The Captive Page 0,9
to do.
I can't, Cassie thought, as her stomach plummeted giddily. She could feel the slow, sick pounding of her heart. Right this minute around her own neck was hanging the crescent-moon necklace that Diana had given her at her initiation. How could she steal from Diana, deceive Diana?
But she'd been through all that before. There was no way out. Faye would do exactly what she had threatened-Cassie knew that. The only way to save Diana was to deceive her.
It's for her own good, Cassie told herself. So just stop thinking about it. Do what you have to and get it over with.
"Cassie? You look upset."
"I-" Cassie started to say, no, of course not, and change the subject the way she usually did when somebody caught her daydreaming. But then she had an idea. "I don't really feel like going home alone," she said, grimacing. "It's not just the walk-it's that house. It creaks and rattles all night long and sometimes I can't even get to sleep. Especially if I'm thinking about. . . about..."
"Is that all?" Diana said, smiling. "Well, that's easy to take care of. Sleep here." Cassie was stricken at how easily Diana made the offer. "And if you're worried about the skull," Diana went on, "you can stop. It's not going anywhere, and it's not going to do anything more to hurt people. I promise."
Cassie's face flamed and she had to struggle not to look at the cabinet. She would never have mentioned the skull herself: she couldn't have gotten the word out. "Okay," she said, trying to keep her voice normal. "Thanks. I'll call my mom and tell her I'm staying over."
"We can drive to your house so you can get dressed in the morning-I'll check on the guest room." As Diana left, the voices in Cassie's mind were rioting. You little sneak, they shouted at her. You nasty, weaselly, lying little traitor-
Shut up! Cassie shouted back at them, with such force that they actually did shut up.
She called her mother.
"The guest room's ready," Diana said, reappearing as Cassie hung up the phone. "But if you get scared in the night you can come in here."
"Thanks," Cassie said, genuinely grateful.
"What are big sisters for?"
They sat up and talked for a while, but neither of them had had much sleep the night before, and as the clock's hands edged closer to ten they were both yawning.
"I'll take my bath tonight so you can have one in the morning," Diana said. "The hot water doesn't last long around here."
"Isn't there a spell to take care of that?"
Diana laughed and tossed a book to her. "Here, see if you can find one."
It was the Book of Shadows Diana had brought to Cassie's initiation, the one that had been in Diana's family since the first witches came to New Salem. The brittle yellow pages had a mildewy smell that made Cassie wrinkle her nose, but she was glad to have this chance to look at it. Toward the beginning of the book the writing was small and almost illegible, but further on it became stylized and beautiful, like copperplate. Different authors, Cassie thought, different generations. The Post-it notes and plastic flags on almost every page were the work of the current generation.
It was full of spells, descriptions of coven meetings, rituals, and stories. Cassie pored over it, her eyes moving in fascination from one title to the next. Some of the spells seemed quaint and archaic; others were like something out of a modern pop-psychology book. Some were just timeless.
A Charm to Cure a Sickly Child, she read. To Make Hens Lay. For Protection Against Fire and Water. To Overcome a Bad Habit. To Cast Out Fear and Malignant Emotions. To Find Treasure. To Change Your Luck. To Turn Aside Evil.
A Talisman For Strength caught her eye.
Take a smooth and shapely rock, and upon one face carve the rising sun and a crescent moon, horns up. Upon the reverse, the words:
Strength of stone
Be in my bone
Power of light
Sustain my fight.
I could use that, Cassie thought. She continued flipping through the pages. A Spell Against Contagious Disease. To Hold Evil Harmless. To Cause Dreams.
And then, as if her guilty conscience had summoned it up, another spell appeared before her eyes. For an Untrue Lover.
Standing in the light of a full moon, take a strand of the lover's hair and tie knots in it, saying:
No peace find
No friend keep
No lover bind
No harvest reap
No repose take
No hunger feed
No thirst slake
No sorrow speed
No