Jack shoved Crane hard, breaking the warlock's circle, but the chanting didn't stop. Crane stumbled and fell to the floor, taken by surprise. He flipped over and looked up at Jack with disbelief on his face.

Thomas yanked warlocks from the circle and either threw them across the room, or punched them. The chanting stammered to a halt, the powerful magicks eased, and the more comforting sounds of a fight filled the room.

Of course, he and Thomas were outnumbered thirteen to two.

The witches in the circle all slumped to the side with their eyes closed, let down like puppets on strings as the heavy magick dissipated. All of them appeared unconscious.

That was the best-case scenario.

"Jack?" breathed Crane, coming out of his stupor.

"Long time no see, Dad," he snarled before he grasped him by his lapels and pulled him up from the floor.

Someone grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, making him lose his hold on Crane. He had half a second for Stefan's face to register before a fist connected solidly with his cheek. A crack of pain echoed through Jack's head, making him stagger back.

Jack held on to the edge of the boardroom table, his head ringing. Stefan had a good punch on him. The warm glow of fire magick rose right before Stefan launched a ball of it at him. Jack lunged out of the way. It hit the leg of the table, setting it ablaze.

Coven witches swarmed into the room and magick flared hot against his skin as they began to wield it against the still recovering warlocks. One of them doused the table with water, making it sizzle and steam. It was no one's interests to burn the building down right now.

Unwilling to use his fire magick in such close quarters and with the witches in the circle unconscious and vulnerable, Jack launched himself at Stefan.

They rolled on the floor, punching each other. Jack got a few satisfying hits in, and took a couple as well, before a new power began to swirl around him. It whispered over his skin at first, growing in intensity.

He and Stefan stopped trying to take each other's faces off. Everything in the room halted under that eerie fluctuation of the magick in the room. A breeze tickled his face, and he sensed Mira's distinctive power. The scent of clean linen and lemon filled the room, much stronger than he'd ever experienced it.

The breeze became a wind. Jack struggled to separate himself from Stefan and looked up to see Mira standing in her place in the demon circle.

She stood with her head thrown back and her eyes closed. Wind buffeted her coat around her body, sent her hair flying around her head.

Jack and everyone else who wasn't already standing struggled to their feet, their eyes on the witch who radiated so much strength. Her lips peeled back from her teeth in a grimace of pain.