Or did Bree want me to be harmed? I wondered miserably.

"We need more people," Raven stated in the silence.

"Yeah. Well, Robbie's going to come. And we might get Matt, too."

Raven laughed. "Yeah. Matt. Oh God, I can't wait to see Thalia's face when Robbie walks in. She'll probably jump him right there."

I frowned. Who was Thalia?

"Really?" Bree asked.

"She just broke up with her boyfriend, and she's trolling," Raven said. "And Robbie's really hot now. I wouldn't mind hooking up with him myself."

"Oh, Jesus, Raven," said Bree.

Raven laughed again, and I heard a purse being zipped shut. "Just kidding. Maybe."

Silence. I held my breath.

"What?" said Raven as the door opened.

"Thalia's not his type," Bree said as sounds from the outside hall filtered into the room.

"If she wants him, she's his type."

The bathroom door closed again, and air exploded from my lungs. I got to my feet, shaking with reaction. So Sky was manipulating Bree. They were definitely trying to get Matt and Robbie to leave our coven and join theirs. And Sky had her own place, where they were meeting. Did she live with Hunter? Was that who Raven thought was hot? Maybe. Then again, Raven thought most breathing males were hot And they knew somebody named Thalia who was going to jump Robbie. For some reason, Bree had sounded less than thrilled by that idea—as she had about turning over my hair to Sky. But her reluctant tone was small consolation.

I hated everything that I had just overheard. But more than that, now I was afraid.

CHAPTER 10

Magesight

Things are starting to heat up, and not just because of the Seeker. We have been having many visitors. Many I've never seen before—others I remember from all over the world: Manhattan, New Orleans, California, England, Austria. They come and go at all hours, and I keep coming across little knots of people huddled in this room or that, heads together, discussing, arguing, making magick. I don't know all of what's going on, but it's clear that our discovery here has set many things in motion. And the circles! We are having them almost every day now. They are powerful and exhilaration, but they leave me tired the next day.

— Sgath

After school I wanted to talk to Cal about what I had overheard, but he was already gone. He'd left a note on my locker, saying he'd had to go home and meet with one of his mother's friends. So for now I was on my own with my questions about Bree and Raven and their coven. Even Mary K. wasn't coming home with me. As I was getting into Das Boot, she ran up to tell me she was going to Jaycee's house.

I nodded and waved, but I couldn't bring myself to smile. I didn't want to be alone. Too much was troubling me.

Luckily Robbie sauntered over to the car. "What's up?" he asked.

I shielded my eyes from the pale November sunlight and looked at him. I wasn't sure whether or not I should tell him what was on my mind. I decided not to. It was too complicated. Instead I merely said, "I was thinking about going to Butler's Ferry park and gathering some pinecones and stuff for Thanksgiving."

Robbie thought for a moment. "Sounds cool," he said. "Do you want some company?"

"Absolutely," I said, unlocking the passenger-side door.

"So, do you have family coming in for Thanksgiving?" he asked.

I nodded as I pulled out of the driveway, picking up speed on the open road. "My mom's parents, my dad's brother and his family. And then everyone who lives in town. We're having dinner at our house this year."

"Yeah. We're going to my aunt and uncle's," Robbie said without enthusiasm. "They'll be yelling at the football game on TV, the food will suck, and then my dad and Uncle Stan will both get plastered and end up taking a swing at each other."

"Well, they do that every year," I said, trying to inject some humor in a not-so-humorous situation. I'd heard about this from Robbie before, and it always made me sad. "So it's almost, like, traditional."

He laughed as I turned onto Miltown Pike. "I guess you're right. Tradition is a good thing. That's something I've learned from Wicca."

Soon I was pulling into the empty Butler's Ferry parking lot and cutting the engine. I retrieved a basket with a handle from the trunk. Despite the cold the sun was trying hard to shine, and it glittered off the leaves crumpling under our feet. The trees were bare and sculptural, the sky wide and a pale, bleached blue. The peace of the place began to steal over me, calm me down. I felt suddenly happy to be here with Robbie, whom I'd known for so long.

"So are there any herbs or anything around this time of year?" Robbie asked.

"Not a lot." I shook my head. "I checked my field guide, and we might see some stuff, but I'm not counting on it. I'll have to wait till spring. I'll be able to collect plants in the wild then and also start my own garden."

"It's weird that you're so powerful in Wicca, isn't it?" Robbie asked suddenly. But it wasn't a mean or probing question.

For a moment my breath stopped, and I thought about telling him everything that I had learned about myself in the past month. Robbie didn't even know I was adopted. But I just couldn't tell him. He'd been my friend for so long; he'd listened to me complain about my family, and he'd always pictured me as one of them: a Rowlands. I wasn't up to dealing with the emotional backlash of spilling the whole story again. I knew I would tell him sometime. We were too close for me to have this huge a secret. But not today.

"Yeah, I guess," I said finally, keeping my voice light "I mean, it's amazing. But who would've thunk it?"

We grinned at each other, and I found a pretty pine branch on the ground that had three perfect little cones on it I also stopped to pick up a few oak twigs that had clumps of dried leaves on them. I love the shape of oak leaves.

"It's really changed everything," Robbie murmured, picking up a likely branch and handing it to me. I accepted it, and it joined the others in my basket. "Magick, I mean. It's completely changed your life. And you completely changed my life." He gestured to his face, his skin. I felt a brief stab of guilt. All I'd meant to do was try a tiny healing spell to clear up the acne that had scarred his face since seventh grade. But the spell had continued to perfect him. He didn't even need glasses anymore. Every once in a while the whole thing spooked me all over again.

"I guess it has," I agreed quietly. I leaned down to study a small, fuzzy vine climbing a tree. It had a few withering, bright red leaves on it.

"Don't touch that," said Robbie. "It's poison ivy."

I laughed, startled. "Great witch I'll make." We smiled at each other in the deepening twilight, the silence of the woods all around us. "I'm glad there's no one else besides you here," I added. "I know you won't think I'm a complete idiot."

Robbie nodded, but his smile faded. He bit his lip.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Do you miss Bree?" Robbie asked out of the blue. I stared at him, unable to answer. I didn't know what to say. But I knew what he was feeling: here we were, having fun as we'd done so many times in the past—only Bree wasn't here to share the fun with us.

"I'm in love with her, you know," he said. My jaw dropped open. Wow. I'd had some suspicions about his feelings for her, but I'd never imagined they were so strong. Nor did I ever expect him just to put them out there like that.

"Uh, I guess I sort of figured you liked her," I admitted awkwardly.

"No, it's more than that," Robbie said. He looked away and tossed an acorn off into the bushes. "I'm in love with her. Crazy about her. I always have been, for years." He smiled and shook his head, i stole a quick glance at him, and any regrets I had about healing his face vanished. I'd done a good thing. He was handsome, secure; his jaw was smooth and strong. He looked like a model.