Cassssssie, the whisper came. The waves and the darkness and the watching moon all seemed to be saying it.
Help me ...
"Cassie!" It was a shout, not a whisper, and behind it Cassie heard a dog barking. At the sound, Cassie's mind was flooded with images of safety, of comfort. She looked around frantically. Her legs still wouldn't move.
"I'm here!" she shouted back. Even as she called, she felt herself released. The black was edging away, retreating to the rock. Merging with the real shadow there.
"Cassie!" The voice was familiar, loved.
"I'm here," Cassie called again, stumbling toward it. The visions of comfort and safety and closeness were still whirling inside her, pulling her. She followed them. Just as she reached the rocks, strong arms caught her up, held her tightly. She felt the warmth of a human body against her.
Over Nick's shoulder, she met Adam's eyes.
The moon was shining full in his face, turning those eyes odd colors, blue-violet like the bottom of a flame. Like the sky before some strange storm. She thought she could see silver reflecting in his pupils. Raj bounded up beside him, still barking. The German shepherd's tail was waving frantically as he headed for Cassie. Adam caught him by the ruff and held him back.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Nick said in her ear.
"No. I'm all right," she whispered. She didn't know what she was saying.
"You shouldn't have gone off by yourself,"
Nick said angrily. "They shouldn't have let you do it."
"It's okay, Nick." She hung on to him with all her strength and buried her face in his shoulder just as Adam turned, leading the reluctant Raj away. Then she clung there, knowing he could feel her shaking.
"Cassie." He stroked her back soothingly.
Cassie pulled back slightly. Adam was gone. She looked at Nick in the moonlight, at the clean carven handsomeness of his features with their hint of coldness. Except his eyes weren't cold now.
Passion, she thought and brought up Faye's red candle in her mind. Then she kissed him.
She'd never really kissed anybody besides Adam, but she guessed she knew how to do it well enough. Nick's mouth was warm, and that was nice. She felt how startled he was, and then instantly felt the surprise swept away by something deeper, sweeter. She felt him kissing her back.
She kissed not to think. Kissing was good for that. Suzan had been dead wrong about Nick. He wasn't an iguana. Little lines of fire ran along Cassie's nerves, tingling her fingers. She felt warm all over.
Eventually, they both broke it. Cassie looked up at him, her fingers still intermeshed with his.
"Sorry," she said unsteadily. "I was just scared."
"Remind me to get you scared frequently," Nick said. He looked slightly dazed.
"We'd better go back. Black John was here."
She had to give Nick credit; he didn't yell "What?" and shake her. He cast a quick, hunting look around, switching his grip on her so that he was holding her arm with his left hand and his right hand was free.
"He's gone now," she said. "There was a shadow that came out from that rock, but it's not there anymore."
"After this, nobody goes out alone," Nick said, guiding her toward the rocks they had to climb to get back to the crossroads.
"I think he was trying to get into my mind," Cassie told the others when they were all back at Adam's house again. She sat beside Nick, holding tightly to his hand. "To influence me, or. take me over, or whatever. I didn't know how to stop him. If you guys hadn't come, he would have done it."
"Nobody should be out by themselves anymore," Nick said, with a hard glance at Diana. It was unlike Nick to say anything at meetings, but now his voice was decisive, not to be argued with.
"I agree," said Melanie. "Moreover, I think we should do something to defend ourselves, to put up some kind of shield against him."
"What did you have in mind?" Adam asked her. He was sitting on the arm of Diana's chair, his face calm, his voice steady.
"Some kind of crystal might help. Amethyst, maybe. It should help us to focus and fight against him, against any psychic attack. Of course, if anyone were simultaneously wearing another crystal that he could use against them - like hematite - it wouldn't do any good." Melanie was looking at Faye.
Faye made an impatient gesture. "As I've already told my interfering cousin, I don't have any stupid hematite. I don't have to steal other people's crystals."
"All right; we won't argue," Diana said. "Melanie, do you have enough amethysts at your place? Or can you lend us some, Laurel? I think we should get them ready immediately, so everybody can wear them home tonight."
"Yes, and keep them on all the time," Melanie said. "When you take a bath, when you go to sleep, at school, whatever. But wear them under your clothes; don't let him see the crystals, if possible. They'll be more effective that way."
"What a way to end a party," Doug groused, as he picked up his jacket.
"Think of it as a party favor," Nick replied unsympathetically. "A memento." He squeezed Cassie's fingers quickly with a sideways glance, as if to say he knew what he would be remembering.
Cassie felt warmed by that. But as they were leaving for Melanie's house she asked casually, "By the way, why did you guys come after me?"
"Yeah, did you get bored with the party or something? Found out you couldn't deal all by yourselves, so you had to find us girls?" Deborah put in, her dark eyes flashing at Chris.
Chris looked at her oddly. "No, we were dealin' fine. It was Adam who told us to come. He said Cassie was in trouble."