"Prudence Bennett. You have been judged a witch. How does thou plead?"

Prudence had been taken from her home, had watched her mother burn just moments before. They'd ripped her clothes off, leaving on the ripped under garments. She had been well abused before, even the women managed to get their digs in. Her rough pigtails had come undone and her hair was wild and free.

She stood accused of the highest form of witchcraft, necromancy. Her gift had been rare, especially in her time. Her accuser was a local man whose affections she had rebuffed. The man promptly, and correctly, pegged her as a witch.

The trial had escalated quickly thanks to the puritan man named Samuel Parris. Samuel's credentials were well-known in these deeply puritan times. Tituba being a major victory for the good people. He was more than happy to prosecute those accuse of witchcraft, even if they were guilty.

"How do you plead?" His voice ran out through the crowd.

"Guilty." Prudence rasped.

"Guilty? Guilty as charged!" Reverend Parris called, "Burn the witch! Have you any last words?"

Prudence threw her head back and laughed before her eyes snapped to the crowd, "Foolish. Human. One word in the same! To presume that killing the users will kill the very thing that drives this Earth. What holds the sky above us and the ground so firmly below us? What beats our hearts and warms our souls? I never communed with the devil, only because I knew him. He was the man beside me, the woman who owned me and the tiny speck of doubt within." Her eyes fell on Parris, "He was the judge and jury. A devil I've never met and always knew."

Men with torches moved closer to her. He bent down and lit the kindling beneath her, she winced in pain. She watched as the flames erupted, blinding the entire crowd. She waited to feel the fire engulf her and when she didn't feel it, she opened her eyes. The fire had parted and a cloaked figure stood in front of her.

"Such a precious, divine creature." A female voice spoke from the cloak.

"Who-Who are you?" Prudence asked.

"Legend. Myth. A slave, once." She pulled her cloak down to reveal soft brown skin and frizzy black hair, "My name...is Tituba."

"Goddess." Prudence said as Tituba raised her hands, causing the bindings to fall, "How did I become so fortunate?"

"I would not leave blood such as yours to be spilt." Tituba waved her hand, casting Prudence into the crowd under a cloak of her own. A woman now appeared in Prudence's and struggled as ropes bound her to the stake, "Pity those accused of witchcraft that aren't witches."

In a flash, Tituba appeared beside Prudence and the two of them watched as the flames and the world began moving again. The fire quickly consumed the screaming woman as the two of them turned and walked away from the scene, not daring to look back.

Chapter 12: Phantoms of Us

West Coast by Lana Del Rey is playing in the background as I dress after an encounter with the ever-beautiful Lucas. I have to admit that he is a very good distraction from most of my problems. The fact that he is dead was more than a little worrying and his blood lust and dark sense of humor was above and beyond anything I'd ever dealt with. In all honesty, he was probably a total psychopath.

The only thing I knew is that when I was with him, I smiled. Not a pretend smile.

Lucas watched me with an ever-present smirk. Sometimes that smirk pissed me off but now wasn't one of those times. Lucas stood and let the sheets drop. I chuckled as he crossed the room and leaned on a dresser.

"Do I make you nervous?" Lucas asked as his eyes bore into me.

As I latched my boots, I gave a quickly chuckle, "About as nervous as I make you."

"No heartbeat. I don't get nervous."

I finished the last buckle and stood, "Then you know my answer."

"So...I figure this needs to go somewhere...Right?"

"Go somewhere?" I asked.

"Official."

"You want to DTR?" I asked.

"Damned MTV generation." Lucas rolled his eyes, "Not that I really care. I just want to know if I'm a tool or not."

"You are." I said quickly, "But I don't know, you know? I mean...You've been alive for a hundred years..."

"Two hundred and sixy two." I stared at him in awe, "Give or take a decade."

I nodded, "Most vampires aren't monogamous...are they?" I asked.

"Not with humans. There's a life expectancy issue."

"I don't live longer than-I am human, right?" I asked.

"No, you don't. But you're not exactly like anyone I've met before. Not this century, anyways." Lucas cleared his throat, "If I asked you on a date, you'd say yes?"

"A date? I wouldn't probably pee myself but there's a real good chance I'd say yes."

"Will you go on a date with me?" Lucas asks.

I put my hand over the front of my pants, "Okay, wasn't kidding about the pee. I held it though." I looked to him, "You're serious? Yeah. Okay, we can do that."

"Just what a vampire wants to hear." He said pulling me against his naked body.

Our mouths met at about the same time his skin came in contact with my clothes. I pulled myself away from him and stared at him. I knew what he was doing and he almost had me but I needed to get home before dark. He teased me as I left his room.

The way their house was set up, as you left Lucas' room, you walked down a long hall that eventually passed the sitting area. To my sudden misfortune, Finn was entertaining Eva. They both looked to me as I tried to sneak past.

"Perry! I didn't know you were here." Eva said as she headed over to me, "What are you doing here?"

An uncomfortable silence fell over the three of us. Eva looked between Finn and I, neither looking much guiltier than the other. Eva's eyes widened with realization and fell back on me.

"You and Lucas? I thought you hated vampires!" Eva said angrily.

I let out a soft breath, "I did. I-He-There's things that I can't explain." I stammered.

Eva looked back to Finn, "You knew?" She asked.

"Vampire hearing." Finn said bashfully.

"That's-We never speak of this again." I said heading for the door.

"We are so not done here." Eva yelled after me.

-

And done we weren't. The minute I was clear of her, the texts began. To be fair, Eva wasn't the only person texting me. Charlotte was also texting me. Lucas was also texting me. He seemed especially fond of 'dirty talk' and emoticons. I was tempted to ignore Charlotte's texts, but knowing that she was Micah and not my friend, I had to keep her close, let her think she was winning. I still didn't know what she wanted.

Eva didn't waste time in asking me about my new dalliance with Lucas. She asked every question possible, even one I didn't expect. I re-read the text.

'Do you love him?'

The question made me queasy. It's true that I'm not the type to have sex without love but...I wondered if I was capable of loving him. He's technically dead. If I love him, I'm every teenage stereotype I've ever hated. I wasn't foolish enough to think I didn't care for him, but love was different. It had to be different.

Luckily for me, not a single parent was home. The house was a lot quieter without Porter and Grandmother. In the minutes going from room to room, the thoughts of them bombarded me. I felt as if the air was being knocked of me at times. I'd been so close to death without ever being truly touched by it.

I distinctly remember sitting my phone down on the counter beside my bed. I took a shower and came back in my room. I felt something strange, a feeling of being watched. I felt as if other people were with me. The feeling unnerved me and I moved to the counter beside my bed to find my phone.

It wasn't there.

I looked around the room and spotted a flashing light on the desk by the computer. I cautiously approached the phone, looking around for any signs of an intruder. I carefully reached out for the phone but stopped. Something was off. Something wasn't exactly right.

As my finger touched the phone, the lights in the room died out. I started and snatched the phone off the desk. I stood completely still, trying to decide whether or not I should run. In my hand, the phone began to buzz loudly, though no one was calling. I glanced down only when I heard faint whispers.

"Who's there?" I asked.

My mind had begun to process the events. I was being led to the conclusion that whomever was in the room with me wasn't alive. There wasn't anyone in the house. I can't tell you how I knew it, but I did. I could, however, feel something in the room with me.

"Who? Porter? Grandmother." I said slowly, "Once for yes, twice for no!"

The lights flickered back on and a rather visceral groan came from the phone. I swallowed a heavy lump in my throat moved over to the bed.

"Do I know you?" There was a singular pounding. "You've been here? For a while?" There was another pound.

I drew in a breath and nodded.

"Is this Porter? Or grandmother?" The phone hissed at me twice.

"Did you die recently?" Two more hisses. "Are you a friend?" Again, two hisses.

My heart dropped. I could feel the fear creeping over me as I searched the room.

"Do you wish me harm?" I asked.

There was silence throughout the room. The fear became a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Do you wish me harm?" I repeated into the air.

A singular knock sent me into a panic. I took off towards the door but was thrown off my feet by an unseen force. I rolled onto my side as the lights flickered off and on again to reveal the form of a large, hulking man. I was staring right at the man but my eyes couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. The man was a silhouette, if anything. He stumbled towards me, his hands outstretched.

In the time it took to blink, another figure was standing in front of me. I could almost feel the spirit in front of me. Another blink brought another figure. The two figures raised their hands and the silhouette man screeched before combusting into black dust and seeping back into the Earth.

The two lighted figures turned to show me their faces: Porter and Grandmother. The two disappeared in a flash of light. I was stuck in that moment, watching where the two used to be. I was only shaken out of my thoughts when my phone went off. I reached for it and read the message:

'Lucas and Finn know about Micah! They went to her! Meet at school.'

My stomach turned as I checked the time. Charlotte would be at cheer practice. I quickly dressed and bolted out of the door.

-

I didn't wait for Eva. I rushed into the school and made a bee-line for the gymnasium.

If Finn and Lucas found Charlotte before I did, they would no doubt kill her...or worse. While I still had no clue how to expel Micah from Charlotte's body, I was very certain that neither would come back from death. I hoped I wasn't too late.

Finding them wasn't the problem. One of Char's cheerleader friend, Karma, had her neck snapped and was presently laying in the middle of the floor. I rushed past her towards the sounds of fighting. I could hear Eva screaming at the top of her lungs.

I stopped at the entrance of the gym as my eyes caught sight of what was going on. Lucas and Finn were on either side of two figures, one being Charlotte, the other being a half-turned David. Eva was back further, standing beside Parker, who looked absolutely petrified.

"We just want her." Finn said angrily.

David growled, "You want her, come get her." He said angrily.

"Have it your way." Lucas said as he moved towards them.

As everyone moved into place, I saw Charlotte raise her hand in the air. Both vampires flew backwards and the werewolf fell to his knees. Charlotte smirked as we watched in shock.

"Sorry, hon, but I'm not okay with the vampires tearing us apart." Charlotte said as her eyes found me, "I guess the jig's up."

"Oh honey, did you honestly think we didn't know?" I asked.

"I should have gone with my gut." Charlotte frowned.

"You will." I said waving my hand after her.

Charlotte flew off her feet and rolled across the floor. From the floor, she raised her hand at me, causing an intense pain in my head. I fell to a knee under the pressure she was putting on my brain. I whispered a quick spell that negated the pain and pulled my hand up towards her, scrunching it into a fist. She began writhing on the floor as the twin brothers were at her side. Lucas raised his hand, presumably to finish her but I yelled after him.

"Stop!" I shouted heading towards them, "She has answers that I really, really want."

"I've been waiting for centuries to dispose of this witch." Lucas growled.

"It'll wait. Take her back to the witch house but don't kill her." I commanded.

"Who died and made you boss?" Lucas asked.

The lights overhead began to shatter.

Lucas smirked, "You're so feisty." He said as he grabbed the witch by the back of the neck, "Text me." He winked as he and Finn disappeared from the room.

"Why-Why'd you let them take her?" David panted.

"I'll explain everything. Just not right here." I said looking around to Eva and Parker, "Not here." I reiterated.