Chapter 11.8 - Fatally Wounded

"Someone do something, please!" I shouted

  Silvana quickly came over and used her magic as best as she could to try to help.

"I'm sorry," She said, stepping back "My magic isn't helping at all."

"Lexi, I can try something," Nick said, bending down next to me "But there is a pretty big consequence."

"Do whatever you need to do! We cannot loose him, we just can't!" I sobbed.

  Even though he wold end up regretting this, Nick leaned over and prepared to do something he vowed he would never do again. But at the last minute he stopped, the scent was not right.

"I can't do it, his blood has already been compromised, they were already in the process of changing him," Nick said, unsure of how this would turn out.

  Within minutes Colton died and I began crying uncontrollably as I laid over his cold body. Everyone tried to pull me away but I wouldn't budge. I was not ready to say goodbye yet.

  Suddenly Coltons hand twitched and then slowly closed around mine. As he began coughing, trying to breath, I sat straight up in shock. After catching his breath he tried his hardest to talk but couldn't get any words out.

"Why...why can't he talk?" I asked, still trying to stop crying.

  As Colton opened his mouth Nick and I looked to see what was wrong and gasped with fear. Ricardo had mutilated Colton by having his tongue removed.

"They use to do this in the old days as a form of punishment for not cooperating," Silvana explained "But the vampire blood should have healed it."

  Silvana then tried to use her magic again but, like before, it would not work.

"This is some very dark magic and he is not immortal either, I am so sorry," Silvana said, "I don't...I don't know how long he has."

"I'm so sorry babe...I will...we will," I stammered, as Colton looked at me, nodding his head once and giving me a small kiss.

"Guys, I am really sorry, but we need to figure out how we are going to get out of here. We need to go now before the Guardians get here. We will be punished if they see us among this...this massacre," Nick said.

  Up until now Ando had not said anything to anyone, he just sat back. He was trying to hide something but didn't want anyone to start worrying over him again. Not wanting to make their situation worse than it already was.
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  Over the next few hours we slowly made our way to a different abandoned house in the slums, in the opposite direction we had originally came from. It was time to figure out how we were finally going to leave the Underworld. We needed to hurry to because we could faintly hear the Hellhounds, which meant the Anubis and Guardians would be at the Coven house very soon.

"Now, I need you guys to understand something, something I didn't get to explain before we entered the Demon Gate," Nick said, after we formed our escape plan. "As you know we have been here, in the Underworld, for four days. But time here is different than time in the mortal world. In the four days we have been here, a whole year has gone past n the mortal world."

"One year?! We have been gone for a year? What about school and work?" Mika asked, wondering how this absence would seem to the neighbors.

"All of that has already been taken care of, we will talk about it in detail after we get out of here," Silvana answered, Nick nodded in agreement.

"Alright, we know what our plan is, so lets all get changed. We have to leave within minutes," Nick said, standing up.

  All of us changed into black clothes again, duplicates of the others but clean, and we left our creepy contacts in. We continued our long journey to a different gate, called the Orphs Gate, hiding and sneaking in and out of the shadows along the way. We all threw random potions around to distract any Anubis we came across. We managed to stay away from the Guardians, that were headed to the Coven house, and our helpful Hellhound was keeping all the other Hellhounds away from us.


  Silvana used her powers to get us across the blood river to the portal. As soon as we came through the portal, Silvana stunned the gate keeper, in order for us to go out the gate to the mortal world. The second we were outside the gate we ran for our cars (that Silvana had summoned to this area) and sped through the desert land for over two hours. We finally stopped at a small, run down grocery store to stretch and change back into our normal everyday clothes. It was hard to relax after everything we had been through and all of us were still paranoid. Constantly looking around to make sure we weren't being followed.

  Ando was the first one to quickly change but then hurried back towards the car. Before he got back to our car Colton and I stopped him.

"Hunny, we have missed you so much!" I said, as we cried and hugged him "We love you!"

  Ando returned the feelings before asking to go back to the car. Little did we know he wasn't only tired but in severe pain.

"Silvana! Why didn't you tell us?" I shouted, stepping up to her, wanting to slap her," How could I have possibly trusted you?!"

"Lexi, I am really very sorry. I have been under that spell for so many centuries that I forgot who I was before. I have been here for your family all this time and I never meant to hurt any of you. When we stepped into the Coven house all of my memories of who I was came flying back. At that some time my connection with Ricardo was instantly restored. I am..." Silvana answered.

  Before I could respond we heard a loud gasp come from Mira and Mika started yelling for help. We all ran over to Mikas car to see what was going on. Ando was propped up against the car, paler than normal, very weak, and his lips were tinted blue.

"Mum, dad," Ando began, trying so hard to keep breathing "I am so sorry, I should have listened, I should have known better. How could I have been so stupid?

"Oh hunny, no no. We really do understand, even though we weren't happy about it. I loathe Ricardo for all he has done but you needed to do this, you needed to find out everything for yourself," I said, crying once again, before looking to Nick. "What is happening to him?"

"I'm not sure, let me see him," Nick said, bending down to Ando. He began looking over Ando and then came across the huge gashes on his torso and cuts on his upper arms. "Oh Ando, why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"How did this happen?" I said, looking at Andos nasty wounds in disgust.

"These are werewolf bites and cuts, it must have happened during the fight. You all need to prepare yourselves, he is going to end up dying and very soon. There is nothing Silvana and I can do." Nick said, looking down with tears in his eyes.

  We all crowded around Ando, talking to him and hugging him.

"I am sorry everyone, I screwed up big time. I love you all....so much," Ando said, wincing in pain before closing his eyes.

  Ando stopped breathing then and we all began crying like crazy. After everything we had been through to save Ando, we lost him once again, for good.

Chapter 11.7 - The Massacre

  Ricardo was sitting in his throne room, two "slave" girls on either side of him just staring at Ando.

"You have learned a lot my son, you are a lot stronger than before. I told you that it would be good for you to be here with me and my Coven." Ricardo said, knowing his training would transform Ando into a killing machine.

"You have only taught me how to be an evil monster. At least Nick could have taught me how to be good, not how to treat mortals like dirt and for self gain."

"Are you really still going on about that? That family is no good for you and their vampire friends are a bad influence on you, not me. They are also the ones that screwed you up, not me."

"No, you are the one that screwed up. You have done nothing but terrorize their whole blood line, stole everything from them, and kill nearly all of them. You don't deserve anything you have, if anything you should be our slave!" Ando said, raising his voice.

"You worthless little shit! I didn't even want you in the first place, I am only using you so we can kill your whole family. Once everyone of you is gone I will have complete control of everything."

"That will never happen, I will not let you do that! This has gone way to far!"

"What, and you think you are going to stop me? Think again!" Ricardo said, standing up and forcing Ando to stay seated.

  Suddenly the door to the throne room burst open and Kore, Ricardos best witch, came running in.

"Kore, darling, slow down. What's the rush?" Ricardo asked, stepping away from Ando.

"I don't know how but they have found a way in," Kore said, talking a little to fast.

"Easy my love, they who?" Ricardo asked, trying to calm her down.

"The vampire and that woman, they found a way into the cell room. They have three others with them too, two are teenagers." Kore explained.

"Mira, Mika," Ando thought to himself, becoming scared for his brother and sister. He had not seen them since they were little and since he didn't know what they were now, he didn't think they would make it out of here.

"What! Get everyone together and release all of the Hellhounds. They will not escape, they all die tonight!" Ricardo shouted, looking pissed off.

"What do we do with him?" Kore asked, nodding her head towards Ando.

"Teleport him to the cell room, he will not go towards those people either! Make him stay in place, along with the others, until I saw so."

"Yes master," Kore said, making Ando disappear before walking out the door.

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"Nick, why wont they move and why couldn't we go to them?" I asked in a whisper.

  Everyone was still standing far apart and it was becoming freaky.

"Something is wrong, they don't seem to be themselves. Almost as if they are waiting for orders," Nick answered.

  Suddenly, with a puff of smoke and bright lights, Ando was standing next to Loka, Ino, and Colton. He did not move an inch, standing just as still as the others.

"Ando!!" Mira and Mika shouted.

"Nick, something needs to be done. What can we do?" Mika asked, scared because now Ando was acting like the others.

"They need to be snapped out of this...but how," Calypso said, before Nick could say anything.

  Before any of us could suggest anything, Ricardo and his Coven members ran in.

"How dare you enter my house! You have all lived for long enough. It is time for you all to die, you worthless wastes of space!" Ricardo said.

"Release them all to us and we will leave," I said, trying to be strong.

"No, you will be leaving one way," Ricardo said, snapping his fingers. Werewolves came up to him and Loka, Ino, Colton, and Ando snapped out of their trance. He looked at the werewolves and added "Kill them!"

"Calypso, Mira, Mika," Nick yelled in a rush "NOW!"

  Immediately the three of them began chanting a spell, in a language I had never heard before. The werewolves went down instantly, screaming in pain, and then they began tearing each other apart.

"You bastards! What did you d..." Ricardo began and then suddenly stopped. He had his head tilted, like he was listening to something. But then his attention became focused on Calypso, a look of shock and confusion coming over his face.

  Kore came over at that moment and Ricardo whispered something to her. Kore stepped away from him and began reciting a spell.

  A stream of flames bolted towards Calypso, surrounding her and lifting her off the ground. She began twisting around before coming back down in a cloud of smoke. She looked completely different....she was stunning (aside from the black contacts still in place!)

"Silvana!! How is it...but...but where.." Ricardo stammered, trying to think of what to say. "I...I thought you were dead dear sister. Our connection was lost and I was so worried. But now here you are....and with them too! Why would you...."

"Oh shut up little brother! We didn't loose each other on accident, I purposely got away from you. I hate being around you and what you were doing. You had changed to much and yes I can still read minds, including yours. I am still a vampire, as you can see, but I also have the same abilities that a witch does. I am a hybrid now. I learned a spell to change me appearance in hopes that you would never find me and I also cloaked our connection  as an extra precaution. I had orders to help them get here and defeat you, which I was more than happy to do. My spell slipped as soon as we entered this house, causing our connection to come back even stronger," Silvana explained.

  We were all stunned, trying to wrap our heads around what was being said and how different she looked now. She had lied to me and my family for years!

"You bitch! How could you turn on me, what ever happened to being family?" Ricardo asked, clearly feeling betrayed.

"We are not family anymore, go to hell brother!" Silvana yelled before shooting a stream of power at Ricardo.

  But her attack was deflected by Kore, who had jumped in front of Ricardo at the last second, in an attempt to defend him.

  Silvana immediately noticed that Kore had to use a wand to perform spells and she took that opportunity to fling the wand out of Kores hand with one small burst of power. Then she used her powers to lift Kore into the air, causing Ricardo to take a couple steps forward.

"Stop now or else I will hurt her," Silvana warned "Let us all go, now!"

"Fine Silvana, fine! Just put her down first, please!" Ricardo said, pretending to be worried about what his sister would do to Kore.

  As soon as Kore was back on the ground she ran to Ricardo, grabbing her wand on the way.

"Attaccarli ora! Ucciderli tutti! (Attack them now! Kill them all!)" Ricardo shouted, as he and Kore teleported away.

"Nick, abbiamo bisogno uscire diqui. Ucciderli tutti lore e l'unico modo! (Nick, we need to get out of here. Killing them all is the only way!)" Silvana said, in a rush.

  Nick nodded and turned towards Mira and Mika, as Silvana put up a temporary shield to protect us all.

"We need you guys to be very strong during this fight. We will fail if you guys don't help us as best as you can," Nick said.

  Mira and Mika agreed and they all stood next to Silvana, as she moved the shield so that it only protected me. Within seconds of her doing this a huge bloodbath ensued.

  Streams of power where shooting back and forth like a fireworks display. Vampires where being thrown across the room like bean bags, crushing everything they hit. The werewolves were trying to attack anyone they could before being dropped to the ground by Silvana, Mira, and Mika. Suddenly there was a loud, bright explosion of white light, blinding anyone that was still standing and throwing them across the room.

  As my vision slowly came back I began to look around. Blood was beginning to seep into the cracks of the floors and walls, debris everywhere, and bodies and pieces of bodies were scattered all over the room. It was a massacre. Tears began welling in my eyes as I saw Ino, Loka, Anika, Kaylas lifeless bodies among the carnage. It was then that I heard Miras cry for help, causing me to quickly look for her. As soon as I found her a scream escaped my throat and I bolted to her side, dropping to my knees the second I reached them both.

Chapter 11.6 - The Underworld Part 2

  Ricardo had called a meeting with some of his Coven members in his throne room. They all had a lot to discuss and to much to loose if they failed.

"Where are we? Have any of you found that bitch or the wimpy vampire?"

"Some of the less worthy Coven members are on their way to a shack that we suspect they are hiding out at in the slums. Those Coven members are also getting help from the Hellhounds."

"Good, they need to be captured!" Ricardo said, looking over to Bill, a werewolf that was working with Ricardo now. "Get the new slaves ready, they will kill these people if they wish to survive. They are to weak right now, they must be stronger, prepare Ando as well. If any refuse more than once then rip them apart!"

"Yes sir," Bill said, before bowing and leaving.
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"There will end up being a fight but you all know what to do. You must be prepared for anything though, you never know what these people will have in store for us," Calypso said.

"We must all be quiet and careful, no one can see us. Do not let any of the Anubis see you either, that is very important. They are the Gods of Death and they will kill you on the spot, no questions asked and no regrets," Nick said.

"How do we know if we see an Anubis?" Mira asked, frightened but trying to get as much information as she could.

"They are easy to tell apart from all the other creatures due to their pyramid shaped heads. They wear white robes or black pants and carry long, rusted serrated knives. Also they are tall and muscular. Anubis are executioners, they can sense guilt or the want of punishment, so keep your minds clear," Nick said.

  We all quickly changed in discreet, all black clothing so we could blend into the shadows more. Then we each had to put in contacts to keep our eyes from glowing in any light. With our weapons hidden, we left the shack and snuck through the slums, heading towards the Diavolo Coven house. We saw many Anubis on the way, they were very scary looking, and we heard the packs of Hellhounds in the distance.

  As we stopped behind another shack, sticking to the shadows, to take a breather we smelled smoke. We kept looking around until we spotted where the smoke was coming from. A shack was engulfed in flames and it was the one we were hiding out in just a couple hours ago.

"It had to of been caused by Ricardos little minions! We need to keep moving, we are still almost an hour away," Nick said, urging us to get moving.

  Within an arms reach of the Coven house we were stopped dead in our tracks by a Hellhound, the old cob webbed covered door just behind it. At first none of us moved an inch but then suddenly Mira reached into her bag. It seemed as though she had come prepared as she tossed whatever she got out on the ground in front of the Hellhound. It seemed to enjoy this as it sniffed the offering and then gobbled it up. Mira then surprised us by slowly inching forward with her hand held out.

"Mira! What are you doing? NO!" Nick said, in a raised whisper, frightened for her.

Mira waved her hand back at Nick to hush him up. The Hellhound sniffed Miras hand before lowering its head, allowing Mira to pet her.

"What the hell!" Nick yelled, before lowering his voice again. "Hellhounds only respond to Demons and they never lower their heads for anyone, not even their masters. What did you do?"

"I did a lot of research before we left, more than you ever cared to show us," Mira said, accusingly looking at Calypso, the Hellhound standing close to her. "You have to know what they want, what they really want outside of the blood lust they have towards everyone. I looked into her mind and gave her what she has been wanting. You also can't show them any fear. She has made all of the other Hellhounds stay off our trail and she is willing to help us. They are very intelligent creatures you know."

"Wow...just wow," Nick said, shaking his head.

  We followed the Hellhound into the Coven house and through very small, dusty corridors. We slowly walked into a room that looked like a living room but with two cells in the middle, blood visible on the floors of the cells. We did not expect to find Loka, Anika, and Colton standing perfectly still, just staring at us. They seemed to not know whether to fight or run over to us.

  Calypso stood just behind Nick, confused for a split second by her surroundings. How could it have changed so much? Why was it here in the Underworld and not in Venice? Better yet, why does she have visions of this place but not actually remember any of it?