kinds of things you can use — stones, water, knots, feathers, even mirrors. It’s all natural and from the earth. It doesn’t harm anyone. There is so much power in it, but it’s good power. Well, some people might try to do some black magic, but they’ll be sorry. If you misuse it, it will come back on you. That’s not what my coven is into. We practice an old religion — wicca. It makes me feel as if there is hope after all.
“Romeo and Juliet,” Frank said.
“What?”
“The initials for the nicknames stand for Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet.”
“Have you been thinking about that all of this time?”
“No, I’ve been reading. But I kept trying to figure it out while I waited for you to catch up with me at the end of the page.”
“I read fast,” I said.
He only shrugged and pretended to go back to the journal, but he had a smirk on his face.
“You are most clever, Mr. Speedreader. I don’t know if I would have figured that out.”
The smirk became a smile. “Yes, you would have.”
“Excuse me, I better read. Don’t want you to fall asleep between pages.”
Between tales of learning chants and working magic, the sections on the coven revealed that there were apparently a number of loosely connected groups in the area. The one she was in seemed to be based more on a “feminist spirituality” that had been revived in the 1970s than on anything even remotely satanic. It was nature worship, and if it was alien to my own traditions, it was nevertheless gentle and nonviolent.
9/1
Haven’t had time to write anything in this journal for a few days. Things have been crazy. The Bitch found my altar and ruined it. She was screaming her head off at me, telling me I was possessed by the devil and a bunch of other bullshit. I told her I didn’t believe in her God. I asked her, if her God was real, why didn’t He protect me from my own father? She told me I was lying again and screamed at me to get out. I told her she was the one who was going to burn in hell, and my dad would roast right next to her, then I left.
I spent a couple nights at my friend’s houses, then RM told me about this shelter, so I came here. KS and MB live here. So far, it’s okay. Met Mrs. Fremont. She’s ancient, but nice.
“It’s the only time she’s written out a name,” Frank said.
“Maybe if you’re ancient, you get special privileges.”
He flipped ahead a few pages.
“What are you doing?”
He ignored me, found what he was looking for, and started laughing. He placed a finger on the page he had turned to, right under “Miss Kelly.”
“Speak to me, oh ancient one.”
“Shut up.”
He kissed me lightly on the forehead. “Remarkably well-preserved.”
“So glad you think so. But you know what? This old lady is tired.”
“Want to go to sleep and finish this in the morning?”
I thought about it. “I don’t want to stay here.”
He ran a finger over my eyebrows. “Okay. I’ll pack up Cody while you get your things together.”
“Thanks.”
We went to his house. Both of us were beat, but a couple of cups of coffee and our interest in the journal kept us going. We sat next to each other at the kitchen table, nearing the end of the entries.
9/25
Things are changing. I don’t like it. Two guys who joined our coven are ruining it. DM and RA are just bullies, as far as I’m concerned. They push people around a lot and keep trying to change what we are all about. Things are getting really weird.
Every now and then, they bring this guy who wears a goat’s mask. It covers his whole head and he wears a long robe, so we never see anything but his hands. That’s how I know it’s a man — they’re man’s hands. He never talks. He just gestures, and DM and RA claim to be able to tell us what he means.
I guess some people think he’s really cool. I don’t like it. It doesn’t fit in with what we’ve been doing. I think some people were getting bored. Maybe it’s because we’re all a little afraid of these guys.
I don’t think I want to stay in this coven. I’m going to ask Zoe about getting into another one. Maybe if we all quit this one at the same time it wouldn’t be so bad.
I have a new roommate, SL. She acts tough all the time. Who needs it?
“Sarah? The one who smuggled the journal to you, right?”
“Right.”
“How much do you want to bet that DM and RA are the characters who gave you a hard time?”
“You may be right. I was thinking the same thing.”
I was starting to yawn, but we kept reading.
10/16
The Goat is very strange. Everyone is playing a game with this now, instead of doing what we are supposed to be doing.
I went to Rhiannon to ask Zoe about another coven, but RM showed up and made a scene. I was so humiliated. I mean, it’s great to know he cares about me, but I don’t need him to treat me like a child, especially not in front of my friends.
10/30
Almost sure I know who the Goat is. His sleeve caught on a branch and I saw his arm. He covered it really fast. I pretended I wasn’t looking, but I definitely saw it.
People keep leaving the shelter. I guess it’s normal, but I hardly get to know someone and they leave. SL is the only one of the girls I’ve known very long now. She’s pretty easy to talk to — I’ve told her a lot of things I’ve never told anybody, and she’s told me a lot of stuff, too. But sometimes I’m not sure she
