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coven,” Grandma interjected, and I could hear the
proud note that rang in her voice.
    “This is unbelievable.”
I dragged a hand over my face while my brain tried desperately to process all
this new information. My whole life suddenly felt like a sham.
    Grandma donned her
robe. “We’re taking you to meet the rest of them, so please be respectful. I’ll
answer your questions later when we’re finished.”
    “I’m meeting who?
The coven? Now?” I asked incredulously, still wondering if there was some way
this could all be some sort of giant prank.
    Grandma and Dad
both nodded simultaneously. Dad opened the door. Grandma walked in first, and
he followed. I took a deep breath and stepped through the entryway wondering
what I would find.
    This room was also
made of earth and lit by candles sitting on large ornate candelabras in each
corner. In the center of the space was a round table covered with a red cloth. On
it were purple crystals in the shape of a star, with a pillar candle lit in the
middle. But what really caught my eye were the cloaked and hooded figures
surrounding the table. There were ten other people in the room besides myself,
Grandma, and Dad.
    Dad spoke first,
extending a hand out toward me.
    “This is my
daughter, Portia.”
    “Blessed be,
Portia,” came the unified reply of both male and female voices.
    I didn’t know what
to say, so I didn’t say anything. I was sure the shock was apparent on my face.
This did not appear to be a gag.
    Grandma came and
took my other arm, and the two of them led me together up to the first hooded
member of the group.
    “This is Portia,”
she said to the cloaked individual.
    A man’s hands
reached out and took both of mine. He brought my knuckles to his lips and
kissed them slightly.
    “Welcome, Portia. Blessed
be,” he said. He dropped my hands and removed the hood of his cloak. “My name
is Hal,” he added with a smile.
    Grandma led me to
the next individual in line, this time a woman.
    “This is Portia,”
she repeated again.
    “Welcome, Portia. Blessed
be,” the woman repeated, kissing my knuckles in the same fashion as the man
before her and then removing her hood.
    I was shocked to
see Babs, the massage therapist who worked at Grandma’s store. She smiled
softly at me.
    Grandma continued
to lead me around the circle, introducing me to each individual. Each one
extended a welcome before they removed their hoods. I was amazed to find
several people I knew.
     Bruce was a local
restaurant owner I’d seen around town and when our family had eaten dinner at
his place on several occasions. Alice was a Pilates instructor at The Fountains
at Fontane , and a good friend of Shelly’s parents. A couple of my
neighbors were there also, Sharon and her brother Fred, who lived across the
street from each other , a couple of houses down from ours. The rest were
new to me though, and I noticed then we had reached the last individual in the
circle.
    “This is Portia,”
Grandma said once again.
    “Welcome, Portia. Blessed
be.”
    My heart stopped
beating at the sound of his voice, and the light kiss that brushed my knuckles
sent static shock through my entire being.
    The figure removed
his hood, and I stared straight into the bright blue eyes of Vance Mangum.
     

 
    Chapter 4
    It was two o’clock
in the morning. The members of the coven had all gone, and I was sitting at
Grandma’s kitchen table with her and dad.
    “Do you have any
questions?” she asked me sweetly, as if nothing was even amiss.
    “Oh, I have
questions,” I replied a bit loudly, my irritation getting the better of me. “A
lot of them!”
    “Well, start
asking,” Dad said, patiently. “That’s what we’re here for.”
    “I thought we were
Christians, for one thing,” I stated, pulling the first thought that came to me
out of my head. Even though our family had never been what people would
consider super religious, my whole upbringing and belief system was being
challenged. “Or