Read Online Mystical Circles by S. C. Skillman - Free Book Online Page B

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    “Stop that,” Don said testily, with an abrupt change of mood.
    “As you wish. Only trying to help.”
    At this point, Craig entered the conversation. “Come, Father,” he said. “You don’t really believe Theo will need protecting, do you? From you? Because you’re an agnostic?”
    Rory looked ominous, and sipped again from his glass of water. She noticed he still hadn’t taken any food. “Theo will need protecting from Satan most likely,” he said.
    “Indeed?” said Juliet. “You truly think so? Does such a belief fit in with your teachings, Craig?”
    “No,” said Craig.
    Rory lowered his voice to a confidential whisper and again leaned across Don. “You’d be surprised what fits in with Craig’s teachings.”
    She raised her eyebrows, careful not to commit herself.
    “Since I arrived here,” Rory went on, ignoring her caution, “many strange things have happened to me. Now, I think that has to do with the effect of being in Gloucestershire, which is renowned for occult activity.”
    “Planning to bite her, are you?” said James from across the table.
    Craig silenced him with a look. “What kind of occult activity, Rory?” he prompted.
    “Such as,” persisted Rory, “the fact that things started going wrong for me as soon as I arrived. You remember?”
    “I do. Very well,” said Craig cryptically.
    “Last June it was. You told me you had no room.”
    “Not true. I simply asked you to commit to a short fixed-term stay.”
    Juliet looked from one to the other, alerted. Why had Craig not been keen for him to stay longer? Clearly Rory had ignored this and stayed on anyway.  If Craig wasn’t happy about it, why hadn’t he chucked Rory out? She didn’t doubt the strength of his personality. She found it difficult to believe he wouldn’t deal firmly with wastrels and hangers-on, if such Rory was. But for now, the matter must remain a mystery.
    She turned back to Rory, who continued unperturbed. “I remember opening my mouth to give Craig a piece of my mind, and my words came out all wrong. I was jabbering incoherently.”
    “Yes,” said Craig.
    A sharp silence fell. James applied butter to his bread roll in short, terse strokes of the knife.
    “Can you account for that experience of Rory’s, Craig?” asked Juliet.
    Then she dropped her fork. Craig’s features had changed. She wasn’t at all sure how, but his face was unrecognisable. She stared. Her fingers had turned cold. All the charm of his handsome features had melted away, and now she saw something that looked to her like an ancient face, like a stone carving on a rock in the rose-red city of Petra in Jordan.
    Most creepy of all, Zoe appeared totally unaware of it. So did Rory and Don.
    Juliet continued to stare at Craig, dumbstruck. As she did so, his former identity returned, shifting back into place like the next frame on a movie reel.
    “Thank you, Rory, that’s enough.” Craig now evidently considered it time to insist upon a change of subject.
    But Juliet could barely continue eating. Her fingers were trembling too. What had she just witnessed? Or had she imagined it? Had somebody spiked her wine?   Certainly, nobody else seemed to have noticed Craig doing anything untoward.
    At this moment, Craig caught her eye. She read in his glance, Don’t worry. You’ll understand, later .
    Zoe had now clearly noticed something. She looked suspicious.
    Taking a grip on herself, Juliet lifted another forkful of food, trying to push down her disbelief at what she’d seen. She determined to find out later what had happened. But most definitely she couldn’t think of Craig in the same way again.
    She turned to Rory, once more grasping for some kind of distraction. No food had touched his plate. Neither had he permitted any wine in his goblet. Instead he sipped intermittently at his glass of water.
    “Not eating, Rory?” she enquired.
    “Oh no.” He shuddered. “Never in public.”
    “Why’s that?”
    He reached