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Cassie stared, beyond speech, beyond thought Not believing - but inside her, so knew

"It’s true He’s your father"

Cassie just sat

"And he wants you to be happy, Cassie He wants you to be his heir He’s got a lot planned for you"

"And what are you?" Cassie cried, outraged, pushed beyond the limits of her endurance "My new step, lazy, self-satisfied chuckle "Maybe Why not? I’ve always liked older men - and he’s only about three centuries older"

"You’re disgusting!" Cassie couldn’t find the right words None were bad enough, and she didn’t want to believe that any of this was actually happening "You’re - you - "

"I haven’t done anything yet, Cassie John and I have a - business relationship"

Cassie felt as if she were gagging For herself, for Faye"You call him John?" she whispered

"What do you think I should call him? Mr Brunswick? Or what he called himself the last ti was spinning around Cassie now The pale green cinderblock walls hirling She wanted to faint If only she could faint she wouldn’t have to think

But she couldn’t Slowly, the spinning steadied, she felt the floor solid beneath her There was no way to escape this There was no choice but to deal with it

"Oh, God," Cassie whispered "It’s true It’s really true"

"It’s true," Faye said quietly, with satisfaction "Your irlfriend He told me the whole story, how she fell in love with him when he went over to Nuet e her his name"

It was trueand that had been what Cassie’s grand to tell her when she died "I have oneto tell you," she’d said, and then Laurel had come in The last words had only been a whisper, "John" and so else Cassie couldn’t rand to make it It had been "Blake"

"Why didn’t she try to tell edly, hardly aware she was speaking aloud "Why wait until she was dying? Why?"

"Who, your grandma? She didn’t want to upset you, I suppose," Faye said "She probably thought you’d be - disturbed - if you knew Andyou closer to hihter"

Cassie was shaking her head, blind, nauseated "The other old women - they must have known too! God, everybody who knew him must have known And nobody told me Why didn’t they tell , Cassie I’m sure they didn’t tell you because they were afraid of how you’d react And Iapart"

Great-aunt Constance, Cassie was thinking She must have known How could she stand to look at me? How can she stand to have my oing to tell her, she realized suddenly Yes That had been what that last-minute scene in Aunt Constance’s parlor had been all about Adarand to Cassie about her father Granny Quincey and Aunt Constance had stopped her They were all in a conspiracy of silence, to keep the truth froht slowly, feeling very tired They probably didn’t re But Aunt Constance had warned the Circle against stirring up those old aze had settled on Cassie when she did it

"Just think about it, Cassie," Faye was saying, and that husky voice sounded reasonable now, not gloating or triumphant "He only wants the best for you; he always has You were born as part of his plans I know you and I have had our proble Won’t you just give it a try? Won’t you, Cassie?"

Slowly, painfully, Cassiein front of her Faye’s beautiful, sensual face seeht She’s sincere Maybe she’s in love with him

And maybe, Cassie s have changed since I came to New Salem - I’m not at all the person I used to be The old, shy Cassie who never had a boyfriend and never had anything to say is gone Maybe this is just another change, another stage of life Maybe I’m at the crossroads

She looked at Faye for a longthe depths of those amber eyes Then, slowly, she shook her head

No

Even as she thought it, chill white determination flooded her That was one road she would never take, no matter what happened She would never become what Black John - what her father - wanted

Without a word, without looking back, Cassie got up and walked away fro on Cassie scanned the front entrance of the school and saw the weak Nove on a cascade of fair hair She headed for it

"Diana"

"Cassie, thank God! When Nick told us you were alone in his office" Diana’s eyes widened "Cassie, what’s wrong?"

"I have to tell you so on to Diana’s hand

Diana stared at her for another moment, then shook herself "Yes Of course But Nick will be looking for you He had the idea that we should start a fight on the first floor as a diversion; just grab a bunch of people and start swinging All the guys did it, and Deborah and Laurel They’re all looking for you"

Cassie couldn’t face any of them, especially Nick Once he knehat she really was - what he’d held in his arms, what he’d kissed

"Please, can’t you just tell the nearby; Cassie nodded at her "Can’t Suzan just tell theht Suzan, tell everybody I’ve taken Cassie hoht now" Diana led Cassie down the hill to the parking lot They had barely reached Diana’s car, though, when Ada up - and I’ue, but she didn’t have the strength Besides, Diana ht need Adam there when Cassie told her the whole story

Cassie nodded at Adaot in the car without further discussion They drove to Diana’s house and went up to Diana’s room

"Now tell us what happened before I have a heart attack," Diana said

But it wasn’t that easy Cassie went over to the bay here sunlight was striking the prisht bobbed and slid over the walls She turned to look at the black and white prints on either side of the ; Diana’s collection of Greek goddesses There was proud Hera, queenly with her mane of pitch-black hair and her hooded, untaoddess of beauty, with her soft bosoin huntress afraid of nothing And here, on the other side, was Athena, the gray-eyed goddess of wisdom, and Persephone, fresh-faced and elfin and surrounded by bloooddess older than the Greek civilization, the great goddess Diana, who ruled the ht Diana, Queen of Witches

"Cassie!"

"Sorry," Cassie whispered, and slowly turned to face her Diana Who just now looked sick with suspense

"I’m sorry," she said, uess But I knohy I was born so much later than all of youor, actually, no, I don’t" She pondered that a moment "Not why I was so late Unless he knew by then the coven was going to try to throw hiht he’d better have a back-up" Cassie thought it over and shook her head Adaone crazy "I guess I don’t know everything But I’ht That isn’t why he’s been after ht Kori and I spoiled his plans soed glass shoot through her Her eyes filled "I think - God, it must be I knohy Kori died Because of me If she hadn’t died, she would have joined the coven instead of me, and he didn’t want that She was the one he hadn’t planned on So he had to get rid of her" Another spasht be sick

"Sit down," Ada her to the bed

"Don’tyou don’t know yet You ht not want to touch me"

"Cassie, for God’s sake tell us what you’re talking about You’re notany sense"

"Yes, I ahter"

In that instant, if either of therip on her or recoiled, Cassie felt she ht have tried to jureen eyes just widened, the pupils huge and bottomless Adam’s eyes turned silver

"Faye told me, and it’s true"

"It’s not true," Adahtly

"It’s not true, and I’ll kill her," Diana said This, fro

They both went on holding Cassie Diana was holding her fro both of the shook all three

"It is true," Cassie whispered, trying to keep sorip on herself She had to be cal It explains why I drea ship We’re - connected, so after ht on the beach He wants me to join him Faye’s in love with him Just like my mother was"

Cassie shuddered Ada on to her Neither of them even flinched when she looked them in the face

"It explains my mother" Cassie said thickly "Why he went to our house that night when he carave He went to see her - that’s why she’s like she is now Oh, Diana, I have to go to her"

"In a minute," Diana said, her own voice husky with suppressed tears "In a little while"