The group cruised along the picturesque coastline of the New Salem waterfront until they reached the docks where Scarlett worked. On the way, Diana had taken Cassie aside and thanked her for coming with them. She said she felt bad about going against Cassie's wishes, but insisted it was for the safety of the group as a whole.
Cassie forced herself to sound agreeable and said she understood. What use was it bumping heads with Diana now? And besides, like Nick said, this encounter might prove once and for all that Scarlett was just a regular girl with no intentions of harming the Circle. Then Cassie would be free to be her friend.
Overhearing Cassie and Diana's apparent truce, Adam took Cassie's hand in his. He was still holding it now as Diana addressed the group.
"Are we all clear on the plan?" Diana asked. Her blonde hair shimmered in the sun, and she had the self-possession of a commander in chief.
Deborah's eyes gleamed with the desire for combat.
"We draw her out, we circle her, and then we cast the witch-hunter curse."
"No," Adam corrected Deborah. "We circle her, and we get all the facts."
"That's right," Diana said. "We should try to get as much information out of her before we cast the curse." She information out of her before we cast the curse." She paused. "Especially since we're not entirely sure what'll happen once we do."
Cassie couldn't think about that part. The only way she would get through this was by continuing to believe in Scarlett.
"There she is." Laurel pointed to the side exit of the Oyster Bar. "She must be on a break."
"Perfect," Faye said. It was plain to see that her blood was boiling with excitement. She charged ahead of the group, leading the way.
Scarlett saw them coming almost immediately. Anyone in their right mind would have become alarmed at the sight of this angry mob of twelve approaching, but Scarlett smiled wide and started waving to them, heaving her skinny arm back and forth as if she needed to catch their attention.
"She's bluffing," Faye said, as they continued their approach. "Don't fall for it."
But Faye didn't even have to say it. Not one of them faltered or fell out of step. Before Scarlett could even say "hello," they had her surrounded.
Finally she began to catch on that something peculiar was happening, that she was in trouble. "What's going on?" she asked, turning, circling, trying to locate Cassie in the ring of heavy-breathing bodies around her.
The scene couldn't have gone down more smoothly. They were positioned on the side of the Oyster Bar, where it was desolate except for the occasional busboy going to the Dumpsters. Scarlett was trapped. No one would even hear her scream. her scream.
Only Cassie could save her now.
"Scarlett," she said. "We need the truth from you, or else you're going to get hurt. My friends think you had something to do with my car accident. I don't believe that. But I need you to prove to them that you're innocent." Scarlett's round, dark eyes softened. "Is that what this is about? Of course I had nothing to do with that."
"What about the lighthouse?" Diana's voice was stern. It sounded more like a threat than a question.
"What about it?" Scarlett asked.
"You burned it to the ground," Faye shouted.
"I what?" Scarlett began to lose her cool. "Why would I do something like that?" Her survival instincts set in, and Cassie knew that it wasn't far off now, the moment of truth.
Adam narrowed in on her. "Who are you working with?"
"At the Oyster Bar?" Scarlett was trembling now, like a cornered street cat poised to strike.
"Answer the question," Diana said. "Who are you working with?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Scarlett cried out and ran for Cassie then, for help. The Circle moved in closer on her, blocking any exit. But Faye saw Scarlett's rushing at Cassie as a direct threat and swiftly reacted.
She raised her hands and called out, "By the power of this Circle, I call on Hecate!"
Time slowed down for Cassie in that moment. She could see the shock on Scarlett's face and the fury in Faye's eyes. She could hear Diana screaming out, No, not yet!
But Faye was unstoppable. She appeared to take on giant proportions the instant she called on Hecate, as if she embodied the form of the dark Goddess herself. She seemed to grow to seven feet tall, and her honey-colored eyes blackened like marbles. She cast the first part of the witch-hunter curse with the power of thunder.
Curse this ancient hunter who aims to harm me Acts of evil now return threefold to thee!