“The way they want to control our minds,” added Lyla.
“But Othiym—I mean Angelica—I mean, she just makes you aware of this whole new way of looking at the world. A whole old way, really—”
She pointed at Annie’s Labrys T-shirt. “Like that thing there, the double axe—that’s a symbol that goes back to ancient Crete, to the Great Goddess religion there—”
Annie gazed at Virgie coolly. “I know what it means.”
“Well, you should come to one of her gatherings and see for yourself, Annie.” Virgie’s sloe eyes widened as she spread her hands imploringly. “Angelica Furiano gives you a whole new way of looking at the world! And there’s so many of us now! Somebody’s even making a documentary about her—”
“Oh yeah? Who? Leni Riefenstahl?”
Virgie frowned. “Is she the one who did that Bikini Kill video?”
Annie moaned and looked away.
“You have to admit, Annie, at least it’s a change,” said Martha. “I mean, she really does make you think about things.”
Annie stared broodingly out the window.
“I prefer to think of things on my own,” she said at last.
“Annie’s had some bad experiences with organized religion.” Helen looked at her lover fondly. “You know, that whole lapsed Catholic trip—”
“Othiym says the reason conventional Western religions have failed is that they don’t take into account the notion of sacrifice.” Lyla’s prim expression was at odds with her tattoo and cropped hair. “She says the problem with Catholics is that they don’t take the idea of sacrifice far enough.”
“We have to break away from all that,” agreed Virgie in a childish voice. “‘The New Woman will only emerge when she learns to commit every horror and violence that till now society has denied her as foreign to her temperament.’”
Everyone was silent.
“Gee, I never thought of that,” said Annie.
“It’s from the Marquis de Sade,” Virgie confessed. “I read it in one of Angelica’s books.”
Annie’s eyes flashed. “I think you’re all playing with fire,” she said, casting a poisonous look at Virgie and Lyla. “And I think it’s incredibly rude of you and your friends to interrupt my show yelling your stupid slogans—”
“They’re not slogans,” Lyla said. “It’s an incantation. Because all great music invokes the Goddess.”
“You should be flattered.” Virgie looked as though she might burst into tears. “I mean, that your music could invoke such feelings from us—”
“I don’t think—” Martha stammered, but Annie was already getting to her feet.
“That’s your whole problem, Martha. You don’t think—none of you think, you’re letting some rich crazy egotistical New Age bitch do it for you. Haven’t you ever heard of cults, girls? Don’t any of you know how to read a newspaper? The name Manson mean anything to you? David Koresh? Bhagwan Rajneesh? Jim Jones?”
Helen rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, Annie—”
“It’s not like that at all! This is something beautiful, something totally new—”
Annie snorted. “Oh, give me a fucking break! How much enlightenment can you get in a fucking weekend? And am I wrong, or are you paying for this transcendence?”
“Actually, Angelica’s practically giving it away these days,” said Martha. “She’s got all these priestesses teaching new initiates—”
“Priestesses?” howled Annie. “Now she’s got priestesses? Man, are you getting hosed! Do you all dress like her, too? Do you spend fifteen minutes with your eyeliner and—”
“Annie,” growled Helen.
“Priestesses! I bet she passes the collection basket, too! Man, what a crock! Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. This one’s got tits and a twat, that’s all.”
Helen raised her voice above Virgie and Lyla’s angry protests. “Annie, you are being totally ridiculous!—”
“Oh yeah? Well, maybe you should just go with them and get in touch with your secret lunar self. I’m leaving.”
Annie stormed from the table. She paused to stare disdainfully at the crescent moon on Lyla’s cheek. “Hey, that’s pretty cutting edge—only you and ninety thou-sand other girls have one of those.” She headed for the door.
“It’s a sensitive topic,” said Helen, sighing. Martha put her arm around Virgie. Lyla just looked mad. “Look, I’ll go calm her down—but let’s not talk about religion anymore, okay?”
“I thought she’d understand,” wailed Virgie. “She seemed so in touch with her own inner cycles—”
“Hush,” said Martha.
Helen found Annie just outside the front door of the Inn, leaning against the wall. Down the street the usual nighttime crowd was starting to gather in front of Spiritus. A few yards away, a streetlamp’s shining globe cast a rippling silver reflection on the dark surface of the water, the bright circle breaking into fluid coils when the breeze stirred it. From a sailboat at anchor echoed laughter and the strains of dance music.
“If you think I’m going back in there, you are out of your fucking mind.”
Helen smiled in spite of herself, reached to stroke Annie’s neck. “Don’t you think you were overreacting a little?”
“No.”
“Oh, come on—Charles Manson?”
“Angelica di Rienzi could eat Charles Manson for breakfast. Probably she already has,” Annie added darkly.
“I think you’re carrying around just a teensy bit of personal baggage, Annie. I know you said you never wanted to talk about Angelica, and I’ve always respected that, but this has kind of gotten out of hand. I mean, they’re just a couple of dopey kids, that’s all! Virgie’s crying, Martha is totally bummed, and Lyla the Bee Queen looks like she is getting in touch with a very pissed-off inner goddess.”
“Good,” snapped Annie, but her mouth twisted into a half smile. “Maybe next time they won’t ruin my show.”
Helen sighed. “Well, I don’t think you’re going to get much repeat business from those two. Listen, Martha says there’s some kind of dance party out at Herring Cove tonight—”
“Yeah,” said Annie, nodding. From here you could just glimpse where the narrow spit of land curved to face the Adantic, a hazy darkness spangled with a few bobbing lights. “In the old boathouse there. Patrick told me about it; he knows one of the guys who’ve put it together. They’re supposed to have a fabulous sound and light show.”
“So let’s go and dance. Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Oh, sure! A bunch of kids on X and vitamins—”
“You used to love to dance! Jeez, girlfriend, loosen up a little—”
Annie shook her head stubbornly. “If I ever loosen up, the world will come to an end. You know that. I’m the only thing standing between you and the dark of Mordor—”
“Hey. You know what, Annie? Shut up—”
Helen took Annie’s chin in her hand, stared into her dark eyes, and then kissed her, long and slow, her hand dropping to stroke her lover’s breast beneath the thin black T-shirt. After a minute she drew back and there was Annie, her face slightly flushed, the blazing light in her eyes somewhat softened. “You remember how to dance, don’t you?”