Because the request was implied, Mac crossed over and stood with the other man. “The candles they’re getting out are ritual candles. I imagine they’ve already been consecrated and inscribed. They’re using silver, representing the goddess. Female power. The symbols on them . . .”

He edged a little closer, squinted. “Ah, yeah. The four elements. Earth, Air, Fire, Water. Mia wouldn’t tell me what ritual they’d do tonight, but from the setup, it’s probably a call to the four elements. An offering of respect,” he continued. “Maybe a request for dream interpretation or clairvoyance. Those are represented by the silver candles, too. It’s an attractive ritual.”

“You’ve seen it before.” Zack watched his wife remove a knife with a curved handle, a goblet, a wooden wand with a crystal tip from her bag.

“Yeah. If the ritual generates enough power, you may feel a little tingle in the air. Even without that, my sensors will pick up the energy increase. They’ll cast a circle and light the candles with wooden matches.”

“Matches?” Zack felt his face split into a grin. “Brother, keep watching.” Amused now, and fascinated by his wife, Zack slipped his hands into his pockets, rocked back on his heels. Mac scribbled in his notebook as they cast the circle. It was a fairly standard casting, little variation on the other chants and movements he’d observed.

“Too bad it’s cloudy,” he commented as he checked the new reading on his sensor. “We could use more light.”

Even as he spoke, a thin line of silver shimmered over the ground, a perfect circle of light.

“Jeez.” With equal parts shock and fascination, he took a step forward, notebook forgotten. From the center of the circle, Mia and Nell set the candles alight, with no more than a sweep of arm.

“I thought you’d seen this deal before,” Zack said.

“Not like this. Never like this.” Catching himself ogling, he pulled himself back. And got to work.

“We are two,” Mia said. “And we bring two more. One for love, and one for knowledge. One to be cherished, the other to be sought.” She picked up her wand. “Such things are tools,” she said, conversationally now. “Tools are to be respected.” She opened a small jar and took out a handful of petals. “Iris, for wisdom.”

From another, Nell took a sprig of rosemary. “And this for love.” She took up her ritual knife and used the tip to draw symbols on the earth. “And here we twine them, here we bind them, love and knowledge blessed with hope, within the circle and without, sought and cherished they conquer fear and vanquish doubt.”

“Hearts and minds, open and free,” Mia continued, sprinkling herbs and flowers into a wide bowl. “Only then can we meet our destinies. Because these things we both hold dear, we allow two to witness what we do here. In this place and on this night, we open our ritual to their sight. This I do willingly.”

“As do I,” Nell responded.

“All right, then. Any questions, Professor?”

“I’ve never seen that particular ritual.”

“Just a little precaution. We wouldn’t want you to be taken as Peeping Toms. Consider it a kind of warm-up act for the main performance. Still, you’re not to attempt to enter the circle, or even approach it, once we begin. Understood?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Then . . .”

“One more?” Mac lifted a finger.

“Ask,” Mia said with a nod.

“What is this place?”

Mia held out a hand, palm up, fingers gently cupped, as if she held something precious. The air—Mac would have sworn it—pulsed.

“It is,” she said quietly, “the heart.”

Then she lowered her hand. Mia nodded at Nell. “Blessed be, little sister.”

Nell drew in breath, held it as she lifted her arms. “I call to Air, both restless and sweet. On her breast my wings will beat. Rise and turn and blow your breath warm, come stir the wind, but do no harm. I am Air,” she called out as the hanging crystals began to sing, “and she is me. As I will, so mote it be.”

The wind swirled, dancing in the once still night. Mac could smell the sea in it, feel it whisper, then rush over his face and hair.

“Amazing,” was the best he could do, and watched Mia mirror Nell’s gesture before she picked up the chant.

“I call to Fire, her heat and light. In her heart life burns strong and bright. Flame like the sun, bring harm to none. I am Fire, and she is me. As I will, so mote it be.”

The silver candles sprang like torches, and the shimmering circle rose like a flaming wall. Mac’s sensors rang like alarms. For the first time in his long career, he gave them not a thought. The pencil he held slipped unnoticed out of his fingers. He could feel the heat, see through it. The women behind that sheer, fiery curtain glowed just as brightly.

And the wind sang like a woman in love.

Within the circle, Nell and Mia turned to each other, clasped hands. Ripley rocketed out of the woods. Mac caught only a glimpse—her pale, pale face, dark eyes, then she was diving into the fire.

“No!”

With images of her burning, he leaped forward.

“Stay back!” Mia snapped out the order even as she knelt beside Ripley.

“Damn it, she’s hurt.” Mac lifted one unsteady hand, pressed against an invisible barrier. It sparked, hissed, but wouldn’t give way. Nothing he’d seen or done had prepared him to stand helpless behind magic, unable to reach the woman he loved.

“Break the circle,” he demanded. “Let me through.”

“This isn’t for you.”

“She is.” He curled his fists against the shield, ignoring the heat that radiated from it.

“Nell.” Zack strained at the edge of the fire. He felt the scorch of its power, and for the first time a ripple of fear.

“It’s all right. She’s safe here. I promise.” Watching her husband, she cradled his sister’s head. “Please.”

“You know better.” Mia’s voice was steady even as she brushed back Ripley’s hair. Even as she watched Ripley’s eyes clear, her heart thudded. “I wasn’t prepared for you, nor you for this.”

“Don’t scold her. She’s shaking. What is it, Ripley?” Nell asked. “What happened?”