The Captive Page 0,43

I know you wouldn't do anything like that."

Cassie was feeling more and more agitated. Something inside her was getting ready to snap. "Well, I was there. And I did do it. And"-she was getting close to the source of the anguish inside her-"you don't know what kind of things I would or wouldn't do. I've already done some things-"

"Cassie, calm down-"

Cassie reeled a step backward, stung. "I am calm. Don't tell me to calm down!"

"Cassie, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me. I just want to be left alone!"

Diana's eyes sparked green. She was tired, Cassie knew, and anxious. And maybe she'd reached a snapping point, too. "All right," she said, with unaccustomed sharpness in her normally gentle voice. "I'll leave you alone, then."

"Fine," Cassie said, her throat swollen and her eyes stinging. She didn't want to fight with Diana-but all this anger and pain inside her had to go somewhere. She'd never known how awful it was to have people insist you were good, when you werern't.

Her fingers unclenched from the piece of hematite, and she left it in her pocket as she turned around and walked away. She stared down over the edge of the cliff at the swirling waves below.

Faye moved in beside her, bringing a scent of sweet, musky perfume. "Show it to me."

"Huh?"

"I want to see what's in your pocket that you've been holding on to like it might run away."

Cassie hesitated, then slowly drew the smooth, heavy stone out.

Still facing the ocean, Faye examined it. "A hematite crystal. That's rare." She held it up to the moonlight and chuckled. "Did Melanie ever tell you about some of hematite's more- unusual properties? No? Well, even though it looks black, if you cut it into thin slices, they're transparent and red. And the dust that comes off the stone turns the liquid that cools the cutting wheel as red as blood."

She gave the stone back to Cassie, who held it loosely, looking down at it. No matter where it came from, it was her crystal now. She'd known that from the moment she'd seen it. How could she give it up?

"I found it here, by the foundation of the house," she said dully.

Faye's eyebrows lifted. Then she collected herself. "Hm. Well-of course, anybody could have dropped it here in the past three hundred years."

A strange sense of excited relief filtered through Cassie. "Yes," she said. "Of course. Anybody could have." She put the crystal back in her pocket. Faye's hooded golden eyes were gleaming at her, and Cassie felt herself nod. She didn't have to give up the crystal after all.

Adam was calling people back into a group. "Just one thing before everybody leaves," he was saying. He seemed oblivious to the little drama that had been enacted between Cassie and Diana a few minutes earlier.

"I have an idea," he said, when the Club had gathered around again. "You know, I just realized that everything connected with the dark energy has led to death, to the dead. The cemetery; that ghost-shape Cassie and Deborah and Nick and I saw on the road; even this place-a ruined house built by a dead man. And-well, the weekend after next is Samhain."

There was a murmur from the group. Adam looked at Cassie and said, "You know, Halloween. All Saints' Eve, November Eve, whatever. But no matter what you call it, it's the night when the dead walk. And I know it might be dangerous, but I think we should do a ceremony, either here or at the cemetery, on Halloween. We'll see what we can call up." He turned to Diana. "What do you think?"

This time the response was silence. Diana looked concerned, Melanie doubtful, Sean openly scared. Doug and Chris were grinning their wild grins, and Deborah was nodding fiercely. Faye had her head cocked to one side, considering; Nick stood with his arms across his chest, stone-faced. But it was Laurel and Suzan who spoke up.

"But what about the dance?" Laurel said, and Suzan said, "Saturday night is the Halloween dance and I've already got my shoes."

"We always have a party on Halloween," Melanie explained to Cassie. "It's a big witch holiday. But this year Halloween falls on Saturday, and the school dance is the same night. Still," she said slowly, "I don't see why we couldn't do both. We could leave the dance around eleven thirty and still have plenty of time for a ceremony here."

"And I think it should be here," Diana said, "and not