Page 88 of Lost

They were all there—my circle: Aphrodite, Damien, Shaunee, Shaylin, and Stevie Rae. And their Warriors and lovers: Darius, Jack, Erik, Nicole, and Rephaim.

But no Stark. He hadn’t followed me from the Media Center. I swallowed my sadness and approached the blackened, broken tree, treading quietly so that I could watch my friends before they knew I was there.

Aphrodite was obviously in charge. She was pointing at places around the messed-up tree, and Other Jack, looking super cute in a pale violet tee tucked into adorably distressed jeans, was carrying the ritual candles to the areas she’d chosen. It was easy to tell what Aphrodite was doing, and I was filled with gratitude for her. She was setting up a circumference around the tree, readying everything for the casting of our circle.

Stevie Rae was holding a big pile of sage smudge sticks, of which she passed out one each to Damien, Shaunee, and Shaylin.

Good. That’ll be the easy part. I hope they’re ready for what will come next.

“Hey, Z! There ya are!” Stevie Rae dimpled at me. “I brought the sage.”

“And I brought the candles,” Other Jack said, beaming a sweet smile at me.

“I’m assuming we’re cleansing this disgusting tree?” Aphrodite said.

“Yep, we are,” I said. “At least for starters that’s what we’re doing. But first I need to talk to all of you.”

My friends moved closer, forming an attentive half moon before me. I studied their faces, thinking about how much we’d all been through and how close it had made us. I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to go face a Darkness we’d already defeated. I felt sad and scared and very alone.

“It’s okay, Z,” Stevie Rae said. “Whatever it is, we’re here for you.”

“Just tell us,” Damien said. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Your aura is strong. Whatever it is, you’re at peace with it,” Shaylin said.

“Remember you’re not alone,” Shaunee said. “We’ve got your back.”

“And so does Nyx,” Aphrodite said. “The Goddess is with you too. Always, Z.”

The rest of my friends nodded agreement.

I blinked real fast, determined not to let my tears spill over. “Thank you. That means a lot to me, and I really needed to hear that I have your support. I hope I still do when I tell you what’s going on.”

“You will,” Stevie Rae said. “You’re our High Priestess. We trust you, Z.”

When I knew I could speak without bursting into tears, I began. “First, we’re going to cleanse this tree. We’re not going to do anything too crazy—just a basic smudging and cleansing, though I am going to ask that everyone join in and help us smudge. It needslotsof cleansing.”

“Do you want us inside or outside your circle?” Erik asked.

“Good question,” I said, smiling at him as he stood beside Shaunee, one arm draped intimately around her shoulders as she leaned into him. “I want you with us in the circle, like you would be if we were doing a school-wide ritual. So, Jack, could you please move the element candles out so our circle is a little bigger?”

“Absolutely!” Jack immediately began scampering around the circle, placing the big pillar candles so that they included everyone.

“I’m going to call the elements and cast the circle. Those of you who represent the four elements, please light your sage sticks from your elemental candles. The rest of you can light your sticks from my spirit candle.” A thought struck me, and I decided it was a perfect addition to a simple smudging. “I want to make this more than just a smudging, though. This tree—this place—has so much sadness and Darkness attached to it that we need to do something extra with the smudging. We need to bring joy back here. What if we smudge to a song?”

“I’m all for that!” Stevie Rae said. “How ’bout using—”

“Oh, for shit’s sake, no!” Aphrodite interrupted. “No Kenny Chesney songs.”

Stevie Rae frowned at her. “You’re hurtin’ my heart.”

“It needs to be a super happy song,” I said. “One we all know, and one someone has on their phone.”

“ ‘When the Sun Goes Down’ by Kenny Chesney is super happy,” Stevie Rae said.

Aphrodite snorted.

“Well, according to a group of researchers at the University of Missouri, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen, with the ever-fabulous Freddie Mercury, is neurologically the happiest song in the world,” said Damien.