"Hey, check it out." Dallas pulled her attention back to him. He was pointing at the ground around the

old oak. "It's like the tree made a circle for you."

"That's cool!" she said. And it was! The solid tree had weathered the storm well. The only branches it had lost were a smattering of limb tips. They'd fallen onto the grass, forming a perfect circle completely around the tree.

Dallas hesitated at the edge of the circumference. "I'm gonna stay out here, okay? So it really can be like this is a circle cast especially for you, and I haven't broken it," he said.

Stevie Rae looked up at him. Dallas was a good guy. He was always saying sweet things like that and letting her know he understood her better than most folks did. "Thank you. That's really nice, Dallas."

She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly.

His arms tightened around her, and he held her closer to him. "Anything for my High Priestess."

His breath was warm and sweet against her mouth and, on impulse, Stevie Rae kissed him again, liking that he was making her feel all tingly inside. And liking that his touch was blocking thoughts of Rephaim from her mind. She was more than a little breathless when he reluctantly let her go.

He cleared his throat and gave a little laugh. "Be careful, girl. It's been a long time since you and me been alone."

Feeling kinda giggly and light-headed, she dimpled at him. "Too long."

His smile was sexy and cute. "We'll have to fix that soon, but first you better get to work."

"Oh, yeah," she said. "Work, work, work . . ."

Smiling, she took the sweetgrass braid, the green candle, and the matches he'd brought her.

"Hey," Dallas said, handing her the stuff, "I just remembered something about sweetgrass. Aren't you supposed to use somethin' else before you burn it? I was kinda good in Spells and Rituals Class, and I swear there was more to it than just lighting the braid and waving it around."

Stevie Rae screwed up her forehead, thinking. "I dunno. Zoey talked about it 'cause it's a Native American thing. I swear she said it draws positive energy."

"Okay, well, I guess Z would know," Dallas said.

Shrugging, Stevie Rae said, "Yeah, plus it is just grass that smells good. I mean, how bad could it be?"

"Yeah, seriously. Besides, you're Earth Girl. You should be able to control some burnin' grass."

"Yep," she said. "Okay, well, here goes." Whispering a simple, "Thank you, earth," to her element, she turned her back to Dallas, stepped over the boundary and entered the earth-made circle. Stevie Rae strode confidently to the northernmost point inside the circumference, which was directly in front of the old tree. She stopped there and closed her eyes. Stevie Rae had learned early that the best way to connect with her element was through her senses. So she breathed in deeply, clearing her mind of all the cluttered thoughts she usually carried around with her and allowing only one thing to leak through: the sense of hearing.

She listened to the earth. Stevie Rae could hear the wind murmuring through the winter leaves, the night birds singing to each other, the sounds and sighings of the park settling down for a long, cold night.

When her sense of sound was full of earth, Stevie Rae drew in another breath and focused on smell. She breathed in the earth, scenting the damp heaviness of ice-encapsulated grass, the crisp cinnamon of the browned leaves, the uniquely mossy fragrance of the ancient oak.

Her sense of smell filled by earth, Stevie Rae drew another deep breath and imagined the rich, full taste of a garlic bulb and the ripeness of summer tomatoes. She thought about the simple earth magick of pulling at green, tufty tops and discovering below them thick, crisp carrots that had been nurtured within the earth.

Taste overflowing with earth's bounty, she thought about the touch of the softness of summer grass against her feet - of dandelions tickling her chin as she held one there to see if it'd leave the telltale yellow blush of secret love - of the way the earth lifted to fill all of her senses after a spring rain.

And then, drawing an even deeper breath, Stevie Rae let her spirit embrace the wonderful, amazing, magickal way the gift of her element made her feel. Earth was mother, counselor, sister, and friend. Earth grounded her, and even when everything else in her world was totally screwed up, she could count on her element to calm and protect her.

Smiling, Stevie Rae opened her eyes. She turned to her right. "Air, I ask you to please come to my circle." Even though she didn't have a yellow candle, or anyone to represent air, Stevie Rae knew it was important to acknowledge and pay respect to each of the other four elements. And, if she was really lucky, they might actually show up and strengthen her circle. Facing south, she continued, "Fire, I ask that you please come to my circle." Turning deosil, or clockwise, she called, "Water, I'd like you to please come to my circle. Then, deviating from a traditional casting, Stevie Rae stepped back a few feet to the middle of the grassy area, and said, "Spirit, this is out of order, but I'd really like it if you joined my circle, too."