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Cian stroked his goatee with his long fingers while watching the array of monitors sprawled across several desks lined against the wall in his home. Slouched in an office chair, he watched the progress of Samantha’s vehicle on a map displayed on one of the screens. He was grateful that the GPS signal of the vehicle could be tracked. It was reassuring to see the car on the outskirts of Georgetown. Amaliya and Samantha were almost home.

Checking his phone again, he saw Amaliya’s latest message. The autocorrect was having a lot of fun with her swearing and it brought a small smile to his worried face.

Alexia sat next to him, occasionally tapping away on the keyboard. Cassandra was perched beside him on a stool she had dragged over from the bar. Elbows on her knees, she studied the banks of monitors that displayed the latest information on the battle against The Summoner.

The basement game room looked like something out of a science fiction movie. Most of the gaming equipment Cian had bought for the room was in storage. In its place were the state of the art machines that Alexia had purchased to create an information hub. The young hunter was incredibly resourceful. Whereas the supernaturals of the cabal were dependent on their otherworldly abilities to fight The Summoner, Alexia used her intelligence and tech skills to keep track of every facet of the battle against the ancient vampire across the world. Sadly, most of the recent activity was in their area.

“Aimee, any sign of trouble?” Cian called out.

The true witch leaned over the old billiard table that was now covered in maps, spell materials, and crystals. “Nothing. None of the detection spells have activated.” Her long hair was drawn into a ponytail and fell over one shoulder. Clad in a sequined multi-colored skirt and lightweight blue sweater, she gave off an aura of softness and femininity. Yet, Aimee was probably one the most dangerous of all his cabal.

Cian had been skeptical of Aimee’s detection spells at first, but after witnessing their effectiveness in alerting them to their enemies, he trusted her completely. Cassandra and Aimee had buried spells along every possible route into Austin. Aimee then activated all of the spells creating a net that activated an alarm if any supernatural creature entered the city.

“I still can’t believe we got Etzli,” Cassandra said in awe.

“The Summoner must want Amaliya really bad to send her,” Alexia agreed.

“The Summoner is running out of time,” Cian said somberly. “He’ll get a lot more aggressive now. He wants the last of Lucifer’s rings.”

“I’m going to have to come up with a counter-spell to make sure they don’t block Amaliya’s power again,” Aimee said, annoyance in her voice. “I should have anticipated their black witches trying something like that.”

“You can’t think of everything, babe,” Cassandra said, giving her girlfriend an encouraging smile.

Aimee wagged her head, disagreeing. “I should have thought of it. They could have ended up prisoners, then The Summoner would have Amaliya.”

“Amaliya did what she always does when backed into a corner. She found a way to fight back.” The pride Cian felt in his lover helped balance the fear he felt at the thought of Amaliya not returning safely. The GPS signal was proceeding without interruption, much to his frayed nerves’ relief.

Cian’s plan to set a trap for Etzli had been helped by The Summoner making a move of his own. Cian had known immediately when Nicole and Courtney had abruptly agreed to send emissaries to meet with Cian’s representatives after months of refusing that The Summoner had decided to take Amaliya. In the last few months it had become increasingly evident that the vampire powers of the world were not going to defy The Summoner, so the offer of a meeting had been questionable to begin with. The insistence of the two vampire masters that Amaliya be in attendance at the meeting outside of Austin had only confirmed his suspicion. For once the plotting of The Summoner had worked in Cian’s favor. If he had sent Amaliya and Samantha out of town on a random errand, The Summoner would have been suspicious. The meeting in Waco had been perfect.

Now, they would hopefully discover where Bianca was located and rescue her while The Summoner was out of her body.

It felt good to finally be able to win against The Summoner after months of fending him off. He could see it in the eyes of those around him that they were relieved to finally have a win in their column. They had all lost much in the last few months. Alexia and her brother Benchley had been forced to abandon their regular lives and go underground. Benchley’s gaming store had been sold to his business partner while Alexia took a leave from attending St. Edward’s University. Jeff had closed his occult bookstore, moving all his files and books home. Samantha no longer worked a regular job in one of Cian’s companies. Instead she was his human right-hand and spent all her time helping in the efforts against The Summoner. All of the members of the makeshift cabal split their time between Jeff’s Victorian and Cian’s mansion. Except for Eduardo. The coyote came and went as he pleased, but no one knew where he lived anyway. The coyote always showed up when needed, but tended to keep to himself.

Cian’s phone buzzed again and he checked the incoming message. It was Amaliya. He grinned as he read.

“What’d she say?” Cassandra asked, leaning over his shoulder in an attempt to take a peek.

“In Round Rock. Almost home.” Cian answered, hiding the rest of the message. It was rather pornographic. Amaliya tended to be horny after a big fight.

“Uh huh,” Cassandra said, obviously not believing that was the cause for his grin.

Cian winked at her.

Cassandra rolled her eyes. “Gross.”

He chuckled in response.

Cian adored his daughter. Every time he looked at her he only loved her more. She looked so much like her mother, Galina, that it was a bit startling. Yet, he could clearly see himself stamped in her features and especially her attitude. Even though he hadn’t raised her, she definitely had inherited some of his personality traits. He was also very fond of her girlfriend and was glad to see his daughter in a solid relationship. In spite of the high state of anxiety they all lived with, he did find happiness in the small moments he spent with Cassandra. Their relationship was still evolving, but it was good.

Jeff emerged from the stairwell with his brown hair a bit messy from him running his fingers through it. Cian noted the sli

ght limp the man walked with. He knew Jeff suffered phantom pains. Yet, the hunter never let his disability slow him down. “Rachon called. After she heard we got Etzli, she was more than a little ecstatic.” Jeff strode over to study the bank of monitors.

Aimee face was somber as she watched the bits of magic floating across the map of Austin on the table before her. “They’re still in the clear.”

“If we can get Etzli to tell us where The Summoner is located that will be a big plus on our side.” Jeff took a seat nearby, his phone still in his hands.

“If The Summoner doesn’t immediately relocate once he...or is it she?...realizes we have Etzli,” Aimee pointed out.