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Cassie was in the herb garden when the phone call came. She had to go through the kitchen and into the

new wing of the house to get to the telephone.

"Hello, Cassie?" The voice was so muted and stuffed-up it was almost unrecognizable. "It's Diana."

Fear crinkled up Cassie's backbone. The dark energy . . . "Oh, Diana, are you all right?"

There was a burst of muffled laughter. "Don't panic. I'm not dying. It's just a bad cold."

"You sound awful."

"I know. I'm completely miserable, and I can't go to the dance tonight, and I called to ask you a favor."

Cassie froze with a sudden intuition. Her mouth opened, and then shut again silently. But Diana was going

on.

"Jeffrey called Faye to tell her he's going with Sally after all, and Faye is livid. So when she heard I was

sick, she called to say she would go with Adam, because she knew I would want him to go even if I

couldn't. And I do; I don't want him to miss it just because of me. So I told her she couldn't because I'd

already asked you to go with him."

"Why?" Cassie blurted, and then thought, Ask a stupid question . . .

"Because Faye is on the prowl," Diana said patiently. "And she likes Adam, and the mood she's in

tonight, she'll try anything. That's the one thing I couldn't stand, Cassie, for her to get her hands on Adam.

I just couldn't."

Cassie looked around for something to sit down on.

"But Diana ... I don't even have a dress. I'm all muddy. . . ."

"You can go over to Suzan's. All the other girls are there. They'll take care of you."

"But . . ." Cassie shut her eyes. "Diana, you just don't understand. I can't. I-"

"Oh, Cassie, I know it's a lot to ask. But I don't know who else to turn to. And if Faye goes after Adam .

. ."

It was the first time Cassie had ever heard such a forlorn note in Diana's voice. She sounded on the verge

of tears. Cassie pressed a hand to her forehead. "Okay. Okay, I'll do it. But-"

"Thank you, Cassie! Now go right to Suzan's-I've talked with her and Laurel and Melanie. They'll fix you

up. I'm going to call Adam and tell him."

And that, Cassie thought helplessly, was one conversation she thought she could miss too.

Maybe Adam would get them out of it somehow, she thought as she drove the Rabbit up Suzan's

driveway. But she doubted it. When Diana made her mind up about something, she was immovable.

Suzan's house had columns. Cassie's mother said it was bad Greek Revival, but Cassie secretly thought it

was impressive. The inside was imposing too, and Suzan's bedroom was in a class by itself.

It was all the colors of the sea: sand, shell, pearl, periwinkle. The headboard on Suzan's bed was shaped

like a giant scalloped shell. But what caught Cassie's eye were the mirrors- she'd never seen so many

mirrors in one place.

"Cassie!" Laurel burst in just behind her, making Cassie turn in surprise. "I've got it!" Laurel announced

triumphantly to the other girls, holding up a plastic-draped hanger. Inside Cassie glimpsed some pale,

gleaming material.

"It's a dress Granny Quincey got me this summer-but I haven't worn it and I never will. It's not my style,

but it'll be perfect on you, Cassie."

"Oh, God," was all Cassie could think of to say. She'd changed her mind; she couldn't do this after all.

"Laurel-thanks-but I might ruin it . . ."

"Laurel-thanks-but I might ruin it . . ."

"That way," Suzan said, gesturing with splayed fingers. "I can't do anything until my nails are dry, but all

the stuff's in there."

"Beauty bath mix," Laurel gloated, examining the assortment of bottles on the gilt shelves in Suzan's

bathroom. There were all kinds of bottles, some with wide necks and some with long narrow necks,

green and deep glowing blue. "Here, this is great: thyme, mint, rosemary, and lavender. It smells

wonderful, and it's tranquilizing, too." She scattered bright-colored dried flowers in the steaming water.

"Now get in and scrub. Oh, this is good," she went on, sniffing at another bottle. "Chamomile hair rinse-it

brightens hair, brings out the highlights. Use it!"

Cassie obeyed dazedly. She felt as if she'd just been inducted into boot camp.

When she got back to the bedroom, Melanie directed her to sit down and hold a hot washcloth on her

face. "It's 'a fragrant resin redolent with the mysterious virtues of tropical balms,' " Melanie said, reading

from a Book of Shadows. "It 'renders the complexion clear and brilliant'-and it really does, too. So hold

this on your face while I do your hair."

"Melanie's wonderful with hair," Laurel volunteered as Cassie gamely buried her face in the washcloth.

"Yes, but I'm not going to give her a do," Melanie said critically. "I'm just making it soft and natural,

waving back from her face. Plug in those hot rollers, Suzan."

While Melanie worked, Cassie could hear Laurel and Deborah arguing in the depths of Suzan's walk-in

closet.

"Suzan," Laurel shouted. "I never saw so many pairs of shoes in my life. What do you do with them all?"

"I don't know. I just like buying them. Which is lucky for people who want to borrow them," Suzan

called back.

"Now, let's get you into the dress," Melanie said, some time later. "No, don't look, not yet. Come over to

the vanity and Suzan will do your makeup."

Feebly, Cassie tried to protest as Melanie whipped a towel around her neck. "That's all right. 1 can do it

myself-"

"No, you want Suzan to do it," Laurel said, emerging from the closet. "I promise, Cassie; just wait and

see."

"But 1 don't wear much makeup-I won't look like me ..."

"Yes, you will. You'll look more like you."

"Well, somebody decide, for heaven's sake," Suzan said, standing by in a kimono and waving a powder

puff impatiently. "I've got myself to do, too, you know."

Cassie yielded and sat on a stool, facing Suzan. "Hm," said Suzan, turning Cassie's face this way and that.

"Hmm."

The next half hour was filled with bewildering instructions. "Look up," Suzan commanded, wielding a

brown eyeliner pencil. "Look down. See, this will give you doe eyes," she went on, "and nobody will

even be able to tell you're wearing anything. Now a little almond shadow . . ." She dipped a small brush

in powder and blew off the excess. "Now just a little midnight blue in the crease to make you look

mysterious . . ."

brown eyeliner pencil. "Look down. See, this will give you doe eyes," she went on, "and nobody will

even be able to tell you're wearing anything. Now a little almond shadow . . ." She dipped a small brush

in powder and blew off the excess. "Now just a little midnight blue in the crease to make you look

mysterious . . ."

"What are you using?" Cassie asked trustingly.

"Witch-hazel infusion and Chanel Flamme Rose polish," Laurel replied, and they both giggled.

"Don't jolt my hand," Suzan said crossly. "Now suck in your cheeks like a fish. Stop laughing. You've got

great cheekbones, I'm just going to bring them out a little. Now go like this; I'm going to put Roseglow on

your lips."

When at last she sat back to survey her work, the other girls gathered around, even Deborah.

"And finally," Suzan said, "just a drop of magnet perfume here, and here, and here." She touched the

hollow of Cassie's throat, her earlobes, and her wrists with something that smelled wild and exotic and

wonderful.

"What is it?" Cassie asked.

"Mignonette, tuberose, and ylang-ylang," Suzan said. "It makes you irresistible. And I should know."

Alarm lanced through Cassie suddenly, but before she had time to think, Laurel was turning her,

loosening the towel around her neck. "Wait, don't look until you've got your shoes on. . . . Now!" Laurel

said jubilantly. "Look at that!"

Cassie opened her eyes and drew in her breath. Then, scarcely knowing what she was doing, she moved

closer to the full-length mirror, to the lovely stranger reflected there. She could hardly resist reaching out

to touch the glass with her fingertips.

The girl in the mirror had fine, light-brown hair waving softly back from her face. The highlights

shimmered when Cassie moved her head, so it must be her-but it couldn't be, Cassie thought. Her eyes

didn't have that dreamy, mysterious aura. Her skin didn't have that dewy glow, and she didn't blush that

way, to bring out her cheekbones. And her lips definitely didn't have that breathless ready-to-be-kissed

look.

"It's the lipstick," Suzan explained. "Don't smudge it."

"It's possible," said Melanie, "that you've gone too far, Suzan."

"Do you like the dress?" Laurel asked. "It's the perfect length, just short enough, but still romantic."

The girl in the mirror, the one with the delicate bones and the swan's neck, turned from side to side. The

dress was silvery and shimmering, like yards of starlight, and it made Cassie feel like a princess. Suzan's

shoes, appropriately, looked like glass slippers.

"Oh, thank you!" Cassie said, whirling to look at the other girls. "I mean-I don't know how to say thank

you. I mean-I finally look like a witch!"

They burst into laughter, except Deborah, who threw a disgusted glance at the ceiling. Cassie hugged

Laurel, and then, impulsively, hugged Suzan, too.

They burst into laughter, except Deborah, who threw a disgusted glance at the ceiling. Cassie hugged

Laurel, and then, impulsively, hugged Suzan, too.

Cassie felt something like humility. She'd thought Suzan was just an airhead, but it wasn't true. Suzan

loved beauty and was generous about sharing it with other people. Cassie smiled into the china-blue eyes

and felt as if she'd unexpectedly made a new friend.

"Wait, we almost forgot!" Melanie said. "You can't go to a dance without a single crystal to your name."

She rummaged in her canvas bag, and then said, "Here, this will be perfect; it was my

great-grandmother's." She held up a necklace: a thin chain with a teardrop of clear quartz. Cassie took it

lovingly and fastened it around her neck, admiring the way it lay in the hollow of her throat. Then she

hugged Melanie, too.

From downstairs a doorbell chimed faintly, and, closer, a male voice shouted, "For crying out loud! Are

you going to get that, Suzan?"

"It's one of the guys!" Suzan said, thrown into a tizzy. "And we're not ready. You're the only one dressed,

Cassie; run and get it before Dad has a fit."

"Hello, Mr. Whittier; sorry, Mr. Whittier," Cassie gasped as she hurried downstairs. It wasn't until she

was at the door that she thought, Oh, please, please, please, let it be any one of the others. Don't let it

be him. Please.

Adam was standing there when she opened the door.

He was wearing a wry smile, appropriate for a guy who's been commandeered at the last minute into

escorting his girl's best friend to a dance. The smile disappeared instantly when he saw Cassie.

For a long moment he simply stared at her. Her own elated smile faded, and they stood gazing at each

other.

Adam swallowed hard, started to say something, then gave up and stood silent again.

Cassie was hearing Suzan's words: It'll make you irresistible. Oh, what had she done?

"We'll call it off," she said, and her voice was as soft as when she'd told Faye about the dark energy.

"We'll tell Diana I got sick too-"

"We can't," he said, equally soft, but very intense. "Nobody would believe it, and besides . . ." The wry

smile made an attempt at reappearing. "It would be a shame for you to miss Homecoming. You look . . ."

He paused. "Nice."

"So do you," Cassie said, and tried to come up with an ironic smile of her own. She had the feeling it

turned out wobbly.

Cassie took another breath, but at that moment she heard a voice from the second floor.

"Here," Laurel said, leaning over the balustrade to toss Cassie a tiny beaded purse. "Get her to the

dance, Adam; that way she'll have a chance at some guys who're available." And, from the bedroom,

Suzan called, "But not too many, Cassie-leave some for us!"

"I'll try to fend a few of them off," Adam called back, and Cassie felt her racing pulse calm a little. They

had their parts down now. It was like acting in a play, and all Cassie had to do was remember her role.

She felt sure Adam could handle his ... well, almost sure. Something in his sea-dark eyes sent thin chills

up her spine.

had their parts down now. It was like acting in a play, and all Cassie had to do was remember her role.

She felt sure Adam could handle his ... well, almost sure. Something in his sea-dark eyes sent thin chills

up her spine.

SIX

They drove to the school. Despite the tension between them, the night seemed clear and cool and filled

with magic, and the gym was transformed. It was so big that it seemed part of the night, and the twinkling

lights woven around the pipes and girders overhead were like stars.

Cassie looked around for any other members of the Circle. She didn't see any. What she saw were

outsiders looking in surprise at her and Adam. And in the boys' eyes there was something more than