20

I opened my mouth to yell and warn my boss, but I had no voice. Poppy admonished me with a wag of her finger. "He's already gone. I gutted him behind the dumpster."

A silent scream rose in my mind and resonated in my head, filling every synapse with powerful shrieking. I added power behind it and it punched through Poppy's flimsy mute spell. Sound burst from me like a supernova and cascaded off the walls. Her minions backed away from me when furniture started swirling around us. I aimed a table at the tallest one and smiled when I heard it crack bone. Two flying chairs snarled up three more sidekicks, and I saved the grand finale for Minion #2, who I flung through the plate glass window.

I laughed as coffee mugs flew off shelves and smashed perilously close to Poppy's head. She had the good sense to duck, but not before saying, "Is that all you got?"

Her mockery had the desired effect, inciting a black rage that subsumed me with its intensity, wiping out every good intention and peaceful part of me. Every slight, insult, and injustice I'd suffered through since my arrival bled into that torrent of anger, pushing me into a place I'd never been before. The darkness was my friend, and I felt at home for the first time ever. When I shaped it with my mind, it formed a vortex around me and twisted me into a thousand sharp edges. My enemy's #1 minion made the mistake of lobbing a defense spell at me, which I shattered into transparent splinters. The cowardly sidekick ran off in terror, leaving only Poppy to face me.

"Not bad," she said. "But did you really think I'd take you on by myself?"

Thinking she meant her coven, I started to taunt her back, but stopped at the feel of a cold steel blade slipping into my abdomen. Eben stepped around from behind and smiled at me as he shoved the blade in further. It burned as it sliced me open, separating my flesh like soft butter. Blood gushed from me in a geyser, and through a red haze, I barely sensed someone shouting at Eben before I heard my name. "Cassie, hold on. It'll be OK."

Strong arms picked me up and I saw Jake's blue eyes hovering over me. "Stay with me."

Those were the last words I remembered before darkness claimed me. I floated there for a long time, vaguely aware that people were working over me. "She's lost a lot of blood," was joined with, "I think she'll pull through." But really, the only thing I cared about was surviving long enough to get the others and make sure Eben never bothered anyone again.

I was aware that time was passing swiftly. The longer I stayed incarcerated in this bed, the more danger the Circle would be in. But my wounds were severe, and they burned at me with a pain I couldn't put into words. While they healed on the outside, something inside me was permanently scarred.

A parade of people passed through daily, usually starting and ending with Adam, Diana, Melissa, and Sally. They'd bonded and I saw the rapport Sally had built with them. The last person I expected to visit was Faye, but she came late one night with chocolate and caffeine. Looking around, she said, "You have enough fruit to feed a third world country, and what's with all the flowers? This place smells like a fucking funeral parlor."

She wasn't wrong. "Nice to see you too."

Faye opened the chocolate box. "Help yourself. They were buy one, get one at the market."

"On special, for me?"

She smiled at my sarcasm. "So when are they letting you out of this joint? We have witch hunters to catch."

"And don't forget Poppy Z Brite." I'd taken to calling her that after Melissa had loaned me some of her books.

"PIece of cake," Faye said after popping two chocolate cherries in her mouth.

"I like your optimism. You do know she took me down, right?"

"Only after you went all Carrie on her posse."

Faye had a way with words. "I didn't kill anyone, did I?"

She made a disappointed face. "'Fraid not. Only minor injuries. But the good news is they're up on charges, including murder."

Oh God, I'd forgotten about my poor boss. "Don't worry, she'll pay dearly." And when I got done carving her up with her own knife, there wouldn't be anything left for the cops to take away. Deep down, I knew I had to do this myself, for involving the others would taint them in a way they'd never recover from. I was already damaged goods, so I'd do whatever it took to defeat Poppy and Eben.

Jake arrived with my Dad, and after exchanging heated glances with Faye, she took off with the remains of her chocolate. "What took you so long?" I said. "She was planning my funeral."

My Dad looked at all the flowers. "No wonder."

Jake smiled as he sat on my right. "The nurse said you were up and around."

Nurse Jones was referring to that forced death march with my IV in tow. "Oh, yeah, it was a blast."

"At least you're awake." My Dad never candy-coated anything, which I normally liked, but I was still beyond pissed at him.

"At least," I echoed mockingly. "Does Gran know what happened?"

Jake shook his head. "She's still in the dark about a lot of things, but your Dad is trying to help her."

Like he'd helped her remember a fake curse? "Are you kidding me? Stay the hell away from her."

My monitor started beeping furiously, which brought the nurse down to check my blood pressure. After reminding me to calm down, she said, "You two have to leave. She's had enough excitement for one day."

My Dad nodded without argument, but Jake's look promised he'd sneak in later. I was a bit relieved to see them go, and happy to have some time to myself before the next group arrived.

Ethan came in the next morning with Adam and nothing in hand. "My Dad is going home today," Adam pronounced.

"That's great." I had a few more days here myself.

"Too bad you're not coming with us," Ethan said, his furrowed brow a twin to Adam's.

"Yeah, well, the nurses love me so much they've made me their mascot."

Ethan laughed at my quip. "I know the feeling. When you're on a first name basis with everyone on all three shifts, you've been here too long."

"Let's hope it's not a pattern," Adam said.

I think Poppy and Eben would do everything in their power to stop us, include sending us all to an early grave. Poppy was supplying Eben with power, but letting her coven do the heavy lifting otherwise. Of course, now that they were out of commission, she needed to step up. But instead of saying this, I merely said, "Let's hope not."

Ethan looked tired and headed back to his room, while Adam lingered behind. "Why are you holding back on us?"

By us, he meant him. "Things have changed."

"I've noticed."

Adam had no idea how deep the changes went. It wasn't only about the damage my Dad had caused, though that had triggered the war going on inside me. "I know you don't understand."

"You're right, I don't. Before all this happened, we were friends."

"Were we?" If you pushed aside the unrelenting sexual tension, then maybe he had a point.

"Of course, so I was thinking, maybe we could start fresh."

"As what, friends?"

Adam nodded. "Sure."

I had to get over the 'let's just be friends' thing, for it was possible Adam and I would never find our way back. "All right."

The nurse poked her head in and told Adam to scram. "She needs her beauty sleep."

He smiled and waited for the nurse to leave. "I'll come by after work if that's OK."

I nodded and was surprised when he kissed my cheek. "See you later," I said, forcing my reaction back to its romantic little hidey hole.

Jake did return, but not until lunch time. He munched on a hoagie while he regaled me about events in town, including the arraignment of Minion #1 and 2, charged with willful destruction of property and accessories to first degree murder. Poppy was wanted for questioning, but she and Eben had gone scurrying underground like the rats they were.

The weapon was apparently still in her possession, and could appear at any time to implicate Adam. This worried me more than any threats from witch hunters or black magic. The Circle had no idea who or what they were facing, but I'd felt her power. She was like the guy behind the curtain, pulling the strings and levers but never showing her hand. I was the only one who knew the true face of evil, and it was Poppy and Eben.

"So, when are you getting out of here?"

"Maybe two or three days. I'm healing fine, thanks to the Circle." They'd come in to do a hands on healing, just as they had with Ethan. I appreciated their support, even if we weren't the best of friends. Things weren't just weird with Adam, it was touchy with Diana too. Though she'd apologized, I still felt her censure. It didn't matter that things were not even close to OK with me and Adam. She still seemed to blame me for everything, just as she forgave Adam. Once again, I was the odd person out. Jake knew how I felt, which wasn't to say I was casting my lot with him.

Jake finished his lunch and offered to bring something up from the cafeteria. "No thanks."

"Are you sure? Because I heard the red jello is on special today, and I know that's your favorite."

"Ooh, does it have that plastic whipped cream on top?"

"Of course. Should I ask for an extra shot?"

My stomach revolted in protest. "Only if it's laced with vodka."

That made him smile. "Maybe next time."

Jake leaned over me and touched my hair, and the love in his eyes was plain to see. I just chose to ignore it when he said, "I'll catch you later then."

"Later." I watched him leave and wondered why I gravitated to the guys in the Circle. Was it because I'd never enjoyed a real female friendship until I came here? Not counting Diana, who wasn't much of a friend these days, I counted Melissa and Sally as my only gal pals. And maybe Faye on a good day, which wasn't very often. But there was one thing about Faye that the others lacked, and that was unvarnished honesty. Everyone else danced around the truth and she always came straight to the point. And even while I wanted to strangle her, I also wanted to be more like her, saying whatever came to mind and getting away with it. Because now that I'd taken ten more steps toward the dark side, the blackness in me was becoming more evident. And what's more, I liked how it felt.

My Dad might be right, but I could no more stop doing magic than I could stop loving Adam. That was my cross to bear, possibly for the rest of my days. And whether my time here was short or long, I would use every resource at my disposal to protect my friends.