Cate Tiernan - Blood Witch

"It's okay," I told him. "Nothing happened to me." A shudder ran through me as I remembered my terror last night. "At least, nothing permanent."

We got out of the car, shivering, and hurried up his front steps together.

We met Selene on her way out. She was wrapped in a black velvet cloak that swept to the ground and wore shining purple amethysts around her neck and on her ears. As always, she looked stunning.

"Good evening, my dears," she said with a smile. A delicious scent wafted off her, giving me an impression of maturity, of richness. It made my own dab of patchouli oil seem naive and hippyish—girly, almost.

"You look beautiful," I said sincerely.

"Thank you, Birthday Girl. So do you," she said, pulling on black gloves. "I'm going to a party." She shot Cal a meaningful look. "I won't be back till quite late, so be on your best behavior."

I felt embarrassed, but Cal laughed easily. As Selene left through the wide front door, we started to climb the stairs to his room on the third floor.

"Um, what does your mom think we might do?" I asked clumsily. My steps were muffled by the thick carpet on the stairs.

"I guess she thinks we might make love," Cal said. Judging from his tone, it sounded like he was talking about spending the evening playing board games. He flashed a casual smile.

I nearly fell down the stairs. "Uh—would she… you know, be upset?" I stammered, struggling to sound calm but failing miserably. All of my friends' parents would have a cow if they thought their kids were doing that under their own roof. Well, maybe not Jenna's. But everyone else's.

"No," said Cal. "In Wicca, making love doesn't have the same kind of stigma as it does in other religions. It's seen as a celebration of love, of life—an acknowledgment of the God and Goddess. It's beautiful. Something special."

"Oh." Blood pounded through me. I nodded, trying to look confident.

Cal closed the door behind him. Then he pulled me to him and kissed me. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you last night," he breathed against my lips. "I know I've been really tied up with Mom's business lately. But from now on I'm going to make sure I'm more available."

I reached up and draped my arms around his neck. "Good," I said.

He held me for a moment longer, then gently disengaged my arms and grabbed some matches from the nightstand by his bed. As I watched, he lit candles around his room, one by one, until there were tiny flames everywhere. The candles lined the mantel, the top of every bookcase, stood in holders on the floor; there was even an old-fashioned iron chandelier that held candles, hanging from the ceiling. When he turned off the overhead light, we found ourselves surrounded in a glowing fiery cocoon. It was dreamy, beautiful, romantic.

Next Cal walked over to his dark wooden desk, where a bottle of sparkling cider stood next to a bowl filled with perfect, amazingly red strawberries and another bowl of dipping chocolate. He poured two glasses of cider and brought me one.

"Thank you," I said happily. "This is incredible." The light, golden cider tickled my throat with its starry little bubbles.

He came and sat down next to me again, and we drank our cider. "I can't wait to see Maeve's tools," he said, stroking the hair along my temple. "The historical value alone—it's like finding King Tut's tomb."

I laughed. "The Wiccan version of King Tut's tomb. Which reminds me. I kept one thing out, and brought it with me." Putting my glass down on the nightstand, I hopped up and went to my jacket, where I took out the athame from the breast pocket. I had wrapped it in a handkerchief. Silently I handed it to Cal, watching his face as I nestled back down with him again.

"Goddess," he whispered as he unwrapped it. His eyes were shining, and an eager smile played about his lips. "Oh, Morgan, this is beautiful."

I laughed again at his excitement. "I know. Isn't it amazing?"

His fingers traced the lines of initials carved into the blade. "Tomorrow," he said absently, then looked up at me. "Tomorrow," he said more firmly, "I'm going to have a busy day. First I have to find Hunter and Sky and tell them to leave you the hell alone. Then I have to go to your house and remove all their sigils, if I can. Then I have to salivate over your mother's tools."

"Oh, that's a lovely image," I said, laughing. "Thank you."

He laughed, too, then we were leaning together, kissing and sipping cider. Magick, I thought dreamily, staring at him.

Cal kissed me again, his golden eyes intent, and then he blinked and pulled back.

"Presents!" he said, motioning across the room.

It took a second to spot the pile of beautifully wrapped gifts that waited for me on a large table pushed against the wall.

"What have you done?" I asked, putting my hand to my throat, where his silver pentacle still nestled warm against my skin. It was the first thing he'd ever given me, and I treasured it for that.

He grinned and stood, carrying the presents back to the bed and spreading them before me on the mattress. I took another sip of my cider, then placed it on the nightstand again.

First was a rectangular box. I started pulling off the paper.

"This is kind of redundant now," he said.

My face melted in a smile. Inside the box was the silver athame we had seen at Practical Magick, the one carved with roses and a skull. I turned to him.

"It's lovely," I said, running my fingers across it.

"It can be your backup," he said cheerfully. "Or a cake knife. Or a letter opener."

"Thank you," I whispered.

"I wanted you to have it," Cal said. "Next."

He held out a small box, and I held my breath as I opened it, revealing a gorgeous pair of silver earrings set with golden tigereyes. The gems looked so much like Cal's eyes that I had to glance up at him just for the sake of comparison.

"These are so beautiful." I shook my head.

"Put them on," he encouraged, "and it will be like I'm always with you." He brushed back my hair to expose my earlobe.

I held the earrings, not knowing what to say. "Your ears aren't pierced," Cal said in surprise.

"I know," I mumbled apologetically. "My mom took me and Bree to have it done when we were twelve, but I chickened out."

"Oh, Morgan, I'm sorry," he said, laughing. "It's my fault. I can't believe I didn't notice before now. I should have gotten you something else. Here—I'll take them back and exchange them."

"No!" I said, pulling the box close. "I love them—they're the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I've been wanting to get my ears pierced, anyway. This will be my inspiration."

Cal looked at me assessingly but appeared to take my word. "Hmmm. Well, okay." He nodded at another present.

Next was a beautifully bound and illustrated book about spell weaving. It included a short history of spell making and had a whole section of sample spells and how to use them as well as how to individualize them for your particular situation.

"Oh, this is fabulous," I said with enthusiasm, leafing through it. "This is perfect."

"I'm glad you like it," he said, grinning. "We can go over some of them if you want, practice them."

I nodded eagerly, like a child, and he laughed again.

"And last," he said, handing me a medium-size box.

"More?" I couldn't quite believe this. I was beginning to feel spoiled. Inside this box was a batik blouse in muted shades of lavender and purple and plum. It looked like a storm-shot sunset. I stared at it, touching the doth with my fingers, drinking in the colors, practically hearing the rumble of thunder and rain.

"I love it," I said, leaning over to hug him. "I love all of it. Thank you so much for this." My throat tightened with a rush of emotion. Once again I felt a sense of belonging, of pure contentment. "These are the best birthday gifts anyone has ever given me."