Chapter 1
It was beautiful sunny September day, school was finished for the day and Cassie was on her way to meet the circle on the beach, for a talk about what they were going to do for Halloween which was three weeks away.
Cassie was on her way down to the beach when she spotted someone she really did not want to meet anywhere let alone on her own on a hidden path, it was Logan. He wasn't looking at her he was just sitting down a couple of feet away from her, smoking.
I'll just walk past him, maybe he'll leave me alone Cassie thought desperately.
"Hey Cassie," He said still not looking at her but straight ahead at the wall.
"What do you want?" she said, not forgetting how he had treated her before.
"Just wanted to say, hey, so hey" still not looking at her, he fished in his trouser pocket, presumably for another cigarette.
"Oh, um well hi then," Cassie said nervously, looking back sown the path, it was only 15 feet away until she could see the open beach, and hopefully her friends wouldn't be that far off.
"Well I'd better go now anyway so um see you" Cassie said moving forward a couple of steps.
"Don't go Cassie, come sit down" He patted the ground beside him, and finally looked up her, and what she saw made her go to him and sit down beside him without a second thought. What she saw was the pain and anguish she felt last year when her grandmother was dead and her mother had lost her mind.
She stared at him as he looked back at the far wall and kept on fishing in his pockets, first his trouser pocket, then his trouser pocket, then his inside pocket.
"What's up Logan?" She was looking at how filthy his clothes were and how eaten through his trainers looked. But when she said this, he surprised her by laughing, quite hysterically, then the laughing turned to weeping and the next thing she new he was crying his eyes out on her shoulder.
"Logan? It's all right it's going to be alright," She patted his back awkwardly. It had been at least 10 minutes before he finally got some control over himself and pulled away from her.
"What's happened Logan?" She asked quietly
"Nothing its nothing.." He wiped his eyes with his sleeve but fresh tears carried on falling nonetheless.
"What do you say we… we go and get a coffee in town?" Cassie asked, looking towards the beach, and thinking of her friends who would be waiting for her, and Adam.
"No no I couldn't face anybody right now, and anyway its clear you've got somewhere to be" He looked at her again,
Cassie? Where are you? Are you alright?
That was Adam, and the very thought of him, made her heart rise to her throat, she was just about to think back to him, when Jordan made a massive sniffing noise, and got clumsily to his feet.
Cassie?
And for the first time ever, she ignored Adams call.
"Come on Logan we don't have to go to town, my house is just around the corner, and mums at work, come on." She grabbed his arm and walked forward with him clutching to her hand.
Wherever she had to be now, Logan looked as if he really needed someone to talk to, and that, she felt, was where her priorities lied, with the those who really needed her. Adam would understand, she hoped.
"So, what? They just left you behind?"
They were sitting in Cassie's front room on the couch, drinking a cup of strong coffee. Adams calls had stopped a while ago.
"Yeah,"
"How could they do such a thing, they are your family!" Cassie demanded appalled.
"Yeah well, its all my fault anyway, my family have been, you know, witch hunting for thousands of years, and I just turned around and said I couldn't kill one and and… they were more than right to kick me out, I'm not one of them why should they keep me around?"
"I'll tell you why because family are supposed to be with you through thick and thin, I can't believe even Portia would do that"
"Well they did what can I do about it?" Logan asked
"Is there a family member or a friend you could go and stay with? Just for a little while until you get yourself sorted?"
"I don't think so… no hang on wait" He sat up straighter, then slumped back down, "never mind"
"No what were you going to say?"
"Well my parents split up ages ago when I was bout three years old, if I new where my mum lived I could go and stay with her for a while. But I don't and even if I did what am I going to say, go up to her and say, 'hey I'm your son remember me? Well I need a place to stay for a while otherwise Dad will probably kill me, mind if I stay here?' I don't think so"
"Well its worth a try, anything is worth a try isn't it?" Cassie reached out and touched his arm, and immediately felt a pain go through her head like a jagged piece of glass being pierced into her head. She fell forward and fell on the floor, banging her head on the table as she went.
"Cassie? What is it? What's wrong?" Logan shouted
But Cassie could hardly hear, through her pain she was catching bits of conversations and flashes of images going just before she could make any sense out of them, Someone, a woman, running through a wood a man chasing her shouting at her that he was going to kill her. Then it stopped, she looked up and saw Logan's face inches from hers looking extremely worried.
"What the hell was that about?"
"I saw some things, I don't know, I can't remember, it hurt so much" blood was trickling down into her mouth from her nose.
"Here you'd better get something for your nose, you whacked it a pretty good one" He passed her a white handkerchief from his pocket, her nose felt sore and swollen.
"What did you see?" he asked hesitantly
"I saw a man chasing a pretty women, in some woods, he was saying he was going to kill her" She said out of breath it felt like she had run a mile.
"What did the man look like?" he asked, his expression becoming serious.
"Um I don't know, I didn't really see much, I probably wasn't seeing anything anyway, I hit my head it was probably nothing" Cassie said raising the handkerchief to her nose and winking because of the pain.
"It doesn't matter just tell me, tell me what the man looked like"
"Well, okay, he had I think really dark hair, blackish, really brown eyes, they were really dark as well, oh and he had a sort of cut just above his brow, I can't really remember what else. What's wrong?" Cassie asked because Logan had just looked really scared all of a sudden.
"What about the woman what did she look like?"
"Blonde, light blue eyes, the total opposite to the man, she had a necklace around her neck, well not really a necklace, it was more like a piece of string, red, with a feather on it."
Logan stood up and started pacing, running his hands through his hair.
"Whatz wrog?" She asked nervously, her nose making her sound as if she had a lisp. He stopped pacing and looked around at her in awe.
"What's wrong?" He laughed nervously "I'll tell you what's wrong! You have just described both my parents."
Chapter 2
"What does it mean though?" Logan asked Cassie, sitting down again and looking at her expectantly.
Cassie tried to remember everything that had happened in her vision.
"Well he was chasing her, I think he was going to kill her, wait!"
She sat straight and tried to visualise again, what she didn't comprehend in her vision. The woman sat behind a tree burying something in the dirt behind a great oak, a small wooden box, and the forest looked like the one in new Salem.
"I think your mother left something behind for you, in the forest here, but there are so many trees, I don't know how we would be able to find it."
"Isn't there some abracadabra stuff you can do?" He asked
"No, at least I don't think so, I'll go and look in my book wait there"
"Wait hang on your book? What book is that?" Logan asked confused
"My book of shadows of course" She went out of the room, upstairs and into her bed room where he kept her book of shadows.
"Of course, book of shadows, shouldn't have asked" Logan rolled his and sat impatiently, looking at the door. Until Cassie came in holding a big red leather book.
"Is that it?" He asked as Cassie settled it down onto the coffee table, nose still spilling blood, onto the already blood stained Handkerchief.
"Yeah, Ive nefer seen anyfing before bud I fink we shoub sdill cheg"
She flipped through the pages, while Logan watched, her. He had never really noticed her before other than Portia's friend and the witch. But she was really pretty as she flicked through the pages of the old book, concentration showing in every line of her face. Even with the bruised and bleeding nose she was beautiful.
Cassie couldn't find anything, not about finding small boxes in the middle of a large wood anyway. And she felt faint, she had lost a lot of blood from her nose, and it was still pouring.
"I can'd finb anyfing"
"Are you sure theres nothing in there"
"Nofing" She was so disappointed, she really wanted to help Logan, she didn't know why she just felt she had to.
"Is there anything you could do, like make a potion or something" Logan asked hopefully.
"I don'd fink so I coulb brobably pud a sbell on a pendand, anb we coulb follow thad, bud I don'd know how do do id"
"Can't you try?" Logan looked imploringly into Cassie's eyes, how could she refuse?
"Okay, I'll dry"
Cassie took a piece of paper and a pen from her school bag and got the crystal from her jewellery box and put it next to the paper on the coffee table. Her nose was still bleeding, and when she caught a glimpse of herself in the dark reflection of the window, because it was getting really dark by now, she saw that she was extremely pale, and that she had dark circles under her eyes, she looked as if she had been beat up pretty badly.
She sat down opposite Logan and held the pen poised, thinking of what to put, after a few minutes, she was writing, and was shocked by how easy it was to write a spell. Once Cassie was finished she took the pendant and out it in the centre of the table, then she drew her finger around it saying her spell:
I call upon the natures four,
To help me here to find the lost,
I call you now I call you near,
To tell me what I long to here,
A box of old and wood it is,
At a place of the high tied forgot,
Please help me, the power of four,
By Fire, Earth, Water and Air
She hoped it had worked. It took most of her strength out of her in any case, she looked around at Logan, who was looking really creeped out.
"Come on we'd bedder hurry id's gedding really dark now, and we won'd be able do see where were digging."
They both got up, Cassie holding the crystal against her chest, they wouldn't need the crystal until they were in the woods.
They took Cassie's car to the woods, and stood at the entrance, it had become very dark since they had drove, and the woods looked scary and eerie.
"Isn't there a spell you could do so that there's light?" Logan asked nervously.
"I don'd know and anyway, I haven'd got any energy lefd do do id even if I did" Logan reached out and held her arm for Cassie. Cassie felt very unsteady on her feet.
"Well then maybe I can work a bit of magic of my own" He let Cassie go and bent down to pick up a big piece of wood.
"Whad do you mean?"
He tore a bit of his shirt off and wrapped it around the end of the wood, then fished in his pockets and lit the shirt with the lighter he had pulled out.
"Come on" He reached out and grabbed her arm again to help her walk, she was holding her third bit of clothe to her nose and it was already covered in blood.
Cassie held the crystal out in front of her and tried to put energy into it, what happened was a small effortless arch into the dark woods,
"I subbose this will be good enouf come on."
They had walked at least a mile before the Crystal finally swung in circles signalling that they had found the place, and sure enough when Cassie looked at the tree she recognised it as the one in her vision. Logan settled Cassie down (He had carried her piggyback, for more than half the way because Cassie had collapsed after a couple of feet all her energy was focused on the crystal, and she didn't have much energy for much else, let alone walking)
"It should be behind that tree there" She pointed towards the great Oak, then she sat against the tree and closed her eyes while Logan dug up the wooden box.
"I've got it! I've got it! I've got it! Its in really good condition surprisingly" Cassie opened her eyes and saw Logan coming to sit beside her, with a handmade beautifully carved box.
"Its got no lock on it shall I open it now or shall I take you home first?" Logan asked Cassie,
"Yeah open it now, that's the whole reason we came wasn't it? Your mother left it for you so you'd better open it in private"
"No, its the least I can do is let you see what's inside it after all you've done for me" Logan smiled sweetly at her then opened, the box to reveal a purple velvet cover with a golden locket oval shaped and small inside and a letter.
Logan opened the letter and put his head beside Cassie's so she could read it too.
My Darling Children,
I'm so sorry for leaving you behind, I had no choice in the matter. All I hope and pray for is that you find your way to this letter then onto me, only if you are true at heart will it show itself to you.
My darlings, my precious babies, I wish all of you are good enough at heart and haven't let the poison take complete control over your heart.
Your father and I, were very much in love until we both found out who each other were, me your loving mother, I am part witch, you won't have a lot of power but you will have enough to be able to find me, but only if you love will you be able to. And your father, a sweet man by all accounts but not blessed with a suitable heart, is a witch hunter. His blood is stronger than mine but I still hope and still pray that you won't be the same, at least one of you. Anyway we couldn't stay together because of our blood, however much we wanted to, I tried to take all of you with me, I did but I couldn't he would have killed me, I just have to trust in your judgment and let you find you own way here.
The locket I have enclosed is from my side of the family, it has been sent down every generation and now it is for you. Nobody in the family has ever been able to open it, only the most powerful of witches will be able to and our family have never had power, a myth suggests that what is in the necklace is all the powers in the world. I hope you are lucky enough to be able to open it. It has been given to every generation of females so if it is one of my beautiful sons that inherits it, you can keep it until you someone special. I hope that there is enough power residing in this letter to give you an idea of where to find me.
I wait in hope and in love. For you my sweet sweet angel (or if I'm lucky angels)
Love Mummy
xxx
"Oh how lovely" Cassie exclaimed looking at the necklace
"My mum, I've got to go to her"
"Of course you do, do you know where to go?"
"Yes, the power I can feel it it's like a voice and its telling me where to go"
"Your a witch! I can barely believe it!"
"How can that be though a witch and a witch hunter?" Logan said
"Your lucky you have enough witch blood in you to be able to find you mother, Portia and Jordan won't be able to do that"
"They wouldn't care, that's all they care about is killing innocent people, I couldn't do that"
Logan put the letter back in the box and took the necklace out.
"Its beautiful" Said Cassie in awe looking at how the moonlight danced off the gold.
"It is" Logan tried to open it but couldn't, then he looked sideways at Cassie and passed it to her.
"Here I want you to have it"
"What? No its yours your mother gave it to you!" Cassie moved back away from the necklace, she couldn't take it.
"She also said that it was passed to the females, and to give to someone special, and to me you are special! You've helped me a whole lot today, I couldn't have done it without you, I would be sleeping on the streets tonight and I would still be under the illusion that my mother was dead so without you I'd be so lost" Logan put the locket in her hands, then put the box with the letter in it, in his bag.
"Oh Logan! It's beautiful, I can't... I can't" Cassie looked down at the necklace then back up at Logan. Her nose had stopped bleeding.
"I didn't help you to get something in return I helped you because I wanted to"
"I know but that's what makes it even more special, your special your brilliant do you know that?" Logan said, he reached over and buckled the necklace around her neck, Cassie felt tears spring to her eyes, and felt him put his arms around her, and pull her into a hug.
"Thank you for everything" Logan whispered in her ear.
"Oh how sweet! NOT!"
they both broke apart and looked up at, Portia and Jordan and there father were towering over them, with disgusted looks on their faces. It was Portia who had spoken,
"What do you want?" Logan asked, not politely.
Logan's father bent down and punched him in the face, sending him spread eagled on his back, unconscious.
"I'll deal with you later, it's the witches turn first" He turned towards Cassie and smiled a smile that can only be described as evil.
He picked her up by the scruff of the neck and carried her over his shoulder, with no effort. His greying hair sparkled eerily in the moonlight.
Cassie couldn't defend herself because she had no strength left in her. In no time at all she also became unconscious.
The next time she woke she felt heat on her face, she thought she was outside sunbathing maybe even on the beach, with the sun on her face, but this wasn't warmth, this was burning, it was licking her toes, and her face stung.
She opened her eyes, to see herself tied to a plinth on a platform on a heap of straw, that looked as if had been there for a while there was fire all around her, three dark figures stood at the foot staring up, drinking alcohol and laughing, sometimes, spitting some alcohol into the fire and laughing when the flames shot up.
"HELP! HELP ME!" she looked left and right but could only see trees either way, she looked down at herself, her clothes were ripped and bloody, and her sleeve was ripped from her shoulder with big scratches going vertically down her arm.
"Help me help me ha ha ha! No one to hear your screams here darling!" Logan's father cheered while Portia and Jordan laughed.
Calm down Cassie just reach out with your mind, call Adam call anyone.But she couldn't, her head throbbed, she could barely think.
She was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it.
She thought about her mum and how she would react when she saw the mangled burnt, unidentifiable body of Cassie, she thought of Adam and the club helplessly she began to cry.
"Aahhhhh do you want your mummy? Does it hurt? Don't worry it will be all over in a few minutes."
Cassie looked over across the flames and saw Logan tied to a tree too, with fire just beginning to rise, he raised his head and looked up at Cassie then back down at the fire.
Suddenly seeing that, seeing someone just as helpless as her, about to die and it gave her strength she never new she had. She focused on her rope and in her mind pictured untying it and felt the rope behind her back begin to loosen, fire was eating the soles of her feet, she could feel the plastic melting away and blisters appearing on her feet. Cassie spoke one
"No!" It was one word but that one word had power enough in it so that even the fire was scared, it jumped away from her and towards Portia, Jordan and their father.
Cassie walked through the flames with it licking her body, while the three figures, no longer laughing but huddled together while Cassie directed the fire around them,
"Your right that was quick, but I don't want to hog the fires attention, its your turn"
"Cassie?" She turned around and saw Logan looking at her unbelievingly
She felt the hardness go from her eyes, but the power remained, with one sweep of her hand Logan appeared beside her, he looked scared and moved quickly away from Cassie.
Cassie looked back at the three figures
"Logan, my son I love you your one of us, are you really going to let her do this to us, that… that witch!"
Logan got up and stood by Cassie
"Please don't kill them"
Cassie looked in his eyes and understood, he still loved them, she telegraphed to him
but they almost set you on fire, if I just let them go then they will do it again and you'll never be able to find your mother
Logans eyes widened when she spoke through his mind but he didn't say anything about that
"I know but I don't want them to die believe it or not but I still love them"
Well tell you what, do you still know where your going? To your mother I mean?
"Yes its still clear in my mind" Cassie took the car keys from her pocket
Then here take the rabbit and drive to the airport or whatever, I'll find it alright don't worry, then at least you'll be able to have a head start, don't worry I won't hurt them
"What about you, I can't leave you here with them" Logan asked thinking hard
"I'll be fine, you've seen my power?" Cassie asked a bit shaken
"Yeah, I didn't know witches could do stuff like that!"
"I never knew we could either, but I know I can control it and I can make sure three people can't hurt me, go go now, don't tarry"
Logan looked confused for a minute then smiled, he hugged Cassie and kissed her on the cheek
"You are the most amazing woman ever you know that! Adams a lucky guy! Just promise me one thing okay, please don't tell anyone in your you know club, please"
"Why not? I've got to have some explanation for tonight"
"Please? I just don't think I could stand it if anybody else knew about what I am not until I accept it myself"
"If that is what you want then I'll try and make up a story for what happened tonight, go on get out of here"
Logan smiled broadly, winked then ran through the trees away from the dancing fire.
Cassie turned back to the roaring fire and waved her arm so that the flame went out, then (not knowing where she learned how to do this sort of magic) blew into her open palm, and instantly Portia, Jordan and their father slumped down on the floor in a deep sleep. Then Cassie started her long walk back home, she could leave them there, she knew, without them getting into or getting up to trouble, they would not wake till the morning, and the trees around them would protect them even though they certainly didn't deserve to be protected.
Cassie had walked through forest and was walking, on a very empty dark road, with no street lamps, or houses and no cars had passed.
Cassie fell to her knees, she felt weak, and could no longer walk, her feet still had really bad blisters on them and were badly burnt, they were so bad she had taken off her shoes or what was left of them and was now walking bare footed, which was really killing her, she somehow had knife cuts across her stomach and on her neck and upper arms, which had ripped her cloths and splattered blood everywhere, her nose had started bleeding again and she was loosing more and more blood every minute, she was also really cold, it was really windy for a September and she had no coat, and top it all off she kept on having to hold her sleeve up to her shoulder because it was ripped and fell way below her chest. The glow of magic that went through her momentarily had disappeared. She couldn't go on anymore.
What I need is help, she thought, but who can I trust nor to ask any questions and not tell the others about the complete state that I'm in?
It came to her in an instant Deborah, she wouldn't ask to many questions and she knows loads of people so she could take her somewhere to get sorted so her mum wouldn't ask any questions.
With this thought glowing in her mind like an extra charged battery, she promised herself she'd stop at the next pay phone she went by.
Cassie was in the pay phone with the phone held against her ear and her finger hovering over the buttons, she was having second thoughts now, it was dark and was probably 3 in the morning, she didn't know where she was, could she really ask Deb to get up drive across town pick her up and drive her places like a taxi driver. But what else could she do, she couldn't walk anymore, she new inside that she would barely get a mile if that before she collapsed, and she'd rather be picked up by Deborah than wake up in hospital.
She dialled the numbers and waited, two rings, four rings she's not their, five rings she must be fast asleep, the sixth ring and a harsh voice answered
"What is it do you know what flaming time it is?"
Cassie tensed, that was Nick she'd forgotten they lived together
"Will you accept a collect call from Cassie Blake?"
"Cassie? Yeah yeah sure go ahead"
"Thank you" She heard the woman hang up
"Cassie?" Cassie slid down the phone box unable to stand any longer and pulled the phone with her.
"Hey Nick, is Deborah there?" she cursed her voice, it was crackly and dry and she could barely talk above a whisper.
"What's up Cassie? Where've you been we've all been worried"
Cassie was struggling to keep her eyes open
"Can't you just get Deb's please, I can-"
She dropped the phone, and blacked out for a minute, when she became aware of where she was she reached for the dangling phone
"CASSIE!"
"Yeah sorry dropped the phone, could you please just get Deb please"
"She's not in she's gone away for a the day with her parents to a bike thing, she won't be back till tomorrow"
That's it she was alone, she couldn't phone anyone else, not without explaining to them what happened to her, she would just have to call an taxi but she had no money.
"Cassie?"
"I'm sorry I'll see.. see you tomorrow"
"Wait don't go Cassie what's up you can tell me" Nick sounded worried, could she tell Nick? Cassie thought, well she had to do something she knew she didn't have long till she blacked out again and probably wouldn't be able to wake up.
"Oh Nick I don't know what to do, I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere and I wouldn't normally ask its just that, I can't walk anymore I'm ... well I'm a right mess" Cassie tried to laugh but all that came out was a scratchy cough.
A fresh bubble of blood erupted from her nose, and she had a burning metallic taste in her mouth.
"I'm scared Nick I don't think I can get back, I don't even think I can stay conscious an-." Then darkness took her again but this time she didn't reawake after only a few minutes.
The next time she woke Nick was sitting in front of her, looking disbelieving, and trying to get her awake, she only caught some of what he was saying,
"Can't believe it…… Glad you called me…. Cassie can you hear m….. Your safe Cassie your safe"
Then the darkness took her again.
"Cassie?" She felt something wet being put on her forehead, She tried to get up but it hurt.
"No Cassie lay back down, your alright I took you back to my place"
Cassie opened her eyes and saw Nicks looking into hers with massive concern.
"How did you get like this? What happened?"
"It was nothing" Cassie was glad to hear that her voice was almost back to normal, it was still a bit weak though.
"Cassie look at yourself you can't call that nothing!"
Cassie looked around the room to save time. She was on a single bed, with black covers that spelt Rock in big red letters, the room was small and a mess with clothes chucked everywhere, although some looked as if they had recently been staked carefully in the corner,
"Is this Debs room?"
"No its… its mine, I figured seeing as you needed help real quick I would put you in here, its downstairs and was easier to get to" Nick was slowly getting redder and redder.
"Oh its nice, bit colourful though" She laughed the walls were a dark blue and were covered with dark pictures of rock stars, the carpet was also a dark blue although a bit lighter than the walls.
Nick laughed with her until Cassie started coughing,
"What happened to you?" Nick asked again
"I told you it was nothing, or at least nothing for you to worry about, can you help me up, I've got to get home, my mum will be so worried"
"Your not going anywhere, unless you want everyone to see you looking like that, I phoned your mum when I got you here, I told her you had fallen asleep and were going to spend the night she said she was going to be out till late tonight anyway so if you want you could stay the night tonight as well, she probably thinks your at school now so don't worry, now just give me names, who did this to you?"
"Thanks Nick, but I've already sorted it, there is absolutely nothing for you to worry about"
"Fine I'll accept that answer for now but just cause your not well, but as soon as your well I want answers, if you don't want to tell anyone else, then fine cause they haven't seen how you looked when I found you, you still look bad now! But I have got to know what happened, you can't just say 'nothing happened' and expect me to accept that, that's not the sort of person I am. Now you hungry? I think there's some chicken soup or something in the cupboard." Nick got up and went out of the room before she had a chance to answer.
"Here, chicken soup at your service!" Nick went into the room and looked at the bed at Cassie, who was fast asleep again. Nick sighed and put the tray with the soup on it onto the bedside table, and sat on the bed by Cassie looking down at her, her nose had a swollen, red look to it where it had been bleeding profusely, her lips were slightly blue from inhaling so much carbon dioxide. Nick went to the airing cupboard and took out two blankets to put over Cassie