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water was stil and dark. The vibrations were very different
here, surrounded by water and stone and glass.
"While we wait to see if Raven is coming," said Hunter, "let's
go around the circle and get a quick rundown of what you've
been up to, what you've been studying, any questions you
have, and so on. We should be preparing for Imbolic, also.
It's a time to think about new beginnings." He nodded to
Matt, who was sitting to his right.
Matt was starting to look more like himself after weeks and
weeks of looking both odd and somewhat disheveled.
Tonight he was wearing a dark red velour sweatshirt and
black cords, and his thick black hair was neatly cut, and
brushed smoothly back. "I'm okay. I've been doing some
general studying of correspondences---especially how to
work with crystals."
"Good," Hunter said. "Next."
Thalia sat up straighter. I didn't know Thalia all that wel ; like
Alisa, she had been part of the original Kithic coven, led by
Sky, before they had absorbed the six of us who had been in
the Cirrus coven, originally led by Cal. "I've been crazed with
a science project. Other than that I've been reading a book
about candle-burning rituals. It's real y interesting."
"I'm stil doing a lot with the Tarot," said Bree. "I'm real y
loving it. Every time I do a reading, it's like a therapy session.
I have to sit and really think about what the cards said and
how it applies to my life."
Robbie was next. "My dad lost his job. Again. Mom's
threatening to kick him out. Again. He'l get another job, Mom
will get off his back, everything will be back to normal. Again.
It's a little stressful, but I'm used to it. In terms of Wicca, I've
been reading El is Hindsworth's Basic History of the White
Art."
"That's a good book," said Hunter. "I hope things quiet down
for you at home."
Sharon, Ethan and Jenna al checked in. Simon Bakehouse,
between Jenna and me, said he'd been studying Celtic
deities.
I thought about how ironic it was that Amyranth was planning
to destroy Starlocket at Imbolic, which is supposed to be a
time of rebirth. It seemed especial y horrible. I felt a twinge of
panic at the weight of my responsibility. When it was my turn
to speak, I cleared my throat.
"I've been studying a bunch of different stuff---history and spel
s and the basics of spel craft.
I'm having a hard time in school. And my parents are against
Wicca."
Alisa Soto was next. Most of us were seventeen and
eighteen, and so she, at fifteen, seemed very young. "My dad
is against Wicca, too. He thinks it's some kind of weird cult. I
don't get it. Two of my aunts practice Santeria, so he should
accept alternative religions. I've been reading a biography of
a women who discovered Wicca and what it means to her."
Last was Sky. She didn't look at any of us, and her voice was
low and steady, almost expressionless. "I've been studying
the medicinal uses of herbs. I'm thinking of going back to
England for a while."
I looked at her in surprise, wondering of she wanted to leave
because of how Raven was acting. Sky and I had never been
close, but we had forged a mutual respectful relationship,
and I would miss her if she left.
"Okay." said Hunter. He didn't look surprised. I figured that
this must be something he and Sky had already discussed.
Turning back to the circle, he held a hand out to each side. "I
guess we can assume Raven's not coming, so let's stand up,
join hands, close our eyes, and concentrate. Relax
everything, release any pent-up energy, focus on your
breathing, and open up to receive magick."
Now the twelve of us stood in a circle. Hunter and Bree had
lit many candles, and they surrounded us, flickering with our
movements. I was beneath stars, next to water, standing on
stone, in a circle of magick, and I felt that quick ecstatic
fluttering in my chest that told me my body was open to
receive what the Goddess wanted to give me.
Slowly we moved deasil around our central candle. Hunter
started a basic power chant, one we'd used before. Out
voices wove together like ribbons, like warm and cold ocean
currents sliding into one. Our faces were lit by candles, by
joy, by fel owship, by an unexpected yet required trust of
each other. Our feet flew across the flagstones, our energy
rose, and the magick came down and surrounded us, lifting
our hearts, fillings us with peace and excitement, making our
hair cackle with static. During this time my worries about
Ciaran, my dangerous mission, my fears al melted away.
This was pure white magick, and it seemed a mil ion miles
away from the darkness and destruction that Ciaran
represented.
I could have stayed in the circle all night, whirling, feeling the
magick, feeling beautiful and strong and whole and safe. But
gently, gently, Hunter brought it down, slowed our steps,
smoothed the energy, and then we sank gently on the stones
again, our knees touching, our hands linked, our faces
flushed and expectant.
"Everyone take a moment, close your eyes, and think of what
you'l turn your energy toward,"
Hunter said softly. "What do you need help with, what are you
able to give? Open your heart and let the answer come, and
when you're finished, look up again."
My head drooped, and my eyes fluttered shut. There was a
strong, pulsing cord of white magick inside me, there for the
taking, there for me to use as I would. The answer came to
me almost immediately. Let me save Starlocket. Let me
protect Alyce from harm.
I straightened and opened my eyes to see Hunter looking at
me intently. He blinked when I met his gaze and looked
away. What had I seen in his eyes?
When everyone had looked up, we dropped our hands, and
Hunter began the lesson.
"I want to talk about light and dark," he said, his English
accent seeming elegant and precise.
"Light and dark are, of course, two sides of the same coin.
They make up everything we know in life. This concept has
been more readily described as the principle of yin and
yang.
Light and dark are two halves of a whole. One cannot exist
without the other. And more important, they are connected by
infinite shades of gray."
Uh-oh. I was starting to see where this was going. I'd had
similar conversations with Cal and with David Redstone. The
whole point of this light/dark concept is that it isn't always
crystal clear what belongs on which side. Making a choice
for good isn't always easy or even identifiable.
"For example," Hunter went on, "a microbe can kil ---like
botulinum toxin. But the same thing, in a tiny amount, can be
healing. A knife can be used to save a life or to take it. Love
can be the most joyous gift or a strangling prison."
So true, I thought, thinking of what I'd lost with Hunter. I also
couldn't help flicking my eyes towards Sky. Her face was
composed, she was looking at the ground, but at Hunter's
word a delicate pink blush loomed on her pale cheeks.
"The sun itself is necessary for life," Hunter said, "But it can
also burn crops, make people die of thirst, sear our skin until
blisters form. A fire, too, can bring life, make our food
healthy, help protect us---but it can also be a raging avenger,
consuming everything in its path, taking life indiscriminately,
and leaving behind nothing but ash."
I swal owed, a mosaic of fire images dancing in front of me.
Fire and I had a love/hate relationship. Fire and I had been
close allies until Cal had tried to kil me with fire... and fire had
been Ciaran's weapon against my mother.
"Light and dark," Hunter said. "Two halves of a whole.
Everything we do, say, feel, express---
it all has two sides. Which side to promote is a decision we
each make everyday, many times a day."
I felt like Hunter was speaking directly to me. The differences
between light and dark, good and evil were simply blurred for
me sometimes. Almost every experienced witch I had ever
spoken to had confessed the same thing. The horrible thing
was, the more you learned, the less clear it was. Which was
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