At that moment Thea almost hated her cousin.
But there was no choice. Four pairs of eyes were watching her: Blaise's gray eyes, Vivienne's emerald green, Selene's dear blue, and Dani's velvety dark ones. They were waiting.
Thea got up and began the long walk across the patio.
She felt as if everyone was watching her. She tried to keep her steps measured and confident, her face serene. It wasn't easy. The closer she got to that sandy hair, the more she wanted to turn and run. She had tunnel vision now: everything on the sides was a blur; the only clear thing was Eric's profile.
Just as she got within earshot, he glanced up and saw her coming.
He looked startled. For a moment his eyes met hers: a deeper green than Vivienne's, more intense and more innocent.
Then, without a word, he turned away and walked quickly down a path between two buildings. He was gone before Thea knew what was happening.
She stood rooted to the ground. There was a huge amount of empty space inside her, with only her uncomfortably pounding heart trying to fill it.
Okay; he hates me. I don't blame him. Maybe it's good; maybe Blaise will say we can all forget him now. But when she went back to the shady table, Blaise
was frowning thoughtfully.
"You just don't have the technique yet," she said. "Never mind. I can coach you."
"Viv and I can help, too," Selene murmured. "You'll learn fast."
"No-thank you," Thea said. Her pride was hurt and her cheeks were on fire. "I can do it myself. Tomorrow. I have a plan already."
Dani squeezed her hand under the table. "You'll do fine."
Blaise said, "Just make sure it's tomorrow. Or I might think you don't really want him."
And then, to Thea's immense relief, the bell rang.
"Hawthorne, yarrow, angelica..." Thea peered through the thick blue glass of an unlabeled jar. "Some kind of nasty powder..."
She was in the front room of her grandmother's shop, deserted now because it was closed for the evening. Just being with all these herbs and gems and amulets gave her a feeling of comfort. Of control.
I love this place, she thought, looking around at
the floor-to-ceiling shelves of bottles and boxes and dusty vials. One whole wall was devoted to trays of stones-unpolished and polished, rare and semiprecious, some with symbols or words of power engraved on them, some dirty and fresh from the earth. Thea liked putting her hands in them and murmuring their names: tourmaline, amethyst, honey topaz, white jade.
And then there were the good-smelling herbs: everything you needed to cure indigestion or to call a lover; to soothe arthritis or to curse your landlord. Some of these-the simples-worked whether you were a witch or not. They were just natural remedies, and Gran even sold them to humans. But the real spells required both arcane knowledge and psychic power, and no human could make them active.
Thea was whipping up a real spell.
First, heartsease. That was good for any love charm. Thea opened a canister and fingered the dried purple and yellow flowers gently. Then she dropped a handful of them into a fine mesh bag.
What else? Rose petals were a given. She unstopped a large ceramic jar and got a whiff of sweetness as she sprinkled them in.
Chamomile, yes. Rosemary, yes. Lavender... she twisted the cork out of a small vial of lavender essence. She could use some of that right this minute. She mixed it in her palm with a teaspoon of jojoba oil then dabbed the fragrant liquid on her temples and at the back of her neck.
Blood, flow! Headache, go!
The tension in her neck started to ease almost instantly. She took a long breath and looked around.
Some bones of the earth would help. Rose quartz carved in the shape of a heart for attraction. A lump of raw amber for charm. Oh, and throw in a lode-stone for magnetism and a couple of small garnets for fire.
It was done. Tomorrow morning she'd take a bath, letting this giant tea bag infuse the water while she burned a circle of red candles. She'd soak in the potent mixture, letting the smell of it, the essence of it, seep into her skin. And when she got out, she'd be irresistible.
She was about to walk away when a leather pouch caught her eye.
No. Not that, she told herself. You've got a mixture here to promote interest and affection. It's plenty strong enough just to get him to listen to you.
You don't want anything stronger.
But she found herself picking up the soft pouch anyway. Opening it, just to look inside.
It was full of reddish-brown chips, each about the size of a thumbnail with a woody, aromatic smell.
Yemonja root. Guaranteed to draw an unwilling heart. But usually forbidden to maidens.
Recklessly, not letting herself think about it, Thea transferred half a dozen chips to her mesh bag. Then she put the worn leather pouch back on its shelf.
"Figured it out yet?" a voice behind her said.
Thea whirled. Gran was standing at the foot of the narrow stairway that led to the apartment above the store.
"Uh-what?" She held the mesh bag behind her back.
"Your specialty. Herbs, stones, amulets... I hope you're not going to be one of those chanting girls. I hate that whiny music."
Thea loved the music. In fact, she loved all the things Gran had mentioned-but she loved animals even better. And there wasn't much of a place for animals in witch life, not since familiars had been outlawed during the Burning Times.
You could use bits of animals, sure. Lizard foot and nightingale tongue. Blaise was always trying to get hold of Thea's animals for just that purpose, and Thea was always fighting her off.
"I don't know. Gran," she said. "I'm still thinking."
"Well, you've got time-but not too much," her grandmother said, walking slowly toward her. Edgith Harman's face was a mass of creases, she hunched, and she used two canes-but that wasn't bad for a woman over a hundred who ran her own business and tyrannized every witch in the country.
"Remember, you've got some decisions to make when you hit eighteen. You and Blaise are the last of our line. The last two direct descendants of Hellewise. That means you have a responsibility-you have to set an example."
"I know." At eighteen, she would have to decide not just her specialty, but which Circle she would join for life: Twilight or Midnight. "I'll think about it, Gran," she promised, putting her free arm around the old woman. "I've still got six months."
Gran stroked Thea's hair with a veined, gentle hand. It chased the last of Thea's headache away. Still holding the mesh bag behind her back, she said, "Gran? Are you really mad about having us here for the school year?"
"Well, you eat too much and you leave hair in the shower... but I guess I can stand it." Gran smiled, then frowned. "Just as long as you stay in line until the end of the month."
There it was again. "But what's happening at the end of the month?"
Gran gave her a look. "Samhain, of course! All Hallow's Eve."
"I know that," Thea said. Even the humans celebrated Halloween. She wondered if Gran was having one of her vague spells.
"Samhain-and the Inner Circle," Gran said abruptly. "They've picked the desert for their ceremony this year."
"The desert-you mean here? The Inner Circle is coming here? Mother Cybele and Aradia and all of them?"
"All of them," Gran said. Suddenly her wrinkles looked grim. "And by Air and Fire, I'm not having them come here just to see you girls screw up-1 have a reputation, you know."
Thea nodded a little dazedly. "I-welt no wonder you were worried. We won't embarrass you. I promise."
"Good."
As Thea discreetly tucked the mesh bag under her arm and started for the stairs, the old woman added.
"You'd better toss some plantain into that mix to bind it all together."
Thea felt herself blushing furiously. "Uh... thanks, Gran," she said, and went to look for plantain.
Above the shop were two tiny bedrooms and a kitchenette. Grandma had one bedroom and Thea and Blaise shared the other. Tobias, Gran's apprentice, had been bumped to the workshop downstairs.
Blaise was lying on her bed, reading a thick book with a red cover. Poetry. Despite her frivolous act, she wasn't stupid.
"Guess what," Thea said, and without waiting for Blaise to guess, told her about the Inner Circle coining.