Sybil laughed softly. “David Honey and his father before him were certainly pains in the neck. They tried to break up our meetings, our ceremonies, worshipping the devil as they thought we were, but in the end David and Joy Honey were our saviours.”

Amelia was trying hard to keep a clear head and take all this information in, but after a day like today, it was hard.

“Tell me everything.”

“First thing you have to know is the history. There was a time long ago when spirits and gods of nature were revered by the human race, and creatures, magic folk, and all manner of paranormals lived alongside them. We were part of their tribes, their ancient rites, births, marriages, deaths, and we sent them to the underworld.”

“Like the Celtic tribes?” Amelia asked.

“Exactly. As mystics, we witches helped the humans navigate their lives, helped them honour nature and the gods. Don’t get me wrong, there were those in our community who wished to use our advantages over the human world and did. Two groups formed, one that sought disorder and chaos and power over the earth, and one—including ours and Byron’s great-great-grandmother’s coven—who tried to protect humankind.

“As human society and achievement moved on, the old natural religions began to be forgotten. Gods and spirits who were worshipped were demonized, as all paranormals were. We weren’t trusted any more, even those who were trying to help. We were persecuted by humans and driven into the shadows. Some of us believed that the shadows gave us safety, while some longed for a return to controlling and influencing the world to their ends. Power, it’s all about power.”

“So where do I come into this?”

“We were given a vision that a darkness would come, a darkness brought by a witch who had once been human, that would devastate the land. A witch named Anka.”

“Anka?” Byron replied.

Amelia turned to Byron. “You’ve heard of her?”

“Only in legends over the years. People tell stories of an ancient human woman who coveted the power of the witches and sold her soul to gain power.”

Sybil nodded. “You are right. A long, long time ago our ancestors managed to trap her, but somehow she got free again. As each decade passes, she gets stronger. Left unchecked, the darkest of paranormals will rule, with war and hate feeding her, until the day comes when she is unstoppable.”

“What did the vision say about me?” Amelia asked.

“That two descendants of those of us on the side of good would bring together the paranormal world. One witch, and one from a family of vampire slayers. Both would bring together witches and vampires and humans to defeat the darkness, because only with everyone pulling together can we even hope to beat her. She has some evil backers, ancient evil.”

Amelia was silent for a few seconds then said, “Who is the other descendant?”