Adie had only been in bed ten minutes when she heard the first thump from the living room. She tiptoed to the window and looked out to see a dark-coloured van parked at the edge of the driveway. She backed away letting the curtain fall again and searched the nightstand for her phone. Her hands were shaking so much she almost dropped it twice before she managed to press the speed dial.

"There's someone in the house. They're pulling the place apart," Adie whispered. Adrenalin made her heart race wildly. She shivered - the need to leave was overwhelming.

"Get out of the there now," Callie whispered in reply. "Go out the bedroom window and use the oak tree to get down. Trust me, it will hold your weight."

Grating and rubbing sounded, then a muffled oomph as Adie dropped the last few feet to the ground. More scratching and crackling noises as she removed the phone from her pyjama pocket. "Shit, my car keys are on the hall table. I'm going to have to creep around and see if I can get them."

A few seconds later, Callie heard footsteps on the gravel of the driveway. A door creaked, followed by the faint jingle of keys on wood. A second more passed before she heard hurried footsteps on the gravel again and finally the engine started. Tyres squealed as Adie peeled rubber, racing from the house.

"You need to come here. They're after you too by the looks of it," Callie insisted.

"Who are they? From the glimpse I caught, they looked like us but they felt wrong, they felt..." she gulped at the only word she could think of to describe them. "They felt evil, Cal."

Callie too shivered, feeling her sister's unease through the bond. She gave her the address. "Get here as quick as you can. Make sure no-one follows you."

Callie paced the small room. To human eyes, it would have looked like she was flashing from one side to the other in the blink of an eye. Sam grabbed her by the shoulders, halting her in mid-stride. He looked at her face before crushing her body to his in a tight embrace.

"She'll be fine, you'll see. It's okay," he said soothingly as he rubbed her back in a comforting gesture. Callie clung to him and let her tears roll unbidden from her eyes.

Sam pulled back hesitantly and took her face in both his hands. He kissed her, first on her forehead, then her nose. They stared into each other's eyes as their heads moved together as if drawn by some invisible force. Their eyes closed when their lips met and a surge of passion overtook them as the kiss deepened. She opened for him - tasting him. As their tongues danced, he carried her to the bed where they lay together with their limbs entangled.

Sam kept his weight on his elbows as he gazed at her. Her beauty astounded him. From her silky, ebony hair that haloed her pale face, to her thick lashes that created the perfect frame for chocolate eyes, finally coming to rest on her passion swollen lips.

"You really are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

She blushed and smiled in return. "You're pretty damn hot yourself."

He chuckled and lay down beside her to bask in the knowledge that she was his. Mine, he thought possessively.

Some time later, the trill of Sam's phone ringing woke them from their passion-fuelled slumber. He frowned as he checked the caller ID and answered. He got up and paced the room.

"Hello Gill, what is it? ...What? ...Damn it. When was this? ...Did they say when the ship is due to sail? ...If I leave now I may be able to catch him before he boards. Book a ticket anyway just in case... Thanks Gill." He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he turned to Callie. "I have to leave. John, the guy who stabbed you, has decided to skip the country. If I don't get him before he reaches the mainland, he'll disappear or possibly sell the video to the highest-bidding tabloids. Things could get messy for the Centre. I'm sorry to have to leave you. Just stay here with the witches; they'll keep you hidden until I get back." He kissed her briefly and fled the room before Callie could protest.

"Call or text me," she yelled at his back. "Because I don't have your number," she said to the empty room, as he was gone before she finished her sentence.

"Hello and goodbye," he called to Adie as he passed her at the top of the stairs.

Adie limply raised her hand in farewell as she made her way down the dim stairway. The two girls embraced one another in a tight hug, talking at the same time. Each filled the other in on the events that led to this point.

Irene interrupted their reunion to ask them to join her in the sitting room. She wanted them to meet the coven witches who were going to help them claim their power. Callie emerged from the basement stairwell with dread. The time had come to test the effect sunlight would have on her skin. She reached out with her hand to tentatively touch a beam that shone through a small gap in the curtain. When she felt no pain, she reached further, letting an arm slice through it. Next, she kicked her leg out, as if she were a martial arts fighter, waving it back and forth through the narrow beam. Finally satisfied that she wouldn't burn, she flung open the curtain and did a silly happy dance that involved waving her hands over her head while singing.

"Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah!"

The first of the witches to arrive was Sarah - a forty-ish, portly woman with mousy brown hair and a huge smile on her pretty face. Next came Rose and her teenage daughter, Jennifer - both were blonde and gorgeous. Their pouted pink lips pulled up in smiles of greeting. Fourth was the elderly Elizabeth – a stereotypical witch with a black cloak and warts. The last two, Laura and Louise arrived together. They were like chalk and cheese - Laura was tall and slender with dark, poker straight hair, glasses and a sharp nose. While Louise was, at most, five foot. She had unruly, curly red hair and a dainty button nose.

They all helped to clear out the dining room of furniture in preparation for cleansing. Callie, being the strongest, took the heavy stuff with ease and piled it all between the sitting room and large kitchen. Irene handed Callie and Adie a broom each and instructed them to brush from west to east as the rest of the women were doing. When this was done, she lifted the dirt in a small cyclone of air and held it above a small dustpan so Jennifer could set fire to it. The dust burned with a flash and the ashes fell into the pan. Irene took the pan outside and tossed the contents to the wind.

Louise used a large set of tongs to lift hot coals from the sitting room fire, dropping them into a bowl of water that Laura was holding with oven gloves. Sparks and steam hissed from the bowl. This water was then used to mop the floor.

As the floor dried naturally, the women withdrew to the kitchen and began to prepare the meal they would share with The Divine Witch Hecate - Queen of the night and ruler of wisdom, choice, victory, vengeance, and travel - in askance that she assist them. The meal consisted primarily of steamed fish with potato wedges in garlic butter and honey-glazed carrots. After dark, all ten women walked the half mile to the nearest three-way crossroads and ate their feast. Hecate's full plate was left at the crossroads - not one of the women looked back. On their return, Callie retired to her basement bedroom where she drank her supper in private and toasted the women who were helping her.

After everything had been cleared away, candles were lit in a circle around a five-pointed star or pentagram - for protection from evil spirits while the chanting was in progress. Five of the witches sat around the outer circle, incomprehensively chanting, while the others tended their needs. This continued every night for almost two weeks.

It was during these two weeks that both Callie and Adie were taught the basics of their heritage using the five elements; air, water, fire, earth and metal.

"A magic spell is a conscious attempt to manipulate power and energy to achieve your goal," Rosemary re-iterated. "Words of power may come to you as you learn the craft, but these must never be said aloud as it gives others the opportunity to steal them from you."

"What about names? You said they had power," Adie asked.

"Knowing someone's true name renders them vulnerable to your power. The names we use everyday are not our true names; those names only our mothers know."

On the day of the full moon, Irene and Elizabeth, a water elemental, prepared a sea salt bath for the Williams girls. They added an assortment of oils to the water, including lavender, rose, sandalwood, frankincense, myrrh and rosemary. They then sprinkled rose and calendula blossoms in the water as they left the girls to undress and spiritually cleanse for the ritual that would begin at full dark.

A summoning spell was cast to call the spirit of Noleen to attend and direct her power to her chosen daughters. Both girls stood in the middle of another circle, facing each other with their hands clasped together and their heads bowed. Irene, her grandmother and the other six witches joined hands around the outer circle and began to chant the spell.

Moments later, a vortex of air swirled around Callie and Adie, lifting their hair above their heads. Their white gowns billowed around their knees. A wall of blue flame surrounded them. They were lifted several feet into the air where flame engulfed them and power filled their bodies.

Every one in the room collapsed to the ground unconscious, their hands still clasped to keep the circle intact.