Simon let out a sharp cry, tumbling across the ground as blood spurted from his mouth. His entire body trembled in fear, his mind on the verge of collapse. He could not believe how vast the difference in strength between him and Andrew actually was.

The dark arts he had been so proud of, along with his ambush using deadly poison powder, had not even made a dent. On the contrary, if Cedric had not spoken up on his behalf out of their old ties, Simon was sure he would already be dead by now.

As luck would have it, a cab happened to drive by. Simon threw the door open, jumped inside, and barked, "Drive!"

The driver stared at him in shock. "Dude, are you practicing for Halloween? Why are you covered in blood?"

Simon's face contorted with pain, and he roared, "Are you going or not? One more word and I'll take you out with one strike!"

Terrified, the driver slammed on the gas and sped off.

…

Meanwhile, back at the Aicker residence, chaos erupted. Cedric's apprentices had been r