“There are things you’ll be able to do with your mind and heart, and others that require things—as an extension of power, and as a respect for tradition. Now that you have a computer, you’ll want to keep a record of spells.”

“A record of spells, on my computer?”

“Why not be practical and efficient? Nell, have you spoken to Zack about any of this?”

“No.”

“Are you worried about his reaction?”

She touched the wand again, and wondered. “That’s part of it, but before we even get there, I don’t know how I’d begin to tell him. I haven’t resolved it completely for myself.”

“Fair enough. What you share or don’t is your choice, just as what you give or what you take.”

“With Ripley feeling the way she does, I thought he might feel the same. I guess I don’t want to hit any hitches so soon.”

“Who could blame you? Let’s take a walk.”

“I really should be getting back. It’s nearly dark.”

“He’ll wait.” Mia opened a carved box, took out her wand. The tip was a round of quartz as smoky as her eyes. “Take yours. It’s time you learned how to cast a circle. We’ll keep it simple,” she promised, nudging Nell through the door. “And after what I have in mind, I can almost guarantee the sex will be sensational.”

“It’s not all sex,” Nell began. “But that’s a definite plus.”

As they walked toward the woods, a light mist swirled to hug the ground. Long shadows spilled out of the trees, black lines over pale gray.

“The weather’s changing,” Mia said. “The last weeks of summer always make me melancholy. It’s odd, because I love the autumn, the smells and the colors of it, that slice in the air when you step out first thing in the morning.”

You’re lonely. Nell nearly said it before she checked her tongue. How could such a statement help but sound smug and self-satisfied coming from a woman who’d just taken a lover?

“Maybe a holdover from childhood,” she suggested. “End of summer means back to school.” She followed Mia down a well-beaten path, through mist and shadow. “I always hated those first couple of weeks of school, not so much if my father had a second year on the same base, but at those times when I was the new kid and everyone else was already picked off in groups.”

“How did you handle it?”

“I learned how to talk to people, to make friends even though they were transient. Lived in my own head a lot. I guess some of that made me a perfect target for Evan. He promised to love, honor, and cherish, forever. I really wanted forever with someone.”

“And now?”

“Now I just want to carve out my own space, and stick.”