I want to apologize about my absence, it's been a rough time for my boyfriend and I, which doesn't make me want to write romance at all. Plus his grandpa has been in and out of the hospital, and all kinds of other life problems, but maybe I can get myself back on track for y'all!

A special thanks to;

ijoel, I have a great plan for Chase, and don't forget about all these new beings coming up in this story plenty of room of for strong OC's, which I hope will satisfy your want for a new character! I always enjoy your reviews!

supernaturalfan17980, I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope I keep up the good work entertaining y'all!

ignisetglacies, I am so happy you like Amaris. It's really hard making an OC that fits into a story of characters that have already been developed. I love Chase's character so much I just had to make him a character of many traits.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Covenant blah blah enjoy the the chapter my lovlies! Please review as well, I would love to hear what my readers have to say, so I can improve!

Chapter 7: At What Cost

Chase was trying to catch his breath as he ran through heavily vegetated forest. This was something he was not expecting to happen while he recovered his powers for another attack on the Covenant. A force knocked him down to the ground face first, and he was rolled over onto his back.

"You should not run from me boy," Chase opened his eyes to see a dark figure over him, "I need to know everything about the Ipswich bloodline," a loud laugh escaped from Chase's lips, but then a punch was delivered to his face. This man was far more powerful than he expected.

"Why should I help you? They're mine to take down."

"They are protecting the girl that has something that belongs to me," the venom in the man's voice sent a chill through Chase. Surely the girl he is referring to could not be Sarah or Kate, but could it be one of them?

"I have no idea what girl you're speaking of," Chase sat, but was quickly thrown back by a surge of energy from the man.

Chase writhed on the forest floor as the pain traveled through his body. He had never felt this kind of power before. It was nothing like the power the Ipswich bloodline possessed, so what was this?The hooded figure crouched beside the young man placing his finger on Chase's chest. Chase could not move, he was paralyzed, and he was completely powerless. Chase had never felt true fear until this moment when he was defenseless and powerless. How could he allow this to happen to himself?

"The girl from the Ipswich bloodline. She is in possession of my amulet, and I need I need it back," the man spat. His answer only confused Chase even more, and now he new for certain that the girl he spoke of was neither Kate or Sarah.

"A girl?" Chase laughed, but that laugh caused the man to send another punch to the blue eyed boy's face, "The power is only passed down to the first born son. There is no way a girl has the power."

"Well, it looks like you are of no use to me after all. And to think of all that power that could be used to help me take down the ones you most desire to destroy," the man said before waving his hand over Chase putting him to sleep instantly.

"And that's the last thing I remember until you came along," Chase said looking to the ground, but he dared a sideways glance to see Amaris deep in thought, "But it does make sense that you're the girl he spoke of," he straightened himself, and turned towards the brunette hooking his finger around the amulet, "What's so special about this thing?"

"Honestly I have no idea," she ran a hand through her dark curls before meeting Chase's piercing blue eyes. Amaris took the amulet from his two fingers, and looked down at it herself, "How do I know if I can trust you?" The shock on Chase's bruised face was amusing to Amaris, but she needed to know. If they could get help from him, that would be even more power at their side.

"You don't know. You have only known me for," the sandy haired boy looked down to his watch then back to Amaris, "about twenty four hours, so if you're that naive to trust me so soon then clearly you lack fundamental judgment."

"Obviously fully trusting you to not take force us all to give you our power would be stupid of me," staring straight into his blue eyes with all the conviction she had the brunette continued, "but can I trust you to help us take down whoever it was that attacked you, and is trying to kill me for this?"

"Well," he crossed his arms, propped his feet on the table, and leaned back against the couch with a smug look on his face, "since you're asking so nicely with your big pretty eyes how could I say no?"

Amaris stood from her spot beside Chase and gathered her belongings, once she was finished she turned to Chase, "I must bring this proposition to the guys, so please prove me right in your decision to help us."

"I hate to admit it, Princess, but I've really go no other option right now. I wasn't able to take down that man by myself. All of us could together, but after this over," Chase stood making his way over to Amaris. He took a strand of her curly hair between his fingers letting it slide through them, "I can't promise what I will do."

That lazy, smirk graced his lips once again, and Amaris was not sure how she should take that last statement. Was it a threat, or was he just warning her what could happen if the Covenant could not help in time? Either way it made her feel uneasy.

Chase lightly ran his finger over her cheek, "You never did tell me which bloodline you come from."

At first Amaris did not want to tell him, but if she wanted him to trust her, then she had to make the first step in that trust, "The Parry bloodline."

"I knew you favored Pogue. My theory is that the only way you were able to attain the power, the gene would have had to split evenly. You really do like alike, so you must be twins."

"Quite the deduction you made there, Chase. You would be correct though."

Chase let out a low laugh, his arms crossed over his chest once again. Amaris shifted her purse higher up on her shoulder before the man beside her opened the door.

"It's getting late. Wouldn't want you to be up all night because of me, and none of your homework get done," sarcasm dripping from every word he spoke.

"Intuitive and sharp tongued. Why didn't I just get lucky," she retorted.

Just as she was taking a step out of the door, Chase grabbed her arm lightly. He tugged her enough to get her to turn back to him, and she was once again met with intense, blue, gaze.

"Your powers are not fully developed. I know when you ascend. Be careful out there," the genuine concern slightly shocked the younger witch, but her heart puttered at the gesture, "You never where he will be."

Chase let go of her arm, and ushered her out of the door. Still mildly confused, she took off through the dark forest for the second time in twenty-four hours. He was right about not knowing where their mystery man would be, so she had to keep her guard up no matter what.

"The guys are really going to kill me with how much I've been using," she said to herself, and used her power to teleport herself in her dorm, "Better safe than sorry."

While she lay in bed, Amaris could not stop her mind from roaming into every crevice of concious. Tomorrow was a day of celebration with her friends and brother. A day to forget about the world, the mystery man, the Lephrums, Chase Pope, and most of all their ascension. If Amaris died while ascending, then her family would be out of danger, but what would happen to the amulet she had to protect. Would the Covenant continue protecting it? Maybe another Lephrum would take it away for safe keeping. The most worrisome outcome would be if that man got a hold of it. She had to keep fighting until her dying breath.

Amaris locked her dorm room as soon as she exited from it. Her backpack was only help up by one strap on her shoulder, and it soon began to fall. As soon as she went to grab it another hand appeared on one of the straps. She looked up to see the mane of red hair she could only assume belonged to one Lita Bradford.

The fiery redhead smiled at the hazel eyed girl before her, "I saw you struggling, so figured I'd use my daily civil duty to help a fellow comrade," she said handing over a few pens that had fallen out of the side pocket.

Amaris accepted the pens and slung her cumbersome bag into its rightful place on her back. The two females shared several classes together, but they spent more time together in their Chemistry. The challenging science class did not give them many opportunities to speak to each other off the subject matter. The few things Amaris knew about the pallor beauty was that Reid had a huge crush on her, she excelled in all aspects of chemistry the class had gone over, and Lita was not here before Amaris left for Louisiana. The two females walked side by side as they started heading to the exit of the dorms.

"So I have to say I do not recognize you from before I moved away from here," the witchling was curious to know more about this girl.

Lita giggled holding her personal book closer to her chest, "Of course you don't," she walked in front of Amaris and turned to look at her while walking backwards, "I only moved here last year from Connecticut."

"Why did you move here?" Amaris asked opening the large door leading outside of the building.

The sky was gray and dreary with rain clouds lingering about threatening to downpour at any moment. Many of the students walking to class came prepared with umbrellas, but neither Lita or Amaris had one on hand. Leaving it up to luck, they continued their walk to Spenser. The wind suddenly picked up blowing leaves all around the grounds of the dorm and academy. This weather was as foreboding as the events to take place in less than twenty-four hours.

"My parents never really gave me an answer. They told me we were moving to Ipswich, and we packed up one day then we're on the road the day after," Amaris could not tell if she was happy or upset at the fact her family just up and left one day leaving everything they built in Connecticut.

The brunette stared at the ground remembering the day she left for New Orleans. It had been a surprise, and she did not have much time to prepare herself for the move, "I understand how it feels to just get uprooted from your life without a choice."

A smile that could light up the room adorned Lita's face, and she looked to the darkening clouds, "I do love change. I never questioned our reason for moving," she said looking back to Amaris, "I always knew they were doing it for good reason even if they never told me said reasons."

Maybe it was time for her to finally let go of the pain and loathing she felt towards her mother brought on by being forced to move away so suddenly. Lita made a valid point that it was for good reason, but then she remembered her encounter with Janice just before she died. The night she was given the amulet that was now putting her family in danger. No, she could not blame herself for this for she did not choose to accept the responsibility to protect the relic that hang around her neck.

"Well, I'll see you in class, Amaris!" Lita announced snapping the witch out of her thoughts.

She watched the fiery teen walk into the daunting building that was Spenser Academy. Just as Amaris was getting ready to step into the school, a cold gust swept across her body sending a shiver throughout her body. Looking around, she did not notice wind swaying with the trees, so how did that cold chill wrap only around her? Not feeling comfortable in the open anymore, Amaris quickly got inside and to her locker in record time. Could it have been that man letting her know he was watching her? It could have been Chase. He was not exactly holding a high standard with the safety of the Covenant members.

Today was her last night in the unknown. By 2:38 a.m. she would be ascending two minutes after her brother's started. Spotting Pogue and Kate by one of the many water fountains in the school, she walked over to them weaving in and out of the crowd forming in the hallway by the other students. Her brother stood with his back towards her, his attention solely on his the love of his life. Kate on the other hand held a smile like no other on her face. The way her brown eyes lit up when she was around Pogue was nothing Amaris had ever seen before. One day she would find someone to share a look like that with, if she does not die during the ascension.

Kate caught sight the younger twin walking their way, and slightly pushed her boyfriend away, "Amaris, how are you doing?" concern etched in the younger teen's voice.

"I'm doing well. Trying to keep my head busy," she replied with a sheepish smile.

No need to cause more worry to the guys when they already had enough on their plate. They are certainly going to have more to worry about when they find out that Amaris has been helping Chase, and even offered him sanctuary within their family. Sure they were not going to like it at first, but why should he be punished for what he thought was justice for his family? Though she would have to tell them sooner or later, she knew later would be the best option to unveil that secret.

Kate place a hand on the brunette's shoulder with a reassuring smile, "You've got this, Parry. Stop letting it eat you inside. I can see it all over your face every time I see," she moved back to Pogue grabbing his hand, and started to walk away, "Just remember you're going to be ok, Amy!" Amaris smiled and began trekking towards her first class of the day.

The day was passing far quicker than Amaris expected, and she was already making her way towards the cafeteria for lunch. With every passing minute, it was a minute closer to ascension. It was inevitable. This was not an event she could just run away from. Looking to the food she saw clam chowder and dinner rolls as the main course with a fruit cup and steaming broccoli for the sides. This was certainly a more appetizing meal than the food offered in the Louisiana public schools. After gathering her lunch, she scanned for any signs of her friends and quickly found Reid sitting alone.

"Hey loser did everyone decide you were to much of an ass to be around?" she asked sitting down in front of the blond.

Reid looked to his friend with a small smirk throwing a piece of his roll at Amaris' face, "I want you to know that everyone loves this ass, Ames." He watched as her nose wrinkled and shook her head.

"With wit like that it makes me wonder how many women have been victims of the Garwin charm."

"More than you would care to know," came Tyler's voice as he took his place on the right side of Reid.

Amaris looked between the two with slight shock on her face, "You're kidding right? How can he pull that off?"

"Let's just say I'm the Don Juan of Spenser Academy."

At that point Caleb, Sarah, Kate and Pogue all sat down at the table. Amaris was not ready for seeing Caleb face to face so soon, but she needed to talk to everyone about their plans for tonight, so she could not flee from the cafeteria. She sneaked a glance at Caleb as he stared at Sarah. His heart melting, megawatt smile plastered across his face made her heart jump even if it was not intended for her. At that thought, her stomach dropped. Never would she be on the receiving end on such a warm, loving look from the man she was in love with. How could she be so stupid to think she had a chance of ever being with him when Sarah was perfect. Perfect blond hair always in perfect waves, with perfect blue eyes, and a perfect smile.

"Amaris, yo come back to Earth," Tyler called out to her with a nudge of his foot to her leg effectively pulling her out of her thoughts.

The brunette shot her eyes to Tyler, and then a sheepish grin came across her face, "Sorry," she looked around at everyone, "I was just trying to think about how things are going to go tonight. I was thinking we'll meet at Nicky's around nine then we can head to the old Putnam Barn for the grand finale," the others all agreed and Amaris stood as quickly as she could to get away from the table. Away from Caleb and Sarah.

Amaris sat in her room after classes ended with the Book of Ancient Ones trying to get any information about the Lephrums that could help with the amulet, and the mystery man after them. Maybe she would have better luck looking this over with Chase, since he had a run in with the man as well. She looked at the clock, but there was not enough time to have a study session with Chase before Kate got there to get ready for tonight.

Speaking of Kate she just sent a text to Amaris asking if Sarah could join them tonight. The young witch had to get over the fact that Sarah was with Caleb, and to accept those terms she needed to spend more time with Sarah. The two females were already making good progress, but there needed to be more growth if she wanted to stop being the jealous friend. It was then she heard the knock on her door, and let the two girls in.

"Come on in girls," Amaris stepped aside letting them inside.

They all tried different outfits on, and matched different clothing items with one another. Sarah was the first to find an outfit and have her hair and make up finished Kate and Amaris still stood in front of the closet sorting through all the articles of clothing she owned.

"Hey what do you think about this one?" Kate asked holding up a midnight blue v-neck half sleeved top with belled out sleeves, and a denim mini skirt with black knee height boots.

"That looks great, Kate," Amaris had a large smile on her face. It had been so long since she had been with true friends. Sure she had some here and there in New Orleans, but she was too busy honing her powers to really grow a close knit of friends, "I really like what you picked out Sarah it accents your eyes greatly." Amaris commented. Sarah had red long sleeve dress, the sleeves were loose, but there was a cuff at the wrists, and there was cut out on the back paired with silver sandals.

"Thanks, Amaris, for letting me borrow it," Sarah sat down at the desk keeping her eyes on Amaris, "Thank you for giving me a chance to redeem myself. It makes it easier having you as a friend."

The brunette smiled warmly at the blond, "Of course, Sarah, and thank you for giving me a chance to prove myself."

"I'm glad you two are having such a touching moment, but we need to get going, and Amaris is not ready."

"This will work." She said walking into the bathroom changing into a purple dress with wide lace straps and belt around the middle of the dress. Amaris walked out throwing on a pair of black converse low top Converse. Teasing her hair a little, she then applied eyeliner and mascara before turning towards Kate and Sarah.

"Alright guys I think we're ready," Kate stated throwing the girls their respective jackets.

"Reid, Tyler!" Sarah called waving to the two boys standing by the door with their arms crossed over their chests.

"Hey girls." Reid greeted throwing an arm around Sarah and Kate's shoulders.

"Where are the other two?" Kate asked looking around for Pogue.

Tyler shrugged his shoulders, "Don't know. Caleb said he was picking up Pogue from the dorms then they were heading straight over here, so they should be here any minute."

"Odd for those two. They like to be the first at everything," Amaris stated getting agreements from everyone, "I'll wait for the other two out here go on and get us a table."

The four walked into Nicky's as they left Amaris to herself staring at the darkened sky. Only being home for one week, and everyday has practically been eventful. Between getting attacked by an ancient being, and finding Chase Pope, Amaris was not sure if she could take anymore surprises. No matter how anxious she was about the ascension, Amaris was ready to get it over with. All of her attention could be placed into finding more information about the amulet, and about the man that wants it. She knew she was going to be spending a lot more time with Chase seeing as how she needed a pair of unbiased eyes in the situation.

"Ames, you waiting on us?" Pogue spoke grabbing his sister's attention.

"Why else would I be standing out here?" the twins went for a hug, and ended up keeping each other in their embrace longer than expected. Amaris could feel the uncertainty oozing from his being as he kept his sister safe in his arms, "It's going to ok, Pogue. I promise."

He looked into his sister's eyes, "Don't make a promise you can't keep."

"Come on let's go in," Amaris linked her arm with her brother's looking back at Caleb.

"Actually I was wondering if I could talk to you alone, Amy?" Caleb asked looking to her

then back at Pogue. Pogue raised his hands taking a hint, and walked inside of Nicky's leaving the two child hood friends.

"So, what is it that's on your mind, Caleb?" Her tone was slightly icy and standoffish, but Caleb could not blame her after their last encounter.

"I just wanted to apologize for acting so harsh and cold towards you when we went driving the other day, but it's just so different having you back so suddenly, and," She placed her index finger atop is lips to silence the babble that came falling out of his mouth.

"Caleb, I forgive you," she sighed taking her finger away from his mouth, "I guess I was expecting for me to return and for us to just start off right where we left off in our friendship. All is forgiven, let's enjoy the night."

Saying she forgave Caleb was a lot easier than actually forgiving him. He deliberately ignored her plea for help and guidance in a situation. No matter the circumstances between friends, they're always supposed to be there for you.

"I'm glad to hear that. Shall we?" He asked with his arm out for Amaris to wrap hers around.

She nodded, and they began walking to the doors, and unwinding arms once they got there. She took off rather quickly weaving her way in and out of the crowd looking for everyone else in the crowded room. She soon spotted them when she felt a hand on her lower back guiding her towards them. She looked over her shoulder seeing Caleb, who caught up to her faster than she thought, with that earth shatteringn smile gleaming towards her. This man was truly going to be the death of her without trying.

"Finally you two came in." Kate stated looking over to Sarah who was eying Amaris carefully as she was with her boyfriend.

"Well, twins," Reid said standing from his seat drink in hand, "Happy Birthday!" The seven teens raised their hands in the air.

Looking around at everyone that gathered for their birthday, Amaris could not be any happier that all of her friends were here with her. It made tonight seem like it would go a little more smooth than she was expecting. They kept her distracted from dwelling on the ascension, and they kept her mind away from Chase Pope waiting for her back at the Parry cabin. Though she was wondering what the rogue Covenant member was up to all by his lonesome, she could not let her thoughts travel towards him.

"You guys are the best people a person could have in their lives! Thank you all for welcoming me back with open arms."

Amaris hugged all of her friends to show them the gratitude she could not fully express no matter how hard she tried. Suddenly, an eery sensation washed over her, every hair on her body standing on end. The witch looked around for the cause of the feeling that crept over her body, and found the hooded figure standing a few feet from her, but it was not a solid figure, it was more like a fog with a form. Amaris fell to the floor gasping for air as her lungs started to malfunction.

"Remember my dear, I am coming for you and that amulet. I will unveil its full potential. Only then will you know what it means to have access to unlimited power. I will do anything to get it from you," he paused crouching to her level running a wispy finger over cheek. "Anything, Amaris Parry."

A/N: Again I want to say thank you for supporting me on the adventure of finally finishing a story on this site. If you would like to read my other works that will be resumed after I complete this story by all means please enjoy. My other name on this site is MulishaMaiden.