Free Hallowed Circle by Linda Robertson Page A

could be. Cursor on the send button, finger poised to hit the mouse, I re-read it one last time:
A fairy of your acquaintance, Aquula, paid me a visit. She warned me that a certain three others of her kind are plotting against you. I thought you should know.
    Persephone
     
    I clicked the send button.
    I had no idea how often he checked his email—and for some reason imagining Menessos logging in to check email seemed ridiculous to me. He couldn’t possibly get it until nightfall, but that wasn’t my problem. I’d warned him. Even if my conscience murmured that I was taking the easy-cheesy way out, I’d done something.
    Beverley had accomplished her spelling and math goals so we set up the folding table in the garage, covered it innewspaper, and were just placing chairs around it when Johnny arrived. He slipped into the bathroom before I even saw him, and when he came out he was wearing a long-sleeved thermal tee, sweatpants, and sneakers. All of it was black, of course, even his socks, but seeing him in sweatpants made me think …
    When we’d done the spell to heal Theo, I’d had to rummage through everyone’s suitcases to find clothes to take down to the kennel in the cellar. The wæres had all taken wolf form and when morning came, they’d need human clothing. I remembered that there were no undies in Johnny’s suitcase. Come to think, his laundry never included them either.
    The sweatpants might be interesting. He had, of course, dressed in loose-fitting clothes in preparation for the evaluation.
    I explained about the pumpkins. Johnny seemed happy enough to delay it and carve pumpkins first. He sat next to me. Beverley was across from us. I was elated by his nearness yet I felt shy.
    “Yuck!” Beverley stuck her tongue out and made a face, but dug her hand into the pumpkin’s webby innards and pulled up another handful of gelatinous goo and slick seeds. “It’s so cold and slimy! I like it and hate it all at once!” She giggled.
    I knew exactly how she felt.
    “Ready to scoop it out?” I asked.
    “Uh-huh.”
    I held the bucket while she had fun scraping out the sticky stuff. “We’ll dump this in the cornfield for the deer when we’re done.” I let her play with the stuff in the bucketwhile I used a big spoon to smooth out the interior of her pumpkin, then mine. Beverley preferred to squeeze the goo through her fingers in the bucket.
    Johnny spooned all the seeds loose inside his pumpkin’s hull, then, upon approaching the bucket, announced he felt sick and acted like he was throwing up as he dumped the innards into the bucket and on her hands. Beverley thought it was hilarious.
    Their faces were both lit with joy. It was a great moment, a memory to keep. After the first handfuls of pumpkin goo were flung at each other, though, I wondered why I hadn’t seen it coming.
    “Now, kiddies,” I protested.
    Johnny splattered goo across the front of my white V-neck shirt.
    “Hey!” I said loudly, standing. I’d managed to keep my shirt and jeans clean until then.
    They went stock still, busted little kids, the both of them. I stepped over and grabbed the bucket from him.
    “If you’re going to include me in your mess-making, I have to have some ammunition too!” I held the bucket with my knees and grabbed handfuls out to throw at them. Shrieking with laughter, Beverley grabbed the bucket back and a bucket-stealing goo-fight began in earnest.
    Beverley threw a handful and it landed in my hair. I gave a squeal and turned away, right into Johnny’s arms. In a perfect cartoon-hero voice, he said, “Don’t worry, Princess, I’ll protect you from the seed-spitting dragon!” In my ear he added, “But the one-eyed, seed-spitting monster you’ll have to take care of yourself.”
    Orange goo splatted across Johnny’s cheek.
    “That’s it!” he said, letting me go. Grinning, he chased her around the garage. Beverley screamed and laughed. When he caught her, he tickled her until he got the bucket