Diana's P.O.V.

Witch hunters.

Witch hunters were the cause of all of our problems.

Ever since John Blackwell had come back to Chance Harbor, me and my circle have constantly been stalked and attacked by witch hunters. They are evil people who kill witches simply because we're different.

There is no safe haven, no way to protect ourselves. Adam's father, who hadn't had any kind of power for sixteen years, was killed just a few weeks ago. Cassie's grandmother, too, had just been killed three days ago…right in front of the circle.

They were coming for us next.

That's why all six of us, all of the Chance Harbor witches, were gathered around the three Books of Shadows we had access to—mine, Cassie's, and Jake's—looking for absolutely anything we could use to protect ourselves or drive the hunters away.

So far, the Books had yielded nothing. We were all shaken by the repetitive attacks on our parents and grandparents, especially considering how much stronger Cassie's grandmother had been compared to us.

We had been sitting there, completely silent, in the abandoned house for several hours and I was about to tell everyone to give up for the day and go home when Cassie spoke up.

"Here," she said, pointing to some writing in her Book of Shadows. "This is a spell to strengthen us, make us more independent. It seems pretty simple, actually…" the blonde stated.

"Really?" I asked. Strengthening was just what we needed, and the spell was all we had at the moment. "Maybe we should do it." I looked around to take note of the others' opinions.

"I'm up for it," Adam said. "And the moon is waxing; perfect for bringing on something new."

"I'm always ready for more strength of any kind," Faye stated, smirking. I wished she was less power-hungry; sometimes I was afraid she would get into trouble.

I looked at Jake and Melissa, awaiting their approval. Jake shrugged. "Why not?"

Melissa was the only one left to answer. I wasn't about to make her do magic against her will, but I really thought we could use some better protection against the witch hunters.

After what seemed like an eternity, she nodded. "Okay," she said.

I sighed in relief. Maybe we could finally help ourselves. "Okay, let's meet at…the beach. Tonight. Is that okay with everyone?" I asked.

Once everyone consented that they could come, we dispersed. I lingered in the back of the room while everyone else disappeared through the door.

"Melissa." The shorter girl turned in the doorway; she was the last to leave. "Can we talk for a moment?" I asked.

"Of course," Melissa said. "What's wrong?"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I inquired. "Because, I mean, you didn't really seem sure a few minutes ago…"

"Yeah. In fact…" Something changed within Melissa. She perked up, a strangely eager glow in her eyes. "I think it's a wonderful idea. I wouldn't miss this for anything."

"Okay…" The way she had said that was odd, somewhat eerie. I would never know how to explain it. I shook it off; maybe she was just getting a cold or something. "Well, do you want a ride home?" I offered.

Oh, no thanks," Melissa said. "I'm just gonna stay back here for a little while."

"Alright," I replied, grabbing my things off of the couch. "I'll see you tonight, then." I didn't think she heard me, but that's okay. She seemed to be interested in Cassie's book, which was still open on the table. Maybe she'd find another useful spell.

"Okay, Cassie, do you have your Book?" I asked. The older girl nodded and held out the small leather journal.

"Right here." The circle watched as I gently took the Book from her hands and read over the spell. It was just an incantation, a Latin one.

I placed the book at my feet and rose up, taking Cassie and Jake's hands into my own. The rest of the circle linked hands, ready to cast the spell.

"Animae separatae a corporibus nostris," I began as my eyes closed. I immediately felt energy surge through me. I'd never known a spell to take effect so fast.

"Animae separatae a corporibus nostris," the rest of the circle joined in. "Animae separatae a corporibus nostris, animae separatae a corporibus nostris, animae sapara—"

Somebody gasped and stopped chanting. More voices stopped and I heard shouting. I tried to open my eyes; they seemed to be glued shut. The incantation continued rolling off of my tongue and I was unable to stop as much as I tried. I could still hear one other voice chanting—Cassie's, I thought.

What the hell? I felt a tugging at my core, what must have been the very center of my body. It began to hurt, like something was trying to pull my organs out of my body. I could feel and hear the wind pick up, and leaves and sand began to whip against me, creating tiny cuts in my skin.

Cassie and I kept chanting; I assumed she wasn't able to stop, either. I felt sick to my stomach and pain erupted in my chest.

"Diana, Cassie, snap out of it!" I heard Adam yell. I can't! The words wouldn't come out of my mouth.

"Break the circle!" Melissa screamed into the wind. I felt Jake rip his hand out of mine and somebody wrenched the other out of Cassie's.

Finally, I was able to open my eyes and to stop speaking. The beach was a wreck; it looked as if a tornado had swept through the area. Some trees had lost several large boughs, one of which was dangerously close to the circle.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Cassie gasped. She was clutching at her chest, and I realized that I was holding my own, as if trying to stop the thing inside of me from springing out. "I was chanting, and it felt right; it was so easy…and then it started to hurt…"

Everyone was staring at us. "What…what's wrong?" I asked. Other than the obvious? What…who had said that? Somebody was in my head. It was a voice I didn't recognize; not my own. Or…maybe it was. I didn't know. I was just so rattled; I must have been imagining it.

"N-nothing…okay, it's okay," Adam was saying. "Is…is anybody hurt? Like, really hurt?" he asked. I gulped and shook my head with everyone else. "We…we need to go. Nobody do any magic. Not until we talk about this."

"Diana." It was Faye's voice. She had appeared beside me without my noticing. "Um, do you want to stay at my place tonight?" she asked.

"Um…" I wasn't sure what her intentions were. I couldn't handle any funny business, especially not anything to do with magic. And if Faye wanted anything in the world, it was more magic.

"I just think you should stay with someone. You don't look very good," she clarified. Well, I didn't feel very good, either.

"Oh…um," I murmured. I was unused to Faye being…well, anything other than a bitch, to be honest. But she seemed to genuinely want to make sure I was okay. "Yeah," I said. "That sounds…nice. Thanks."

Okay, so that was the first chapter of my story! Yayyy! I know it's not the best (I didn't start at the beginning but got impatient and added a quick one in) but trust me, I've got ten thousand more words of this written, and you guys will determine how fast I'll crank these things out xD I hope everyone enjoys my first fanfiction! Reviews would be nice ^^