Part One:
 

Rating: PG-13
 

Four years ago…

Arianna laughed as Mark poked her ribs. "That tickles!" she shrieked. She poked him back, and he grabbed her hand to stop her. "See how you like it," she told him.

"Don't you dare…" he warned, grinning. "Or…"

"Or what?" she challenged. She smiled as he leaned forward and kissed her lips lightly.

"Hey! Don't do anything I can't do!" Mike called from the driver's seat. Jenna, his girlfriend, laughed and patted his leg. She sat up front with him in the van. Arianna and Mark were in the backseat with Vicky and
William. Andrew and Denise sat in the middle seat. They were "busy," to say the least.

Mark put his arm around Arianna and she leaned against him. "What are we doing tomorrow, Vick?" she asked her best friend.

"Hmmm, the moon will be full, and my sister will be at my grandmother's. Everybody come over. My mom has work."

"Sounds like tomorrow's going to be magical," Jenna said dramatically from the front of the van.

"I'll bring my books," Andrew announced, sitting up. Denise sat up a second later. She smoothed her hair.

"Which incense should I bring?" Arianna asked.

"Depends on what we're doing," Mark told her. He paused. "What are we doing?"

"We'll figure that out tomorrow," Vicky said carelessly. "Don't leave the herbs this time, William," she told the boy who had his arms wrapped around her.

"And what should I bring over?" Denise asked.

"You don't have anything to bring, remember? You never go shopping with us when we sneak downtown," Vicky told her.

Denise made a sound of annoyance. "Well, fine, then," she said in mock-scorn. She couldn't hold up the front for long, though, and started giggling. "No, but really, is there anything else we might need?"

"A bottle of rubbing alcohol. Ethyl's alcohol," Vicky said with a pointed look at Arianna. She was remembering the time Arianna had bought isopropyl alcohol instead, and they'd nearly burned down Arianna's bedroom.

"Hey," Arianna said defensively. "You didn't tell me what kind of alcohol. Mostly all they sell is isopropyl. How was I gonna know you meant ethyl's?"

"Never mind," Vicky said, avoiding an argument.

Arianna shrugged and leaned back against Mark. Vicky was doing the same to William. Denise and Andrew had disappeared from sight again in the middle seat.

When Mark bent his head and kissed her, Arianna couldn't remember ever being so happy. It was like a dream. She loved Mark. She had for the past two years. He'd been head over heels for her long before that, but
she hadn't allowed herself to believe it. At the end of eighth grade they'd finally gotten together. The case was the same for Vicky and William, who were now making out on the other end of the seat. Arianna glanced at all the people in the van. These were her friends. More importantly, this was her circle.

The coven was small, consisting only of seven people, but they could do some powerful stuff when they worked with - or against - each other.

For a year they'd been working magic together. For many years before that they'd been friends. But in changing their religions to Wicca, they formed a bond. It was a secret they kept from everyone else in school, their parents, evenother friends. Because those other friends weren't as close to any of them as they were to each other.

Arianna was happy. It was all she had ever wanted. She had Mark, she had her friends, and she had a religion that she had complete faith in. And next year she would be in high school. This meant new freedom, responsibilities, and independence. And maybe even being able to tell her parents she had a boyfriend. She doubted they would take the
witchcraft part of her life well, so she didn't plan on telling them that any time soon. Even though many of the spellbooks she used belonged to her mother, Arianna wasn't sure her mother would like the idea of her and six other fourteen-year-olds getting together and calling the elements.

She noticed Mark looking out the back window. "How far away are they?" she asked, turning to see for herself.

"Far enough," he said. Arianna saw her parents maroon minivan behind them. William's mother's car was in between it and the van. Thankfully, she didn't care what went on.

"Think they can see us?" she asked.

"I don't think so, but let's not take any chances." He leaned over the seat in front of him and tapped Andrew on the back of his neck.

"Hey!" Andrew scowled, annoyed at being interrupted.

"Switch with us," Mark told him. "At the next curve in the road."

"Really? Okay." Sitting in the larger backseat was a privilege. It meant that whoever was in it wasn't visible to other drivers. Andrew crouched in the seat, ready to jump when the time came.

"Ooh, we get the back!" Denise said with glee.

"Just remember you're sharing it with us," Vicky told them.

William nodded. "So, don't stretch out like you usually do, Andrew, or I'll have kick your ass."

"Turn's comin' up," Arianna said, cutting off Andrew's response and the fight that would surely ensue from it.

"Now!" Denise said, and four of the bodies in the van went into motion. Mark and Arianna climbed over into the middle bench, and Denise and Andrew jumped into the back.

"Ow! Damn it, Andrew!" Vicky smacked the Hispanic boy in the back of his head.

"¡Coño!" Andrew yelled. "What the hell are you hitting me for?"

"¡Oye!" Denise pushed Andrew off her lap. "You're crushing me."

"Can you all please speak English?" Mike asked, even though he was also of Spanish descent.

"Everybody just shut up," Arianna said loudly. "God, you make so much noise."

"I know what we can do that doesn't make a whole lot of noise," Mark whispered in her ear. She turned her head to accept his kiss, and leaned back in the seat, out of the view of any cars that might be driving behind them.

Everyone went back to what they were doing before the switching of seats, and the van was considerably quieter. Jenna broke the silence.

"You know, I hate you all," she told them.

"Look," William told her. "You go out with a twenty-year old, and you have to expect that he's gonna be doing some driving while all the rest of us are having fun. As his girlfriend, that means you don't get to have fun either. You wanna date older people; it goes with the territory. So get the fuck over it." He turned back to Vicky.

"Can I pull over to the side of the road?" Mike asked.

There was a chorus of no's from the van.

"You want to try explaining that to our parents?"

"This is a mountain road. There is no side."

"Just keep driving and shut-"

"Okay, fine!" Mike yelled, putting an end to the complaints.

Arianna smiled at Mark and kissed his neck. He moaned softly in her ear, so only she heard him. She had a fascination with necks, especially Mark's. His arms tightened around her, and his mouth sought hers. Arianna sighed against his lips, and it seemed to further excite him. The kiss deepened, until Mark pulled back suddenly. He stared into her eyes, and his own light brown orbs searched her face, as if he were memorizing it. She already knew every inch of his, all the planes and angles. She would never forget what he looked like. He was - well, she would have said gorgeous, but that was such a dry word. Mark had a sweet face with the sharp edge of a boy becoming a man. And now he was looking at her with open admiration, with those eyes - those beautiful eyes.

"Dear Goddess…" Mark began, but he was cut off when the van swerved sharply.

"Hey, Mike! What the hell are you doing?" Andrew yelled from the back.

Jenna screamed. "There are rocks falling down the side of the mountain! They're gonna hit us!" She screamed again as a deer raced in front of the vehicle. Mike slammed on the brakes and Denise shrieked as she was thrown against the wall of the van.

The two cars following them were having similar trouble. Arianna tried to look out the back window, hoping to glimpse the minivan that held her mother, father, and younger brother, but Mark shoved her down in the seat and pressed his body over hers.

"Stay down!" he yelled, but the cry was lost in the tinkling of glass as one of the windows shattered. She wrapped her arms around him and felt shards of glass cut her arms. The van bounced and they fell off the seat, but Mark kept her covered.

He's protecting me, she thought. As another boulder hit the van, her next thought was, We're all going to die. It came very clearly, and she was somehow certain of it. The van was steady for a second, and she grabbed Mark and kissed him fiercely.

"I love you," she said, her voice and gaze intense. Mark stared at her a moment before responding.

"I love you, Arianna." And he smiled at her. Then he pitched forward unconscious as a rock hit his head. Arianna screamed his name.

"Somebody do something! Oh, Goddess, give me strength!"  Arianna would not cry now. She sat up. Denise was bleeding, and everyone else was bruised. And the rocks were still falling. Jenna was sobbing in the front seat. Denise was only semi-conscious. Andrew was trying desperately to keep her awake.

In a normal situation Arianna would be fighting panic, but things had to be done, and she knew it. Arianna reached out and grabbed Vicky's hand. "You're the best friend I've ever had. You know that, right?" Vicky's chocolate-brown skin looked a little paler than usual, but she returned the grip.

"Sister," she said, her voice serious.

"Sister." Arianna was thrown back as the van lurched. Her hand was viciously wrenched out of her friend's. Vicky's scream mingled with her own. Searing pain - hot and blinding - exploded in her head as she landed next to Mark. Gazing at his face - his beautiful face - she felt the darkness grab at her. She fought it for a second, smacking away it's demon's claws, but it was too much. She gave up, and the hands became soft and caressing. Her last thought was, I love you all. And everyone in the van heard her.