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"You&039;re right, of course" The carefree woone In her place was one with a cool voice and a polished size This has been our little club for so a new member"

"No problem" He picked up the rope Mulder dropped hopefully at his feet

"Dinner will just be a few more et you a glass of wine, Sam?"

"Love one, thanks Does your little club have any initiation rite I should know about?"

"Just the little business where we shave all the hair off your head and body" Mia sipped her oine

"But that can wait until after dinner I think I&039;ll wash up"

Before she could get to her feet, Sam was on his, a hand held down to her Whether it was a test or a peace offering, Mia blocked herself so that when she took his hand it was nothingpalm "Thanks"

She knew the house as well as she knew her own, but headed up the stairs rather than using the more convenient powder rooht More solitude

She slipped inside, shut the door Leaned back against it It was ridiculous Absurd for the ht, or nearly so, when she was prepared, but when she saw him at those odd moments - those moments when too much of her was already open - he just filled her up She wanted to blame hi at an old wound What was done was done

She stepped to the sink, studied her face in the mirror She looked tired, a little pale and drawn Well, it had been a difficult day And the shell, at least, was simple to mend She washed her hands, then ran water in the sink Bending, she scooped it, cool and fresh, onto her face In the nor cos, and there was so them But for now, this was simpler, and certainly quicker

She dabbed her face dry, weaving the glaain Much better, she decided She looked rested, with the subtle bloom of healthy color in her cheeks More color, not quite so subtle, slicked her h for her own vanity, she traced a fingertip over the curve of her eyelid, as a woht use eyeshadow and a brush to define theave herself another moment to smooth out her emotions And went back down to join the others

A close-knit group, Sana The body language, the looks, the half-finished thoughts one would complete for another all told hilue

By his tihtly less than a year, and Mac only since the past winter Yet they&039;d been absorbed in a way that le unit A common enemy was part of the answer But he saw more here than what he perceived as a kind of warti in the way Mia warmed when she spoke to or listened to Mac, the amused affection on her face It was love he saw there, not the sort that sprang fro deep and true

He saw byplay like that all around the table

Nell scooped up a second helping for Mac before he&039;d asked for one Zack tore off a hunk of bread and passed it to Mia while he continued to hold a heated debate with his sister on the pitching depth of the Red Sox Nell and Mia exchanged looks in an unspoken joke that had the And all of it, all the ease, e over his years aould take more than time and proximity

"I think my father and yours played in the saolf tournas, or Pal with a Palm in it"

"Really?" Sam had never been interested in his father&039;s pseudo charity events And it had been years since he&039;d had to bow to the pressure of participating in any of them "I met your parents at various functions in New York"

"Yeah, sareed "I don&039;t recall rinned "Well, there you are Sodo you play golf?"

Now, Sam smiled "No Do you?"

"Mac&039;s pretty much a spaz," Ripley put in "If he tried to tee off, he&039;d probably slice his big toe into the woods"

"Sad, but true," Mac agreed

"Last week he tripped going down the deck steps Six stitches"

"The dog tripped me," Mac said in his own defense "And it was only four stitches"

"Which you could&039;ve avoided if you&039;d cos on et a bump or a bruise"

"Which is daily On our honey into that" The flush started creeping up Mac&039;s neck

"When ere using taking a shower as an excuse to have some hot, steamy sex - "

"Cut it out" Mac spread his hand over Ripley&039;s face and gave it a nudge "And that towel bar was not properly installed"

"He ripped it right out of the wall in the throes" She batted her lashes at hi as you&039;re in the hotel business, Saht want to make sure your towel bars are secure"

"I&039;ll make a note, particularly if the two of you decide to take a weekend at the Magick Inn"

"Well, if Nell and Zack make a reservation," Ripley continued, "you&039;d better check the stability of the bathroonment when - "

"Ripley!" Nell hissed it, horrified

"Do you have to tell her everything?" Zack dehter, Nell pushed to her feet "I&039;ll get dessert"

"I had no idea bathrooenous zones," Mia commented as she rose to clear her plate

"I&039;ll be happy to show youas she strolled into the kitchen

"She didn&039;t eat She only pretended to" Sam kept his voice low

"She&039;s tense," Mac added

"There&039;s no point inhere if it closes her off"

"The world doesn&039;t revolve around you" Ripley snagged her glass and drank

"Rip" Zack&039;s voice was a quiet warning "Let&039;s just see how it goes from here"

With a nod, Sam picked up his own plate "She trusts you," he said to Mac

"Yes, she does"

"Maybe that balances things out"

Sa room What he was had never been an issue for hi he discussed He joined no coven And though only four out of the six there were hereditary witches, it was very an

The historian, Saht The scientist The detailthe Salem witch trials, the three ere known as Fire, Earth, and Air conjured what becaainst persecution"

"While innocents were hunted and murdered," Ripley added

The soldier Saned to join hirit The earth

"They couldn&039;t have stopped it, or if they&039;d tried," Zack said, "others ht have died"

And here, Sale of destiny, change all" Mac nodded, continued "The one called Air fell in love, married a merchant who took her back to the mainland Bore his children, kept his home But he could never accept what she was He abused her, and ultimately killed her"

"She bla what he wanted For not staying true to herself, and choosing poorly"

Nell, the nurturer, Saht when she spoke The cat stretched under his hand, as if agreeing She was the air

"She saved her children, sent them back to her sisters But the circle was diminished Weakened And the horror of it, the fury of it," Mac went on, "festered in the one known as Earth until she surrendered to the anger, the rage, and the need for revenge"

"She rong," Ripley said now "I understand what she felt, why she felt it, but she rong And she paid Using her power to kill the one who&039;d killed her sister destroyed her, and came back threefold She lost her husband, a ain; and shattered as left of the circle"

"There was one left" Mia&039;s voice was clear, her gaze level "One left to hold it"

Intellect, pride, and passion Was it any wonder that she stirred hiht She was the fire

"Despair can crush even the strongest" Nell laid a hand on Mia&039;s "But even alone, even heartbroken, she wove a web of protection Three hundred years strong"

"She ht of Lulu "Which brings us to now" He frowned into his coffee "A still unbroken circle"

"You&039;re worried I&039;ll fail when my time comes Nell faced her deesture, Mia stroked Mulder with the side of her foot "Of the three of us, e and practice of the Craft is the reed But - "

She lifted a brow at Mac "But?"

"I wonder if, on the other side of the scale, what you&039;ll have to deal with is ton, a man"

"He was a piece of shit," Ripley corrected

"Be that as it e to face hi any of that was a walk on the beach, but it was pretty tangible If you&039;re following me"

"A man with a knife" Saun, and drew everyone&039;s attention

"A sociopath, psychopath, whatever the terht be for that kind of evil, in the woods, in the dark of the e, deep faith, and a formidable power to do what Nell did But it was an evil whose face she knew"

"Exactly" Mac beamed as if Sam were a prized student "In Ripley&039;s case - "

"In Ripley&039;s case," Ripley repeated, "I had to accept a power I&039;d rejected, and walk the line when part of reed "It can affect the tone of power in the same way it can affect the tone of your voice, the tone of your actions The gift doesn&039;t protect us from flaws, or mistakes That kind of turmoil was tailored toward you, and Nell&039;s was turned toward her as a potent weapon With - "

He broke off, glanced at Mac

"No, keep going" Mac waved a hand "It&039;s good to hear it froht The force that was unleashed centuries ago used Reton as a conduit and fed itself into the reporter who followed Nell&039;s cross-country route to the Sisters"

"You&039;ve kept up," Mia said quietly

"Yeah I&039;ve kept up Holding the line, power against poithout crossing that line isn&039;t a sith Even so, in the end Ripley, like Nell, faced a man Whatever was inside him, he was flesh and blood"

"It looks like Sam and I have circled around to the sah to the point of it and stop circling?" Ripley coo-ahead, Mac took over "What ca thing, but a s Maybe, just maybe, because the circle&039;s intact, because twice now it&039;s been defeated, its power&039;s diminished It can&039;t possess, but can only deceive"

"Or it hordes its strength Waiting for its ti for the right circumstance There isn&039;t that much time - when you oing to keep pushing, trying to weaken the circle, and Miathe bedrock of your power It&039;ll use your fears, doubts, any weaknesses that trickle through the chinks Tailored to you," he added with a nod to Saht It&039;ll try to prey on you as it did on her three centuries ago Through her loneliness and loss, her despair at the thought of living without the people she loved, and needed ed "But I&039; My circle holds"

"Yes, butI don&039;t believe the circle can be considered complete, and whole, until your step is taken"

Since this was tricky ground, Mac took his time "Until then, there&039;s a vulnerability, and that&039;s where the pressure will be the greatest It only needed to break Nell, and it failed To seduce Ripley, and it failed With you"

"It needs to cause my death," Mia finished calmly "Yes, I know I&039;ve always known"

When she started to leave, Nell held on to her

"Don&039;t worry so, little sister" Mia pressed her cheek to Nell&039;s hair "I kno to protect myself"

"I know I just wish you&039;d stay I kno stupid that sounds, but I wish you&039;d stay with one of us until this is really over"

"I need ave Nell one last squeeze "Blessed be"

She&039;d lingered longer than the others, hoping to avoid any more conversation But when she stepped outside, she saw Saainst her car

"I walked over How about a lift back?"

"It&039;s a pleasant night for a short walk"

"Give me a lift, Mia" He took her wrist as she started to move past him "I want to talk to you, for a minute anyway Alone"

"I suppose I owe you a favor"

"Do you?"

She circled the car, slipped in behind the wheel She waited until she&039;d started the car "For cleaning up ," she said as she eased into a U-turn "Ripley told me she ran into you Thank you"

"You&039;re welcome"

"Well, that didn&039;t hurt too much Nohat did you want to talk to me about?"

"I wondered about you and Mac There&039;s so there"

"Really?" Deliberately she took her attention away froh to bat her lashes "Do you think I&039; to tempt my sister&039;s husband into a wild, illicit affair?"

"If you were, he&039;d already be there"

She laughed "What a lovely co He&039;s sweetly, ht about one thing, there is so up atmosphere and emotion"

"What is it?"

"We&039;re cousins"

"Cousins?"

"It happens that the granddaughter of the first sister married a MacAllister - Mac&039;s mother&039;s side of the fas in the little car "So he&039;s of the blood That explains a nus I felt a connection the minute I met him, but couldn&039;t pin him down Just as I felt one for Nell, even when she wanted to drop me into a dark pit and leave me there to rot I like your friends"

"Well, I&039;m so relieved"

"Don&039;t snipe at hed "I&039;m tired It always make me cross"

"They&039;re worried about you How you&039;ll handle things"

"I know I&039;m sorry about it"

"I&039;m not worried" He paused when she pulled up in front of the cottage "I&039;ve never known anyone, witch or woive in"

"No, I won&039;t But I won&039;t say I don&039;t appreciate the confidence, particularly after a long, difficult day Good night, Sam"

"Come inside"

"No"

"Coh her hair to rub the back of her neck "And be with ht," she continued, "to be comforted and soothed To be touched and taken So I won&039;t"

"Why?"

"Because it wouldn&039;t ht, Sam"

He could have pressed, they both knew it But so through to haunt her face "Good night"

He climbed out, watched her drive away And kept her in his mind until he knew she was safely inside the house on the cliffs