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slightly. Adam was gone. She looked at Nick in the moonlight, at the clean carven handsomeness of his features with their hint of coldness. Except his eyes weren't cold now.

Passion, she thought and brought up Faye's red candle in her mind. Then she kissed him.

She'd never really kissed anybody besides Adam, but she guessed she knew how to do it well enough. Nick's mouth was warm, and that was nice. She felt how startled he was, and then instantly felt the surprise swept away by something deeper, sweeter. She felt him kissing her back.

She kissed not to think. Kissing was good for that. Suzan had been dead wrong about Nick. He wasn't an iguana. Little lines of fire ran along Cassie's nerves, tingling her fingers. She felt warm all over.

Eventually, they both broke it. Cassie looked up at him, her fingers still intermeshed with his.

"Sorry," she said unsteadily. "I was just scared."

"Remind me to get you scared frequently," Nick said. He looked slightly dazed.

"We'd better go back. Black John was here."

She had to give Nick credit; he didn't yell "What?" and shake her. He cast a quick, hunting look around, switching his grip on her so that he was holding her arm with his left hand and his right hand was free.

"He's gone now," she said. "There was a shadow that came out from that rock, but it's not there anymore."

"After this, nobody goes out alone," Nick said, guiding her toward the rocks they had to climb to get back to the crossroads.

"I think he was trying to get into my mind," Cassie told the others when they were all back at Adam's house again. She sat beside Nick, holding tightly to his hand. "To influence me, or. take me over, or whatever. I didn't know how to stop him. If you guys hadn't come, he would have done it."

"Nobody should be out by themselves anymore," Nick said, with a hard glance at Diana. It was unlike Nick to say anything at meetings, but now his voice was decisive, not to be argued with.

"I agree," said Melanie. "Moreover, I think we should do something to defend ourselves, to put up some kind of shield against him."

"What did you have in mind?" Adam asked her. He was sitting on the arm of Diana's chair, his face calm, his voice steady.

"Some kind of crystal might help. Amethyst, maybe. It should help us to focus and fight against him, against any psychic attack. Of course, if anyone were simultaneously wearing another crystal that he could use against them - like hematite - it wouldn't do any good." Melanie was looking at Faye.

Faye made an impatient gesture. "As I've already told my interfering cousin, I don't have any stupid hematite. I don't have to steal other people's crystals."

"All right; we won't argue," Diana said. "Melanie, do you have enough amethysts at your place? Or can you lend us some, Laurel? I think we should get them ready immediately, so everybody can wear them home tonight."

"Yes, and keep them on all the time," Melanie said. "When you take a bath, when you go to sleep, at school, whatever. But wear them under your clothes; don't let him see the crystals, if possible. They'll be more effective that way."

"What a way to end a party," Doug groused, as he picked up his jacket.

"Think of it as a party favor," Nick replied unsympathetically. "A memento." He squeezed Cassie's fingers quickly with a sideways glance, as if to say he knew what he would be remembering.

Cassie felt warmed by that. But as they were leaving for Melanie's house she asked casually, "By the way, why did you guys come after me?"

"Yeah, did you get bored with the party or something? Found out you couldn't deal all by yourselves, so you had to find us girls?" Deborah put in, her dark eyes flashing at Chris.

Chris looked at her oddly. "No, we were dealin' fine. It was Adam who told us to come. He said Cassie was in trouble."

Chapter Nine

Cassie's piece of amethyst was quite large. It was a pendant, hanging from the claws of a silver owl with outspread wings, and it felt cool against Cassie's chest under her blue and white sweater. She checked in Diana's mirror to make sure it didn't make a bump and then touched it nervously. Cassie had had three stones so far: the chalcedony rose Adam had given her, the quartz necklace Melanie had put around her neck at the Homecoming