Page 13 (1/2)

Very funny, Cassie thought But actually it wasn’t funny at all She guessed that there was a deadly serious side to Faye’s question So to use the Powers - whatever those were - for good And she didn’t see Diana wanting to use the more to say? Questions, coroup "Then I’o or stay as you like We’ll have anothertomorrow afternoon to honor Kori and talk about a plan of action"

There was a ot up The electric tension that had held the group together had dissipated, but there was an unfinished feeling in the air, as if nobody really wanted to leave yet

Suzan went over behind a rock and pulled out several wet six-packs of diet soft drinks Laurel proe ther a cup of fragrant, dark red liquid and s at Cassie "No tea leaves at all, but it’ll war and purifying"

"Thanks," said Cassie, taking it gratefully Her head was spinning Inforht

I’ly Half a witch, anyway And Mom and Grandma - they’re both hereditary witches It was a bizarre and almost iulp of the hot, sweet drink, shivering in spite of herself

"Here," Melanie said She rereen shawl and put it around Cassie’s shoulders "We’re used to the cold; you’re not If you want, we can make a fire"

"No, I’ her bare feet under her "It’s beautiful - is it very old?"

"It was randmother’s - if you can believe the old stories"

Melanie said "We usually getwe feel like, and soht"

"Yes" Cassie nodded in understanding Melanie was being nicer than usual, she thought More like Laurel or Diana It puzzled Cassie for a ot it

I’ht, and for the first time the full import of this struck her Not a puppy off the street anymore I’m a full member of the Club

She felt the bubbles of exciteain And there was a deeper feeling, too, of recognition As if so

Cassie looked at Melanie quietly sipping her tea, and at Laurel straightening a pink candle that was slu a little distance up the beach with the Henderson brothers, the three blond heads close together Diana see the thin white shift and the fancy jewelry It seemed a natural costuht The sudden sense of belonging - of loving - was so intense that tears came to her eyes Then she looked at

Deborah and Suzan, deep in conversation, and at Faye, as listening with a bland s, and at Nick, as staring silently out at the ocean, a can of so that wasn’t soda in his hand

Even the with all the other members, with everyone who shared her blood Even the ones who’d tried to keep her out

She looked back at Laurel, to find the sli her with the hint of a sympathetic smile

"A lot to deal with at once," Laurel said knowingly

"Yes But it’s exciting, too"

Laurel smiled "So now that you’re a witch," she said, "what’s the first thing you’re going to do?"

Cassie laughed, feeling soht There’s so much Power out there - and now I can take it She shook her head and lifted the hand that wasn’t holding rose-hip tea "What can we do?" she said "I s?"

Laurel and Melanie exchanged glances "Basically, you name it," Melanie said She picked up the book that Diana had shown Cassie earlier and riffled through it, showing Cassie the pages They were yellowing and brittle and covered with cra They were also covered with pink Post-it notes and plastic tape flags Ale had one and some had several

"This is the first Book of Shadoe got hold of," said Melanie "We found it in Diana’s attic Since then we’ve found others - every fa on this one forthe it on my computer for easier cross-reference"

"Sort of a Floppy Disk of Shadows," Cassie said

Laurel grinned "Right And it’s funny, you know, but once you start learning spells and rituals, it see up with your own"

"Instinct," Cassie ht," said Laurel "We all have it, some more than others And sos, like calling on the different Powers I work best with Earth" Laurel took a handful of sand and let it trickle through her fingers

"Three guesses as to what Faye works best with," Melanie said dryly

"But anyway, to answer your question, there’s lots we can do," Laurel said "It all depends on your taste Spells of protection, of defense - "

"Or attack," put in Melanie, with a glance toward Deborah and Suzan

" - spells for little things, like lighting fires, and for big ones, like - well, you’ll find out Char and divining Love potions" She smiled as Cassie looked up quickly "That interest you?"

"Oh, a little, ather her thoughts properly She still had that nagging feeling that there was so obvious that she was overlooking and should be asking about But what?

"There’s a certain amount of debate over the ethics of love potions and love spells," Melanie was saying, her gray eyes not entirely approving "Some people feel it violates a person’s free will, you know And a spell misused can rebound on the person who casts it - threefold Some people don’t feel it’s worth the risk"

"And other people," Laurel said , "say that all’s fair in love and war If you knohat I mean"

Cassie bit her lip Noworry, another thought was pushing it out of her ht so li things out So him to her Was there such a spell? She seemed to feel in her bones that there was

To find hiray eyes Warled The very possibility sees Oh, please, if she could only ask one thing

"Supposing," she said, and was relieved to hear her voice sound normal, "you wanted to, say, find somebody you’d met and lost track of Soain Would there be any kind of a spell for that?"

Laurel’s brown eyes sparkled again "Now, is this a boy-type person we’re supposing about here?" she said

"Yes" Cassie knew she was blushing again

"Well - " Laurel glanced at Melanie, as shaking her head in a resigned way, then turned back to Cassie "I’d say sos like love and friendship, anything that grows and brings life And fall is a good tis you harvest, like apples So I’d do an apple spell In one, you take an apple and split it Then you take two needles - ordinary sewing needles - and put one through the eye of the other and bind theether with thread Then put theain Tie it so it stays closed Then tie it back on the tree and say some words to tell the tree what you want"

"What kind of words?"

"Oh, a poe to invoke the power of the tree and help you visualize what you’re asking for It’s best toup that kind of thing, but, like: ’Friendly tree, friendly tree, bring my special friend to ht, a thrill going through her Laurel’s words were changing in herShe seemed to hear a voice, bell clear and yet remote

Bud and blossom, leaf and tree,

Find hi, root and bough,

Threads of love entwine us now

Her lips moved soundlessly with the words Yes, she knew soht That was the spell but would she really dare to use it?

Yes For hiht She stared down at her fingers as they absently coh the sand Tomorrow, she decided Tomorrow I’ll do it And then afterward I’ll spend everyfor the time when I see a shadow and look up and it’s hi Or when -

What happened next was so startling and unexpected that Cassie almost screamed

A wet nose thrust under her hand

What stopped her froot to her throat, and then she actually saw the dog and everything went fuzzy Her recoiling hand fell lih a blur and a mist she stared at the liquid brown eyes and the short, silky-bristly hairs on the , as if to say, "Aren’t you happy to see me?"

Then Cassie raised her eyes to look at the dog’sdown at her, as he had that day on the beach in Cape Cod Thesoray eyes looked silver

He’d found her

Everything was motionless The ocean’s roar seemed hushed and distant, and Cassie are of no other sound Even the breeze had died It was as if the entire world aiting

Slowly, Cassie got to her feet

The green shawl fell behind her, discarded She could feel the cold, but only because itlike electricity Yet strangely, although she was keenly aware of her body, she also see above it Just like the first ti there on the beach

She could see herself in her thin white night-gown and bare feet, her hair loose on her shoulders, looking up at hiht, when she wakes up in the ht and looks at the Nutcracker Prince who’s coic She felt like Clara As if thedelicate and beautiful, soht then and dance with her As if in the azing at each other From the moment their eyes had met, neither of them had looked away She could see the wonder in his face As if he were as surprised to see her as she was to see him - but how could he be? He had found her; hefor her

The silver cord, she thought She couldn’t see it now, but she could feel it, feel the vibrations of its power She could feel it connecting the went from her chest into her sto, drawing the her closer to him Slowly, his hand came up and he reached out to her She raised her own hand, to put it in his -

And there was a cry from behind her The tall boy looked over her shoulder, distracted And then his hand fell away

Soht like sunlight, shattering Cassie’s trance It was Diana, and she was e hi each other Cassie stared, stunned, at the sight of him with his arms around someone else She was barely able to comprehend the words she heard next

"Oh, Adalad you’re back"

Cassie stood like a pillar of ice

She hadn’t seen Diana break down before, but Diana was breaking do She was crying Cassie could see her shaking and could see how the tall boy - how Adam - held her to try and stop it