“Thank you,” Marcia said with a smile. Then she shot Piper a reproving look and disappeared through the door.
The moment Phoebe released her grip on Piper, she burst out laughing. “I think I just got on Marcia’s bad side,” she said, lowering herself onto her cot.
“Well, that was kind of rude, Piper,” Paige said, putting her hands on her hips.
“You don’t even talk to me,” Piper said, only semiseriously. “I mean, the Horned God? Paige, what have you gotten us into?”
Paige simply shrugged and screwed her face up apologetically. “I’ve been doing some reading, but I guess I haven’t gotten as far as the Horned God,” she said.
“Hey, let’s remember we’re here for a reason,” Phoebe said. “We might not be in the middle of the Vegas action, but maybe that’s a good thing. No distractions means we can concentrate on finding the kidnapper.”
“Good point,” Piper said.
“Thank you,” Phoebe said, unzipping her suitcase. “Now, let’s get dressed and go to this meet-and-greet thing and see what we can find out.”
Chapter
5
“Everybody ready?” Phoebe asked, pulling her long hot-pink sweater on over her tank top. Piper wrapped her hair into a ponytail and snapped the rubber band, and Paige pulled on a pair of sneakers, stifling a huge yawn.
“I’m exhausted from that flight. Who has a meet-and-greet at midnight, anyway?” Paige asked, stretching her arms above her head.
“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to learn more about Wicca,” Piper said as she headed for the door. “Take a note, they’re night people.”
“Ha, ha,” Paige said with a smirk. She slipped through the door as Piper held the flap aside, and Phoebe followed.
“How do we know where we’re…”
Phoebe’s question died in her throat the moment she hit the fresh air. Dozens of people were streaming out of tents toward an incredibly bright light in the center of the camp area. Smoke and embers rose into the night sky, and even from this distance Phoebe could hear the crackling of a huge fire. The sweet, musky smell of burning wood filled the air.
“Never mind,” she said.
Piper led the way along the path that wound between the tents. As they walked Phoebe studied some of the other Wiccans, all of whom seemed to be staying with their own covens. It was bizarre how easily she could tell who was with whom. There was a group of women who were all dressed in gauzy white gowns and had adorned their hair with flowers. Following behind them was a rowdy bunch of hippie types, all of whom wore cutoff cargo pants or jeans and were chanting something that had to do with the moon and stars.
Phoebe and her sisters had a familial resemblance, but they didn’t exactly travel in uniform. Piper was wearing a sensible V-necked top and jeans, Paige had on a pair of trendy silver nylon track pants and a bright red T-shirt, and Phoebe was wearing a belly-bearing tank top under her cardigan, along with a pair of brightly flowered capri pants.
“Maybe we should have come up with some kind of outfit,” Phoebe said out of the side of her mouth.
“Yeah. Printed T-shirts that say ‘The Charmed Ones’ in big neon letters,” Piper replied with a laugh.
Just as Phoebe and her sisters were about to reach the bonfire, a huge group of young women, all dressed head-to-toe in black, streamed out of a pathway to the right, cutting them off. Each one looked a little bit more irritated than the last.
“They didn’t even give us a place to hang our clothes,” a girl with purple hair and very black eyeliner muttered.
Paige rolled her eyes, but Phoebe looked away so that her sister couldn’t read her face. That was her one and only complaint about the tent as well.
Once all the Goth girls had filed past, Piper walked to the opening between the last two tents and paused. Paige and Phoebe came up behind her, and Phoebe stood up on her tiptoes to see over her sister’s shoulder. Her mouth instantly dropped open in awe. The fire was even bigger than she had expected. Huge, tree-trunk-size logs were gathered together in a monstrous pyramid, and flames shot so high into the air it almost seemed like a volcano. The heat coming from the center of the clearing was intense.
“Look at all these people,” Paige said, gazing at the groups gathered around the fire, talking and laughing. “I thought she said a lot of covens had canceled.”
“Yeah, well, it’s cool to be a Wiccan right now. I guess everybody’s doing it,” Piper said, folding her arms over her chest.
“Come on, Piper, lighten up,” Phoebe said, nudging her when she saw Paige’s flushed reaction to Piper’s comment.
“Sorry,” Piper said, forcing a smile. “What do you say we split up? That way we can cover more ground.”
“Sounds good,” Phoebe said, clapping her hands together. “I’m goin’ this way.” She pointed to the right. At that moment she was actually happy to get away from her sisters before she got caught in the middle of more bickering. “Good luck, you guys!”
Phoebe started to make her way through the crowd, weaving around the covens and looking for a group to join. She couldn’t believe how the covens were sticking to their own. This was supposed to be a meet-and-greet! And wasn’t the whole point of this Gathering to commune with one another, learn from one another, gain strength from one another? At least, that’s what it had said in the brochure Paige had printed off the Web after signing up.
“These people really need to learn how to socialize,” Phoebe said under her breath.
The telltale whistle of a meathead guy cut through the din of conversation, and Phoebe stopped, realizing it was directed at her. Someone was apparently checking her out. She clenched her teeth and silently told herself not to snap. At least now she had an icebreaker. She took a deep breath, turned slowly, and found herself facing a large group of mostly good-looking guys, all of whom were dressed more like they belonged in a trendy New York City bar than at a Coven Gathering. Pressed button-down shirts, gray slacks, and well-shined shoes abounded.
One tall, broad, blond Greek-god type stepped away from the others and looked her up and down appreciatively. Phoebe rolled her eyes.
“Did you really just whistle at me?” she asked.
“You and only you, babe,” the guy replied.
Repulsive, Phoebe thought. But she didn’t say it. “Does that ever work?” she asked.
“Well, you stopped,” the guy said with a cocky smile.
“Yes, but only because I was curious to find out exactly how few brain cells you actually had,” she replied, filling her voice with false sweetness and batting her eyelashes at him.
All of the guy’s friends winced and laughed and whooped. One of them slapped him on the back in glee. His face fell, but only momentarily.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Phoebe,” she replied, taking a few steps closer to the group. “And you are…?”
“Craig,” he replied. “I’m the high priest of this coven.”
“Ah, that explains it,” Phoebe said knowingly.
“Explains what?” he asked.
“Your ego complex,” she replied with a smirk.
“Touché,” Craig said, tilting his head slightly. “Come on, Phoebe, hang out with us.”
Phoebe looked around at the guys, most of whom were watching her appreciatively, and almost walked away. After all, talking to these people could clearly turn out to be the single most annoying experience of her life. But she was supposed to be getting info here, so instead of bailing, she decided just to jump right in and get it over with before they all started coming on to her in turn.
“So, have you guys heard about the kidnappings?” she asked. “Pretty freaky, huh?”
“Yeah, we’re not worried,” a stocky African-American guy said, pushing up the sleeves of his turtleneck. “Let him try to take us on.”
“Yeah, in case you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of us,” another guy with long brown hair put in. His blue eyes practically pierced through Phoebe
as he spoke. “And we’re pretty damn powerful. We’ve dedicated our lives to the Horned God. He will keep us strong.”
“Well…that’s good,” Phoebe replied, having no idea what else to say. It wasn’t like she could tell them that if this thing was actually a warlock or a demon, then paying homage to the Horned God, whoever he was, wasn’t going to do them much good.
“Forget the kidnapper,” Craig said, stepping way too close to her. She could feel his hot breath on her face, and it smelled like alcohol. “Let’s talk about what’s really important. Like where you and I can go to be alone.”
Phoebe briefly imagined the look on this creep’s face if she were to grab him and vault him clear over the fire, but she fought the urge. Instead she held up her left hand and wiggled her ring finger, and her engagement ring, in his face.
“Sorry, Craig,” she said. “I’m taken.”
“So?” he shot back, somehow moving even closer. “Everyone knows that anything goes at these Gatherings.”
“Okay, that’s my cue,” Phoebe said, taking a step back. “Hopefully I won’t see you guys later.”
She turned on her heel and hustled away, suddenly feeling the need for a nice, long shower. That little encounter had been totally pointless and had given her a major case of the creeps. She really hoped that every guy at this Gathering wasn’t as oversexed as that one, because if that was the case, the women weren’t going to stand a chance.
“Phoebe! Phoebe! Wait up!”
Some guy was jogging up behind her, but Phoebe didn’t stop moving. She had a feeling it was Craig, and she couldn’t be responsible for her actions if he made another move on her. She clasped her right hand over her engagement ring, wishing Cole were here right now, and silently warned Craig just to back off.
“Phoebe!”
The guy caught up to her and slid around in front of her, causing Phoebe to stop short. But when she looked up, it wasn’t Craig blocking her way, but a nice-looking guy with short, dark hair and kind blue eyes. She could tell from his trendy clothes that he was part of the evil-guy coven, but she had a gut feeling he and Craig weren’t exactly soul mates.
“Listen, I’m really sorry about those guys,” he said, slightly out of breath. “I just wanted to let you know that we’re not all like that.”
“It’s okay,” Phoebe said, pulling her hands inside the sleeves of her sweater. “But just so you know, I wasn’t walking away because I was intimidated. I was walking away to keep from leveling that Craig guy.”
“I understand,” he said with a laugh. “I have to do the same myself sometimes. I almost wish you had flattened him.” He held out his hand to her and smiled. “I’m Christian. Craig and I sort of share the high priest duties. A good-Wiccan–bad-Wiccan thing, if you will.”
Phoebe grinned and shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Christian. Thanks for coming over.”
“Anytime,” he said. He started to move past her to return to his coven. “Well, I guess I’ll see ya.”
Phoebe turned around as Christian walked away, her conscience taking over. If Christian and Craig were the high priests of their coven, they were most likely targets for the kidnapper. Especially if the coven was as powerful as the guy with the piercing eyes had bragged.
“Christian!” she called out before he got too far. He turned and looked back at her, a question in his eyes. Phoebe walked up to him and cleared her throat, stalling while she tried to find the right words. “Listen…you should watch your back,” she said finally, keeping her voice low as members of other covens walked by in all directions. “It seems like this kidnapper is taking the most powerful member of each coven, so you and Craig are probably up there on his list.”
Christian’s face clouded, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “Really? The most powerful member?” he asked. “That’s interesting.”
“Yeah, well, I just wanted to let you know,” Phoebe said with a quick smile. She turned to walk away before Christian could form any questions. Like how she had figured out the power connection. She didn’t exactly want to explain her involvement with the police and have that rumor running around. She, Paige, and Piper had to try to keep a low profile.
“Thanks for the heads-up, Phoebe!” Christian called after her.
Phoebe raised her hand without looking back, then lost herself in the crowd.
“You’re pretty cool, Paige,” Jasmine Black said, passing Paige a little flask of alcohol she and the other girls in her coven were swigging from. “I’m glad you came over here.”
“Uh…me, too,” Paige said, handing the flask to the purple-haired girl next to her without touching it to her lips. She wasn’t about to consume anything that could make her lose even the slightest bit of control. Not when there was a crazed kidnapper out there.
“Not like all the other losers at this place,” the purple-haired girl said before taking a nice long drink. The rest of the coven laughed, some of them approaching actual cackles, and Paige couldn’t help smiling. If nothing else, Jasmine and her friends were definitely entertaining.
When Paige had started making her way around the fire, she had felt a bit out of place. She’d passed a group of women who were holding some kind of séance, and another crowd of Renaissance Faire rejects dancing around a guy who was playing a lute. It was like all of Piper’s worst nightmares had come true, and Paige was starting to wonder if her sister had been right all along. Maybe there was nothing she could learn from these people. Then she’d heard the loud laughter coming from the group of Goth girls and felt like she was coming home. They reminded her of her friends from high school—disgruntled, dysfunctional, and rowdy.
“So, where’s your coven?” Jasmine asked, shaking her black curls back from her face. She had a nose ring with a purple stone and very pale skin. Paige wasn’t sure if it was her actual complexion or if she’d covered herself with white powder to get the near-dead effect. It was hard to focus on anything in the eerie light and odd shadows cast by the bonfire.
“Oh, we decided to split up and meet people,” Paige said casually.
“Well, you came to the right place. I don’t know why you’d want to meet any of these other poseurs,” Jasmine said snidely. “This place is just crawling with rejects. This Gathering is nothing like what I expected. No one here has any real power.”
Paige pressed her lips together, wondering what Jasmine would think if she orbed herself out of here right now or if Piper blew something up or if Phoebe pulled her ninja act. She could show these girls some real power. Of course, who knew what Jasmine and her friends could do?
“Are you guys…I mean, do you have…”
“Powers?” Jasmine asked, raising her skinny black eyebrows. “Oh, yeah. We’re almost afraid to show these people what we’re capable of.”
“Don’t want to freak out the wanna-bes,” Purple Hair said, elbowing Paige hard in the back and letting out another obnoxious laugh. A few of her friends joined in loudly.
“Seriously,” said the girl to Jasmine’s left, whose name was Sarah and who had the longest brown hair Paige had ever seen. “I bet most of the people here don’t even know how to cast a magic circle.”
“Or what color candles to use in a purification ceremony,” Jasmine put in.
“Or where to get good bog bean,” Purple Hair added with a snort. “They probably don’t even know what bog bean is.”
The other girls laughed conspiratorially, and it was all Paige could do to keep from laughing at them. She couldn’t believe how elitist they were. Man, how she wanted to orb something….
There was a loud shout from a crowd behind them, and both Paige and Jasmine turned to look. It was the hippie types, and they were all laughing and hooting over something a guy with a long beard had just said. A woman sat on the ground playing the guitar for a few dazed-looking spectators on the outskirts of the group, and the bearded guy suddenly started dancing like a maniac.
“Ugh! I mean, look at them!” Jasmine said, grimacing. S
he flicked a curl of ash from the bonfire off her sleeve with a perfectly shaped dark purple fingernail. “They’re so cliché!”
Paige glanced at Jasmine out of the corner of her eye to see if she was serious, but it seemed she was. It was kind of unbelievable that the girl felt she could pick on anyone, considering that Jasmine and her friends were a bit cliché themselves. Black clothing, piercings, and pentagram tattoos abounded in the large circle. They looked like they’d just stepped out of a clearance sale at Witches “R” Us.
“So, did you guys hear about this kidnapper?” Paige asked, glancing around the circle.
“Yeah, what a psycho, huh?” Jasmine said, gazing across the circle at the bonfire.
“A smart psycho,” Paige said, hugging herself. “He’s grabbed, like, sixteen people and hasn’t been caught.”
“You sound concerned,” Jasmine said, her brow creasing as she looked at Paige.
“Aren’t you?” Paige asked, incredulous.
“Eh, not really,” Jasmine replied with a quick shrug. “If anything, you should be worried about those hippie nuts back there. Like I said, we have actual powers. We can take care of ourselves.”
That’s what I’m worried about, Paige thought. If these girls really did have actual powers, then the kidnapper was most likely going to come after them, not after the hippie-nut wanna-bes.
“Listen, I’m gonna go find my sis—I mean, my coven,” Paige said to Jasmine. “Just…be on the lookout for anything weird, okay?”
“Thanks for the tip,” Jasmine said with a hint of sarcasm. “Don’t worry about it. It’s probably just some fetishist wacko. The cops will figure it out.”
“Yeah…later,” Paige said as she walked away, stepping over the prone body of one of the hippies who was either completely drunk or just a really deep sleeper. She hoped Jasmine was right. How great would it be to be dealing with a simple, human, serial kidnapper?
Something Wiccan This Way Comes Page 5
