The Secret Circle: The Captive Part II and The Power (24 page)

“I’m going to do a picture, I believe,” Diana was saying thoughtfully, “to add to my collection. What do you think of the Muse, with the moon and stars around her, looking inspired?”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Cassie said unsteadily.

“What we really have to talk about,” said Melanie, “is what we’re going to do with the Master Tools now. We have power; the coven has power, and we need to decide what to do with it.”

“Naw, what we need to do is
party
,” Doug said. “To make up for all the birthdays that we missed. Chris and me didn’t get a real party, and neither did Sean or Laurel . . .”

“Environmentalism,” Laurel was saying firmly to Melanie. “That should be our first cause.”

“I didn’t get a party either,” Suzan pointed out, delicately peeling the wrapper off a Twinkle.

Faye examined her nails, jewel-red, in the sunlight. “I know some people I want to hex,” she said.

Cassie looked at them all, her coven, laughing and arguing and debating with each other. She looked at Nick, who was leaning back, looking amused, and he caught her eye and winked.

Then she looked at Diana, whose clear green eyes shone at her for a moment. Then, “Yes, environmentalism is good,” Diana said, turning to Laurel. “But we have to think about how to improve relations with the outsiders, too . . .”

Cassie looked at Adam and found him looking at her. He took her hand, closing it in his own, both of them holding the chalcedony rose.

Cassie looked down at their intertwined fingers, and it seemed that she could see the silver cord again, wrapping around their two hands, connecting them. But not just them. Filaments of the cord seemed to web out and touch the others of the group, linking them together with silver light. They were all connected, all part of one another, and the light shone around them to touch the earth and sky and sea.

Sky and sea, keep harm from me. Earth and fire, bring my desire
.

They had. And they would in the future. With her inner vision, Cassie saw that the Circle was part of something bigger, like a spiral that went on and on forever, encompassing everything, touching the stars.

“I love you,” Adam whispered.

From the center of the Circle, Cassie smiled.

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