Darkness Rising - Chapter 1

Hey guys, this is my first fanfic ever, so be sure to leave some comments about what you liked or didn't, and what you want to see in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!

This chapter picks up from where the show left off, as Cassie is staring into the fireplace. I will be using all the characters in the story and exploring their individual storylines, but I mainly wanted to focus on Cassie. Diana's Grandma said that Cassie would be the one to "tip the balance between light and dark", so I wanted to explore that idea in my stories. I decided to call this series "Darkness Rising" as the new Blackwell children come to town, as well as Cassie realising her full potential.

Cassie

Cassie gazed into the fire, the light flickering in her eyes. There were so many emotions running through her; anxiety, sadness, anger. Now that Diana had left, she had no one. Especially now that the circle had been unbound, she felt alone. Cassie walked away from the fire and outside the front door, into the cool, summer nights air. Closing her eyes, she reminisced about her arrival into Chance Harbour, embracing her Grandmother as she walked up the front stairs. She remembered looking up at the stars in her mothers bedroom for the first time, and almost having a heart attack when they started to glow. She remembered her first day of school, where she met Diana and the rest of the circle. She also remembered almost being killed by Faye, but Cassie was quick to forgive her once she found out that she too was also a witch. She then fast tracked a couple of months into the future, where her and the rest of the circle were being haunted by demons, hunted by witch hunters and almost being killed by her own father. Then, she thought about how Diana had told her that she was leaving Chance Harbour. Cassie turned around and stared at her house. The house where she was kidnapped by witch hunters… the house where her Grandmother was killed… the house where Diana, her sister, told her she was leaving Chance Harbour. Cassie felt a tear starting to fall from her eye, but she quickly swiped it away. "No", she said to herself, "I'm not the same, scared girl I was a few months ago… I'm a witch". And with that, she turned away from her house, and went for a walk.

Taylor (Child of Blackwell)

"She's leaving", muttered Taylor. She turned around and looked at her siblings. Although she was the youngest, she was by far the strongest and smartest out of all of them. Her brothers, Damien and Collin were 17, a year older than her, and Joshua was the eldest at 18. They had all met only yet a few weeks prior to coming to Chance Harbour, as their Father convinced them to leave their circles. Whilst her brothers had left their circles at the thought of having more power, Taylor simply wanted to meet the rest of her family. Although Taylor was developing an attachment to her brothers, she desperately wanted to meet her other two sisters.

"When can we go introduce ourselves?" said an annoyed Joshua, who was growing tired of waiting. They had been watching them for almost a week, with still no word from their Father.

"We can't go up to them until Dad says we can", replied Damien. "Besides, where is Dad anyway?". Taylor was growing uncomfortable at the thought that something might've happened to their Father. They watched Diana leave Chance Harbour, yet John hadn't stopped her.

"Enough questions", blurted out Taylor. "We'll wait for another day. If Dad hasn't replied, then we'll go talk to Cassie ourselves". Taylor and her siblings returned to the motel they were sleeping in, where they awaited the return of their Father.

Faye and Melissa

"Skies above, hear my plea. I say rain, so make it be!". Faye laughed loudly as almost instantly it started to rain. She was at the docks where she first did the spell, the spell that she couldn't control, and almost electrocuted Diana. But now, even though the circle was unbound, she felt more in control than ever before. She stared at the sky, and, without muttering a word, willed the storm to stop. Sure enough the rain settled down as the weather conditions returned to normal. "I think we're getting the hang of this no-chanting stuff, Melissa." Melissa turned around and looked at her best friend.

"Speak for yourself, I can't even start the storm, let alone control it." Melissa had been having trouble using magic after unbinding the circle. She never really used any magic prior to bounding the circle, so she still wasn't sure how to do it by herself. Faye giggled as she clicked her fingers and all the lights on the pier flickered on.

"I'm a natural", she said, as she picked up her coat and walked back into the boathouse, followed closely behind by Melissa. Adam hadn't returned to the boathouse, as he was still at the abandoned house working out what to do with the crystal skull. Faye and Melissa took a seat, and a waitress came and took their orders. The bell at the door chimed as it swung open, where Cassie walked in. Spotting Faye and Melissa, she walked over and sat in their booth.

"So, what have you two been up to tonight"? Cassie already knew the answer to that question, as she continued, "wait, let me guess. Going crazy with your solo magic?"

Faye giggled as she nodded, whilst Melissa looked down at the table. "At least you guys can use your magic, I still can't figure out how to do a simple spell". Cassie frowned as she looked at Melissa.

"I'm sure it's nothing, you're probably still getting used to having your own magic", said Cassie, as she tried to comfort Melissa.

"Yeah, you're probably right… It's just that-" Melissa was cut off by the waitress delivering their food. She decided not to continue as Faye delved into a deep conversation with Cassie about how she can fully control her magic. She turned and looked out the window, hoping that eventually she would be able to use her magic.

Diana

They had been driving for just a couple of hours when Grant pulled over to refuel the car. "Won't be a sec, Diana. Do you want anything to eat"? Diana shook her head as Grant got out and went to pay for the gas. With concern, she looked down at her hand where the Balcoin symbol had appeared.

"I wonder if this happened to Cassie too..?" She got out her phone and began to dial Cassie's number when Grant returned to the car.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, nothing to worry about", she replied. She put her phone back in her pocket and Grant drove on.

Cassie

Cassie was glad that she ran into Melissa and Faye at the boathouse. It was exactly what she needed to get her mind off the pondering fact that almost all her family had either died or left her. Cassie whispered a few words and removed the cloaking spell she had put on her hand so the others wouldn't notice the Balcoin symbol. She crossed the road and walked up the street to her house. Just as she made her way up the front stairs, she stopped at looked closely at the house, noticing that the front door was opened. Slowly, she walked through the front door, and closed it softly behind her. Walking through the kitchen, she picked up a knife and went to the living room, circling the bottom floor of the house. Not finding anyone, she made her way up the stairs, checking in each room. She stopped and stared down the hallway at her bedroom door. "I know you're in there", she called out. "Come out, I'm calling the police". Cassie seriously doubted that this was a typical break-in, probably it being something to do with her being a witch. Now that she had called out, there was no point of being quite. She stormed down the hallway, and, with the flick of her wrist, used a spell to slam the door open. Hopefully, that would've started whoever was inside long enough for Cassie to confront them. She turned on the lights and looked around, noticing her window was opened. Sighing, she dropped the knife and shut the window. Cassie laughed at the fact that she wasn't even scared that someone had been going through her house. Was this the norm now? The constant threat of someone trying to harm her? She turned to her wardrobe and quickly got changed for bed. "Oops, almost forgot to move the knife". Cassie didn't want to wake up and stab herself, so she turned around and went to move the knife. "Where is it?" she said as she fumbled looking for it. "I swear I just put it-" Cassie was cut off as she felt the cool blade pressed against her neck.

"Shut up, and come with me. Don't try anything stupid", said her assailant. The person moved the knife only for a moment to put a bag over Cassie's head, but that was all she needed. She forced her will into pulling the knife from the person's hand into hers, and she held it out toward him

"Stay the hell away from me. Who are you?" she cried. The person chuckled, and with the click of their finger, the knife instantly returned to their hand.

"I thought I told you not to try anything stupid". The person lunged forward, shoving the knife into Cassie's stomach. Cassie shrieked out in pain as she blacked out.

Diana

"Grant, stop the car". Grant pulled over to the side of the road and Diana fumbled out of the car, clutching her stomach.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?", he said, with obvious concern in his voice. Diana looked down at her stomach, and saw that there was nothing there.

"I'm fine… but my sister isn't. Grant, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I need to go back to Chance Harbour. Something's wrong…"

Grant almost lost it when Diana told her this, "what do you mean 'go back'?. We've been driving for a while now, and you were the one who said you wanted to get away from that place… why the hell would you want to go back?"

"Just trust me… please?" Diana placed a soft kiss on Grant's lips, which always seemed to work whenever she wanted something. Grant immediately calmed down.

"Alright, hop back in the car, let's go". Diana sat back in the car, hoping she wasn't too late to save her sister.

Taylor

Taylor shot up from her bed, clutching her stomach. "Guys, wake up. Something's wrong", she said, as she turned to look at the time. It was 4 in the morning.

"What's wrong Tay-", Damien couldn't finish before he too shuddered as he felt the pain run through his body. "What the hell is this?" he cried.

"Do you reckon it's got something to do with Cassie?" said Joshua, "or maybe it's this Balcoin symbol thing that appeared on our hands". Taylor grabbed her phone and began changing out of her pyjamas.

"I'm not sure, but it definitely has something to do with either Casise or Dad. Come on guys, let's go."

Collin had just fully woken up when he said "but I thought you said that we needed to wait for Dad before we could go talk to Cassie?" Taylor stopped for a moment and thought about this, knowing that their Father would be angry if he found out that they went to talk to Cassie.

"Well, if you don't say anything… I won't either. Come on, let's go".

Cassie

Cassie felt her arms and feet being tied to a chair. She squinted as the bag was pulled off her head, adjusting her eyes to the bright light shining in her face. Just as she was about to scream, she remembered that she had been stabbed, and, looking down to her stomach, realised that the wound had been healed. Looking at the floor now, she saw that she was seated in the centre of a giant circle, with strange markings surrounding the outside. "What is this?" she screamed. The man came out of the shadows, stepping into the light of the single bulb hanging above her head.

"It's a circle of power. Back in the medieval period, witches used these to enhance their powers. Usually when a witch is killed violently, their power hangs around for a small amount of time, allowing other witches to temporarily use that power. However, a skilled witch was able to draw this circle and cast a spell to channel the power for an unlimited amount of time, until the circle was broken. This circle isn't exactly the same, however… I've made a few… variations…."

"What are you talking about?" Cassie screamed. "Who are you?"

The man chuckled and replied "my identity will have to remain a secret, for now. But I'll answer your other question. This circle is different because it doesn't just channel the power of a witch. It steals it."

Cassie almost laughed when the man said this. "Did you have to kidnap me and go to all this trouble? There's already a magical talisman that my circle has that allows the power of a witch to be stolen."

The man smiled, saying "Well, I've obviously thought about using that. But, there's a catch. Normally with magical talismans power transfers are temporary. And, quite often, the person who the power is being transferred to is sometimes killed. Witches aren't meant to have more power then they are originally born with. Using a talisman like that can be dangerous. However, this method is a lot more safer. It will allow me to take your power, permanently, and wield it as if it were my own."

"But why do you want my power?" Cassie cried. "You already proved that you're stronger than me… why do you need more power?"

"I don't want your power for myself", the man replied. He walked out of the light and went to a box hidden in the darkness of the small room. Opening it, he retrieved an object and returned to the circle.

"No… that can't be…" Cassie shuddered at the sight of the Crystal Skull in the hands of the man. She'd seen what it could do, how it could kill every witch without Balcoin blood. "How did you get that?" she screamed. "What did you do to Adam?"

"Ahh," the man replied. "That brings me to my identity". Stepping closer to Cassie, the man slowly pulled the hood off his head".

"No…" said Cassie. "Adam?"

Well, there you have it guys - my first chapter! I hope you enjoyed. I'll be taking onboard all feedback, be it good or bad, and I can't wait to hear your suggestions for my next chapter :)

P.S Although this chapter may be short, I originally intended on doing around 10,000 words but decided against it incase you guys didn't like the plot. This way, I could easily make some big changes in the next chapter without delving too far into the story.