A Magical History By Emma Hart Copyright Emma Hart 2012 Published at Obooko.

.com License Statement This edition is available free of charge from www.obooko.com Although you do not have to pay for this digital copy, the book nevertheless remains protected by international Copyright law and must not be offered for sale in digital or printed form. The content of this book is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people, deceased or living is entirely coincidental.

Dedication For my Daddy. Had you been alive today, I know you would have taught me to stand strong and laugh in the face of fear. To never back down from something you truly believe in, laugh uncontrollably and love deeply and truly. Lily is the girl you've inspired me to be. Rest in Peace, forever in my heart. x

ONE Salem. I looked up at the house in front of me. Ivy and honeysuckle snaked their way up the cracked paint on the walls, surrounding the doors and windows. The windows were old fashioned with shutters on the outside, and the door had a small glass window with a large brass knocker. The house was large, just as Dad had promised. The grass around the house was dying, the yellow blades mixing in with the oranges, browns and reds of the leaves that were falling from the trees that lined the property. My father stood behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. ''It's not that bad here, pumpkin. I promise.'' I turned and raised a well-plucked eyebrow. ''Yeah, right. Who are you trying to kid, Dad?'' ''I grew up here kiddo, don't forget that. Your Grand-mamar left us this place when she died, there was no point us paying for the house back in Colorado when we have this one here.'' ''You've moved me nearly two thousand miles away from my friends into..'' I looked back at the house and flung my arm dramatically towards it. ''This place! How can it be anything but bad?!'' ''Now, now, Lily. Watch that temper young lady.'' My mother's gentle voice admonished as she walked up to the front door, large brass key in hand. ''Ugh!'' I stomped up the path after her and through the old door into our new home. I stood in the hallway and took it in. Spider webs hung from the beams on the ceiling and in the corners of the hall. My lip curled in disgust as I walked through the nearest door to the living room. The walls were the colour of mud and dust caked the hard wood floor beneath my feet, dislodging slightly as I walked across the room. I ran my finger over the top of the open fireplace that sat in the centre of the far wall and wrinkled my nose at the thick layer of dust and grime that sat on top of it. I could hear my mother pottering about in the kitchen and went through a door at the other end of the living room that lead into the other room. The kitchen was white, and large windows let the sun shine through behind the sink. A pantry sat in the corner of the room and a large oak table took up the centre of the room. A vase of fresh flowers already sat in the middle of the table, I noted as I washed my hands in the sink. I sneezed and Mum turned to me, yellow gloves in hand. ''This place just needs a good clean, that's all Lily. It has been empty for a year.'' She gave me a sad smile and I got the feeling Mum wasn't too happy with the move either, despite what she said to Dad. I just grunted slightly. ''Is there anything to drink in here?'' ''There's some cola cans in the fridge. The other furniture should be here soon so I need to get on with this cleaning. Any chance of some help?'' ''Not a chance. Sorry, Mum.'' She sighed as I popped the top on my can and left the room. I slowly made my way up the stairs, the boards creaking ominously with every step I took. Upstairs there was five bedrooms, far too many for the three of us. Even when my sister, Rose, came back from Uni it would be too many. I shook my head and inspected each room. They were still decorated as they would have been when Dad and his
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brothers were younger even though all the furniture had been removed. I passed the master bedroom which already had my parents' suitcases in to the next room. Two doors came off the wall to my right which I opened, discovering an en-suite and a walk in closet. The room was slightly rectangular, but large. A wide window seat sat below the open windows, and I could see the dust particles circulating around me in the air. The walls were cream and the floor the same, dusty hardwood that the rest of the house had. I turned on my heel and went downstairs into the front room. I found my mum scrubbing the walls, and dad mopping the floor with vigour. I walked over to the cleaning boxes in the corner and extracted a pair of gloves, a duster, a sponge and grabbed a bucket of soapy water. I grabbed one of the brooms in the corner and made my way back to the stairs. Mum was staring at me open mouthed. ''Lily, what are you doing?'' ''I'm cleaning my room, Mum.'' ''I guess she found the room with the bathroom and walk in closet then.'' I vaguely heard my dad say in an amused tone as I made my way up the creaky stairs to scrub my new room. ** The furniture arrived that evening. Downstairs was scrubbed and cleaned and free of dust, along with our rooms upstairs. The three of us sat on the sofa eating pizza. Mum decided against cooking after a day spent cleaning and ordered take out. ''What's up, pumpkin?'' My dad asked softly as I sat picking at the cheese on my slice of pizza. ''Huh?'' I looked up. ''Oh nothing. Just thinking about tomorrow.'' Tomorrow I was starting the local high school. I was not looking forward to it. In my old school I was popular, one of the best cheerleaders on the squad. Everyone expected me to be picked for Head Cheerleader in senior year next year. I guess now that spot would go to my best friend, Jane. I sighed at the thought and took a small bite. ''It won't be that bad, honey.'' My mum reassured me. ''Besides, your cousin, Grace will be there. You're the same age.'' She smiled slightly. ''My cousin? Why didn't you guys tell me this?'' I glared at them accusingly. Dad shrugged. ''I didn't think you'd be so worried about school. You were never like this before.'' ''Yes, Dad, because this is a new school! In Colorado I was happy! I was popular, a cheerleader in the running to be head cheerleader next year, I had friends, a possible boyfriend, then you pick me up and drop me here!'' I sunk back into my chair in defeat and rubbed my temples. ''I want to go home.'' ''This is your home now, Lily.'' Dad's brown eyes stared at me. ''It'll be better for you living here, than in that city for the rest of your life. Trust me.'' I looked up and I could swear his eyes flashed an icy blue with violet flecks for a second. I shook my head and excused myself to my room.

TWO Salem High School The thought of going to school anywhere but Colorado made me feel sick. Butterflies swirling in your tummy kinda sick. I was comfortable in Colorado, I'd grown up with my peers and got along with everyone. Just like everyone in Salem had. I was the new girl, the outcast. I remembered playing the piano in my music classes like I had done my whole life. Would I get to play here? Would they even have a piano? I know, cheerleader and piano player, a bit of a strange mix to say the least. Mum used to play when she was younger but stopped when she had Rosie. She never had it in her heart to get rid of the piano though, so she taught me. But that was just one more thing I had to leave behind when we moved here. How much smaller would the school be here? Salem wasn't the biggest town on the east coast by a long shot. I mulled these thoughts over in my mind again and again as I drove through the small streets. Certainly different to city life. It was quiet here, almost too quiet. I sighed as I parked my little red beetle in the parking lot of Salem High School. A large flag with a silhouette of a witch on a broomstick greeted me as I locked my car door. How clich could they get? People stared and whispered at me as I weaved my way between the groups huddled outside. I saw a group of cheerleaders in a blue, black and white uniform sat on a picnic bench by the main doors and my heart hurt slightly. That should have been me, sat in my red and white uniform back in Colorado. Instead here I was, new girl in tank top and denim skirt in Salem, Massachusetts. One of the girls with blonde hair tied into a pony tail secured with a blue ribbon glanced my way and looked me over with pale blue eyes, then gave me a small smile. I smiled slightly back before hurrying into the building. What was the once over for? I wasn't in a bad shape, my body was toned from years of gymnastics then cheerleading. Hopefully I could do at least one of those things here. A young woman sat behind the Administration desk typing on her computer. She looked up when I approached and smiled widely. ''Lily Mauve?'' ''Uh, yes, that's me.'' I smiled back. ''Excellent. I have your schedule here somewhere...'' Her voice trailed off as she flipped through the mountains of paper on her desk. ''Sorry, dear, first day back is a little hectic.'' The bell ran with a shrill sound behind me and made her jump. ''Oh gosh, stupid thing. Here we go then, Lily. Your schedule, map of the school and locker number. Home room is your first period, it's just down the hall and to your left. Room 265. Will you be okay getting there?'' ''I'm sure I'll be fine. Thanks!'' I gave her a small wave as I walked down the corridor searching for Room 265. Only a handful of people were sat in the room and they were all talking loudly. A man about my Dad's age sat at the desk at the front of the room and looked up when I walked in. ''Lily Mauve?'' His eyes widened in disbelief. ''Um, yes?'' How does everyone here know my name? ''Well I never. I haven't seen you since you were knee high to a grasshopper. It's the hair, of course, spitting image of your ma you are. I never thought your old
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pa would come back to little ol' Salem. How is he?'' I was taken back by his question. ''Oh, um, he's fine. Thank you.'' A few people entered the room behind me, one being the cheerleader that had smiled at me earlier. ''Excellent! Living in your grandmother's old place are you?'' ''Er, yes, we are.'' I smiled at him. ''I don't mean to be rude Mr...'' ''Mr Miles, Jem Miles. Went to school with your father, Lily. Best pals back in the day we were. Tell him to give me a call, will you girl?'' ''Uh, sure.'' I bit my bottom lip. ''Take a seat, Lily. Anywhere, dear.'' I scanned the classroom as he turned back to his file and noticed there was a spare desk in front of the blonde cheerleader so I made my way to it and sat down as the second bell rang. ''Settle down, class. It's the first day so I'm not too bothered what you do just keep it down, alright?'' Mr Miles addressed the room. ''Register.'' He rattled off the names of everyone in the room and everyone answered that they were here until he got to Grace Mauve. My cousin, I'm guessing. The door flew open and a girl with poker straight, black hair with a purple streak strolled in. ''Here.'' ''Grace, you're late. I hope we won't be making this a habit this year.'' ''No, sir.'' She rolled her kohl-rimmed eyes and sat at a desk at the back of the room. While she sat I took a good look at her. She wore an oversized black jumper, with black ripped skinny jeans and bright purple pumps. She caught my eye as she sat and nodded her head slightly at me. I gave her a tentative smile and turned back to the front of the class. A few minutes later I felt a tap on my shoulder so I turned around. ''Hi, you're Lily, right? I'm Ava Adams.'' The blonde cheerleader introduced herself and stuck out her hand. I accepted it. ''It's nice to meet you, Ava.'' She flicked her ponytail and gave me a dazzling smile. ''Have you been in Salem long?'' ''Uh, no. We actually moved here yesterday morning. My grandmother passed away last year and my Dad decided to pack up and leave Colorado.'' I gave her a sad smile as she put her hand to her chest. ''Oh no, how terrible! You must be in the old building a few streets away then? Your surname is Mauve, yes?'' ''Yeah, that's right, and yeah, it is.'' ''Have you met your cousin, Grace, yet? I know she's your cousin and everything, so please don't take this the wrong way, but she's a little strange.'' She raised a delicate eyebrow and I glanced over at Grace sat in the corner. ''None taken. No I haven't met her yet, but she seems..'' I searched for the right word. ''Different.'' Ava giggled slightly. ''Yes, that's one word for it.'' She winked at me. ''So, have you ever done any cheerleading? It's just there's try outs on Thursday after school and you look like you're in really good shape. We need some more Juniors on the squad.'' She gave me another dazzling smile and my heart soared. ''Really? I mean, yeah, I have. I was a cheerleader at my old school. I'd love to try out!'' I said excitedly.
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Ava squealed. Yes, she actually squealed! ''Perfect! You would fit in so well with us all. Why don't you meet me for lunch and I'll introduce you to everyone?'' ''Sure.'' I smiled at her as the bell rang for second period. Maybe Salem wouldn't be so bad after all. ** ''So, Lily, this is Shauna, Abby, Jules, Ivy and Maya.'' Ava introduced me to the girls as we sat at her usual lunch table, trays in hand. They all smiled, waved and squealed loudly. ''Lily's going to try out on Thursday. She was a cheerleader at her old school.'' Ava informed them. ''Oh, wow!'' Maya exclaimed, flipping her plait over her shoulder. Did all cheerleaders here do that or something? ''That's so cool!'' ''You should so practice with us.'' Shauna bounced slightly in her chair, her platinum blonde hair bouncing over her shoulders. ''That'd be cool.'' I smiled at her and they all clapped their hands in excitement. I caught a dark eye over their heads and saw Grace. She smirked at me and turned out of the cafeteria. I raised an eye brow and shook my head. Ava was right, she was slightly strange. ''So, sis, introduce me to your new friend.'' A deep silky voice came from behind us and I turned to look. A guy with blonde hair the exact shade of Ava's and dark blue eyes that were almost violet stared back at me. His skin was slightly tanned and his body well built. He had a chiselled jaw and high cheekbones. He was, in all honesty, perfection. Ava sighed next to me. ''Josh. Go away.'' ''Ava, be polite.'' He scolded her. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and glared at him. ''Lily, this is my brother Josh. Josh, this is Lily. She's new today.'' ''Pleasure to meet you, Lily.'' He stuck out his hand and I went to shake it but he brought it to his lips and gently kissed my fingers. I heard a longing sigh behind me and looked as he dropped my hand. Abby and Jules were sat with their chins resting on their hands staring at him. I had to stifle a giggle. ''Josh, go away. We're trying to talk.'' Ava said in an exasperated tone. ''Just being nice, sis. You should try it some time.'' He winked at me and turned to the table behind us where a group of guys with similar builds sat. ''Snap out of it.'' Ava clicked her fingers in Abby and Jules' faces and they jumped. I giggled a bit. ''Sorry about my brother. He can be a little annoying.'' She said to me, still glaring at the two girls. ''He's hot, Ava. I can't help it.'' Abby said in a wistful way. ''Ugh, fawn over him all you like, just don't do it around me.'' ''Ava, my brother is obsessed with you.'' ''Abby, your brother is fifteen. He just wants to see what women's breasts feel like.'' We all started laughing uncontrollably and it wasn't long before Ava joined in. Josh turned around and caught my eye and smiled at me. I wiped a tear from my eye and smiled back before I collapsed back into laughter. It might only be lunch, but my day was starting to look up.

THREE Try Outs I looked around the gym at the hoard of girls waiting to try out for cheerleading. We all wore similar outfits, white tanks and black shorts. I reached up and secured my ebony curls into a ponytail before taking my space on the floor. Ava and the other girls stood in front of us. A tall, slim lady with brown waves secured in a ponytail at the bottom of her neck held a clipboard. Her light brown eyes swept over us all and settled on me. Her lips curled into a slight smile. ''Okay listen up!'' Ava shouted and clapped her hands loudly. ''We'll run through a routine and you will copy. If Coach taps you on the shoulder, you're out, okay? There'll be ten of you left, there's only three spots so give it your best shot. Good luck!'' Her light blue eyes caught mine and she gave me a wink. I smiled back and readied myself for the routine. The routine was simple, stepping, clapping, it was just basic dance, but after ten minutes half the group was out. Ava moved on to show us some basic gymnastic moves and I followed with ease. I could do back flips at the age of 7. We were busy going through the second routine when the doors opened. Josh and a few of his friends walked into the gym and took a seat on the benches at the back. He raised his hand in a small wave to me as I kept up the pace. I could see Abby staring at him and she almost missed a step until Shauna jabbed her foot. I pursed my lips and smiled as Ava introduced more complex steps into the routine. An hour later, only ten of us were left like she said. ''Well done, girls! You've made it to the final routine. This will be more complex, with a lot of gymnastic steps. You'll go through the routine then Coach and I will pick three of you, the list will be on the board outside the Admin office tomorrow morning at 8am. This is your last chance to impress us, so give us all you've got!'' The music started up a fast beat and we immediately when into a complex routine of dance, aerobic steps and gymnastics. I kept up perfectly and noticed a few of the other girls stumbling and sweating. By the time the routine was over two of the girls were collapsing from exhaustion and Ava was beaming at me. She bounced over to me and gave me a massive hug. ''You were amazing! O.M.G I didn't know you were that good! You're definitely in.'' She whispered in my ear. I smiled and shrugged my shoulders as the other girls all came to hug me. ''Come on, let's go eat to celebrate. Pizza!'' Ivy pumped her fist in the air as we grabbed our bags and left the gym. ''I'll catch you guys up later, gotta talk to Coach.'' Ava winked at me and ran off to the other side of the gym. Josh caught my eye one more time and nodded at me. I smiled at him and followed the girls into the hallway. ** ''I can't believe how good you are.'' Abby said shaking her head as we waited for our food to arrive. I shrugged. ''I've been doing gymnastics and dance since I was five and I was in the squad in freshman year. I've spent a lot of time doing it.'' I took a sip of my coke as Abby carried on shaking her head. ''I still can't believe it.'' ''Ava will definitely put you on the team. You're too good not to be.'' Maya
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pointed at me with her straw and smiled. ''I bet you could even teach us some stuff.'' ''Oh.. I don't know..'' ''Stop being modest, Lily. You were amazing.'' Ava slid in the seat beside me and smiled. ''Have fun with Coach?'' Ivy asked her. ''We got you pepperoni.'' ''Thanks. Yeah, it was great. We chose the three girls.'' ''Who? Who?'' Shauna and Jules said in unison as they bounced on the seat. ''Well, we picked Millie, Lilah and...'' The girls all banged their hands on the table making a drum roll.. ''Lily!'' They erupted into a large cheer and hugged me over the table. I clapped my hands in glee and grabbed Ava into a massive hug. ''Thank you so much!'' ''You were too good not to! Plus Josh, Carson, Liam and Scott came over to give us their opinion. I apparently wasn't allowed to leave the gym until I let you in the team.'' She rolled her eyes and we laughed. ''I think Carson likes you, Ava.'' Ivy said while she stirred her ice cubes in her glass. ''What? That was random.'' Ava raised an eyebrow at her. ''Mhmm. But I've seen the way he looks at you.'' She waggled her finger at her. ''It's all, come hither, sexy eyes when he sees you. He has the major hots for you.'' Ava snorted. ''Yeah, okay Ivy. He's probably just like Abby's brother and wants a quick feel.'' She nodded her head towards Abby as the pizza arrived. ''No. He definitely wants you.'' Ivy said as she grabbed a piece of the middle of the table. ''Josh would kill him.'' Shauna said through a mouthful of pizza. ''She's right.'' Ava nodded with a slight sigh. ''Aha!'' Maya snapped her fingers and pointed at her. ''You like him too!'' I turned to Ava and to my surprise her cheeks flushed. ''You do!'' I exclaimed. ''Maybe. But that's not the point, is it?'' ''Just wait. He'll ask you to homecoming. I'm telling you!'' Ivy said passionately. ''I'm sure. Who are you taking?'' Ava said as she munched her way through her pizza. ''I'm going with Liam. He asked me before try outs. How could I say no? He's yummy.'' Ivy grinned. Abby rolled her eyes. ''Trust Ivy to already have a date. I wonder who'll ask me..'' She trailed off, looking out the window. No doubt thinking about Josh on her arm. Ava seemed to think the same thing and sighed. ''I hope to god my brother doesn't ask her or Jules. You'd never hear the end of it.'' She murmured to me. Although Ava had already told me I was on the squad, I wanted to see for myself. I parked my little old car in the lot and made my way to the Admin office the next morning. Sure as hell, my name was there. ''I told you yesterday!'' Ava's voice came from behind me and she hugged me. ''I know. I just wanted to see it.'' I grinned back at her. ''Well done, Lily. You were amazing.'' Josh grinned at me and pulled me into a
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quick hug. His arms were so warm and strong. I could see why Abby and Jules were so obsessed with him. I expected to see Ava roll her eyes when I pulled away but she was just smiling and bouncing on the balls of her feet. ''Come on, let's see Coach and you can get into your uniform!'' She grabbed my hand and I allowed her to drag me down the hall, shouting a quick 'bye!' to Josh. Ten minutes later I was in one uniform, and had another two safely stashed in my locker. I had to admit, I looked good in the blue, black and white of the cropped top and skirt. And the little white tennis trainers were dead cute. My ebony curls hung gently over my shoulders as I looked into my little compact mirror. My dark lashes curled around my bright blue eyes with their violet flecks standing out against my pale skin. ''I see you're a bouncy happy-go-lucky cheerleader then.'' I snapped my mirror shut and turned around to see Grace. ''Yeah, I am. Something wrong with that?'' I raised an eyebrow at her. I'd been here nearly a week and she hadn't introduced herself yet. ''Plenty, but nothing you'll agree with.'' She grinned at me. ''I'm Grace. Your cousin.'' ''I guessed.'' ''How you liking Salem so far?'' ''It's great. I've settled in really well.'' ''So I see.'' She smirked at me. ''Hows Uncle Mark and Aunt Celia?'' ''They're fine. Dad's off at his new job and Mum's making the house a home. Rosie comes back at the weekend to see the new house.'' ''Rosie? Your sister?'' ''Sorry. Yeah, she's 20. She's at Salem Uni doing marine biology.'' ''Oh cool. What does your mum do?'' We walked down the hall to home room. ''She's a photographer. I'm sure she'll love it here with all the old buildings and nature stuff.'' I waved my hand dismissively and she laughed slightly. ''Yeah. It's pretty nice round here for that stuff.'' ''So what do your parents do? Dad hasn't exactly told me much about our family. I didn't even know about you until the night before school.'' I was surprised at how easy to talk to she was when she got going. ''Uh, my Dad runs my mum's shop. She died 5 years ago.'' Grace hung her head slightly and her dark hair fell in front of her face. ''I'm sorry. I didn't know.'' ''It's cool.'' ''What kind of shop is it?'' ''It's a Wicca shop.'' She looked at me carefully to study my reaction. ''Like witchcraft? That's cool. My best friend in Colorado was a big Wicca fan. Kept trying to get me involved. I went to a few coven meetings with her but it didn't feel right. No offence.'' I finished quickly. The last thing I wanted to do was annoy my cousin. ''None taken.'' She grinned at me. ''You should stop by one time. Meet my Dad. He's your Uncle after all. And my sister, Iyla. She'd love to meet you. She's 19 and goes to Salem University so she can stay at home.'' ''That'd be cool.'' I smiled at her as we entered the room and made my way over to Ava.
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''You've met her then?'' ''Yeah, finally.'' I said as I threw my bag on the table. ''You look good. It goes with your hair amazing.'' ''Thanks.'' I smiled at her and she smiled back. ''Want to come to mine after school? Ivy's coming over.'' ''Sure. What are we doing?'' ''Movie night. It's Friday. Think your parents will let you sleep over?'' ''I don't see why not.'' ''Mum? I'm home!'' I shouted as I chucked my bag on the sofa and went into the kitchen. The back door was open and I found her outside snapping photos of a large maple tree. I stood and watched her for a moment. Mum could take photos like nothing I'd ever seen, she was amazing with that camera. She was the kind of photographer that could capture a butterfly mid flight, or a flower just opening it's petals still sparkling with morning dew. ''Mum?'' Her head snapped round and she smiled widely at me. ''Hello, darling.'' She looked at what I was wearing and gasped. ''You did it! Well done you!'' She ran over and gave me a massive hug, gently putting her camera on the kitchen table. ''You look fabulous.'' I grinned. ''Thanks, Mum. Is Dad home yet? Mr Miles was asking why he still hasn't called.'' I rolled my eyes dramatically as I searched the fridge. ''Yes, he's upstairs painting your room. He knows I've been itching to get out into the garden with my camera so took the day off to redecorate. I'm sure you'll love it. Go up and see him. It should be done now.'' She smiled as I grabbed an apple and from the fruit bowl and bounded up the stairs. I opened my bedroom door and my mouth dropped. My Dad was stood in the middle of the room and smiled as soon as he saw me, a proud gleam appeared in his eye. The walls of my room were now a pale lavender instead of that horrible cream. He'd re-varnished the floor so it was dark, instead of the horrible scratchy wood that was there before. A large white fluffy rug sat in the middle of the room. New cushions were propped on my window seat and the window frame was painted in white. A large double four poster bed sat in the corner with a deep purple comforter and various shades of purple cushions, draped in deep purple curtains that matched my comforter. An LCD TV hung on the opposite wall and my favourite pictures of various nature scenes my mum had taken hung on my wall. A white laptop sat in the corner on a desk. I squealed and ran across the room to hug him. ''It's perfect Dad! Thank you!'' ''Anything for my little girl.'' He kissed the top of my head as I sat down to try out my new bed. ''How did we afford everything?'' ''Your Grand-mamar left us a sizeable amount of money to redo the house when we moved in. Our room then Rosie's will be next. Although, Rosie's won't be as extravagant as this.'' He winked at me. ''Congratulations, pumpkin. I knew you'd make the squad.'' ''Thanks, Dad.'' I beamed at him. ''Oh, can I stay at Ava's tonight? We're having a movie night.''
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He thought carefully for a moment. ''I don't see why not, Lily.'' ''Awesome! Thanks Dad.'' He turned to leave. ''Oh! Please call Mr Miles, he asked my today why you haven't, it's getting a little annoying.'' I glared at him but he just chuckled. ''I'll go call Jem now. Always was the annoying one.'' He mused to himself as he shut my door. I instantly went to the laptop and turned it on, grabbing my cell and texting Ava at the same time. Dad said yes, what time u want me? I clicked around on the internet for fifteen minutes before my phone buzzed with a text, from Ava. Come @ 7. Josh will pick u up if u want? I squealed a little and immediately text back. That's cool. C u later.

FOUR Sleepover I grabbed my overnight bag as I saw Josh's black BMW pull into my drive. ''See you later Mum, Dad!'' ''Have fun honey!'' My Mum's voice called from the kitchen. I opened the door and made my way down the few steps. Josh got out of the car and opened the passenger side door for me. ''Hey, Lily.'' He said with a twinkle in his eye, taking my bag from me. ''Hey. Thanks.'' I smiled as I got into the car and he shut the door behind me. ''Ready for an all-nighter?'' He turned to me as he put the car in gear. ''You betcha. No point having a sleep over if you're not up all night!'' He chuckled as we left my long drive way and merged onto the road. ''Got a point there. At least Abby and Jules won't be there.'' I smirked a little at that. ''You sound almost relieved.'' ''I am.'' I laughed. ''They follow me round like lost sheep. They're completely obsessed.'' He shook his head and laughed with me. ''You do realise Abby's hoping you'll ask her to Homecoming, right?'' I eyed him carefully. ''Oh gosh, poor girls gonna get her heart broken. I've got my eye on someone else.'' He winked at me and I raised an eyebrow. Why do guys have to be so cryptic? ''Make sure you let her down gently then.'' I said with a grin. ''But of course. Ava would kill me if I didn't.'' I nodded my head in agreement as we pulled into a house that looked much like mine, but a bit smaller and less... bedraggled. The front door flew open and Ava appeared, already in a white tank and pink pyjama bottoms with fluffy pink slippers. Her blonde hair was loose over her shoulders and curled slightly at the ends. Josh opened my door and retrieved my bag from the trunk.
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''Thank you.'' I smiled at him as he handed it to me. ''Any time.'' He locked the car with a push of the button, winked, and went into the house. ''Lily!'' Ava bounced as I came to the door. ''Hey!'' ''Come on up and get changed, we've already got the food sorted!'' I followed Ava into the house and was amazed. It was so modern compared to mine. A wide spiral staircase stood in the middle of the entry hall and the walls were littered with pictures of Ava and Josh, from babies to their age now. ''Wow, you guys were cute kids.'' I said, grinning at Ava as we started up the stairs. ''Yeah, yeah, everyone says that. I have the best thing to tell you!'' I followed her into her room. It was pink and girly, exactly like I was expecting. Pictures of her in her cheerleading uniform with the girls doing various moves hung over her walls, there was no wardrobe so I guessed she had a closet like mine. Ivy was sat on a large, hot pink beanbag painting her toe nails. ''Hey Lily.'' She looked up and gave me a slight smile. ''Hey, Ivy.'' ''Bathrooms just in there.'' Ava pointed to a door leading off her room. ''Cool.'' I came back out a few minutes later clad in my pyjamas ready for the night. ''So, you'll never guess what!'' Ava squealed as I sat on the bed next to her and crossed my legs. ''What?'' ''Carson asked me to homecoming!'' She hugged herself and beamed. ''Oh wow! That's amazing. You were right, Ivy.'' I grinned at her and she looked up. ''I know, I'm always right. I also know who's going to ask you.'' She winked at me. ''Who?'' Who could possibly want to take me to homecoming? Who knows me well enough? ''Josh, of course.'' I glanced at Ava and she was bobbing her head in agreement. ''No way.'' I shook my head. ''Yes way. He has the hots for you, Lily. You might have only been here a week, but he'll ask you.'' She said sternly, pointing her varnish brush at me. ''He will.'' Ava said. ''Trust me.'' She winked and I settled back against the wall. ''If you say so.'' I smirked slightly, not believing them at all. Soon, we were all settled on the bed watching Twilight and drooling over Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson, munching on popcorn, chips and sweets when someone knocked at Ava's door. Josh poked his head round and rolled his eyes and us all sat staring dreamily at the screen. ''Ava. Abby's downstairs.'' He said in a bored voice. Ava sat upright. ''I didn't invite her tonight.'' ''I know. And she's pissed. But not at you.'' ''Oh Josh, what did you do?'' She sighed as she climbed off the bed and slid her slippers back on. His eyes flicked over to mine.
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''I didn't do anything. She called and asked me to homecoming, then when I said no, I was hoping to take someone else,'' again, his eyes flickered to mine. Guys! ''She drove over here and is now having a hissy fit in the front room. Mum's trying to calm her down but she's er.. pretty distraught.'' Me and Ivy looked at each other and bit our lips. Ava wasn't so discreet. She burst out laughing. ''Oh dear lord.'' She choked out. I turned to Josh and waggled my finger. ''I told you to let her down gently.'' ''I know, I tried.'' He grinned at me. ''I can't help it if there's someone I want to take more than her.'' His eyes pierced mine and I flushed slightly before finding something interesting in the popcorn bowl. Ivy caught the whole thing and nudged my leg. I looked at her and she raised her eyebrow in a 'I told you so' kind of way. Ava stopped laughing and turned to us. ''You don't mind if she joins us, do you? She probably won't leave.'' ''Not at all.'' Me and Ivy both smiled as she followed Josh down the stairs. ''I told you.'' Ivy said as soon as the door shut. ''Maybe. But he hasn't, has he?'' I said back to her. ''Not yet, but he will.'' The rest of the night consisted of listening to Abby moan about how unfair her life was.. and the rest. After one hour I found that I really, really didn't care anymore. ''Hey, girls, I'm just feeling a bit funny so I'm gonna go sit in the garden, okay?'' Ava turned to me. ''That's cool. I'll come with you.'' Ivy gave her a disdainful look as we left the room. ''Thank god for that.'' Ava said as we sat down on the grass outside. ''I know what you mean. Too much.'' I shook my head. ''What are you two doing out here?'' We turned around and Josh was stood with Carson, football in hand. ''Hey, Ava.'' Carson said. ''Hey, Carson.'' She smiled shyly and tucked her hair behind her ear. Ava, shy? That was a new one. ''I thought you guys were having a girly night?'' He asked us both. ''We were.'' I replied, glaring at Josh. He held his hands up, dropping the ball. ''Hey hey..'' '' She's killing us, Josh.'' Ava said, scooping up the ball and throwing it at his stomach. He caught it neatly and sat down next to me. ''It's not my fault the girls in love with me, what can I do?'' He winked at me, and I swear, in that moment, my heart stopped. ''I don't blame her, do you, Lily?'' What? Instead of passing out with shock, like I really wanted to, I snorted. ''Don't think too much of yourself then, Josh?'' I arched my eyebrow and Ava fell backwards laughing. Even Carson chuckled. He slapped Josh on his shoulder. ''Think you've met your match there, bro. Finally, a girl that can stand up to you and doesn't fall at your feet!'' Oh Carson, if only you knew.

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FIVE A Date And A Spell The next week flew by in a mixture of decorating, seeing Rosie, cheer practice and dress shopping. But as it stood, I still didn't have a date. Scott had asked Maya to Homecoming, and Abby and Shauna had been asked by two other Juniors. Jules was still holding out hope Josh would ask her and well, me, I was just holding out for a date. Salem wasn't as bad as I thought. I mean I walked into the school, made friends with the most popular girls and was on the cheer squad by the end of the week. It could have been worse. We were just finishing up cheer practice four days before the Homecoming dance, and three days before the Homecoming game. It was my first proper cheer and I was so nervous but already had the routine to perfection. What made me nervous was the fact I knew Josh would be on the field. ''Okay girls, that was great! One more practice on Thursday night and we're there! Go Witches!'' Ava said with a fist pump in our locker room. We were all making our way outside when I heard my name being called. I turned around and Josh was jogging down the field towards me. ''I'll catch you up in a minute. Meet you at your car?'' I said to Ivy as I watched him jog over. ''Oh you will.'' She said with a knowing look. I rolled my eyes and walked over to him. ''Hey. What's up?'' I asked him, setting my bag on the floor and leaning on the railings. ''That practice was awesome. You're really good.'' He grinned at me. I flushed slightly. ''Thanks.'' ''Hey er, Lily, I wanted to ask you something.'' I looked up and he looked a bit nervous. ''Sure, what is it?'' I could feel my heart pumping in my chest as he moved closer and leant next to me on the railings with one arm, looking right at me. ''Do you want to come to the Homecoming dance with me?'' My breath caught as I looked up at him. He was looking at me with such earnest I couldn't help but smile. ''Sure.'' He smiled back. ''Great. We've got a limo booked, it's Ava, Carson, Ivy, Liam, Maya and Scott. And now us.'' ''Sounds great to me.'' I smiled again. ''Is Ivy giving you a lift home?'' He looked at me and bent to pick up my bag. ''Yeah she is, she's waiting by her car.'' He grabbed my bag with one hand and put his free arm around my shoulders. ''Let me walk you there.'' ''Okay.'' I smiled up at him as we made our way to Ivy's car. I couldn't ignore the warmth coming from his arm resting over my shoulders and suppressed a happy sigh. Instead I just smiled slightly and caught his eye. He seemed to have the same smile I did as we found Ivy sat on her car bonnet. ''Ready then, Lily?'' She said with a small smirk as she hopped off.
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''Yeah.'' Josh handed me my bag and smiled. ''I'll see you tomorrow, Lily.'' ''Bye.'' I waved as he climbed into his car and left the parking lot. I turned to Ivy when he was out of view and she hugged me and we both squealed. ''You were right!'' I exclaimed. ''Of course I was. I'm always right!'' ''Come on, Lily. Please? It's not something we shout about. It's completely private. The only person that knows is Grace and that's because Ivy goes to her shop for the stuff.'' Ava pleaded with me after the Homecoming game in the locker room, which we won, by the way. ''It's just a bit of fun.'' ''Ugh, okay, I'll come. Don't expect me to know what I'm doing though. My best friend in Colorado loved it but I never got the feel for it. If I hate it, I'm not doing it again, okay?'' ''Okay. I promise.'' Ivy moved around the circle lighting the candles. We were sat in the woods behind Ava's house preparing for a Wiccan power raising spell. I had no idea what we were doing or how the hell I let myself be talked into this. We were sat around according to our star signs. I was a Leo, fire. So I was sat by the red candle with Jules. Ava was sat by the dark blue water candle with Abby, Shauna by the light blue Air candle and Maya by the green Earth candle. Ivy would sit with Shauna by Air. Ivy lit each coloured candle and sat next to Shauna as we all linked hands. ''Goddess of Air, our life force, we ask for your blessing.'' They chanted together. ''Goddess of Earth, our very being, we ask for your blessing.'' Maya chanted. ''Goddess of Water, our flowing guidance, we ask for your blessing.'' Ava and Abby said. ''Goddess of Fire, our heart and our passion, we ask for your blessing.'' I found myself saying along with Jules. I had no idea what to say, so where did that come from? The flames on the candle jumped slightly, getting bigger as the ground rumbled gently below us. A small wind whirled around the group, catching my hair and pulling it along. Moisture from the ground came up and gathered into a small pool in the centre of the circle, rippling with the gentle vibrations from the ground. I felt a warmth inside me, and it quickly got warmer and warmer until it filled my whole body. I felt peaceful, serene. I looked around and noticed the only other person with a relaxed look on their face was Ava. Everyone else looked slightly relaxed, but her body was limp, the way I knew mine was. Our eyes met and she gazed at me questioningly. I raised an eyebrow at her slightly and she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. The feelings around us slowly died down but I could still feel the warmth in my body. ''Earth Goddess, we thank you.'' Maya blew out her candle. We all repeated the same to our respective element and blew out our candles. We heard a rustling in the bushes and Grace walked out. She glared at Ava and the
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circle. Then she saw me and her eyes widened before she turned back to Ava. ''Don't mess with what you don't understand, Adams.'' ''What are you on about, Grace? I understand perfectly. We weren't doing any harm.'' Her eyes flickered to me again. ''Lily, I think you should go home.'' ''Excuse me?'' I stood up and clenched my fists. ''Who do you think you are?'' ''I'm your cousin, and I'm looking out for you. You don't understand this. You should go. Talk to your Dad.'' I opened my mouth to speak but her eyes were pleading with me. Instead I grabbed my bag. ''I'll see you guys tomorrow night.'' I stormed out of the woods and round the side of Ava's house to my car where Josh had just pulled in. ''Hey, Lily! Ava in the woods?'' I rolled my eyes. ''Yes.'' ''What's up?'' He got out of the car as I chucked my bag onto the passenger side. ''My cousin.'' ''Grace?'' ''How did you guess?'' I drawled sarcastically. He chuckled. ''Because she always turns up in the woods. She knows what they do.'' I eyed him suspiciously. ''Do you?'' ''Of course I do. Ava can't keep anything from me.'' He leant against my car casually. ''She might act like she hates me in school, but really we're close.'' ''Oh. Right.'' ''What were you doing out there anyway?'' I sighed. ''They asked me to go so I did. My friend in Colorado had dragged me to a few coven meetings before.'' ''Did you feel anything?'' He asked. ''No..'' ''But this time was different. You girls raised a lot of power back there.'' ''How do you..'' ''I'll see you tomorrow night, Lily.'' He quickly leant over and kissed my cheek before he walked into the house. Boys.

SIX Family History I sat at the kitchen table with my Dad opposite me. ''Grace told you to come home because there's things about me, about you, and this family you don't know, Lily. Things that are secret just to this family and a few others like us.'' ''Like us?'' I scowled. ''What do you mean, like us?''
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''Let me start at the beginning, Lily. I'll tell you our history, okay?'' He rubbed his temples with his fingers and stared into his coffee mug. ''Sorry, pumpkin. I knew this day would come when we moved back here but I just didn't expect it so soon.'' He gave me a sad smile and I frowned. ''What?'' He took a sip of his coffee then set the steaming mug back down. ''This house has been in our family for four hundred years. It was built by my great-grandfather.'' ''What? How is that possible?'' I interrupted. ''Just listen. Rumours started in his home town in England about witches and people that used magic to bend others to their will and control the elements. A fisherman off the coast of Cornwall went to a local priest and claimed a young woman placed an enchantment upon him to do her bidding. The priest investigated and consulted other priests from around the county. Apparently it had been said a few times in various places in the country. One man had seen another light a fire from his bare hands, another was reported to have controlled the sea making it difficult for others to fish so he got the biggest catch. Priests from around the country began meeting and one stood up, Henry Luther. He demanded witches be caught and burned at the stake. ''My great-grandfather knew of the truth in these stories, for he himself had the power of the wind. He could control the wind and send messages on it to his wife, my great-grandmamar. My great-grandmamar was also gifted, she could heal people. They decided to leave England and move to the New World, so they settled here in Salem. They built this house and carried on their normal jobs, my greatgrandfather carried on fishing and my great-grandmother carried on her healing work, mostly with herbs, but she did use her gift. They lived here for thirty years before the witch rumours began. By this time they had a family, my grandfather, his brother, and his sister. ''Henry Luther had been exiled from England to the New World after claims he'd stolen the powers of the witches he'd burned at the stake. He carried on his work in Salem, seeking out witchcraft and burning them, then stealing their powers as their soul left their body.'' He watched me for my reaction but I was too enthralled in the story. ''Carry on.'' He cleared his throat. ''My great-grandmamar was one of these people. He'd watched them for months and decided she had a magical gift. He arrived with his army of, believe it or not, enchanted followers from his church and captured her. She was burned at the stake on the ground that's now the Salem Witch Trials Memorial Park. My great-grandfather watched as the woman he loved was killed for helping people with her gift. He wanted to help her, but he couldn't, or my grandfather and his other children would have been left alone. So he simply walked away. He knew in his heart it was already too late.'' I wiped a tear from my eye and looked at my Dad. ''Why did he take their powers if he hated them so much?'' ''Because no matter how much he hated them, he craved the power. He was a greedy man, Lily.'' I nodded and let that sink in. ''So do you..? You know. Have this gift?'' Powers? Magic? Say what? He nodded. ''I do, pumpkin. My grandfather and great uncles and aunts got
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together with the other surviving witches and created Wicca after my greatgrandfather was killed by Henry Luther. It was the only way to keep themselves safe. They relocated back to England for a short while and came back to introduce America to the Wicca way. They hid behind it to conceal their true selves. It was clever, really. They married, had families and died naturally under the Wicca disguise. Everyone thought Henry Luther was gone. And he was, but he'd had a son, unbeknownst to the rest of the town, and passed his legacy on, and his son passed it to his and so on. Henry's stolen powers passed down to his children much the same way ours do. His great-grandson is alive and somewhere in America. Your grandmamar didn't die of old age, Lily. She was killed, by Henry's greatgrandson. That's why we came back. There are other witches in the town, they keep it quiet but I know the old family names. We have to convene and destroy him. He's picking families off one at a time, and next it'll be me, and then your Uncle and then you girls.'' ''Does mum not have this.. gift?'' I creased my brow. It was nearing midnight and it was a lot to take in after the big game tonight. ''No, sweetheart. But she knows I do.'' He took another gulp of his coffee as I got an orange juice from the fridge. ''You said you were doing a Wicca spell tonight. What spell was it?'' He asked as I sat back down. ''A power raising one. I didn't even want to go. I just.. Did.'' I sighed. ''What did you feel?'' He said eagerly. I looked at him, confused. ''I went all warm. It started off in the pit of my belly but then my whole body went warm, and relaxed. It was a nice feeling. Still feel a bit like it, actually.'' He smiled. ''You might be coming into your powers, Lily. No-one knows what you'll be able to do. But your Grand-mamar had the gift of foresight and once told us a child would be born with the potential for great power. We can only hope it was you she foretold us of that day.'' ''So how old was Grand-mamar?'' ''She was nearing 150 years old. She said she lost count after 110. Made her feel old.'' He chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. ''But I really am 50, before you ask.'' I nodded. ''Even though I'm supposed to have these.. powers. Can I still practice Wicca? I actually liked it tonight.'' He nodded. ''Definitely, Lily. It's best if you can hide behind the cover of a group of teen girls playing with made up spells.'' ''So do they not work?'' ''They do, but only if you're a true witch. They are real spells, honey, but not to an average human.'' ''Cool.'' I yawned widely. ''You go to bed, pumpkin. You have a big night tomorrow. When are you being picked up?'' ''Last. They want Mum to take the pictures. She of course was ecstatic.'' I grinned as I stood up. ''I want to meet your date, what's his name again?'' ''Dad!'' I moaned. ''He's called Josh, and he's Ava's brother. Please don't scare him off.''

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SEVEN Homecoming Dance I anxiously smoothed my white knee-length puffball dress down in front of my mirror. A bright pink sash clinched my waist and tied into a bow at the back with a pair of bright pink peep toe heels. My black hair was in its natural loose, curly state and clipped over to my left side so it cascaded down my left arm and over my shoulder. I grabbed a small pink clutch and made my way down the stairs so my mum could get her photos. ''Oh, Lily! You look beautiful.'' She snapped a few pictures of me walking down the stairs with tears in her eyes. Dad stood with his arm around her shoulders with a proud smile. I smiled widely as Mum carried on her clicking through a small sob. Dad pulled me into his arms for a fatherly hug and I heard the faint rumble of a car pull up outside. I ran to the window and saw Josh step out the limo, clad in a sharp suit, crisp white shirt and bright pink tie. He held a small white corsage in his hand. I watched as everyone else climbed out the car. Ava was in a pale blue beaded dress that hugged her toned body and set off the blue of her eyes. Ivy's dress was blood red and strapless, falling just below her knees. Maya wore a spaghetti strapped, simple black dress, with a bright blue bow around the waist. Someone knocked at the door and I rushed back into the hallway, quickly double checking my hair and make up in the mirror. Dad raised an amused eyebrow at me before opening the door to Josh. ''Mr Mauve. Mrs Mauve.'' Dad stuck out his hand for him and Josh gladly accepted. ''Firm handshake. I might just like you boy.'' Dad chuckled to him. ''Dad!'' I scolded, mortified. He chuckled along with Josh who saw the joke. I rolled my eyes at Mum and she gave me a sympathetic smile, clicking on her camera. Does she ever put that thing down? ''Come on inside everyone. I've bought a bottle of champagne so you can all have a small glass for the pictures.'' Dad motioned with his arm for everyone to follow inside. Josh went to my mum and she offered her hand which he gently kissed as he had done the first time we met. Then he turned to me, beaming. I smiled back and he came over and kissed my hand, before kissing me gently on the cheek. Mum's camera clicking in the background, of course. She said she wanted 'natural' shots as well as posed ones. He gently placed a the corsage on my wrist as Mum's camera zoomed in on my hand in his. ''Mum?'' I raised my eyebrow and she smiled. ''Sorry, love.'' She turned around and took pictures of my unsuspecting friends while Dad walked in with a tray full of glasses of champagne. ''Outside for pictures!'' He boomed over the chatter. Josh was still smiling at me as he helped me down the steps and we took our glasses from my Dad and lined up outside. We all posed and smiled, boys together, girls together, Ava and Josh together, couples, then finally, me and Josh. At least when this was over we could jump in the limo and escape my crazy parents. He stood with his arm around me as we smiled at each other and the camera for Mum, who was definitely a bit excited at my first real Homecoming date. Josh leaned into my ear and whispered gently. ''You look beautiful, Lily.'' My
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cheeks flushed a little and I turned to him. ''Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself.'' I winked and we laughed. He gently kissed the top of my head as I heard Dad telling Mum that she had more than enough pictures to keep her editing until the Prom. She reluctantly agreed but still took pictures of us in the limo and leaving. I shook my head when we left the driveway and they were out of sight. ''Your Mum. Is. So. Cool.'' Maya said as we left. ''What?'' I asked in shock. ''I bet we'll have some amazing pictures.'' Ava said excitedly. ''Yeah we will. She's a fantastic photographer.'' I nodded. ''She has a good subject.'' Josh said to me with a smile. I glanced over to Ava expecting her to have a scowl on her face but instead she was smiling at us. Huh, anyone would think she preferred me to Abby and Jules. The gym was decorated to the high heavens in the school colours for homecoming, and it looked amazing. Streamers hung from the ceiling and the school flags with a witch on were draped on the walls. I found that more ironic than clich now. I scanned the room and saw Grace lurking the corner. I excused myself from the girls for a moment to talk to her. ''Hey.'' She turned to look at me. ''Hey. Sorry about last night. You just..'' ''I know, it's cool. Dad told me everything last night.'' I said in a hushed voice. ''Have you..?'' I raised an eyebrow. She nodded. ''Earth and healing.'' ''Cool. Well, I just wanted to say thank you for making me leave last night. I guess I needed to know about our family before weird things started to happen.'' Grace laughed. It was the first time I'd heard her proper laugh. ''Yeah, it was a bit strange until Dad explained to me.'' ''Do you know anyone else?'' ''No, I have a few ideas but I know your Dad's looking so I'm gonna mention them to my Dad so he can pass it on. Hopefully it'll help.'' I nodded. ''Definitely.'' Grace nodded behind me and I felt an arm snake round my waist. I looked up and saw Josh smiling down at me. ''Hey. Want to dance?'' I looked back to Grace. ''Do you mind?'' ''No, we'll catch up soon.'' She walked off and I turned back to Josh. ''I guess I'm all yours then.'' He lead me to the dance floor. ''I should hope you are.'' He murmured. I was about to ask him what he meant when he scooped me into his arms and we started dancing. The song was slow, so I curled my arms round his neck and rested my head on his shoulder. He leaned his head on top of mine as we swayed in time with the music. I saw Ava dancing with Carson next to us and she caught my eye and winked. I winked back and smiled. I felt Josh's thumbs gently stroking my back and sighed slightly. Was it possible to be this happy? Apparently so. Maybe Dad was right. Moving to Salem was good thing. It'd only been 3 or so weeks but I felt more happy here than I had in
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Colorado. I'd certainly never felt this happy around Miles, my almost boyfriend. I spent the next two hours dancing, sometimes with Josh, but mostly with the girls. I even managed to sneak a quick one in with Grace. She was really quite nice when you got past all the make up and black clothing. Oh, and the rude and sarcastic attitude. The last dance was announced at some point later on and Josh found me as Carson grabbed Ava away from me with a cheeky grin. I shook my head and smiled as Josh's arms wrapped round my waist and pulled me close to him. I gently rested my hands on his rock hard chest and looked up at him. ''You really do look beautiful tonight.'' He said quietly to me. ''Thank you.'' I smiled back. ''You know, Lily. You're pretty special.'' ''Oh yeah, am I?'' I said with a raised eyebrow. Don't let him know how crazy you are for him, Lily, I said to myself in my head. ''Yes. You are.'' He nuzzled the side of my neck with his face and brought his lips to my ears. ''In fact, I think I might really like you.'' ''Well, I'd hope you do given the way you're dancing with me.'' He chuckled lightly and came back to look at me. ''You have this massive wall built around yourself, don't you?'' He said, sweeping some of my hair from my face. ''It's like, you don't want anyone to know how you really feel in case you get hurt.'' ''I don't know what you mean.'' I said, slightly defensively. But he was completely right. I really liked him, but he was drop dead gorgeous and I was well, me. He had most of the girls in school fawning over him. ''You know exactly what I mean. It's okay to protect yourself. But just so you know, I plan to break through that wall, Lily.'' He gently stroked my cheek. ''I mean it when I say I really like you. You're not like Ava's other friends that are constantly drooling over me. You keep me on my toes with your sarcastic comments. I like it.'' ''Really?'' I said in deliberate sarcastic tone. He chuckled again. ''Like that.'' I smiled at him and wrapped my arms completely round his neck. ''Well, I suppose you're not that bad.'' He raised an eyebrow as we swayed to the music. ''Not that bad?'' ''Mhmm. I guess I could do worse.'' He laughed. ''Well, you can't do any better.'' He winked at me and I gasped in mock shock. ''You really do think so much of yourself, Mr Adams.'' ''You love it, Miss Mauve.'' Then he kissed me. Oh, sweet gods. His lips were so soft as he gently moved them against mine. He pulled away after what seemed like hours and rested his forehead against mine. ''See? I told you.'' I slapped his shoulder and giggled. I looked over to where I'd last seen Ava and Carson and saw them kissing in a dark corner. I giggled again and looked at Josh. ''If I were you, I wouldn't look for your sister.'' He looked to where I just did and shrugged. ''I just kissed her best friend. Can't exactly tell her off can I?'' He grinned again. ''I'm her best friend?'' ''Of course you are silly. She trusts you more than the others. They're all..
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fickle. You're not. You're special, I told you.'' I smiled as he kissed me gently again. I let out a small sigh as he pulled away. Suddenly, the lights went out and the music stopped. Seconds later a bloodcurdling scream reverberated off the walls and the gym doors banged. ''Hold on, hold on!!'' Came a teachers voice as he felt along the wall for the lights. They flipped back on and I saw a girl in a black and blue dress lying on the floor with a knife in her side. I heard both mine and Ava's voice's scream at the same time. ''Maya!'' We both ran to her side along with the rest of the cheerleading squad as the teachers tried to clear everyone out. Scott bent down and felt for a pulse, his hands shaking. ''It's still there, barely. Oh god.'' He knelt down next to her and put his head in his hands. Josh and Carson stood next to him and gently lead him away from her. I caught Grace's eye through the swarm of students and silently begged her to help. Please, Grace, please. Please do something, she's my friend, I don't want to lose her! As if she heard, she came running over and told everyone to move out. Me and Ava stayed exactly where we were next to her as the hall cleared out. ''What can you do?'' I asked her urgently. ''Not much. Everyone saw her get stabbed. In fact I shouldn't really do anything.'' She said with a pointed look at Ava. ''Please, Grace. You think I don't know? You think you're the only person in this school that doesn't need Wicca? I don't know why you're here but if you can help her then do it!'' Ava hissed and I looked at her. ''You mean, you can..?'' She grabbed my hand. ''I'll explain later.'' We both turned to Grace. She sighed deeply, but didn't seem too shocked at Ava's revelation. ''I can slow the bleeding right down and close up any serious damage inside, but I can't heal it completely, okay? Too many people saw her.'' ''Please, just do anything. Anything Grace.'' I begged. Tears were silently falling down both mine and Ava's faces by this point. Grace placed her hand on Maya's side and closed her eyes. A few minutes later as the ambulance's pulled up she pulled away. ''I've done all I possibly can.'' She got up and left us with Maya, still lying unconscious. The paramedics came in and asked us to move away. Ava took my hand and pulled me across the gym. ''Stay with me tonight, okay? We'll go and see her in the morning. I'm sure your parents won't mind. We apparently have a lot to talk about.'' I simply nodded as she pulled me out of the gym towards the limo where Josh and Carson were standing. Within seconds of seeing us Josh had us both in his arms, hugging us tightly. Ava scooted out of his grip and towards Carson who grabbed her in a tight hug. Josh's arms tightened around me as I gently put my arms around his waist leaning my head on his chest, tears still rolling down my cheeks. How could a perfect night turn out so badly?

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EIGHT Truths I curled up on the sofa in Ava's front room cradling a mug of hot chocolate wearing a pair of her pyjamas. She sat on the sofa opposite me in the same position. We heard Josh and Carson's voices in the hall as we both silently replayed the night's events in our minds. ''Carson, you have to be honest with her. If you want anything more than friendship with her she needs to know.'' ''Could tell you the same thing mate.'' ''Oh for gods sake, Car! I'm going in there right now and I swear, if you want to date my sister you'll be following me!'' Ava looked at me and frowned. ''What..?'' Josh and Carson walked into the room, minus the ties and jackets, their shirts undone to the waist and untucked. I took a very inappropriate moment to ogle Josh's chest until he sat down next to me and lifted my legs before placing them on his lap. ''So.'' He said when Carson had sat down next to Ava and wrapped his arm around her. ''I think we have a lot to talk about.'' Ava nodded and set her cup down on the table. I followed suit and curled up against Josh. The room was silent for a few minutes. Ava looked at me. ''I'm a witch.'' She carefully watched for my reaction. ''Me too.'' She opened her mouth then closed it again. ''You are?'' I nodded. ''That's why Grace acted the way she did last night. She wanted me to know about our family before I did any Wicca spells.'' ''That makes sense.'' Ava nodded to herself. ''You were the only person that reacted the way I did. Maya is too, I think. But not as powerful as us.. She was more relaxed than the others when the power was flowing.'' She frowned. I turned to Josh. ''Does that mean..?'' He nodded. ''I am too. And so is Carson. There's only a few families left in Salem. I hear your Dad's trying to collect them?'' I chuckled at his wording. ''Yeah. He wants everyone to come together, almost like an extra large coven to get rid of Henry Luther's great-grandson. He killed my Grandmother. Do you think he did this to Maya?'' Carson nodded. ''I do. She's a witch, not a powerful one but a witch all the same. She's my cousin, but her Mum was never as powerful as mine for some reason. But power is power to the Luther family. We generally keep it between the family, you three are the only people outside of my family to know about us.'' I turned to Ava who was clearly trying to get her head around the fact she'd been best friend with a witch for years and not known, and her date was one too. ''Have you got your powers yet?'' I asked her and she shook her head. ''Not yet. Mum thinks I'll have at least a water based power, as it's my zodiac element. You'll probably be fire. Josh can control air.'' ''Grace can control Earth and obviously she can heal. This is all so weird. A
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month ago I was just a normal teenage girl, and now I'm apparently a witch, someone wants to kill me and that same person has stabbed one of my best friends?'' I shook my head and buried my face in Josh's shoulder as his arms tightened around me. I felt the tears burning my eyes again and squeezed them tight. ''How long have you two known about each other?'' Ava asked Carson and Josh. ''A few months. Josh caught me playing with the plants in Mum's garden. I had no way to explain seven foot tall roses.'' Carson laughed. ''Wow, I should hope I'll never be short of flowers then.'' Ava joked to him and I turned my head and laughed. ''If you can control air then Josh, if it's really windy I expect you to direct it away from me so my hair won't get messed up, okay?'' I smirked and him and he threw his head back and laughed. ''Of course.'' He turned to Carson. ''Game of football?'' ''It's midnight!'' I said, incredulously. ''So?'' Carson grinned. ''Never too late for football.'' He gently kissed Ava and stood up to get the ball. Josh looked at me and grinned. I smiled slightly at him and he gave me a soft kiss before running off after Carson. Me and Ava both sighed and leant back into the chair. ''He can be so cute when he wants to be.'' Ava said with a smirk at me. ''Huh?'' I said, still in a daze. ''My brother. He really likes you.'' ''Does it not bother you? I mean, with Abby and Jules you got really annoyed.'' I bit my bottom lip and looked down. ''Not at all, Lily! I know you've only been here a few weeks, but I trust you, even more than I trust Ivy, and that's a lot. I could tell he liked you the first time he met you. It doesn't bother me at all. And at least he didn't tell me off for making out with Carson.'' She grinned and I giggled. ''I did mention it, but he said he couldn't exactly tell you off as he'd just kissed your best friend.'' ''He has a point.'' She smirked again and grabbed her drink.

NINE Confrontation. And A Zap School was quiet on Monday. A cloud hung over everyone's heads. Everyone had heard about Maya whether they were at the dance or not, and how lucky she'd been that the knife hadn't done serious damage inside. Me, Ava and Grace all knew better, of course. What serious damage there had been Grace had healed. Abby was the worst at lunch, shooting me daggers with her eyes every few minutes until I finally had enough. I was exhausted, worried, stressed and very
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grumpy. ''What is your problem Abby?'' I said, slamming my water bottle on the table, making Ava and Ivy jump next to me. ''You know exactly what my problem is.'' She said in an icy tone. ''If I knew, I wouldn't have asked.'' I said back sarcastically. ''You knew how I felt about Josh, and now you're.. dating him or whatever it is!'' She all but yelled, throwing her hands up in the air, drawing the attention of other tables around us. I sighed. ''Abby he asked me to Homecoming. I didn't know he liked me. I like him, a lot. He asked me, I said yes. He kissed me, I kissed him back. That's it. End of story.'' ''Well, actually, I'd quite like to be your boyfriend.'' Oh, gods. I forgot they sat behind us. ''Not now, Josh.'' Ava hissed over her shoulder. Abby shot me a look that could kill then stormed away from the table, followed by Jules. I turned to Ava. ''Can I drop her in practice tonight?'' Ivy and Shauna burst out laughing and I heard Carson and Liam chuckle behind me. Ava raised an eyebrow and looked at me, trying to hold back a giggle. ''I'm being serious.'' I said, picking my water back up. ''On her head, preferably.'' That was all it took. Ava couldn't hold it in any longer and collapsed onto the table shaking with laughter. I turned to Josh who was looking at me, amused. I just grinned and shrugged. ''What?'' I asked. ''Nothing. I'd just quite like to see you do that.'' It turned out I didn't get to drop her in practice. Coach had us doing a new basic dance and gym routine, no lifts needed yet. Abby and Jules worked on the other side of the gym while I stood up front with Ava, Ivy and Shauna. It felt strange practising without Maya, we were always side by side so I felt a little alone. Ivy seemed to sense it so quickly moved from Shauna's side at the end to next to me. I smiled at her gratefully as Coach handed us our pom-poms. Half an hour later we were free to go, and I was casually walking along the parking lot to my beloved little red beetle, twirling my keys on my finger when I heard Abby shout my name. ''Lily!'' ''What do you want, Abby?'' I said as I spun on my heels. ''This.'' Then she slapped me across the face. Yes, that's right, she slapped me. What a bitch. My hand flew to my cheek and I stared at her in shock. ''That's what you get for stepping in where you're not wanted.'' She wanted to play bitch? Okay then, let's go. ''Well Abby, I hope that felt half as good as what it did when he kissed me on Saturday night, cause if it did, you must be on cloud nine.'' She clenched her fists at her sides. ''That was a low blow, Lily.'' ''Oh, and your slap wasn't? If you want a fair fight Abby I'll give you one. Just stop being so pathetic and get over it.''
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I turned back to walk to my car when she grabbed my ponytail. My right arm started to burn. On instinct I turned around and punched her in the stomach, winding her. She let go of my hair and stood back up straight. I put my right hand on her shoulder and looked at her. ''Leave me alone. Now.'' Her eyes flickered for a second with fear but she stuck her chin up and looked me dead on. ''No.'' I felt myself get stupidly angry and before I knew it, I felt a buzz under my arm and quickly moved my fingers, rubbing her uniform against her shoulder as a small shock released itself from my body. She jumped backwards and rubbed her shoulder. ''What did you do?'' She glared at me accusingly. ''Nothing. I guess I just get a little electrically charged when I'm angry.'' I smirked and ran to my car and pulled out before she could see I was shaking. What happened there? Was that my powers? I needed to talk to Grace. I pulled up outside Witchy Bits, Grace's mum's store and pulled on my hoodie. I went into the shop and looked around. The wall to my right was lined with different crystals and candles, to my left was a wall full of herbs. A table sat in the middle of the shop lined with different Wiccan books. I walked past the table towards a rack that held various potions and looked at the labels. Love potions, healing potions, sleeping potions. A rack behind me held different incense sticks, one was burning giving off the strong sent of lavender that I adored. I moved past rails of cloaks and robes to the back of the store where a small counter with a till stood. A tall man that bore a significant resemblance to my father sat behind it reading a book. He looked up at me and smiled. ''Dear Gods, if it isn't my little niece Lily! My you've grown into a real beauty, haven't you?'' I smiled and waved. ''You must be my Uncle Kevin?'' ''That'll be me.'' He stood and opened his arms. I walked into them and gave him a small hug. ''Is Grace here?'' I asked as he sat back down. ''Yeah, she's out back. I'll call her for you, Lily.'' He swivelled his chair slightly. ''Gracie!'' A few seconds later Grace stepped out from behind a curtain that hung behind the counter. ''Oh hey, Lily! What's up?'' I smiled at her. ''I need to talk to you about something.'' ''Oh, sure.'' She replied, studying me. ''Come on back.'' She lead me back to a small office room with a plush sofa and motioned for me to sit. I dumped my bag on the floor and sunk down next to her. ''What's up?'' ''Okay, so I was just in the parking lot after practice and Abby came up. We had an argument and it got a little.. physical, she slapped me first,'' I said quickly, seeing her shocked face. ''I tried to walk away and when she grabbed my hair my right arm began to burn. I put my hand on her shoulder to make her leave but a kind of.. electrical current ran down my arm and shocked her slightly. I managed to disguise it by rubbing the shoulder of her uniform and joking that I must get electrically
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charged when I'm angry.'' I smirked. ''Is that my powers?'' I bit my lip, suddenly scared of what she's going to say. She rubbed her chin for a second then smiled. ''I'd say so. Fire is energy, so I'm guessing if you're powerful enough it would manifest in whatever form of energy you needed it to at that moment. That's a pretty cool power.'' She smirked at me. ''You could have a lot of fun with that.'' I laughed. ''That I could. I guess I should probably go and tell my Dad. I still have to tell him about Ava's family, and Maya's.'' ''Maya? Maya's one of us?'' Grace's kohl-rimmed eyes widened in shock. Oh crap. ''Yeah, not very powerful, but she is. That's why she was targeted at the dance. I was in the middle of the floor.. I think I just got lucky.'' ''But isn't Carson her cousin?'' ''Yeah he is. He's one of us too.'' I nodded. ''Well hell. I never knew that.''

TEN The Meeting I grabbed Ava's hand as we walked through the bright white, sterile corridors of the hospital. ''Hi, we're here to see Maya Matthews.'' Ava said to the nurse at the station. Her eyes flicked up towards us then back to the screen. ''Room 17. Just down the corridor.'' She said in a bored voice. ''Thanks.'' Ava smiled at her and the nurse instantly relaxed. ''Just let me know if you need anything, girls.'' ''We will.'' Ava smiled her dazzling smile again and the nurse smiled back at us both. We quickly found Maya's room and knocked before we walked in. She was propped up in bed watching television, still paler than usual but at least her cheeks looked pink. ''Hey, Maya.'' I said as she turned to us. ''Thank god!'' She exclaimed. ''I was going mad in here!'' I chuckled. ''It's only been three days!'' ''I know, but you know.'' Ava rolled her eyes and sat down on the chair next to her bed. ''How you feeling?'' ''Better. I can't believe some arse hole thought it would be a good idea to stab me.'' She scoffed and shook her head. I looked and Ava nervously and she nodded her head. We had to tell her. ''Maya we know.'' I blurted out. ''Know what?'' She eyed me suspiciously. ''About you. And your family.''
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Her eyes widened considerably and she ran her hand through her hair. ''How?'' She whispered, looking down. ''Because we are too.'' Ava said gently, taking her free hand. Maya's head snapped up and she looked at us both in disbelief. ''Are you joking?'' We both shook our heads and she let out a long breath I don't even think she knew she was holding. ''We also think we know who did this to you.'' ''Luther.'' She growled. ''You know?'' I asked. ''Of course I do. He's been hunting our kind for centuries.'' I shook my head solemnly. ''When are you out of here?'' ''Should be tomorrow.'' ''Good, cause we need to meet with my Dad. He's heading up the hunt.'' The next day my house was full. It was times like these I was glad it was a large house. Ava, Josh and their parents were here, along with my Uncle Kevin and Grace. Maya was here with her mum and Carson with his. To my surprise, Jem Miles was also there. ''You're a?'' I said to him as he walked into the kitchen. He chuckled. ''Oh yes, dear, have been for years.'' He winked and Mum handed him a can of beer, the ever dutiful host. She must feel really outnumbered, being in a house full of witches. I don't know why it'd never occurred to me before how she might feel. ''Mum, are you okay, with this I mean? All of us?'' I wrapped my arms round her waist, showing her a rare piece of affection. Not something I tend to do anymore at 17. ''I'm fine, sweetie. I knew what I was getting myself into when I agreed to marry your father.'' She titled my head up and smiled. ''You go back in there. He won't start until you're sat there with him.'' I sighed. ''I know. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.'' She patted my shoulder and I walked back into the front room. I made to take a seat by my friends but my Dad waved me over. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and took a seat next to him on the arm of the sofa. ''First of all, I'd like to thank you all for coming here today, especially you, Maya, I know you've just got out of hospital.'' He smiled towards her and she grinned back. ''Thanks to my wonderful daughter here we've been able to reach out to you and call this meeting. The Luther family have taken far too much away from us as families, including my own dear Mamar. I believe there are still a few of us out there in the town but I'm currently working on family histories. Any information anyone may have regarding the Luther family would be appreciated.'' ''It's not the Luther family. It's just Luther.'' A small voice said from the corner of the room. I looked over, Carson's mum. ''I went in undercover two years ago. As long as I didn't use my powers I could masquerade as one of his human servants. He doesn't enchant them as long as they're willing. He'd disappear for a while, then his 'descendants' would pop up, bear an uncanny resemblance to their father or grandfather and take over his properties and his fortune. But it's all Henry Luther.'' ''How has he managed to stay alive for so long?'' My Uncle Kevin looked like
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he wanted to rip out someone's throat. ''All the souls.'' Maya's mum looked down. ''He's stolen so many, he wants the ultimate prize, immortality. He's been searching for a vampire to give it to him for two hundred years now, but as you know, they're very elusive creatures. And when he does find them, they always refuse.'' ''Vampires are real, are you kidding me?'' I turned to my Dad with my eyebrows raised. ''Witches are, aren't they?'' He grinned at me. ''What, and you didn't think to share that little bit of information with me in your big history lesson at the weekend? Gee Dad, thanks.'' I folded my arms and I saw Josh laughing quietly the corner. I caught his eye and glared at him, but he just gave me an amused smirk. ''Anything else I should know about, werewolves maybe? How about fairies?'' I knew I was being petty but I couldn't help myself. ''Oh, yes, the wolves too, now you mention it. Witches have always had a strong alliance with them. When we can find them. But no fairies. We banished them in the eighteen-hundreds. Pesky little buggers they were. Always sneaking into the fridge and stealing your cheese. '' I sighed and shook my head. Parents. ''Anyway..'' My Uncle Kevin said trying to steer the conversation back to Luther. ''Do continue, Jessie dear.'' He smiled at Maya's mum. ''We've also been searching for vampires with the hope of forming an alliance with their covens. We understand there's not much to do, but a vampire coven with the alliance of witches will be much less likely to turn against us when the time comes. We can protect them, and them us. But like I said, we've not got very far yet.'' My Dad nodded his head. ''I guess keep trying is all we can do. It's valuable information about Luther, but also slightly disturbing. I don't want to think about how many witches he's killed to live for so long. We'll have to hope we're strong enough to defeat him when the time comes.'' His gaze flickered to me and I narrowed my eyes. What is it with him and me being powerful? So I can zap a few things.. Well actually, only Abby, but whatever. Same difference. ''I think all we can do is keep reaching out to others we may know of like us, the more of us we can get together the better. He no doubt will have an army of enchanted humans following him. Jessie, Louise, keep searching for the vampires.'' Maya's and Carson's mums nodded. My Dad turned to Ava and Josh's parents. ''Hannah and Luke, if you can send out some feelers for any wolf packs that might be in the area, or even in the country, hell, the more support we have the better we have of ending this once and for all.''

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ELEVEN First Date I sat in Rory's Ice Cream, the ice cream parlour in Salem with Josh. He'd asked me out earlier when we were in school and I couldn't say no, so this was our first official date. The more time I spent with him the more I liked him. I watched him now as he licked his spoon, his blonde hair flapping in his eyes. I resisted the urge to reach out and sweep it away. ''You know, you really need a hair cut.'' I said as I watched him flip it away for the fiftieth time in the last half an hour. ''Not you as well.'' He grinned at me. ''Ava's always on at me to do it.'' ''Maybe you should then.'' I grinned back. ''Maybe. But I'm busy right now.'' He looked at me so intently my cheeks flushed a little. ''I like it when you blush.'' I dipped my spoon back in my ice cream and raised an eyebrow as I looked at him. ''Why?'' ''It's cute.'' He chuckled. ''Cute?'' I raised my other eyebrow. Any higher and I was sure they'd disappear under my hairline. ''Yes, Lily. You're cute. But you're also very beautiful, and honest. You're an amazing person.'' ''And you've come to that conclusion in a month?'' ''It's not hard to come to it. You caught my attention that first day in the cafeteria. There's something about you.'' The corner of his mouth curled up and he reached over and put his hand on top of mine. I looked down at our hands then back up at him. ''What is it?'' ''I'm still trying to figure it out.'' He smiled and I blushed again. ''I'm not used to so many compliments. Especially from someone like you.'' ''Someone like me?'' Now it was his turn to raise his eyebrows. ''Yeah.'' I let go of my spoon and sighed. Josh reached into his pocket and chucked some money on the table and stood up, holding out his hand. ''Come on, let's go talk somewhere more private.'' I took his hand to get up and he curled his arm round my waist as we left. I saw Abby's car pull up in the parking lot. ''Oh, gods. Let's go. Quickly.'' I pulled him over to his car and jumped in as soon as he unlocked it. He got in and as we drove away he turned to me. ''Why so fast?'' I bit my lip and settled my hands in my lap. ''I er, we kind of had a fight after practice a few days ago. I got a bit angry and kind of er, zapped her.'' I couldn't hide the small smile that formed on my face. When I looked up Josh was trying not to laugh. ''Zapped her?'' ''Yes. I zapped her. I spoke to Grace and my Dad and they said it's my powers emerging. Apparently I won't only be able to control fire, but all types of energy.'' I furrowed my brow. ''It's confusing.'' ''That's a pretty cool power. But, remind me not to annoy you.'' He was smiling at me as he pulled into the woods behind his house. ''Come on, let's go for a walk.''
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We walked for a while before we sat on an old log by a little stream that ran through the length of the woods, in a comfortable silence listening to the water rush and the birds sing. ''What did you mean earlier, when you said 'someone like you'?'' Josh turned to me and I sighed slightly. ''I just meant.. You're incredibly popular..'' ''So are you.'' ''You're stupidly gorgeous..'' ''So are you.'' ''You're probably one of the nicest people I've ever met..'' ''So are you.'' ''Can you stop interrupting me?'' ''Sorry.'' ''Thank you. As I was saying, you're popular, stupidly gorgeous, have this amazing personality and could get any girl in school or probably even college you wanted. I just don't understand why you seem to want me.'' He gently reached his hand over to mine and took it, interlocking our fingers. I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my head and bit my lip, not daring to look up. ''You're beautiful, you're smart and you're funny. My sister trusts you with her life.. I don't have to have any secrets about who I am with you. You make me feel comfortable, like I don't even need to talk.'' He reached over and tucked my hair behind my ear. ''See this?'' He said, lifting up our clasped hands. I looked at them then at him. He was smiling slightly, reassuringly. I somehow knew he was telling the truth. ''They fit, Lily. Our hands fit together perfectly.'' I sighed again, but I smiled back at him. ''What will it take to convince you?'' He asked me as he stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. ''I don't know. I don't know why I'm like this around you. I've never been like this before.'' ''Maybe it's my devastatingly good looks, and sparkling personality.'' He flashed me a grin and I laughed. ''Must be it.'' I said with a half smile as I shook my head. ''Well I can't think of any other reason, so it has to be.'' I shook my head again and laughed. ''You're so big headed.'' ''It makes you laugh.'' ''That's not the point.'' ''What is the point?'' ''I don't know, you're the big headed one, you tell me.'' I laughed as he pulled me up into his arms. ''Maybe this is the point.'' He said quietly before he bent and his lips met mine. I could feel my heart beating faster as I melted into his kiss. I wrapped my hands round his neck and stood on my tip toes so I could meet him better. Nothing else seemed to matter in that moment.. All there was was me and Josh. The trees around us faded away, the birds were silent and the water stood still as his lips moved across mine. I decided in that moment that without a doubt, Salem was much better than Colorado.
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''Lily's got a boyfriend!!'' I heard my sister's voice sing out as I waved after Josh. ''You're such a loser!'' I yelled back to her as I kicked off my shoes. I walked into the front room to find her sat on the sofa, feet up on the coffee table flicking through the TV channels. I sat down next to her. ''Mum! Rosie's got her feet on the table!'' I snitched. ''Stop being such a tell-tale!'' Rosie yelled and gave me a playful shove. I stuck my tongue out at her as Mum walked into the room. ''Oh gods, I thought my daughters were 17 and 20 years old, not seven and ten! Rosie, feet off the table.'' She said with a swipe at her legs. ''Lily, stop being a snitch. And what's this about a boyfriend?'' I smiled and blushed slightly. ''I knew it!'' Rosie said as she sat up straighter, crossing her legs beneath her. ''Tell me everything!'' ''Is is that Josh boy, Lily? And he's one of you. Such a lovely boy.'' My mum mused as she sat on the plush chair next to the fireplace. ''Uh, yes. It is.'' I smiled. ''We went on a date tonight and he wanted to make it official. I couldn't say no, could I? Even more so when his sister is my best friend!'' ''Oh, young love.'' Rosie said and sunk back into the cushions. ''I remember it well.'' ''Oh, you've actually had a boyfriend then?'' I said with a smirk. I was rewarded with a cushion to the head. Mum chuckled and went back into the kitchen, deciding it was best to leave us to it. ''Ha ha, very funny little Lily. I've probably had more boyfriends than you've had underwear changes.'' ''Great, so my sister is the local bike. Hurrah.'' I said sarcastically, earning another pillow to the face, which I promptly threw back. ''Watch it, sis, or I'll zap you!'' Rosie burst into laughter. ''Zap me? Oh gods, I remember when I was getting my powers. But controlling plants doesn't sound nearly as exciting as being able to zap somebody!'' ''Well. I've only done it once. And that was by accident.'' Rosie was still laughing and shaking her head. ''Brilliant. I wanna see this at some point.'' ''What are you doing home, anyway?'' ''There was a fire on campus so we all got sent home for a week.'' She grinned and I shook my head at her. ''Iyla wouldn't have anything to do with that, would she?'' I raised my eyebrow. Iyla, our cousin and Grace's sister, went to Salem Uni with Rosie. I'd never met her but Grace shared with me that she's a fire element like me. Rosie smirked. ''Maybe. Maybe not.'' ''Don't let Dad find out. He'll kill you. He nearly strangled me when I told him I'd accidentally zapped somebody!'' ''I don't plan on telling him.'' ''Telling him what?'' Dad's voice boomed from the hallway. ''That your cousin decided to set off a small fire on campus so you could have a week off?'' ''Uh no, not that Dad.''
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To her credit, Rosie looked really sheepish. Mum came back into the front room and looked pointedly at Rosie. ''She didn't?!'' ''She did.'' Rosie whispered. ''Oh lord. Mark you have to talk to Kevin!'' ''I know, Celia, calm down love.'' Dad moved over and sat in the chair opposite us. ''You do realise how dangerous that was?'' ''Well yes, Dad, it was fire.'' ''No, the fire be damned, Rose Marie Mauve! Luther's back and any use of obvious magic like the stunt Iyla pulled could lead him right to you!'' Rosie's face instantly blanched and mine did the same. She looked at Dad in disbelief. ''But..What..'' ''Iyla already lives off campus but I'm pulling you off campus. You're moving back in with us, Rosie. I know you wanted your independence but you have to stay safe. I won't lose one of my daughters to that man! Suspect anyone now, Rosie. Unless they can prove they're magic free you have to be careful. He can enchant anyone to get what he wants.''

TWELVE Typical High School News travelled fast about me and Josh. Of course it would. By the time I was heading to meet Ava for the football match we were cheering after school half the Senior girls were shooting me evils when I passed them, even though Josh was a Junior. Him and Ava were Irish twins, ten months apart in age. I clenched my fists each time to stop from zapping them when I felt someone come up behind me and grab my fists. ''Calm down.'' Carson's voice whispered in my ear. ''They're just jealous.'' He released my hands and fell into step beside me. ''I know that, but it's pathetic. Is it really necessary?'' He shrugged. ''I dunno. But I know I've been getting dirty looks from most of the Junior boys even though me and Ava aren't exclusive.'' I shook my head in disbelief. ''It's ridiculous. First Abby, then Jules, now everyone else? Why is everyone so obsessed with them?'' I asked as we stopped outside the girls locker room. ''I told you before, it's my devastatingly good looks and my sparkling personality.'' I heard Josh's voice behind me and turned round. He was already in his football kit, minus the helmet and looked so hot. ''I want to zap them all.'' I mumbled into his chest as he gave me a hug and laughed. ''You better go inside before my sister comes out and slaps me for keeping you out here. Besides, Carson needs to go and get ready before Coach sits him on the
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sidelines.'' He bent down and gave me a soft kiss before slapping Carson on the back and going back to their locker room. I walked into the girls locker room and heard the buzz of excited chatter between the cheer squad. I made my way over to Ava who was helping Shauna wrestle her pom-poms out of her bag. ''Spoken to Abby?'' Ivy asked me as she watched on in amusement. ''Not yet. If she annoys me tonight though I will drop her.'' I replied as I got myself ready. Ava laughed as she flew backwards, Shauna's pom-poms in hand. ''Yes!!'' She cried as she stood up and dusted herself off. She grabbed her own pom-poms after passing Shauna's back to her and stood up on the bench. ''Are we ready?'' She called out to the room. ''Yes!'' We all yelled back. ''Who's gonna win?'' ''We are!'' ''Who are we?'' ''The Witches!'' I stood on the sidelines with the girls, shivering in the October chill watching the match. Whenever Salem High scored a touchdown we'd jump up and down waving our pom-poms and yelling happily. I wish they'd do it more often. It was cold in a cropped top, long sleeved it may be for the colder months, but my tummy and legs were freezing. Half time arrived quickly and that was our cue. We all ran back onto the pitch, pom-poms waving and stepped into a routine. We cartwheeled, climbed, jumped, danced, flipped and rolled our way through it competing with the other team's cheerleaders until the teams came back onto the pitch. ''We outclassed them, totally.'' Ava whispered as Josh blew me a kiss and winked from the pitch. I giggled and nodded. ''Completely. Can I zap Abby yet?'' I whispered back to her. ''Just her hair. Maybe singe it a bit. Then she'd have something to stare at besides me.'' I giggled again as Ava laughed. ''No, Lily. Behave!'' She mock slapped my hand and I pouted. ''It'd be so much fun.'' I said wistfully, glancing in her direction. She was still stood glaring at me, arms folded. Jules was looking at me warily, like she didn't really want to be with Abby. I smiled at her and she smiled back quickly before turning back to the game. ''Hey Abby!'' I heard Ivy call out from my other side and I looked towards her. ''What?'' Abby yelled back. ''Do you want a picture of Lily, or are you done staring?'' The cheerleaders all began laughing while Abby's face filled with rage. She turned and stomped away back into our locker rooms. ''Oops.'' Ivy turned to me and Ava and smiled innocently. Ava shook her head and waggled her finger between giggles. ''As Head Cheerleader I should be telling you off, but that was so funny I can't bring myself to do it.'' I bent over, my hands on my knees as I carried on laughing. ''Can't..breathe..'' ''Dear Lily, are you okay?'' Ivy slapped my shoulder, laughing herself. ''So.. funny.. her face..aaah!'' I breathed out, tears streaming down my face.
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I was still calming down at the end of the match, which we won, again. I saw Abby in the changing room and barely had time to stuff my pom-poms in my bag and drag Ava out the room with me before I collapsed back into laughter, leaning over the railing. ''Oh gosh, she looks like she's swallowed sand.'' Ava remarked with a sarcastic smirk. That earned her a whole new round of laughter from me. ''Dear god, Ava, what have you done to my girlfriend?'' Josh called from between his team mates. ''I didn't do anything. Abby was staring at her in the second half so Ivy asked her if she was done staring or if she wanted a picture of Lily and her face..'' ''Was brilliant.'' I finished for her, wiping my eyes and straightening up. ''So why are you still laughing?'' He said to me as I calmed down enough to breathe evenly. ''Because, as Ava just said, she looks like she's swallowed sand.'' I said, choking back my laughter. ''Gods, she really hates me, doesn't she?'' ''You did zap her, babe.'' Josh said as he picked me up for a hug. Babe! Cue warm and fuzzy feeling inside. ''Well she shouldn't have slapped me.'' I pouted and he laughed before giving me a quick kiss. ''Ugh, get a room.'' Ava smirked from beside us.

THIRTEEN Oops, Practice Makes Perfect! ''Focus, Lily! You're not focusing!'' ''I am, Dad! I'm trying!'' I stomped my foot for good measure. He'd decided it was time to teach me how to use my power before I zapped anyone else. It wasn't my fault I accidentally zapped the kitchen table and cracked it slightly. ''Focus on the tree.'' I focused on the tree and pointed my hand towards it, willing it to work. But it didn't. No surprise there. ''Imagine it's that stupid girl, Abby? Imagine her trying to steal Josh.'' My sister said from the table where she was watering Mum's potted plants with her fingers. I felt a ball of rage build inside me at the mental image her words conjured up and before I could think, my right arm began to burn uncontrollably and a large shoot of fire erupted from my open palm towards the tree. ''Oh gods!'' Dad yelled and muttered a few words under his breath, stopping the stream of fire. I dropped my arm in shock as Rosie let out a low whistle. ''You know, little sis, I'm not gonna annoy you.'' She said in a voice that sounded awfully like pride and awe. ''You know, Josh said the same thing.'' I smirked to her. ''Okay.'' Dad said with a deep breath. ''I wasn't expecting that. Let's try and take
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a little bit of that rage, okay? It seems to be fire when you're really angry, and electricity when you're a little annoyed at the moment. Try and shoot the tree with a bolt of electricity. No fire, Lily. Okay, no more fire streams. My heart can't take it.'' He shook his head and I chuckled. ''I'll try, Dad.'' I imagined the feeling I had when Abby annoyed me that day in the parking lot. The tenseness of my muscles, the tingle in my arm, and the buzzing as the electricity moved down and exited my body. I felt my arm began to tingle again and slowly raised my arm, focusing on the spot I wanted to be zapped. Dad said no more fire.. But he didn't say anything about knocking the odd branch down, did he? A buzz moved down my arm, from my shoulder to my wrist before exploding out of my fingers in a white light towards the branch I'd picked out. It hit it with a crack and the branch fell to the floor ten feet behind Dad who jumped while Rose whooped behind me. ''Lily! What did I say?'' ''You said no more streams of fire. Nothing about knocking down branches.'' I grinned. He thought for a moment then rubbed his forehead. ''Yes, yes I suppose I did say that didn't I.'' He sighed. ''Just get the trunk, okay? I'm going to get a coffee. Please try and behave, Lily. And please try not to set everything on fire just because your sister can put it out.'' He stalked off down the yard into the kitchen and I looked at Rosie with an evil smirk on my face. She had a playful gleam in her eye and pointed to a pile of old leaves. ''Get them.'' I giggled slightly and pointed my arm. I thought of the same feeling in my arm but willed it to be fire. A burning sensation travelled down my arm as a ball of fire erupted from my palm into the leaves. ''Bonfire!'' I said triumphantly to my sister who clapped her hands in glee. Mum came into the garden and stopped when she saw the leaves burning. ''Lily Louise Mauve what did you do?'' She demanded, her normally soft voice lined with a hard edge. I turned around and smiled sweetly. ''I'm getting rid of the leaves for you, Mum.'' She folded her arms in front of her and tapped her foot against the grass. ''Really.'' ''Yes. I thought it'd save you the trip all the way to the front.'' I smiled again and shrugged my shoulders. Mum looked from Rosie to me and back to the fire. She threw her arms in the air and turned back to the house, shaking her head. ''Poor Mum.'' Rosie said with a giggle. ''Living in a house of witches. I better put this out before Dad comes back.'' She flicked her wrist towards the burning pile and a small jet of water shot out, extinguishing the fire. ''That's so cool.'' She grinned at me. ''Hey, Rosie, Ava's the water element too. Will she be able to do that?'' She nodded. ''She should, yeah. Just as well with your fire tendencies.'' She raised her eyebrows at me and smiled. ''Yeah, well, you made me do that.'' ''No I didn't.''
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''Yes you did.'' ''No I didn't.'' ''Yes you did.'' ''No I..'' ''Give it a rest, girls. You're like a couple of kindergarten kids.'' Dad said. I turned and saw Ava and Maya stood behind him. ''Maya!'' I instantly ran to her and gave her a gently squeeze. ''How are you feeling?' ''I'm perfect now. Grace came to see me.'' She winked and I got her meaning. ''What are you guys doing here?'' ''Well we were at mine, catching up with witchy stuff when Josh decides to take over the front room with Carson and the rest of his ball scratching hairy friends.'' Ava said dramatically and I giggled. ''So we thought we'd come here.'' She smiled. ''Aren't you going to introduce me, Lily?'' I turned back to Rosie and put my hand to my mouth. ''Oh gods. I'm sorry. Rosie, this is Ava and Maya, girls, this is my sister, Rosie.'' ''Hey guys. So you're like us?'' Rosie said with a smile. ''Yeah.'' Ava replied, giving Rosie her dazzling smile. ''I'm a water element, and Maya's earth.'' Rosie relaxed and smiled widely. ''You should see this then. Lily, burn something.'' ''I'm sorry?'' ''Burn something. Like you just did with the leaves.'' ''What am I supposed to burn?'' I asked with a quick glance at Dad who was staring at Rosie. ''Don't look at me like that Dad, I'll put it straight out. Pinky promise.'' She waved her pinky finger at him. ''I'm going inside.'' He turned to me and pointed. ''You be careful.'' ''Yes Dad.'' ''What about that?'' Maya pointed to a small pile of twigs under one of the trees and Rosie nodded. ''Perfect. Go on, Lily.'' I sighed and did as before. A small shoot of fire erupted from my palm into the twigs, making them crackle and burn. ''Ava, watch.'' I nodded my head towards Rosie as she flicked her wrist and shot a stream of water towards it, putting it out instantly. ''That is so cool!'' Ava exclaimed. ''Will I actually be able to do that?'' Rosie nodded. ''Yeah, you will. Why don't we see if you can now? We'll jump the fence, find something somewhere safe my darling sister can set alight and see if your first instinct is to put it out with your powers.'' She grinned a cheeky grin and launched herself over the fence before we could disagree. We followed and soon she found a large pile of leaves someone had dumped outside their back yard. I shot a fire stream at it almost without thinking, and Ava's face blanched slightly before she raised her arm and stuck out her palm. A mixture of ice and water shot out into the fire putting half of it out before Rosie shot a stream of water at it. ''Ice, wow.'' She turned to Ava in shock. ''That could be a useful weapon. As long as Miss Fireball here doesn't melt it.''
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''Can't you do ice, Rosie?'' I asked her. She shook her head. ''I've done it one or two times, but it's pretty tricky to do. What did your arm feel like?'' She asked turning back to Ava, who was still looking at her hand in awe. ''Um, it kind of burned, but a cold burn. From my shoulder to my wrist then it exploded.'' ''The opposite of me then! The fire is a burning and the electricity is a buzzing.'' ''Let's go back to mine! I wanna show Josh.'' Ava said excitedly. ''Does that mean I get to set something on fire again?'' I asked, grinning. ''You betcha. There's so many piles of leaves in my garden just waiting for you.'' ''Wow. That's pretty cool.'' Carson said later when the other guys had gone. ''Any chance of anyone unfreezing the football from the ground though?'' He turned to me. ''Um. I'd probably burn the ball.'' I shrugged. ''What about the electricity? It might crack it.'' Ava suggested. ''I guess.'' I stuck out my hand towards the ball and willed a small amount of electricity to exit through my fingers. A small light flashed, a small crack and then the ball bounced away. With a burn mark on the outside. ''Oops.'' I said, smiling slightly. ''What was that?'' Josh said, coming back outside. ''Ava froze your ball. And I zapped the ice. But kinda burnt the ball a bit.'' I smiled sheepishly at him and he rolled his eyes and sat next to me on the edge of the patio, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. ''It's a good job I'm rather fond of you really, isn't it?'' He kissed my head and I smiled at him. ''It wasn't really my fault. Ava froze it.'' I said, kissing him on the cheek. ''Hey!'' I heard her call from the sofa swing where Carson had joined her and sat her on his lap. ''You could have just used hot water!'' ''I could have. But zapping is way more fun!'' I said with a playful smile as Josh chuckled beside me. ''I don't really mind. I have more. Although if you do it again..'' ''You'll do what?' ''I'll punish you.'' ''I'll zap you.'' ''I'll make it windy so you get messy hair.'' I gasped. ''You wouldn't!'' ''I would.'' I saw the playful gleam in his eye and smirked. I quickly sent another small zap of energy towards the football and laughed as I ran through his arms. He caught up with me and tackled me to the ground lying over me. Ava and Carson were cuddled up, kissing and chatting quietly. ''What are you gonna do, huh?'' I taunted Josh. He smiled and lifted his hand making swirly movements in the air and the wind picked up around me. I sent a small zap of energy into his thigh and giggled when he glared at me. ''That's it!'' He declared and began tickling me relentlessly. Not good when you're as ticklish as me. I lay there beneath him on the cold grass giggling and squirming, begging him to stop for only the gods know how long until he finally
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stopped and kissed me.

FOURTEEN Justin ''Who's that?'' Maya asked, nudging me and licking her lips. I followed her gaze across the cafeteria. She was staring at a tall, lean boy with striking pale skin and hair as black as mine. His dark eyes swept the hall as he looked for a place to sit. His eye caught mine briefly and a smile touched upon his lips. I averted my gaze back to Maya. ''I don't know. He must be new.'' I said, absently picking at my salad. ''Who's new?'' Shauna asked as her, Ivy and Ava slid onto their seats. ''Him.'' Maya said, her eyes still on the new boy. The simultaneously turned their heads to look. ''Wow.'' Ivy said as she saw him. ''He's coming over!'' They all turned back around and Maya smiled as he approached the table. ''Hi! I'm Maya. You must be new, right?'' She flicked her hair over her shoulder. ''Hi. Yes, I started today. I'm Justin. May I sit with you ladies?'' He said in a crisp British accent. ''Of course.'' Ivy said with a smile. ''I'm Ivy.'' Justin sat and smiled at her. ''It's lovely to meet you, Ivy. Who are your friends?'' He turned to me with that same smile on his face. He seemed nice, but I didn't like the vibe I got from him. It was a.. dull, vibe. Almost non-existent. Instead of ignoring him like I wanted to, I smiled back. ''I'm Lily. That's Ava, and Shauna.'' ''Pleasure to meet you.'' Shauna giggled and Ava glanced at me. I had a feeling she was thinking the same as me. I really don't like him. I thought to myself. Neither do I. Ava's voice echoed in my head. What the? I looked at her, alarmed. I don't know. I heard your thought and agreed. You mean we can hear each other? That's so weird. ''So, Justin, where are you from?'' Maya asked, putting on her best flirting. ''I just moved here from England. I lived in London.'' ''That must be strange then, huh? Are you a Junior?'' ''Yes. Are you?'' Maya smiled and nodded. ''Don't they finish school at like 16 or something in England?'' Justin laughed, he had a deep rich laugh but it lacked emotion. ''Yes, they do. So it's strange coming here back to school.'' ''I bet.'' Shauna said while making eyes at him.
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I felt a body sit beside me and an arm slide round my waist. I turned around to see Josh smiling at me. ''Oh, hey.'' ''Hey babe.'' He said, leaning in for a quick kiss. Cue protective boyfriend! I heard Ava giggle in my mind and suppressed a smile as Carson slid in next to her. ''Who's this?'' He asked, motioning to Justin. ''That's Justin.'' Maya said. ''Justin, this is Josh, Ava's brother and Lily's boyfriend, and that's Carson.. Ava's er..'' ''Boyfriend.'' Carson interrupted. ''Ava's boyfriend.'' I raised an eyebrow at Ava because although they were together, they hadn't made it public yet. But that apparently just changed. She just shrugged at me and glanced at Josh. ''Lily, can I have a word?'' Josh looked at me. ''Uh, sure?'' He grabbed my hand and lead me away from the table motioning for Ava to come too. When we were outside in the courtyard, in the freezing courtyard, I might add. October in Salem is ice cold. ''What is it?'' I asked, rubbing my hands on my thighs to warm them. Bloody cheer costumes. Josh crushed me against his chest for a moment and took a deep breath before releasing me. ''I don't want you two anywhere near him, okay?'' He said, looking at me and Ava. ''Why?'' Ava demanded. ''Who are you to tell me what to do?'' ''I'm your older brother, Ava. I'm trying to protect you. I don't like him. He gives me a bad feeling.'' ''Me too.'' I mumbled, kicking at the ground with my foot. I felt a bit like a child being told off. ''See?'' Josh said looking at me. ''It's not just me.'' ''Mate, do you think he's a.. you know?'' Carson said to Josh in a worried voice. ''I do.'' Josh nodded. ''Think he's a what?'' Me and Ava both asked in unison. Josh grabbed me back into his arms and held me for a minute before he spoke again. ''I think he's a vampire.''

FIFTEEN Questions and a Vampire ''Dad, what do vampires look like?'' I asked over the dinner table, absently picking at my potato. ''Why do you ask, pumpkin?'' ''I'm just interested.''
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''They're pale, deathly pale. Stereotypical vampires have dark hair and dark eyes, but they can look just like me and you, that's why they're so hard to find. For example, Lily, you have dark hair and pale skin, but you're not a vampire. They're hard to track. They're cold, incredibly fast and give off a weird vibe. Contrary to popular belief, they can walk in the sun, they just prefer not to. As witches, we can generally sense them. As they can us. To us, even though they're alive, they feel dead. And we can sense it. If there's one or more witches in the area they'll move in towards them instinctively.'' My blood ran cold thinking about the vibe I got off Justin earlier when he sat at the table and the way he picked our table, even though there was spare ones. ''Why do they go to witches?'' I asked carefully, trying to keep my voice even. ''It's the power that runs through our blood. It's intoxicating to them. Once they get a taste they become addicted. A witch's blood is like their drug.'' ''So that's why we have to get them on side?'' Rosie piped in. ''Because if we don't get at least one coven on our side, we're dead.'' ''Pretty much.'' Dad smiled grimly. That wasn't what I wanted to hear. Change of subject needed I think.. ''Dad, at lunch today I thought something and Ava could hear me, and when she replied I could hear her. What is that?'' I watched as his fork slid from his hand and clanged onto the old wood table. ''You could hear each others thoughts? Talk telepathically?'' ''Uh, yeah. It's kinda weird, actually..'' ''Gods.'' He clasped his hands and closed his eyes for a moment, his lips moving silently as if in prayer. He opened his eyes and instead of his brown they were an icy blue with violet specks. ''My true eyes, Lily. Do you like them?'' ''They look strange.'' Rosie said. I nodded. ''You can Ava can speak telepathically, I believe, because of your close bond. You're very close friends, and an almost unbreakable bond has been forged between the two of you. It consists of unfathomable trust and protection. The gods have rewarded it by giving you the power of telepathy. It means if one is in trouble, the other can help. It's very rarely shared with us not in the spirit world.'' He reached over and grabbed my hand. ''You're both very lucky.'' CheerAva Thats so cool. LilyLou U think? CheerAva Hell yeah. We can chat in class and never get told off. And if this Luther dude comes after one of us we can just shout mentally. LilyLou Its definitely cool. Dad said we're lucky. I just hope we can turn it off

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CheerAva Yeah. I dont wanna hear ur thoughts abt my bro! LilyLou -giggles- I wonder wat Josh wld do if I zapped his bum? :) CheerAva I dno. But I wanna see his face when u do! Gtg, apparently that Justin is calling and Josh is busting a gut. LilyLou Be careful. CheerAva signed off. I shut down my laptop and sent Josh a text. U were right. L x My phone buzzed a few minutes later. Abt what? J x Justin. I asked Dad abt vamps and he described Justin. Even how we felt. Ava shouldnt be on the phone to him. L x I knew it. I'll text Car. Shouldn't someone warn Maya? J x Oh gods! I replied. I'd forgotten she was all over him. Our blood is a drug to them. He'll eat her! I zapped the football Josh had given to me for practice in frustration and panic. My phone rang and caller ID showed Josh. ''He'll eat her!'' I said into the phone before he had a chance to speak. ''Ava's text her now. Have you told your Dad?'' His calm voice came over the speaker as I settled myself under the covers of my bed. ''No not yet. I was too shocked. He felt kind of.. dead to me.'' I shivered. ''It'll be okay. We have to keep him close in case he's with a coven. I won't let him hurt you.'' He said in a soft voice. ''I know.'' I said back gently. ''Thank you.'' ''What for?'' ''Making me calm down. And giving me your football to zap.'' I could almost hear him smile over the phone. ''It's what I'm here for, babe. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?'' ''Yeah, okay.'' ''Want me to pick you up?'' ''Would you? A bloodsucking vamp is a scary thought.'' He chuckled over the phone. ''Course. See you at half 7. Night.'' ''Night.'' I clicked the phone off and went to sleep, dreaming of Justin sucking the blood of my friends and sparking in the sunlight.

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SIXTEEN The Vampire Coven I held onto Josh's hand tightly as we made our way down to my locker with Ava where Carson, Maya and Grace were waiting for us. ''Is it true?'' Grace demanded the second I came into view. I nodded my head. ''Is he part of one?'' ''We don't know.'' Josh answered her. ''We need to find out.'' ''I'll do it.'' I said and everyone turned to me. ''Oh no you don't.'' Josh said. ''You're not putting yourself in that kind of danger.'' ''I'll be fine. Besides, I can tell Ava the address and you can rally everyone and hide. If I need you, I can shout.'' ''You can't shout around them, Lily. If it's a trap you're stuck in there!'' Grace almost yelled. ''We've lost so many of our family. I won't lose you too.'' Her voice softened at the end. For someone who gives out a tough exterior, she's the softest person I know. I released Josh and gave her a reassuring hug. ''She'll be fine. We'll talk in our minds.'' Ava said cuddling into Carson's embrace. ''What?'' Josh and Grace said together while Maya and Carson stared at us blankly. ''We, um, er.. We can talk. Silently. Because we're so close. And besides, if it's a trick, I'll blast em with my fire. Everyone knows fire kills vampires.'' I said, smiling. Josh shook his head. ''I don't agree with this. At all. But you're going to do it, aren't you?'' ''Yes.'' ''I know your secret.'' Justin leaned over and whispered in my ear in his crisp accent. ''What would that be?'' I said in a bored tone. ''You're a witch.'' ''Everyone around here practises Wicca, it doesn't mean anything.'' ''You're not just Wicca though. I can smell it.'' I turned to him and raised an eyebrow. ''What are you, a dog?'' I'd deliberately moved my seat in home room so I could sit by him with Ava and Grace keeping an eye out. In Ava's case, a mind out. ''Don't compare me to a dog.'' ''Relax, Dracula.'' ''I knew you were a witch.'' ''I knew you were a vampire.'' ''Still searching for Luther?'' ''Still trying to suck witch blood?'' ''Ouch, that's not fair. I've never touched the stuff.'' He said. ''But still, are you searching for him?'' ''Always.'' I replied. ''He's destroyed most of my family and my friends' families.'' ''I, we can help you. We heard on the grapevine you were looking for a coven, considering witches and vampires have an age-old alliance. That's why I enrolled
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here. I'm the only one young enough to get away with it.'' ''I knew you didn't just randomly move here. Where did you hear that?'' I opened my mind and let Ava listen to the conversation. I glanced over and she'd stopped writing. ''I told you, on the supernatural grapevine. We can help you. I can take you to my coven after school.'' ''Why should I trust you?'' ''Because I'm your only shot.'' I climbed out of Justin's car and sent a quick message to Ava. We were still inside Salem, just. ''Stay behind me, okay?'' Justin said to me as he locked the door. The afternoon sun was filtering through the trees but much to my disappointment, he didn't sparkle like Edward Cullen. ''Okay.'' I folded my arms in front of me to stop my hands shaking. I knew everyone was around hidden but I was still scared I was walking right into a trap. Justin opened a large oak door and I followed him into the hallway. ''Mary, where is the Master? He has a visitor.'' Justin said to a stunning vampire with shining light brown hair. She looked at me and licked her lips. ''You bring a witch, here?'' ''Fangs away, Mary, she's here to see the Master.'' Never taking her eyes from me, Mary replied, ''in the main room.'' Justin bowed his head to her and motioned for me to follow him out. I hurried along with him until we reached a large pair of double doors. Justin raised his hand to knock and the doors opened automatically. ''Come.'' A cold voice said, sending shivers down my back. ''Stop it. I can smell your fear.'' Justin hissed to me. ''How can I not be afraid?'' I hissed back. ''I'm a witch in a house full of vampires!'' A large leather chair swivelled round and I came face to face with the Master of the coven. His white blond hair was slicked backwards and his ice blue eyes studied me from head to toe. His lips were pink, so I took that to mean he'd fed recently. ''What is your name, young witch?'' ''Lily Mauve.'' ''Hmm.'' He raised his hand to his chin and began stroking the small goatee that sat there. ''Mauve.. Father is Mark?'' ''Yes.'' ''Very powerful line. Are you aware of the Adams line?'' ''Yes, sir. Ava is my best friend and her brother my boyfriend.'' ''Excellent. It's always good to see two strong witching lines in good relations. What can I do for you, dear Lily?'' His eyes never wavered from mine so I looked back at them with steely determination. ''My father wishes to form an alliance with the vampires. He believes that if one coven joins our cause, others may follow.'' ''And your cause is, of course, to destroy Henry Luther.'' I nodded, still keeping eye contact. If it's one thing Dad always taught me it was if you're in an intimidating situation, never show weakness, and keeping eye contact
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is one of the ways of showing your strength. ''Your father is a wise man to come to us. Henry Luther has, already approached us and offered us witch blood when you are all destroyed. I, personally, have no interest in your blood, nor do I have an issue with the witching families of Salem. I do however, have an issue with you, Lily. Why is it you are here, and not your father?'' I swallowed. Oh gods. ''My father doesn't know I'm here, sir. Josh, my boyfriend, noticed Justin's true nature yesterday and my father confirmed it when I asked him general questions. We've lived here nearly two months so questions are to be expected. Other members of our community have been searching for a vampire coven with no luck so far, so when Justin offered me the chance to visit you today I accepted.'' ''Even though you showed fear.'' He was studying me again, testing my reaction, and I knew it. ''Yes, sir.'' ''You are no longer afraid, is that right, Lily?'' ''Yes.'' He curled his lips into a smile. ''Why not? There are fifty vampires on this property that could dispose of you in a second.'' ''Because I know you wish for Henry Luther to be destroyed as much as I.'' I replied, looking in his eyes. ''How do you know this?'' ''I can see it in your eyes. You don't wish for the vampires of your coven to be given access to witch blood, be it by your order or not. Luther would find a way to get your members on his side. That would, essentially, destroy your life's work as a master. My guess is you've surrounded yourself by vampires you trust, but some who would give in to the allure of my blood. But it would send them mad.'' I allowed a small smile to grace my lips. ''We both want the same thing, ultimately. So even if you don't wish to be in alliance with me, you'll let me walk out the way I came unharmed because we're working for the same goal. But I feel you do wish to be in alliance with the witches, because together we're stronger.'' Justin's draw dropped beside me. I guess no-one had ever spoken to his master that way before. The Master threw his head back in laughter. ''Very good, Lily Mauve. Very good indeed. You are a perceptive young witch. What if I allowed my vampires to attack?'' Please work, I thought to myself. ''Then I'll burn down your property.'' I opened my palm and to my delight a small flame was burning happily there. The Master looked at it and then back at me, fear flickering in his eyes for a second. ''You may put your magic away, dear girl. It wont be needed today.'' I extinguished the flame and looked back at him. ''I came here for one thing, sir, if I leave without it then so be it. But on behalf of the Witches of Salem, will you join our alliance?''

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SEVENTEEN The Raw Truth ''I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT, LILY! YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN KILLED!'' My Dad yelled across the front room at me. ''Yes! But I didn't! I'm perfectly fine. In fact, I think Jerome quite likes me.'' ''Jerome? Who is Jerome?'' My sister asked. ''The Master. He's quite nice actually.'' I said with a smile to my father. ''You walk into a vampire house, unarmed, unprotected, with someone you barely knew, you didn't even tell me where you were going, Lily! You could have been killed!'' Dad was pacing the front room floor incessantly. ''Yes, but I wasn't killed, Dad. There's not a mark on me.'' ''That's not the point, Lily! You should never, ever walk into another supernatural's territory without me coming with you!'' ''Dad, they joined us.'' Rosie said in a softer tone. ''They'll fight against him. That's what we wanted. They came to Lily. Not you, not Uncle Kevin, not anyone else. They went to Lily.'' ''Lily go to your room.'' ''But Dad!'' ''No buts. Go now!'' I stomped up the stairs and slammed my door. I went into my bathroom and was about to turn on the shower when I realised I could hear my parents and Rosie talking through the vent. I climbed on the edge of the bath and listened. ''Dad she's the only one with the power to defeat him. Her and Ava.. this connection they've been given isn't a coincidence. The gods don't just give that type of connection out.'' ''I know that, Rose, I know that.'' My Dad's voice echoed, sounding defeated. ''I know you want to protect her, darling, but she's strong.'' My mother's soft tones said to him. ''If anyone can do it, our Lily can.'' ''I know that, Celia. I just want to protect her. She's my baby girl, both of you girls are. You both mean everything to me and if he got to her because I wasn't good enough to protect her I'd never be able to live with myself. I want to keep her safe.'' ''Daddy. I want to protect her too. She's my baby sister. But they're the only ones strong enough, her and Ava. All we can do is try to keep her safe until the time comes. Lily will lead us, ultimately. You know that as well as I do. Lily and Ava must destroy him. Only they can do it. Together.'' I slowly stepped off the bath, in a daze of what I'd heard. I moved into my bedroom trying to make sense of what my sister had said. Me? How could I do anything? I slipped off my cheerleading uniform and slid into bed, all thoughts of a shower forgotten, and cried myself to sleep.

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EIGHTEEN Messages I climbed into Josh's car and he squeezed my hand. We were all heading over to Ava's to get ready for the school's Halloween Party. Salem, being the witching capital of the world, was of course big on Halloween. The streets were lined with orange and black bunting. Every house we passed had at least a pumpkin on the doorstep, some with other decorations, material spider webs and skeletons. Me and Ava had already decided to go to the party as witches true to our heritage, and since we were in alliance with the Salem Vampire Coven, Justin was an added addition to our group. He was being as original as me and Ava and dressing as a vampire. ''How mad was your Dad?'' Josh asked me as we drove through town. ''Fuming.'' I said, pushing back the thoughts of what I'd heard afterwards. ''He went mad at me.'' ''I'm not surprised. I'm proud of you though, it takes courage to walk into a vampire coven and come up against the master the way you did.'' He offered me a smile and I smiled back, placing my hand on top of his on the gear stick and lacing my fingers through his. ''I did what I had to do. They came to me.. Not my Dad. I doubt they would have spoken to him. It's like they think I have to destroy Luther or something.'' But we do. Ava's voice sung to me. I'm not about to tell your brother that though, am I Ava? You only know cause you can read my mind! ''You're talking to my sister again.'' ''How do you know?'' ''Because you're frowning.'' I laughed. He already knew me so well. We pulled up into his drive and he grabbed my bag from the car before locking it and guiding me up the steps. ''Hello Lily dear.'' Hannah, his mum said as we walked into the hall. She had a large pumpkin with an ornate carving of a witch on a broom. ''Hey, Hannah. Did you do that?'' I pointed to the pumpkin. ''It's fantastic.'' ''Yes.. I may have had a little help though.'' She winked at me and placed it outside the door. I smiled as I made my way up the stairs to Ava's room, I knew exactly what kind of help she'd had. Cheater, I thought fondly. I opened Ava's door and was greeted by all the girls, still minus Abby and Jules, naturally, and utter destruction. Ava's bed was littered with various items from ours costumes, her floor was covered in make up and hair products and her dresser in more make up and face paint. She grinned when she saw my shocked face. ''Tidy, isn't it?'' She giggled. ''Very.'' I said wryly. ''May as well join the fun.'' I emptied my bag on the floor, placing my costume on the bed and my make up all over the floor. ''Christ, Lily, you have enough make up for us all!'' Ivy exclaimed, rifling through my collection. ''Well I wasn't sure how to do my face, so I thought I'd just bring it all. But I was thinking smoky eyes and bright red lips.''
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Maya, Ivy, Shauna and Ava all nodded in agreement and we set to work. We curled, straightened, brushed, clipped, back combed, swept, painted and sprayed. Some three hours later we were ready and changed into our costumes. Mine and Ava's costumes were identical. Little black dresses with a tutu bottom, black fishnet tights and black stilettos. We had little black robes and small black witch hats we attached to our curls with clips. Maya had gone down the vampire route to match Justin, it not bothering her she was a witch and he, a vampire. She had a floor length black cape with a bright red dress, black heels and bright red lips, fake blood dripping on her chin, of course. Her eyes were smoky and false eyelashes gave her a sexy look. Her hair was twisted on top of her head with random tendrils escaping. Shauna was a zombie princess, a kids plastic tiara sat in her back combed hair and she wore a ripped white dress with mud stains. Ivy decided to go for a cat, and her black leggings with a black corset and heels set off against her pale skin. She wore little ears and had attached a tale to the back of her leggings. We looked fantastic. I knew Mum had been hired by the school to do the photos so she'd be sure to get some pictures of us later. We all made our way down the stairs to the front room where we could hear the boys talking to Ava's Dad. His eyes popped as we walked into the room. Actually, so did everyone's. ''Ava Adams you are not wearing that dress.'' ''Why not?'' She asked innocently. ''It shows too much leg.'' She rolled her eyes before looking at him and batting her eyelids. ''Don't you use that with me.'' Use what? I sent to her mind. Compulsion. He's figured out I can influence people, apparently it's how I get what I want all the time. I heard her mentally giggle and I smiled. Josh cleared his throat. ''I have to say I think I agree with Dad...'' He said looking at my legs. ''Oh really?'' I asked sweetly. ''Then why can't you take your eyes off my legs?'' Everyone laughed and I heard his dad mutter, ''that's what I'm worried about.'' We made it out of the house, in our planned outfits thanks to Ava using a bit of her influence on an unsuspecting Carson. Poor lad. We all travelled separately and met back up in the parking lot. I saw my Mum stood in the doorway taking pictures of everyone as they entered. ''Hey kids!'' She called enthusiastically to us. Oh gods, the woman's an embarrassment. ''Hey, Mum.'' I called with a half hearted wave. Everyone called out greetings of 'hey!' Or 'hi, Celia!' She kept us at the doorway for 20 minutes before she was satisfied she had enough pictures of us,even thought she still hadn't finished editing all the ones from Homecoming. A month ago. The gym was decorated in orange and black paper chains hanging from the ceiling. Spiders, bats and skeletons hung from the walls and the school's flag had multiplied. It looked good. We spent the night much as we did Homecoming. Dancing, chatting, fooling around. Grace even came over to join us at one point. Everyone was really starting
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to warm to her and I was glad, because I knew she'd be an important part of our fight. Her and Maya had got really close, due to us passing on that Grace had saved her life. Grace was even civil to Justin, which was a surprise. I was sat outside with Josh, Ava, Carson and Grace getting some fresh air when I felt my phone buzz from it's hiding place in my bra. Yes, I know, but really, you should try it some time, it's very convenient. Especially for hiding your iPod in in class, but you didn't hear that from me. I didn't recognize the number but opened it anyway. But what I saw made my heart stop. I failed on your friend but I won't fail on you. Keep your eyes open, I'm watching you. You're next, Lily Mauve. I felt the rage boil inside of me, only one person could have sent that message, but how did he get my number? ''What's wrong? Lily? Lily?'' Grace shook my shoulder and I looked up, my jaw clenched. ''Get me to somewhere I can set something on fire.'' I said through clamped teeth as my right arm began to burn ferociously. Josh grabbed my phone from me then paled when he read the message before he showed it to everyone else. His face tightened as he grabbed my hand and lead me behind the school where there was a thick cluster of trees. He did a quick check to make sure no-one was around and motioned to Ava to come over. Whenever you're ready. I'll put it out. I lifted my arm and shot a huge stream of fire towards a bush and Ava immediately extinguished it. The burning sensation had gone in my arm and my rage had left with the fire. But I was still annoyed. I took my phone back from Josh. ''What are you doing?'' ''I'm replying.'' ''Lily..'' I heard Grace's voice warning me. ''No, Grace. If he wants to threaten me he can. But by the gods he won't intimidate me.'' I turned back to my phone and quickly typed out a message. Only one more person will die in this fight, Henry Luther, and it won't be on my side. Say your goodbyes, because your days are running out. You don't scare me. Then I pressed send.

NINETEEN Vampire Guards I was back at the Vampire Coven's property. Although this time, I wasn't alone. Nope, I was armed with every witch in Salem. Jerome, the Master Vampire of the Coven insisted we call a meeting when he heard from Justin about the message Henry Luther had sent me. So here I was, sat in a large plush chair with a glass of orange juice they'd bought in especially for us. Who knew vampires could be so
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thoughtful? I certainly didn't. ''This is not a matter we should take lightly. We have to be vigilant.'' Jerome's voice boomed from the other end of the long, mahogany table. Josh sat next to me holding my hand and squeezed it gently. ''I agree.'' My father looked around the table. ''When I agreed to this alliance, I gave Lily my word I would protect the witches of Salem if the time came, and well, this is one of those times. You have spare rooms, do you not, Mark?'' ''We have two, Jerome.'' ''Excellent! Then, on your consent I will send you five vampires from my coven to rotate on a shift. Two shall stand guard over your property at any one time. I say five, because Justin will be the fifth. As you already attend school together it makes sense for him to be an unofficial guard outside of your house.'' He turned his piercing blue eyes to me. ''Lily, I ask you as not only an ally, but as a friend, to please not go out alone. Not even in your car. If your friends or..boyfriend..as you youngsters call it nowadays can collect you and drop you off I know I, and your parents, would feel safer.'' ''I have no problem doing it.'' Josh said with a smile. ''I thought so.'' ''How could he have gotten my number?'' I asked the room. ''It is possible,'' Jem began,'' that he somehow infiltrated the school records. Whether it be personally or through a student, I'd say that's our best guess. He could have got a student to go into the office, claim they'd lost your number, most likely someone you know and trust, or once did.'' Abby's face immediately flashed into my mind. She might hate me, but she wouldn't do that, would she? I hope not. Ava said to me. I turned to look at her and she had a worried look on her face. Damn, I keep forgetting she hears everything I think. And I think a lot. Too much, actually. Shut up, Lily. I can't concentrate. Sorry. I gave her a meek smile. ''Talking in your minds, girls?'' Jerome said with a small smirk. ''You do know that's terribly bad company.'' ''Lily tends to.. over think things.'' Ava said, her lip curling up as she glanced to me. ''I was merely telling her to shut up.'' Then she grinned at me and batted her lashes. ''Your influence won't work on me, Ava Adams.'' I said in a stern voice with a slight frown. She shrugged. ''Worth a shot.'' ''So it's settled then.'' My father stood. ''We'll have five of your best and most trusted move into our property to monitor it round the clock. I will, of course, do my best to secure you the nourishment you require. Maybe Ava will accompany me to the local blood bank and use her charm on those young doctors.'' Ava threw my dad a wink. ''Time and a place, I'll be there.'' We all laughed which lightened the mood considerably. ''You're free to leave then.'' Jerome said as he stood. ''Except.. Lily, and Josh. I'd like a word.'' Jerome waited until the room filed out and the doors shut before coming to
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perch on the table near us. ''You two... you have a special relationship. One I've seen before, but not in two so young. You compliment each other, no? Lily, fire, and Josh, air?'' We looked at each other and nodded. Josh squeezed my hand affectionately again. ''I thought so. You are most compatible. Hard times are coming.. Very hard. You will need to lean on each other at times and draw from each other's strength. You will need to trust one another, and believe in the feelings you share. For it is your love that will carry you through this.'' Josh pulled the car into my driveway and I noticed immediately a vampire already perched in the large oak tree. We were both mulling over what Jerome had said, it was heavy stuff to lay on two 17 year olds. We said goodbye and I trudged up to my room and lay on my bed. Love, Jerome said. Love. L-O-V-E. Love. Did I love Josh? At 17, am I capable of love? What is love? Is it making your knees go weak, or melting into a kiss? Is the the feeling of safety you get around somebody? Is love being able to sit for ages and just not talk? Is it trusting someone to protect you and trusting them with your life? Is it knowing they can make you smile no matter your mood? Is love being unable to imagine your life without the other person? Because surely, love wasn't about someone you could live with, it was someone you couldn't live without. Could I live without Josh? No. I couldn't. But did I love him? He makes me feel all the things I've already said and then more. But does love have to be a list? Or is it simply just.. there? Can you define love? Or is it unique to each person? But can I love him if I question it? I lay in bed for hours afterwards mulling over that question. I flicked through the pictures of us on my phone, at homecoming, Halloween, the beach, his house, and re-read the silly text messages we'd sent each other at stupid times of the night when neither of us could sleep. I eventually fell asleep with a smile on my face, finally realising that the way I felt about Josh was indeed, love.

TWENTY The L-Word I let the sand run through my fingers as I sat next to Josh at one of the beaches at Forest River Park. The cold November air swirled around me blowing my hair into my face and mouth. Without saying a word, Josh raised his hand and made a wide sweeping movement directing the wind around us, leaving us a little warmer. ''Thank you.'' I said quietly. ''It's no problem.''
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It was a week after the meeting and Jerome's little chat with us. It had been slightly awkward all week between us but we tried to keep appearances up in school, I had no intention of fighting off a bunch of girls to keep his affections. ''Lily..'' I turned my face towards him slightly and tucked my curls back behind my ear. He was still staring out at the water in front of us. ''What?'' ''I need to talk to you.'' I felt my heart beating inside my chest. Was this where he broke up with me? Damn Jerome mentioning that stupid L-word and making me realise how I truly felt just to get my heart broken! I resolved to stake that stupid vampire the next time I saw him. Or at least try. ''You're breaking up with me, aren't you?'' I whispered as a rogue tear escaped my eye and traced a path down my cheek. ''What? No!'' I felt him shift closer to me and wrap his arms around me. I leant my head on his chest. ''It's okay if you are. Really. I know what Jerome said has been bothering you.'' ''Is that what you think, Lily?'' He pulled away so he could see me. He released me from his arms and gently cupped my cheeks wiping away my tears I couldn't control, holding my face. ''Lily, look at me.'' I averted my eyes. ''Lily, look at me!'' I shook my head. How could I? In my mind, my heart was already breaking, piece by piece. ''Lily! Do you really think I'm going to break up with you?'' He said in a softer voice. I slowly moved my eyes back to meet his as he wiped another tear from under my eye. I nodded and squeezed my eyes shut. I felt his arms go back around me and him pull me close. ''Silly girl. Silly, silly girl.'' He said between kisses on the top of my head. He rested his forehead against the top of my head on his shoulder. ''I'm not breaking up with you. Not in a million years. I love you, Lily. That's what I wanted to say. I love you.'' I drew in a breath and slowly raised my head to look at him. ''You mean it?'' I whispered. ''Of course I do, silly girl. Why else would I say it?'' He wiped my eyes for me and kissed my forehead. ''I thought about what Jerome said to us all that night. Did I love you? How did I know? But I just did. I just knew I'd do anything for you. I knew I'd die to protect you. I've been..distant this week because I didn't know if you felt the same, and I wanted to give you a chance to change your mind about us.'' ''Oh!'' I threw my arms around his shoulders, pushing him back on the sand, my head buried into his neck. ''I love you, too.'' I breathed into his ear. His arms tightened around me. I lay there for a moment, completely content to be in his arms. I slowly pushed myself up onto my elbow and wiped my eyes. ''I'm so silly, aren't I?'' ''You are.'' Josh smiled up at me. ''But it's why I love you.'' He leant up and kissed me and I sunk back into his embrace. Nothing mattered when I was here. Nothing in the world existed besides the two of us in that moment. It was just us, and the magical L-word that minutes before I'd dubbed as a curse. We broke away and I heard Ava's voice in my head. Gross. Do you mind?
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No, not really. Just sharing my opinion. I hope you're going to take back that threat to Jerome about staking him. I could feel Ava grinning in my mind and I giggled and nodded. ''What's so funny? Let me guess, Ava?'' I nodded again. ''I kind of uh, made a mental threat to no-one in particular that if you broke up with me I would stake Jerome. She just reminded me to take it back.'' Josh began to laugh, a deep, rich throaty laugh that I loved so much. ''Probably for the best.'' We giggled for a moment before I felt Josh suddenly tense and push me down. ''Get down!'' I lay on my back on the sand breathing heavily and watched a dart fly past me from the other side of the water and land in the closest tree. ''Oh gods.'' I breathed. ''Lily, I need you to concentrate. Send a message to Ava and I'll send a text to Carson. We need to get everyone here.'' I nodded and tuned in to Ava. AVA! Forest River Park! Now! Get everyone! Gods. I'm being attacked by feathery darts, what are they? I cried as another one flew past me and I rolled, the dart lying in the sand where I'd just been. I felt Josh pick me up onto his shoulders and whisk me into the trees behind us, creating a mini tornado on the beach, blowing all the sand up. Poison darts, Lily! Get cover.. Somewhere! Anywhere! Run! We'll be there soon! Josh set me down and grabbed my hand as we began to run. ''How long can you hold it for?'' I said as we ran. ''Not long, so we have to move fast to get back to the car!'' We ran through the trees, never slowing and his grip never faltering. He made the occasional gust of wind blow mother nature's natural litter into a large cloud behind us before we changed direction through the trees. I wasn't, however, expecting to come face to face with Jules. ''Jules? What are you doing here?'' ''No-one ever thought about me, did they, Lily?'' ''Lily, babe, we don't have time for this.'' Josh said tugging on my hand but I held my other hand up to him for him to wait. ''What do you mean, Jules?'' ''How do you think Master Henry got your number? And knew you'd be here? Ah, clever, beautiful Lily, moves to Salem then is Miss Popular within a few weeks, snagging her place on the cheer squad and then dating the hottest boy in school. Not for much longer. He's coming.'' She smiled at me evilly and I shook my head. Jules? Quiet, lovable Jules that followed Abby like a lost sheep? How was this possible? ''Lily, we have to leave. It's not safe if he's coming. I won't lose you!'' Josh cried frantically to me. I took one last look at Jules and raised my arm. ''Sorry about this.'' I sent a zap of electricity to her chest. Weak, but strong enough to knock her out. No sooner had she dropped to the ground than Josh picked me up in his arms and ran back to the car. We were greeted by Jerome yelling orders to his coven in the parking lot as my Dad came from nowhere and grabbed me into his arms. I'd only been standing a
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second but I felt my legs give out as the adrenaline subsided and the shock hit me. Was this how Maya felt? Or did he not even give her time to feel? I noticed it was only the vampires, my dad, uncle and Jem here. ''I was so worried. Gods, Lily. You'll.. Gods. You're okay? Nowhere hurts?'' He asked frantically, feeling my body for broken bones or cuts. ''I'm fine, Dad. Josh saved me.'' Then I fainted.

TWENTY ONE Planning ''The girl is in our custody. We have human workers and Louise is there now trying to reverse the enchantments placed upon her by Luther.'' Jerome told me. I'd come round half an hour after I fainted from shock and was now curled on the sofa between my parents. Josh was pacing the floor behind us and Ava was sat in one of the armchairs. She was as shaken as I was at how close he'd got to me, not to mention the fact Jules was working with him and feeding him information. ''Will she remember anything?'' My mother asked gently while smoothing my hair. ''No.'' My father shook his head. ''She'll have no recollection of anything she did in the time he enchanted her. Louise will plant images in her head of normal teenage stuff.'' Ava's head suddenly turned to Josh. ''For love of the gods brother, sit down!'' She snapped. Josh instantly stopped pacing and ran his fingers through his hair. ''Here, sweetheart. You sit down.'' My mum stood up and motioned for Josh to sit. When he protested she knocked him down. ''Sit!'' She demanded. ''She needs you just as much.'' She was right. As Josh sat down and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close I realised I was exactly where I needed to be. In between the two men I loved more than anything, that would go to any lengths to protect me. ''I can't believe I nearly lost you.'' Josh murmured into my hair. ''But you didn't.'' I whispered, blinking back tears. ''You saved my life.'' I pressed a gentle kiss to his lips and snuggled in close. The front door opened with a bang and a very dishevelled Rosie came flying into the front room. ''Oh gods, Lily!'' Dad stood up and Rosie flung herself down next to me, put her lean arms around me and began sobbing into my back. Sheesh, drama drama drama. So much for a quiet life. ''I'm okay.'' I soothed her, turning from Josh to stroke her hair. ''I'm fine. He didn't get me.'' She quietened, but didn't stop hugging me. It'd been so long since I'd been close to her like this I couldn't move.
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''We need to start moving, Mark.'' Jerome said with a fond smile at us, before switching his attention back to my Dad. ''We need to make a stand.'' ''I agree, Jerome. But how? We don't know where he is, who's working for him or anything. We have nothing to trace him by.'' My mum appeared from the kitchen with a tray of mugs. She handed my dad his coffee, then me, Rosie, Josh and Ava a mug of hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows. Man, can my Mum do comfort food. She then handed Jerome a mug. He looked at her quizzically. ''Just try it.'' She smiled, and stood there like a school teacher waiting for him. We all watched as he took a tentative sip. ''That's fantastic, Celia! Whatever is it?'' He exclaimed. ''Blood and coffee. It was only last week you were saying how much you missed the taste of coffee, so I experimented. Leanne and Carlo were more than happy to try some. They've lived on it ever since.'' My Mum exclaimed proudly. For a human, she sure dealt with us supernatural freaks well. ''You'll have to give me the recipe, Celia.'' My Dad cleared his throat and put his coffee mug down. ''What do you propose we do, Jerome?'' My father turned to the Master Vampire. ''We set a trap. We coax him into thinking we do nothing. He'll come back, and when he does, we'll be ready for him.'' ''But how will we know when he comes back?'' ''I'll send one of my coven in undercover. One who won't touch the witches blood he's offered us. It'll be a willing servant, once he won't have to enchant. When we get word he's preparing to attack, the girls will gather their friends to do a Wiccan power-raising spell. The night he prepares to attack, Lily, Ava, Maya, Grace, Iyla, Rosie, Josh and Carson will perform a Wiccan spell to alter the weather.'' ''I see where you're going with this. They alter the weather for a storm.'' ''Why a storm?'' Ava asked, looking from my father to Jerome. My father looked at me expectantly. I raised an eyebrow as if to say 'what?' and then I realised. ''You want a storm because of the elements.. Rosie and Ava can draw on the rain for extra power, Maya and Carson can draw on the energy the lightening shoots into the Earth, Josh can get extra energy from the high winds, Iyla and I can draw on the electricity from the lightening to strengthen our energy output, and Grace can draw on the heightened natural power to heal.. Am I right?'' I watched as my father's face lit up with pride. ''Exactly right, pumpkin.'' ''You have a good head on your shoulders, Lily.'' Jerome informed me. ''Uh, thanks.'' I smiled weakly and rested my head on Josh's shoulder since my sister released her death grip. ''You know, we've been here nearly three months and I still haven't met Iyla.'' ''We'll have a sleepover. Me, you, Grace and Iyla.'' Rosie said excitedly. ''Gods know we need it.'' ''Okay. It sounds good to me.'' I smiled back at her and she jumped up. ''I'll go text Iyla.'' She ran from the room at lightening speed and I turned back to my Dad.
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''What happens after, though? After we've done the spells and he attacks?'' His mouth flattened into a grim line. ''I'm afraid we'll have to decide that at the time.''

TWENTY TWO Family Bonding Isn't Always Good ''I vote Twilight!'' Rosie shouted. ''No way! We have to deal with vampires on a daily basis. Can't we watch something normal?'' Grace groaned. ''But I love Twilight.'' ''I agree with Grace. No Twilight.'' Iyla shook her head from my window seat. We were having our sleepover, or family bonding as Dad called it. Iyla was a year younger than Rosie, and had the same dark hair Grace had. She was taller, and slimmer than Grace but just as striking. In the few hours we'd all been together I'd already noticed the way her eyes sparkled when she got excited, and how she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth when Grace was being stubborn. I liked her. ''How about..'' I thought for a moment. ''I've got it! Bridget Jones.'' ''Perfect!'' Iyla squealed, clapping her hands together. I knew she was a cheerleader at Salem, so I guessed she hadn't lost the enthusiasm at college. Rosie jumped over to my DVD stand and put the disk in the player. We were sprawled out over various spaces in my room. Grace and I were on my bed, Iyla on my window seat and Rosie had dragged her extra-large bean bag into my room and was lounging on it in the middle of my rug. We spent the next two hours laughing, crying and shouting at the TV. What you up to? I sent a quick mental message to Ava. Since we'd discovered the connection, we'd got even closer and took to checking in with each other several times a day, especially after the recent attempt on my life. Listening to Maya ramble on about how great Justin is. Fun fun fun! She sent back and I laughed out loud. Iyla looked at me funny but Rosie just turned to her and said, ''she's talking to Ava. They have a mental connection.'' ''Oh wow!'' Iyla exclaimed. ''Isn't that like, really rare?'' I nodded my head. ''We're really close. She was the first person I met when I came to Salem.'' ''And her brother is your boyfriend.'' Grace smirked at me. ''Well, yes, and that.'' ''You know, Grace, I think you should get yourself a boyfriend. It'd do you some good.'' Iyla said absently picking at her nails. ''Ugh! Not this again Iyla! I don't want a boyfriend!'' Grace threw her hands in the air dramatically. ''Yes, but I still think it'll do you some good. Put a smile on your grumpy old face once in a while.''
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I couldn't resist leaning over and gently pinching her cheek earning myself a glare. Iyla started giggling and then I did too. Before I knew it we were all collapsed laughing. I couldn't believe I'd lived for so long without knowing my cousins, my family. It felt like they were a part of me I didn't know I was missing. It made me more aware of what I stood to lose, what we all stood to lose if we couldn't kill Henry Luther. If we failed he'd carry on picking us off one by one until there was none of us left, then who knows where he'd go? The vampires? The werewolves? I couldn't let it happen. Not to anyone. We had to win this four hundred year fight, there simply was no other way. I was mulling these thoughts over in my mind when my phone buzzed on the side. Expecting it to be from Josh I pressed open without seeing the ID. Round 2, ding ding. My breath caught in my throat as my room spun before my eyes. I didn't need to see a caller ID to know who that was from. Everything else happened in slow motion. Bang. Smash. Scream. Thud. Roar. Three dark shapes fighting on the drive. Iyla lying on my bedroom floor face down. Blood seeping from her shoulder. Grace holding my tweezers digging in Iyla's shoulder. Searching for something. Rosie crying. Smoothing Iyla's hair. Whispering in her ear. The door flying open. My parents running in. My Mum at my side, holding me. My Dad on the floor next to Iyla. Muttering some words. A silver bullet, covered in bright red blood emerging and landing in his hand Him running out. Grace pulling at imaginary strings above Iyla's shoulder and moving her hands in a methodical way. My chest was constricting and I found it hard to breathe. I could feel my throat closing up as I started shaking. I stared at my cousin lying on the floor, her hair spread around her head. Grace's magic closing the wound, slowly and painfully, tissue by tissue and nerve by nerve. I couldn't shake the feeling that if I hadn't wanted to meet her, she wouldn't be here. He thought the dark hair belonged to me. That I was sat on the window seat. I looked at the hole in my window through tearfilled eyes and realised. That bullet was meant for me.

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TWENTY THREE Blame ''Josh. I want Josh.'' I mumbled into the pillow I was holding on the sofa as I rocked backwards and forwards. Ava. Ava. I want Josh. Need Josh. What? What's happened? Her voice came through loud and clear in my mind, the urgent undertone clear. Luther. Iyla. Shot. Meant to be me. He's on his way. I was numb from shock. I blamed myself for what happened to Iyla. She was upstairs in the guest room, Grace applying healing balms and dripping healing herb potions into her mouth. Rosie was with her, helping out where she could. Mum was pottering in the kitchen making her famous hot chocolate while I sat on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, hugging a pillow and shaking. The feelings.. So strong. Guilt. Blame. Hurt. Worry. Fear. Guilt. Blame. My fault. It was my fault she took that bullet. Just mine. No-one else's. Maybe I should just give in. Go to him. Then he won't hurt anyone else. DON'T YOU DARE! Ava screamed to me in my mind. We all love you, Lily! Your Mum, your Dad, Rosie, Iyla, Grace, me, Josh.. What would it do to Josh, Lily? It would kill him. He'd follow you there. He loves you a lot more than you realise. He'd do anything for you. I shook my head as the front door opened. I looked up and saw a dishevelled Josh, in a plain white tee and pyjamas. He looked into the front room and came running in. He threw away my pillow and held me in his arms, rocking me gently. I allowed myself to feel safe, just for that minute. While he was there no-one could hurt me. He'd always protect me. He'd take the bullet for me. I shook my head suddenly and pulled back. ''No. Go. I don't want you to get hurt too.'' ''I'm not going anywhere.'' He said forcefully as he pulled me back in. I rested my head on his shoulder willing the tears to come. But they wouldn't. I was numb. Snow was beginning to fall gently outside the window, not unusual for this time of year in Salem. I remember Dad telling me the weather always was a bit unpredictable. I sat in Josh's arms for ages. I vaguely remember Mum bringing us in some hot chocolate but neither of us touched it. Grace and Rosie came down looking tired. I snapped my head round. ''Is she..?'' ''She'll be fine.'' Rosie said wearily as Grace sunk into the armchair. Dad had stoked the fire up earlier in the evening, using me to light it of course, so it was steadily roaring in the fireplace, spreading warmth through the chilling room. ''Grace worked her magic, literally. The wound is all healed and the herbs we gave her will help her sleep.'' She continued as she eased herself into the other armchair. Mum appeared with another two mugs of hot chocolate. ''Thanks, Mum.'' Rosie looked up at her and smiled weakly as she took the mug. ''How are you feeling now?'' Grace turned her gaze from the fire to me. I shook my head against Josh's chest. ''It should have been me. People keep
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getting hurt for me. I just..'' ''Don't say it.'' Josh said, squeezing me tighter. ''Please don't say it anymore.'' I groaned in frustration, anger, guilt and shot my hand towards the fireplace, letting out a ball of fire which added to the heat in the room. I turned back to the window and watched the snow fall again. The flakes were getting bigger, and I knew the ground would be covered tomorrow. Perfect to build a snowman, I thought absently. We'll have fun. A snowball fight, a snowman, snow angels. I'll even ice them so they last longer. I heard Ava in my mind speaking in soothing tones and I could feel her smile. I allowed my own lips to curl into a small smile at her words. She truly was the best friend she knew how to make me smile even when I was numb. Thank you. A big snowman? I asked, childishly, but I didn't care. I needed to be a child and have everyone look after me, just for tonight. A massive snowman. As big as we can make it. ''Josh, do you want to stay tonight?'' My Mum asked softly. I looked at him hopefully. I didn't want to be alone tonight. I couldn't be alone. ''Ava..'' ''Will bring you some stuff in the morning. We're building a snowman.'' I looked up at him and smiled, a childish gleam in my eye. He smiled and rested his forehead against mine before turning back to my Mum. ''I'd love to, Celia. Thank you.''

TWENTY FOUR Child's Play I woke the next morning, snuggled up in Josh's arms in my bed. I took a deep breath through my nose and all the events of last night came flooding back. I squeezed my eyes shut, begging the memories to stop but they wouldn't. I shook my head slightly and Josh's eyes fluttered open. He tightened his arms around me, pulling me as close to him as he could. I let him comfort me. I slowed my breathing so it matched his, and listened to the steady beat of his heart as he slowly warmed mine. I raised my gaze over his shoulder and looked out the window. I'd forgotten to draw my curtains last night and gasped. I disentangled myself from Josh and clambered over to my window. Everywhere was white. The trees, roofs, roads.. Ava's car sat in my driveway, the only one free of a thick layer of the white stuff. It was only November but it made it feel a bit like Christmas. I suddenly found myself looking forward to Christmas here in Salem, I don't know where the feeling came from but I knew it was right. Here I had my family, one I never knew I had. A true best friend and the best boyfriend I could have asked for. Despite everything that was happening, deep down I was happy. And that made me all the more determined not to lose it. I turned to Josh with a smile on my face.
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''Snow!'' I exclaimed. He laughed and shook his head. ''Come on then, little girl, let's get changed and build your snowman.'' I stuck my tongue out at him and disappeared into my closet to get lost between my mounds of clothes. Iyla was awake and sat on the porch watching us build snowmen and throw random snowballs. We'd spoken earlier that morning and she assured me she didn't want me to blame myself that he would have come for her sooner or later. She accepted that although his prime target was currently me, he'd settle for any witch he could get. While that didn't reassure me, it reminded me that this whole thing wasn't just about me. It was about all of us, and the only way we could get through it was by sticking together. A snowball made its way over to me and I melted it with a quick blast of fire and a grin. ''Hey! No fair!'' Ava yelled across the yard. ''All's fair in love and war!'' I yelled back, and blew her a cheeky kiss and giggled. I felt a thump on the back of my head and a sliver of ice down the back of my neck. I spun on my heel and saw Josh and Carson laughing, giving each other a high 5. Ava, melt and freeze? Got it! I sent a quick blast of fire to their feet, melting the snow and almost instantly Ava sent a stream of ice from her palm to the same spot, freezing them in place. Grace and Rosie both turned to look at them as they shouted while me and Ava doubled over in laughter. ''Not so funny now is it!'' I called to them in a sing song voice. A cold blast of air propelled towards me, turning my cheeks a brighter red and whipping my hair around my face. ''Hey! That's not fair!'' I shouted to Josh, who was still frozen in place. ''All's fair in love and war, babe!'' He blew me a kiss the same way I did to Ava. ''Let us free and I'll stop it!'' I gritted my teeth as the wind carried on freezing my face. I sent a quick ball of fire to his feet, freeing him and Carson. Before I could take a breath Josh had tackled me to the snow covered floor and I could hear Iyla's laugh ringing out from the porch. That meant more to me than anything. The fact she was still happy and smiling after what happened last night made me feel a million times better. I spat out some snow that had landed in my mouth and frowned up at Josh who was lying over me, his elbows either side of my face. ''Even?'' He said to me, his almost violet eyes twinkling. ''Never.'' I replied. That was all it took, he was suddenly sat up and tickling me through my coat, I squealed and wriggled until Grace sent a snowball to his head. I slid out from under him and ran off across the yard but he was too fast. He caught up to me quickly and grabbed me, pressing a kiss to my lips before I could escape. He pulled back and grinned. ''I win.''
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I nodded my head. ''This time.'' He moved around so my back was to his chest and rested his head on my shoulder, his arms tightly around my waist. ''Just watch for a minute, Lily.'' So I did. I watched my friends, cousin and sister throwing snowballs and laughing, the three girls teaming up against Carson. Normality. Normal teenagers having fun, playing, kissing, laughing. Okay, maybe not completely normal, but as close as we were going to get. The heavy feeling on my heart lifted slightly. I needed to see this I needed to see a group of teenagers just having fun like everyone else would be. And Josh knew that. He always knew. I turned my face towards his slightly. ''Thank you.'' I whispered. ''Always.'' He whispered back. ''The vampire that shot the bullet is in our custody.'' Jerome assured me over the phone. ''We're trying to get him to talk but he's not saying anything. He's a rogue, newly turned more than likely. It appears that he turned to the first person that supported him. Luther gave him witch blood, we can smell it in his body. I don't think we can save him, Lily. We may have to end him.'' I sighed. ''I was afraid you'd say that, Jerome. Is he really not giving any information?'' ''No. I'm considering calling Louise and seeing if she can extract any memories to work on. Her mind magic is extraordinary. I fear that is our only option.'' ''Whatever. Just do.. Whatever.'' I ran my fingers through my hair. ''Sorry. I'm still shaken up from last night.'' ''That's understandable, dear girl. You rest. I'll be over tomorrow, I have a proposition for you.''

TWENTY FIVE Another Coven. The Coven house was much as I remembered it. Over the past weeks I'd become acquainted with most of the Vampires that lived there, even friends with some. Jerome said he'd managed to track down a large vampire coven in Boston, and had called the Master and his council for an audience. But he wanted me to present the case for them to ally with us. He said our chances were considerably higher now we already had the support of the Salem Coven. We were travelling to Boston since it was early December and Ava wanted to do some Christmas shopping. Jerome insisted he take me in his car and everyone else will follow us. I agreed, but only because he was a stubborn old mule. ''A stubborn old mule?'' He asked me as he started up his car, amused. ''Did you just read my mind?'' I turned to face him. ''I've been able to read your mind as long as I've known you. Why do you think
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I allied with you, Lily, hmm? I heard your thoughts in our first meeting. I listened to you turn your fear into courage even though you were facing a three hundred year old vampire. And I knew you would definitely burn down my property if I called for you to be attacked.'' He had a big grin on his face and I couldn't be mad at him. He'd been like a second father to me. ''I suppose I forgive you. How do I shut my mind off? I don't want the Boston Coven to see what I plan on buying everyone for Christmas!'' ''Just concentrate solely on one thing, but leave it open. There's around a hundred Vampires in their coven, and nine on the Council. Let them see your fear change to courage and the workings of your mind. I'm sure they'll be just as amazed as I was.'' He patted my hand and we rode the rest of the way in silence. ''I can't come in with you, Lily.'' Jerome said to me as we approached the double doors to the council room. The Boston Coven's house was huge, I'd never seen anything like it. It was situated away from the city centre but was as old and original as they come. The ceilings were high, and each one had a unique design. Antiques littered the corridors and main rooms, and I could swear I saw a genuine Monet painting. I was really starting to appreciate old houses. Strange. ''Okay.'' I took a deep breath as I turned to face the large doors. They were expertly carved in the Boston Coven's symbol, a triangle within a circle. Jerome knocked loudly at the doors before stepping away and giving me a smile. ''Enter, Lily Mauve.'' The doors opened and revealed a majestic room. How to describe it? It was dark, but beautiful. Portraits hung on the walls, and the high ceiling was carved in an intricate pattern. A large candle chandelier hung over a long, U-curved table in the centre of the room where nine vampires sat. Five males, four females. My attention was immediately turned to the Master. He had slicked back, black hair and bright green eyes. A strange combination, but combined with his pale skin looked striking. I slowly entered the room, conscious of all the eyes on me, knowing they could read my mind and smell my fear. I wasn't necessarily scared.. Just incredibly intimidated. Okay, maybe I was a little scared. The large doors banged shut behind me as I stopped ten feet from the table. ''So, Lily Mauve, what brings you to our coven, young witch?'' The Master asked, even though he knew. ''Sir, I am here to present to you our case for an alliance with your Coven in the fight against Henry Luther.'' I replied, keeping my voice even. ''You are scared, young witch, are you not?'' He asked, eyeing me. ''Yes sir, I am.'' He could read my mind anyway. Can't really lie to a vampire. The council all let out a small laugh of pleasure. Guess they heard that. ''What are you afraid of, Lily?'' A woman sat on the right side of the Master asked me kindly. She had honey blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was beautiful. ''Is it being here?'' Was it? ''Truthfully, I am not sure. I am afraid everyday for various reasons. Mainly for the safety of those that I love. Two attempts have been made on my life in the last month and a half, the first no-one was hurt but the second time my cousin took the
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bullet for me. My other cousin, her younger sister, has the power to heal, so she made a full recovery. But that does not mean I'm not scared. I'm scared someone else will be hurt next time, but worse. An injury we can't heal.'' I lowered my head slightly and I fought back the tears that threatened to betray me. After a few seconds of silence I put my head back up and looked the woman in the eye, my confidence slowly building. ''I'm not afraid for myself. I'll accept whatever I have to if it means I can keep those I love safe. That's why I'm here. Whether you agree to ally with the Witches of Salem and the Salem Coven or not, I have to try. I have to know I'm doing everything I can to stop Henry Luther from hurting anymore people.'' I turned back to the Master who was watching me intently. ''I was asked am I scared of being here? No, not of being here. Intimidated? Yes. But not scared. I know you won't hurt me, if you wanted to you would have by now. What I'm scared of is walking out of your beautiful home and not having you on side, because every coven, group and family I don't get on side is another one Henry Luther can. And that scares me more than anything.'' The Master was still staring at me. It felt like he could see into my very soul. ''You are wise, Lily Mauve. For a mere seventeen years you have a head on your shoulders that some centuries old vampires do not have.'' He said to me, in his deep voice. ''Why is this so? Why are you not afraid of us? I could overpower you in a second, never mind the others of my coven.'' ''Because I love. I care. The people I surround myself in are in as much danger as I am. I take the fear I feel and turn it into determination, into passion, and back into love. Because love is ultimately where fear comes from. You have to love, to care to be able to feel fear. You can't be scared if you have nothing to lose. But I do. I have a lot to lose. I have everything to lose.'' I looked at every vampire sat in front of me. ''I don't need to be scared of you. I'd be more worried if it was my sister, or best friend stood here because I don't fear for myself. I'm here to ask you for your alliance. I'm not asking you to fight, or to be involved in any kind of battle. I'm just asking for your support, your protection. Henry Luther has been offering vampires of the Salem Coven witch blood if they switch allegiances. They are the second largest coven in Massachusetts. He'll be here next, if he hasn't already. No master wants their Vampires to drink witch blood. As I said to Jerome when we first met, they would break away, become uncontrollable. There would be a vampire uprising if that were to happen. And even though you keep a mask on I can see the fear it sparks in you. It's in your eyes. All of you.'' I looked around the room and the familiar gleam of fear was subtly staring back at me. ''I can't offer you anything other than an alliance, and a life long friendship. But unlike Luther what I can offer you is honest. It's true. What I can offer you stems from fear. Pure, raw fear changed into the strongest feelings of love and protection.'' I let out a breath and looked around the room. The Master had a glint in his eye and the beginnings of a smile curving at his lips. The other vampires looked stunned. You okay, Lily? Ava asked quietly in my head. I'm fine, Ava. ''Lily Mauve.'' I heard my voice be called to the left so I turned to the vampire that asked. ''You have the power to converse telepathically?'' I nodded. ''I do. Myself and Ava Adams were given the gift by the gods. She was the first person I met after our move to Salem at the beginning of September,
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and we are now incredibly close.'' He turned to the Master. ''I believe an alliance would be in our best interests, Master. That power amongst witches is almost unheard of. These two young witches must be incredibly strong.'' The Master inclined his head towards the other Vampire in acknowledgement before turning back to me. ''Tell me Lily, what are yours and Ava's elements?'' ''I am fire, sir, and she is water.'' ''Ah, a perfect balance. She is most useful when you are angry, am I correct?'' I immediately thought of the night of the Halloween party, when I set the bush alight and she extinguished it. ''Brave, very brave. You replied to that message, didn't you?'' ''Yes. He can threaten me but he won't intimidate me.'' I stated, simply. ''I like you, Lily.'' The Master said, surprising me. ''You're young, but you're strong, passionate and wise. I can see you wouldn't step back in fear.'' ''My father has always said to me to stand strong and laugh in the face of fear, sir. He believes confidence is the thing that scares people most, because not many people have it, so if you show confidence, the tables will turn. The thing you fear, will begin to fear you.'' ''Your father is a wise man. I will ask you to leave now, Lily Mauve. I will discuss your proposal with my council and other coven members. I will let you know our decision.'' Note: This is a free digital edition from www.obooko.com. If you paid for this ebook please advise the author or publisher and return to the retailer to demand a refund because this will be a pirated copy

TWENTY SIX Watching I opened my locker and ripped down the piece of paper stuck on the inside before scrunching it into a ball. I'd had them every day for the last week which meant someone was working for Luther, in my school. They all said the same. 'I'm watching you.' It was getting old now. I was frustrated because it had been five days since my audience with the Boston Coven and I still hadn't heard anything. My father was steadily trying to track down a wolf pack in the state with Ava and Josh's parents but had no luck. It seemed they were as elusive as the vampires, and I feared we might have to wait for them to come to us. Unfortunately time wasn't on our side. ''Another one?'' Maya asked gently, laying a hand on my shoulder. ''Yeah. I just don't understand who could be doing it, you know?'' I shook my head. ''I thought Jules was the only one. But apparently not.'' ''Trouble in paradise, Lily?'' Layla sang. She was one of the popular Senior girls
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who made no secret of her dislike for me, and her crush on Josh. ''Keep dreaming, Layla.'' I said coldly as she walked past me. I slammed the locker door shut and followed Maya into the cafeteria to our normal table. ''It's ridiculous. He's doing whatever it takes to get to you.'' She said. ''Yeah well, it's starting to work.'' I said bitterly. ''What's starting to work?'' Carson looked up from the table as we sat down. ''That..that..ugh! That monster.'' I folded my arms on the table and put my head in them. I felt Maya gently rub my back to calm me down. ''Can I go and blow something up?'' I whispered hopefully as Josh, Ava, Shauna, Justin and Ivy joined us. ''You do it without asking anyway.'' Maya said, her lip curling upwards. ''Another one?'' Ivy said as she sat down. I nodded my head. ''We really have to find out who's doing this.'' Shauna said. ''I don't understand why you don't report it.'' ''Because there's no point. They can't get someone to stand guard outside my locker, and if they did then no-one would leave anything.'' I said quickly. ''We'll find out sooner or later.'' Ava said, glancing at me quickly. I leant over towards Josh and rested my head against his shoulder. ''Ava's right.'' He said. ''We'll find out sooner or later, and whoever it is will be sorry.'' He put an arm around me and I breathed deeply. My phone started buzzing in it's usual hiding place of my bra and Josh gave me a funny look when I pulled it out. ''What? It's a good pocket.'' I smiled and quickly ran outside to answer the call. Unknown Number. ''Hello?'' I said tentatively when I answered. ''Lily?'' ''Yes, that's me.'' ''Lily, it's Elijah, Master of the Boston Coven.'' I knew I recognised that voice. ''Oh, hello!'' ''Is it a bad time?'' ''No, no it's fine. I'm at school but it's lunch.'' ''Excellent. Well I was just calling to let you know that we've made our decision.'' My breath caught in my throat and my heart began to beat. This would make a big change in our chances. ''Yes?'' I squeaked out. ''I'd like you to inform the Witches of Salem and the Salem Coven that we'd be more than happy to join you in your fight against Henry Luther, as allies and friends.'' A large smile broke out on my face and I let out the breath I was holding. ''Thank you, you have no idea what this means to us.'' ''We'll speak soon, Lily Mauve.'' The phone clicked off and I stopped myself from doing a little happy dance. I was about to go inside when I felt like I was being watched. I turned around and scanned the courtyard. I saw a young man, about my sister's age, stood leaning on a tree staring at me. I looked at him for a few seconds before I went back inside. I
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was just about to sit down when my phone buzzed. I'm watching you, Lily Mauve.

TWENTY SEVEN Christmas Eve Party.. And A Warning ''Christmas party at my house!'' Ava announced as she walked into my front room. I didn't even hear her knock. I guess she's past that now. ''Tonight?'' Rosie asked. ''Of course! It's Christmas Eve, Rosie! You should see our tree, it's huge! I'm so excited. Mum's hired a chef and a band and servers and even a Santa Claus!'' She flopped down on the chair next to the fire. ''Lily, the fire's dying.'' I casually sent a small jet of fire to stoke it up. The snow had been steadily falling outside since last night, and since Dad had had me practising with my powers I was the resident driveway snow-melter. ''And you just decided to tell us? So what's the theme?'' ''Yes.'' She grinned. ''I think it's just classy. She's got Josh at home now doing the last minute decorating with Dad. I ran away here to 'let you know' about the party.'' She winked and I laughed. ''Get out of decorating, you mean.'' I said with a wry smile. ''Yeah, yeah, call it what you like. All I know is he's stuck there climbing ladders and what not and I'm here, in front of a toasty warm fire with my best friend. Where's your Mum? I could do with a hot chocolate.'' Ava licked her lips and I shrugged. ''She's probably out in the garden with her camera getting nature shots. Oh that reminds me, she finally finished our Homecoming pictures!'' ''Really? It's taken her nearly three months?'' Ava's jaw dropped. ''Well yeah. She had something like 250 pictures.'' I shook my head. ''And the Halloween ones, and her work pictures.'' ''And the rest.'' Rosie said. ''Yeah, and the rest.'' ''Can we see? Can we see?'' Ava started to bounce on the chair. ''They're on my laptop.'' She followed me upstairs and I started up my laptop. A few minutes later we were sat clicking through the mounds of photos. There was one I loved of me and Josh. He had his arm around me and we were both looking at each other smiling. ''I love that picture.'' I told Ava with a smile on my face. ''It's so nice. Can you e-mail them all to me?'' ''Yeah, sure.'' I attached the file to an e-mail before sending it to her. ''Hey, what are they?'' She said with a big grin on her face, moving over to the pile of presents I had in my room.
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''Christmas presents. What do they look like? And no touching, yours is there!'' I moved to swipe her hand away. I didn't want her to even guess what I'd got her. Mum had taken a picture of me, Ava, Carson and Josh in front of the limo on Homecoming before we left and I knew she'd love it, so I'd sent it off online to be printed up onto a canvas for her room. I'd got Josh a football signed by his favourite team, New England Patriots. It had cost me a small fortune but it was worth it. Ava pouted and I shook my head. ''You're not seeing your present until tomorrow.'' ''Fine, then I'll rifle through your closet.'' I watched as she disappeared into my walk-in and turned back to my laptop flicking through the pictures. I was looking through the Halloween pictures when I noticed someone stood in the background, staring at us. I zoomed in and saw the guy I'd seen leaning against the tree two weeks ago. I froze. He'd been watching me all that time? How did none of us notice? Is that how Luther got to Jules? I was pulled out of my thoughts by Ava reappearing next to me, holding a navy blue dress in one hand and gold heels in another. I'd bought the dress before we moved to Salem and forgotten about it. It was a sheer, satiny type fabric with a ruffled skirt that fell to mid-thigh. A gold bow sat at the waist and tied at the side, sitting roughly where my hip would be. ''You so have to wear this!'' She shrieked. ''Have you even seen your collection of dresses? Oh my god! You have so many!'' I grinned. Dresses were my favourite item of clothing. I'd wear them all year round, with tights, leggings, bare legged. I had so many. ''Hmm. I haven't worn that yet. Have a look in there.'' I waved towards the closet. ''You can borrow something if you want.'' She dropped the shoes on the floor and chucked the dress on the bed before giving me a big squeeze and kissing my cheek. ''You are the best!'' ''I know!'' ''You're starting to sound like Josh..'' ''I know.'' Ava was right. Her house looked amazing. An eight foot tree sat in the corner of her front room, decorated in red and gold baubles with white fairy lights flashing. Garlands in the same red and gold hung from corner to corner on the ceiling. Another was draped over the roaring fireplace. Her house was milling with people from the town. Half our Junior year was here with their parents and I could swear I saw some of the teachers from school. Ava had dug out a hot pink, one shoulder corsage dress from my closet and claimed my hot pink Homecoming heels. She looked truly beautiful with her blonde hair in delicate waves framing her face. ''Care to dance?'' I heard Josh's voice behind me and turned around with a smile. His blonde hair flopped in his eyes and I gently reached up to sweep it away. He was wearing a black shirt and dark blue jeans. He took my breath away. ''Why not?'' I smiled as he took my hand and lead me into the throng of dancers. I didn't think I'd ever get tired of being around Josh. He was a best friend and
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boyfriend all rolled into one. He knew when to give me space, but also when to hold me tight and not let go. We danced for an hour, changing partners but always ending up back together. I finally managed to get away for half an hour and grabbing my coat, I slipped out the back door to stand on the deck. I could hear the music through the windows and everyone laughing and joking so I smiled to myself. I couldn't remember Christmas ever being like this in Colorado. I heard the door open and shut again behind me. I looked up to see who was intruding on my quiet time and saw the boy who had been following me. ''Lovely night, isn't it?'' He said as he passed me, his hands clasped behind his back. ''Yes, it is.'' I replied slowly. ''The snow makes it feel just like Christmas, doesn't it Lily?'' He turned to me, leaning against the railing. His eyes were boring holes into the side of my head. ''I agree. It's almost magical, wouldn't you say?'' I turned my head and made eye contact with him. ''Ah, yes. Magical.'' A smirk appeared on his lips. ''Ironic, wouldn't you say, that Salem is so obsessed with witchcraft, yet they have no idea there's at least 4 families living here that are actual witches?'' ''Yes, definitely.'' He slowly walked up to me, stopping when he was a foot away. ''I could help you, Lily.'' ''No, you can't. You're not on my side. I may be young but I'm not stupid.'' ''No, that much is certainly clear to me and my master. But I can help you. All you have to do is give in. Give in, and everyone else will be safe.'' I raised my chin and stared at him. ''What makes you think I'll do that? Why would I willingly give my life, so you can kill the people I love anyway?'' ''You don't seem scared of me, Lily. Why not?'' He looked amused, but curious. ''What do I have to be scared of? We're outside a house full of humans, the whole witching population of Salem is in that house, including a few vampires.'' I gestured to Ava's house. ''I know you can't hurt me. And not even you are stupid enough to risk revealing us to the humans. You chose the wrong side, he'll kill you too eventually. You might not realise it now, but he will.'' I watched as his face contorted into a vision of anger. ''He will not!'' He hissed at me through clenched teeth. ''I am his faithful servant!'' ''Precisely. A servant. Do you think really think you're irreplaceable?'' ''You have a decision to make, Lily Mauve. I've been watching you. I know how much you value your friends, your boyfriend and your family.'' ''What do you mean?'' I demanded. ''You come with me tonight, quietly, to my master, or he will kill every single person you love until you give in.'' I could feel the ball of rage heating up in the pit of my stomach. Who did he think he was coming here, and threatening me? I took a step closer to him. ''If you think I am going anywhere with you, then you have another think coming. Tell your master I don't take kindly to threats, and if he thinks that will scare me then he's sorely mistaken. He sends other people to do his dirty work. He's a coward.''
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''Do not speak of him that way!'' The boy shouted in my face. ''When your master is prepared to deal with the Witches of Salem, tell him we'll be ready. He might intimidate other people but certainly not me. You're leaving this house alone tonight.'' ''You've made a grave mistake, Lily Mauve.'' The back doors opened and Ava, Josh and my father appeared. I held my hand up for them to stay still. ''You have until the new year to reconsider your answer, witch. If you still choose to stand against us, she'll be first.'' He pointed to Ava who's eyes were darting between us uncertainly. ''Remember, the new year. He'll be waiting for you.'' He threw me one last look, and disappeared into the darkness. My Dad came rushing over and grabbed my shoulders. ''Lily? Lily what happened? Was that Luther's servant? The one who's been following you? What did he mean, reconsider? She'll be first?'' I cocked my head to one side and thought about my answer. ''Yes, it was. And I think I annoyed him.''

TWENTY EIGHT Merry Christmas, Lily ''Close your eyes.'' ''But then I won't be able to see!'' ''That's the point, Lily.'' Josh said, clearly amused at my obvious statement. The Adam's family was round for Christmas Dinner. But don't worry, they left Cousin It at home. Ha ha ha. Probably not my best joke of the day. Josh's hands suddenly covered my eyes and I let out a loud squeal of surprise. ''Hey!'' I shouted. ''I told you to close your eyes!'' He laughed. I huffed as he began to slowly lead me forwards into the living room. I'd been locked out of there all day and I guess I was about to find out why. We stopped, in the middle of room. I think. I don't know. I couldn't see, could I? I felt Josh's breath against my ear as he leant down, my eyes still blinded by his big hands. ''Merry Christmas, Lily.'' He whispered into my ear and he removed his hands. There, in the corner of my front room stood a large, shiny back piano. My hand flew to my mouth of it's own accord as I slowly stepped forward, my other hand outstretched. I hesitated when I reached it, my hand hovering over the top. I turned round and looked at my two families, tears blurring my eyes. They all had big smiles on their faces, only Josh's was nervous and slightly hesitant. ''Did you do this?'' I asked him quietly. He walked over to me and moved my hand from my mouth. ''Yes.'' He replied, just as quiet. ''I wanted to get you something you love. Something you love as much as I love you.'' He smiled and lead me around the the
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stool, sitting me on it. He raised the cover in front of me, revealing a set of flawless black and white keys. I put a hand out and gently stroked the keys with my fingers, not making a sound. I had long, delicate fingers, just like Mum, pianist fingers she always called them. I took a deep breath and placed my other hand on the keys, revelling in the cool, smooth surface beneath my fingertips. A small smile graced my lips as I remembered the feeling of peace I got whenever I played. But I hadn't played in six months. Could I still play? But then wasn't playing a piano like riding a bike? Learn once and never forget? I turned my head to see Mum. She was looking at me hopefully, her dazzling green eyes shining with clear tears. She always loved hearing me play, she said it reminded her of when she was my age. She smiled at me slowly and I turned back. I knew exactly which song to play. Her favourite. I knew it like I knew my own name. I positioned my fingers on the keys and they began to play like they had a mind of their own, Somewhere Over The Rainbow ringing out and filling the old walls with the melodic sound. I closed my eyes and let myself be lost in the music. My fingers moved over the keys like they were old friends, like they'd never been apart. A gentle hand rested on my shoulder and I heard Rosie begin to sing from next to me. Her voice was sweet, angelic, perfectly hitting every note. My mind cleared of every thought, while I played nothing existed. There was no witches, no vampires, no Henry Luther. There was no death attempts, no threats and no magic. I was a just normal girl, playing a beautiful new piano. The song came to an end but I couldn't stop. The music flowed as freely from my fingers as my own blood pumped round my body. I switched straight to Dad's song for Mum, Elton John's Your Song. Rosie's voice never faltered in the change, she slipped from one song as effortlessly as my fingers slid over the keys. I opened my mouth and began to sing with her. Our voices mingled in the perfect harmony, a lifetime of sisterhood and an unwavering love for music was expressed with every word we sung. The old house was filled with life and love in a way it hadn't been since we'd visited Grand-mamar when we were little girls. I smiled through singing as the song came to an end. ''I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words, how wonderful life is, now that you're in the world.'' We finished together as the last notes fell from my fingertips. I looked up, radiating happiness. Everyone in the room was crying, Mum was sobbing into Dad's chest as he stroked her hair and looked at me and Rosie adoringly, his eyes glistening with unshed tears that said so much. Hannah and Ava silently wiped at tears running down their cheeks, even Josh and his Dad were welled up. I put my hand on Rosie's which was still on my shoulder and squeezed a thank you. We hadn't done that in so long and it felt better than I remembered. For just ten minutes I was lost in the music while the rest of the world melted away. I stood up and walked into my boyfriend's strong, warm arms, my own eyes stinging with tears. The realisation that he really did love me, truly, deeply and unconditionally. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him tight. ''Thank you.'' I whispered into his neck. ''Thank you so much.''

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TWENTY NINE Final Plan ''Gonna need a bigger house soon.'' I mumbled as I sat down next to my father in the dining room. The room was packed. Every witch in Salem was crammed into the room, along with the Boston Coven's Council and Jerome. You couldn't move. Literally. It was two days before New Years Eve, and I had a feeling that would be the day Luther came back to town. He meant business this time, and I had no doubt he wouldn't kill everyone I loved. I just had to find a way to stop him before that. The room suddenly erupted in chatter and shouts as everyone tried to talk over one another. Dad stood, leaning over the table with his hands flat, supporting him. ''ENOUGH!'' He bellowed. Silence immediately fell over the room as all eyes turned to him. ''Lily cannot give herself up. I think that is one thing we all agree on.'' He began, looking around the room. Murmurs of agreement could be heard from every corner. ''Therefore, we have to think of another plan.'' ''We could use her as bait, then attack.'' ''No, she'd get hurt. We should tell him she'll be there but the rest of us show.'' ''I agree. We must keep Lily safe.'' Ideas and comments flew around the room, bouncing off one another. The general comment was that I shouldn't give myself up. But what if that meant buying my family and friends more time? I groaned and put my head in my hands. ''Maybe we should hear what Lily has to say.'' Elijah said. I sat up straight and looked around. Everyone's eyes were on me. Gee, thanks Elijah. I cleared my throat as my Dad sat down. ''I think we should go with what we said before. For those of you that weren't there,'' I motioned to the Boston coven, ''we agreed to do a power raising spell the day before we met with Luther, then a weather changing spell the next afternoon, striking a storm. The range of elements will give us witches the perfect environment to draw on extra power.'' They all nodded their heads in agreement. ''But,'' I continued, ''I think we should all be a part of the power raising spell, not just the girls. We might all need it. There's no need for us to involve our friends in our fight, Ivy and Shauna have no knowledge of our world. For their own safety it's best it stays that way. From what Luther's.. servant.. told me on Christmas Eve I can guess that Luther himself will be waiting. Where, I don't know. So the best plan I can think of is I contact him and tell him I'm willing to change sides for the safety of my family and friends. But I won't be alone.'' ''You can't.'' Josh said quietly. ''You can't do that. He'll know it's a trap. I won't lose you, Lily.'' I looked over to him and the look on his face broke my heart. ''I have to. It's the only way I can try and keep you safe. For some reason he has an obsession with me. I don't know why.'' ''Your power.'' My Uncle Kevin said with a glance at my Dad. ''Mamar once said a witch would be born unto our family with the potential for great power. A power that knew no limits. She said the young witch would have a birthmark, at the bottom of her skull. Just under her hair. A perfect circle..'' His voice trailed off.
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I could feel the blood drain out of my face. My hand involuntarily flew to the back of my neck. I had a birthmark at the base of my skull. A perfect circle. I gently rubbed it and felt a tremor go through my body. ''Mamar said she would gain another two symbols, if you like.'' Dad continued. ''Two crescent moons. One either side. She said 'she will be a goddess among people, her heart as pure as gold.' '' ''Why didn't you tell me this before?'' I said quietly. ''If I had known..'' ''You would have what, Lily? Gone to him sooner? I know what you're thinking, and I won't let you do it!'' Ava shouted across the room. ''I'll handcuff you to your porch if I have to, you're not doing it!'' ''I didn't tell you because it was too much. You'd just moved across the country, found out the truth about your heritage and found out someone is out to kill us. Could you have really taken anymore?'' Dad placed his hand on my arm. ''Could you have really understood that you are the young witch Mamar predicted all those years ago?'' ''No. I guess I wouldn't have.'' I rubbed my temples with my fingers and shut my eyes. It just gets better, doesn't it? ''If I may make a suggestion?'' Jerome asked. ''Of course, Jerome. Every suggestion is worthwhile.'' My Dad replied. ''I suggest the Witches of Salem take part in the power-raising spell and the young ones complete the weather spell. I still have a vampire working for Luther as a servant, I can arrange it so he will be the one to take Lily to the meeting place. Lily can then use her connection with Ava to give directions, and address etc. We can then join her there.'' Everyone was silent while they contemplated Jerome's suggestion. I decided I wanted to end the meeting. My head was spinning with the latest revelation. I just wanted to lie down. ''I think we should do it. It's the only idea we've got.''

THIRTY Another Power-Raising Spell I melted the snow in the clearing in the woods as Iyla drew the circle on the ground with a piece of chalk. Grace followed behind her setting out the candles respective to their elements. I gripped Josh's hand with the realisation we were really doing this, this was the first step of our plan. And the spell was more powerful than last time. Iyla silently motioned us all over as she finished the pentagram. The full moon lit up the clear night sky, shining into the clearing. We sat side by side next to the fire candle. Ava and Rosie sat next to the water candle, Grace, Maya and Carson by the Earth candle and Josh by the air candle. Iyla struck a match and lit the our candle. ''Fire Goddess, our heart and our passion, we ask for your blessing.'' Everyone lit their candles, asking their respective goddess for their blessing. I could feel the elements responding, the goddesses passing their blessing to us.
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''Hear now the words of witches The secrets hid in the night The oldest of goddess invoked here The great work of magic is might In the night and in this hour We call upon the ancient power O' Great Goddess Hecate Hear my plea Release my power unto me Bring the power within the hour So mote it be O' Great Goddess Hecate Blessed be, blessed be.'' Our voices mingled into one as we chanted the spell in unison. I could sense the goddess' around us, releasing their power into the circle. My body was tingling, filling itself to the brim with the power surrounding us. This spell was stronger, much stronger than the one we'd done before. I could almost hear the hum of power radiating from the others in the circle, I could almost feel the heat from their bodies. The power diminished as our bodies absorbed it and the elements settled. Iyla leant forward. ''Thank you, Fire Goddess. Blessed be.'' She blew out our candle. ''Thank you, Earth Goddess. Blessed be.'' Grace blew out the green candle. ''Thank you, Water Goddess. Blessed be.'' Rosie leant forward and blew out the water candle. ''Than you, Air Goddess. Blessed be.'' I watched as Josh leant forward towards his candle and used a gust of air from his palm to blow it out. We all stood, and I could feel the hum of the power flowing through my blood. I'd never felt so good.

THIRTY ONE Meeting Place I climbed out of bed and opened my curtains, allowing the winter sun to fill my room. The town was still covered in a thick blanket of snow, and it glistened as the suns rays hit it. Today was The Big Day. Operation Exterminate Henry Luther. Or, to the human population of Salem, and the rest of the world, 31st December. New Years Eve. I took a deep breath as I thought of what was to come. I still hadn't received a message of where Luther would be, but Jerome confirmed that his undercover vampire would be collecting me and taking me to a neutral ground. I slid my feet into my slippers and padded downstairs, yawning. I hadn't slept
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very well last night, and even if I did, I doubt I still would have had enough. I strolled into the kitchen and saw my parents and Rosie sat around the table, each nursing a mug of coffee. I could see the dark cloud hanging over their heads, especially my Mum's, knowing we were all going into this fight and all she could do was sit here and wait. I could feel the power radiating off Rosie, it mixing with mine, the humming a music to my ears. Clearly Dad sensed it too. ''You raised a lot of power last night.'' He stated. ''I know.'' I said as I sat down with an apple. ''I can feel it. It's humming through my veins. It's a strange feeling. But it feels good.'' Rosie looked over at me and smiled. ''You be careful tonight, do you hear me? I need my baby sis back in one piece.'' She grabbed my hand. ''I'll be fine. I promise. You know the plan.'' ''He won't be alone, pumpkin.'' Dad said. ''You know that, don't you?'' I nodded slowly. ''I know, Daddy. But I'm powerful, right?'' I smirked. ''Goddess in the making. You know Grand-mamar was never wrong.'' ''I know, Lily. But please. Just be careful.'' He grabbed my other hand as my Mum got up and came behind me, wrapping her delicate arms around my neck. ''Always.'' I whispered, basking in the love of my family. Iyla, Maya, Josh and Rosie were sat in a circle in my back garden performing the weather manipulating spell. Dad was stood behind keeping watch. Ava and I watched them from the kitchen window, an arm around each others waist, our heads leant together. We both knew we needed each other. Our connection was critical to tonight going our way. As far as we knew, Luther had no idea of our gift from the gods. It goes without saying it has to stay that way. We watched them finish the spell and break the circle before making their way back inside. Instinctively I broke away from Ava and wrapped my arms around Josh's waist. I knew the time was coming. The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon when I saw a car pull up outside. A vampire about six feet tall stepped out, smoothing his long, brown hair away from his face. His pale skin was illuminated in the awkward light between day and night. He slowly made his way to the front door, and I knew this was Cyril, Jerome's undercover agent. Josh tightened his arms around me as I turned to face him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and lay my head against his chest. ''You come back to me, Lily, do you hear me girl? You come back to me in one piece.'' He whispered in my ear, his voice cracking. I could feel his fear. My mother let Cyril in and everyone came into the front room. I slowly hugged everyone and reassured them that yes, in fact, I would be coming back safely. ''Come along, Lily.'' Cyril said kindly to me. ''He won't like being kept waiting.'' I nodded and said one last goodbye to everyone before following Cyril to the car. He had a black BMW, inconspicuous. I watched in the mirror as we drove away, not feeling anything. I was numb. I wasn't scared, or frightened, or even intimidated by what was about to happen. How could I be? I couldn't focus on myself, or I'd become a mess. We drove through the town before he parked the car outside an old church on
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the outskirts of town. It hadn't been used in years, that much was obvious from the missing pieces of glass in the windows and the potent smell of death. Darkness was coming fast and I knew I had to get my message out to Ava. Ava, the old church outside of town! No reply. I tried again. Ava? Ava can you hear me? ''It's no use trying that, Lily. No-one can speak telepathically in these wards. The Master himself constructed them.'' Cyril said to me. ''The Master?'' I spat back. ''You have got to be kidding me.'' ''I'm afraid not.'' He cackled evilly. ''You see, the lure of witch blood is..so strong. And when I smelt you that first day you walked into the coven house, I simply had to taste you.'' He began walking around me in circles, leering at me. ''So when Master offered me your blood when he was done with you if I changed allegiances, I couldn't say no.'' ''You're a traitor. A traitor to your bloodline.'' I said bitterly. ''Jerome is a good man, an honest man.'' ''Vampires are not good, Lily, you foolish girl.'' ''No? You just can't see it because you're so blinded by hatred, lies and deceit.'' He flew at me with lightning speed, knocking me to the ground. He lay on top of me, fangs bared. Was this really how I was going to die? Oh hell no. I wrapped my arms around him and called on my magic. Fire erupted from my palms, burning his back. A scream erupted from his mouth as I kept the pressure for a few moments. I let him go and he rolled off me, onto his back, writhing and moaning in pain on the wet, snowy grass. ''Bet you wish you'd stayed on my side now, huh?'' I said, leaning down over him. I sent one more ball of fire to his chest. I knew, although vampires had extraordinary healing rates, he'd never recover from fire. Guess he messed with the wrong witch. Leaving his burning body lying on the floor, I ran out as far as I could from the church, testing my mental connection with Ava until finally I heard her voice. Lily! Lily! I'm here! It was a trap! Cyril.. He changed sides. I need you guys here! Now! It was a trap, Lily! He has enchanted humans all over the place outside your house. We can't leave! We're stuck! I'll come back! No, we need you to destroy him! ''Going somewhere, young Lily Mauve?''

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THIRTY TWO Henry Luther ''Henry Luther.'' I said bitterly, spinning on my heel and instantly recognising the man in front of me. His dark brown hair was collected at the base of his neck in a ponytail. His bright violet eyes were tired, the slight wrinkles at the edges showing the age he was so desperately trying to keep at bay. ''So nice of you to visit me at my humble abode. Although, it appears you were leaving before we had a chance to get to know each other.'' His voice sent shivers up my spine, the coldness penetrated my bones. ''Gee, I'd love to. But it appears my friends and family are in a spot of bother. Wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you, old man?'' I said innocently, twirling my hair on my finger. I knew I was riling him, but I couldn't help it. He laughed. That laugh. Oh, gods. It was the single most evil thing I'd ever heard. It rang out in the cold, night air, echoing in the emptiness surrounding us. The headstones in the graveyard surrounding the old, decrepit church glinted in the increasing moonlight. ''Yes, I heard they were having a get together so I sent some friends to join along.'' We're coming, Lily! Ava's frantic voice shouted in my mind. I allowed a smirk to grace my lips before I looked Henry Luther dead on in the eye. ''I guess you never accounted for the fact all the guests weren't there yet.'' ''Ah! We'll be expecting company then?'' He turned around without waiting for an answer. ''Come along then.'' He hooked his finger and I felt myself being pulled forward on an imaginary rope towards the church. I tried to call out to Ava but couldn't, he'd already taken me back inside the wards. ''Let go of me you vile old man!'' I yelled at the dark figure ahead of me. ''Come now, Lily. Did you parents not teach you any manners? Tsk Tsk.'' He shook his head. ''Mark Mauve never was the nicest child.'' ''Don't you dare speak about my father that way!'' I screamed at him. ''He's more of a man than you'll ever be, you spineless old toad!'' He spun around and I was released from his hold. The church door shut with a clang behind me. I could see the fire raging in Luther's eyes. He wanted to kill. He wanted to kill me. But still the fear wouldn't come. I stood still. Calm as the gentle breeze that slowly makes its way through the new leaves of spring. I stood still and I looked him in the eye. ''You dare look me in the eye, child?'' He raged. The lines on his face were obvious now, his true age showing through the faade of magic. ''You should be begging for your life!'' ''I'll never beg.'' I said firmly. ''Not to you, or not to anyone. You don't scare me, Henry Luther. Your petty threats don't frighten me and your servants don't intimidate me.'' I could feel my magic beneath my skin, swirling in my stomach and slowly spreading to my arms.
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The doors opened behind me and Luther's head snapped round, an evil smile appearing on his face. ''Mark Mauve. How's mummy?'' ''Much better now she's about to be avenged, Henry Luther.'' I turned and saw my Dad stood tall, singing with magic. He winked at me and I looked past him, through the open door. A crowd of vampires and witches alike were fighting Luther's vampires and enchanted humans. Grace was running around on a vampires back from person to person when they were hurt, touching them with her healing magic faster than the human eye could blink. Luckily, my eyes weren't really human. ''You really think you can come in here and defeat me, Mark? I have my prize, your daughter.'' I felt the imaginary string tighten around my waist and begin to slowly move me. Fight it, Lily Mauve. A melodic voice called in my mind. Fight it. You are strong. I don't know who it was, or why they were talking to me, but we were definitely on the same page. I dug my heels into the cracked floorboards and willed my magic to break free of the cord, burning it to ashes. I moved. I stopped. A burning smell began to waft into my face but I couldn't see where it was coming from. Luther's face was contorted in rage as his imaginary rope burnt. He lost his control and I jumped backwards. I stood next to my father, tall and strong in the face of fear. Just like everything he'd ever taught me. ''You think it'll be that easy?'' Luther taunted. ''In fact, watch your step Lily.'' Two large arms grabbed my waist from behind and I didn't need to look to know they weren't Josh. These arms were cold, and the evil permeating the air around the being was suffocating. I wriggled, I couldn't move. My hands were held tight in front of me. I couldn't call of my magic, so I resorted to good old hand to hand. I snapped my head back, making contact with the being's nose, hearing a very satisfying crack. The grip lessened, but I still couldn't move so I picked up my leg and aimed a kick at the shin. Arms let me go and I heard a thud as it hit the ground, out cold. I aimed a strong shot of electricity at it's chest, just for good measure. I looked around and the church was full. Note: This is a free digital edition from www.obooko.com. If you paid for this ebook please advise the author or publisher and return to the retailer to demand a refund because this will be a pirated copy

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THIRTY THREE Til Death Do Us Fight Blasts were flying, vampires running at full speed and jumping over allies to get to Luther's minions. I watched as Josh conjured a whirlwind tornado, sweeping the minions in its path and taking them straight through the nearest window. I heard a rumble of thunder and realised our spell had been accepted the storm was starting. The rain began to thud on the old wooden roof as the battle waged. Lightning struck a murky, stain glass window, shattering it with the sheer power. Winds howled through the open spaces created by the fight, sending dust and debris flying through the air. I scanned for my father and found him and my Uncle in the pulpit, fighting with Luther. It was two on one but still it wasn't enough. Another flash came outside, followed by a long, spindly finger of lightning and Luther roared in rage. Something clicked in my mind. Ava. Our connection was back. The lightning had destroyed his ward. AVA! I'm okay, Lily. Trying to drown a vamp. In spite of myself, I laughed. Good luck with that. You do know they don't need to breathe, right? Yes. But it's making him quite angry. I chuckled again quietly and turned my attention back to the fight. Maya and Carson were shooting vines from their wrists I know, cool, right? - to groups of enchanted humans and tying them up. Iyla was sending fireballs at the vampires that were stupid enough to challenge her, but yet more kept coming. Ava was indeed, trying to drown two vampires by shooting jets of water in spurts at their faces. It wasn't doing much, admittedly. Until she shot two icicles at their chests and froze them to the church floor, of course. Never underestimate drowning. She sang in my mind. I quickly ran over to her and grinned. ''Shall I do the honours?'' ''Please do.'' She said, clapping her hands. I focused on the two bodies and flicked my wrists. Two balls of red hot fire melted the ice and burnt their bodies. They were now nothing more than two piles of ashes. I heard a big yell from the back of the church and saw my Dad struggling to hold Luther off. Uncle Kevin was lying on the floor unconscious, a large gash on his head. Grace was leaning over him frantically healing him and bringing him back round. I shot through the church, sending bolts of lightning and fire at anyone who got in my way that wasn't on my side. A overly large rumble of thunder shook the walls, and a large crack appeared in the ceiling. I watched in slow motion as the ceiling began to fall before Josh and his Dad appeared at my sides, hands up, spiralling, keeping it in the air. A large gust of wind blew and they drew in the power, sending the roof off to the side. The rain pounded down on my hair, trickling down my face and dripping off my nose. I heard the steady beat of the drops on the wooden pews as sheet lightning lit up the church.
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Uncle Kevin jumped back up, ready to climb the pulpit. Lily! Use it! The melodic voice from earlier ordered me. Use it? What did she mean? My hand stretched out in front of me, palm up and I stared at it. I didn't do that. A large bolt of pure, white, crackling lightning erupted from the sky and landed in the palm of my hand. My blood began to buzz. My body began to shake as it absorbed the power the goddess was giving me. The Goddess. It was her. Great Goddess Hecate. She spoke to me. She sent that bolt. The power from the bolt spread like wildfire throughout my body. I heard a laugh and looked up. My Dad's body was falling from the pulpit. Limp. Lifeless. ''DADDY!'' The scream erupted from my mouth without control as I sprinted my way through the pews. I bent next to his still body. The thunder rumbled angrily and the winds howled. Hecate was showing her displeasure at harm coming to one of her own. Grace appeared beside my father's still body, frantically pulling at imaginary strings above his heart. I watched her stop and shake her head, tears filling her eyes. I heard his laughter and stood, facing him. His evil, victorious laughter. He'd succeeded again. He'd killed another Mauve, another witch. ''NO!!'' I screamed. Grief. Pain. Sorrow. Anger. It all went into the blast. It erupted from my outstretched palm, that bright, pure white, burning, crackling beam of electricity flew towards the pulpit with a scream of agony. But it was no good. He'd already done what he came here for tonight. He was already gone.

THIRTY FOUR No, Daddy, No! I collapsed next to my father's body, my hair falling in a curtain, blocking out the rest of the world. My clenched fist beat against his still chest. ''Daddy? Daddy wake up! It's okay, I'm here!'' I cried as I gripped his shoulders and shook him. ''Daddy? I'm here. Wake up! Please, Daddy, please! Wake up! It's me! It's your Lily!''
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He never responded. He never would. But I wouldn't believe it. I pounded my fist against his chest with all my might but he never moved. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. He was my Dad. He was supposed to always be there. He promised. ''You promised.'' I sobbed into his chest, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt as the last of Luther's minions were rounded up behind me. ''Daddy you promised me you'd never leave me. You promised! You said you'd always be there. Don't go! Don't leave me!'' I begged him as my heart tore out of my chest. My tears fell at an alarming rate, dripping onto his white shirt below me. ''Lily?'' I heard Ava's quiet whisper behind me but I shook my head. ''Lily, he's gone.'' I looked up and Uncle Kevin was staring at my Dad's body in shock, crying silent tears. She was wrong. They were all wrong. He wouldn't leave me like that. ''Lily? Lily where are you? Where's Dad?'' I heard Rosie's frantic shouts and she ran through the church. I couldn't speak. I didn't want to speak. It wouldn't make it better. This couldn't be real, it had to be a nightmare. A cruel, twisted nightmare. ''Lily? Wha-'' Rosie's voice cut off as I felt her stop next to me. ''Dad? Daddy? NO!'' Her heartbroken cry of anguish hit me like a tsunami. I heard her cry, her heart-wrenching sobs echoing off the destroyed walls of the church. The thunder and lightning had stopped, only the rain remained. A heavy pounding rain that beat down steadily on my back, rhythmically like a heart. A rhythm my Dad's heart would never beat again. Ava placed a gentle hand on my back but I shook my head again, more forcefully this time. I refused to believe I'd just seen my dad's like end right in front of my eyes. That his life had been ripped from him the same way our ancestors lives had been. ''Daddy?'' I whispered in a childlike voice, still willing him to wake up. I looked at his pale face. He didn't reply. His chest didn't move. He just lay there. I felt the grief consume me as it finally hit me. He was never coming back. He'd never shout at me again or laugh at my bad jokes. I'd never see him alive again. ''Lily? I'm here now baby. I'm here.'' Josh's soothing voice was laced with sadness as he crouched beside me and wrapped his arm around me. ''We should go.'' I shook my head against his chest. ''I'm not leaving him!'' He raised his hand to stroke my wet hair away from my face and rocked me slightly. ''We need to tell your Mum.'' He said quietly. Oh no, Mum. What would she do? It would destroy her. It would shatter her heart into so many pieces it would never be fixed again. He was her world. Her entire universe. She'd be lost without him. I allowed Josh to carry me from the church, Uncle Kevin and Rosie following behind us. My legs would have betrayed me if I'd tried to walk anyway. Josh sat me in his car and I curled my knees up to my chest. Rosie and Uncle Kevin climbed in behind us but I barely noticed, if it wasn't for the way Rosie cried I don't think I would have noticed at all. The clock on the dashboard read 11:55. Five minutes until the new year.
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Except this year wouldn't be a happy one. Not for us. The ride through town was a blur, but it seemed to take forever. It felt like hours had passed when we pulled up outside our house. The hallway light was still on and my mother opened the door, running out as we climbed from the car. ''Oh, thank god, thank god, girls you're okay!'' She wrapped her arms around our wet shoulders before she realised we were both sobbing. She stepped back and looked around us frantically, searching for the one person who'd never step foot in our driveway again. ''Where's your Dad? Lily? Rosie? Kevin? Where's Mark? Josh? Where is he? Where is he?'' She asked between quick, sharp breaths. I shook my head and looked at her, my eyes betraying the truth before I could tell her. She stared at me and stood her head. ''No. No, Lily. Tell me it's not true.'' ''I'm sorry, Mummy. He's never coming home.'' I collapsed into another round of sobs, falling into Josh's arms as my Mum cried out, clutching her chest as if her heart was truly breaking apart. Somewhere in the distance, the town clock struck midnight. End.

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