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  “Oh. I may be too late, “worried Eden. “And I may have misunderstood something.” She appeared thoughtful. “I thought I came here for you, Elizabeth. I understand now. It’s you I’m here to protect, Serena. It’s your bloodline. And now I have to explain myself further. It regards your mother.”

  “I’m not sure I can take much more.” I protested.

  “You must, Serena. I fear your life may depend on it. My darlings, there always have been good reason the Council had interest in your mother. We all knew it, from an early age. Your mother was special. Oh, we all had special talents. Some of us were clairvoyant, some of us were shape-‐‑shifters, and some had perfected the powers of invisibility or astral projection or flying.

  But your mother, Serena, she could do it all. She could cast spells, create potions; she had the power of flight, projection, invisibility.

  She could read minds, shape-‐‑shift, foresee the future, understand the past; she could do everything. A witch like that comes along so rarely as to be almost non-‐‑existent.” Eden’s eyes shined with the memories of her best friends uncanny abilities. “Once the Council understood the magnitude of her abilities, they began to monitor her advancements. Her meeting and falling in love with Heath simply could not be part of their grand scheme. And when she ran away with him, they were furious. But she had so much power by then, she could block out any attempts they made to read her mind and find her or your family. And by then, her family became of great interest to them. More specifically, her daughters. For, my darlings, that is what they were the most interested in.” She paused and found my hands and took both of them in hers. “They wanted to know what she might pro-‐‑create. If she could create another such as herself. And in an unguarded moment, when your wonderful mother thought she had finally found safety for her family, they found her. Then they discovered you and they knew that she could.

  When only one parent is a witch, the gene is only passed to baby girls. And when they found your mother and father had produced daughters, they knew your mother had passed on the gene. They must have realized it was transferred the strongest and most prevalent in you Serena. They began monitoring you, I understand now it must have been you, and realized that you are just like she used to be, so powerful, so unstoppable.” She reached out and ran a hand from the top of my head, down the length of my hair. “You even favor her the most, child.” Now I had tears in my eyes.

  Eden questioned Elizabeth. “So, would I be right in assuming this one is growing as powerful as her mother?” Slowly, my sister brought her head up and down in a silent yes.

  “I’ve been teaching her myself, Eden, but truly, she is beyond what I can show her now. I’m ashamed to say I’ve taught her all I know.”

  Eden just nodded. “And would I also be correct in assuming the boyfriend she spoke of…this appears serious?” Again Eden addressed my sister, not me. Crazy interested in the answer, I didn’t say anything.

  Elizabeth sighed. “Serena is not a frivolous girl, Eden. Yes, I believe it is a serious match. And for what it’s worth, I also believe my sister has chosen well. I sense strength, a quiet dignity, in her choice. Logan is a boy of true character and integrity. And while he may be a boy now, he is not far off from being a man. I do approve of her choice.”

  Eden stood. “So, our work will begin. Sisters from my coven will be arriving within the week to begin her training. She should remain in school and we will train after school and at night. If she needs to be out of school, a suitable excuse will be arranged. It is imperative that she be ready. We will rent a house and stay nearby.” She moved and spoke right to me. “Tell the boyfriend what you feel he needs to know. Trust no one else. The Council is aware of you now. Do not underestimate them.”

  Eden faced my sister. “Elizabeth, thank you for your hospitality. We’ll be in touch.” She hugged my sister and then hugged me even more fiercely. “Will you take me to the door, dear?” she asked me, as we exited Elizabeth’s room.

  We went downstairs, where we found Tabitha practicing her levitating again. This time, our arrival did not disturb her and she managed to swirl her floating objects around the room in a figure-‐‑

  of-‐‑ eight for our guest.

  “Show-‐‑off,” I said under my breath as I passed, smiling.

  “Brava!” said Eden, clapping her hands. “Brilliant concentration, young Tabitha!” Tabitha all but glowed, basking in the attention.

  Eden stepped toward Elizabeth, hugged her once more, and was gone.

  Elizabeth and I met halfway to each other, the heaviness of the moment washing over us, and we fell into one another’s arms.

  Tabitha joined us, her books and candles crashing to the floor, and we three stood near the front door, in a group hug.

  Elizabeth pulled away and spoke seriously to me.

  “Is this Natalie someone I should be concerned about?” she asked.

  “Honestly? I don’t know. But I think I’ll find out tomorrow night.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “The school dance, remember? I can still go, right?” I stepped even further away and eyed her warily. “Please say I can go? I’ve been looking forward to this forever.” Tabitha, apparently sensing the storm brewing, moved away and went to the kitchen, probably to scrounge for a snack. “I have the dress, and the shoes, and I know how I want to fix my hair, and, and….” I felt desperate for another reason. “And Logan will be so handsome, I know, and can’t I fight off evil any other night but this Friday!” I almost hyperventilated.

  I stopped freaking out long enough to realize that Elizabeth was smirking a little bit.

  “It’s going to be hard to remember, when you are ‘fighting off evil’, as you so nicely put it, that you are just a kid after all.”

  Oh, I took offense to that.

  “I am not just a kid. I am a young adult who has never been to a dance before and just wants to experience it once, that’s all.

  And I think after my sheltered life, I just may be entitled.”

  “Okay, okay, calm down. I’ll figure out a way to chaperone it or something. I don’t like the sound of this Natalie person. Will she be there?”

  “You know, I don’t know. I’ll ask Logan.” As usual, just the mention of him put me in a good mood. I calmed myself with memories of our afternoon on the bleachers. The excitement of the early evening gave way to sheer exhaustion. I needed to go to sleep. I would dream of him certainly, but dark dreams of my parents, and my now cloudy and uncertain future with him were sure to invade my restless night. I kissed my sisters goodnight and finally went upstairs to bed.

  Chapter Ten

  SERENA

  I knew Logan would be on time to pick me up for the dance and he didn’t disappoint. The doorbell rang exactly at seven p.m.

  and before I could even get to the top of the stairs, Tabitha opened the heavy front door.

  “Hi, Logan! You look great!” Tabitha gushed.

  “Thanks, Tabitha. Don’t worry, you have plenty of dances in your future, I’m sure.” Logan gave Tabitha one of his winning smiles. He’d said the perfect thing to my little sister and she floated off, feet not touching the ground, no doubt dreaming of her own ball gowns and Cinderella slippers.

  I came down the stairs with Elizabeth. I had on the green dress and shoes she picked out for me and she had done my hair in a giant pile on top of my head. Several strands had already escaped and were hanging down around my face in curls. I didn’t wear much makeup usually, but I had a little on tonight, some blush and a bit of gold glitter on my eyelids, and some pink lipstick. I watched Logan for his reaction. Does he like what I’m wearing? It appeared that he did. He held some kind of flower in a clear plastic box and when he glimpsed me, he just stared. So much better than words! When he finally spoke, he said the most perfect thing to me too.

  “Serena, you are…bewitching.” I positively beamed. Beside me, Elizabeth did too. As a college level student teacher at our school, she had managed to ge
t herself involved at the dance as a chaperone after all, so she had dressed up too. She had on a beautiful blue jersey dress that clung to her in all the right places.

  My sister was a striking woman, I realized with a start. And Logan paid her the appropriate compliment as well.

  “Elizabeth, you look beautiful too.” He opened his little plastic box and I realized he had two corsages in there, not one.

  Logan had thought of everything and brought one for both of us.

  With great fanfare he presented Elizabeth with hers and slipped it onto her wrist. It matched her dress perfectly. He whipped mine out with a flourish and a grin and slipped it on my wrist as well, a beautiful white gardenia, with lovely green leaves, a sweet mate to the dazzling green of my dress. How had he known? I caught him winking at my younger sister, his clear partner in crime.

  “Tabitha…” I began.

  “What?” she blinked, all innocent. Apparently, they were taking this to their graves.

  Elizabeth stepped in, still delighted with her corsage.

  “Never mind all that. Tabitha, do you have your overnight case and sleeping bag ready?” Tabby would be spending the night at Logan’s house with his little sister Jade. Since their first meeting, they had become inseparable. It had been Logan’s idea for the sleepover. That way, Elizabeth was free to chaperone and therefore less likely to say no to letting me go. He had thought of everything.

  “Yes, Elizabeth. I’m all ready.” She was more ready than Logan even knew. Tabitha had been counseled extensively not to use any witchcraft while at the Daniels’ home and to absolutely not show anything to Jade and Logan’s mother.

  “Off you go then.” The three of us watched while Tabby ran across the street into Logan’s open door. Jade and Tabby embraced and waved at Logan’s mom. She wanted pictures but Logan promised any photos Elizabeth took would be made into doubles.

  And sure enough, here she came with her camera. We posed for a dozen or more photos before I started making faces and she finally put it away. We would meet Elizabeth there. She had promised we could go on our own.

  Logan walked me to his car and seated me in the front seat.

  We had lucked out on the weather again. It had turned cool, but not cold. I barely needed a sweater. It seemed early to be going to the dance. Maybe Logan had something else in mind. I started to try and find out for myself when he finally gave it up.

  “I had a thought,” he started the car and chose some music for us to listen to. “Maybe we could go somewhere before we get to the dance. Maybe just talk?” He glanced at me. “It’s just a place I like to go. I thought you might like it.”

  I nodded. Couldn’t he tell yet that I would go anywhere with him? I thought I would be totally transparent by now. Maybe I was doing a good job of keeping my feelings to myself.

  “I think that would be a great idea. We’re kind of early for the dance anyway. Wouldn’t want to seem too eager. Let’s make the grand entrance.” I patted his hand and he laughed with me. He swung his car out of my driveway and we hit the road, headed toward the mountains behind our houses. He didn’t tell me where we were going and for a while we just drove, listening to the music and enjoying the fact that we didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with mindless chatter. We passed our neighborhood, and pretty soon the houses became fewer and farther between and the tall trees and pines became thicker.

  Soon Logan pulled into a little picnic area next to a small fishing alcove. Signs said we were close to something called Old Man in the Mountain. Finally, he pulled the car to a stop and killed the engine. With a tenderness in his voice, he said, “When my dad was alive, he used to bring me and Jade here a lot. I’ve never brought anyone else here before. It seemed like the right place to bring you tonight.” He sounded nervous.”

  “Let’s get out and go for a walk. Are you okay? It’s not too cold for you?” I might have been shivering, but it had nothing to do with the temperature. Numb, I shook my head and let him help me out of the car.

  Holding hands, we walked along a small path in the moonlight. It seemed he had something important to say, so I just let him talk.

  “I feel like something big is happening to me, ever since I met you. I don’t know how to explain it. I just have the sense that something important is going to happen. And the more I think about it, the more I think the something important is…..well, it’s you.” He stopped walking and faced me, his hands on my shoulders now. He stared at me with a focused intensity in his eyes.

  “I’m falling for you, Serena. I can’t stop it and I don’t want to. I’m falling straight in love with you. Maybe I have been from the first moment I laid eyes on you.” He let his arms fall to his sides, in a gesture of defeat. “That’s it. That’s what I needed to tell you.” He whispered now. “I love you.”

  Without warning, he reached forward and slipped one arm around my waist and wove another in my hair and kissed me. We were both breathing heavily now. He grabbed me harder and drove both his hands into my hair now, destroying Elizabeth’s handiwork, kissing me full and hard on the mouth, with such strength, so demanding and perfect, and I almost fainted from desire. I ran my hands through his hair and to my surprise, he was the one who finally stopped, who finally had to stop, because I would have gone on kissing him like this for the rest of my life.

  He stood there holding me for a minute while we caught our breath. I rested my head on his chest and listened to his breathing as it hitched, then paced, then slowed. He smelled of soap and aftershave and warmth. I nestled closer to him and he responded by gently stroking my hair. I lifted my face up to his and he kissed me again, softer this time, his lips gently matching my own.

  “I love you too, Logan.” I whispered into his neck.

  Logan stepped away and held my face in his hands.

  “Serena, I don’t know what will happen. With the Council, with Natalie, with any of that. I just know one thing. You’re my future. I don’t care if you’re a witch or a twitch or a satellite from the sky! I know how crazy that sounds. I just know it’s true. And I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect you.”

  “Oh, Logan. Tonight I just want to be a normal girl going to a normal high school dance. Can we do that?”

  “You bet we can, baby!” And he twirled me around in a pirouette as if to prove it. We held hands all the way back to the car and started the drive to the school. So involved with my own thoughts, I never thought of jumping into his. I was in love with this gorgeous boy and even more amazing, he was in love with me.

  I peeked over at him while he drove us to the dance, calm as he navigated the dark roads, still in disbelief over all that had transpired back at that moonlit trail. I only hoped that he understood what he could be truly up against. I sure didn’t know.

  For tonight only, though, I didn’t care. Tonight I just wanted to be an average teenager. As things were turning out, it may be my last time.

  ****

  We got to the school parking lot and found it jam-‐‑packed already. Obviously, kids had begged to drive their parent’s cars, because in place of the usual assortment of dented trucks and older model sub-‐‑compacts, the parking lot had been loaded with shiny luxury cars, showing off Mercedes, BMW and Audi emblems. We counted some Hummers and Escalades and quite a few well-‐‑

  appointed limousines. It made me glad Logan didn’t waste money on a limo. I hated being in the center of attention, even more than Elizabeth hated me being there.

  “Man,” commented Logan, “some of these cars hardly ever leave the garage. Like that Beamer over there? That belongs to Sully’s old man. He never drives it. It only has, like, 16,000 miles on it. He must have promised to work in the store for three months to get it tonight!” Logan marveled.

  “Well, I like your car, Logan. I’m glad you didn’t get a limo.”

  He beamed. We parked in the first spot we came to and he escorted me from the car. As we exited, Logan extended his arm toward me.

  “My lady,”
he said, and did a little bow. I giggled and took his arm. We walked toward the entrance of the school which had a large rainbow made of colored balloons towering over it. Pounding music poured from the gymnasium and made my chest thump. I started feeling anxious and I wasn’t sure why until I spotted her.

  Natalie stood across the room with a group I had never seen before.

  Beside me, Logan’s arm tightened up. At the same instant I could hear Elizabeth in my head.

  I’m over here, Serena, to your right. I sought her out and found my sister standing by a table with a group of the student teachers.

  Did you get a load of Natalie? I asked her wordlessly.

  Yes. I’ve been watching her since she got here. I don’t want you to get upset, but I think her date is a demon.

  Great. I searched around the group with Natalie and soon I found him. He stood too close to her and I could sense his evil presence even from across the room. He had black hair and wore it in a ponytail. His features were sharp and he looked much older than most of the kids at the dance. Wearing a topcoat and black riding boots, he dressed older, but no one seemed to notice. When he caught me looking at him, he leaned over and gave Natalie’s ear a wicked flick with his black tongue. From my vantage point, it looked forked. I shuddered.

  “What is it, Serena?” Logan asked. He hadn’t seen it. I looked at him and realized I had no way to explain it to him the normal way. But he had to know. Reluctantly, I jumped into his head and played a scene of the last several minutes. Quickly, I jumped back out and let him watch it.

  My sister rejoined us while the scene replayed for Logan.

  “Man, Serena!” he exclaimed, when I was done. “Should we do anything?”

  “Not yet, Logan.” Elizabeth said. ”It’s best to do nothing right now. I’ve been trying, but I can’t get into his head. Maybe you can, Serena. Let’s face it; you are more powerful than me. If it can be done, you’re the one who can do it.”