Shadow & Mist Pt. 03 - The Mirror

June 25, 1991 -- The Mirror

When Alex woke in those wee hours of the morning, Tabby was still asleep, nestled and purring. He kissed her forehead.

"It's time to get up, Miss Tabby."

"I don't want to. It feels nice here."

"Well, I'm gonna be takin' your pillow. I'm heading out for my morning ritual."

She kissed him, just a little peck this time. "I say we try a different ritual, Mountain Boy."

"As nice as that sounds, people rely on you, 'n' the animals are relying on me."

"Spoilsport."

"See you out there?"

She stuck her lower lip out. "Yeah."

He gave her a soft kiss before freeing his arm from the tangle of her hair.

Out on the porch, Alex was halfway through his cigarette before Tabby came out ruffling her hair with her fingers like it was going to somehow tame it.

"How's Grandpa?"

Alex took a deep drag and held it in for a few seconds with his eyes closed before exhaling.

"I think he likes you, but not as much as I do."

She sat quietly beside him. Her hand was on his thigh.

"What's wrong, Mountain Boy?"

"What does this mean, Miss Tabby?"

"Your cigarette? I thought we covered that."

"No, what happened last night. Are you in love with me? Is Brittany going to hate me? Was I just a fling? You know we live together, right? All of us live together. You know Vicki has a crush on me, too. How's she gonna feel?"

"Breathe. Just breathe and listen. Do you regret what happened last night?"

"Of course not. If I'd known it was gonna be like that, I'd've done it a long time ago if anyone woulda let me."

"I don't either. I never will. What you're feeling right now, all these worries, they come from out there. Here, we're raised to believe that our bodies were meant for physical love. It's vital to our souls. That's what Soul-Circles are.

"I love Brittany and Vicki and Annette, and they love me. I don't know if I love you yet, but last night felt right, and I think that I could. It wasn't a fling. You feel like a missing piece. You have to decide how you feel about that... not how you think about it, but how you feel."

"Do you feel that way because we had sex?"

"If this was about the sex, we wouldn't have had sex."

Alex blinked hard and his head jerked backwards an inch.

"Even if I could be that, Miss Annette ain't ever gonna feel that way about me, and Miss Brittany doesn't even like how I look."

"You know, for someone with such good instincts, you don't see things very well. Those other things don't matter. Love takes a lot of forms, but if it's true, honest love... completely honest... it's never wrong. The only time it's wrong is if you feel like you have to hide it."

She grabbed his face like she had in town that first day.

"I promise you that I will never hide you."

"OW! Damnit!" While they were talking, the cigarette had burnt down and burnt Alex's fingers. Tabby laughed.

"That is the most violent reaction that I've ever gotten to being sweet, Mountain Boy."

He turned to her like he had something important to say. He took a deep breath.

"Miss Tabby, the other day after I helped Miss Vera -- "

"I know about what happened. When I went to see my mom, Katy told me. They weren't ashamed. They didn't hide you, either."

Alex didn't know what to say. He kept feeling like he was breaking rules, but the rules weren't the same here.

"If you decide to stay here, you have got to be okay with this. If you don't, you should leave soon. You're becoming a part of me. If you're a part of me, you're a part of all of us.

"If you stay too long and then leave, I'm not sure that any of us can survive that."

The stars were starting to disappear near the top of the ridge. She stood.

"It's time to get to work, and it seems like that's when you do your best feeling."

Alex stood up and kissed her firmly.

"Don't forget to watch my ass as I go, Mountain Boy."

He did.

At the barn, Alex felt mostly normal.

He still thought about what Tabby had said, but this kept him from dwelling on it.

While he was feeding the chickens, he'd catch himself thinking, "Maybe I SHOULD leave."

While he was brushing Shadow, his ride on Flint came into his head. "I wonder if the animals would miss me. I never realized they were actually talking to me -- ♪no one can talk to a horse, of course♫..."

As he was milking the last goat, he wondered who was crying out that faint bleat for help.

Alex looked around.

He patted the nanny on the side to let her know she was done and went to search the stalls. In the back stall was a young kid lying on his side, crying out but not moving. Even his mouth didn't move. The cry was coming from deep in the throat.

He had never seen anything like it. It didn't match any of the bacterial or viral causes he had learned about. He even checked for ticks in case it was some Karoo-like problem.

If anyone here had seen this before, it was Nana. He bolted down to her cabin. Of course, she was sitting there on her porch.

"Well, Alex, back so soon, eh? Couldn't resist my flirting, could you?"

"I'd never try, Miss Nana, but I'm here on business today, not pleasure. I've got a kid that's frozen solid, but he can let out a weak bleat like he's sufferin'. Do you have any idea what it might be or how to fix it?"

Nana looked like she was suddenly very concerned.

"Does it sound like the cry's being blown across a jug?"

"I reckon that's about the best description of it."

"The poor thing's got Hollow-Tether. Follow me inside. Migo wrote the cure in The Root."

She got up slowly, but with urgency.

Alex offered his arm for support, but she slapped it away.

Once she was up, she moved quickly for a woman her age.

She talked the whole way in.

"I saw it for the first time in '53. James saw it again in '72. It looks like we have a pattern. I'll have to check alignments."

She then said under her breath, "19 years... that's a sun-moon alignment."

Inside her cabin, there was a large tome on a pedestal in the center of the front room.

"This is The Book of the Root. This book has information about every member this coven has had since 1639, when we came here. Every ritual, every herb, every event and every bit of vital knowledge that anyone might need is in here. My duty is to write anything new into it and to guide people to its knowledge."

She flipped through pages with surprising speed until she stopped and pointed her bony finger at one page.

"Here it is. It seems we figured out that it was caused by a surge in Earth and Air magic that triggers so much exhilaration that it actually tethers the poor thing to the earth in paralysis. You're going to need a cinnamon stick, which I have on that shelf over there, a marsh mallow root covered in the mud of The Whisper, and sanctified water from The Cauldron. You need to crush the entire stick into powder, mash it with the root and mud and then mix in The Cauldron water until it reaches the consistency of syrup."

"How do I get a paralyzed goat to drink?"

"You don't. You drink it and lay hands. I'll warn you, it's gritty from the cinnamon and mud, but it doesn't taste too bad."

"I don't know how to lay hands. I've never done that before."

"The hell you don't. You're about the most naturally magical man I've ever seen."

"What if I can't do it?"

"When you're ready to lay hands, I want you to do me a favor. Do you remember how you felt when you were riding on Flint yesterday?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She backhanded his arm for calling her ma'am.

"When you're ready to lay hands, you think about that ride. That's what this young goat was feeling when the Tether got him, only he felt it until it hurt. You do that, and it'll work."

Alex couldn't imagine how that feeling could hurt.

"I'll do my best."

"Grab that cinnamon stick and go get that root. I planted those marsh mallows in The Whisper, so it shouldn't be too difficult. I'll send for someone to bring you the water."

"Yes, Miss Nana."

He grabbed the cinnamon stick and ran back to the barn. When he got there, he put the cinnamon into his vet bag, which he had decided to keep here for convenience, and checked on the kid. The bleat had gotten weaker. He didn't have a whole lot of time.

When he got to The Whisper, he realized that the denim and leather boots weren't going to work for this part.

Without hesitation he stripped down and vaulted over the fence. He landed and sank knee-deep into the mud.

It was nearly fifty feet to the closest marsh mallow plant, and this wasn't going to be easy, but now wasn't the time to hesitate.

He muscled through, but it was slow. It took him almost five full minutes to make it to the plant.

He jammed one shovel-like hand deep into the mud, using the stem to steady himself with the other. He could feel the root, but it was so slippery that he couldn't pull it.

Alex shoved his other hand in. Once he was able to work both hands underneath, Alex used every bit of his strength to pull the whole plant out of the ground, groaning with effort. His back and shoulders bulged and tensed. The groan became a full-fledged holler.

The earth released the deep taproot with a wet schlorp.

Alex stood there roaring in victory holding the massive plant by the root flare over his head like a mighty barbarian warrior, naked and covered in mud.

Between the physical exertion, his passion to save the kid and being immersed in the spring water, Alex's eyes were glowing nearly brighter than the sun.

He turned.

Alex stood there frozen like a mythic monster risen out of a swamp.

His eyes were so bright that Brittany almost had to squint when they locked onto hers.

She wished they weren't so bright. He was so beautiful like this. She didn't want to look away.

She saw him shrug and shake his head. He looked down at the marsh mallow in his hands and slogged back.

She was finally able to avert her eyes. She tried not to, but this beast was so amazing that she couldn't stop sneaking a peek whenever she could.

Alex dropped the giant, muddy plant over the fence and oozed over the fence behind it.

He didn't get dressed. He wouldn't look at her. She couldn't blame him for that. He just motioned for her to follow him.

His body wasn't like hers... it was flawless.

He threw the plant on the wooden slats of the barn floor and quickly washed his arms off from the elbows down. Steam started rising from the floor where the water hit the steam pipes below. It made him look even more like a cryptid.

Manically, he started pulling things out of his vet bag: a cinnamon stick, a serrated digging knife and a large mortar-and-pestle set.

He cut the entire root off of the plant, mud and all.

He crushed the cinnamon into a powder. He added the entire taproot one piece at a time. Periodically, he'd wipe some more mud off his arm and drop it in.

In the end, he had a thick, slimy, gooey soup in the mortar.

He reached his hand out to her.

"May I, Miss Brittany?"

She wanted to say yes and give her hand to him so he could pull her to him, but she couldn't move or say anything. Her eyes just shifted from his hand to his dazzling silver-glowing eyes.

"Miss Brittany, the water?"

She handed him the waterskin.

Alex mixed the water in little by little until it looked like brown Formula 44.

He carried it carefully to the stall without spilling a drop. He reckoned that he should do it there since he wasn't sure how long the effect would last after he drank it.

Kneeling behind the young goat, he drank the whole thing in eight large gulps.

Nana was right. It left a gritty film over his entire mouth, even the bottom of the tongue, but it tasted like hot, earthy licorice. It reminded him of those Hot Tamales that Granny would get him when they went to the movie theater... if you had dropped them in the dirt.

Brittany watched quietly from the door to the stall.

Alex laid his hands on this fragile kid, closed his eyes, and started thinking about Flint and riding through the fields and the wind blowing through his shaggy hair and the smell of the alfalfa.

He felt the young goat's heart slow down. Was he too late? Was he not able to make the magic? He kept his eyes closed tight and strained like he was trying to push the magic out. Here he was at the altar of the stall PRAYING with all of his might that the goat would live. This was NOT going to be last rites for this smallest of parishioners.

"DAMMIT... just let him live!"

After the exclamation, everything was quiet for what felt like days...

... until he heard a tiny cough... and then a louder one. He felt movement under his hands. He was scared to open his eyes in case it wasn't done.

Then came the loud, joyous bleat. The kid started rolling back and forth like a turtle on its back until it got to its feet and pushed its nose into Alex's neck, licking mud off of his chest with its long tongue.

"There you are, little one! I was worried about you!"

With tears in his eyes, Alex hugged the goat tight, and they competed to see who could kiss the other one's neck more.

"Now, would you like to tell me your name?"

The goat responded with a short grumbling murmur.

"None? How have you made it this long without a name? Tell me. What kind of name would you like?"

"*Meeeehfff*"

"I would be honored. When I was sick as a boy, my Granny would call me Jano while I was healing. From now on, we'll call you Mr. Jano."

"Welcome back, Mr. Jano," Brittany called out with rare volume and joy in her voice. Tears were trickling down her face, collecting in the dimples that had formed on either side of her smile. They weren't as deep as Vicki's, but Brittany didn't smile as much.

Alex had forgotten that she was there. He ran over to her and picked her up, spinning her around with her long hair fanning out behind her. She laughed freely.

"Thank you SO much for your help, Miss Brittany. I don't know how to repay you."

That was when he became painfully aware that he was naked and covering her with mud. He set her down and started gently using his fingers to comb her hair back over the right side of her face.

"I'm sorry, Miss Brittany. I didn't mean to -- "

"It's okay, Alex. I understand. It's been so long since I did my first purposeful magic... I was a child. I forgot what a feeling that is. You saved Jano's life."

She touched his cheek and smiled. She grabbed the waterskin and left without another word.

After using the hose to wash the mud off and drying in the sun for several minutes, Alex put his armor back on and went to thank Nana and tell her how well it went. He knocked on her screen door.

"Come on in, Alex! I'm upstairs. I'll be down in a minute."

Alex wandered over and looked at the still-open book. It was on a page of names.

This must be the people who have lived here, he thought.

He glanced over the names. There were birth dates, death dates, Hand-Bindings, Soul-Circle names, symbols and letters after each name. This really was a thorough history. Then he saw it... his name... his mother, Rosalia, and his Granny, Matilde, and when she married his grandfather, Walter, who had always called her Mattie. At the top of the page was a Maria Hoguera who was born in 1616.

The only thing he saw in new ink was Walter's death and, beside his own name, the letter "S" and the symbol "Ж". There were lots of people with the Ж, but the only other one with the S was his Granny's dad, someone named Miguel... his great-grandfather.

"I don't understand," he said to the silent room.

The silent room spoke back, "We need to talk, Alex." Nana was standing silently at the bottom of the steps.

"Miss Nana, what is this? Why am I in here? Why is my family in here?"

"Have a seat at this table but close the shades for me first if you would--"

Nana grabbed what looked like an old child's carousel shadow machine off of a shelf and set it on the table.

"--and wind this, please. My fingers aren't so strong anymore."

Alex did as he was told as Nana continued. He noticed that she carried her cane more than she used it.

"The last time that I saw Tilda, your grandmother, she was seventeen years old and was leaving to spend six months in the real world. She was like a daughter to me. I was Hand-Bound to both her father, Miguel... my Migo, and her mother, Dottie. You remind me of Migo. You have his eyes. He was strong, gentle, wise, VERY handsome...," she leaned into his ear, "... and an incredible lover."

"Hold on, that would make you --"

She slapped him in the leg with her cane. "No questions until after the show." Nana shooed Orange Cat out of a chair and sat at the table across from Alex. She lit a votive candle and put it inside the machine and flipped a small lever.

Lit symbols rotated around the ceiling. They were somewhat hypnotizing.

He was shocked when they started moving on their own, silhouetting the story as Nana told it.

"In Europe, during the height of the witch trials, five girls in separate parts of Europe were accused of witchcraft: Erika Erdmann of Germany, an Earth Witch; Juliette Levant of France, Air; Maria Hoguera of Spain, Fire; Agnes Bjergbaek of Denmark, Water; and Fiona Beaton of Scotland, Life. They were collected and sent to The Netherlands to stand trial. It was decided that they would be banished to New Amsterdam. The girls would be their problem.

"The girls bonded in the small cell where they were held in the hull. They became a coven of their own over those months. Their one saving grace from inevitable hanging in the New World was the young man who brought them their rations each day. He fell in love with Maria. Upon docking, knowing that they would be hanged or worse, he helped them escape.

"They headed into the unclaimed wilderness to the west. The boy became ill. Since they didn't know the plants here, they couldn't save him. They buried him, planted a sapling over the body and carved his initials into it. After, they continued into the Appalachian Mountains. There was a place calling them. Tell me, did you feel a buzzing in your ears and head when you were coming here?"

"Yeah, it was like a headache, but not quite."

"Then it called you, too. It was probably calling you your whole life, but you never knew it because it was always there... constant.

"On the summer solstice of 1639, the girls appeared at the top of what would become Covens Run Creek and looked at the valley just like you did yesterday.

"Already here was a handful of the last surviving Monongahela natives who had also been called here, all men. The two groups eventually intermarried and bred. The coven was born.

"Over the years, the valley called escaped slaves, Swiss farmers, migrant laborers, Italian and Russian railroad workers. Each culture brought its own flavor of magic, but it was all so similar that they all became one focused around the five elements of our founders.

"Now you may ask questions, you handsome devil."

"If you helped rear my Granny, um, you don't look that --?"

"Old? The coven found back in the old days that if we bathe in The Cauldron and drink from The Moon, it slows our aging. When we retire and join the Silver Circle, we stop doing that and our aging returns to normal."

"I know you're not supposed to ask a lady's age, but how old are you?"

"I'm in my 154th year."

"Well, you don't look a day over 80, Miss Nana."

"You don't have to flatter me," Nana leaned in with a sly grin, "I'm already interested, willing and able."

"You're as bad as Miss Tabby."

Then the thought suddenly hit Alex.

"How old is Tabby?"

Nana laughed.

"Tabby's your age. Aging doesn't slow until your body reaches full maturity, usually around your twenty-fifth birthday."

She saw the relief in his face.

"How about him?" Alex joked, pointing at Orange Cat, who had found a small spot of sun to curl up in. He thought about how the cat had been here for Will's whole life and still looked young.

"Orange Cat? Nobody knows. He's looked like that for as long as I can remember."

"Seriously!?"

Nana gave him an affirmative nod.

"Back to your story, Alex. Our Soul-Circle served as The Elder Council for a long time. When we retired, my Migo was elected as Patriarch. He was the only man in the history of the coven to have that title. He was 142 when he died thirteen years ago. That's when I was elected Matriarch. I think they only gave it to me so that they didn't have to move the book.

"He was never the same after Tilda left, though. He loved that girl more than anyone. Unfortunately for us, she fell in love with your grandfather out there and chose him over us. We always thought it was a tragedy, but, without that, you wouldn't be here now."

"We were in that book when I got here."

"When farmers from Oakhaven had sick or hurt animals, we'd send them to Walter. We could keep track of all of you while still respecting Tilda's choice."

She looked regretful for a moment.

"I wish we had told her when Migo got sick. Seeing her might have saved him."

He lightly covered her hand with his. "She died happy with me and Grandpa beside her. She didn't suffer. She would've if she had known."

"Damn, you even sound like him."

"Those symbols by my name, like the weird crossed-out I?"

"That's Veyna, the Ever-Changing. It's the symbol for Life magic. It represents the roots of a tree and the horns of the stag. It means that, even though you haven't been through a Vision Quest yet, you appear to be a Life Witch. You nurture and protect all living things from seed to growth to maturity to death to seed."

"A Life Witch? I thought you said Hogueras were Fire Witches."

"No. I said that Maria was a Fire Witch. Your blood gives you your name. Your magic comes from here," she poked his chest with her cane.

"Children in the coven are taught to have a relationship with all of The Five Elements so that they can choose the right one for them. You have been raised your whole life developing your relationship with Life. No one in camp has ever been raised that way. I suspect that is why you're so powerful."

"And the 'S'? It was just Migo and me."

Nana chuckled as she stood. She reached out and caressed his face. Her thumb traced under his eyes, and her own eyes softened.

"It's not that complicated, dear boy. It's your eyes. The two of you are the only two in 350 years born with silver eyes. With Migo, there was talk that this proved he had a constant base level of magic. You have done nothing to dispel that rumor, either. Especially after Tina."

"An hour ago, I thought I just came here to get a job. I need to think about all o' this. If I may be excused, I think I need to be on my own for a bit."

"Before you go, can I get a kiss on the cheek? You remind me so much of him."

Alex got up, stepped over to her and kissed her tenderly on the cheek.

She grabbed his ass.

"Miss Nana!"

"You've got his butt, too."

Alex wandered for a long while. He didn't stay on the paths, but he didn't go back to the barn, either. He needed to be alone. Going to see Flint, Shadow, Smoke and Jano was like going to a high school party when you... just found out that you're destined to fill the hole left in the hearts of everyone around you by your adored, dead great-grandfather.

Thirteen years ago... the girls knew him.

Great, now he was wondering if Tabby was attracted to him because he looked like Migo.

As the world settled into dusk, he found himself standing at the bottom of a staircase. It was carved out of the mountainside itself. Alex couldn't stop his curiosity.

When he got to the top of the stairs, he was standing on a boulder. It was completely flat except in the center where a mound of quartz had a fountain of water shooting almost a foot up out of it. The water rolled off the boulder on the opposite side.

The moon was already high enough in the sky that it made the quartz glow like Tabby's eyes did last night.

This was The Moon.

This was part of the magic that kept people young.

No one was around, so he went over and leaned in.

He drank from it like a kid at a school water fountain.

He stepped back.

He didn't feel any different, but he still didn't understand this magic stuff.

"Maybe I'll live a minute longer now," he chuckled.

He found himself thinking that if he fell off of here, it could be a while before anyone found him. Before he left, he looked out. The lake was quiet and smooth.

Maybe he didn't need bubbling water. Maybe he needed calm.

His feet dangled off the dock into the warm summer water, his "outside armor" rolled up to his knees. He looked at his face in the water.

Now here, in the calm, he genuinely considered getting in his truck and leaving. He couldn't seem to get used to the lifestyle here.

He wasn't sure how long it took to get used to seeing naked people all the time.

On top of that, now he had the pressure of this family history here. Everyone who looked at him must think about Migo. The man was an Elder and the Patriarch... apparently, the only man to ever hold that position. How could he live up to that? He was just a farmer and a vet tech... not even a real veterinarian.

But what about the animals? He was becoming fond of them all. They knew him. They trusted him. He couldn't just abandon them.

And the girls. How could he sleep with Tabby and run? He wasn't that guy, but even she said that if he was going to leave, he should do it now so it wouldn't hurt. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to hurt any of them. He should grab his stuff and go. He couldn't risk staying around too long and then deciding that he couldn't do it. He couldn't risk hurting them. He was developing feelings for all of them. Not just Tabby. They were all so amazing. He'd miss them, but they'd be okay.

In a year, they wouldn't even remember him.

A shadow appeared silently on the dock beside him. He looked up. He was crying harder than he realized. Brittany was standing beside him holding a bundle of waterskins. She was looking down at him with a gentle smile.

This was the calm he needed. Those racing thoughts all flew out of his head.

In one fluid move, she dropped her dress to her feet and stepped out of it. She was naked. For the first time, he saw it. The entire right side of her body was covered with the splotchy strawberry birthmark.

One time, when he was a kid, his grandparents took him down to the Outer Banks in North Carolina for a week. They got a house right on the beach. One night, he and Granny sat on the deck and watched the full moon rise out of the ocean. It was the biggest moon he ever saw. You could see the craters pockmarking the face. That's what Brittany looked like.

"Beautiful."

She sat to his left so that her birthmark was facing him. She tucked her hair behind her ear and placed her hand on his. Her cool, easing energy flowed into him.

"Swim with me," she whispered and slid into the water.

Alex stood to take his overalls off, but after he unclipped the first strap, he froze and watched her.

This was her element.

She didn't flop around in the water like he did. She looked like a mermaid moving as part of the water... a shoulder here, a wave of hair there, a breach of bare bottom there or a splash of feet like a tail.

He thought it must be a trick of the moonlight playing off the water, but he would have sworn that the birthmark had a silvery sheen moving through it as she swam.

"Are you coming or are you just going to stand there and watch me?"

His bibs hit the deck next to her dress like the weight of the day just falling away, and he kerplunked himself in.

She swam further out and he followed. The dock looked so small in the distance, and the daily rawness of the heat was soothed.

Brittany was effortlessly treading water there, waiting for him. She didn't even make the tiniest waves when she held herself there.

When he got close to her, the water got cooler.

"Do you feel that? We're in The Mirror. It's one of the Five Springs. It seeps up from the deepest part of the lake. It's the one that represents my element, Water. Sometimes I'll swim out here alone at night when no one can see me."

"And you brought me out here? I don't want to interru--"

She disappeared under the water. Alex looked around. She had been gone too long. It was too quiet.

"Miss Brittany? Miss Brittany!"

He felt her hands slide up the back of his legs from underneath, her fingernails grazing his butt and his back until her hands rested on his broad shoulders. She emerged from the water behind him, then twisted around to the front, hugging his body like an eel. Her eyes were already glowing.

"I like to go to the bottom where the water is purest. Tonight it lets me catch up to your eyes."

He caressed the right side of her face and shoulder.

"And how can I catch up with you?"

As she floated her hands on his waist, it wasn't just the thoughts or heat of the day that left him. It was like the weight of his own body, for the first time ever, was gone.

Brittany kissed him on the lips. It wasn't a passionate kiss. It was a peck. Then her kisses alternated body parts as she flowed around his body. His neck, his stomach, his bicep, the small of his back, his ear, his nipple... a gentle kiss here or a light nibble there.

Alex wanted nothing more than to return what she was doing if he could in the water, but she was too fast, too swirling. He never knew quite where she was until he felt her mouth. She was everywhere at once.

She was the moving water, and he was getting more excited with each graze or nip.

She found her way back to the front, looking into his eyes. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and she kissed him again more passionately, but neither closed their eyes. They just gazed into each other's depths.

She wrapped her legs around him. The only warmth to be found was hers. He couldn't resist finding that warmth as he thrust just enough for the very tip of his cock to rub along her slit.

Using only her legs, she moved herself onto him.

They made love slowly. The water's surface stayed calm enough that the light of the nearly full moon reflected cleanly onto their faces. Their hips did all the work, and her underwater movements made him hit whichever spot she wanted him to hit.

Her limbs held him like a constrictor while his heavy hands ran weightlessly over her body, subconsciously lingering slightly longer on her birthmark.

Things became less controlled when her body started shaking. The smoothness of the water went away. It was his turn to support her, and his own weight suddenly came back. While he felt her muscles contract around him in waves, he released as well.

When they were spent, they kissed one more time... this was the most passionate yet... before they made a fast float back to the dock.

Sometime in the night -- Interlude

He stood on the dock naked watching their silhouettes frolicking and laughing in the dark lagoon. There was no moon in the sky.

Tabby and Brittany were play-wrestling and fondling each other.

"Come on in, Mountain Boy! We're waiting for you."

"I'm waiting for you, too," Vicki called from the other side.

"Vicki, don't go in too deep. You'll drown." Annette's arms were wrapped around Vicki's midsection trying to hold her in place.

Alex leaned over to jump in and saw his eyes. The silver was glowing bright, but there was blood-red lightning coming out of them. No one seemed to notice.

"Guys, is this normal?"

No one responded. They kept playing.

"Guys!"

Still no response. If it wasn't normal, they'd say something, right? He jumped in. As soon as he hit the water, he heard Brittany yell out.

"OW! Tabby, that hurts! Why would you do that?"

"I didn't do anything, Britt."

"Then how do you explain this burn? It's not just discolored anymore. It's blistered. I finally got him to see me. Why would you?"

"I didn't, I swear."

Alex thought quickly. "Miss Brittany, quick. Get to the center where it's deep. The water's cooler there. It'll heal you."

Vicki screamed out, "I wanna go!" She started madly swimming towards the center of the lagoon.

"Vicki, don't! You don't know how to swim there yet!" Annette couldn't stop her.

The water around Brittany started boiling. She was screaming.

"Do something, Mountain Boy! You're the healer. You can save her."

Alex tried to swim towards her, but the water was as thick as the mud of The Whisper. When he tried to slog through it, his feet just slid in place.

"Alex, I'm here! Come get m-- *glurp*"

Now Vicki had gone under.

Annette yelled, "Alex, help her!"

Tabby yelled, "Alex, Brittany!"

He tried to move somewhere... anywhere. All he could do was watch.

He saw Vicki's face breach the surface gasping for air and getting nothing but water.

Brittany's birthmark went from blisters to peeling off her bones. Tabby's joy had changed to horror. She looked like she'd never smile or wink again.

Annette went to her to console her.

How was she moving through this? Alex couldn't move at all.

Tabby hung her arms over Annette. "It was him. He's corrupted my magic. He made me kill my Britt... our Britt."

"Miss Tabby, I'm sorry. I didn't know --"

"And Vicki! She was so innocent. She wouldn't have gone that deep if he hadn't told her to."

"But I was trying to help Miss Bri--"

Annette snapped at Alex, "After everything you've done, all you have is excuses. You can't even come over here and make her feel better? This is all your fault."

"Migo wouldn't have let this happen... but I guess you aren't Migo, are you?"

Tabby looked at him through her tears. Her face was twisted in pain and heartbreak.

"All that magic and what's it good for, Mountain Boy? You should've just left. Hell, you should've never come."

June 26, 1991 -- When You Can't See 'Em

Alex woke up. He probably wasn't going back to sleep.

In fact, it was almost certain that he wasn't going back to sleep. When Alex's eyes opened, Tabby was kneeling next to his bed staring at him.

She whispered, "Are you okay, Mountain Boy?"

"Miss Tabby? Are they safe?"

"Is who safe?"

"Miss Vicki and Miss Brittany."

Tabby crawled up into the bed and put her arms around him, kissing his head.

"It was a dream and, apparently, a bad one. You were getting loud, but I couldn't make out what you were saying. Oh, your heart is racing." She pointed to the bed beside them. "Look, Vicki's right there sleeping. Britt'll be home any minute. Everyone is fine. It was just a nightmare."

"Wait... Miss Tabby, I had sex with Miss Brittany last night in The Mirror."

"Oh, that's the best. She is literally in her element there. Wait... did she let you, um, see her...?"

Alex felt a sudden calm as he remembered Brittany standing in the moonlight.

"Beautiful."

"I know. I've tried to tell her. Up here, most sunsets are a grey-beige. Occasionally, you'll get patches of peachy orange, but when I was on my Walk, I saw a sunset where the whole sky turned pink. I think of that every time I see her naked."

Alex thought about telling Tabby about the moon rising over the ocean, but Brittany came through the door at that moment.

As usual, she moved quietly to her bed. This time, though, she didn't worry about taking off her dress out in the open.

Tabby quietly called across the room, "That is what I'm talking about."

Brittany startled and then turned to see the two in the bed. She walked over and slipped onto the mattress, keeping her voice to a breathy whisper.

"What are you guys doing over here?"

A week ago, the thought that he would have two naked women in his bed was unthinkable to Alex. Now... this.

"Mountain Boy was having a nightmare. I was trying to console him. I don't think I'm good at it."

"What was the nightmare?"

"Apparently, something happened to you and Vicki."

"Poor darling, I bet you could've saved us with your magic and your victory yell."

"Victory yell?"

"You should have seen hi... buck naked and covered in mud holding a marsh mallow over his head."

"I really want to see that."

"Y'all know that I'm sitting right here, right?"

Tabby leaned in, giving him a light kiss on the lips.

"We always know when you're here, Mountain Boy."

Brittany kissed from the other side, softer but just as quick.

"Even when we're fooling around."

Tabby kissed Britt, a little longer this time.

"Especially when we're fooling around."

"Miss Tabby, did you tell h--?"

Both girls leaned in to kiss him and the three of them exchanged kisses together.

"Tabbs, I have an idea that he is really not going to like."

"No, he's going to like it. He just doesn't know it yet."

"Are y'all talking about --?"

"Don't worry, Mountain Boy, we've had experience with this. Since Vicki moved in last month, we've had the four of us a few times. Three is easy. We've been doing three with Annette for years now."

"You've even got an extra... tool."

"Tool?"

"Britt, he can't hold his breath like you. You haven't had him eat you out yet, have you?"

"Is he as good at that as he is with --?"

"Not quite as good, but he tries so hard."

Next thing Alex knew, Britt was straddling his face, and Tabby was riding his cock while the two girls kissed and caressed. The two of them moved slowly so that they could stay quiet... and so Alex wouldn't be self-conscious.

They maintained this pace for several minutes before Brittany's violet eyes started to shift to silver.

"Tabbs?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"I think he's getting better."

"He's a quick learner."

Tabby locked her lips onto Brittany's to keep her from getting loud.

Brittany started shuddering as her thighs held his head tightly in place.

When Tabby's body started shaking a few seconds later, Alex completely abandoned his own release. He was a little preoccupied with trying to breathe.

The girls collapsed into each other, slowly touching and cooing.

"*Hrrmmmphhh!*"

"Oh, my gosh. Alex, sweetie." Britt let go of Tabby and crawled down beside Alex, kissing and apologizing in whispers.

Tabby couldn't keep herself quite as quiet when she saw Alex wide-eyed and gasping for air. She roared with laughter and rolled off of him, falling to the floor with a "flumph."

"Mountain Boy! You look like a gorgeous trout!"

"Don't listen to her. I mean, you are gorgeous, but it's my fault you're a trout."

Annette sat up in her own bed, "By The Five Elements, would you two go to work so that Britt can get to bed, and I can get another maybe two hours of sleep? We're not all moon-tinged farm bears who can fuck all night and work all day. Look... Vicki's already up and gone for the day. She probably couldn't sleep with all the 'whispering'. Now go do your smoking ritual and let me sleep!"

Annette rolled over and pulled the covers over her head.

"HAH!! Farm-Bear!" Tabby, who had stood up while Annette snapped, moved around to Brittany, kissed her on the cheek and grabbed her boob. "Sleep well, baby. C'mon, Farm-Bear, kiss your girl goodnight. We've got a date on the front porch."

"Flirt quietly!"

Alex pulled Brittany in tight to give her a proper kiss, grabbed his outside armor and followed Tabby out, but not before pausing to look at Vicki's empty bed, feeling a lump of concern in his throat.

Out on the porch with his cigarette, Alex sat with a furrowed brow and an air of gloom.

"You're awfully quiet after what was pretty great sex."

"I'm just worried about Miss Vicki. After that dream and then her just disappearin' like that. I can't help but think that somethin's wrong."

"You know Vicki. She's so bubbly; nothing could ever go wrong. It's like she's blessed. A few years ago when we were both in the Floor House, we were playing hide-and-seek. She was the last one left to find. She was hiding up in a tree, and we were looking behind and inside everything. Then, a thunderstorm moved in. We were all scrambling, trying to find her. Do you know how we found her?"

"How?"

"Lightning hit the tree."

"What? Was she hurt?"

"Not at all. Every leaf on the tree turned brown and fell off. There she was, sitting in the bare tree, pointing at her head and yelling, 'Hey, guys, look at my hair!' It was sticking straight out and smoking."

Alex didn't look any less worried.

"What I'm saying is that Vicki always comes out on top and happy, but if you're really worried about her, go by the Smokehouse and check on her today. I bet she'd be thrilled that you took the time to come check on her."

"You're right. I should do that. Thanks, Miss Tabby."

Alex finished his cigarette, crushing it under his boot, which was Tabby's cue to stand up and head out to work.

"One more thing you should consider today, Mountain Boy."

"And what's that?" Alex raised an eyebrow. This always seemed to be Tabby's chance for a goodbye flirt.

"You didn't get a chance to finish this morning. When you find that Vicki is fine... and you will... I want you to think about whatever it is that you've always fantasized about two women doing to you. In the morning, I want you to tell us what to do."

Alex thought that he had exhaled the last of the cigarette smoke, but his assignment made him cough.

Tabby gave him a long, lingering kiss. She got to taste Brittany this time.

"Also be thinking about when I'm going to see this Conan version of you."

Alex was having more trouble getting his work done today.

The feeding, the milking... that was all muscle memory. That went quickly, but he felt like he had to check every animal for any sign of problems. Jano's Hollow-Tether had him gun-shy. He had to touch every chicken, talk to every goat, and brush Flint and family. He even found himself giving the oxen complete rubdowns to make sure there was nothing he could feel that was wrong.

Something was wrong, though. Alex didn't know where Vicki was.

Thinking more about it, Alex hadn't seen much of Vicki since swimming the other night, but it always felt like she was there, even when she wasn't.

That was the problem. Alex had got comfortable. That's when bad things happen.

Last night, he was considering leaving to protect the girls. If he wasn't here, he could go on for the rest of his life assuming that they were safe and happy here. He wouldn't be protecting them, though. He'd be protecting himself.

Now, he wanted to divide himself into four people so that he could follow them around all day and keep them safe. Was there a spell for that?

Right now, though, there was only one of him, and Vicki was the one who disappeared this morning. Everybody else assumed that she was okay. He looked towards the Smokehouse.

Jano bumped his leg to play. Alex leaned down and held the young goat's head like Tabby did when she wanted to ease Alex.

"Not right now, buddy. I'll play tomorrow. I promise. Right now, I've got to check on my family."

"*Nya-a-ha*"

"I knew you'd understand. I love you, too."

Alex gave him a scratch behind the ear and headed towards the Smokehouse.

When Alex got to the Smokehouse, a heavy blast of hickory smoke enveloped his face. Hank was there trying to control how much smoke the fire put out. He was madly running around manually adjusting the vents to change the air flow.

Alex ran up to give him a hand with one that was a little high.

"Mornin', Mr. Hank. Looks like you're strugglin' in here."

"Hey, Alex. I appreciate that."

Hank stopped, wiped his brow and gave a half-hearted laugh.

"Vicki always makes this part look easy. How's she doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"She stopped in first thing this morning and said she had to take care of some things. I told her to go ahead, that I'd do my best to get everything done on my own. I figured that she'd get me back if I wanted to spend the day with Emma sometime, you know?"

"What did she have to take care of?"

"She didn't say, and I didn't ask. She seemed upset, real quiet, which isn't like her at all. I figured if she didn't want to talk about it, who was I to force her?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"What were they like before... the girls?"

"They've always been inseparable. Even back in the Floor House. Annette had always been tight with Britt and Tab. She was prepping for her Walk when Vicki got there, but she took Vicki under her wing. She'd always come back by and check on her and the other girls.

"When I came over to The Loft House, the ABT lovefest was already in full swing. I went to the other side because Annette certainly didn't want anything to do with me.

"When Vicki came over, she fit right in with them. And she idolized Tabby.

"If you had asked me last week, it would've been the four of them until just the right woman came along. Then, you happened. I don't know how you did it."

"Did what?"

"Seriously!? I figured you knew at this point. All four of those girls are crazy about you. I never thought a guy would've broken that wall."

"I think I might've broken somethin' else, too. Did you see which way she went when she left?"

"No, but I know she likes to sit in The Cauldron when she needs quiet time. I figure that might be where she is if she has to think something out."

"I ain't never been there. How can I find The Cauldron?"

"There's a path behind the Smokehouse here. It meets another one that follows the shore to the south side of the lake. A few minutes into the woods, you'll see a creek. Follow the side path up the creek to where it flows out of a cave."

"The Cauldron's in the cave?"

"Yeah, but there's rules, and I'm saying this because I figure these last couple of days have been weird for you. The Cauldron is the only place where no one is allowed clothes and the only place where no sex is allowed."

"Got it. I think I can handle that. The girls have loosened me up a little."

"I've heard."

Hank smiled broadly at his own joke.

Alex's signature red flush appeared.

"Sorry 'bout that. I appreciate your help, Mr. Hank. Do you need anything before I go? Would you like me to set any of these vents a certain way?"

"Nah. Go save the day. You're becoming pretty famous for that."

Before Alex saw the creek, he smelled it.

He had never cracked eggs into potting soil sprinkled with laundry powder and hooked jumper cables to it, but he imagined that, if he had, this is what it would've smelled like.

He stopped for a few seconds to watch the oranges, yellows and greens swirl into the water of the lake.

Orange Cat was about twenty feet down the shore swatting at a fish.

Alex climbed the side trail a half mile or more until he found the cave.

There were iron hooks that had been installed in the stone face on either side of the cave. The air coming out was warm and moist, but not unbearable.

There was a plain skirt hanging from one of the hooks that he hoped belonged to Vicki. He stripped himself down and hung his own clothes on the next hook.

Once in the cave, it was dim, but there were hurricane-style lamps on the wall--enough to make sure no one lost their footing. He followed the water along the lit pathway until it opened up into a large cavern.

Inside the main chamber, interlocking pools that covered much of the cavern floor all glowed red from beneath the water.

"And here I thought that the first time I'd see you naked as a jaybird, you'd be in my cabin."

Alex turned.

"You startled me, Miss Nana. I thought I might find someone else here."

Nana was sitting on a rock out of the water.

"Well, I hope you're not disappointed. Come sit next to me."

"I'm always happy to see you. I thought you said you didn't come to The Cauldron anymore."

"I said that I didn't bathe in The Cauldron anymore. The air still does wonders for my old joints. Now, who were you hoping to find?"

"Miss Vicki. I had a dream last night that she was hurt. And now I can't find her today, and I'm worried."

"Oh, Alex, that girl has got old gods looking after her. I'm sure she's fine. She's probably regaling the Floor House kids with stories of her Walk, and they're riveted."

Alex did not find this comforting at all.

"Last time, you told me a story, Miss Nana. Can I tell you one?"

"I don't often get that offer. I'm intrigued... by all means."

"April 11 of this year... it was a Thursday... I went to my classes. I hadn't gone home that weekend 'cause I was studyin' for my Vet Techs' exam. I was determined that I was gonna get it before I graduated so that I could go straight home and help Grandpa on the farm when classes were over. I had made friends at school, and we went for pizza at lunch. We laughed and joked with each other. After lunch, we used one of the conference rooms at the library, and I helped them study for the exam."

"We all know how helpful you are, Al --"

"Grandpa was layin' in the kitchen havin' a heart attack while I was laughin' and jokin', eatin' pizza and tutorin'. Grandpa was alone and dyin'."

"Alex, you didn't know."

"That's the point of the story, Miss Nana. It's real easy to think that everything is fine, that everyone is happy and safe, when you can't see 'em."

The red light of the pools twinkled in the tears that were trickling down his face.

"I feel there's something goin' on with Miss Vicki, and I can't do nothin' about it until I find her."

"Alex, you're a powerful witch and an incredible mountain of a man, but there are some things that magic and muscle can't fix. If you squeeze everything too tight, sometimes things are going to break."

Alex whispered, "Would Migo have given up?"

Nana slapped him on the back of the head.

"Ow!"

"Is that what this is about? You think that you've got to be Migo just because you look like him? Yes, the people in this valley loved Migo. He was a great leader, an unparalleled witch and damned pretty."

"This ain't helping."

"Let me tell you something else about Migo. It's something that no one else in this coven would ever dream of saying and that only someone who was Hand-Bound to him for over a century can tell you."

"What's that?"

Nana grabbed his chin and forced him to look her in the eyes.

"Migo was a bull-headed jackass."

"What?"

"With those silver eyes, Migo was treated special from the day he was born until the first time I seduced him until the day we became The Elder Council until the day he became Patriarch until the day he died.

"And he was an Earth Witch, so he was stubborn. He thought he was always right, and no one ever argued with him because his charm would disarm them.

"You have one thing in your twenty years that Migo never had, and it tells me that you're going to be better than he ever was."

"I don't see anything that I have that would do that."

"You have your grandfather."

"Grandpa taught me how to run a farm, not how to be a witch... not how to be here."

"Alex, since you've been here, I've seen you heal a dog, a goat, a family of horses and a group of girls who, quite frankly, may have been wilder than Flint.

"Walter prepared you for being a witch better than if Migo, Dottie and I had raised you ourselves.

"What's more, he taught you to be a good person, to be humble and to be respectful. You could live 200 years, and Walter will still be a part of you."

Alex leaned over and gave her a big hug.

"No sex in here, young man."

Alex couldn't resist laughing.

"Thank you, Miss Nana. I'm still gonna go find Miss Vicki, but I have a question first."

"And what is that?"

"Why is the water glowing?"

"The moving water has exposed red quartz in the rock. The Fire magic of the water charges it, and it glows."

Alex kissed her on the cheek again, but he gently held her arms this time because he was afraid of what she might grab. He helped her back to her cabin before going back to the barn to put the animals in for the night.

Vicki rested her head on Annette's shoulder as they huddled together while the cool early night breeze blew across their bodies. The deck of the front porch felt hard against their bare skin, but neither was ready to go into the cabin where they could hear Brittany and Tabby laughing.

Teardrops fell on Annette's shoulder as she held the new adult.

"I don't get it. Why doesn't he like me? Tabby threw herself at him, and he fell for her. Okay. I get that. Tabb's really sexy. When I try to throw myself at him, I either get ignored or a pat on the head like I'm a silly dog. Heck, even dogs get his attention.

"Then, he fell for Britt, too, and all she ever did was ignore him, but I can't do that. I like him... the way that I like you, Britt and Tabby. It just seems like it would be different with him. I mean, I've done things with boys before at the Floor House, but not that, you know? I see him, and I want him to be that guy.

"This morning when I woke up to the three of them, I couldn't take it. I guess I got jealous, and I know it's wrong. He wasn't hiding it from me. He was honest. It doesn't change the fact that I want him to want me. For some reason, he just hates me."

Annette didn't know what to say. She had never felt what Vicki was feeling, but she tried to soothe her by rubbing her fingertips along her back with one hand while caressing her hair with the other. Inside, though, her anger was boiling like lava.

Alex didn't intend to eavesdrop in the dark, but he shuffled up right as Vicki poured her heart out to Annette.

From the shadows, the only words that Alex could muster were...

"Miss Vicki..."

Vicki turned away, hiding and trying to dry her face as her back lurched with every attempt to hold in her sobs.

Annette pounced.

"YOU! You come in here with your Golly Gee Country Boy act. You respect everyone by calling them Miss and Mr. and ma'am. You respect Katy, and she jerks you off into her wife's mouth. You respect Tabby, and she climbs into bed with you... but that's Tabby. You respect me, and I treat you like a brother. You respect Brittany, and SHE climbs into bed with you... WITH Tabby... IN FRONT OF VICKI! You respect the Elder Council. You respect Nana. You respect the people in Oakhaven. You respect EVERYONE! But here's this beautiful young woman who wants nothing more than a little bit of attention from you, and you treat her with nothing but disrespect."

Annette looked him up and down. Her body tensed. It looked like she would pounce like a mountain cat if Alex said anything.

Alex heard what she said, but he stayed silent. He didn't even look Annette in the eye.

He was too busy watching Vicki's golden shoulders trembling.

Annette was right, but he had been, too.

Vicki was hurt, and neither magic nor muscle could fix it.

He stepped around Annette. He didn't push or barge. He just moved past her in a surprisingly graceful sidestep. He sat next to Vicki and placed his large hand on her back. With his fingers spread out, it almost covered her entire back.

Vicki flinched, but she didn't try to move away.

"Miss Vicki, I don't hate you. I like you. A lot. You're smart. You're graceful. Your energy is contagious. You're fun. You're just as awkward as I am. You're gorgeous. I think if I were to look into your eyes for too long, I might just get lost and never be able to find my way back."

Vicki was still crying, but her breathing wasn't as erratic. She turned--not directly towards him, but enough that he would be in her peripheral.

"I've thought about a lot of things today. I've thought about you a lot today. I love you. I love Tabby. I love Brittany. I love Annette, in our own way, though I don't reckon she likes me much right now. The thing is, I don't love you because you act like Tabby. I love you most when you act like Vicki.

"Where I come from, this kind of... shared... love doesn't happen. I don't rightly know how to handle that yet, but I'm trying. I'd like to prove to you that I love you. I'm not sure how, but I will... if you'll give me a chance."

Vicki turned to face Alex. Her eyes were bigger and rounder than he had ever seen them. Her cheeks were still tear-stained, and it looked like she was about to start again. He wasn't sure what to expect, but his eyes were welling up, too.

She sprang up and threw her arms around his neck. He threw his arms around her entire body before she scrambled up into his lap, curled tight and buried her face in his chest.

Nothing more was said. They just sat there holding each other silently.

Annette untensed and made a crooked smile.

Annette moved, silently but with purpose to them. She brushed her fingers through Vicki's hair. Then, she tousled Alex's and pat him on the shoulder.

Neither one looked at her.

Alex just held Vicki.

Annette joined the other girls inside.

Before long, Emma, Hank, Shannon and Will came out carrying a large blanket.

Shannon called out, "Hey, guys. Are you going down to the lake for the eclipse?"

"It's going to be a dim one, so I figure you need to get down there for your eyes to adjust before it starts," Hank added.

Alex responded quietly, "I think we're gonna be stayin' in tonight."

Emma chimed in, "Okay, these things don't happen every day. I ho--"

Vicki lolled her head back upside down to look at them with dreamy eyes and a weary smirk.

" --ooooohhh! Come on, guys." Emma grabbed Will and Shannon by the elbows, whispering into Shannon's ear as they disappeared towards the lake. Hank had no idea what was going on but instinctively followed.

Vicki lifted her head. Alex met her lips with his, and their tongues intertwined.

When they broke, Vicki made this weird breathy, bubbly voice, but it wasn't awkward. It was... sexy? "I'm ready to go inside, but I'm not ready for you to let go of me."

"Yes, Miss Vicki."

Alex held her tight with one arm as he opened the door to the cabin with the other.

Inside, the furniture was shifted around the outside of the room. In the center of the room was a pile of furs. All three girls were standing naked around it.

The silver moonlight shining through the windows was the only light in the room.

Vicki patted Alex on the shoulder, signaling him to set her down.

"What is this?"

Annette spoke first.

"We've been planning this since the swim."

Tabby added in a smoky voice.

"Don't you see? We're a full circle now, so we decided to have our own little ritual to make it official. We don't have to wait for the Council to make it formal if it's real to us. First things first, though, Mountain Boy, you're overdressed."

Alex undressed as she handed out candles to each of them.

Tabby rubbed her thumb and forefinger together before snapping and lit her own candle before doing the same to each of the others, kissing each firmly on the lips after lighting. She announced each wax as she went around.

"For me, paraffin... Annette, soy... Brittany, coconut... Vicki, bayberry... Alex, beeswax."

Brittany was next with a chalice of water.

"This is water from each of the Five Springs that was blended and sanctified under the new moon."

She announced each spring with a kiss.

"Me, The Mirror... Vicki, The Moon... Alex, The Whisper... Tabby, The Cauldron... Annette, The Ghost."

Annette stepped forward with fresh-cut flowers, putting one in her hair first.

"For me, mountain mint... Brittany, swamp milkweed... Vicki, wild bergamot... Alex, black-eyed Susan... Tabby, bee balm."

When she got to Alex, instead of kissing him on the lips, she held her hand up with her fingers spread. Alex interlaced his own between them. Annette pulled Alex down to her. With their fingers still entwined, she rested her forehead against his. They held for a few seconds, gazing into each other's eyes.

Vicki looked around.

"What do I do?"

"Blow the candles out," Annette answered.

Vicki improvised as she blew each candle out.

"For me, Boreas, the North wind that brings us the winter winds... Alex, the lunar winds that match his eyes... Tabby, Eurus, the East wind that brings us the sun... Annette, the South wind that brings sustenance to our slopes... Brittany, Zephyrus, the West wind that brings the rains."

Alex looked around at all of their faces uncertainly.

"What about me? How do I add life?"

The three older girls, even Annette, tilted their heads like they couldn't believe he was asking that question.

Vicki stood on her tiptoes and gave him her own stage whisper.

"Start by laying me down on those furs."

Alex playfully lifted her up but descended slowly and carefully to the furs with her. Their hands and lips explored each other.

Tabby was the first to join them. She spoke softly into Vicki's ear.

"Tonight is for all of us, but it's still your night. You control the pace."

"Can I show you all a trick first, Tabbs?"

Everyone exchanged curious glances.

"What kind of trick?" Brittany asked.

"Okay, I learned how to do this when I was on my Walk. Everyone come down here to watch... except you, big boy. You stand up right here. You get the BEST view."

Everybody did what they were told while Vicki got on her knees with her back to Alex. The girls watched her take two big gulps and move her jaw in a circular motion. She leaned back, grabbed her ankles and relaxed her shoulders. "Okay, when I open my mouth, put it in as far as it'll go. Do it slowly. I've never done one that big. I'll tap your leg if it's too far."

"Are you sure, Miss Vicki?"

Annette added, "You learned this on your Walk?"

"It wasn't all record stores."

She raised her eyebrows and smiled, then leaned back and opened her mouth wide.

Alex did as she instructed and slowly eased it in. The girls watched her throat relax and swell.

"Holy fuck!" Tabby exclaimed. "How have you never told us about this?"

Alex was squatting and leaning forward, all the way in. Vicki tickled the base with the tip of her tongue before tapping his leg.

When he had pulled all the way out, she held her arms out and yelled, "TAA-DAA!"

Alex imagined that this was the same sound that her voice had in the lightning tree.

She looked at Tabby.

"A girl's got to have her secrets."

Tabby fell over laughing.

"I did NOT see that coming."

Even Annette found herself laughing.

"I don't think any of us did."

With the tension broken, the five of them moved in together. Before long, the laughing was being replaced with coos, hums and whispered words... "here"... "beautiful"... "damn"... "now"... "please"... "softer".

The cabin was empty except for them. They were the only ones who weren't at the lake. It wasn't a thundering symphony tonight. It was a cohesive jazz quintet. Each one was playing off the others, but Vicki chose the rhythm shifts and key changes, leading with nods, soft blinks and puckers.

Annette's tongue would be led to a clit or a nipple.

Alex's expansive hands would land on a breast or a cheek.

Brittany's lips would find a neck or a cleft.

Tabby's fingernails explored undersides and depths.

Vicki, no matter whoever else or how many others were with her, Alex's cock was hers. It belonged to her hands and her mouth, even as Tabby and Brittany shared other parts of him.

There was an unspoken choreography between Alex and Annette. They never touched. Not even when they were with the same lover. Tabby had her tongue inside Annette while hers was pleasuring Vicki. At the same time, Vicki stroked Alex's cock and fingered Brittany while Brittany kissed Alex's nipples. Alex and Annette exchanged a lingering silver gaze. The connection in those looks was no less passionate than what each was sharing with the others, but there was no physicality in it... just pure, nameless love.

Out on the lake shore, the entire coven and the spa guests "oooh"ed and "aaah"ed as the moon dimmed. To people in cities, the change went unnoticed, too slight to make any difference. For those who lived their lives watching the celestial dance under dark skies, it was a magnificent waltz between the Moon Maiden and the Earth Mother.

Many of the spa guests didn't actually see the moon change. It just felt wrong not to make wondrous sounds with them.

On Anchor Island under The Sage Willow, Katy, Tina and Isabella had Patrick and Tom bound to a single cypress-like root with hempen rope, leaving the Fire and Life witches' bodies lying bare under the moonlight. The air smelled and tasted of burning juniper.

When the moon first entered the outer shadow of the Earth, Isabella mounted Tom and Tina mounted Patrick while Katy, straddling the root between them, held a hand on the shoulder of each of them. She would be the conduit between them and the Willow, which would then feed the energy back to them through the earth beneath.

That was the plan.

The energy, as predicted, was escaping the two Elder men. Isabella and Tina kept it from leaving anywhere but through Katy's touch, and Katy fed it directly into the tree.

The energy didn't go through the roots, though.

It shot up to the canopy and evaporated out in what looked like white and red evanescent sparks.

In the cabin, things became more feverish. Voices grew louder and more urgent. The sounds they made became more bestial. Brittany's hand was giving Annette her second orgasm while Alex and Vicki licked Brittany to her first. Annette gripped Alex's trunk-like leg for support. Tabby was scissored with Vicki, and she was happy to grab and lick Brittany's fingers when they were done with Annette. Who knew how many times Tabby had come?

The only one who hadn't climaxed yet was Alex. He thought for sure it was going to happen earlier when Vicki's lips were around his head, Brittany swirled her tongue around his testicles, Annette's eyes locked with his and her forehead against his, and then Tabby slid one of her fingers in to massage his g-spot. Every time he got close, Vicki would squeeze the base of his cock, denying him that release.

After Vicki's second orgasm, she let go of Alex's erection for the first time. She grabbed his hair and pulled his face to her and slid her tongue into his mouth. When their kiss released, she told him... she didn't whisper, and it wasn't flirty. It was a desperate demand.

"I know you love me. I know you love all of us. Right now, I'm finally ready for someone to show me. I want it to be you."

Everyone seemed to know the role they would play. Brittany slid to Vicki's womanhood, using her tongue and fingers to make sure she would be lubricated enough for Alex's size. Tabby's mouth blazed about the hollow of her neck, her cleavage and her nipples to keep her fires burning. Annette got behind her, supporting under her shoulders and allowing Vicki to wrap her arms back around Annette's head to make sure that she was grounded and pliant.

Alex and Annette exchanged one last glance, and they both nodded. From that moment on, Vicki got all of Alex's focus.

Alex positioned himself and began rubbing the tip along her length.

Brittany made one more whirlpool over each of them before she and Tabby both backed away to give them room to collide. Each of the other girls dedicated one hand to caressing and one to their own pleasure.

Alex entered with caution. Vicki made a loud gasp but used that air to relax her muscles to make everything easier.

The air in the cabin started to move. It wasn't a calm cool summer night breeze, though. It was turbulent, hot, humid and tasted like peat. The scent was the blending of hay bedding, cedar smoke, damp soil, lake water and cinders.

Alex kept slowly sliding deeper. He had gone further than he had with Tabby or Brittany. It felt like Vicki was becoming larger on the inside than she was on the outside. Vicki's eyes were so large that Alex really was becoming lost in them. Her breathing was controlled.

The tempest in the cabin was growing stronger. Blankets flew off of the beds. The spent candles were rolling along the floor, and the flowers were flittering through the air like butterflies.

Alex and Vicki could feel the hands of the other girls on them, but they couldn't look away from each other long enough to see who belonged to which hand. They could hear them moaning under the roar of the storm.

Alex had made it all the way in to the hilt. He leaned over Vicki, propping himself up by the palms of his hands. He started pumping slowly. His gigantic frame seemed to be containing the maelstrom within their five bodies.

As the speed of his thrusts increased, Vicki's breaths became broken, heavy and husky.

Lightning, blood red and silver, started to form in the storm, but Annette's grounded form seemed to be taking it and pushing it deep under the floor of the valley.

Outside, the spectators started to panic. They could feel that something bad was happening. The dimming moon was starting to brighten again before it should. Red and white sparks were flowing like a sixth spring from The Sage Willow to the moon.

On the island, they knew that they had made all the right calculations, but something had still gone wrong. The women had dismounted, and Katy was frantically trying to cut their men free from the Willow. When she did, the sparks stopped escaping from the tree. Now, the moon drew them directly from Tom and Patrick. Tom rolled over top of Patrick to protect him.

Izzy yelled, "Tommy, what are you doing!?"

"My job!"

The sparks rising now were only white.

"You damned old fool, stop it!"

"I love you, Bella!"

At that moment, the mountains around the valley began to glow silver. The ridges became brighter than daylight.

No one, be it Elder, coven member or spa guest, had any idea what was happening. The ridges were so bright that they couldn't even see the moon. They squinted in an attempt to see... anything.

Then, a silver wave shot from the ridges to surround the moon tightly.

The sparks stopped rising out of Tom.

The moon absorbed the silver ring around it and became a deep red Blood Moon.

Everyone who saw it... spa guests... coven spectators... Tina and Katy... gasped in wonder at what they had just seen, not knowing where the silver wave had come from.

Isabelle knelt to the ground beside Tom with her hand on his back.

"Tommy Boy, are you alright?"

Tom's voice was strained, but his eyes were clear and alert.

"Isabelle Levant, I'm going to tell you something that you haven't heard from me in all the years that we've been together."

"What's that, Tommy?"

He raised one corner of his mouth into a crooked smile.

"You were right."

Tom collapsed on top of Patrick. They were breathing, but unconscious.

The rest of the crowd looked around for a source. All eyes fell on one point--the one side of The Loft House that had been flickering bright silver moments ago and was now fading to darkness.

Nana stood up from her chair on the porch and went in to write a new entry into The Book of the Root.