"I'm going to run out and do something before Circle," Thea said. "Don't ask me what."
Blaise of course didn't know what Thea and Eric were planning. Not even Dani knew. It was better that way.
"Thea..." Blaise stood at the top of the stairs and looked down as Thea dashed out. "You be careful!"
Thea waved at her cousin.
The back of the jeep was full of wood.
"I thought I'd better bring some more, just in case we need it," Eric said, throwing her backpack in.
Then he added in a different voice, "You look- amazing-like that."
She smiled at him. "Thanks. It's traditional. You look nice, too."
He was wearing the costume of a seventeenth-century French soldier at Ronchain-or as close as they could get from looking at woodcuts in old books.
They drove into the desert, past the huge bare cliffs, off the main road and far out among the Joshua trees, until they found the place. It was tiny, just a dip in the ground almost enclosed in red sandstone pillars. The pillars didn't look like the monoliths at Stonehenge-they were knobby and squished sideways, like towers of Play-doh that some kid had smashed-but they served the same purpose.
They'd found this place all by themselves, and Thea was very proud of it.
"The fire's still going," she said. "That's good."
It had been burning for the last three days inside the circle. Thea's hope had been that it would keep Suzanne interested-and away from the people setting up in the old gym. And it seemed to have worked.
Not just the fire, of course. The three dummies lying on the ground tied to stakes were supposed to be interesting, too.
"These guys all look okay," Eric said. He picked up the smallest dummy and dusted it off. It looked something like a scarecrow when he thrust the stick into a hole in the ground, standing it up.
A scarecrow dressed in a black shift tied with a thet knot. With a sign hanging around the neck: lucienne.
The other small dummy had a sign that said clement. The big dummy's sign said suzannb.
"Okay," Thea said when they had unloaded the wood, leaving her backpack in the jeep. "Now, remember, you don't do anything until I get back, right? Not anything. And if I'm a few minutes late, you just wait."
He stopped nodding. "The Halloween party starts at nine. If you're not here at nine exactly, I might-"
"No. Don't touch anything, don't do anything."
"Thea, we might lose her. What if she decides that nothing's happening here, so she might as well go to the party-"
"I won't be late," Thea said flatly. It seemed the only way to win the argument. "But do not burn those witches before I'm here to cast the cirde. Okay?"
"Good luck," he said.
He looked handsome and mysterious in his exotic clothes. Not like himself. They kissed under the half-full moon.
"Be safe," Thea whispered, making herself let go of him.
"Come back safe," he whispered. "I love you."
She drove the jeep back to the city, to the maidens' Circle Twilight meeting.
It was being held this year at a Night World dub on the southern edge of town. There was no sign on the door, but the doormat, between two grinning jack-o'-lanterns, had been painted with a black dahlia.
Thea knocked and the door opened.
"Dani You look great."
"So do you," Dani said. She was dressed in white, in a pleated sheer gown that hung to her ankles and looked Egyptian. Black braids clasped with silver cascaded from a sort of crown at her head, falling over her shoulders and back and arms. She made a beautiful Queen Isis. "You didn't wear a costume," she said, making it a question.
"Blaise and I are sort of going as Maya and Hell-wise," Thea said. The truth was that she was most comfortable in her ordinary Circle clothes, and that Blaise knew she looked best in hers.
"Well, come on down. You're the last one," Dani said, taking Thea's hand.
They went down a flight of stairs to an underground room. It had a makeshift, thrown-together look, with crates to sit on, and white fairy lights strung between concrete pillars. Metal chairs had been pushed to the periphery.
"Thea! Hey, there! Merry meet!" people called. Thea turned around and around, smiling and getting hugs.
"Good Samhain," she kept saying. "Unity."
For those few minutes, she forgot about what was going to happen tonight. It was so good to see them all again, all her friends from summer Circles.
Kishi Hirata, dressed as Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess, hi gold and orange. Alaric Breedlove- the sophomore from Lake Mead High-as Tammuz the shepherd, son of the mother goddess Ishtar. Claire Blessingway as the Navajo goddess Changing Woman, in a dress decorated with red flower petals and turquoise. Nathaniel Long as Herne, Celtic god of the hunt, in forest green, with stag's antlers.
Humans put on costumes to disguise themselves tonight. Witches put on costumes to try to reflect their inner selves-what they were inside, what they wanted to be.
"Here, taste," Claire said, handing Thea a paper cup. It was full of a thick red herb drink spiced with cinnamon and cloves. "It's hibiscus-my dad's recipe."
Someone else was passing around shortbread cakes in the shape of crescent moons. Thea took one. Everything here was so bright, so warm-and she would have been so happy if all she had to do tonight was enjoy it. Have a normal Samhain Circle. Celebrate... But Eric was waiting out there in the dark and cold of the desert. And Thea was counting the minutes until she could leave.
"Okay, people, it's time to get started." Lawai'a Dcua, a pretty, sturdy girl with hair like black nylon, was standing in the center of the room. She was wearing a red shift and lei-Pele, the Hawaiian fire goddess, Thea guessed.