by Isobel Bird
“This message is for Sarah Crandall,” he said. “This is Tom over at McMurphy’s Moving and Storage. We’ve got your estimate for you, and we think we’ll be able to get your stuff where it needs to go with no problem. Give me a call and we’ll get everything set up for you.”
Annie played the message again. The man on the tape sounded so businesslike. Did he have any idea that he was helping her aunt ruin her life? Probably this was just another move to him.
“Well, this is one move you’re not doing,” Annie said as she hit the erase button and watched the red eye of the message light blink once and go out forever. She might not be able to stop her aunt from moving, but she certainly wasn’t going to make it any easier for her.
She grabbed a soda from the refrigerator and went to her room. She’d planned on studying for next week’s finals, but she found that she wasn’t in the mood for going over her notes. No matter how hard she tried to concentrate on math or history or chemistry, her thoughts kept returning to what Loren had said.
She knew it wasn’t possible that she’d had anything to do with things going wrong. She knew enough about magic to know that just reading someone’s Tarot cards didn’t make bad things happen. Even doing a spell to make something bad happen would be difficult, and she would never do that anyway because of the Law of Three, which said that whatever kind of energy she sent out would come back to her three times as strong.
She’d been accused of causing bad things to happen once before, when Kate had done some spells and they’d gone out of control. That time a girl had fallen down the stairs at school right in front of Annie and had blamed Annie for pushing her. But this time she was being blamed for things that happened when she wasn’t even around!
It’s all Sherrie’s fault, she thought. How she would love to get even with that girl, to teach her a lesson she would never forget. And she knew just what she was going to do. If Sherrie thought that Annie’s Tarot readings could make bad things happen, she was going to get exactly what she deserved tomorrow at the Skip Day cookout.
Annie stretched out on the bed, planning her strategy for the next day. Everything had to be perfect. She wanted this to be a day nobody would ever forget—especially Sherrie.
She yawned. The room was warm, and there was a nice breeze coming in the open window. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the quiet of the empty house around her, and soon she was asleep and dreaming.
She was in the woods. They were the same woods she had walked through during the Wicca class exercise. Only this time she carried no flashlight. It was winter. Many of the trees were bare, and above the woods a full moon hung cold and icy in the crisp black sky, illuminating the skeletons of the trees and washing everything in pale light. There was snow on the ground and on the branches of the trees.
Why was she there? And why was it winter? It almost never snowed in the Pacific Northwest, yet in her dream it was bitterly cold. She walked through the forest, her feet making footprints in the new-fallen blanket of white as she pushed aside the branches of the trees and ducked to avoid the showers of snow that tumbled from them.
She had no idea where she was going. There was no path, yet she seemed to be following some kind of trail. Then she realized where she was. She was standing outside Death’s grove. The ring of pine trees stood in front of her like sentries guarding a secret chamber, their branches pressed closely together.
She pushed her way through them, smelling the scent of pine as she entered the ring of trees. Inside, the snow formed a perfect circle of white. Annie stepped forward and walked into the center. She turned around, looking up at the sky and wondering why she had come to that place. Was Death waiting for her? There didn’t seem to be any sign of him.
Then she saw the dog. It was large and black, and it had entered the circle without her even seeing it. It stood in the snow at the edge of the trees, looking at her.
“Good dog,” she said. “Come here.”
The dog growled, showing its teeth. Then it took a step toward her. Annie backed away. She wasn’t usually afraid of dogs, but there was something about this one she didn’t like.
The dog bounded toward her. Giving a shout, she ran from it, stumbling in the snow. She headed for the other side of the clearing, pushing through the dense trees as the dog snapped at her heels.
When she had gotten through she ran as quickly as she could. She didn’t look behind her, but she could hear the dog breathing. Her own breath puffed from her mouth in icy clouds as she dashed through the forest. She had no idea where she was going. She just wanted to get away from the black dog.
Then another dog appeared out of the darkness. It, too, was black, and it, too, came at her, forcing her to turn in a different direction. She hurried on, jumping over fallen trees and ducking under limbs heavy with snow. Several times she slipped, and she was sure the dogs would catch her. She couldn’t understand why they hadn’t gotten her already. Surely they could run faster than she could.
Unless they aren’t trying to catch me, she thought suddenly.
She looked to her left and saw one of the dogs running silently alongside her, keeping just far enough away that all she could see was its pale eyes.
Just like the moon, she thought. So cold.
Then she realized that another dog was running to her right. There weren’t just two. There were three. And they were boxing her in, making sure she ran the way they wanted her to.
They’re herding me, she thought, understanding what was happening but still not knowing why.
The dogs pushed her forward. Her tired legs carried her down a slope and through more trees. Then, as she looked behind her to see where the dogs were, she tripped over a branch and sprawled face first in the snow. She covered her head with her arms, fully expecting the dogs to be upon her any second.
When she felt nothing she lowered her arms and looked up. Standing a few feet away from her was the woman she had met in the woods the night of the class. This time Annie had no doubts about who she was. It was definitely Hecate.
“Welcome back to my woods, Fool,” Hecate said. “I did not expect to see you so soon.”
Annie got to her feet, brushing the snow from her clothes. “How come no one else saw you here?” she asked.
“They were not looking for me,” Hecate said simply.
“Were you real?” Annie asked. “Or did I just imagine all of that?”
“I am real on all nights,” Hecate answered. “And not real. Those see me who need to see me. Those who do not have need of me see only shadows.”
“But why am I here now?” Annie said.
“I sent my hounds to bring you to me,” Hecate answered, stroking the heads of the panting black dogs that sat at her feet. “You have done as you said you would. You have chosen to venture into the darkness. I wish to tell you this—in the darkness there is light. But it is not always easy to find.”
Annie looked at Hecate’s face. Just as it had the first time she’d seen her, it was changing. Only this time it was changing more slowly, growing older as Annie watched.
“I don’t understand,” Annie said. “What do you mean, I’ve entered the darkness? And what light am I looking for?”
“Fool,” Hecate said coldly. “It is your journey. Look at where you are going and you will know the answers to these questions.”
Before Annie could say anything else Hecate turned and, summoning her dogs, ran into the forest. They quickly melted into the shadows, and Annie heard the howls of the dogs moving farther and farther away into the woods.
She awoke suddenly, feeling very cold. Her arms were wrapped around her, as if she’d been trying to warm herself. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and tried to remember everything that Hecate had said. But like the barking of the dogs, her memories of the goddess’s words were already growing dim.
CHAPTER 12
The beach at the cove was crowded with blankets, coolers, and bodies. Skip Day had officially begun at ten o’clock that
morning. It was only ten-thirty, and already the party was in full swing. A volleyball net had been set up at one end of the beach, and there were several fires burning in the stone fire pits. Several radios were blaring, each of them playing a different song, and everywhere Annie looked she saw people having a good time. A couple of people had even brought their dogs, which were barking and chasing each other through the waves.
Annie shielded her eyes from the sun and scanned the beach for Kate, Sasha, and Cooper. She spied them off to the side, a little bit away from the main group. They’d spread a blanket on the sand and were sitting on it, Kate wearing a blue bikini, Sasha sporting a bright red tank, and Cooper dressed in long shorts and a T-shirt. Annie walked over to where they were sitting, weaving her way through the knots of people and trying to not trip over anyone.
“There you are,” Kate said. “We thought maybe you’d decided to sit out Skip Day again.”
“Not this year,” Annie said. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
“You’re still going to go through with it, huh?” asked Kate.
Annie nodded. “I thought of the perfect plan,” she said, dropping her backpack and peeling her T-shirt over her head to reveal the swimsuit underneath. “And you guys don’t have to do anything but watch and enjoy. Is Tara here yet?”
“Not yet,” Kate told her.
“Aren’t you wearing a suit?” Annie asked Cooper.
Cooper snorted. “Not on your life,” she said. “I don’t want to have skin that looks like luggage when I’m forty. This is as uncovered as I get.”
“That’s what sunblock is for,” Sasha said, tossing a bottle to Annie. “Put some of that on. You could walk on the sun with that stuff on and not get burned.”
Annie squirted some of the lotion into her hands and began to work it over her skin. It felt good to be sitting in the warm sun. The sky was a beautiful blue, and the ocean sparkled in the morning light. She knew that it was probably still too cold for a long swim, but she thought maybe she would take a dip when she really warmed up.
“Explain this plan to me again,” Cooper said. “What are you going to do?”
Annie handed the sunblock back to Sasha and stretched out on the blanket. “It’s nothing bad,” she said. “I’m just going to take Sherrie down a notch or two.”
“You could take her down a few more notches than that and she’d still think she was above everyone else,” Cooper said. “What’s the point?”
“The point is that I’m tired of people like Sherrie Adams treating me like dirt,” Annie replied. “It’s time she found out what it’s like to be on the other end for a change.”
“Doesn’t that make you almost like her?” Cooper suggested carefully.
“Of course not,” Annie said. “It’s all about motivation. Sherrie makes people feel bad because it makes her look good. I’m just going to embarrass her a little, which is fine because she deserves it. It’s not like anyone is going to get hurt.”
“It’s just a little fun, Cooper,” Kate said. “At Sherrie’s expense. Surely you of all people can appreciate that.”
“True,” said Cooper. “It would be nice to see her get a good dose of comeuppance.”
Annie dug her toes in the sand. The polish Kate had put on them had begun to chip, but she’d replaced it with a new color that she liked even better. Ever since her makeover, she’d felt like a different person. Cooper had quickly gone back to looking like her old self, minus the funky-colored hair, but Annie had tried to maintain her new look. And it seemed to be working. She couldn’t help but notice that several guys had glanced at her while they walked by.
“I think I’m going to go get a drink,” she said. “Does anybody want anything?”
“A Coke would be good,” Sasha said, and Kate seconded her request.
Cooper asked for a bottle of water. Annie got up, dusted the sand from her suit, and went to find the coolers. Everyone had been asked to chip in money for food, and there were several large umbrellas set up in the shade with the drinks on ice beneath them. Annie found the Cokes quickly, and was searching for the springwater when Tara walked up.
“Hi,” Annie said. “So how did it go?”
“Great,” Tara said, beaming. “I did exactly what you told me to, and everything was fine. In fact, I can’t believe how well it went. You were so right. He’s just the greatest guy.”
“I told you it would be fine,” Annie said. “Tell me everything.”
She was glad that she’d run into Tara away from the others. She knew that Tara had seen Al the night before, and she was dying to know how the evening had gone. But since only she knew what Tara had been planning, she couldn’t say anything to the other girls about it.
“We went to his house,” Tara said. “No one was home, so we had the place to ourselves. It was actually really romantic.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Annie said jokingly. “Get to the good part.”
Tara sighed. “He asked me if I was ready,” she said, pausing.
“And?” Annie said impatiently.
“I almost changed my mind,” Tara answered. “But then I remembered the reading you did for me, and I told him that I thought we should wait.”
Annie breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought for a second you were going to tell me that you did it,” she said.
“Well, I was really tempted to,” Tara said, blushing. “But then I pictured that card you showed me. What was it, the Five of Swords?”
“Right,” said Annie. “It means dishonor and loss. Not very nice.”
“I kept thinking about that,” Tara continued. “I told Al that I really like him but I’m not ready to give up that part of myself right now.”
“And he was okay about it?” asked Annie.
Tara nodded. “I think he was a little disappointed, but he didn’t try to pressure me or anything. We ended up watching a movie, and that was it.”
“I have to admit,” said Annie. “When you asked me to do a reading for you about this, I was really nervous. But it looks like everything worked out perfectly.”
“I told you that you could do it,” Tara replied. “You can’t let Sherrie get you down.”
Or Loren or Cheryl either, Annie thought. She hadn’t seen either girl at the cookout yet, and she was relieved. Their comments had really shaken her. She’d started to believe that maybe she was bad luck. But Tara had just proved them all wrong.
“Speaking of Sherrie, have you seen her yet?” Annie asked.
“She’s here,” Tara said. “Are you kidding? Sherrie miss an opportunity to get noticed?”
“Good,” Annie said. “Then let’s set this plan in motion. You start spreading the word that I’m going to be doing Tarot readings. Make sure someone hears about it who will tell Sherrie. Then we’ll just let things happen naturally. If I’m right, she’ll be unable to resist.”
“Like a shark going after chum,” Tara agreed.
They split up, Annie going back to the blanket and Tara heading off to start getting the news out.
“What took you so long?” Cooper asked as Annie handed her the bottle of water. “I’m dying here.”
“I had to make sure I got you a cold one, didn’t I?” Annie said.
“Scott’s here,” said Kate suddenly.
Annie, Sasha, and Cooper looked over to where Kate’s eyes were fixed. Scott Coogan was playing touch football with some other guys from the team. He was wearing baggy shorts and no shirt, and he was running down the beach with the ball in his hands.
“Don’t they ever stop playing that stupid game?” Cooper commented.
“He hasn’t talked to me in weeks,” Kate said.
“Big loss,” quipped Cooper.
“I just feel bad about the way everything happened,” said Kate. “I never really explained to him why I broke things off.”
“How could you?” Annie said. “If you did that you’d have to tell him about the whole witch thing.”
“Would I?” Ka
te said. “I’ve been thinking about that. Maybe there’s a way I can explain it without getting into all that.”
“Just leave it alone,” Cooper said. “Why cause trouble?”
“He’s a nice guy,” Kate said. “I know you don’t like him, but he was a good boyfriend.”
“If you like guys who can lift heavy things,” Cooper said.
“Hey,” said Sasha. “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”
“He still deserves an explanation,” said Kate. “I’d hate for him to go away when school’s over thinking that he did something wrong.”
“I think maybe Cooper is right,” Annie said. “It might be a good idea to just let things stay the way they are. Look at the trouble you got into because of him in the first place.”
“But that was the spells,” Kate argued. “It wasn’t his fault. And this has nothing to do with that.”
“While we’re on the subject of boyfriends, where’s T.J.?” Annie asked.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Cooper said instantly as her friends started to laugh. “He’s just a friend.”
“Whatever,” Annie said, knowing it would drive Cooper crazy. “So where is he?”
“He’s coming later,” Cooper said. “He had to hand in a paper this morning.”
“I don’t know why you two don’t just make it official,” Kate said. “We know you like him. And he clearly likes you. Otherwise he wouldn’t hang around with you as much as he does.”
“For your information,” Cooper said defensively, “we hang around each other because of the music.”
Kate, Annie, and Sasha laughed, and Cooper turned red. “We do,” she said. “And while we’re really on the subject, why don’t we talk about when Annie is going to start hanging out with some guys?”
Now it was Annie’s turn to get red. The truth was, not only had she never had a boyfriend but she’d never even had a date. And if she was really honest, she had to admit that nobody had ever even spoken to her in a let’s-go-out-sometime way.
“We need to find you a man,” Sasha said firmly.
“There’s no hurry,” Annie said nervously. “Really.”
