The Power Page 0,71

asked, sitting up. "Actually, it's a good idea. You could be a triumvirate. You know, like in Roman times; they had three rulers."

"Diana might not want to," Nick repeated, with rising inflection. But Cassie got up and went over to her anxiously.

"You will, won't you?" she said. "For me?"

Diana looked at her, then at the rest of the Club.

"Yeah, go on," Doug said expansively.

"Three's a good number," Laurel added, smiling impishly.

Faye sighed heavily. "Oh, why not?" she grumbled, looking in the other direction.

Diana looked at Cassie. "All right," she said.

Cassie hugged her.

Diana pushed a strand of fair hair back. "Now I've got something for you to do," she said. "As a leader, you're not a junior member of the coven anymore, Cassie, but nobody else can do this. Will you please go and dig up that box I gave you on the night of Hecate?"

"The trust festival box? Is this the time to unbury it?"

"Yes," Diana said. "It is." She was looking at Melanie and Melanie was nodding at her, obviously sharing some secret.

Cassie looked at both of them, puzzled, but then she went down the road to get the box, accompanied only by Raj, who trotted along behind her. It was wonderful to be alone, and to know that nothing was out to get her. She dug in the sand near the big rock where she'd buried it that night, and pulled the damp box out. The sea flashed and sparkled at her.

She brought it back to Diana's house, breathless from the walk, and presented it to Diana.

"What's in there? More Master Tools?" Doug said.

"It's probably some girl thing," said Chris.

Diana bent over the box, an odd expression on her face. "You didn't open it," she said to Cassie.

Cassie shook her head.

"Well, I know you didn't," Diana said. "I knew you wouldn't. But I wanted you to know. Anyway, it's yours; and what's inside it, too. It's a present." She blew drying sand off the box and handed it back to Cassie.

Cassie looked at her doubtfully, then shook the box. It rattled lightly, as if there were something small inside. She glanced at Diana again. Then, hesitantly, with an almost scared feeling, she opened it.

Inside, there was only one object. A little oval of rock, pale blue swirled with gray, embedded all over with tiny crystals which sparkled in the sunlight.

The chalcedony rose.

Every muscle frozen but her eyes, Cassie looked at Diana. She didn't know what to do or say. She didn't understand. But her heart was beating violently.

"It's yours," Diana said again, and then, as Cassie just crouched there, immobile, she looked at Melanie. "Maybe you'd better explain."

Melanie cleared her throat. "Well," she said, and looked over at Adam, who was sitting as still as Cassie. He hadn't said much all morning, and now he was staring at Diana wordlessly, riveted.

"Well," Melanie said again. Adam still wouldn't look at her, so she went on anyway. "It was when Adam was telling us about how he met you," she said to Cassie. "He described a connection - what you called a silver cord. You remember that?"

"Yes," said Cassie, not moving otherwise. She was looking at Diana now too, searching Diana's face. Diana looked back serenely.

"Well, the silver cord is something real, something in the old legends. The people it connects are soul mates - you know, meant to be together. So when Diana and I heard about it, we knew that's what you and Adam are," Melanie finished, sounding glad to be done explaining to people who wouldn't look at her.

"That was why I was surprised about Nick, you see," Diana said to Cassie, gently. "Because I knew you could only love Adam. And I was going to tell you at the very beginning, but then you were asking me to give you another chance, to let you prove you could be faithful . . . and I thought that was a good idea. Not for me, but for you. So you'd know, Cassie, how strong you are. Do you see?"

Cassie nodded mutely. "But - Diana - " she whispered.

Diana blinked, her emerald eyes misting over. "Now you're going to make me cry," she said. "Cassie, with all the unselfishness that's been going on around here, do you think I'm not going to do my part? You two have been waiting for months because of me. Now you don't have to wait anymore."

"There's nothing anybody can do about it," Melanie put in, sympathetically but pragmatically. "You and Adam are