WILLFUL WITCHES

Chapter Twenty-Nine

She watched as he walked away and she thought, "Something is different about him," but she couldn't say precisely what. She sighed and went in search of Connor Finnery. She found him outside his hut, sharpening a long sword with a whetstone.

He looked up at her approach and she held out her hands. "I'm not here to attack you," she said.

Connor gave her a rueful smile. "That's good to know," he replied.

Steph stopped and watched him work the stone over the blade. Finally, she said, "I could be insulted by that, you know."

He nodded, keeping his attention on the blade. He said, "You could, but you're not."

Steph sighed again. "Connor, I came here to apologize to you."

He shook his head. "No apology necessary. I know exactly why you did what you did."

Steph should have been surprised, but then again, he had been here a while. "You could have told me," she said.

Connor finally put the stone and blade aside. Putting his hands on his knees and leaning forward he asked, "Do you think you would have believed me?"

Steph started to say she would have, but thinking back to how she was feeling, she had to admit he had a point. "No, I don't suppose I would. Still, I feel I owe you an apology. Will you accept it?"

He rose slowly and then smiled. "Of course, I'll accept it. I told you, there's no need to apologize anyway, but if it makes you feel better, I'll accept it." He held out his hand and Steph shook it. Connor started to turn away, but he stopped and said, "I'm sorry about Robert. I think I might have hurt him more than I meant too, but when faced with a man who was as enraged as he was, I..."

Steph blurted, "We're getting married tonight."

Connor raised his brows and then grinned. "Hey, congratulations! May I kiss the bride?" Now it was Steph's turn to raise her brows. "Oh, yeah," Connor said and then laughed. "Maybe I'll wait for that honor until after you're married."

Steph laughed too, and replied, "Good call, Columbo!" She left Connor as he sat back down and took up the sword again. She wondered just how sharp it was already and how sharp he needed it to be, but she decided she didn't want to know the answer to that question.

Steph was making her way to the practice field when she came across the girls. Lisa, Debbie, Dani, Suz, Cat, Felice, and even Ria were standing in a circle and talking.

"Hey, Steph," called Dani, "feeling okay? Not weak or anything, right?"

Steph could have been angry, but she decided now was as good a time as any to let Dani in on what she knew about their shared paternity. "Dani, can I speak with you for a moment?" Steph called back. Dani looked at the other girls and shrugged her shoulders. She walked to Steph and in a bored voice said, "Yeah?"

"I need to tell you something, but I don't know where to begin," Steph said.

"How about from the beginning?" Dani asked.

Steph looked around, spotted a fallen log, motioned to it, and said, "Let's sit down."

Dani was leery, but she followed Steph to the log and took a seat. Steph sat down beside her. "So," Dani said, "What's up?"

"It's complicated," Steph began.

Dani snorted, "When ain't it?"

Steph sighed. "What do you know about your parents?"

Dani looked at her like she had suddenly sprouted gills. "My parents? What do I know about them? About as much as anybody knows about his or her parents, I guess. Why would ask about my parents?"

"Have you ever thought your parents might not be your parents?" Steph asked.

Dani looked at her. "What in hell are you talking about?" she asked, but she had a wary look in her eyes.

"I thought I knew my parents too," Steph said, looking at the ground between her feet.

Dani waited for her to continue and when she didn't Dani said, "Yeah?"

Steph looked at Dani. "My parents, the people who raised me, aren't my parents, not my birth parents. My birth parents are, well, my mother is a member of Demeter's circle and my father, my father is a demon." Dani didn't even blink. "A lesser demon, it's true, but still a demon. His name is Kellos." Still, Dani said nothing. "Dani, what I'm trying to say is..."

Dani interrupted Steph by saying quite matter-of-factly, "You're my sister."

Steph couldn't believe her ears. She stared at Dani, open-mouthed. "You, you knew?" she breathed.

Dani shook her head. "Not until just now. I knew there was something odd about you. That day we touched, there was a jumble of images and some made sense and some didn't. But there was also a flash, not an image, not really, but a flash of something that recognized you. I mean, something in me. Now it all makes sense."

Dani and Steph sat looking at each other for a long while, until Suz yelled, "Hey, Dani, you coming with or what?"

Dani said, "We share the same birth parents, don't we?" Steph could do nothing but nod. Dani shook her head. "Wow," she said, and then again, "Wow." She stood up and began walking back toward the other girls. She stopped, turned back to Steph, and said, "See ya later, Sis" and she winked.

Steph watched her saunter back to the girls and they moved off as a unit, toward the practice field. If she lived to be a hundred she would never figure out Dani. Steph stood up, went to the practice field, and watched as Robert finished his practice session with Jimmy Knight. She then watched as he spoke with Jimmy and saw Jimmy grin, then clasp his hand. Robert had just delivered the good news.

Robert looked over, spotted Steph, and motioned to her to join them. Jimmy Knight smiled his long-toothed smile, and when Steph came close, he leaned in and kissed her, saying, "May you and your soul-mate be as happy and content as I am with my Cassandra. May you bear him many children and may they grow to be happy and healthy in a peaceful world."

Stephanie smiled at Jimmy Knight, the first genuine smile she thought she'd ever given him. "Thank you, Jimmy," she murmured.

Jimmy called across the field, to everyone present, "We have happy news! Tonight, we shall celebrate the binding of Stephanie and Robert, we shall feast and dance! The practice is over for today, we have a wedding to prepare!" All was silent for a few long minutes and then a cheer went up and Robert grabbed Steph and kissed her soundly. Steph looked at the faces she could see. Everyone seemed happy, everyone except Lisa. Steph sighed. She had tried to make Lisa see reason, but she was intent on being miserable. Well, Steph couldn't worry about that any longer. She had far too much to worry about as it was. Lisa would have to take care of herself.