25

Faye's mother was out, and that was fine with her. She barely knew what to say in the face of what she knew to be true. Diana could be in denial all she wanted, but Faye was a realist. The truth sucked, but her mother was more than capable of murdering someone. The Balcoin bitches were the real deal, and Faye was completely on board with them.

So what if she didn't trust them? That didn't mean they didn't have the goods, and Faye intended to ride on their coattails and milk them for all they were worth.

The question was, how did Jake know about her Mother's crystal? He obviously had insider information, and she wanted to know how that worked. Maybe he had his own crystal, hidden away from the others until he performed his dark deeds. She wouldn't put it past him.

So after Dawn went out for drinks with Charles Meade, Faye snuck into her room. The nightstand was stuffed full of books, but there was a velvet pouch toward the back. She drew it out and dumped a white crystal into her palm. With glee, she wondered what it would take to activate it.

Faye dialed Jake and waited for his cool reply. "You were right," she said.

He chuckled. "So you found it."

"How did you know about it?"

"You know I can't tell you that."

"How does it work?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Jake's smug tone set her teeth on edge.

"I'll bring it tonight, and you can show me."

"Not sure I'm coming," he said.

"But her Majesty has ordered it."

"And green is totally not your color."

"And it's yours? Tell me it's not killing you that she's with Adam."

"It's not. Maybe I'll see you later." He hung up before she could get the last word in.

Karin waited in the wings while Ethan chatted up Dawn and Charles. They ordered some expensive brandy and she slipped each of them a Mickey while Ethan looked the other way. "Is this really necessary?" he asked quietly.

She patted his shoulder. "They won't give it up for free. This is the only way."

"How long will they be out?"

"Long enough," she said.

Ethan served up the drinks and a short time later, their only customers were sound asleep. Karin walked over with her ceremonial dagger and drew a line down each palm while Ethan gathered their blood in crystal vials. When she had enough. she applied a healing spell and their wounds disappeared.

"See? No dark magic required." Karin smiled, but she saw only worry furrowing Ethan's brow.

"Are you sure this will work?"

"It's the only way, I'm afraid." And it all came down to Rob and the Balcoin crystal that had taken him out of town.

"Do you need my help?" Ethan asked, clearly wanting to please her but still reluctant to get further involved.

"Nope, I have it covered."

"I hope you're right."

Adam swung through the doors from the back, looking completely miserable. Before she had a chance to waylay him, he slammed the door to the outside and got in his truck and drove away. "What was that about?"

"I thought you knew every intimate detail."

"Not always."

"Cassie's put things on the back burner."

That wouldn't last, but Adam and Cassie would have to work this out themselves. "Maybe she doesn't want to be the rebound girl." Karin gave Ethan a pointed stare, and he flushed as she telegraphed a distant memory of pushing her aside to be with Amelia.

The stormy weather matched the general mood at the old house. Diana stood off to one side with folded arms and tense lips, greeting each of them with a forced smile. Melissa was doing her own thing, texting one of her non-witch friends while they waited for Faye and Jake. Cassie hated herself for hurting Adam, but she couldn't encourage him right now. He stood about two feet to her left, but it might as well be a mile. The ride up to Briar Hill had been tense and silent, broken only by him asking about Jane. She'd assured him that her grandmother was hanging in there, but didn't add that her mind was unraveling rapidly.

At ten past 9, Jake and Faye finally strolled in with smirks in place. Cassie wondered what the hell Jake was up to, and judging from the company he was keeping, it was probably no good.

"So why are we here?" Faye said.

"We need to clear the air," Cassie started. "Things have been said, and I know people are hurting." She could barely stand to think about Charles Meade burning her mother alive, but it bore discussion.

Diana swabbed at her eyes. "What's the point? Even if it's all true, we can't change what's happened."

Adam moved between Diana and Cassie, trying to be the peacemaker. "Diana's right, Cassie. We can all point fingers, but it won't bring people back."

Cassie knew things were nearly at a breaking point. "We can't let the Circle fall apart. And we can't let our parents divide us."

Faye walked forward into the fray. "Maybe we should find out what they're up to. What do you all think?"

It was a good idea, and Cassie nodded. "It's the right approach, but how do we approach them?"

Faye opened her palm and they all gasped at the sight of her crystal, which flared to life with the circle's power at her beck and call. "With this, and anything else we can get our hands on."

Karin and Ethan watched as Dawn and Charles made their way out, finally revived with some strong coffee and a simple forget spell. They chatted in animation as they parted ways, and Karin breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God that's over."

Ethan fingered her cross with a half smile. "I doubt He was involved."

She made a face. "I've never done that before."

"No kidding." But she knew Ethan had, even as he was trying to change his ways. "What happens now?"

"Rob should be back tonight, and tomorrow we do the ritual."

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Ethan cared about Jane Blake and Cassie, and was only looking out for their welfare.

"Rob does. I'm only there to assist."

"Can you repair her memories?"

"That's the plan," Karin said with a shrug.

Ethan was about to comment when someone knocked at the back door to the restaurant. They both walked over to see a drenched Rob, who rushed in when Ethan unlocked the door. Karin instantly felt ill, and knew it was the Balcoin crystal wreaking its usual havoc on her. She backed away from him, and didn't stop until she was behind the bar. "Keep that thing away from me," she warned.

Ethan looked at Rob. "What thing?"

Rob unfurled his fingers and a blood red crystal sent out a blinding beam of light. "Francis Balcoin's crystal."

Karin instantly felt Ethan's fear. "Meaning what exactly?"

"It's the key to unlocking his power," Rob said.

"How is that even possible?"

Karin knew he wouldn't understand, but she tried anyway. "Just before Francis was hung, he embedded this stone with all his power."

Rob added, "It's been in our family for generations."

"And you want to use it on Jane?" Ethan asked, looking even more scared when Karin nodded. "That sounds like a seriously bad idea."

"I know how it sounds, but it's the only way to reverse the damage."

Ethan touched the top of her hand. "What happens if John Blackwell taps into that energy?"

Rob said, "He won't." His phone rang and when he saw the caller, he said, "I have to take this. Give me a moment."

Karin suddenly felt a mental push and that's when she envisioned Rissa's body lying at the bottom of a ravine. "It's Rissa," she said to Ethan. "She's dead."

Her brother hung up and nodded gravely. "A hunter found her. It looks like she jumped."

Or maybe she was pushed. Either way, she was gone from them.