Salem Falls

Even though everyone around Alexa looked incredibly frightened, she mostly felt excitement. She knew it was wrong and that she should be just as terrified as everyone else, but she was so excited to finally be a part of the action that she didn’t feel the terror that clouded the room.

Zayn, whom Alexa had only just met, stood in front of the group as he bit his lip, staring blankly at the ground. He had gathered them all to his house to come up with a plan to take care of the rogue coven members, but seeing that there were only a handful of them and nearly two dozen rogues that they knew of, it appeared he had to rethink his plan.

“What about a talisman?” Liam said after Zayn had paused for far too long. “It’s the only explanation for Naveed’s sudden strength.”

There was a small pause while Liam’s words hung in the air, settling over all of them. Alexa didn’t know much about the ins and outs of their magical world, but it didn’t seem good.

“Is it possible?” Lucie said from beside Liam, looking up at Zayn.

“It’s not unlikely,” Zayn replied as he pressed his lips together. “But if he –”

“We’d just have to destroy it then,” Harry interrupted, standing up from his place beside Alexa. All eyes were on him as he spoke. “It’s a difficult spell, but you could do it, Zayn. If he didn’t have that extra source of power, we’d be able to defeat him.”

Zayn looked back at his best friend, his lips twisted to the side as he mulled things over. They didn’t really have too many options at that point, so Harry’s semblance of a plan was better than no plan at all.

“We have no idea where the talisman is… if he even has one at all.”

“I could find it,” Alexa said quickly, speaking for the first time since she entered the room. She wasn’t sure if it was her place to speak at all, but she wanted to do something to help because she was feeling mostly useless. “He probably keeps it as his house. Harry and I could –”

“No, it’s too dangerous,” Zayn interrupted. “It’s an unnecessary risk.”

Harry’s eyes met Alexa’s and he could see her need to help. He could sense how powerless she was feeling and that she just wanted to do something because he was beginning to feel the same way.

“Let us do it, Zayn,” Harry said, shifting his gaze from Alexa to his best friend. “We’ll be in and out in fifteen minutes, tops. If we don’t find it, we’ll leave.”

Zayn looked hesitant, like the last thing in the world that he wanted was to put his best friend in harm’s way, but he closed his eyes as he nodded his head. “Fine.”



It was just beginning to get dark when Harry and Alexa stepped up to Naveed’s house, sneaking around the backyard. They had reason to believe that a spell had been cast over his house to protect it, but there wasn’t much they could do if they didn’t know what the spell was.

“Have you got it yet?”

“No, Lex,” Harry whispered. “And be quiet. I’m trying to focus.”

Alexa let out a soft sigh as she watched Harry, whose eyes were shut as he held his hands out in front of him. She didn’t know what he was doing since it was magic that was far past what she could understand, but he had told her he was doing a cast to see what spells had been performed in the area. Something about auras that Alexa didn’t even half understand.

“I’ve got nothing,” Harry said after a few long moments, standing up from where he’d been kneeling on the ground.

“But why wouldn’t he –”

Harry interrupted her, knowing her question before she could even ask it. “Maybe there’s nothing here for him to protect.”

They looked at each other for a long moment, silently questioning whether or not to go in, before Harry took a step forward and placed his hand on the doorknob. In just seconds he had worked his hand over the metal and it was turning as easily as if it had never been locked at all.

When the door clicked open, Harry held his hand out towards Alexa, motioning for her to stay back so he could check its safety first. She wanted to walk through with him but decided that this was neither the time nor place to be crossing any boundaries.

Harry returned just seconds later, waving her into Naveed’s home. She was surprised by how normal it looked – like it was a picture straight out of a magazine. She had let her imagination get the better of her, but she was expecting skulls, blood, and upside down crucifixes.

“Let’s check the bedroom first,” Harry said, motioning towards a long hallway off to the side. Alexa thought that would be too obvious and that they should head to the basement first, but Harry seemed determined, so she followed him down the hallway, keeping close since it was almost impossible to see with the lack of light.

When they stepped into the room, she felt a chill run through her body just from looking at it. It was so normal that it was almost unnatural… like no one had slept in the bed since it had first been made.

“The nightstand seems like a good place, yeah?” Harry said, giving her one look as he began walking over to the wooden table. Alexa’s whole body went cold and she thought she’d never been more uncomfortable in her entire life.

“Wait,” she said, grabbing onto Harry’s arm before he took another step forward. She didn’t know how to describe what she was feeling or if he’d even believe her, so she gave him a half lie. “It’s too obvious. Let’s check the basement.”

Harry chuckled. “And that’s not obvious?”

“Please.”

It only took one look of Harry’s eyes into Alexa’s before he was agreeing, following her out of the eerie back bedroom. It was a short walk from there to the basement and when they reached the bottom step, Harry and Alexa both froze as they looked at one another.

“Do you feel that?” Harry asked, furrowing his eyebrows as he turned his attention away from Alexa and out at the room in front of them. She gave a soft nod of her head and he took her hand, pulling her one step forward. “It’s down here.”

Alexa didn’t know how, but she knew it, too. She could feel the evil in the room, drawing her to a podium in the corner, calling her name. It was the most eerie feeling in the world, but at the same time, it made her feel welcome.

“We’ve gotta find the talisman and get out of here,” Harry said quickly, grabbing onto Alexa’s hand. “Stay close and be careful not to touch anything.”

When Harry began pulling her towards the same corner she’d been drawn to, she knew they were on the right path. It couldn’t be a coincidence that they were both feeling it.
Harry’s hand stayed wrapped around Alexa’s until they reached the podium where a large, leather bound book sat.

“It’s gotta be around here somewhere.”

Harry began sifting through things, but all Alexa could do was focus on the book. It was a spell book, she knew, and her mind was racing with thoughts of all the spells that could be inside it. She’d be able to learn more from the book than she ever would from Harry, and all she wanted to do was take it with her.

She reached her fingers out slowly, dying to graze them over the front of the book. She was absolutely mesmerized by it.

Just as her fingers were about to reach the surface, Harry’s hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her away and her attention towards him.

“What did I tell you about not touching anything?”

“Sorry.”

Harry gave her one long look before he looked back down at the podium to the book she had been gazing at so longingly. She could see the fear in his eyes as he looked at it, unmoving, and it made her realize just how important the book was, which only made her want it more.

“Do you remember when I told you about dark magic?” Harry asked, and Alexa nodded her head. “This is it, Lex. This is how Naveed is getting his power.”

Alexa looked at Harry, who waved his hand over the book as he casted an unspoken spell.

“We’ve gotta get this to Zayn,” Harry said. “As long as this book is intact, we’ll never be able to stop him.”