It was a winter season, so balls of snow fell heavily across the whole of iceland..
Families and their loved ones dapped themselves in heavy clothing of sweaters, coats, shawls , gloves and headgears to keep themselves warm against the biting cold.
With a whizzing around a dark alley , a portal appeared out of the thin air....few seconds later the group of vampires and witches emerged out from it.
"We are here" Venessa said as soon as she closed the portal.
"Oh my good it's so chilly" Ariana said robbing her palms together trying to generate a little warmth.
Removing his coat, Damien handed it to her, she stared at his hands for a minute contemplating weather to collect it or not.
"I dont need it" Damien said answering the question she harboured in her mind.
"How did you -" she asked shocked, but few minutes later she gently slapped her temple as she remembered vampires do read minds, she accepted the coat and wore it immediately, Derek also gave he's to Alanna as both girls wore a really thin fabrics.
"Follow me," Vanessa said, guiding the group out of the shadowy alley. The late hour cloaked their movements in anonymity.
After walking a few miles, Vanessa spotted an open coffee shop and led the group inside.
"This doesn't look like the abductor's hideout," Marcel complained.
"Relax. I'm just in desperate need for some hot chocolate. It's Christmas, after all," she replied with a sly grin as they entered.
Seated at a table, Damon approached the coffee counter, whispering a few words to the astonished staff.
Moments later, two staff members approached their table with a tray of steaming mugs.
Marcel, though annoyed at the unexpected diversion, took a sip of the hot chocolate.
"This is divine," Ariana exclaimed.
"So, what's the plan? I assume we didn't come here just for a cup of cocoa," Serafina inquired, arching an eyebrow.
Vanessa smiled slyly, lifting the mug to inhale the tantalizing aroma of the cocoa.
"Whoever enters this shop in the next five minutes will lead us to where Lauren is," Vanessa declared, taking a sip of her chocolate.
Precisely at the five-minute mark, two men entered and headed straight to the cashier.
"Which one?" Alanna whispered.
"Both," she said, and as both men turned toward their direction, they swiftly sensed their true natures and attempted to flee, but Damien moved quicker than the eye could follow, darting after them with a whooshing sound and lightning speed.
"Our task here is complete," Venessa declared, rising to leave the shop as the others followed in her wake.
They joined Damien a short distance from the coffee shop, in a dimly lit alley where he had pinned both men against the wall with unmatched strength.
"Have they said anything?" Derek inquired, drawing nearer to inspect the men's faces.
"The first one to give me the answer I seek will walk away from here alive. Now, where is she?" Damien demanded with unwavering resolve, his patience wearing thin.
"Somewhere beyond your reach," one of the men retorted.
"I have no knowledge; I am just a mere vampire. Spare me, please," the one on the right pleaded.
"I commend your loyalty, honestly," Damien said, releasing the vampire on the right and focusing on the loyal one.
"However, that's not the answer I require," he stated, and in a blink of an eye, to the astonishment of the witches, he plunged his fangs into the vampire's chest and closed his grip around the beating heart, the vampire's countenance turning ashen in surprise.
"Now, where is she?" Damien demanded once more, his golden irises gleaming as he compelled the vampire.
"Ten blocks from here, there's a clearing in the woods. Follow it, and you'll find a house in the heart of a small forest. That's where she is. We plan to move her at midnight. Hurry, and you may intercept them before they depart," the vampire disclosed through pained breaths.
"Well, that wasn't so difficult, was it?" Damien taunted before tearing the vampire's heart from his chest, turning to the other vampire, who was restrained by Marcel.
"I beg for mercy, please spare me," he pleaded, but Damon was resolute, swiftly ending his plea by snapping his neck.
As he wiped his bloodied hands, he gazed at the witches beside him, pondering for a fleeting moment.
"We're pressed for time. Let's flag down a taxi," Marcel suggested, turning to glance at the street across from them.
"A taxi won't whisk us there in mere seconds, will it, dear Marcel?" Serafina countered, her voice draped in sultry charm, a smile playing on her lips in way that could be easily mistaken for flirtation.
Marcel was struck by the effortless manner in which she spoke his name, momentarily rendering his mind blank.
"I'll go with Ariana. Derek, accompany Alanna, and Damon, you're with Marcel. The rest of you, follow," Damien directed, immediately taking Ariana's hand, the implication not lost on anyone. Marcel objected vehemently to the idea.
"I won't let a vampire carry me, especially not the likes of you," he scoffed.
"The likes of us? You bloody wanker!" Damon retorted, bristling as he lunged towards Marcel.
"Enough!" Damien snapped, struggling to contain his irritation at the pointless altercation.
"Ladies, do you have any objections to our mode of travel?" he inquired, turning to them.
"None," Alanna replied promptly.
"We need to reach Lauren quickly, and if that means being piggy backed by a vampire, then we have no choice. Our priority is to reach our sister and save her," Ariana declared solemnly.
"Then it's settled," Damien announced, bending his back and motioning for her to climb on, a chuckle escaping her as she mounted his broad shoulders, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Derek and Alanna followed suit, then Damon and Vennessa, leaving Marcel behind.
"Just because I fancy your pretty face," Serafina sighed, casting a glance at the bewildered Marcel.
"Now, do you need help reaching Lauren, or are you intent on upholding your high moral ground?" she taunted with a sly smile.
"How do we proceed? You can't possibly carry me," he asked, feeling a bit bashful.
"Give me your hand," she replied, and instantly, he placed his warm hands into her cold ones.
"Your hands are freezing!" he exclaimed in shock.
"Well, I'm a vampire, duh," she said before vanishing with a whooshing sound.
"I believe that's the house," Damon whispered as the group gazed at the secluded building not too far from their hideout.
"How many vampires do you reckon are inside?" he inquired once more.
"There are ten vampires in total. Five guard the front, and the other five are inside with Lauren," Venessa informed the group.
The news that there was a chance Lauren was still alive gave the group the motivation they needed.
"Any plans on how to approach this?" Marcel muttered, addressing the small assembly.
"As they are split up, we need to sneak up on them. Venessa, can you conjure a portal to get us to the back of the house?" Damien proposed.
"I thought you'd never ask," Venessa smirked and chanted a few incantations. Eventually, a colorful circle materialized in front of them, and one by one, they stepped through it.
They materialized just behind the house, where they could overhear voices emanating from within. As Venessa had predicted, there were five vampires stationed outside on the front porch.
Damien instructed the witches to keep a low profile while they attempted to stealthily eliminate the vampires outside, before plotting to ambush those within the house.
Damien and his team swiftly maneuvered, and after what felt like an eternity, they gestured for the witches to join them as they readied themselves to storm the structure.
With a resounding crash, the door was forcefully torn open, catching the vampires off guard. Before they could comprehend what was happening, four hearts rolled to the floor and their lifeless bodies thudded against the ground, while one was suspended in mid-air by mystic forces.
The sisters ran to where Lauren lay, unconscious on the floor with her face covered with a black cloth and both hands and legs tied with a rope.
They removed the cloth from her face, and untied her, she was still unconscious while they tried to wake her.
"They drugged her" Venessa said while the benneth sisters performed a small spell on her, bringing her back to consciousness.
"Ari, Alanna?" Lauren called out weakly as her brain registered the faces infront of her. The sisters smiled broadly at her, happy that she was awake.
"You guys came for me?" She asked solemnly as tears brimmed in her eyes.
"Well of course, you are our sister "ariana said smiling at her, overwhelmed with untold joy and gratitude, she threw her hands around both sisters shoulders and sobbed.