I stirred, standing up hastily, before falling to my feet once again, my legs going numb. "Wha-" Next to me, Libra pressed her hand over my mouth. "We've been captured, brother," she whispered. "Aries is a werewolf. She injected us with toxin." Libra heaved a sigh. "We need to run if we have any chance of survival." I nodded, attempting to scramble onto my feet before collapsing once again. "It;s not going to work!" Libra hissed. "We're going to have to use the old tunnel system through here." Blinking fast, I frowned, turning back toward my sister. "How-"

"I saw Aries leaving for town through a cave over there." Libra began crawling toward a large hole in the ground, struggling. "C'mon; it's our only shot!" I followed hesitantly, easing myself into the tunnel... where we found a muscled man awaiting us with a dagger made of white oak in his hand. Grabbing at the rocks, Libra stood, somehow walking through her pain. Motivated by her, I rose to my feet too, miraculously not collapsing. "You're going to stop two Original vampires with that eyesore of a dagger?" I laughed. The man did not look amused. Instead, he threw the dagger at my sister, who hastily dodged it.

"Let's take him," I said to her, and we rushed toward the man in sync. Within a matter of seconds, he was dead. "Come on!" Libra called. "Let's hurry out... we'll have to awaken her if we have any chance of survival..." By 'her', Libra meant our oldest (half) sister, Ophiuchus. She carried the werewolf gene from her father and shared a mother with us. When she was turned, Ophiuchus' werewolf gene lay dormant until 1789, when I had been bitten by a werewolf and Libra, along with our two other brothers, Orion and Sirius, had hastily undergone the ritual to make Ophiuchus a werewolf, killing a werewolf, a vampire and a doppelganger to ensure that she was made into a hybrid.

However, Ophiuchus could not create more hybrids without the blood of the doppelganger, so she began to serve the purpose of a werewolf bite curing blood bag. She was only awoken in times of dire need. Whipping out her telephone, Libra dialed Orion's number. He picked up almost immediately. "Orion, get me some of Ophiuchus' blood-Aquarius and I have got werewolf toxin in our system!" She hung up after he responded, sighing. "He'll be here in 10 minutes." True to his word, Orion showed up in just 10 minutes, administering us with some of Ophiuchus' blood. "Thank you, brother," Libra sighed. "It's not a problem," he replied, looking rather worried.

"What's the matter?" I asked, rising to my feet. "Well, you see, when I awakened Ophiuchus and extracted some of her blood, she knocked me unconscious almost immediately and escaped." Libra winced. "We must capture her." I nodded. Orion sighed, hands in pockets. "Well, Sirius has gone after her, and he says she's heading here." Libra looked indignant. "She must be coming to make more hybrids. We cannot have that happening, and we cannot have her locating a Williamson doppelganger. We'll be ruined on that occasion!" I turned toward Orion, my expression grim. "We'll have to murder her."

Fluffing all the pillows once again, I cast a nervous glance across the room, taking a deep breath. "You'll be fine, you'll be fine..." Jolting me out of my mantra, the bell chimed all so suddenly. Trying to act unfazed, I turned my hand in the direction of the door. "Apertum." The door swung open, revealing a handsome, dark-skinned boy clutching a white card quite tightly, a confused expression on his face. "Taurus," I breathed, smiling. "We finally meet." Showing him into my living room, I gestured toward a white couch layered generously with pillows. Noticing his gaze skim over the minimalist boho style of my place, I hastily adjusted the fuzzy white throw, seating myself comfortably opposite to him in one of the beige chairs.

(Pisces' living room)

"Can I get you something to drink?" I asked, fingering the African jembe drum I was using as a side table. "Some... some juice, maybe... I like orange juice..." I chuckled. "Of course you do." Feeling the need to impress Taurus, I ran my hand over the jembe drum once, muttering a summoning spell under my breath. Within moments, a tray laden with freshly squeezed orange juice in a glass jug with two ice-filled glasses next to it came floating into the room. "There you are." Taurus blinked at me in bewilderment. "How did you-"

"Make that orange juice float here? I used magic, of course." Taurus blinked suddenly, clearing his throat. "Come again?" I chuckled, pouring myself some juice. "I used magic." His eyes widened in disbelief. "Anyways, I'm afraid I haven't introduced myself. I'm Pisces, warlock and good friend of your grandfather. I'm so sorry about his passing, by the way-he will be dearly missed. Anyways, his dying wish was for me to bring you into practice." Taurus gulped, taking a sip of his juice. "So... Gramps really was a wizard then, wasn't he?" I laughed. "Yes, and you will be too." Placing my cup on the coffee table, I leaned forward.

"However, you can't do magic just yet. You haven't established that bond between yourself and your abilities. Not consciously, anyways. However, you are currently what we call a psychic. I'm going to show you what that means." Taking Taurus' hand in my own, I closed my eyes. "Alright, Taurus, close your eyes and clear your mind." I could feel the tremors of hesitation coming from him, followed by a sudden, tranquil silence. Within moments, Taurus had allowed me into his subconscious, which I noticed was a rather compact, tidy place presenting itself to me in the form of an attic. In the middle of the room stood a young boy looking out the window, biting his fingernails nervously.

"Hello, Taurus." I approached him anxiously. "What are you looking at?" Taurus pointed toward the window rather shakily. I turned to look into this window, noticing the very Taurus who stood before playing ball with his grandfather. "Who's that?" I asked him. "That's my grandpa. He used to say that I'm magic." I nodded, smiling. "And what happened to him, Taurus?" He sighed, a single tear making its way to the point of his chin. "He died." As the tear hit the floor, I felt a strange, warping sensation overtake my own brain as the attic began to disappear and darkness closed in around me. Opening my eyes, I sighed, awakening Taurus. "What just happened?" he asked, looking shaken.

"I pushed through into your subconscious, Taurus. I wanted to see just how much potential you possessed as a psychic."

"And?"

"I've never met a psychic with the potential to wipe out entire vestiges of the subconscious like you just did, Taurus. I believe that, with training, someone with your strength of mind could truly become great." Taurus sighed. "Look, I'm just a regular guy going about my business, so I would appreciate it if you left me out of this wishy-washy witchcraft mumbo-jumbo." I chuckled slightly. "Taurus, do you know why your grandfather wanted me to help form the connection between you and your abilities?"

"Enlighten me."

"Well, he knew that you had unfathomable abilities, and he also knew that without proper control of those abilities, they could take control over your physical existence and wreak havoc on the world. However, the psychic abilities which have slowly developed in your subconscious, fueled by your own strength of character, will help you take control of your magic and become one with it. Had your abilities not been as nebulous as they are, you would've never developed such a strong psychic ability to counteract it." Taurus sighed.

"I'm really stuck in it, aren't I?" I nodded. He sighed, looking at his feet in despair. "I have a game coming up... my grades have been dropping, especially in English..." I laughed. "Listen to me. I happen to have exceptional English and I'm sure that my immortal body can keep up with you in a game of ball." Taurus' eyes widened. "Immortal? How?" I laughed once again. "Listen, Taurus, I was trained side-by-side with your grandfather. Today, I'm the same age as he would've been." Taurus remained speechless. "As a young warlock, I was rather... foolish. I stumbled upon an old Ancient Chinese grimoire, so I set off translating it to see if I could find an illicit spell. And, well, I did. I found a spell for immortality. I performed it at the age of seventeen, and have been forever stuck at that age."

Taurus sniggered. "So you were a rule breaker, were you?" I nodded. "Well, now I will never know old age." I sighed, placing my glass on the table. "Look, I know you're not a big fan of any of this. But I just want you to know that magic is the best thing that will ever happen to you. It knows no bounds and will continue to bring all your wishes and desires to life, if you let me teach you how to harness it." I paused, looking pointedly at him. "I can help you make your wildest dreams come true." Taurus grinned. "Alright then, Warlock Boy." I smiled, noticing just how soft-spoken Taurus was, and how unusually attractive that was.

"Alright, let's start with a basic levitation spell." Placing a glass of water before him, I extended my right hand, closing my eyes. "Volatilis." Slowly rotating my hand, I opened my eyes, forcing the water to rise in one ball above our heads. Slowly pushing the ball back into the up, I looked at Taurus. "Your turn." Taurus sighed. "Just stay calm and make sure pronounce the incantation correctly. Be one with the water in that glass." He nodded, closing his eyes and extending his hand. "Volatilis." I watched, astonished, as the water rose in a perfect ball.

Smiling, Taurus opened his eyes, spinning the ball and slowly manipulating it to take new shapes. A ball became a cube, a cube became a pyramid, and a pyramid became a fish. Slowly but surely, Taurus sculpted the water, refining every detail of the image he was creating until a dolphin emerged. Laughing, Taurus sent it bounding across the room. I smiled, raising my hand toward the dolphin. "Mutare substantiam." The dolphin turned to glass. Taurus closed his eyes once again, keeping the dolphin in the air. As he controlled its movements, Taurus brought the dolphin back down to the tabletop. "Impressive." I smiled. "Now... I'd like you to try making me fly."

Taurus blinked. "Wha-" I laughed. "You can do it!" Taurus closed his eyes reluctantly, taking a deep breath. "Volatilis." Slowly but surely, I felt myself rising higher, higher... Taurus laughed, twirling me around in circles. Controlling me with just his hands, he pushed me to zoom around the room. Eventually, Taurus began to rise himself, coming closer and closer to me until we were just inches apart... A blush crept across my face as Taurus took my hand, bringing us both to the ground. "That was... that was really good! I'll see you tomorrow...we'll continue lessons..." Taurus nodded. "Have a good one, man." I nodded, feeling the blush slowly leave my cheeks.

Oh god.

"Alright, Jason, you are dismissed." My tutor left the room, head bowed. I sighed, looking at my father. "You, too, are free of your studies for the day." Thanking him, I stood, walking with as much dignity as I could muster in my hurry to reach the library and make my way back into the hidden room in which I had been making the discoveries of a lifetime for the past month. "And son?" I turned. "Yes?" My father's expression softened. "I apologise, but another... assignment seems to have arrived for me. I leave tomorrow morning. I will not be back until next month." I nodded. "Anyways, the maids and stewards will be here, should you need anything."

He turned without waiting for my reaction, making his way toward the left wing of the manor. I hastened to make my way up the stairs, pushing open the ornately carved English oak door to the library, an establishment built in one of the towers flanking the manor. It was a massive place, built to be three stories high and containing almost every book that had ever been printed, ancient and new alike. About three months ago, I had discovered a hidden trapdoor in a rather poorly lit corner of the library, locked shut by a puzzle of sorts.

After spending days trying to figure it out, I had managed to crack it: all I had to do was place specific books onto each tile the trapdoor was made of, each featuring a different carving-one of a vampire, one of a werewolf, one of a witch and one of some unbeknownst creature bearing the same tattoo that I had seen on my father. The trapdoor had swung open the moment I laid four identically sized books onto each tile, each bearing the same carving as the tile below it. Below was a study of sorts, featuring a large window, a writing desk and shelves filled with what seemed to be journals.

(The room-this image does not belong to me)

However, in a room full of many wonders, the first thing to catch my eye had been a pulley system of sorts. Walking over to the initial gear, I began to spin the lever, watching the bookshelf behind it began to shift to the side. An armory was revealed behind the bookshelf-one complete with weapons (primarily swords and wooden daggers) of every fashion, a kitchen complete with a pizza oven, and shields bearing the red-and-black family crest as well as a foreign yellow-and-green one.

(The armory-this image does not belong to me)

Ever since, I returned to the room every day, translating the inscriptions on the weapons in the armory and reading the four journals written in dialects I could fluently read before moving onto translating ones written in ancient or unknown scripts. Three months' work had gotten me through only seven of the hundreds-maybe even thousands-of journals in the room, let alone all the inscriptions on the weapons in the armory.

But when I returned to the armory, I found the door ajar and a couple of weapons gone. "Wha-" Almost suddenly, a second trapdoor swung open and a blonde girl crawled into the room, looking rather triumphant. "I-I did it!" I frowned. "Oh, hello! You must be magic!" She had a strange, almost enticing aura. She stood, brushing herself off. "I'm Cancer, and I'm a human." I frowned. "Is this what the world is like?" I asked. "Huh?" I sighed. "I'm Capricorn. I've never left this place. I'm just a normal teenager, physically, but I think my dad kills vampires."