“She’s alive and well and still . . . You need to talk to her.” Vi nodded and wouldn’t say any more. Holding her finger to her lips, she shooed me inside.
I found Seth in my father’s office, huddled over a small black box with backlit buttons and a glowing screen. It was definitely a step up from his old scanner. Dad was giving Seth the rundown of 10-codes.
“Hey, we better get going if we want to make the ceremony,” I said.
Seth had been writing the codes on a card, which he folded and stuffed in his jeans pocket.
“Okay. Later, Papa.” Seth held out his hand for a fist bump and after considering for a moment Dad tapped his fist against Seth’s.
We said good-bye to Mom and Vi, who were in the living room poring over Mom’s new tarot cards. The dogs followed and we all jumped in the Jeep.
“That was pretty uneventful for a dinner over there,” Seth said as he leaned back in the seat.
I nodded, thinking that even though the dogs hadn’t eaten anything they shouldn’t, and no one had gotten into a heated argument, something eventful had happened. Vi had gone behind my mother’s back and pointed me in a direction I didn’t even know existed.
*
The lot was packed when we arrived. Because the fair had been dismantled that afternoon, the final ceremony was to take place at Message Circle. It was closer to the road than the fair had been and would allow all the festival attendees to get out to the main roads quickly to drive home.
We picked our way along the path, which was lit with battery-powered lanterns every fifteen feet or so. Seth had launched a vocal campaign over the summer to use kerosene lamps. He had an affection for the oil lamps my mom dragged out when the power failed during storms. Diana and I had vetoed the idea for safety and transportation reasons.
“See how fake that looks? Not spooky at all,” Seth groused as we walked along the path.
“It’s not supposed to be spooky. And they’re safer than kerosene. You can’t go driving around with a backseat full of kerosene.”
“Whatever,” Seth grumbled. “It would look way better.”
Thankfully, we caught up to some other people walking toward the circle and he fell silent.
Lit with small torches, eerie shadows jumped among the seats and darkened the trees as we approached Message Circle. Larger torches flanked a boulder draped with black cloth holding Diana’s cauldron.
There was an air of celebration as people dressed in hooded robes greeted others dressed in jeans and leather jackets. A few wore down jackets and hats. I wished I had worn gloves. Morgan Lavelle was hard to miss. She towered over her two companions. One was the woman I had seen Diana speaking with at the festival. Her earrings glinted in the firelight. The other was an older version of the first, with long gray hair. I assumed it must be Ember and Bronwyn.
Diana was already in the center of the circle directing people to find a seat. She wore her black velvet robes and I was jealous of the warmth they must provide. Seth and I shivered in our light jackets. A long-standing superstition, I didn’t pull out my winter coat until the first snow. The longer I held out without wearing the coat, the less snow we would get. I didn’t think it actually worked, since every year we got dumped on. But the habit persisted. Lake-effect snow was worthy of superstition.
Seth entertained himself by watching his breath turn to mist. He at least had Tuffy sitting on his lap for warmth. Baxter would crush me if he sat on my lap. I tried to bury my hands in Baxter’s fur and his drool soaked through my jeans when he rested his head on my leg. It was time to get this ceremony going. Skye Paxton spotted us and sat next to Seth. She introduced her younger sister, Faith, who looked about fifteen. They fawned over Tuffy and I wasn’t sure which one was enjoying it more, Seth or Tuffy.
A hush fell as Diana stood and raised her arms. After a brief welcome, she asked us to join hands. Ugh. I hated holding hands with strangers. I grabbed Seth’s hand and he took Skye’s hand as if his life depended on it. I turned to my right with my hand out and was surprised to see Lucan sitting there. He was very quiet for such a large man. At least he wasn’t a complete stranger.
Diana thanked everyone for participating, and said she would send positive energy through the circle. It reminded me of my Girl Scout days when we would hold hands and pass the squeeze around the circle. Then a lit sage stick made its way through the crowd just like on Halloween—Wiccans were big on clearing energy with smoke. She asked us to sit, and allowed the crowd of about forty to share some favorite experiences from the festival. This, of course, began to devolve into a discussion of Rafe’s death. After a few queries about Rafe, his coven, and his allergies, Diana firmly steered everyone to more pleasant subjects, such as the workshops, food, and camaraderie. I still heard muttered comments about Rafe, but the group respected Diana enough to move on. When the comments had died down, Diana raised her arms in the center of the circle. The group fell silent.