Timothy continued talking before Cassie could fully digest the tragic face of her young aunt. “These spirits possessing your Circle,” he said, “are the souls of your ancestors that managed to return when your father’s spell was channeled. Only the strongest would have gotten through.”

“But Alice was so young, and so beautiful,” Cassie said, nearly to herself.

Timothy shut the book to fully regain Cassie’s attention. “That girl there was one of the most nefarious of them all. Don’t be fooled by her looks. Some say she was more evil than Black John himself.”

Cassie wanted to reopen the album and look at the picture again, but she knew she had to focus on why she’d come to see Timothy in the first place. “What can I do to save my friends from these spirits?” she asked. “Is there a way?”

“There should be an exorcism spell in your father’s Book of Shadows,” Timothy said. “From one of your ancestors from the sixteenth century.”

Timothy opened the album again and turned to a different plastic-covered page. “This man.” He pointed to another drawing, more sparse and faded than the other. It was a sketch of faded lines, barely recognizable as a face.

“Absolom Blak,” Timothy said. “He lived his life as a priest but corrupted the Church. He was rumored to have copied the forbidden text of the exorcism rite into his own book. The Book of Shadows that later became your father’s.”

Cassie couldn’t stomach the thought that the dark soul of this evil priest could right now be in the body of one of her closest friends. It nauseated her so much she had to turn away.

“The exorcism is the spell you have to find,” Timothy said. “But it might be dangerous. Absolom was an evil man who would have only copied the exorcism rite for wicked reasons. He may have doctored the text, changed things. And that could have consequences. But you must find it, Cassie. It’s a risk you’ll have to take. You’ll be shocked to see how quickly these evil spirits will adapt to your friends’ bodies and to the modern world. You don’t have much time.”

“What am I even looking for?” Cassie asked. “How will I know when I find it?”

“Absolom was definitely the one to add it to the book,” Timothy said. “So try to figure out which sections he might have contributed to.”

He turned to another page of the album. “Here’s another ancestor you should keep your eye out for. Another one who died young, like Alice.”

Timothy directed Cassie’s attention to a faded black-and-white pamphlet or what may have been a cutout of an old newspaper drawing. It was so frayed and soft at its edges it looked almost like felt. Cassie had to strain her eyes to make out its image.

It was a picture of a persecution, not of one person but many.

“It’s a witch trial,” Timothy said.

The writing beneath the picture was in German, and a barely legible caption stated the year: 1594.

“Beatrix Blak was burned alive in the Trier massacre,” Timothy said. “The charge was sorcery. They say her last words were ‘You haven’t seen the last of me.’ So you can be sure she’s one of the spirits who made it back—and is currently ravaging the insides of one of your friends.”

Timothy shut the book again and pushed it toward Cassie. “Take it home with you,” he said. “Study it.”

Cassie took the book into her lap.

“You must be very careful,” Timothy continued. “These spirits will try to trick you. Some of your friends might appear normal at times, like their regular selves, but don’t be fooled. The only way you’ll be able to tell if they’re possessed or not is by their heartbeats. Hearts can’t lie. The heart of a possessed body will beat four times faster than a regular heart. Remember that.”

“So it is possible then,” Cassie said. “For some of them to break through the possession.”

“Possible, but not likely.” Timothy’s eyebrows crumpled sadly over his eyes. “Pretty soon, Cassie, these friends of yours will be long gone. If the possession lasts until the next full moon, it’ll become permanent.”

“Permanent?” Cassie felt her face flush. “But the next full moon is less than two weeks away.”

“I told you,” Timothy said. “You don’t have much time.”

The sinking feeling in Cassie’s stomach dropped to a new low. This was a bad idea; she wasn’t strong enough to hear any more.

“I have to go,” she said, and stood up abruptly. “Thank you for your help.”

She turned toward the door, but Timothy grabbed her firmly on the wrist and pulled her back down to her seat. “Wait,” he said. “One last thing.”

His hand felt warm on her skin. She’d expected it to be cold, like his eyes.

“I’m a simple man,” he said. “A lonely, powerless man. Forgive me if I frighten you.”

He was still holding Cassie’s wrist. “But in you, I can see light,” he said.

Timothy gradually released his hold once he was sure Cassie wouldn’t run away. He stared deep into her eyes.

“The strength inside you,” he said. “And the love you have for your friends. That love can be the most powerful spell of all.”

Cassie wasn’t sure how to respond, or if she should respond at all.

“Do you understand?” he asked.

“I think so.” Cassie nodded hesitantly at first, then with more assurance. “Yes.”

Timothy came around his desk and opened his office door to the foyer. “Then there’s nothing else you need but luck.”

With the album tucked beneath her arm, Cassie ran back out to the library’s main room, though she wasn’t sure why she was running. Timothy was strange, but she didn’t think he was harmful. In a way, she felt sorry for him.

As Cassie rejoined her mother in the car, she couldn’t get Timothy’s last few words out of her head—that love was more powerful than all of this.

Silently, Cassie began to forge a plan. She needed to visit Adam in the cave. If Timothy was right about the power of love, maybe Cassie could break through to Adam after all. Whose love was stronger than theirs? And who better to help her search for the exorcism spell than Adam?

Cassie was calmed by this thought. In her mind it was decided. She would bring Adam through tonight, and together they would save the rest of their friends.

Chapter 4

The caves felt frigid in the dark of night even though the temperature hovered around a balmy eighty degrees. Cassie found herself shivering as she rowed the final few feet to land. She wasn’t sure what to expect traveling here alone. In her imagination the whole angry mob of her friends would be waiting for her, salivating, hungry to return the pain she’d caused them by trapping them there.

Dry-mouthed, she brought in her oars and awaited the worst. She was relieved to see there was only one person visible at the mouth of the cave. A dark shadow of the tall, strong body she knew well. Adam. He was sitting out near the exit, hugging his knees toward his chest, looking lonely. The others must have been deeper within the cave, sleeping.

Cassie beached her rowboat and moved toward Adam with careful determination. Her heart knocked against her ribs as she took quiet steps, one foot in front of the other, until she stood before him—just out of his reach beyond the barrier in the cave. At first she said nothing, just watched him, and tried to locate the real him somewhere inside this shell of the boy she loved.

“Cassie,” he said, sounding just like his true self. He stood up with joy. “I was just watching the water wishing you would appear, and now here you are.”

He looked good, she thought. A little dirty, but aside from that nothing about him appeared different. His hair still shone with multicolored streaks of auburn in the moonlight, and his eyes were their natural, gorgeous blue. There was a vulnerability to their depth that couldn’t be feigned.

“How do you feel?” she asked.

“Better now that you’re here.” Adam reached out his hand, but it couldn’t pass through the bound cave entrance. “If only I could touch you,” he said, frowning.

Cassie was careful not to get too close. “How do I know it’s really you?” she asked. “And not the demon.”

Adam reached out his hand again, this time open palmed with his fingers outstretched. “It’s me,” he said. “I swear. Let me prove it to you. Raise up your hand to mine.”

The binding spell Cassie had cast on the cave trapped all witches inside. If she entered the cave, she wouldn’t be able to come back out. But she could simply meet Adam’s hand like he’d asked her to.

She watched his eyes. There was nothing strange or distorted about them.

“I can’t,” Cassie said, though she wanted to.

“Just meet my fingertips. You’ll still be safe.” He poked at the invisible border, causing it to sizzle against his skin. “See? I can’t reach through.”

The truth was, Cassie longed for Adam’s touch, even if he was still possessed. It would be worth it to feel him for only a second and then pull her hand away.

“Our bond is stronger than all of this,” Adam said. “Not even a demon can break it.” He stretched his fingers toward Cassie again. “Believe me.”

Only for a second, Cassie thought, as she slowly raised her hand. That was all she’d allow herself. She guided her fingers to Adam’s, precisely at the border between the inside of the cave and out.

The sensation was electric. From her fingertips, down her spine, all the way to her feet, sparks fired. Her skin tingled. It felt like the first time she ever performed magic.

She looked at the meeting point between her hand and Adam’s, where the silver cord manifested and hummed. It wrapped itself around them, entwining their arms, their entire bodies, in a band of light.

That was all the convincing Cassie needed. Adam was still in there, and she was sure this was him with her now. The cord binding them heart to heart, drawing them closer, didn’t lie. It couldn’t lie.

Adam made no attempt to grasp Cassie’s wrist or pull her toward him, none of the things he could easily have done to overpower her if he’d been possessed by an evil demon. He simply enjoyed the sensation of the tips of his fingers joining hers and the cord reinforcing their bond.

Cassie thought back to what Timothy had said, that love was the strongest of all magic. That’s what she felt coursing through her veins now—love. And Adam’s love for her was so strong that it was proving to be more powerful than the demon battling for his body.

“I want to hold you,” Adam said. “I need to.”

Cassie brought her hand back down to her side. “But if I let you out, the others will also be free.”

“Together we can handle them, Cassie. There’s no telling what they’ll do to me if I’m stuck in here and they figure out I’m not one of them. Why do you think I’ve been sitting here, as far away from them as possible?”

Cassie hadn’t thought of that. Adam could be in danger if she left him here another night. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to him.

And she was so lonely. So alone. How different this battle would be with Adam at her side. Why not set Adam free and then quickly recast the spell to keep the others in the cave?

“Okay,” Cassie said. “Stand back.”

Without another thought, she raised both her hands up and called out in her most commanding voice: “Hoc captionem est levavi.”

The rocky cave walls shuddered and shook. Cassie focused all her power on the cave’s entrance until the containment spell she had cast there was broken.

Adam smiled and drew in a deep breath. He stepped forward to test his freedom.

Looking at him made Cassie dizzy. She couldn’t take her eyes from his as she rushed into his outstretched arms.

Their embrace was all she’d hoped it would be and more. He held nothing back, kissing her mouth, her neck. She closed her eyes to better enjoy him—the feel of his hair, the smell of his skin, the sound of his heavy breath in her ear. His heartbeat was fast—racing. Timothy’s warning echoed in her mind.

She slipped from his embrace and took a step back. Even in the darkness she immediately noticed the change. First it showed itself in the bend of his lips, then the tilt of his head. The way he curled his fingers cruelly into his palms.

“Adam,” she said, as if the familiar utterance of his name might keep him from turning on her. But then eel-like lesions formed on his forehead and face, and his eyes blackened.

“Oh, Cassie,” he said in a voice generations more malevolent than his own. “You’re such a sweet girl, but so easily duped.”