For the first time in my life there is a chink in my armor, and it is my love.
— Sgath
I ran up the ice-crusted steps of our house and threw myself through the door. Somehow I knew Hunter wouldn't follow me. The house was wonderfully warm and cozy, and I almost sobbed with relief as I pounded up the stairs and crashed into my bedroom. I had enough presence of mind to lock my door, and when Mary K. knocked a minute later, I called, "I'll be down in a few minutes."
"Okay," she replied. A moment later her feet padded downstairs.
My head was spinning. The first thing I did was run into the bathroom and examine my face in the mirror. It was me, still the same old me, despite the haunted look in my brown eyes and my shock-whitened face.
Was Hunter right? Was I Woodbane?
I threw myself onto my bed and pulled Maeve's Book of Shadows out from under my mattress, then started flipping pages. I'd thumbed through the entries before, reading bits here and there, but mostly I'd been plodding through slowly, savoring every word, letting each spell sink in, deepening my knowledge and my only link to the woman who had given birth to me.
Strangely enough, though, it didn't take me long to find what I was looking for. It was from when Maeve was still writing as Bradhadair. She wrote matter-of-factly: "Despite the Woodbane blood in our veins, the Belwicket dan has resolved to do no evil."
With the force of a wave crashing on a beach, Selene's words came back to me: "I know what it contains, and I wasn't sure you were ready to read it."
Selene knew Maeve had been Woodbane. Suddenly my eyes were drawn to a small volume on my desk—the book about Woodbanes that Alyce at Practical Magick had wanted me to read. So… Alyce knew, too? Hunter knew? How did everyone know except me? Did Cal know? It didn't seem possible.
Hunter was a liar, though. I could feel the fury gathering within me all over again, like storm clouds. Hunter had also said he was Cal's brother. I thought back I knew that Cal's father had remarried and that Cal had half siblings in England. But Hunter couldn't be one of them-he and Cal seemed practically the same age.
Lies. All Lies.
But why was Hunter here? Had he just decided to come to America and mess with my mind? Maybe he was Cal's half brother and he was out to get Cal for some reason. And he was attacking me in order to hurt Cal. He was doing a damn good job of it if that was the case.
The whole thing was giving ma a horrible headache. I shut the book and pulled Dagda into my arms, listening to his small, sleepy purr. I stayed there until Mary K. called me to tell me dinner was ready.
The meal was practically inedible: a vegetarian casserole that Mary K. had concocted. I wasn't even hungry, anyway. I needed some answers.
Sidestepping a whispered question from Mary K. about Hunter, I told her I'd help her with the dishes later, then asked my parents if I could go to Cal's. Luckily they said yes.
It started to snow again as I pulled away from the house in Das Boot. Of course I was still upset about everything Hunter had said, but I tried not to let it affect my driving. The wipers pushed snow off the windshield in big arcs, and my brights illuminated thousands of flakes swirling down out of the sky. It was beautiful and silent and lonely.
Woodbane. When I got home tonight, I would read the book Alyce had given me. But first I needed to see Cal.
In the long, U-shaped driveway in front of Calls house, I saw his gold Explorer and another car—a small, green vehicle I didn't recognize. I plodded through the surface of the snowfall, feeling the ice crunch beneath my clogs. The wide stone steps had been shoveled and salted. I hurried up and rang the doorbell.
What would I say if Selene answered the door? The last time I had seen her, I was in her private library, basically stealing a book from her. On the other hand, the book was rightly mine. And she had allowed me to keep it.
Several seconds passed. There was no stirring inside, at least none that I could hear. I started to feel cold. Maybe I should have called first, I thought I rang the doorbell again, then reached out with my senses to see who was home. But the house was a fortress. I received no answer. And then a thought occurred to me: It was spelled, deliberately shut off from magick.
Snowflakes gathered on my long hair, as if I wore a lace mantle that was slowly melting against my cheeks and eyelids. I rang again, beginning to feel unsure. Maybe they were busy. Maybe they were meeting with someone. Maybe they were having a circle or working magick or throwing a party… but at last the tall, heavy wooden door opened.
"Morgan!" Cal said. "I didn't even feel you come up. You look frozen. Come on in." He ushered me into the foyer and brushed his hand down my cold, damp hair. Light footsteps behind him made me pull back, and I looked up to see Sky Eventide.
I blinked, looking at her. Her face was closed, and I wondered what I had interrupted. Had Cal invited her here to ask her about her coven and my hair? I glanced at him for signs of irritation or wariness, but he seemed easy and comfortable.
"I should have called," I said, looking from Cal to Sky. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything."
Tell me what I'm interrupting, I thought as Sky reached for her heavy leather coat. She looked beautiful and exotic. Next to her I felt about as exciting as a brown field mouse. I had a tingle of jealousy. Did Cal find her attractive?
"It's all right," Sky said, zipping her coat. "I was just leaving." Her black eyes searched Cal's and held them. "Remember what I said," she told him, ignoring me. The words seemed to have an element of threat but Cal laughed.
"You worry too much. Relax," he said cheerfully, and she just looked at him.
I watched as she opened the front door and left, not bothering to say good-bye. There was something strange going on here, and I needed to know what it was. "What was all that about?" I asked point-blank.
Cal shook his head, still smiling. "I ran into her earlier and told her I wanted to talk to her about what she's up to with her coven. So she came over—but all she wanted was to be Hunter's messenger," he said, tugging on my coat so it came off. He draped it over a high-backed chair and then took my hand, rubbing its coldness away. "Hey, I tried to call you a few minutes ago, but the phone was busy."
"Someone must be on-line," I guessed, frowning. Was he trying to change the subject? "What kind of message did Sky have?"
"She was warning me," he answered simply. Still holding my hand, he led me through a pair of dark wooden doors that opened into a large, formal parlor. A fire was blazing in an enormous stone hearth, and in front of it a deep blue sofa beckoned. Cal sat and pulled me down to sit next to him.
"Warning you?" I pressed.
He sighed. "Hunter's out to get me, basically, and Sky was telling me to be on my guard. That's all."
I frowned into the fire. Usually I felt reassured by the I heat and glow of flames—but not now. "Why is Hunter out to get you?"
Cal hesitated. "It's… um, kind of personal," he said.
"But why was Sky warning you? Isn't she with him?"
"Sky doesn't know what she wants," Cal answered cryptically. He hadn't shaved in a while, and the shadow of stubble across his face made him look older. Sexier, too. He was quiet for a few moments, and then he edged closer to me, so I felt his warmth from my shoulder to my hip. A memory swept over me: of how it had felt to lie next to him, to kiss him deeply, to have his hands touch me and to touch him back. But I couldn't allow myself to be distracted.