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"Do not be afraid, Monica," he whispered "I will not hurt you"

He brushed her hair aside, stroked the sertips, then lowered his head to her neck Her sweetness filled his , after he knehat he had beconant, had feared he would perish rather than succuer that co he had been!

He drank his fill, erased the memory of what had happened fro the estate, he spent the next few hours wandering through the deep shadows of the night, listening to the sounds thatits web, the sighing of the earth as it turned, the sleepy moan of a tree as it stretched its branches toward the sky

It was a beautiful thing, the night, with a life and a soul of its own He had wandered the world by the light of the es— the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Sphinx, ancient castles and cathedrals and bridges built byturned to dust He had seen the invention of so many modern wonders— cars and airplanes, co out the whole of civilization

So s that, in his tiined When he had walked the earth as abut the work of surviving from day to day There had been sheep and cattle to tend, seed to be soeeds to uproot, crops to be watered and harvested In those days, he had worked alongside his father and his two brothers, toiling from sunup until sundown to provide food for his mother and his five sisters There had been little ti else, until he hadwith the fa

It was tiered in his mind as he prepared to take his rest That was not particularly strange, since she had been constantly in his thoughts, but what ae stayed with him while he was trapped in the deathlike slumber of his kind

He had not dreaht upon hietful darkness, and when the sun quit the sky, he woke again, instantly ht, for the first time since he had received the Dark Gift, he drea even as the i outside a circle of evergreen trees Within the grove, he saw a slender young woold As he watched, she began a slow, sensuous dance, her only covering the waist-length hair that fell down her back and over her shoulders, shiht of the full moon A necklace of amber and jet circled her slender throat She lifted her face toward the heavens, her eyes shining like priceless gehter rose in her throat, a sound of such joy and exuberance that, even trapped in the Dark Sleep, it brought a sht

She stopped dancing as he approached A large black cat padded silently out of the shadows to rub itself against her legs

Roshan paused when he was an arazeher lips

"'Tis you," she whispered

Startled by her words, he took another step forward, one arm outstretched "You know me? How can that be?"

But her ansas lost to hied hi, her picture was the first thing he sought He gazed into her eyes Green eyes Slightly slanted, like a cat's

'Tis you

He heard the sound of her voice in his head Soft and loith a husky quality that he found incredibly sexy

Going into his library, he searched the shelves until he found a voluick There was herbal ick So a particular phase of the moon There was talk of rituals and chants, of altars that could be adorned with dried or fresh flowers, seashells, crystals, pictures, and incense So on, he learned that the purpose of the chant was to help the witch focus on that which she desired It also helped to build the energy needed to cast the spell Dancing was another way to build energy He recalled that there were those who claiht

Another section was devoted to the tools used by witches The Athame was a black-handled knife made of iron or steel that was used to cast a circle or invoke certain spells Since herbs shouldn't be cut with iron or steel, witches also possessed an herb knife made of copper or silver Of course, no witch could pursue her art without a cauldron which was used for cooking raw ingredients and creating so new Most witches owned a special cup, made of silver, wood, or clay, for use in certain rituals The book also mentioned pentacles, necklaces, and wands And broo around on broo to the book, broo a spell

When he cans of the moon, his curiosity was naturally aroused, for theto the author, the ies that affected day-to-day life Aries was a good tiun in a Taurus ed by outside influences; Cancer was a ti, a time to take care of doo focused on health Libra sht an awareness of psychic power; Sagittarius favored flights of fancy and iination; Capricorn was heavy on traditions; Aquarius was a ti and psychic impressions

Each day of the as influenced not only by a planet, but colors as well TheThe colors associated with that day were gray and silver, lavender and white Mars ruled Tuesday with passion and courage; warlike colors of red, white, black, and gray were associated with that day Mercury influenced Wednesdays, bringing an inclination for study and travel; its colors were mild— peach and yellohite and brown Jupiter ruled on Thursday, leaning toward expansion and prosperity; Thursday's colors were lush— turquoise and white, green and violet; Friday belonged to Venus and curried love, beauty, and friendship Colors associated with Friday were muted—rose and pink, peach and white