Page 3 (1/2)

"Jacinth! Are you in there? Jacinth!" Cassie blinked in the bright sunlight She’d seen this roorandmother’s kitchen - except that it wasn’t The walls of her grandht and clean Her grandmother’s hearth was stained with the smoke of centuries; this hearth looked alhtly different shape The iron hook for hanging pots on shone

It was the room in her dreaht at Diana’s house The low chair she was sitting in was the sa up where the other had left off

"Jacinth, have you fallen asleep with your eyes open? Kate is here!"

A feeling of anticipation and excite why, she found herself standing up, and she realized that she earing a dress that brushed the tips of her neat brocade shoes The red leather Book of Shadows fell froround

She turned toward the voice, toould have been the side door of her grandmother’s house In this house it seeht, and there were two figures standing there One was tall, with a silhouette like the engravings of Puritan women she’d seen in history books The other was s hair

Cassie couldn’t see either of the figures’ faces, but the ser hands to her Cassie reached for theed It was dark and she could hear the tortured screa her face and her eyes struggled vainly to pierce the darkness

The ship was going down Lost, all lost And the Master Tools were lost as well - for now

But only for now The savage deterht filled Cassie and she tasted bile at the back of her throat Even as icy water rushed around her legs she felt the drea on to it, but it melted and shifted around her, and the darkness of the turbulent, storht became the quiet darkness of Diana’s room

She ake

And relieved beyond reason just to be alive

It wasn’t really so dark in here Daas brightening the curtains, turning the roo peacefully beside her How could Diana be peaceful after all that had happened? After what Diana had learned about her best friend and her boyfriend, after losing the leadership of the coven, how could Diana sleep at all? But the dark lashes on Diana’s cheek were still and serene and there was no bitterness in Diana’s face

She’s so good I could never be that good, Cassie thought Not if I tried allnear Diana made her feel better

Cassie knew she wasn’t going to sleep anyht

God, she was glad to have things right with Diana again And with Adam - Cassie was almost afraid to think of Adah there was a deep-down ache at the picture of hier was truly gone She honestly wanted him and Diana to be happy She was a different person fro able to have him these last six weeks

She’d done a lot of strange things in the last six weeks, so many that she hardly knew herself anyht; I went out and stole pu off Chris - that wasn’t like me at all 1 played Pizza Man with Faye I went on that wild motorcycle ride with Deborahwell, that wasn’t so bad

A lot of things she’d done in the last uilt had been awful, but sootten closer to Deborah and Suzan, and she’d gained soht into what ht she understood hith in herself she’d never thought she had Strength to chase the shadowy thing in the cemetery - Black John? - after Jeffrey’s death, strength to ask a boy to a dance, strength, in the end, to stand up to Faye

She only hoped it was enough strength to stand up to the days ahead

Cassie hadn’t been to the old science building since Faye had lured her there and held her hostage, that first week of school It was just as dark and unsafe-looking as she remembered She had no idea why Faye had wanted them to meet here, except that this was Faye’s territory, while the beach had always been Diana’s

It was strange to see Faye in Diana’s place, standing in front of the group with all eyes on her Faye earing ordinary clothes today, black leggings and a red and black striped sweater, but ato her As she paced, her star rubies flashed in the shafts of sunlight that cah the boarded-up s

"I believe it was Cassie anted thiscalled She said there was a lot she had to tell us - right, Cassie?"

"About what rand Faye in the eyes "Before Black John killed her" If she’d expected Faye to be abashed, she was disappointed; those hooded golden eyes reant Apparently Faye took no responsibility for the actions of Black John, even though she was the one who’d arranged for him to be set free

"Was it really Black John?" Suzan said doubtfully, putting a exquisitelywas a new and difficult exercise "Was he really there?"

"He was really there He is really here," Cassie said Suzan wasn’t as stupid as she acted, and sohts Cassie wanted her on their side "He cauess When we brought the skull to the ceth to come back"

"Back from the dead?" Sean asked nervously

Before Cassie could answer, Melanie said, "That rave, Cassie I’m sorry, but it just couldn’t It’s far too modern"

"I know it’s rave; I don’t even know if he had a grave in the 1600s I guess not if he died at sea " There were startled looks froroup, but Cassie scarcely noticed "Anyway, it’s not his grave frorave fro a thermos cup of herbal tea, sloshed hot liquid on the floor Faye stopped dead "What?" she snarled Even Diana and Ada at each other But support came from an unexpected quarter

"Just let her tell the story," Deborah said Thumbs hooked in her jeans pockets, sheon an overturned crate, and stood beside her

Cassie took a deep breath "I knew soraves in the ceraves of your parents, all killed in 1976 Diana said it was a hurricane, but it still seee to me I mean, ere only parents dead? Especially when I learned that you’d all been born just a few months before With all those little babies, you’d think some of them would have died in an ordinary hurricane That’s not even toborn within a one- a little now, although it was difficult to talk with everyone looking at her At least their eyes weren’t glinting with en with her arms folded across her chest, her feline eyes narrowed

"But you see, the explanation for all of it is really sieneration, our parents’ generation Nobody kneas hiure out how he came back, but it was Black John He tried to make our parents into a coven when they were just a little older than us"

"Our parents?" Doug asked, snickering "C’ive us a break" There were chuckles froed fro

"No, wait," Adas that that would explain I know randmother wanders in her s toa coven - that justwith intensity

"Here’s so sideways at Nick "Cassie’s grand to marry Nick’s dad, but Black John ht explain why ic, and why she always looks kind of guilty when she says Nick is growing up to look just like his father It ht explain a lot"

Cassie noticed Nick, as standing apart fro at the floor so hard, his eyes seeht," he said so softly Cassie could barely hear the words She wondered what he meant

"It would explain why they yell at each other all the ti

"All parents yell all the ti

"All the parents around here are the ones who survived Black John," said Cassie "They survived because they didn’t go to fight hirandmother said that after eleven babies were born in one month, our parents realized what Black John was up to He wanted a coven he could control corowing up You guys" - Cassie nodded around the group - "were going to be his coven"

The members of the Club looked at one another "But what about you, Cassie?" Laurel asked

"I wasn’t born until later Neither was Kori, you know We weren’t part of Black John’s plans; ere just regular kids But you guys were going to be his He arranged everything about you"

"And the parents who didn’t like that idea went to fight Black John," Deborah put in "They killed him; they burned him and the house at Nu it The ones that are alive are the cowards who stayed at home"

"Likeup froets really nervous if youabout anybody dying to save other people And he won’t talk about my mom"

Cassie saw startled looks around the Circle There was a kind of recognition in many of the members’ eyes

"Like ly "He always talks aboutso brave, but he’s never said exactly why No wonder, if he didn’t go, if he let her go alone" She bit her lip, distressed "What a horrible thing to find out about your own father"

"Yeah, well, I’ve got it worse," Deborah said, looking grio And neither did yours," she added to the Hendersons, who looked at each other and scowled