The internet is a vast and wonderful place. It's also the most frustrating thing ever created. I Googled Celtic symbols and literally a thousand pages popped back. I tried pagan symbols. Same thing. The morning passed slowly as I sorted through the junk, but by afternoon, I started to feel a bit of excitement. I came across a website listing Celtic gods and goddesses and the symbols associated with each one. While I didn't find an exact match, I did find two that would look like mine if they were combined. Jackpot.

Arwan was an old God of War and sometimes called the silver-tongued King of Hell. He rode collecting souls for the Underworld. He was called upon when vengeance was needed and mortal means were not deemed suitably harsh enough. Arwan would collect the souls to serve in his Hell for eternity. The second deity I discovered was Agrona, goddess of war and slaughter. There wasn't a lot known about her except that she was called upon in battle to ensure the slaughter of a clan's enemy.

Our school uniforms bore the combined insignia of the god and goddess of death, destruction, and slaughter. As was the town monument. In a way, I could understand the choice. Our families had been betrayed by members of their own Coven, and anyone would want vengeance. The curse had to have something to do with that betrayal. Maybe the symbol was a way of reminding the future generations of what their ancestors lost and to strengthen the desire to keep that hatred alive? Just because I understood it, didn't mean I agreed with it.

I went on a fishing expedition and Googled the word curse and the thirteenth daughter. Useless. Nothing relating to Salem or the burnings came back. I really didn't expect to find anything, but tried nonetheless. I figured it was worth a shot.

One thing left to check. Ethan Matthew Warren. I surfed through hundreds of pages, but could find no one remotely similar to Ethan. No Facebook, no My Space, no Twitter, no nothing. Who in their right mind didn't at least have a Facebook page? Apparently my boyfriend. Was he really who he said he was? The bigger question, and one I didn't have an answer to, was why couldn't I just trust him like he asked? I shook my head and turned my thoughts back to the symbol.

Even though I discovered what might be the origins of our insignia, I was still sitting at square one. Emily's Book of Shadows was nowhere to be found the then someone had the audacity to steal my damn Book. Maybe Dad. I knew without asking he wouldn't tell me if he had. Worse, he'd want to know how I knew and I refused to lie to him again. I felt bad enough as it was for doing it before.

I was back to Emily's Book of Shadows. I needed to find it. But how? I'd looked everywhere I could think of. She said I knew where it was, but I didn't. I'd read every Nancy Drew mystery novel I could get my hands on when I was younger. I should be better at finding clues and solving mysteries. Dammit, why couldn't something just be easy for once in my life?

"CJ!"

"Yeah, Dad?" I hollered.

"Someone's here to see you!"

Jeff. Maybe he could tell me what happened at the meeting. I wasn't betting on it. It wasn't Jeff's voice I heard, though, when I reached the top of the stairs. It was Ethan's.

"You shouldn't be anywhere near her," Dad told him.

"Believe me, Mr. Bishop, Cassie is safer with me than with anyone else in town."

"For now," Dad growled.

Ethan remained silent.

For now? What did that mean?

"If you hurt her..."

"You already did that, I believe," Ethan countered. His voice held the icy bite of a blizzard's sharp sting. "Sir."

Best to stop this before it went any further. I bounded down the stairs and stopped, my heart in my throat. He stood just inside the entryway holding a bouquet of daisies. His hair was tousled from the wind outside. A black, long sleeved tee-shirt molded to his biceps and abs and his poured on jeans hugged his ass indecently. I wanted to drool. Melt in your mouth M&M. And he was all mine.

"Hey," I greeted him, a smile on my face.

He turned and looked me over from head to toe. The intense look in his eyes made me blush. Did he have to look at me like that and with my father not more than a foot away? I glared at him. He laughed.

"CJ, why didn't you tell me you were dating Ethan?" Dad glowered at me.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "It just never came up."

"Is he the jerk who had you in tears?" he asked, eyes boring into Ethan.

"Yeah, but he apologized for being an ass and I forgave him."

"Ethan, dear," Mom smiled hugely as she came out of the kitchen. "It's good to see you. I'm glad you and CJ were able to work out your differences."

"I'm just glad she saw it in her to forgive me," he winked at Mom. My eyes narrowed. They seemed awfully chummy. This could be a perfect time to find out who was lying.

"So, Ethan, Mom told me something very interesting. She said your dad made sure to bring you to visit your granddad every summer. Here to New Salem."

He frowned and looked confused. "No, Cassie, we never came to New Salem. Its true Dad brought me to visit Gramps every summer, but we usually met him in Statesville or Mooresville. Dad promised my mom he wouldn't bring me here and he didn't."

Mom nodded. "I'm sorry, CJ, if you misunderstood. I met up with Ethan and his father in Signal Hill Mall about two years ago while they were visiting. His father told me then he was trying to convince his wife to let Ethan come spend some time here to learn about this side of his heritage. That's all. I never meant to imply anything else."

Maybe neither of them was lying and I was just beyond paranoid. It seemed such a simple answer. Dad's thunderous face made me believe otherwise. He turned away and stomped into the living room. I chose to ignore what I couldn't understand at the moment. Ethan was here. My heart nearly exploded at the sight of him.

"Are those for me?" I asked him.

"What? Oh, yeah, daisies." He handed me the flowers. "You told me they were your favorite." He sounded distracted.

"Here, CJ, I'll get a vase and then put them in your room." Mom smiled and took the flower.

"What are you doing here?" I turned to him after she'd gone into the kitchen.

"I just wanted to see you." He gave me a smile that made my insides melt. Why did he have to have dimples? They drove me to distraction. "Let's go for a walk."

He grabbed my coat and bundled me up. It was cold out, but he wore only a long sleeved shirt. Come to think of it, I'd never seen him wear a coat. Did he not get cold? Ghost boy. The phrase popped into my head without warning. Don't be ridiculous, I scolded myself. He is not a ghost. He was alive and warm. Dead people were cold. His hand around mine felt solid and warm. Definitely alive.

We ended up in the park under the same tree where we'd had our first date. He sat there, staring out into the distance, not saying a word. It worried me. He had the strangest look on his face.

"Is something wrong, Ethan?"

"Hmm?"

"You look like something's bothering you."

His frown deepened.

"Where were you this morning, Cassie?" He finally looked at me, his gray eyes cold. I felt a shiver run down my spine at the frost in them.

"I was online most of the morning." I shoved my hands into my coat pockets. I didn't want him to see them fisted. I needed to be careful. He could always tell when I lied to him.

"Earlier, Cassie Jayne." His eyes hardened. "Before the Coven meeting."

Shit. He had to go and ask me that now didn't he?

"I was at the library." There, that was the truth.

"Cassie. Jayne. Bishop."

I sighed. "Alright, I was at the library with Jeff."

"Why?"

"He needed help with his math."

"Try again, Cassie."

"He's helping me with something," I admitted.

"What?" he demanded in a hard, clipped tone.

"It's none of your business."

"The hell it isn't!"

My eyes widened. "Are you jealous?" Ohmygosh – he was! I saw it in his eyes and couldn't have stopped the smile from spreading across my face if I'd wanted to.

"No, I most certainly am not," he denied with an angry shake of his head.

"Oh, but you are," I grinned. He was so totally jealous.

He glared. "There's more to it, Cassie. Something was stolen this morning from the Hall."

"What?" Ohh, this could be good. Ethan might tell me what I needed to know without ever realizing it.

"A book," he finally said. "A very important book. When Jeff's dad told us he and you were out and about before the crack of dawn, it was questioned."

"You think I stole a book?" I laughed. It was laughable. I doubted I'd have been able to get through the wards. "If it was so important, why wasn't it locked up?"

"It was, in a manner of speaking. Do you know anything about wards?"

"Not much." Something I could answer honestly. "The only thing I really know is that you don't want to mess with them if you don't know what you're doing. They're supposedly dangerous."

"These wards were more than dangerous, Cassie. They could have killed you."

"And you think I stole a book guarded by those kinds of wards? Or Jeff for that matter? He's still in the Junior Coven. It's a fairly safe bet, Ethan, to assume he doesn't have that kind skill yet."

"That's exactly what I told them," he snorted, "but you know more than you're saying, Cassie. You're smiling so hard, it looks like your jaws might meet your eyebrows. I'm guessing it's to keep your lip from quivering."

Dammit!

"You lie to me, Ethan."

He didn't deny it.

"I didn't take the book. I couldn't have if I'd wanted to. You said it yourself. The wards were dangerous and I know zilch about the craft."

"I agree you and Jeff didn't take it, but I wish you'd tell me the truth."

"Are you going to tell me everything?" I countered.

Silence.

"Thought not. So what's so important about it anyway?"

He settled back against the tree. "It's very old and holds many ancient spells and rituals that were handed down through generations of Coven members. There's one in particular they're concerned about."

"Oh?" I tried very, very hard not to sound too interested. I failed miserably.

"It's a ritual for Samhain."

"Halloween," I echoed. A ritual to be performed on my birthday. Coincidence? Hell no.

"They were going to attempt it once before, but the timing wasn't right. They need the book to make sure everything is as it should be."

"So they can't perform the ritual without the book?" No book, no curse?

"No, they can. Mr. Martin remembers the spell and the ritual. The Coven just wanted to double check the details."

Damn. There went that happy thought.

"Well..."

He put a finger to my lips. "No more talk about the Coven, okay? Let's just enjoy the evening."

"Did you bring me flowers to soften me up?" I teased.

He gave me that slow, lazy, wicked grin of his and his eyes heated to pools of molten steel. I swallowed. Hard. The butterflies took flight and my face flamed.

"Soften you up, Cassie Jayne Bishop? Are you back to having indecent thoughts about me?"

"I...I..." Damn. I was back to stuttering like an idiot. Why could he make me tongue-tied?

"Hmm..." He leaned in and kissed me lightly, his teeth catching my bottom lip. I put my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, needing to feel his arms around me. He obliged and I ended up in his lap. His hand tangled in my hair and pulled my head back to the angle he wanted. His kiss deepened, becoming almost bruising. I didn't care. All I cared about was the emotions running rampant through me. I needed him like I needed the air I breathed. My blood heated to a boil as a fire exploded within. I wanted...

He pulled away, breathing harshly.

"No..." Why did he stop? I wanted to scream in frustration.

"Shh, Cassie," he soothed, his voice full of the same need I felt.

"Is it so easy for you?" I cried, enraged that he had the will to stop and I didn't.

"Easy?" he bit out. "Do you have any idea what you do to me, my little hellcat? Stopping just then was the hardest damn thing I've ever had to do. You make me insane, woman, drive me to do things..." He took a shaky breath. "No, it's not easy."

Did I really have that kind of effect on him? "You make it look so easy."

He kissed my forehead. "Nothing about you is ever easy, Cassie."

"Am I such a bother, then?"

"Only when you try and start something in a public place." He hugged me to him.

My face burned and I hid in the broad expanse of his chest. I hadn't thought about that.

"The Fates were with us, love. No one saw you try and seduce me."

I pulled back, a shriek escaping. "I was doing no such...I'd never..."

He grinned.

"You say the most outrageous things..."

"Just to see you all riled up, Cassie Jayne. You're so cute with your golden eyes spitting fire and your face beet red."

I opened my mouth to yell at him, but he cut me off with another kiss. I melted, the outraged gasp turning into a whimper. Damn, but he was a good kisser.

"I'll make you a promise you, Cassie," he murmured, his lips nibbling their way down my throat and leaving a blazing trail of fire behind them. "When I decide to start something, you can be damn sure we'll finish it."

"Promise?" I whispered against his ear.

"Guaranteed." He pulled me close, his chin resting on my head.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around him. I wished to the Fates I could forget my doubts and just let myself enjoy the love that consumed me. If only he weren't lying to me.

Dad's words of 'for now' came back to haunt me. How could I be safe with him for now and not later? I didn't know and it scared me.

"Ethan," I whispered.

'Hmm?"

"Don't hurt me."

He was silent for a long time. At last he said, "I'll try, Cassie. I promise I'll try."