Disclaimer: I do not own the Circle or the world they inhabit. They are the property of L. J. Smith. I do however own the Weavers and all backstory associated with them. Please don't use them without permission. Thanks and enjoy!
Cassie lay in her bed in Diana's house, listening to the sounds of the ocean. It had been a full day. The Circle had celebrated their defeat over Black John the previous day, and then there had been the revelation about Adam, her soulmate. After Diana had given her the chalcedony rose, she and Adam had quietly slipped away from the Circle. They had talked for a long time, expressing feelings that had been forbidden until then. And then they had just held each other, reveling in the feelings that simple touch stirred in them.
Cassie smiled as she remembered what had happened next. Adam had kissed her. The kiss held none of the frenetic passion that had been the hallmark of their first kiss. Just a sweet tenderness that bespoke their deep feelings for each other. It felt so good to kiss him without any feelings of guilt assailing her. It was heaven.
Drowsily, Cassie reached for the part of her heart where Adam resided. Immediately a warmth flooded through her. Even though he was sleeping, his thoughts were on her. She sent back her own warmth to him and curled deeper into her blankets.
A wind kicked up outside the yellow Victorian house, making the old structure groan as it shifted and settled. Cassie's gaze moved to the window. The night outside was utterly dark with no hint of star or moonlight. She shivered and closed her eyes. When she opened them a moment later she froze. Staring at her from outside the window was a pair of golden eyes, surrounded by an amorphous blob of nothingness. The eyes were cold, cruel, and calculating. The darkness under the eyes split revealing two rows of razor sharp teeth in a feral grin. Slowly the window began to slide upward, opening of its own accord.
A deep bone-chilling coldness filled the room and Cassie began to shiver violently. The eyes continued to watch her as the darkness poured itself into her room and began a slow slither across the floor to her bed. In a near panic Cassie tried to use her Power against the... thing, but her mind was blank. No swelling of power, no rhyme of spell. Then she remembered the chalcedony rose. It was tucked under her pillow. If she could just hold it... Cassie tried to move and found her body frozen. It was as if the eyes were seeing into her soul. Reading her intention and preventing her from calling aid.
You don't control me, Cassie thought fiercely. I will move and I will get the chalcedony. I will... I will. I will!
With the final thought her hand moved. Only a fraction of an inch, but of her own volition. She tore her eyes away from the glaring yellow orbs at the window and looked at her hand.
Move! she commanded.
Her hand twitched and then slid up under the pillow, curling around the cool chalcedony.
Cassie sat up with a gasp and looked around the room. The window was closed and the moon shone brightly through the clear pane, waning. Her eyes dropped to her hands, clenched in her lap. They were empty. Quickly she reached under her pillow and drew out the chalcedony rose. Had it been a dream? A vision of the golden eyes flashed through her mind and she shivered. She rose silently and walked to the closet, drawing out another quilt. She returned to bed and draped the extra quilt on top of the blankets already there.
"I'll tell Diana and the others about it in the morning," she murmured.
She placed the rose back under her pillow before laying down and slipping back into sleep.