Chapter Four

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Faye does not get to do this part. We'll be here all night."

Faye glared at her. "Just because I'm a good storyteller—"

"Cassie's right," Diana interrupted. "We don't need the long, drawn out version." She faced me. "We're witches."

I stared, waiting for her to say more. Clearly that wasn't it. No way could that be the full sentence she'd planned to say. We're witches. What did that even mean?

"Fucking crazy, but true," Nick murmured from where he stood at the fringes of the group. "Witches. Like magic and shit."

"Do you have to be so crass?" Adam sneered.

"Yes."

I couldn't help it, I snorted a little laugh. "Witches."

Diana nodded. "Witches. Have you ever read or seen The Crucible?"

"Yes," I said, recalling English last year where we'd studied the play.

"So our story is like that. In Salem, some girls were caught in the woods. They labeled it witchcraft. The witch hunt began. Many people were accused and tried and executed…" she trailed off.

Cassie's soft voice picked up the story. "But the real witches, the original families, ran. They moved away and started their own town where they could be safe."

I blinked as it dawned on me. "New Salem."

Cassie smiled. "Right. And the twelve original families—"

"Or thirteen," Faye added.

Cassie sighed. "Or thirteen original families all lived along this road. If you live on Crowhaven, you have access to the Powers."

"And while our parents tend to ignore them, we harness them. Use them. Together. With our Circle," Diana said.

I nodded, because while this was all insane...they also made sense. If we were witches, it would be a good idea to join together to learn. To be stronger. To work together and understand one another. Oddly enough, it sounded...kind of nice.

"We were all initiated, and we've all been through what you went through tonight," Cassie explained. "I, in particular, went through pretty much the same thing—I had no idea about witches or anything until I was initiated and they told me."

"Your initiation," Melanie added a bit sharply, "is a bit of a risk, though."

"Melanie," Laurel said softly.

"She's not wrong," Suzan said. "She's not being kind about it, but we should explain this, too."

Diana frowned. "Is the first hour after joining the Circle really the best time to dig up our past?"

Deborah chuckled. "What's a better time? When we start reawakening evil Powers again?"

"We are not doing that again," Laurel said, eyes on Faye.

Faye just shrugged and inspected her nails.

"We always thought a Circle was complete with twelve members," Adam said, actually starting to explain the discourse. "We were at eleven before Cassie showed up. We were originally going to...well."

"We were going to initiate our sister," Doug said, no smile on his or his brother's face. "Her name was Kori."

Chris crossed his arms over his chest. "She died the morning she was supposed to be initiated."

"It was part of an elaborate plan to get me into the Circle instead," Cassie chimed in, rubbing her arms. "I didn't know about it. But my...father? I guess. I never knew him, but he was...he was my father. And he was evil. He wanted me initiated. So he used his Power and made it so I was the only option to complete the Circle."

Adam wrapped his arm around Cassie's shoulders, but my attention was drawn away when Faye spoke. "But his plans were not for Cassie to complete the Circle. His plans were for Cassie to join the Circle and then align with him when he completed the Circle. That would mean thirteen members is when the Circle is full."

"But we don't know that," Melanie argued.

"She got in, though," Deborah said. "The Powers let it happen. They accepted her into the Circle along with us. I think we were right; she needed to join."

Melanie huffed. "We should have done more research."

"She belongs with the Circle," Nick said, no room for argument in his tone.

"Well, Nick," Faye purred. "I'd think you have a thing for the little Conant over here."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Shut up, Faye."

She laughed. "Oh, that's what you say now."

He shook his head, not arguing any further. Against my better judgement I began to wonder what was going on with them. Not that it mattered. I had no claim on Nick. I didn't even know the guy. So what if I felt a strange reassurance from him? A sort of connection? That was my brain being weird as it tried to cope, probably. It meant nothing.

But something in me said that was wrong—that there was actually something there. A reason for these feelings.

I didn't think too hard on it. Not now. It was pointless. Everything would work out in time. For now, I needed to settle into my new life. My new...witchy life.

"So what is expected of me?" I asked. "Now that I'm part of this...Circle?"

Cassie shrugged. "Nothing too obligating. Just show up to meetings, any rituals we may do. Be part of the group, you know? It's not meant to be a burden with lots of rules. It's to make us stronger, safer."

"We do have a rule, however," Melanie cut in. "The Circle is a secret. We don't go telling the rest of town about it. We don't even really discuss it with our parents."

Laurel shook her head. "Well, we sometimes bring the older relatives into it a little. They were really helpful when we had our last...issue. Melanie's Aunt Constance, my Grandma Quincey."

Adam smiled. "Grandma Franklin, too. She probably knows we're out here right now and will have some tea or something to warm us up when we get back in."

"The old ones are nice, but the parents can be terrible if we bring up magic or Circle stuff," Sean said. "So we don't talk to them about it."

"We're just a big group of friends who live on the same street," Doug said, throwing his arm around his brother's shoulders with a smile.

Chris smiled. "We have lots of fun, really."

"I think this will be good," Suzan chimed in.

It was nice to hear support from more members of the Circle, but my long day was catching up with me and I couldn't help myself—I yawned.

"Okay," Adam said, "I think that's enough for one night. Let's go home."

I nodded and moved toward him, and I noticed when I reached his side that Nick turned and walked away. When he got a little further down the beach, I saw a little dot of light. Was he smoking?

My attention was brought back to my brother when he said, "If you want to try practicing with Powers, I'm sure Diana and Cassie would be glad to help."

I looked at him, raising a brow.

He blinked. "It's not that I don't want to. They're just really good at that kind of thing—teaching and helping."

"Right." I paused. "You didn't want to walk her home?"

Adam shook his head. "Diana parked at Cassie's house. They're walking together, with Laurel and Melanie. They're all okay."

"Alright." We walked in silence then, and it was a little awkward but it was definitely not as bad as the car had been not twenty four hours ago.

When we got back to the house, Adam was right—Grandma Franklin was waiting inside with hot cocoa for us all. We sat at the kitchen table for a short while, Grandma peppering us with stories of her own Circle days.

I never in a million years could have anticipated this would be my life right now. Before I came to New Salem, I was prepared to hate it. But now it seemed like maybe it wouldn't be quite so bad—though it was very, very bizarre.

The day after the initiation at the beach, which I was still taken aback by—I was a witch? seriously?—I was in the kitchen with Grandma when Adam walked in, keys in hand.

"I'm going to pick up Raj. Want to tag along?" He was looking right at me, so apparently his offer was sincere. Wow. He'd been nice enough last night but the complete change in his behaviour was still baffling. I needed to get used to it, but I was hesitant. What if he went back to being a douche? Better to be cautious for a while first.

I shrugged. "Sure. Who's Raj?"

He smiled. "My dog. He's the best and so smart. I think you'll like him."

Standing, I bit my lip. "You have a dog?"

Adam nodded. "Please don't tell me you're not a fan of dogs."

"He's a really sweet puppy, Elena, dear," Grandma added, taking the plated from the table to the sink.

"Oh, I do!" I rushed to assure them. "Dogs are great." I paused. "Mom and I had one, actually." And before they could ask for details, I exited the room to head upstairs and slip on my shoes.

When I returned downstairs, Adam was waiting for me by the door. "You don't have to come if—" he started.

I waved my hand, forcing nonchalance. "No, this will be cool. I just hope he doesn't hate me." A weak laugh escaped my mouth. I was being ridiculous. There was nothing happening here to get upset over. Heck, Adam was just trying to be nice—that was good. Not only good, it was great. A great sign. Maybe I wouldn't have to be so cautious with him anymore. I needed to chill out.

"Okay," he said, leading the way out to his car.

Once we were on our way I thought to ask, "Where is he?"

"Oh, he's been at the vet. He was a little sick last week. But from what I've heard, he's as good as new now. Just a little bug he needed flushed out of his system, thankfully."

"Good," I said, unsure if that was the correct response but not wanting to say nothing.

"Yeah," Adam agrees. Then: "So what happened with the dog you and your mom had?"

I sighed. It would have been too good to be true for him to just forget about that, wouldn't it? "I don't have him anymore," I stated the obvious.

"Okay… But why? You didn't give him up to come live with us, did you? Because you didn't have to do that. You could have—"

"No," I said, stopping him mid-sentence. "We gave him away before that. We gave him to someone else—someone from where Mom used to work—when she first got sick."

The car was silent for a moment. "Oh," was all Adam said, but questions floated in the air.

"Because we couldn't afford him and pay for her treatment," I told him.

Adam frowned. "Oh," he repeated. His new favorite word, apparently.

"Yeah." I gazed out the window as we pulled into a parking lot.

After parking the ar, Adam turned to me. "Well, there's no replacing your dog, but maybe finding a friend in Raj will help. Come on."

We walked inside, where everyone seemed to know my brother. He was kind to everyone—so strange to see after his initial coldness to me. Was his normal personality friendly and I'd just been the lucky duck to earn a cold shoulder?

I gave shy smiles but said nothing—and then a German Shepherd was led out from that back...and loped directly over to me.

Or, into me would have been more accurate.

My legs buckled under the onslaught, and down to the floor I went, giant puppy on top of me all the while.

"Raj!" Adam was shouting, but I barely noticed as the dog tried to lick me to death. "Raj! Down!" Finally, he got a good grip on Raj's collar and pulled him away. "You know better than that!" Adam scolded. Then he faced me, concern overtaking his features. "Are you alright?"

Catching my breath on the floor, I took stock of the situation. I was a little fore from the fall, but nothing seemed to be broken. I had dog drool on my cheek, which I was okay with. And the dog that slobber was from now stood a few feet away, watching me with bright, happy eyes.

I smiled. "I'm fine. I may have a bruised ass, but I'd say it's well worth it." I stumbled to my feet and leaned down to talk to the dog. "It's great to meet you, Raj."

Adam laughed. "Something tells me he likes you. He's usually smarter around strangers."

"I'm not a stranger," I said. "Not really. So clearly he's very smart."

A twinkle lit Adam's eyes as he smiled at me. "Yeah. I think you're right."

On the way home, Raj maneuvered himself so he could lean his head against my arm. It was sweet. It had been a while since I'd had my own dog, but it seemed Adam had a point that maybe Raj's companionship would be soothing.

We returned home to find Cassie walking up to the front door. She turned to face us as we got out of the car. Raj panted happily at the sight of her, but remained close to my side as I walked up the walkway.

"Raj!" Cassie called. "How are you buddy?" She leaned down to pet him when we got close enough.

Adam smiled. "He's good as new. And apparently he wants to be Elena's best friend."

"Oh?" she asked, her eyes bright. "That's cool."

"He's a sweet puppy," I said, scratching behind the dog's ears.

"She's going to spoil him," Adam mock-whined.

Cassie laughed. "He deserves it."

"He also deserved not to freeze out here," I chimed in, reaching for the handle of the front door. "We're going inside. You two crazy kids can do whatever you want."

They apparently decided to keep me company because they followed Raj and me inside.

"Raj!" Grandma cheered when we entered the living room where she was sitting. The dog loped forward to receive pets from her as well. He was getting lots of love today—and apparently living for it, if his wagging tail was any indication. "I've got both of your bowls full to the brim, all the food and water you could dream of, sweetheart."

"Oh, good," I said dryly. "I'll get some help in spoiling him."

"Is he even my dog anymore?" Adam asked.

"No," Grandma, Cassie, and I all answered in unison.

Raj moved back to my side, and I placed my hand on his head as I laughed. It was nice. I hadn't found much to be happy about lately, and this moment didn't escape my attention. I'd been beyond skeptical of my new home, but with each passing hour things were looking less and less bad. I missed my mom—I'd always miss her—and I wished coming to live here was never necessary...but maybe I could make something good out of it. Something I'd grow to cherish.

"I actually came here for a reason," Cassie said once Grandma had left the room, breaking into my reverie. Which was good because I was over the mushy sentimentality my thoughts had taken.

Adam pressed a hand to his chest. "Dropping by to see me isn't enough of a reason?"

She leveled him with a serious look. "Faye is going to call a Circle meeting."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course she is. What for this time?"

Cassie bit her lip. "She wants to begin a search to recover the crystal skull."

Adam blinked. "The crystal skull. Like the one that caused a whole ton of trouble? The one that literally awoke evil and led to people dying? That skull?"

She nodded, wringing her hands. "Diana and I tried to overrule her, but she started talking about letting the Circle decide. How we were the leaders, but that didn't mean the group couldn't make decisions as a whole."

"Surely you told her it was ridiculous and the last thing we need is that damned skull back?" Adam ground out. I had no idea what was going on, but from what I could piece together, Faye was stirring up trouble. Color me surprised.

"I did. But she complained. And Diana agreed to let Faye bring it up at a meeting."

"Shit," Adam cursed quietly.

"Diana thinks no one will go along with it," Cassie murmured.

"But," I broke in with my two cents, "Faye probably has other Circle members on her side already. Which is why she wants everyone to vote."

Adam barked out a humorless laugh. "You've already got her pinned. Good."

I shrugged. "She's a snake. Not hard to figure her out."

Cassie said, "I wouldn't go that far…"

"I would," Adam disagreed.

"So will one of you explain what the skull thing is? Why it's so bad? You mentioned evil…"

Cassie shook her head, plopping down on the couch. "We had the crystal skull last year. We tried to purify it, cleanse it of any lingering Power so we could use it as a tool. You know, enhance the Circle."

"Right," I said, pretending like I totally knew what she was talking about. In reality, I was just doing my best to follow along. It'd been less than a day since I found out I was a witch. I didn't exactly know the ins and outs quite yet.

"Well, it backfired," Adam said, taking over the recap. "Every time any of us tried to do anything with it, evil Power was released and...killed someone."

My eyes widened. This had taken a serious turn. "Killed, like actually dead?"

Cassie nodded. "It was terrible."

"We have no reason to believe this time would be any different," Adam said. "So I can't imagine how Faye could explain finding the skull in a positive light."

"She's Faye," Cassie replied tiredly. "She'll work it to her advantage. She always does."

"Well—" Adam started but was interrupted by a knock at the door. He went to answer it, and I took the opportunity to sit down in a chair. Raj laid his head in my lap.

A moment later, Adam re-entered the room with Diana on his heels. "It's official," Diana announced calmly, though she was clearly not happy. "Faye is calling everyone else now. We're meeting tonight to discuss the crystal skull."

Thank you so much for reading! :)