The Coven

Before

"Are you mad?" She laughed, loudly and joyfully, kicking a stone as they strolled down the pier. "Dad'd have a field day."

Marcus shrugged. "It'd be worth it."

"No way, the Elders would have our heads if we did." Dahlia shook her head, taking a long drag from her smoothie straw. "Mum would ground us all."

Anna nodded. "Besides, Dad couldn't explain that to the town."

"You two are no fun anymore," Marcus groaned. "What happened to the trouble makers I used to love?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "We grew up loser." she kicked the stone too hard and it toppled off the edge of the board walk and splattered into the ocean below.

Marcus rolled his amber eyes. "You're seventeen, stop acting all high and mighty."

"They can't help it," Caleb drawled. "They really believe they're better than everyone else."

Anna laughed and tousled his thick, curly hair. "Come on Cal, don't be so grumpy, look how lovely the sunset is this evening."

Caleb knocked her arm away and glowered at her. "It's beautiful, but I don't understand why we're all here."

Anna took his hand and dragged him to the edge of the pier. "Sit," She ordered with that bright and captivating smile, she pushed him to the ground and joined him there. With her legs swinging over the edge, leaning back on her hands, she stared up into the colourful sky and sighed contentedly. "We've called a gathering," she whispered to him as Dahlia strode up behind them. When Anna tossed her hair over her shoulder Caleb caught site of that birth mark at the nape of her neck, hiding along her dark brown hair line. "But the hall is in use tonight so this was really the only place we could think to go."

"That's actually on the agenda for tonight's meeting," Dahlia added shakily.

Caleb rolled his eyes at his sister's flimsy leadership. "Fantastic," he drawled, his eyes mapping the curve of Anna's nose and the line of her jaw. "But I've things to do tonight so can we keep this brief?" his sarcastic tone made his twin wince. Dahlia always was the weak one. But not Anna. No, Anna was strong and proud and filled with this enticing light that he'd always been drawn to.

Dahlia cleared her throat and sat on the other side of Anna, leaning against a pillar. She motioned to the others and, following her lead, they all sat on the rotting wood of the pier board walk. "Sorry to ruin everyone's evening," she murmured, smiling at them all with a sincerity Caleb never had been able to mimic.

"It's not like any one of you losers had anywhere better to be," Ethan joked, nudging Anna with the toe of his sneaker.

She glowered at him, that fierce fire in her brown black eyes. "Shut up and let her speak," she growled, never one to put up with Ethan's taunting.

Dahlia looked first to her scowling brother and then to the eyes that eagerly awaited her, ready to consume her every word. That was what she knew that Caleb didn't, what she could do that he couldn't. She could captivate people, entice them, she was imperfect, she was fragile, but they didn't follow her lead because she was certain, they followed because they believed in her flaws. "I know that…" she sighed, wringing her hands. "I know that everyone's a little on edge right now, and I know that our parents are worried and I know that we're in danger-"

"Great pep talk Dahl," Caleb scoffed, ignoring Anna's glare. "But if we're hear to listen to your warnings I've had about enough."

"Actually I was thinking," Dahlia interrupted, speaking up, speaking clearly. She found her voice in her frustration. "I was thinking it's about time we did something."

Ambrosia frowned. "Like what?" She asked wearily, twirling bright orange hair around her finger.

Dahlia grinned, "It's time we started training, and I mean the big stuff. I'm sick of candles and salts, I want a show of strength. It's time we proved to everyone that we can take care of ourselves."

Anna's smile was bright and powerful. "Damn right," she clapped her hands together.

Even Ethan nodded along, a smirk puling at the corners of his mouth. "I'm down for power."

"Finally, a little fun." Marcus winked at her.

For a moment Dahlia felt a rush of strength in the core of her chest. She was on top of the world, feeling as though she'd done something right by them for once. Even Caleb seemed to be considering it.

"Where would we even start?" Jules asked. "The elders won't let us do anything serious, so where could we practice?"

Dahlia looked at Melody. Melody stared back with big green eyes, confused and uncertain. "I was hoping," Dahlia began slowly. "That we could use Melody's cabin in the woods. It's far enough away that we'd be totally alone, our parents would never have to know."

Anna chimed in enthusiastically, the two had planned this through as thoroughly as they'd been able. "And we could keep all our supplies there because no one's been into the woods since-"

"Since the forest was overrun by wolves," Ambrosia cut in sceptically.

Anna rolled her eyes, "If Dahlia is not afraid of the woods, why should you be?"

Jules pulled a face, "Tessa wasn't afraid of the woods either," she quipped indelicately.

Anna froze, her eyes narrowed and her whole body went rigid. Her jaw locked, her teeth ground, "How dare you," she growled, leaning toward Jules. "If you ever-"

"Anna," Dahlia warned, backing the attack dog down. "Enough. "

"Yeah Jules," Ethan retorted with a ruthless grin. "If you're scared we can always practice somewhere else."

Jules glowered at him, "I'm not scared." she grumbled, dropping her chin.

Ethan shrugged. "Of course not."

Dahlia rolled her eyes. "I said enough," she spoke loudly now, her voice was strained as was her patience. "Enough of the arguments, we are a family and you will respect each other, as you will respect me and the decisions I make." she looked out, over the edge of the pier, holding her head high. The sun was sinking, drowning amongst the mess of blue-green ocean. The sky was alight with a swirl of orange, pink and purple and the moon was rising. "We're going to be the strongest coven Paloma has ever seen, we're going to avenge Tessa and we are going to rid this Valley of Hunters once and for all."

The chatter began in earnest now. Mumbles of weariness from Ambrosia and Jules, but the others took the idea and began running. Their excitement building rapidly. They'd been waiting for this, all of them, the chance to really test their limits, to see what they could do.

Since Theresa Bourke's death the elders, and the current coven reigning (their parents' coven), were being overly cautious. Tessa was only seventeen when the hunters killed her, a child still. It was the first time in almost a century that the hunters had killed one of the children. The first time in a long time they'd killed a witch without a coven, Tessa had next to no affinity, barely enough power to summon wind, but the hunters had killed her anyway.

If the elders couldn't protect the children, the children could not risk practicing magic. They had been forbidden. Which meant that the young coven, now coming into their powers in full, could not practice. All of their potential was going to waste and Caleb had been pushing Dahlia for months to disobey their mother and the elders and pull their coven together. It seemed, however, that he should have been pushing Anna - apparently when Anna asked Dahlia listened.

He'd keep that in mind the next time he needed Dahlia and the coven to do something.

But Anna wasn't an easy mark. She was wilful, boisterous, uncontrollable. She was powerful, both magically and as a presence.

With their legs dangling from the pier Anna nudged him with her elbow.

"Hmm?" He started.

"You were staring," she laughed, tossing her thick brown hair over her shoulder. "And you look like you're thinking awfully hard Cal, what's up? Dahlia thought you'd be excited about this?"

He shrugged. He was excited, but he'd never let Dahlia see that. He couldn't let her take this as a victory - she should have done this months ago after all. "If we're to be practicing in the woods," he mused, "how does Dahlia intend to protect us from the hunters."

Anna stiffened, a shadow passed over her face, there and gone in a moment before that bright smile reappeared. "Well you're always my go-to ideas man, what would you do to keep us safe out there?"