Jacob and the others followed Lydia deep into the woods.
Lydia suddenly stopped, but she didn't need to say anything. Everyone could see it—a blue light glowing half a mile ahead, pulsating between the dense trees.
"Let's get closer." Jacob said, his voice a low murmur.
They moved silently, the unnatural light growing brighter until they reached the edge of a clearing. Peering from behind the thick trunks, they saw the source.
In the clearing, fifteen meters away, seven figures in black robes and tall, pointed witch hats stood in a semicircle before a shimmering, circular space portal. The ground around them was littered with corpses.
"Damn monsters." Allison whispered, her voice cold with fury.
"They killed ten people." Lydia said. "And whatever they're summoning… I can feel it. It's dangerous."
Scott stared in horror and fury. Stiles, though angry, was more fascinated by the swirling space portal. Cogman observed the scene with indifference.
Jacob's eyes scanned the clearing. He looked for the Nemeton but didn't see it. 'I thought they might be using the Nemeton.'
"Let's go kill them." Malia said, her claws itching to extend.
"No," Jacob said firmly. "You girls are not going to fight them. They're witches. They can teleport and use dark magic. You shouldn't get close to them. I'm going to kill them quickly."
"Then let us help you from here." Allison argued. "We'll use the guns you gave us."
Jacob said. "Actually, I can kill them all at once from here."
"But I want to kill one too." Malia pouted.
Jacob focused on the figure in the center of the seven. "Fine. But first, let me kill the one in the middle. She's the strongest. The moment I kill her, you girls can open fire."
The girls retrieved their Spartan Lasers from their spatial rings. Stiles saw the weapons and forgot himself, his voice rising in an excited shout. "That's the Spartan Laser!"
Lydia quickly waved her hand, creating a sound-dampening field to stop his voice from reaching the witches. Although she succeeded, the witch in the middle sensed the use of energy and turned toward their hiding place, shooting a quick ice spell at them.
Jacob waved his own hand, using telekinesis to deflect the attack. The spell veered off course and slammed into a cluster of trees ten meters away, instantly freezing them into grotesque sculptures.
Cogman smacked Stiles on the back of the head. "Imbecile."
"Sorry!" Stiles hissed, rubbing his skull.
All seven witches now faced their hiding spot, fear etched on their faces beneath the wide brims of their hats. They couldn't see Jacob, but they had felt the brief, terrifying surge of his power before his concealment ability masked it again.
The central witch stared straight into the darkness where Jacob was hidden, her golden eyes piercing the shadows. Jacob, Allison, and Lydia recognized her instantly.
Lydia reinforced the sound barrier around them. "Jay, that woman… she's the wife of the wizard, Charles, the one you killed. I saw her in the memory you showed us."
"I know." Jacob said. "Which means the thing they're summoning is probably the monster Charles had a contract with."
"A monster?" Stiles whispered. "What kind of monster?"
"A monster from another world that controls the ice element and likes to eat human flesh." Jacob explained, his gaze locked on the portal. "Especially young girls and babies. Charles performed rituals to send victims to it in exchange for borrowing some of its power. That's all I got from his memories."
He stepped forward. "I need to know why these idiots are here, and if they know what I am."
"How would they know what you are?" Allison asked.
"Charles figured it out before I killed him. Or, to be more exact, he guessed half the truth, and I told him the rest." Jacob admitted. "I need to see if he passed that information on before he died."
Allison glared at him. "You told a wizard what you are and didn't think he might have a telepathic link to his coven? You idiot! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is, considering what you are and how attractive your blood and body would be to magic-users?"
Jacob scratched the back of his head nervously. "I… lost myself in the moment. I'm sorry. But don't worry, I'm strong now. It doesn't matter if people know."
"It's not about how strong you are. It's about our peaceful lives!" Lydia cut in, her tone exasperated. "Every supernatural hunter, collector, and power-hungry freak on the planet will come to this town to hunt your stupid ass and interrupt our lives!" She crouched down, listlessly tracing circles in the dirt with a broken branch. "Ahh, my life is over. Will I ever be able to go shopping again without some idiot trying to kidnap me to get to my stupid husband?"
Malia rolled her eyes. "Stop acting like you're weak. They can't catch you." A fierce smirk played on her lips. "And I think it sounds fun. We can fight every day."
Cogman nodded in agreement. "Lady Malia is correct. We could kill people every day. That is fun."
"No, it is not fun." Allison snapped. "My parents and this whole town will be in constant danger." She fixed a sharp glare on Cogman. "And you—don't get any ideas about spreading information about what Jacob is just so you can have your twisted fun with the people who come hunting. We don't even know if Charles told anyone."
Cogman looked away, an expression of feigned innocence on his face. "I would never do that. I would never put Sir in danger."
Allison snorted. "I'd believe you if I didn't know you so well."
Jacob opened his mouth to defuse the situation, but Scott interrupted, his voice urgent. "Guys! Now is not the time to argue! That portal is getting bigger, and those witches are casting another big spell!"
Jacob turned his attention back to the witches. "Okay, girls. Let's get serious."
Ignoring the lingering glares from Allison and Lydia, he stepped out of the shadows and into the clearing.
Two of the witches had joined hands, their voices rising in a unified chant. A massive sphere of swirling frost and razor-sharp ice shards began to form above their heads.
Jacob's eyes glowed red, and two beams of concentrated thermal energy—his Heat Vision—shot from them. It struck the first witch in the head, exploding it in a burst of gore. In one fluid motion, he shifted his gaze slightly; the beam swept through the second witch's neck, cleanly severing her head.
The spell they were casting fizzled into a harmless mist.
Stiles shook Scott's arm, vibrating with excitement. "Did you see that? He used Heat Vision! Like Superman!"
Scott pried his friend's fingers loose. "I saw it. Could you please stop shaking my arm?"
Jacob's gaze settled on the leading witch, his expression cold. "I know you. Your name is Edith, right?"
Edith stared at the terrifying teenager before her. She didn't mind talking—it would buy time for the monster's arrival. "Who are you, and how do you know my name?"
"Didn't Charles tell you about me?" Jacob asked, his tone casual.
Edith's eyes widened. "You knew Charles?"
"I got to know him quite well a few weeks ago." Jacob said, a smirk playing on his lips.
"You're the one who killed him?" Her voice was a low growl of anger.
"Yes, I am. Is that why you're here? For revenge?"
In answer, Edith teleported behind Jacob and hurled a dagger at him with blinding speed. But Jacob was already gone—reappearing instantly between her and the spot where Allison and the others hid. With a wave of his hand, he froze the dagge in midair. It was black and emanated a foul, creeping energy. Another flick of his wrist sent the dagger shooting toward another witch. The woman teleported, reappearing three meters to the side, but the blade, still under Jacob's control, instantly changed course and stabbed her in the back.
The witch collapsed instantly. Dark veins spider-webbed across her skin before her flesh and muscles dissolved, leaving behind a skeleton in a black robe.
From their hiding place, Stiles said. "That dagger was cursed?"
"Obviously." Lydia said. "So stay close to me. They don't know we're here because I put a sound barrier up after you screamed. If they find us, they could teleport next to us and use us against Jay."
"Couldn't you have used the sound barrier the moment we arrived here?" Stiles asked.
Lydia glared at him. "I didn't know you were going to scream, you idiot."
Back in the clearing, Jacob waved his hand. The dagger flew from the skeleton, and with his other hand, he unleashed a hot flame that reduced the cursed weapon to ashes in an instant.
Edith teleported back beside the other three surviving witches, her gaze locked on Jacob in horror. His casual display of brutality left her trembling. She stumbled backward, her voice a shaken whisper. "What kind of monster are you?"
Jacob's smirk returned. "Don't act like Charles didn't tell you."
"He told me, But I didn't believe what he said." She said, her voice trembling. "I want to hear it from your own mouth."
Jacob listened to the frantic rhythm of her heartbeat, and thought. 'She's lying. Charles didn't tell her anything.' Then He said. "Is that so? Fine, I'll tell you. I'm a hellhound. With some special abilities."
Edith said. "So Charles was telling the truth, you're a hellhound, that explains why your fire could burn my dagger." She glanced at the portal, which had grown larger, and a smirk of her own twisted her lips. "But you're going to die tonight, hellhound. To avenge Charles, I did something he warned me never to do: I summoned the Master to our world for the first time. He will kill you and turn this town into a frozen hell. Too bad I won't be here to see you die."
Jacob sent a telepathic message to the girls. [She has no idea what I am. You can kill them now, they're about to run.]
Edith turned to the three remaining witches behind her. "We can't kill this monster. Let's run..."
Before she could finish her sentence, her survival instincts screamed. She teleported, appearing ten meters away and preparing to vanish again. But Jacob was ready. He took a banana peel from his pocket dimension and tossed it a few meters in front of him.
Edith, for a reason she couldn't comprehend, spun around and began sprinting directly toward the discarded peel.
The three remaining witches froze, bewildered, as their leader charged back toward Jacob.
From the shadows, Allison, Lydia, and Malia took aim. Three thick, crimson laser beams lanced out from their Spartan Lasers. Each beam found its mark, blowing the heads off the three stunned witches.
"Yes! Headshot!" Stiles shouted, pumping a fist. He turned to the girls. "Can I borrow one of those?"
Lydia didn't even look at him. "That's a no."
In the clearing, Jacob pointed a hand at Edith, who was still mindlessly running toward the banana peel. He clenched his fist, and his telekinesis clamped down. With a sickening, wet crunch, Edith's body was compressed into a bloody pulp. A follow-up burst of flame from his other hand incinerated the remains.
Seeing all the witches dead, Stiles ran over to Jacob. "Jacob, please, give me a Spartan Laser to play with! You have more, right?"
"Maybe, but…" Jacob's eyes were fixed on the swirling portal, his expression deadly serious. "…now is not the time to play."
Allison and the others joined him. "Jay, can you close that portal?" She asked.
Jacob shook his head. "No, I can't. Now, all of you, get back and watch from a distance. That thing is about to come out. Remember to use your energy shields to protect yourselves."
"Okay." Allison said. "But don't play with it. Just go for the kill." She turned to the others. "Let's go."
"Are you just going to leave Jacob to fight alone?" Stiles asked. "Aren't you worried?"
"Worried?" Lydia gave a small, knowing smile. "You have no idea how strong Jay really is, Stiles. But I think you're about to find out. And if you're lucky, you'll finally learn what he is."
"Really?" Stiles's eyes sparkled. "Then I can't wait!"
Scott frowned. "Didn't he say he was a special hellhound?"
Stiles looked at his friend as if he were stupid. "Did you believe that? Sure, Hellhounds use fire, but they definitely can't use lightning. He was just testing to see if that witch really knew what he is."
A ground-shaking roar erupted from inside the portal. The air temperature plummeted, and the dead bodies nearest the portal began to crackle with a layer of frost.
Everyone stared as the shape of a monstrous head pushed against the dimensional gate—a head crowned with two massive horns and lit by two glowing red eyes that fixed on them with hunger.
"Guys, hurry up and leave this place!" Jacob commanded.
Allison and the others used their super-speed, blurring away to a safer distance, leaving Jacob alone to face the monster emerging from the portal.
To be continued… 😊