Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted characters that I write about. No copyright infringement intended. Please don't sue.

CALEB

I almost jumped out my skin when I felt the surge of power run through me. It wasn't like what we felt when we used, but when someone else was. It was more than I usually felt when Reid used. I was guessing that he was doing something major right about now. One day, this curse is going to kill him. If I didn't care about my friends so much I wouldn't even let this bother me. I cursed as I got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. I walked over to my night stand and picked up my cell phone. Juts as I was about to dial Pogue's number, it rang.

"I didn't do it!" the caller said immediately.

"Who else would it be?" I asked Reid angrily.

"I don't know! So before you point fingers I want to tell you that I am here with Tyler and he knows I didn't use!"

"I'll call Pogue and see if he did it," I told him. I hung up and dialed Pogue's number.

"Pogue," I said as he answered the phone.

"Tyler already called me," he said. "It wasn't me either, Cay."

"What the hell is going on?" I said more to myself than to Pogue. "Emergency meeting at the sanctum. We need to find out what's happening. Tell Reid and Tyler." Pogue hung up and I got dressed quickly. If none of us used, I could only arrive at one other conclusion. Someone else was using, the power, and big time.

I got in my car and rove as fast as I could to the sanctum. Since I was the nearest, I arrived first. Before I got out of the car, a gunshot sounded from the house.

"Geez, Gorman! It's me!" I yelled at the old caretaker.

"What'cha doin' out here so late, Caleb?" he yelled back. I walked over to the house and decided to wait for the guys inside.

"Someone's using and it isn't any of us," I told Gorman. His yes bulged out of their sockets as I said this.

"Who could it be?" he asked frightened.

"That's what we're here to find out," I told him. After a few minutes Tyler's Hummer and Pogue's Ducati drove in front of the house. As soon as they entered the house, we walked down the winding stone staircase in the basement. My eyes flashed black for a moment and suddenly every candle in the room lit up.

We each sat on one of the five stone chairs that had our names engraved on it that was situated around a circle with a pentagram in the middle. I stared morosely at the empty chair that had never had an occupant since the time of the Salem witch trials.

"Tyler," I called the boy's attention. "Do you swear that Reid didn't use at all tonight?" Tyler shifted uncomfortably in his chair before he answered.

"I swear that he didn't use that much to cause that surge of power?" he said indecisively.

"You were always the tattletale, baby boy," Reid growled at him. "So I used to levitate some stuff. That isn't enough to make us feel that surge of power."

"Unfortunately, I believe you," I told him. "Nothing bad has happened yet from what I recall but if this someone who's using is a risk to our Covenant of Silence, we have an obligation to take care of him."

"Aye, aye, captain!" Reid said while imitating a pirate voice. Pogue and Tyler just chuckled at him. I wasn't amused because Reid never took me seriously. I know that since I'm the oldest that I was immediately dubbed the leader but Reid refused to listen to me always.

"I don't understand," said Pogue. "Who else could be using? We all know it wasn't Putnam because he's rotting in hell right now."

"I know," I told him. "But there is still a possibility that someone else is out there. I don't know how he got the power but we need to find out in case he poses a threat to us."

"Why can't it be a chick?" asked Reid. "It's always he, him and his. Whatever happened to equal rights?" Only Reid would find this situation to be a joking matter.

"You know why, Reid," I told him. "A woman or any other person outside our bloodline will die right after someone wills his or her power to him. I don't even recall any of our parents or ancestors willing their powers to anyone."

"Why not check the books?" asked Pogue.

"That would take too long and even if we did, all we'll find is the family histories that lead up to the end of their bloodlines."

"What if there are others like us, Caleb?" Tyler finally spoke up.

"Our lessons said that was impossible. Everyone else died in the witch trials." I hated having a one-track mind about this situation, but considering those possibilities was scaring the hell out of me.

"Hello?" Reid interrupted. "Wasn't it impossible for teenage boys to become warlocks? This just teaches us that anything is possible."

"I agree with him, Cay," said Pogue. "It isn't entirely impossible that there are others like us who might have escaped the trials."

"We are warlocks," said Tyler. "Our powers are limitless besides the fact that we could die every time we use it after our ascension."

"If that's the case, then I hope to God he, or she, or even they are nice warlocks, because with our ascensions coming up, we might just die trying to save the world." I told them grimly.

We went outside to our cars, but before we got out of the basement we heard another gunshot from Gorman. We quickly ran to see what happened. Either my eyes were deceiving me or there was a girl lying on the ground in front of the house. Oh my God, what has Gorman done?