her do it or imagining her doing it?
“Um, I guess I could,” I said.
He smiled, and I literally, literally felt my heart flutter. “Don’t sound so enthusiastic,” he said. I watched in complete amazement as he picked up a strand of my hair that fell near my elbow and gently tugged on it. I know there are no nerve endings in hair, but at that moment I felt some. A hot flush rose from my neck to my forehead. Oh, Jesus, what a dweeb I am, I thought helplessly.
“I’ve been reading about Wicca,” I blurted out to him. “I . . . really like it.”
“Yeah?” he said.
“Yeah. It just . . . feels right . . . in some way,” I said, hesitating.
“Really? I’m glad to hear you say that. I was worried you would be scared off after the last circle.” Cal settled next to me on the steps.
“No,” I said eagerly, not wanting the conversation to end. “I mean, I felt crappy afterward, but I felt . . . alive, too. It was . . . like a revelation for me.” I glanced up at him. “I can’t explain it.”
“You don’t have to,” he said softly. “I know what you mean.”
“Are you—are you in a coven?”
“Not anymore,” he said. “I left it behind when we moved. I’m hoping that if some people here are into it, we could form a new one.”
I drew in a breath. “You mean, we could just . . . do that?”
Have you ever seen a god laugh? It makes you catch your breath and feel hopeful and shivery and excited all at the same time.That’s how it was watching Cal.
“Well, not right away,” he clarified with a smile. “Typically you have to study for a year and a day before you can ask to actually join a coven.”
“A year and a day,” I repeated. “And then you’re . . . what? A witch? Or a warlock?” The names sounded overly dramatic, cartoony. I felt like we were conspirators, the way we were speaking softly, our heads bent toward each other. His silver pendant, which I now knew was a pentacle, a symbol of a witch’s belief, dangled in the open vee of his shirt against his skin. Behind Cal, I saw Robbie enter the classroom where the math club was meeting. I would have to go in a minute.
“A witch,” Cal said easily. “Even for men.”
“Have you done that yet?” I asked. “Been initiated?” The words seemed to have a double meaning, and I prayed I wouldn’t blush again.
He nodded. “When I was fourteen.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. My mom presided. She’s the high priestess of a coven, the Starlocket coven. So I had been studying and learning about it for years. Finally, when I was fourteen, I asked to do it. That was almost four years ago—I’ll be eighteen next month.”
“Your mom is a high priestess? Does she have a new coven here?” Outside, it was getting dark, and the temperature was dropping. Inside, the math club meeting had already started, and it would be warm and well lit. But Cal was out here.
“Yes,” Cal said. “She’s pretty famous among Wiccans, so she already knew a bunch of people here when we moved. I go to her circles sometimes, but they’re mostly older people. Besides, part of being a witch is teaching others what you know.”
“So you’re actually a—witch,” I said slowly, taking it in.
“Yep.” Cal smiled again and stood up, holding out his hand. Awkwardly I let him pull me to my feet. “And who knows?” he said. “Maybe this time next year, you will be, too. And Raven and Robbie and anyone else, if they want.”
Another smile and he was gone, and then it really was dark outside.
10
Fire
> <“If a woman lies with a witch of the Seven Houses, she will bear no child except he wills it. If a man lies with a witch of the Seven Houses, she will bear no child.”
—THE WAYS OF WITCHES, Gunnar Thorvildsen, 1740 > <
“The movie is supposed to be great. Don’t you want to see it? And Bakker’s going to be there,” Mary K. said. She came through the bathroom that connected our two rooms, pulling on her shirt. In front of my
“Um, I guess I could,” I said.
He smiled, and I literally, literally felt my heart flutter. “Don’t sound so enthusiastic,” he said. I watched in complete amazement as he picked up a strand of my hair that fell near my elbow and gently tugged on it. I know there are no nerve endings in hair, but at that moment I felt some. A hot flush rose from my neck to my forehead. Oh, Jesus, what a dweeb I am, I thought helplessly.
“I’ve been reading about Wicca,” I blurted out to him. “I . . . really like it.”
“Yeah?” he said.
“Yeah. It just . . . feels right . . . in some way,” I said, hesitating.
“Really? I’m glad to hear you say that. I was worried you would be scared off after the last circle.” Cal settled next to me on the steps.
“No,” I said eagerly, not wanting the conversation to end. “I mean, I felt crappy afterward, but I felt . . . alive, too. It was . . . like a revelation for me.” I glanced up at him. “I can’t explain it.”
“You don’t have to,” he said softly. “I know what you mean.”
“Are you—are you in a coven?”
“Not anymore,” he said. “I left it behind when we moved. I’m hoping that if some people here are into it, we could form a new one.”
I drew in a breath. “You mean, we could just . . . do that?”
Have you ever seen a god laugh? It makes you catch your breath and feel hopeful and shivery and excited all at the same time.That’s how it was watching Cal.
“Well, not right away,” he clarified with a smile. “Typically you have to study for a year and a day before you can ask to actually join a coven.”
“A year and a day,” I repeated. “And then you’re . . . what? A witch? Or a warlock?” The names sounded overly dramatic, cartoony. I felt like we were conspirators, the way we were speaking softly, our heads bent toward each other. His silver pendant, which I now knew was a pentacle, a symbol of a witch’s belief, dangled in the open vee of his shirt against his skin. Behind Cal, I saw Robbie enter the classroom where the math club was meeting. I would have to go in a minute.
“A witch,” Cal said easily. “Even for men.”
“Have you done that yet?” I asked. “Been initiated?” The words seemed to have a double meaning, and I prayed I wouldn’t blush again.
He nodded. “When I was fourteen.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. My mom presided. She’s the high priestess of a coven, the Starlocket coven. So I had been studying and learning about it for years. Finally, when I was fourteen, I asked to do it. That was almost four years ago—I’ll be eighteen next month.”
“Your mom is a high priestess? Does she have a new coven here?” Outside, it was getting dark, and the temperature was dropping. Inside, the math club meeting had already started, and it would be warm and well lit. But Cal was out here.
“Yes,” Cal said. “She’s pretty famous among Wiccans, so she already knew a bunch of people here when we moved. I go to her circles sometimes, but they’re mostly older people. Besides, part of being a witch is teaching others what you know.”
“So you’re actually a—witch,” I said slowly, taking it in.
“Yep.” Cal smiled again and stood up, holding out his hand. Awkwardly I let him pull me to my feet. “And who knows?” he said. “Maybe this time next year, you will be, too. And Raven and Robbie and anyone else, if they want.”
Another smile and he was gone, and then it really was dark outside.
10
Fire
> <“If a woman lies with a witch of the Seven Houses, she will bear no child except he wills it. If a man lies with a witch of the Seven Houses, she will bear no child.”
—THE WAYS OF WITCHES, Gunnar Thorvildsen, 1740 > <
“The movie is supposed to be great. Don’t you want to see it? And Bakker’s going to be there,” Mary K. said. She came through the bathroom that connected our two rooms, pulling on her shirt. In front of my
Similar Books
