regrets right now,” Ben said. He was pleased to learn that the Coven were the least of his troubles. If this was all they had to offer then he didn’t need to lose any sleep over them.

“Go back to Christine. Tell her you came, you saw, you got your arses kicked. In my not-so-humble opinion, you would be sagacious to pick up your fallen man, go home, and deliberate very carefully before you come after us again,” Rik said, enjoying every word he delivered.

David’s lips pulled back in a bestial snarl but Ben spoke before he could say whatever foolish words he had been about to utter.

“If this happens again we will not be so merciful. Leave. Now.” Ben flashed his bloody fangs as a final warning.

David shuffled forward and heaved his fallen friend off the floor. The unconscious witch was a fair bit larger than David and it was amusing to watch him struggle to carry him away. Only when they had disappeared around the corner did Ben and his friends allow themselves to relax.

“Next time you find yourself in a stand-off don’t use the word nincompoop,” Ben told Rik, shaking his head in amusement.

“Really, you’re picking me up on my vocabulary?” Rik replied.

“It did kind of make you seem a bit ridiculous,” said Izzy.

“I don’t believe this!” Rik threw up his hands in faux annoyance.

“Well that’s the end of that then,” said Ben, nodding in the direction David and his friends had gone.

But Rik shook his head, his face foreboding. “No, Ben. They just gave you a small taste of what magic can do. It was a meagre sample. That was not the end. That was the beginning.”