Lissi Eaves had a perfectly normal house in a perfectly normal town with a normal family and normal problems but not so normal

Lissi Eaves had a perfectly normal house in a perfectly normal town with a normal family and normal problems but not so normal friends. Each of them slightly less normal than the other in this order; Tatty the tag along as she was nicknamed, was a lovely girl but tended not to speak her mind and instead express the words others had just spoken again but in a different way. It was nice when you wanted someone to stick up for you but otherwise could get quite annoying. Especially Lissi thought when you liked to be unique. Then there was Lola who liked to be called Lilly because she was vain and she thought it made her more beautiful. She could be nice and was helpful when you wanted to know what to wear. Generally people asked for an opinion but in Lola's case you got told what you would wear whether you wanted to or not. She liked to think she could do "stuff" no-one else could which really meant pretending and making things that she had logically done seem illogical and strange. Finally in their little "coven" as Lola liked to refer to it as was Poppy, Lissi's best friend. Poppy was kind and caring. She never tagged along and made her own fashion, it was never embarrassing because she wore it with such confidence that it didn't look out of place. She was very good at making herself invisible. Not in the magic sense but bullies like Madeline seemed not to notice her and the outrageous clothes she sometimes wore, it was almost as though she wasn't there. She also occasionally managed to predict things, more often than not by accident like "I bet you we get homework on the Tudors today from Miss Randall" and even though they hadn't even started the Tudors yet she would be right. Lola had founded the coven inviting Poppy in first then Lissi and finally Tatty a few days ago.

The coven was the only different thing in their sad little lives. Everything else was normal, their school, their families (one boy one girl so they each had a brother) normal houses (all on the manor house estate) and their normal, boring town (six shops, one post office and Millie's the restaurant/ café that served the best shakes in the world). So the coven was started to make them all different in a small not really noticeable until necessary kind of way. They met up every evening as the sun was setting (it was more magical Lola said) in the small woods behind their estate.

They wouldn't light a fire as was done in most proper covens but would all bring a small candle and some matches, if their parents allowed. Lola would open their meetings with her usual chant to the gods to bless them for their gifts and ask for protection upon the dark and evil night that they were surrounded by. Then they would all sit in a small circle and mix healing herbs and talk about their day. It was really only friends meeting up unless you looked very closely at their herb packets and realised that you didn't know the names and probably couldn't say them if you tried and you watched on the occasional times when they practised what they could really do, which wasn't very often and usually when it was only Lissi and poppy because Lola and tatty were sick or grounded, then you'd see something special but dangerous. The secret they all guarded their difference from the rest of the sad little word around them that made them feel better about their day to day chores and the lives they dragged themselves through.

Lissi lived with her mother and father and younger brother James. They were a nice family or so people thought, very friendly and kind. Not ones to keep you up with their arguments or music or such like. For someone who spotted such special talents as these girls guarded, to keep check upon them this was like a siren that blared into the night. No one could keep peace that well not even with the people they loved, without some help from a talent or some very good witchin' as it was really called. Helena was one such talent spotter, an unfortunately named and rather boring job but important all the same if they were to keep everyone safe and the secrets under wraps. Some of the girls of course were merely larking around or very good at making people believe things. Two such girls were amongst the ones she was watching at the moment but two of them, yes two of them had talent, real talent and she watched them as carefully as you would a rabbit if you were out hunting. Right now they were all sat, both talented and pretenders, around their circle laughing and joking but doing nothing that would otherwise arouse suspicions about anything abnormal that they might be going to practise. Tonight there were only three of them. One of the pretenders was missing.