"The Replacement Luna..."

Flames...

Glare:

Fire!

I saw it from afar. The compound was engulfed by it. The sky was painted a scorching orange, as my mother's palatial residence loomed in the horizon.

I quickly got out of my red Corvette. Mumuring a short incantation to protect me from the flames, I ran ahead into the burning house.

Several mages, sorcerers, and witches all attempted to control the flames, but it seemed that the more they tried to use their spells, the more the flames grew.

"Where is mother?" I asked a teenage boy expertly swirling dust and soil to cover the shifting flames.

"Upstairs sir. With your sister." He almost croaked, looking nervously at me. I ran through the smoke, aware of how the flames parted to avoid me.

"Mother!" I called, noticing priceless paintings and antique heirlooms burning.

"Glare!" Genevieve called out to me, she wore an expensive black Dior party dress as she projected water from her exposed alabaster arms.

"Stop using your spells! Everyone, the fire feeds on magical energy!" I saw people gather table cloths and curtains to try and suffocate the flames. Someone came in with a pail of water instructing everyone to soak the fabrics first before using it to douse the flames.

"Glare! Mother's in the library. Hurry!" She unhooked a fire hydrant from the wall opposite where I stood. As she did that, the sound of sirens began to overpower the hissing sound of fire lapping up wood and flammable materials. The firemen could be heard shouting instructions, as they each sprang into action.

I found my mother cocooned in a transparent bubble, shielding her from falling debris, and three hooded individuals with short glittering knives trying to cut through her defenses.

I immediately attacked the intruder closest to me, but before I could lunge at him, he vanished into black smoke only to reappear behind me.

I felt the knife tear the skin on my right arm before I swiftly turned, and grasped his wrist to effectively crack his bones into several pieces.

His scream alerted the other two assailants, and I steadied myself for an attack.

The guy nearest me grabbed my wounded arm and clutched my neck, but I was prepared and I quickly thrust the knife I took from the first assailant upwards into his left shoulder.

His eyes momentarily registered fear before blood started spurting out of his open wound. He collapsed writhing on the floor, as the last assailant threw his knife at me before vanishing in a cloud of black smoke. The two remaining intruders vanished right after the first one did.

"Mother! Are you okay?" I ran to check on her. She held a bulky book as she tried to reach for me.

"Take this. Keep it safe. They're after it."

"Who is?"

"The Whiffs." I tucked the book under my left arm, as I tried to hold her steady. It felt very light for a massive tome.

"Why? We have so many old tomes in our library, what's so special about this one?"

"Just do as I say! Where' your sister?" My mother asked.

"Here!" Genevieve appeared with a couple of firemen who assisted all three of us out of the burning house.

We watched from outside as the fire was finally put out. The house however, was badly damaged. One side was completely blackened, and the other wall was half melted.

"You need to find the oracle of Thetis. You must return the book to her. It isn't safe here. If the Whiffs get their hands on it, a great castastrophe will befall the Lycans." My mother told me in hushed tones, afraid the firemen would hear us. She placed a healing spell on my injured arm and immediately the wound disappeared.

"Why me? I don't even know where to begin looking for this oracle."

"Use your powers. Use your third eye Glare. Locate her with your mind."

"I don't have that power yet. I've barely perfected controlling the elements." I argued.

"Then you'll need to learn quickly. If the Lycans fall, our bloodline will be next." Mother warned me, and somehow I knew I was stuck with a book that I've never seen before in my entire life.