The Captive Page 0,53

oak leaves was sitting on a chair beside Diana, and one of Diana's slender hands was resting on it, caressing it as if for comfort. It was an unconscious gesture-and a completely revealing one. A bolt of resentment shot through Cassie's heart. Herne and the goddess Diana-they belonged together, right? And Diana knew it. Later tonight they'd probably perform that little ceremony Faye had been talking about.

Cassie looked up and found Faye looking at her, golden eyes hooded and ironic. Faye smiled faintly.

"What is it?" Diana was saying. "Cassie?"

"Nothing." Cassie stared down at the threadbare violet rug on the hardwood floor. "Nothing. I feel all right now," she added. It was true, the disorientation was almost gone. But the memory of that smoky face stayed with her.

"What an ending to our Halloween," Laurel said.

"We should have stayed at the dance," said Suzan, sitting back and crossing her legs. "We didn't learn anything-and Cassie got hurt," she added, after a moment's thought.

"But we did learn something. We learned that Black John's ghost is still around-and it's malevolent," Adam said. "It certainly wouldn't answer any of our questions."

"And it's strong," Diana said. "Strong enough to influence all of us, to keep us from moving." She looked at Cassie. "Except Cassie. I wonder why."

Cassie felt a flash of discomfort, and she shrugged.

"It doesn't matter how strong it is," Melanie said. "Halloween's over in a few hours, and after that it won't have any power."

"But we still don't know any more about the skull. Or about Kori," Doug said, unusually serious.

"And I don't think we even know that Black John is-how did you put it, Adam? Malevolent," came Faye's husky slow voice. "Maybe he just didn't feel like talking."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," began Laurel.

Before an argument could break out, Diana said, "Look, it's late, and we're all tired. We're not going to get anything solved tonight. If Cassie really is okay, I think we should all go home and get some rest."

There was a pause, and then nods of agreement.

"We can talk about it at school-or at Nick's birthday," Laurel said.

"I'll take Cassie home," Nick said at the door.

Cassie glanced at him quickly. He hadn't said much while she'd been lying on the couch-but he'd been there. He'd come along with the rest of them to make sure she was all right.

"Then Deborah can come with me," Melanie said. "She rode in with you, right?"

"Can you drive me, too? I really am tired,"

Diana said, and Melanie nodded easily.

Cassie scarcely noticed the rest of the goodbyes. What she was noticing was that Adam was leaving in his Jeep Cherokee, heading north, and Diana was going with Melanie and Deborah, going south.

No Herne-and-Diana ceremony tonight, Cassie thought, and a wash of relief went through her. Relief-and a ripple of mean gladness. It was wrong, it was bad-but she felt it.

Just as she got into Nick's car, she saw Faye smiling at her with raised eyebrows, and before she knew it, Cassie had smiled back.

The next day when Cassie stepped out of her house she stopped in shock. The sugar-maple trees across the street had changed. The blazing autumn colors that had reminded her of fire were gone. So were the leaves. Every branch was bare.

It looked like a Halloween skeleton.

"Nick won't let us do much for his birthday tomorrow," Laurel said. "I wish we could give him a real surprise party."

Deborah snorted. "He'd walk right out."

"I know. Well, we'll try to think of something he won't think is too infantile. And"-Laurel brightened-"we can make up for it on the other birthdays."

"What other birthdays?" Cassie said.

All the girls of the Club looked at her. They were sitting in the back room of the cafeteria, having a special conference while the guys kept Nick away.

"You mean you don't know about the birthday season?" Suzan asked in disbelief. "Diana didn't tell you?"

Diana opened her mouth and then shut it again. Cassie guessed she didn't know how to say that she and Cassie didn't talk that much anymore, at least not in private.

"Let's see if I can keep it straight," Faye said with a low chuckle, eyes on the ceiling. She began to count on fingers tipped with long, gleaming scarlet nails. "Nick's is November third. Adam's is November fifth. Melanie's is November seventh. Mine-and oh, yes, Diana's, too-is November tenth..."

"Are you kidding?" Cassie broke in.

Laurel shook her head as Faye went relentlessly on. "Chris and Doug's is November seventeenth, Suzan's is the twenty-fourth, and Deborah's is the twenty-eighth. Laurel's