Free Under the Moon's Shadow by T. L. Haddix Page A

for a moment. “You aren’t laughing at me.”
    “No, I’m not. I’ve seen too many things that couldn’t be explained. I had a friend in college who was precognitive to some degree. I try to keep an open mind about that sort of thing.”
    When she saw that Beth wasn’t going to ridicule her, some of the woman’s tension eased. “I guess you’re wondering why I asked to meet.”
    “I’m very curious, yes. You mentioned the possible devil worshipping?”
    Zora looked around warily, and lowered her voice. “I associate with a group of people who have different beliefs than most of the people around here. Most of us are pagans, but there are a few folks in the group who worship darker stuff. They aren’t devil worshippers per se, but they’re definitely not Christians.”
    Beth was intrigued, and she sat forward. “Okay, so we’re talking what – Satanists? Heathens?”
    Zora shrugged, wrinkling her nose a little. “More Satanists, I suppose. It’s odd because pagans and Satanists don’t usually mix, but with this being such a rural area, I think we all fell in together because none of us really fit in anywhere else.”
    “I understand. So you have this group – what do you do?”
    “We meet, usually at someone’s house, and we just talk. Sometimes there’s a meal, and sometimes we have speakers. We just basically form a physical group that gets together and discusses like ideals. That’s why it’s unusual – pagans are typically practicing Wiccans, at least in this section of the country, and Satanists are more hedonistic. This bunch is less into the whole hedonism thing and more into individuality, and they don’t really practice dark magic or anything like that, so that’s probably why we all get along.”
    Beth nodded, excited as she thought about what the other woman was telling her. It fit with what she had learned in the last few weeks, and with what the expert on the occult she’d consulted had told her. “So do you all have rituals that you follow?”
    “Some.” Zora crossed her arms. “But those are the sorts of things we do keep separate. I don’t honestly think the Satanists practice very many, if any, rituals. Wicca is full of them, though. That’s why I called. The folks in the group are starting to get pretty nervous about all this talk that’s been going around town about ‘devil worshipping’ sacrifices and altars being found. Since I’m the most prominent member of the group – well, maybe the most public would be a better description – certain members wanted me to contact you on their behalf.” She saw Beth’s raised eyebrows, and rushed on.
    “There’s this guy, Gordon – I guess he’s the ‘leader’ of the group, if you want to say that. He’s interested in meeting with you, but he’s a very private individual, and there’s no way he’d risk it unless he was fairly certain that you wouldn’t be all gung-ho rabid reporter on him. That’s why he asked me to meet you first, to evaluate you, if you will.”
    “I can appreciate his wariness, I suppose. I’ve seen it happen too many times.” Beth turned her now-empty mug around in her hands, thinking. “I’d be more than glad to meet with him, Zora. I think I can safely say that I won’t turn rabid about this, although I am very, very interested in hearing what he has to say. Any idea what he has in mind?”
    Zora shook her head. “Like I said, he’s a very intense, very private person. I doubt even his girlfriend or wife knows what he’s thinking most of the time, if he even has a girlfriend or wife. He’s been coming to our meetings for several months now, and we still don’t know even that much about him.”
    Beth raised her eyebrows a little at that and pursed her lips. “I would stipulate that wherever we met, it would have to be a public place, not some private or hidden meeting. No offense to your mysterious man, but I’ve learned that it doesn’t pay to be reckless when meeting with a