The old house stood in the distance, shuddering violently against the harsh attacks of the howling wind. Ally Dawson picked her away across the nettles and brambles before pushing open the rusted door. Instantly a musty scent infiltrated her nose as she brushed away the errant cobwebs that were hanging from the door frame. Creak. Her heart stopped as the loud noise echoed around the abandoned house. Slowly she moved through the shadows, careful to conceal herself in the dark of the night. The stairwell to the basement was not too far away now. The thought calmed her and scared her all at the same time. Sweat from the sticky night cooled against her skin as she moved silently. Swallowing down the large knot that had formed in her throat as the small beams of moonlight penetrated through the dirt caked windows and illuminated patches of the old wood floor. Ally pushed open the door to the basement stairwell with a loud groan.
" Ally it's you!" Kira sighed with relief before clutching a hand to her pounding heart. Ally spun around, instantly trying to put a face to the voice that had emanated from the shadows.
" Kira?" she questioned cautiously.
"It's me." she whispered before grabbing Ally's sweaty hand. " They are all down there." she said before nodding her head at the stairwell that was a few feet in front of them. Ally choked down an incoherent sound as she nodded.
" Then we better get down there." she said as the two of them began their descent into the basement. With every step Ally took, her heart beat quickened. The cold, frigid air of the basement washing over her as she finally reached the last step. It was time.
" I'm so glad you both could make it." Cassidy said as she saw the two disheveled girls finally appear at the bottom of the basement stairs. " We were beginning to think that you weren't going to show up." she smiled patronisingly before tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder and gesturing for them to sit down. Candles were lit in a circle around the old spell book with a special candle in the middle. Ally pushed her soft brown hair out of her face and scanned the faces of six of the coven members that sat in a circle upon the floor. Kira tugged at her hand and pulled her to a space that the group had left for the two of them in the circle.
" So it looks like we're all here, I think it's time we start the ritual." Cassidy stated as nervous glances were shared between the group.
" So what do we do first?" Dallas asked. He was the newest member to the coven and had never really partaken in many rituals before. As he was the eighth member to join the coven he had completed it and the coven was now bound.
" We give our blood." Cassidy said simply before pricking her finger and letting a few drops of the scarlet blood drip onto the candle that sat in front of her. Everyone followed her lead in silence, each coating their candle with a few drops of blood.
" We now have to bind the circle with white ash and as it is a full moontonightand the circle is complete with all eight members we can summon Brooke back." Cassidy smiled.
" Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ally piped up as Cassidy shot her a death glare.
" How can it not be? You all promised me that you would help me see Brooke again. You promised." Cassidy said.
" We can barely control our powers as it is. Do you really think it's a good idea to do a summoning spell? Our parents never told us about our powers for a reason! Their coven was torn apart by unimaginable things, some of them died! We shouldn't be messing around with this." Ally said with more confidence.
" Ally you promised me you would help me! I have to see Brooke again." Cassidy said nearly in tears. " You all promised me." she said as she gazed at the reluctant coven members.
" Cassidy I -"
" Don't even say it Ally. If you won't do the spell wth us then we will just have to do it without you. Why are you even in this coven anyway when you never want to use magic?"
"She is in this coven because her family's witch line is the strongest out of all of ours. Ally probably has more power than all of us put together and I think it would do you good to remember that." Trish De La Rosa snapped back as her fiery temperament got the better of her. Cassidy shrunk back with a scowl upon her face.
" So what? After all our preparation were just going to throw it all away now?" Elliot Ellinger jumped in as Ally's resolve quickly dissipated. Elliot had always been on her case ever since they had broken up when the coven began.
" Your just upset because Ally was the one girl in school who was able to resist your crappy advances." Kira shot back as Elliot growled.
" Can't Ally speak up for herself for a change?" Cassidy quipped.
" Hey, stop jumping down her throat!" Austin mediated as Ally gave him a grateful look.
" I didn't come all the way here for you guys just to sit around and argue like a bunch of whiney babies." Dez cut in. He was often the one that wanted to get things done, mostly because he had better things to do than hang out with the rest of the coven. He had that loner, brooding vibe about him and the only reason he was a part of the coven was because it was part of his ancestry and he was born into it.
" Dez is right. We need to stop this, the full moon is nearly nigh if we are going to do the spell then we do it now." Dallas said.
" We're doing the spell." Cassidy stated before throwing white ash upon the centre candle. The flame roared before glowing with a bright white light and finally blowing out. All the candles in the circle soon followed, one by one they glowed before dissipating. Leaving the coven in absolute darkness.
" What did you do?" Ally shouted.
"I started summoning her. Can't you feel her presence." Cassidy smiled as everyone looked towards Ally for help. Whatever they could feel was not Brooke.
" Whatever you do, do not let go of your candles. It breaks the circle." Ally instructed them as Cassidy closed her eyes and began chanting. Kira looked as if she were about to burst into tears as suddenly each candle began lighting itself again, glowing brightly in their hands.
" I call you!" Cassidy shouted. " Say it! Everyone has to say it!"
" I call you!" Elliot and Dallas shouted as Dez joined in. Soon Austin and Trish started saying it and finally Kira.
" Ally please, say it." Cassidy begged. " I just have to see her one more time." she cried.
" Fine." Ally choked. " I call you." she said, the small basement windows instantly shattered, millions of pieces of glass showering down upon them as they sat with their candles. The violent wind ripped through the room but somehow the candles stayed in tact. Still glowing as brightly as before.
" You called." a scratchy voice sounded from the centre of the circle. A pale girl with dark, ombré, knotted hair stood in the centre of the circle. Deep burns marring her beautifully pale skin. Scarring her face, legs and arms. The wind picked up, blowing the girls burnt white dress, it was covered in ash and falling apart. Her deep brown eyes caught Ally's fervent gaze and she slowly began walking towards her. Almost as if she were enthralled.
" Your not Brooke." Cassidy cut in, instantly the girl shifted her attention from Ally to the blonde at the opposite end of the circle. Anger bubbling though her at the indecent interruption. Cassidy shifted under her scrutinising gaze. Slowly the girl began pacing towards Cassidy before kneeling down before her. Tightly wrapping her bony white fingers around Cassidy's throat. Almost immediately Cassidy began choking violently.
" Stop! Stop! Your choking her!" Trish shouted.
" Drop the candle and I will let go." The girl smiled as her brown eyes met Cassidy's blue ones.
" Don't drop it Cassidy! You have to hold onto it or you will break the circle and let her free!" Ally shouted.
" You stay out of this!" The girl gave a throaty growl as she tightened her grip on Cassidy's neck. " You summoned me! You do as I say!" she snarled as Kira began to cry. " Drop the damn candle."
" Don't do it Cassidy!" Ally yelled over the roar of the wind that was whipping her hair violently.
" She has to drop it or she will be killed!" Austin shouted. " She has no choice, she has to drop the candle."
" She can't." Dez snapped as Cassidy turned blue.
" Drop the candle or you will never see Brooke again." The girl said as she glared at Cassidy, her hand still firmly around her throat.
" Don't listen to her, she is lying!" Ally yelled as Cassidy gave her a sad, apologetic look before slowly dropping the candle to the floor. It tumbled to the ground with a thud as the girl smiled visciously.
" Smart choice." she smiled as she patted Cassidy's cheek. Turning her head around she looked into Ally's eyes and smiled. " It was nice to finally meet you Ally Dawson." she said before she stepped out of the circle and disappeared into the night. Cassidy gasped heavily for breath as Elliot cursed.
" We let that psycho ghost free." he shouted before rounding on Cassidy. " Why did you drop the damn candle!?"
" She had no choice." Kira cried as she hugged Cassidy tightly.
" Ally, are you okay?" Austin questioned as he stared at the dazed brunette.
" How did she know who I was?" she said as Austin enveloped her in his arms.
" I don't know." he choked.
" What do we do now?" Dallas asked.
" We never under any circumstance do that again." Trish said as Cassidy began sobbing loudly. A feeling of dread seeping into all of them. This was by no means over.
Penny Dawson sat upon the hard wood chair in the kitchen, knotting and unknotting her hands as she counted down the seconds. The doorbell rang shrilly throughout the house. Penny glanced at the clock. It was midnight and they were here. Quickly she stood from her chair and moved almost robotically towards the door. Placing her hand on the cold handle and taking a deep breath before opening it.
" Penny." Mrs De La Rosa smiled. " I see that you have gathered us all together." She said as she gestured towards the people standing behind her. Penny could just about make out Mrs Fox Cassidy's mother, Mr Ellinger Elliot's father, Mrs Starr Kira's mother, Mr Fisher Dallas' father and finally Mimi Moon. A breath caught sharply in her throat as she looked upon the remaining few members of her coven.
" Come in." she breathed. Quickly she poured a few glasses of bourbon and handed a glass to each of them as they took a seat around her old oak dining table.
" What the hell is this about Penny? Do you care to explain why you have called us all out here at such an ungodly time of night!" Ethan Ellinger grunted as he swirled the liquid bourbon in his cup.
" It's about the children."
" Why? What happened?" Mimi asked as all eyes fell upon Penny.
" I fear that they know the truth about who they are. I think that they know they are witches and have started their own coven."
" That's preposterous!" Larson Fisher snapped as he slammed his hands upon the table. " How could they possibly have found out!"
" I don't know but I caught Ally sneaking out tonight."
" That doesn't prove anything."
" You don't understand! I believe that she was sneaking out to perform a summoning ritual. The children are acting differently. They are becoming more secretive."
" Penny is right, the children have been acting differently." Mimi spoke.
" How could they have found out unless one of us let it slip!" Bella Fox gave accusatory glances to the rest of the group. Her blonde hair and blue eyes uncannily similar to that of her daughters.
" I didn't say a word." Mrs De La Rosa spoke.
" Me neither." Larson Fisher boisterously cut in before Penny silenced them all.
" It doesn't matter how they found out. If they already know then we have to stop them from practicing. It is too dangerous." she said. " Let's not forget what happened to our coven! All of our children have grown up without one of their parents because of what happened and let's not forget about Dez Calder who lost both his parents because of that disastrous night." Penny shook her head as if to rid herself of the terrifying memories, the screams and the pain. Tears streamed down Elena Starr's face as she thought about her deceased husband and the tragedy that they had all experienced that night.
" We have to stop them before it is too late." she choked out. " I can't lose Kira as well."
" I'm glad that we're all on the same page because I have a plan." Penny said as the group gathered in close and the night drew to a close.
Thank you for reading! Please review and tell me what you thought of the first chapter and whether it is worth continuing. If you do want me to write more then you can vote for what you want to happen next so here are the options:
More about the crazy ghost they summoned
What happened to Brooke?
The beginning of Auslly
Austin's secret
How they all became a part of the coven
Penny Dawson's plan
Once again thank you for reading!