I could suddenly see her overwhelming absolute sheer joy and euphoria for where we were. This rush of unspoken shared affection. It was almost like she said "Can you believe it?", and yes I could, and no I could not.

Yes I could believe that at this point she and I were potentials, if not shoo-ins for magic, no I could not believe that she looked at me with affection and warmth. We had a past, after all. A past that could freeze unfreez-y things. Here she was, Lia, like it was all forgotten. And I could swear, seeing her there, that it was. That was magic all in itself. Lia said, "This is her, this is Halsey She has a thing for you to sign," she said to me.

The witch read down her clipboard. "Rookmaaker, Halsey. Sign here, please." She eyed me beadily. I could see where Lia had signed in big, loopy lettering. There weren't that many of us Wiccan potentials yet.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

Lia had done hers with a flourish. I mimicked it and signed my Rookmaaker in style. For some kinds of signatures demand as much. That you are here. That you are present. And that you have a fire. An elan. Lia looked on with approval.

"Represent," she said, proving once more that we seemed to have some kind of mind link, a shared exultation for the things to come.

"This is it," said the stern-faced witch. "At least for Wicca. You will soon understand why."

I looked at Lia.

"As for the others," went on the witch. "Vampires, et al... they came in the night. I would not presume to monitor the Sons and Daughters of Romulus."

"That's us," said Gaven, cheerily. We thanked her and went on. Large doorways led off in all directions.

"Stay together," said Lia. The rest of the werewolves filed in, past what's-her-face, who seemed to have channeled my landlady. Ballard held my palm. His paw was firm and sweaty. I cared not.

Lia somehow pulled a switcheroo and started walking with me. It was a vast subterranean complex. Gaven knew where he was going. He walked at the snake's head of our human daisy chain side by side with Ballard who had reluctantly surrendered my hand. Every now and then he would look back at Lia and I, would Ballard, amazed that we were not fighting. Overhead the rock tunnels had been dug out by hand. Magic had made this place. Torchlight followed us wherever we went, but there were still dark corners, and secret places, where those of us could whisper, who were so inclined. No doubt a requirement with so many magical delegations pouring in from all over Europe and the beyond. Was the United States like this? St. Martley's was so self-sufficient, a world unto itself. It was hard to imagine the Sisters having to bow to any outside influences. There must be South American vampires, mustn't there, and Wiccans there, and Asiatic enclaves of shape changersnot to mention everywhere else. I carried three things with me. The first was my diary. The second, my parents' hand-me-down copy of the Magus Codex, a kind of beginner's spell book for Neophytes, I had dug into the previous summer with mixed results. And the last was my laptop.

We left the rough portion and exited through the underground tunnel into a silver and porcelain hall. Red porphyry columns with inlaid stones and high overhead ceilings with bright heaven-spun lights. Miniature obelisks littered the sides of the round hall. We filed in. There were two more figures in robes, ready to greet us. Gaven handled all of the ceremonies. Each member of I Gatti was given a care package, which included a map. It was something seeing these hardened female warriors and guys ripped from body magazines holding boutique bundles with wrapping paper sticking out of them, but that's what they were doing. My own included a map. It looked like a snowflake almost, with a huge central circle, like a nucleus, and then, clearly delineated, sections for Werewolves, Wiccans and Vampires. The Magical Three.

In shape, it was very like the Aurelian Wall. The geographic boundaries were clearly marked. Obviously the masterminds behind this little get-together, say what they would, didn't want the particular 'races' mingling. There were tunnels that led off to No-Man's Land, which must be like the one we had just left, and rooms that were clearly outlined, but didn't have a purpose. The central room was for the Gathering...

My pulse quickened deep in my chest. I was leaving hand marks on my books. My fingers were nervous with sweat. It ate into the cloth of my diary. I had been neglecting my diary. That happened when I didn't have time to pause and reflect. It was all happening too quickly. I suddenly wanted more time. But I was out of time. What did they expect me to do, invoke, raise up, incorporealize, bewitch, ensorcell, do sleight of hand? I was a fraud, a flimflammer. I wasn't special.

Lia completely took me out of my head. "I still need to take you shopping," she said to me, her eyes gleaming, and her smile as radiant as a million suns.

Gaven continued whispering with the two docents. I took the opportunity to look them over more fully. These two were a man and woman, in appearance exactly as the woman who had signed in Lia and I. Witches and wizards. Their robes were intricate and flowing; the silver-bright threads imbued with flowing lunavotum symbols. The cloth looked alive. Obviously it had been enchanted with something. They continued with Gaven, but I noticed them look from the corners of their eyes at Lia and me. Gaven laughed, and they shook hands. They left us. It was just the werewolves and I standing in the hall.

I felt like a third wheel. Although fourth would be more accurate.

I felt between was what it was. Not a werewolf. Not a vampire. Not a Wiccan.

I realized what was wrong. I should be here with St. Martley's. In fact, I had the strangest sensation that St. Martley's didn't even know anything about what was going on here. I decided to get to the bottom of it.

The whispering was like a barrelful of loud and whispery things. I stood nervously on one toe then the next, and blew the strand of hair out of my face. My forehead buzzed with a million thoughts and ideas. Gaven looked like a sculpture decorating the center of the hall. We all looked to him. I suddenly admired him very much. He and I had never really spoken. I shushed my inner monologue and waited for him to speak. Lia bounced up and down on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet.

"We're here," he said, he looked from one to the other of us; I could feel the atmosphere change. "I have just been speaking with Stavros and Gisela. They are from a northern coven. Not Prague. Everyone is here. We were the last to arrive. But there's a problem," he said.

"Isn't there always?" said someone.

I listened, wondering what it could be. Gaven made sure the doors were closed. He looked to one of his guysPaolo, I thinkhuge and buff and put stars in your eyes. A thumbs-up was pa.s.sed between them. Gaven continued with what he had to say.

"I know that you'll want to get moved in, but a word of caution first. We arrive optimistic; not stupid. The Wiccans have informed me that the vampires arriving was not without incident. Part of the purpose of the Gathering is to renew old ties. Risky wanted this. I trust Risky. There is a Welcoming Ceremony later today. I and the warlocks and everyone who worked on this to make it the safest place possible have supplied the Gathering with whatever you may needthat includes food, clothing, and sleeping accommodations. We can live here indefinitely. In just a moment I will break you into groups. Each group will be a.s.signed a Team Leader. He or she will have the responsibility of protecting that group. Do not make it difficult for them to do so. Leaders report to me."

There was some general nodding. Some of the faces looked a little glum. Others were angry. They didn't like this business about the vampires.

"This is the last time that we will have an opportunity to be alone like this. Just because the Wiccans say something, doesn't make it so," said Gaven. "Remember that."

He changed gears.

"While you are here, you represent usthe werewolves. Do not give them an opportunity to point the finger at us. Lia, Halsey, as Wiccan potentials, you have carte blanche, and also a bit of a conundrum ahead for yourselves. I will not tell you to say this or not say that. Nor will I ask that you spy on either of the other groups. The better you are able to move between Wiccans and werewolves, the closer our ties to the vampires, the better for all sides involved."

He proceeded to identify the Team Leaders. One was Paolo, whom he regarded as a beta, a number two. The werewolves cheered when Paolo's name was called.

Gaven called three others. Their names were Locke, Leander and Liesel. I got a.s.signed to Locke.

I was. .h.i.t with an overwhelming fact. This Gathering was about Politics. For all this talk about magical partnerships, the real reason we were all here was to check each other out.

Gaven a.s.signing me to one of the werewolves, when in reality I was here as one of the Wiccansinvited by a vampire, no lessthe letter was still in my diarygave me my anchor. It gave me my freedom to fail. It was like he was saying if I didn't make it with the Wiccans, I could always find my place with the werewolves.

That was the same lifeline Lennox had extended to me. Because it would always be us. If everything else failed, Lennox and I could always go live on Rat Rock.

There was some whispering that Lia should've been made a Team Leader. But I knew better. She and I would soon have very hectic schedules. Hope, hope.

"Now if you'll excuse me," said Gaven, "I need to go have a talk with the delegates from Ravenseal, and the other magical houses, and the Lenoir. Leaders show your groups to their rooms. Everyone is on their best behavior. Be good."

He found the door he was looking for, and before I knew it he was gone.

"What did he mean by other magical houses?" I asked Lia. "And who, or what, is a Ravenseal?" Lia was also in my group. She shushed me as we walked along. Locke, as a werewolf, was unusual. He looked guarded. Like his mind was closed. I looked for Ballard, but he was with Liesel's group. I saw him looking at her b.u.t.t as she led them off in another group through separate doorways. There were doors and doors, in this place. And miles of tunnels. Locke explained. But he had no interest in babysitting a bunch of us. Nor should he. Everyone here was an adult. The werewolves had all come of age. Except for Ballard. And II was almost eighteen. My birthday was in three months. Anyway it gave Lia and I an opportunity for some privacy. And after the initial shock, I found I quite liked being in her company. She said: "Ravenseal is the coven from Prague. There are also the Harcorts and the Covens. But the Ravenseals have the most power. They are from where Magic began originally. So I hear. The Covens come from really far away, so I guess they don't matter. I bet that's where the name comes from. Covens. Otherwise they have a serious lack of imagination."

"And the Harcorts?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I think they're British or something. We'll see. Oh. And that's another thing. Gaven was furious. So I guess he doesn't agree."

"With what?" I said.

"If we are, well, indoctrinated and everything..."

"Yes?" I said.

"I mean, if we're chosen to be, well, you knowAnyway we have to take one of their names."

"What d'you mean?" I said really fast.

"It's like a House name. House Harcort, House Coven, House Ravenseal. I would become Lia Harcort. Or you might be Halsey Ravenseal. You'll see."

"You mean we have to take their name?" I said. Something about that really bothered me.

"I know right. Gaven was really upset. He wants me to take his name, you see."

She said it with a certain pride. How could she not? He was a total hottie.

We meandered through very confined s.p.a.ces. Some of the tunnels barely fit the description. We had to go through them single file, or else duck low. Gla.s.s globes of gas lamps were in niches in the walls. Other sections were more hi-tech. I don't know if that's the right word. It was almost like the Gathering had been built on the bones of something far more ancient.

We were finally shown to our rooms. I stood under the glow lamps and marked the s.p.a.ce on my map. Accommodations were tight, but manageable. I could hear voices in the distance. Locke said, "This is you." Lia and I had a compartment all to ourselves. Perhaps that was by design. It consisted of a bunk bed cut into the wall, a minuscule closet at the end, and a works.p.a.ce for a single occupantso obviously we weren't going to be spending too much time in here. Lia called top. So I guess that made me a bottom. We did have a slatted door that could close. And it was a wing of the compound occupied entirely by werewolves, so I tucked my diary under my pillow. And I put the Magus Codex and my laptop under my bed. All so that Lia could not see. Next I reread Maria Lenoir's letter. She was here right now. The docent had said that everyone had arrived. That meant Dallace and Camille, if she was also coming, had arrived. I had allies.

Maria's letter was like a threatening specterand I wondered what she would be like.

Old, probably. I had never really spoken to Lennox about vampire aging. Did that mean she had Powers as well? She had pa.s.sed the Agonies. She must have. And she was not alone. The Gathering was filled with dangerous things that could kill me. I needed to be wary and stay alert, and above all, protect the other werewolves.

Somehow I didn't think I would be having those dreams while staying here. The dreams were about possibilities, after all. The things I could become. I remembered Mistress Genevieve, in one of her tiresome speeches, I missed now that I was no longer their chief subject. She had said that for a young person like me I could be anything. "Right now, you have doorways open to you. But it won't always be so. We make our choices. Soon you will have to choose for yourself."

I had. Instead of the world, I was in a very small closet. It wasn't a room at all. "I hope the food is good," said Lia.

With Lia.

Chapter 10 Welcome.

There was a large rectangular hall listed on the map in what I had come to privately call neutral territorynot a part of one of the delegations' territory. It was the dining hall. I labelled it MEADPALACE. Somehow that seemed apt. The Meadpalace was where we would be meeting later today. So Lia and I spent the remainder of the time getting to know the werewolves on our block. That is, Lia introduced me around some. If I might be one of them some day, I should at least get to know them, right? There was no segregation while we were here. Guys slept with girls, and vice-versa.

There was Raina. She was a beta. You could tell it by their natures. When Lia invited her to sit down with us she jumped at the opportunity. Lia warned me. "You have to be careful with Betas. They're the tricksters."

Lorentz. An Alpha. "Everybody wants to be Gaven," said Lia.

Pendderwenn, Blunt, Giorgio, Berenice, Mich.e.l.le. I tried to remember all of their names. But it was too much.

"That's pretty much everyone in the Pack, of those who are in this group," said Lia.

I could tell them by their beauty. The werewolves were earthy, splendid and pure. I could tell them by their beautiful and bright smiles and untainted spiritual openness. They had been whelped in Roma.

The Wiccans I had yet to judge. Aren't I Miss Judge? From what little I had seen, they appeared cold and manipulative. I took Gaven's words to heart, to let them all show themselvesvampires and Wiccansfor who they truly were, instead of being all constant moral judgement stance girl, to let them exhibit, show off, or hang themselves. Locke wasn't rainbows and kittens, either. The Wiccans were probably not all frostbite and foul weather. And my heart, to speak of the vampires, beat for someone's that did not.

My revery was interrupted by a voice over the PA System that I didn't even know was there. Perhaps it was a magical trick.

In any event, someone said, "Attention!", in a voice so amplified that everyone could hear it. "At this time, we would ask that the Houses make their way to the dining hall, clearly outlined on your maps."

It was repeated in several languages.

"Please drop what you are doing and join us for the afternoon luncheon," said a bright female voice. "The Welcoming Ceremony is about to begin... Thank you..."

It shut off. I looked at Lia. "I guess that means us," she said. She had been in a debate with one of the werewolves I seemed to recall was named Sofia, about what was preferable, a monkey wrench or a sledgehammer, when it came to turning over an irksome engine that refused to start.

"Just as long as it does what I say, when I tell it to, we won't have a problem," said Lia, which I guessed made her an Alpha. What happened when two Alphas got together? Obviously, they ruled the Pack. I wondered where Ballard was and what he was up to? He and I would likely be going our separate ways. At least until the Gathering was over.

He was a werewolf and I was a witch. But then I wondered what exactly was the point of getting us all together, if we were just going to be separated, and do whatever we were going to be doing independently? There must be more to the Gathering than I knew about. Hopefully this little snack break would fuel more than my hunger. It would satiate my ravenous desire, by telling me what I was doing here.

We went single file through the tight-fitting corridors, until they opened into an expansive concourse. The design was not unlike the Colosseumexcept it was buried way underground. Everyone was hurrying to the first open gathering. Many of the werewolves had changed into simple russet-colored robes. These were woolen. It was like wearing giant burlap sacks.

Lia and I had changed into black robes which were to be worn by the initiates. They had been waiting for us in our closet along with a note pinned to each. "Blessed be, Halsey Rookmaaker," and all that.

They had thick hoods. I wore mine down. My pale skin contrasting with the darkness of the robes was like fire and ice. My hair was wrapped sleekly around my neck and down one shoulder.

Lia and I stood out. Ballard waved. He gave me the double thumbs-up and then the universal Italian I took to mean: "Wow. Nice." His fingers wiggling at the corner of his mouth.

I beamed.

We followed the long, sloping corridor until it opened further. Suddenly more people were there. Different. Of a kind I had not seen since I had left New England and the confines of my Academy for all girls.

They were witches and wizards, and in among them, Dallace and Camille. I couldn't believe it! They were watching the arrival of the werewolves for signs of me. "There you are!" said Dallace. He waved me over, excusing himself through werewolves. Camille followed. She looked reticent to be among so many members of the pack.

"This is Lia," I said, introducing her when I finally pulled away from Dallace's cold embrace, which had nothing to do with any kind of apathy on his part. Even through his vampire getup I could feel his obsidian-hard washboard abs. His smile was intoxicating.

"Pleasure," said Dallace.

Lia smiled weakly, before becoming more comfortably herself.

"Halsey Rookmaaker," said Camille, and let it go at that.

Between Camille's staring and Dallace's joviality, I felt like I was meeting the in-laws all over again, except there was no Lennox with me this time. "I have still not heard from him," whispered Dallace.

"Is that unusual?" I asked.

He shrugged, being absolutely no help. We were creating a bottleneck. The other werewolves continued to squeeze past us. I could see Ballard up ahead keeping his eyes fixed firmly on Dallace and Camille, whom he seemed to regard as a little bit crazy, just to make sure that I was still okay. I wasn't a baby. I could take care of myself.

We began walking again, headed to the Ceremony.

"Did you just get here?" I asked Dallace. "When did you arrive? How long are you going to stay? What have you been doing for three days in Rome? Are you all right?"

I continued to jabber on unnecessarily.

"We're fine, fine. We stayed at a lovely little bed and breakfast. The food was superb."

At this Lia stiffened. But Dallace was jokingjoking...

"I hope so," said Lia so that only I could hear.

There are certain lovely noises. Hearing a full orchestra tuning its instruments, all simultaneously, before the start of a big show, is one of them. The Meadpalace sounded just like that. Full and throaty.

Everyone was there. Talking. Laughing. One look around and I could see them all. The werewolves continued to seat themselves. But there were also the Wiccans, some of whom were in high seriousness, but others looked like they knew how to have a good time. And, of course, the vampires.

They had come with a retinue of servants. "It is always the same," whispered Dallace. He wished me good luck, and went to find his seat. Camille went with him. She continued to look straight through me, like a child that has been carried away.

I felt like she knew what I was going to do before I did it. She was just waiting for me to trip up. Then she could offer me advice.