while others were dark as wine. His blue-gray eyes looked silver.
He'd found her.
Everything was motionless. The ocean's roar seemed hushed and distant, and Cassie was aware of no other sound. Even the breeze had died. It was as if the entire world was waiting.
Slowly, Cassie got to her feet.
The green shawl fell behind her, discarded. She could feel the cold, but only because it made her aware of her own body, of every part of it, tingling like electricity. Yet strangely, although she was keenly aware of her body, she also seemed to be floating above it. Just like the first time, she seemed to see herself - and him - standing there on the beach.
She could see herself in her thin white night-gown and bare feet, her hair loose on her shoulders, looking up at him. Like Clara in the Nutcracker ballet, she thought, when she wakes up in the middle of the night and looks at the Nutcracker Prince who's come to take her away into a world of magic. She felt like Clara. As if the moonlight had transformed her into something delicate and beautiful, something enchanted. As if he might take her in his arms right then and dance with her. As if in the moonlight they could dance forever.
They were gazing at each other. From the moment their eyes had met, neither of them had looked away. She could see the wonder in his face. As if he were as surprised to see her as she was to see him - but how could he be? He had found her; he must have been looking for her.
The silver cord, she thought. She couldn't see it now, but she could feel it, feel the vibrations of its power. She could feel it connecting them, heart to heart. The trembling went from her chest into her stomach, and then all over.
The cord was tightening, drawing them together. It was pulling her closer to him. Slowly, his hand came up and he reached out to her. She raised her own hand, to put it in his -
And there was a cry from behind her. The tall boy looked over her shoulder, distracted. And then his hand fell away.
Something came between them, something bright. Bright like sunlight, shattering Cassie's trance. It was Diana, and she was embracing the tall red-haired boy. She was holding him. No - they were holding each other. Cassie stared, stunned, at the sight of him with his arms around someone else. She was barely able to comprehend the words she heard next.
"Oh, Adam - I'm so glad you're back."
Cassie stood like a pillar of ice.
She hadn't seen Diana break down before, but Diana was breaking down now. She was crying. Cassie could see her shaking and could see how the tall boy - how Adam - held her to try and stop it.
Held her. He was holding Diana. And his name was Adam.
"You mean she hasn't told you about Adam yet? Diana, there's such a thing as carrying modesty too far..." "Who is he? Is he your boyfriend?..." "He's nice. I think youi'll like him..."
Cassie fell to her knees and buried her face in Raj's fur, clinging to the big dog. She couldn't bear for anyone to see her face right now, and she was grateful for Raj's warm solidity as she leaned against him. Oh, God; oh, God ...
Vaguely, she could hear Adam's voice. "What's wrong? I tried to get back for Kori's initiation, but where is she? What's going on?" He looked at Cassie. "And - "
"Her name is Cassie Blake," Diana said. "She's Mrs. Howard's granddaughter, and she's just moved here."
"Yes, I - "
But Diana, her voice distracted by grief, was still speaking. "And we just initiated her instead of Kori."
"What?" Adam demanded. "Why?"
There was a silence. Finally, it was Melanie who spoke up, her voice as quiet and detached as a newscaster's making an announcement. "Because this morning - or yesterday morning, rather, since it's really Wednesday now - Kori's body was found at the bottom of the school hill. Her neck was broken."
"Oh, God." Cassie looked up to see Adam's grip on Diana tighten. He shut his eyes briefly as she leaned against him, shaking again. Then he looked at the Henderson brothers. "Chris... Doug..."
Doug's teeth were clenched. "Outsiders did it," he said.
"Sally did it," snarled Deborah.
"We don't know who did it," Diana said. She spoke with passionate force. "And we're not going to do anything until we