t lunch time, Darryl waited for Jade at the cafe, with a bunch of flowers. He'd noticed she'd been a little down on the weekend, and wanted to surprise her with a present. When Jade arrived, he greeted her with the flowers and a kiss.
"Just to cheer you up," he said with a smile.
Jade beamed at him and breathed in the scent of the flowers, all traces of any remnants of bad mood instantly vanished.
"Thank you."

***

After work, Jade walked home past Matt & Peter's house, checking in with Matt about the stall in Peddle Lane. He wasn't much help, however, pointing out that while the tents were regular and relatively stable, the stalls were rented out on a weekly basis, and the stall holders fluctuated as wildly as the people who visited the market. Although Matt had promised to look at the stalls next weekend, Jade was disappointed with the result of her searching.

When Jade arrived home, she put her flowers in fresh water on the kitchen table, and went up to her room, where she found Midnight asleep on the cloak Kat had given her for her birthday.
"Midnight!" scolded Jade, picking up the cat and moving her off the cloak. "I know it's nice, but it's not yours."
The cat looked at Jade reproachfully, then walked out of the room while Jade hung her cloak in her wardrobe. By the time she'd changed into more comfortable clothes, Jade was back to thinking about the problem of the stall where she'd bought the book. Suddenly inspiration struck. Peddle Lane was city property, and therefore each stall-holder would have to get a permit to operate there, and there would be records of that in the town library. Jade grabbed her purse and left the house again.

***

After an hour and a half of looking through permits for stalls in Peddle Lane, Jade had narrowed down her search to 4 possible owners, two of whom had no listed address. She'd have to go back to Matt and see if he knew them, or how to get in contact with them. Or, if all else failed, she could go down and ask the gypsies who lived there, or the other stall holders next weekend. She didn't really want to wait that long though. After making photocopies of the 4 permit applications, Jade left the library. It was already starting to get dark, and Jade had to walk through the park, so she started walking home quickly. Her luck was with her, and she made it home without seeing a single thug. It was only once she was safely behind her own front door that she realised she could have frozen any would-be attackers with her power and run. Jade was smiling at this thought as she moved to the kitchen to organise her dinner. Linda always worked late on Monday, so Jade had the house to herself again. It wasn't until she was sitting at the kitchen table, eating left over spaghetti, that Jade realised how unusual it was that there wasn't *anybody* in the park. Leaving her dinner on the table, Jade ran up to her room and grabbed "The gypsy stones" and began flicking through it. When she found the passage she was looking for, she read quickly.
"...You see, dear... The evil gathers those of evil intent to it. For a time the city is purged of rapists, murderers, and criminals... but then when the evil had gained enough strength and they have broken him free, they will return... Worse than before, backed by their new master..."
Jade swallowed hard. The evil was rising.

***

Kat was in the bath when the phone rang. With a sigh, she climbed out, grabbed a towel, and dashed, dripping, across the house to the portable phone. She grabbed it up & spoke breathlessly.
"Hello?"
"Hey sweet thang," drawled Glenn through the phone.
Kat laughed, and began walking back to the bathroom, mopping up her wet footprints as she went.
"You got me out of the bath," she told him with a smile.
"Does that mean you're naked?" he asked her curiously.
"Mmm Hmm, pretty much," she teased.
"I'll be right over then."
They both laughed.
"Were you calling for any particular reason?"
"Aside from that I sensed you were naked and wanted your body?"
"You're a bit slow, honey, I've been naked for 60 minutes or so... It's a full moon I had a ritual and danced naked in our back yard under the full moon."
There was a pause. Then, "Liar."
Kat laughed and stepped back into her bath. She added some more hot water and sunk back.
"Mmm... So how are you?"
"Do you want an honest answer?"
The call waiting beeped.
"Typical," laughed Kat. "Hold that thought Babe, I'll be right back."

It was Jade.

"Can I call you back?"
"Are you in the bath?"
"Yes, and I have Glenn on hold."
"Kinky. But this is important."
"Ok, shoot."
Jade told Kat about everything that had happened that day, finishing up with what was in the book.
"Ok... What do you want to do about it?"
"I think we should meet and talk about it," replied Jade.
"Tomorrow?" Kat suggested hopefully.
"Tonight," Jade corrected.
"I was afraid you'd say that. When and where?" replied Kat, giving up all hope of having her bath.
They organised to meet at Kat's in 45 minutes, and hung up.
Glenn was still waiting. Kat explained what Jade had said, and he agreed to be right over.
"Are you going to wait in the bath for me?"
"I doubt it... But you can stay after and bath with me then," replied Kat with a laugh.
They hung up, and Kat went to put some clothes on.

***

Half an hour later, Jade, Glenn & Peter had arrived, and all four were waiting for Erick & Darryl.

"Erick?" replied Kat in surprise. "That doesn't make sense though... Peter has Erick's Dad's power."
"I know," Jade replied, still flipping through. "But that's what it says."
"Well, I hope the end changes, or else I'm going to be in big trouble."
Jade was puzzled for a moment, until she remembered that John and Grace had got together at the end of the book. She grinned.
"Well, just because the main character and the shape shifter got together last time, doesn't mean they will this time."
"What?" growled Glenn from the window seat where he was sitting.
"It's nothing, dearest."
Glenn watched Erick carefully.
Kat sighed, took the book off Jade, and flicked to the end.
"The end hasn't changed yet," she said in surprise.
"What?"
"The end. It's still the same as last time."
Kat started flicking back through the pages. When she reached half-way, she stopped.
"Well, this is where we're up to," she said and started reading out loud. "'...In Kat's bedroom, Glenn was watching Erick with marked suspicion. Kat and Jade were leaning over The Book...' Interesting that "The Book" is capitalised," she commented.
"Keep reading," urged Jade.
Kat laughed.
"'...Darryl was watching the girls...' Take you eyes off my ass, Peter!"

Peter blushed bright red. Jade burst out laughing and snatched the book to read for herself.
"Really, Dazz, is *that* what you're thinking?"
Darryl started blushing too.
"Uh oh," Jade murmured quietly to Kat, still reading. "Glenn's getting pissed at Peter..."
Kat took the book back, and shut it firmly.
"As interesting as it is, we didn't like it when Peter read our thoughts, and this is the same sort of thing."
Jade looked like she was about to protest, but stopped herself. She ran her fingers through her hair.
"Ok, so what do we know?"

Kat moved over to the window seat and settled herself on Glenn's lap, where he wrapped his arms around her tightly and glared over at Erick.
"We have the stones, we have the power, we have to defeat an evil. There's two battles, one of which is keeping the group together," Kat listed, then nudged Glenn in the ribs with her elbow. "That means quit glaring at Erick, got it? I've told you... I love *you*, Ok?"
Surprisingly, Glenn smiled, and relaxed some. Jade and Kat heard the little bell. They glanced at each other and smiled. The boys hadn't seemed to hear it.
"Jade and I know when we're doing something right," Kat added with a grin.
Jade grinned back.
"Ok... So we know that we have to stick together. How are we going to manage that?"
"Handfast," suggested Glenn, rubbing his chin on the top of Kat's head.
"With 6 of us?" Kat and Erick asked at the same time.
Jade, Darryl & Peter all looked confused.
"It's like a wedding," Kat explained. "But paganised."
"That's not even a word," accused Jade with a laugh.
"Blood oath," suggested Erick.
Kat went pale.
"I don't like blood."
"It would only be a little bit," prompted Peter.
"I promise I'll hold your hand," teased Darryl.
"Knock it off," Jade said with a quick glance at Darryl.
She knew exactly how Kat felt about blood. She'd been there once when Kat had sliced her finger with the kitchen knife. She'd hyperventilated, then fainted. It wasn't something Jade really wanted to see happen again. It had scared the life out of her. Glenn was holding Kat tighter, Jade noted with approval. At least he knew when to hold her.
"What do you think, Kat?" asked Jade, softly.
Kat sighed.
"Ok, I'll do it."

The boys stayed up in Kat's room while Jade and Kat went downstairs.
"You ok with this?" Jade asked.
"No," replied Kat bluntly. "But I'll do it anyway."
Jade reached out and hugged her tight. Kat sighed.
"Let's get this over with."

Jade collected a needle while Kat selected a bottle of red wine from the cellar.
"Cup?" Jade suggested.
"Use my chalice."
"Are you sure you want to?" asked Jade as they moved back upstairs.
"Yes."
"Ok."
When they got back up to Kat's room, Darryl uncorked the bottle of wine, and Kat went back to her wardrobe, and through the back of it.
"Did I know that was there?" asked Darryl in surprise.
"No, but I did," Jade replied. "There's not much back there really. An alter for sacrifices, a couple of chests..."
Darryl actually believed her for about 5 seconds. Jade laughed at him, then moved over and arranged 6 cushions in a circle. Kat came back through the wardrobe, and shut the door. The 6 of them sat around in a circle, and Kat placed an ornate silver-coloured chalice in the centre of the circle.
"Is that your chalice?" asked Erick in surprise.
"Yes."
"Wow."

Once again, Peter and Darryl looked confused, but Jade understood this time, because Kat had been explaining wicca to her.
"It's a tool," Jade murmured. "Supposed to be tuned to Kat's energies. If other people touch it, it can screw up the vibrations and it has to be cleansed. It's special."
Darryl nodded, and poured the wine. Erick picked up the needle, and stuck it into his left index finger. A drop of bright red blood welled up, and Kat looked away. Erick passed the needle to Peter.
"I hope you don't have anything," he muttered as he stuck it into his finger.
"I don't."
Jade accepted the needle. She let out a small gasp as it punctured her skin, and she passed it to Darryl. She squeezed her finger as Darryl passed the needle to Glenn. When it was Kat's turn, she leaned across the circle, handed the needle to Jade, held out her hand, and shut her eyes. Reluctantly, Jade pressed the needle into her cousin's finger, then put the needle on the floor. Each person put a couple of drops of their blood into the cup, and sat back. Darryl got them to link hands, and healed their fingers. Kat looked gratefully at him, and Jade smiled and squeezed his hand. Kat picked up the chalice, swirled it, and handed it to Erick.
"I drink of my family. With this drink I accept you all into me, may we always be as close as family, and stay together. May love conquer all."

Erick took a mouthful of wine, and handed to cup to Peter. Each person in the circle repeated what Erick had said, and passed the cup the the next person. Glenn took the cup from Darryl.
"I drink of my family. With this drink I accept you all into me, may we always be as close as family, and stay together. May love conquer all, and May I overcome my jealousy."
He drank, and handed the cup to Kat.
"I drink of my family. With this drink I accept you all into me, may we always be as close as family, and stay together. May love conquer all, and may I overcome my fears."
Kat finished the drink, and placed the chalice back in the middle of the circle.
"Blessed be."
"Blessed be," replied the others, and stood up.
Jade instinctively moved over to Kat, embraced her, and they kissed cheeks.
"You're Ok at this," Kat teased. "You sure you don't want to be a pagan?"
Jade laughed, and moved to Glenn.
"Brother."
"Sister."
They embraced and kissed cheeks too. Jade moved around to each person and the others followed suit. Glenn watched Kat kiss each guy, but didn't say a single word. Jade reached Darryl, and kissed his cheek.
"I'm not going to call you my brother, because that would just be weird," she said with a laugh.
Darryl smiled, and kissed her lips softly.
"Love you."
"I love you, too."
Glenn and Erick shook hands, and then kissed cheeks.
"Brother."
"Brother."
Their hands remained clasped for a few seconds longer, then they parted. Kat and Jade both heard the bell again.
"As above, so below."
The group relaxed.

"Well... Now what?" asked Peter, looking around.
Kat yawned.
"I want my bath. I think tonight's crisis is over, don't you?"
"Mmm, yeah. Probably."
Kat picked up the bottle of wine and her chalice.
"Good."
The others gathered their things, and prepared to leave.
"Not you," said Kat, meeting Glenn's eyes squarely. "We have an appointment, and 3/4 of a bottle of good wine to finish."
Glenn instantly grinned, and looked Kat over suggestively.
"Time to leave!" Jade declared with a laugh, grabbing Darryl's arm and starting to walk downstairs.
Erick and Peter followed them, and Kat and Glenn saw them to the door. As Kat shut the door behind them, Jade heard her directing Glenn to go re-run the bath. She looped her arm through Darryl's.
"Wanna come over?" she murmured to him.
"Sure," he replied with a grin.
The rest of the group walked home.

***

The next morning...