Among Star Signs

Chapter Nine

Ginger

"Hello, Beth, Ginger, and Rouge-Rose," greets Lupine. Her white blond hair floats down as she takes a seat in front of the three of us. Valencia steps up to join her and seats herself in a dark wooden chair to her right.

Before us is a line of large wooden throne-like chairs, and seated in them are a variety of women of different ages. Light filters in through a large window behind us, illuminating the dust and specks floating through the air. With a small glance to my left, I can see Rouge is playing around with the dust mites floating in front of her.

"Let us start off this brief meeting with simple introductions," says Lupine calmly. She presses a pale hand to her chest. "I am Lupine. I am head here at the Coven of the Twins."

"I am Valencia."

"Calendula Leon."

"Rosula."

"Myra."

"Katrina."

A variety of names follows as each witch stands to present herself. As they address themselves, I feel Valencia's green eyes boring into us.

"As you may have gathered," Lupine begins, her pale blue eyes scanning each one of us, "we are slightly puzzled as to why we were not aware that there was another coven in this town."

"As were we," Beth agrees.

"Do you have any explanation to clear up this subject? Because at the moment we are not sure whether to trust you or not," Lupine says firmly. Her freezing gaze locks onto me, and I feel myself begin to break out into a sweat. Sweet Jesus.

"Honestly, Miss Lupine," I squeak, and then I clear my throat. "We honestly did not know that you existed. Our Coven's house burned down in a sudden fire, the cause unknown. We had experienced a strange attack from a monster in the coffee shop downtown but it was covered up quickly."

"The coffee shop," Lupine muses. "You must have done a great job covering it up because we only believed it to be a minor disturbance among humans. Perhaps it was a minor Void-goer looking for trouble."

"Perhaps," agrees Beth, though she sounds lost in thought.

"Who was your designated caretaker?" asks the short-haired Myra.

"Master Sol," Rouge says. "She only told us to call her that."

The group of head witches gather together in hushed whispers, and after a few moments, they break apart.

"A common name for a caretaker, especially when pertaining to celestial or astronomically based covens," Lupine explains. "I don't see why there was a lack of communication and knowledge between our covens." She pauses for a moment and exchanges a quick, unreadable glance with Valencia. "Would it be alright if Valencia here read your minds?"

"Of course," Beth says simply. With a quick glance to my left, I see that Rouge's eyes have widened considerably. For the first time in a darn while, I can actually hear her voice in my head, frightened and clamoring for an excuse.

No. No, I can't.

Rouge? Beth sounds shocked, though her dark eyes are glued to the head witches. Rouge, please. It's the only way they'll trust us.

Oh, my God, Beth. All humor has evaporated from Rouge's voice, but she is beginning to give in. Shit, isn't there another way? There's about ten seconds of solid silence during which Lupine raises one fair eyebrow.