The Secret Circle:
Out of the Darkness
The Secret Circle and its characters aren't mine – they belong to L. J. Smith and HarperCollins Publishers. Portions of the dialogue on pages 4-5 are from The Secret Circle: Volume III, The Power, pages 282-283 and 291.
Chapter Nine
The Circle kept Sean so busy over the next few days that he barely had time to open his Book of Shadows, let alone find and perform the spell he needed. He helped Chris and the other boys, and Laurel, Deborah, and Melanie, to split the wood from the trees felled by the storm and cut it to size for each family's woodstoves and fireplaces. He helped Laurel with her garden chores, and, with her help, finished his. They pruned the apple, pear, cherry, and plum trees in the orchards, and cut the prunings to size. They spread compost, prepared the garden beds for planting in the spring, and raked the paths. He helped Suzan clean her horses' pastures and stalls, and he exercised Lochlan, Suzan's calm, steady Connemara gelding, while she exercised Inara, her spirited sorrel Arabian mare.
He tried to pretend that it was just a coincidence that just about everyone seemed to need his help with their winter chores this year; just a coincidence that, no matter where he went, at least two or three members of the Circle happened to be there as well. But he knew it wasn't. The Circle members thought he'd tried to hit that truck on purpose. They were trying to protect him from himself. And they were watching him even more closely than they had before, with an odd combination of distrust, disdain, and worry.
* * *
It was early Saturday morning. The sky was beginning to lighten, though the sun hadn't risen yet, and Sean wanted to escape before anyone asked for his help with yet another chore. He wanted to get started on reading his Book of Shadows – and to get away from the endless scrutiny of the Circle members. He put his Book of Shadows in his backpack and walked outside, quietly pulling the door shut behind him.
"Hey, Sean!" Doug's voice called.
Sean startled, staring wildly around the empty garden.
Doug jumped down from his perch in the chestnut tree in front of the porch, landing lightly in front of Sean. Chris followed him.
"Sorry," Doug said. "There aren't any chairs out here. And the ground's kind of cold."
Sean nodded silently.
"Hey, dude – me and Chris are gonna go to Salem. You wanna come? We're goin' free runnin' at the college."
Sean laughed. He doubted climbing up or vaulting over walls or walking along railings or rooftops was exactly what Cassie or Diana or whoever had asked the Henderson brothers to keep an eye on him today had had in mind. And he knew he couldn't keep up with Doug or Chris. His injuries were healing well, but they weren't completely healed yet – and he couldn't always keep up with the twins at the best of times.
"Come on. You haven't come with us in ages. We're gonna think you don't remember how."
He shook his head. "No thanks. I … I'm just going to the beach."
Doug hesitated for a moment, and grinned mischievously. "To Seal Cove?" he asked. "We can go bouldering there."
Sean shrugged. "Sure." Seal Cove was a small cove, near the headland, with a tiny beach surrounded on two sides by boulders and in the back by an insurmountable cliff. It would be quiet, free from too many prying eyes.
Doug led the way down the path to the steep carved steps leading to the main beach, and along a rather steep, indirect route over the boulders to the hidden beach.
When they reached the hidden beach, Sean sat on the lee side of a large boulder, where he'd be sheltered from the icy wind, and pulled out his Book of Shadows. He looked at the twins; they were climbing a large boulder so flat on the side they were climbing that Sean could barely see the hand- and toe-holds they were using. Chris caught his eye and grinned. "You want to join us?" he called.
Sean shook his head, returning Chris's grin. "No, thanks." He turned to his Book and opened it. After reading for a few minutes, he became accustomed to the archaic script and spelling in which his ancestors had written, and he soon lost himself in his reading. A lot of what he had found was useless – descriptions of rituals and ceremonies, births, handfastings, deaths – even records of crops – but some of the spells were interesting, even if they didn't seem particularly useful at the moment: To Cure a Sickly Child. To Ensure a Bountiful Harvest. To Guard Against Fire. To Bring Rain. To Ensure a Safe Journey. To Cast Out Fear and Malignant Emotions – well, he could use that one. But it wasn't what he was looking for.
He was beginning to wonder if there was no spell to shield a person's mind. Maybe a person was either born with the ability to shield his or her mind – or not.
No. There has to be a spell, or something. And I have to find it.
"Hey, Sean, it's freezing out here."
Sean started. Suzan was standing beside him, scowling, her hair blowing wildly in the wind. Cassie and Diana were sitting nearby on the leeward side of a group of rocks, talking quietly about something. Neither Chris nor Doug was anywhere to be seen.
Then go home. Leave me alone. He didn't say it. He nodded. "You're right."
"Could we please go inside someplace warm now?" she asked. "And get something to eat?"
Cassie and Diana both looked at Suzan and laughed.
"That's fine by me," Diana said. "We can go eat at my place. My dad's at the office today."
"Okay," Suzan said.
She looked at Sean. Cassie and Diana were watching him, too.
"Will you join us for dinner?" Diana asked him.
Dinner? He looked up. The sun was nearly hidden by clouds, but sure enough, it was low in the western sky. He shrugged. "Sure. Thanks." He followed the girls down the beach and up the path to Diana's house.
Laurel and Melanie joined them for dinner. Sean helped Laurel and Cassie prepare a salad; Diana ordered a pizza. The girls were deeply involved in a discussion of the security measures the Circle members were taking. Sean had forgotten that they had all agreed not to be alone outside, after the attack on him and Suzan.
Laurel was complaining about the difficulty of finding someone to accompany her every time she went outside to her garden. Diana and Cassie told the others about the unfamiliar cars they had seen cruising down Crowhaven Road; they were certain that outsiders – possibly witch hunters – were watching the Circle members. And they knew that whatever the outsiders were planning, it couldn't be good.
Yet Sean felt an unmistakable sense of relief. It wasn't just because of what he'd done, or almost done, that the Circle wasn't letting him alone. They were protecting him, and each other, from the outsiders – not just protecting him from himself.
* * *
A large, 17th century house solidified on the vacant lot before him as the lunar eclipse reached totality. The house and the moon glowed with the same eerie blood-red light. Both felt wrong – evil.
Sean stared at the house, terrified – and mesmerized. He couldn't run. He couldn't even look away. But he had to get away. They all did. He knew what waited inside. And he knew that they couldn't face it.
But Cassie said, "I have to go alone."
The members of the Circle tried to talk her out of it. Their voices sounded far, far away.
Cassie wasn't listening to them. She was watching her Circle. She straightened with determination and stood before them, confident in her strength and power, emanating confidence as she met each of their eyes.
"If you didn't want to listen to me you shouldn't have elected me leader," she said. And then she told them what they already knew. Black John was waiting for her inside, and she was going to fight him alone – with nothing but her own power and knowledge and the Master Tools to protect her.
She told them to stay outside and wait for her. And she began to walk toward the house.
Sean tried to go after her, but he couldn't move.
The wind started up again; a gentle breeze at first, but it soon strengthened.
"It's time," Diana said quietly after what seemed like ages. She started walking toward the house. Adam was right behind her, followed by Deborah, Nick, Laurel, Melanie, Doug, Chris, and Suzan.
Sean found that he could move again. He walked with the others into the eerily glowing house.
Cassie was upstairs, glowing with power as she faced a tall man who didn't seem, somehow, quite like a man. Sean could feel the evil emanating from him.
Faye stood behind the tall man.
Deborah, and Nick, and Laurel – nearly the entire Circle stood behind Cassie, emanating confidence and power – and anger – as they called on the powers of Nature to defeat Black John.
"Power of thunder have I over thee," Doug said calmly.
"Power of lightning have I over thee!" Chris yelled.
Sean was standing behind Chris; it was his turn to invoke one of the powers of Nature. He couldn't move; he couldn't make a sound.
But he wasn't alone. Suzan was standing behind him.
"Power of dew have I over thee," Suzan said. She pushed Sean forward, toward Black John.
And the paralysis lost its grip on his throat, and he could speak. "Power of blood have I over thee!" he yelled.
It wasn't enough. Black John straightened. He took a step toward them, and another.
"That wasn't wise," he said. His tone was as calm as if he were merely discussing the weather on a calm summer's day, but his voice was as cold as glacial ice. He reached for Cassie, who was closest to him – and when he touched her, she slumped down and fell heavily on the floor, her eyes wide and unseeing, her chest still.
He reached for Sean – and the crystal skull exploded. A piercing scream tore through the air, and Black John and the house they were standing in vanished.
Sean was falling … and then he was standing in Adam's living room in the middle of a circle of quartz crystals. The clothes he was wearing were too big for him. His hair was dripping on the spotless wooden floor. The Circle was surrounding him, watching him with the same eerie confidence they'd shown when they faced Black John.
"You killed our sister," Doug said in a flat, emotionless voice. But his haunted eyes glowed as he stared at Sean and took a menacing step closer. Chris followed him, half a step behind.
"You killed Jeffrey," Faye said, stepping forward to stand beside Doug. Her golden eyes glowed cruelly.
"You killed Mr. Fogle." Suzan said from behind him. Sean whirled around to face her. She was glaring at him, too.
"You told Black John what he wanted to know," Diana said from the other side of the circle, her green eyes sorrowful.
"You were a container for Black John, for the dark energy," Adam said.
"You didn't stop him."
"You didn't fight it."
"You didn't warn us."
"You were weak."
"It was your fault."
"You killed them all."
Sean stared wildly from one Circle member to another. They were surrounding him, stepping inexorably closer, staring at him with their accusatory eyes.
Run! Get out of here! He tried, but he couldn't move.
They stopped.
And Cassie spoke. "Power of moon have I over thee," she said. "Power of sun have I over thee."
Then they were all calling on the powers of the elements of Nature – the stars and planets, rain and tides and wind and ice and leaf and root and rock and thunder and lightning and dew.
"Power of Fire have I over thee," Faye said at last … and smiled.
* * *
Sean opened his eyes. The horrible glowing room in Black John's house at Number Thirteen was gone; the Circle was no longer surrounding him. He was alone in his own room, sitting in the desk chair. His Book of Shadows was open on the desk in front of him.
He raced to the window and pulled open the curtains, unlatched the window, and pushed it open. He stood there, shivering as the icy wind chilled his sweat-soaked clothes, staring out the window at the trees outside, trying to ground himself.
The spreading chestnuts in front of the house and the maples across the road were dimly visible in the early morning light. A small flock of wild turkeys chattered to each other as they searched the tall grass for breakfast. A hen called an alarm and ran across the lawn. Her flock joined her, taking flight as they reached the drive. Raj darted out from the bayberry hedge that surrounded the front garden, and ran after them. He stopped at the road, his ears still pricked alertly as he watched and listened to the departing birds.
A whistle pierced the air. Raj turned and galloped away, toward Adam's house. The morning was silent for a while; then the turkeys began calling again, from a new foraging spot somewhere in the woods across the road.
Sean shut the window. He put his coat on and walked downstairs and out the back door as quietly as he could. He put on his sneakers and walked to the garage.
"Hey, Sean, wait up!" Doug yelled from his perch in the chestnut tree.
No! Leave me alone! He bit his lip hard and said nothing. He unlocked the garage door and walked inside. Doug followed. Chris raced to catch up. Sean took out his bike.
"Um, Sean, I don't think that's such a good idea," Chris said.
Sean looked up. Both twins were watching him. They looked nervous.
He scowled at them. "I'm going for a ride," he said.
They were still staring at him.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. They were just trying to look out for him. He opened his eyes and looked at them. "I haven't ridden … it's been a week since …" he stopped. "I, uh, I just … I just need to go for a ride."
They looked at each other.
"I'm fine," he told them. He knew that wasn't true; he knew they knew it wasn't true. But he was better than he had been. The memories had overwhelmed him only a few times over the last week, during the day anyway. He'd even been able to sleep through the night a couple of times without being awakened by nightmares. The exercise from cutting wood and working in the gardens, pasture, and barn – and, he suspected, just being away from the stress of school and classes and crowds of people, and away from the places which seemed to trigger the memories – seemed to be helping him to hold the memories at bay. But enough wood was already cut and split, the garden chores were finished for the next couple of weeks, and the pastures and barn were clean. He needed to ride.
To his surprise, Chris nodded. "All right. But only if we come with you".
"Okay," he said.
"And only if Cassie comes with us, too," Doug said. "Or Adam or Faye. I'll go call them and see if they want to come."
Cassie and Adam did. So did Diana. And Laurel. And Melanie. Even Suzan came along.
Sean didn't complain. He rode with the others, between Cassie and Adam.
Chris led them on a quiet, nearly flat route with almost no traffic. He set a pace slow enough that everyone could easily keep up.
Sean didn't say anything when they returned home less than an hour later, without having ridden up – or down – a single steep hill, or gone for so much as one short sprint.
* * *
The next day was almost the same. Nick, Melanie, and Adam – and Raj, of course – came along when Sean went out running. Nick set the pace – a slow, steady jog. He led the way down Crowhaven Road, and up Marsh Street. When they turned on Sandpiper Lane, Sean sped up and passed Nick. He needed to run, not jog – especially since he suspected that it might be a long time before anyone let him go for a real bicycle ride.
No one said anything or stopped him. Raj galloped up to him and trotted alongside, his mouth open in a contented canine grin. Melanie and Nick increased their pace to run beside Sean and Raj. Adam pulled ahead, leading the way down the narrow rural road, past a few widely spaced farmhouses; past gardens, orchards, and pastures.
Nick fell back after a mile or so, slowing to a jog.
Adam kept going until they passed an old Cape Cod-style house with a bowed roof and a garden in the front. He turned off the road and led the way onto an overgrown trail leading through the woods. He slowed, ducking under and dodging the branches of maple and oak, sumac, witch-hazel, sheep laurel, and blueberry, which were encroaching on the path.
Sean jogged behind Adam. Avoiding the branches and shrubs was easier for him, with his smaller, more agile frame, but the path was too narrow, and the shrubs alongside too thick, for him to pass.
The path wound up a gradual incline and down again on the other side of the small hill before leveling off as it passed through an open meadow. A doe and her half-grown fawn bounded away, hiding themselves in the woods on the far side of the meadow.
Sean jumped into a sprint as soon as the path widened. Raj ran beside him; Melanie followed, just behind them. Adam sped up, too, maintaining his lead. They kept going, following the path across the meadow and back into the woods toward Crowhaven Road. Adam turned on the road and kept going.
Sean slowed to a jog when they reached the road. So did Melanie. Nick, running hard, soon caught up.
Raj galloped ahead to join Adam, who stopped and grinned at the others. "Good race," Adam said. "But I won."
Sean grinned at him. "Not by much. And you don't have a chance on a bike."
"You only won … because you're … the only … one of us … besides Sean … who goes running … every week," Nick said irritably as he tried to catch his breath.
"That's not true," Melanie said. She was watching Nick, coolly. She didn't seem to be breathing hard at all; she looked as if she'd just returned from a short, pleasant walk. "Adam and Sean aren't the only Circle members who run. Laurel and I run a couple of miles three or four times a week. Diana runs, too, sometimes. So does Deborah. And Cassie's joined us a couple of times."
Nick actually smiled at her. "In that case, I guess I need to start running."
Melanie smiled back. "And stay away from those cigarettes."