[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Miss Hotchkiss, who was discussing the history of the abbey.
When it was time to get back on the bus, I had to tear myself
away. I wanted to stay at the abbey and walk its halls and
smell its scents and feel the drying leaves of plants crumble
beneath my fingertips.
The plants called me with the magick of their thin, reedy life
forces, and there, outside the gates of the Killburn Abbey, it
came to me.
In spite of my parents' objections, in spite of everything, it
wasn't enough for me to learn about witches. I wanted to be
one.
Page 66
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter,
http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
16. Blood Witch
>.
you aren't. It's in the blood"
--Tim McClellan, aka Feargus the Bright>.
Frustration makes me want to howl. She isn't coming to me. I
know I can't push her.Goddess please give me a sign.
On Monday after school Robbie and I ditched chess club and
went to Practical Magick . It was getting to be a real habit
with me. I bought a book about using herbs and other plants
in magick and also a beautiful blank book with a marbleized
cover and heavy, cream-colored pages within. It would be my
Book of Shadows. I planned to write down my feelings about
Wicca, notes on our circle, everything I was thinking about.
Robbie bought a black penis candle that he thought was
hysterical.
"Very amusing," I said. "That's going to make you popular
with the chicks." Robbie cackled.
We headed to Bree's house and hung out in her room. Ilay on
her bed and read my herb book while Robbie fiddled with
Bree's stereo, checking out her latest CDs. Bree sat on the
floor, painting her toenails, reading my book about the Seven
Great Clans.
 This is so cool. Listen to this," she said as the doorbell rang
downstairs. Moments later we heard Jenna and Matt's
voices as they came upstairs.
"Hi!" Jenna said brightly, her pale blond hair swinging over
her shoulder. "Gosh, it's so chilly outside. Where's Indian
summer?"
"Come on in," Bree said. She glanced around her bedroom.
"Maybe we should go down to the family room."
"I'm for staying here," Robbie said.
"Yeah.It's more private," I agreed, sitting up.
"Listen, guys," Bree announced. "I was just reading this book
about the Seven Great Clans of Wicca."
"Ooh," Jenna said, pretending to shiver.
Page 67
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter,
http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"'After practicing their craft for centuries, each of the Seven
Great Clans came to work within a single domain of magick .
At one end of the spectrum is the Woodbane clan, who
became known for their dark work and their capacity for
evil.'"
A real shiver went down my spine, but Matt wiggled his
eyebrows and Robbie let out a diabolical laugh.
"That doesn't sound like Wicca," Jenna said, pulling off her
Jacket "Remember? Everything you do comes back to you
threefold. All that stuffCal read last weekend. Bree, that color
is fantastic. What's it called?" Bree examined the polish
bottle."CelestialBlue."
"Very cool," Jenna said.
 Thanks," Bree said. "Hold on this is really interesting.'At
the opposite end of the magickal spectrum is the
Rowanwand clan. Ever good, ever peaceful, the
Rowanwands became known for being the repository of
much magickal knowledge. They wrote the first Book of
Shadows. They gathered spells. They explored the magickal
properties of the world around them.'"
"Cool," said Robbie. "What happened to them?"
Bree scanned down the page. "Um, let's see...."
"They died,"cameCal 's rich voice, from Bree's open door.
We all jumped none of us had heard the doorbell ring or his
tread on the stairs.
After her moment of surprise, Bree gave him a brilliant smile.
"Come on in," she said, clearing her nail polish stuff away.
"Hey,Cal ," Jenna said with a smile.
"Hey," he said, hanging his jacket on the doorknob.
"What do you mean, they died?" Robbie asked.
Calcame and sat next to me on the bed. Bree turned around
and saw us sitting there together, and her eyes flickered.
"Well, there were Seven Great Clans,"Cal reiterated. "The
Woodbanes , who were considered evil, and the
Rowanwands , who were considered good, and five other
clans in between, who were various shades of good and
evil."
"Is this a true story?" Jenna asked, throwing her gum into the
trash.
Calnodded."As far as we know. Anyway, the Woodbanes
and the Rowanwands basically warred with each other for
thousands of years, and the other five clans were sometimes
allied with one, sometimes with another, during that time."
"Who were the other five clans?" Robbie asked.
"Wait, hold on. I just saw it," Bree said, trailing her finger
down a page.
Page 68
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter,
http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"The Woodbanes , the Rowanwands , the Vikroths , the
Brightendales , the Burnhides , the Wyndenkells , and the
Leapvaughns ," I recited from memory. Everyone looked at
mein surprise, except Cal, who smiled slightly.
"I just read that book," I said.
Bree nodded slowly. "Yeah, Morgan's rightIt says here the
Vikroths were warrior types. The Brightendales worked
mostly with plants and were sort of doctors. The Burnhides
specialized in gem, crystal, and metal magick , and the
Wyndenkells were expert spell writers. The Leapvaughns
were mischievous and humorous and sometimes pretty
awful."
"The Vikroths were related to the Vikings,"Cal said."And the
word leprechaun is related to Leapvaughn ."
"Cool," Matt said. Jenna came and sat on the floor in front of
him so she could lean back against his legs. His fingers
absently played with her hair.
"So how did they die?" Robbie asked.
"They battled each other for thousands of years,"Cal
repeated. A strand of his hair shadowed one cheek. "Slowly
their numbers dwindled. The Woodbanes and their allies
simply killed their enemies, either by open warfare or through
black spells. The Rowanwands also hurt their enemies, not
so much with black magic but by hoarding knowledge, letting
the other clans' lines of knowledge die out, refusing to share
their wealth. Like, if members of the Vikroths became ill and
the Rowanwands could cure them with a spell, they didn't.
And so their enemies died."
"Those bastards," Robbie said, and Bree giggled. A tiny
spark of irritation made me frown.
Calshot Robbie a sardonic look
"Go on,Cal ," Bree said. "Don't mind him."
Outside, it had been dark for a while, and a cold, steady rain
began to patter against the windowpanes. I hated the thought
of having to go home to Mary K.'s hamburgers and french
fries. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]