"Everyone, please, settle down. We must remain calm in order to fight and defend ourselves against a great evil." The elderly witch yelled. "We do not have much time. Sisters take your position on the circle and hold hands."

"What the actual fuck is happening right now?" Jake said in my ear. "Are they going to pray or something?"

"Shhh," I covered his mouth with my hand. "Don't piss them off; you're already in enough trouble."

"Miss Ebony, if you would please follow me. Our grand witch wishes to speak with you." A young redhead girl with freckles said bowing at me. "Mr...Ummm...Sir, if you would kindly follow me this way." She blushed at Jake as her eyes trailed over his tight white T-Shirt and jeans like she had never seen muscles before. Jake instantly flexed his body and smiled sweetly at her.

"What are they doing?" I asked the young witch as we passed the witches all in a circle chanting loudly.

"They are summoning protection from the evil, Miss Ebony." She smiled shyly.

"Summing protection? What is that?"

"They are bringing in the big guns," Jake said next to me. "And something tells me this is a bad idea."

"We only summon light and goodness. No darkness can ever defeat light. Creatures of the night are vile and..." she stopped talking and looked up at Jake, who was double her size, with complete fear in her green eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr vampire, I meant no disrespect to you."

"Disrespect taken." Jake snapped.

"Jake." I elbowed him. "Not now."

"I'm sorry, sir. It's just we are taught that all creatures of the night are a source of evil. I am sorry." She bowed her head in forgiveness.

"No, it's fine. He's been called a lot worse." I gave Jake the look and shook my head. "So, what are they summoning?" I looked back at the young witch and hit Jake in the stomach behind me as he was mumbling about respect.

She smiled. "It's not a what. It's a who."

"That's not good," Jake whispered in my ear. "This is bad news.

"Who are they summoning then?"

"He is the great one. The one from whom we get our power." She was clearly excited about this.

"Oh, shit, balls," Jake rolled his eyes. "Here we go."

"He is going to help us fight against the darkness. He will defend our coven and the sisters."

"Ok? And where does that leave Ebony and myself?" Jake said sternly crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his boot on the ground.

"Well, I don't know exactly." She said, turning away and walking fast towards the burning fire.

"You know this is going to end very badly, right?" Jake grumbled behind me.

"What choice do we have right now?"

"I'm going to die again." He said under his breath.

"Miss Ebony and her friend. I would like to introduce you to our coven leader." The young witch bowed her head as a figure appeared from the fire.

"What the hell?" Jake said as a woman appeared in front of us almost like she had emerged from the flames of the fire. She was tall and slender, and she didn't look that old to be an elder. She was beautiful though, with her long flowing dark hair and bright purple eyes.

"How are you doing?" He smiled as she walked closer.

"Welcome," she smiled, holding out her hand. "I apologize for the bad timing of our meeting, but it is good to meet you finally. Carter has told me many great things about you, Ebony. He is a great man; I have never met anyone as truly special as him." her purple eyes glazed over as she thought about Carter.

"Hello. Sorry I didn't catch your name." I said, shaking her hand feeling a sudden twang of jealously.

"Faith, my child, my name is Faith. I'm surprised Carter has not mentioned me before. It is my honor to have you here." She slightly bowed her head to me. Jake just kept staring at her like a kid staring at a dessert trolley.

"Thank you for helping us. I take it you know Carter well?" I raised my eyebrow sharply.

"Very well," she purred at me as her eyes twinkled. "He was very good to me. He is a great man, and I am happy to help in any way I can."

"Great, huh? That's nice." I felt my blood boil as I looked at how perfect this woman was. Funny how he never mentioned her or their previous relationship to me before.

"I remember you," Jake suddenly said, pointing at the beautiful Faith. "You and Carter used to, you know, like all the time. You guys were inseparable back in the early 1900s. I never told you this, but Callan and I used to hide in the closet when you would..."

"You dated Carter?" I blurted out cutting off Jake.

She smiled sweetly. "Dated? No, my child, I never dated Carter. We had more of a physical relationship, I guess you might say. He also saved my life more times than I can count."

I felt sick. "Great. Good to know." I crossed my arms over my chest in a huff.

"So, what is going on here?" Jake said, changing the subject quickly as he saw my demeanour.

"We are summoning the greatness from above. This land is now covered in darkness, and we must fight it, or we will surely all die. Even you, Jacob. You come from darkness, but you fight with the light inside you. That is what makes you a true hero." She closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly.

"Did you hear that? I'm a hero." He said, nudging me slightly. "Can I get that in writing?"

Faith laughed. "You always were the life of the party." She touched his cheek, and he almost fainted.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but it is time." The elderly witch said, bowing at Faith's feet. "He is close now."

"He?" I said, baffled. "Who is he?"

"Our light and saviour, of course. Come, join the protection circle, and you will be safe." She said, touching my cheek.

"What about me?" Jake said, taking my hand.

"You, Jacob, are our eyes and ears. I will be weak after he arrives, so I need you to watch my coven and protect them. They need a leader."

He didn't say anything. He just nodded his head at her and licked his lips as he stared at her.

"Thank you. You are a good man." Faith said, disappearing into the circle of chanting witches.

"Jake, stop it. Are you sure about this?" I said, biting my lip nervously.

"I remember her. She is one of the good ones. She knows what she is doing. I promise I'll stay close and if you need me, just call. I won't leave you again." He kissed my forehead and walked slowly towards the cave entrance.

I felt someone grab my hand, and I looked over to see the red-haired girl holding my hand. "It's ok. He is close now. He will save us," She smiled.

"Who? Who is this great saviour of yours?" I was pulled into the chanting circle.
She said something back, but I have no idea what she said as the witches' words were too loud for me to hear. All I could hear were the words. "Let there be light. Let there be light." I looked around, staring at the witches with their eyes closed and heads facing the sky. What is this? I felt something tingle around my body as they chanted louder; it was like pressure pulling on my body. I could feel myself being drawn to the centre of the circle, and in my mind, I could see the light, like a torch shining in the night sky.

"Welcome your greatness. Please, help us fight the darkness and end this war that threatens our way of life and your teaching. We need your strength and power to lift us towards the light. We pledge ourselves to you and pray to you to save us in our hour of need. Ariel, we need you." Faith yelled as the Fire next to us soared up towards the sky like a fire staircase. "Hear us and protect us from the darkness. Come to us and shower us with your light." She yelled as fire soared again. "Come to us," She bellowed and the witches chanted louder.

I felt my whole body trembling as the air around us started to swirl upwards like a hurricane. I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on my feet staying on the ground. As strange as this sounds, I could hear someone in my head—a deep gravelly voice in my head like an old radio or dial-up connection. I just couldn't make out what he was saying.

"My lord, I can no longer hear you. Please, we need your protection from evil. I summon thee to take over my body. Live through me." Faith yelled as it echoed down the cave.

That was the last thing I heard before I felt my body being shot with what I can only assume is lightning. It ravaged my body, and I felt myself stiffen as it flowed through my blood. I couldn't move a muscle as I felt the shock waves again hit my body.

"You are the one," the voice said in my head. "You are the chosen one. You will defend your land with me." The voice was hissing in my ear. "I am here now." It said as I dropped to the ground with a thud. "You are the chosen one."