Page 153 of Into the Void

“So this might not work.”

“The elders have experience with it,” she said. “I’m pretty new at this stuff. They’ve been casting spells for decades. If they say they can pull it off, then I trust them.”

“Despite the fact that they almost didn’t agree to help us?”

“I don’t agree with them on everything, but when it comes to magic, they don’t make mistakes.”

“If you say so,” Nick said.

“I do.”

“So the vampires will fall asleep. That should make our job easier.”

“Not all of them,” she said. “It’s complicated, but basically, not all vampires have the same level of skill. Older vampires have more control over their powers. It’s the same way certain humans have more resistance to mental compulsion. With practice, they’d be able to resist being controlled by most vampires.”

“I didn’t know that.”

She nodded. “I’m sure people with experience would be very difficult to control.”

“Like Henry,” he said.

She touched his arm. “How are you doing?”

Nick didn’t know what to say, so he changed the subject. “Anyway, the spell.”

“Yeah, so, the older vampires are more likely to resist our spell. Some younger ones, too, probably. But most of them, the ones with less experience or talent, should be unconscious within seconds of us casting the spell.”

“Will it be enough to give us a fighting chance?” Nick asked.

“It has to be.”

He sighed. “I don’t like this, but it’s our only choice, I guess.”

Cara nodded. “The coven will split into three circles. The three elders will form the inner circle, surrounding the vampire den. A second, larger circle will be further out, and that will have a few more witches in it. The final circle will be the biggest, and the witches forming it will be the furthest from the den.”

“Circles within circles.”

“Right. The inner circle will be the central focus of the spell, and it has the highest concentration of magic. They’ll use power channelled from the outer circle, through the middle circle, and then finally focus it in the inner circle. With each circle, the power builds and joins together.”

“It sounds complicated,” he said.

“It is. Mom is doing a lot of the measurements and coordinating the circles. The people in the outer circle are already getting into position.”

“How do they know where to go?”

Cara looked over at her mother in the centre of the crowd around the car. “A mix of tech and magic. Everyone’s sharing their location using their phones, and she has maps, tracking crystals and magic to make sure they’re all in the best positions to facilitate the smooth flow of magic through each circle and into the next.”

“And your father?”

“He’ll be leading the middle circle. They need someone strong enough to act as a link between the outer and middle circles, and then channel the magic to the elders.”

Nick glanced at him since they were talking about him, and he froze when he found the man staring directly at him. “He’s kind of intimidating,” Nick said.

“I swear he’s usually a lot nicer than this,” Cara said.

“I’ll take your word for it.”

The crowd of witches started to disperse, moving into smaller groups to discuss their roles in the spell. Cara’s mother waved at her, and Cara shifted position.

---