Excerpt: Christophina's Garden

He takes my hand and bends down to kiss it. He sees the ring, pauses a moment, then softly kisses my hand. He stands back up and turns to Ethan.

"And when were you going to tell me about this?" he says, in an accusatory, but mocking, tone of voice.

"Just about now, actually," Ethan replies.

"I see." Daniel looks back at me. "Christophina. You're willing to put up with my son for the rest of your life?"

"That's the plan," I reply, "Do we have your blessing?"

"Are you sure you want it? To hear some people say it, my blessing is a curse unto itself."

"Does this have something to do with that Book of Shadows thing Ethan was talking about?"

"What did you tell her?" Daniel asks Ethan with a shocked look on his face.

"I told her to ask you about it. I don't think words could properly describe it."

"Oh, lord, where did I put that thing? Think it's in the library somewhere."

He strides out of the room and we trail after him. The library is set up to face the now-darkened ocean and there are shelves laden with books and odd gadgetry. He scans the shelves and pulls down a dark volume bound in artificial leather.

"Now, I want you to imagine this scene. Place yourself in my shoes for a moment. I know they're a bit big on you, but this'll only be for a short while. Imagine yourself after a show, on your way to your hotel room, there are a few fans in the lobby, you stop for a bit to sign some things, take some pictures, say hello and it's the usual kids, nothing new, and you're at a point in your career when you're kind of grateful anybody gives a damn. And then a girl walks up to you, this willowy-thin thing--thinner than you are, even--in a long black dress and wild red hair and eyeliner out to her temples and she hands you this."

He hands me the book.

"And then," he continues, "She bows, says 'It's done' and walks away."

I hold the book, not sure what to do with it.

"Open it," he says, "Have a sit down and look through it, it's . . . indescribable, really."

I sit down on the couch and open the book. The first page has the words BOOK OF SHADOWS in scripted letters. It appears to be a simple blank-paged sketchbook journal. I leaf through the pages. The book has been written in using dark red ink that nearly resembles blood. Some parts are written in black and have a scrawly quality that suggests left-handed writing. There are elaborate sketches of Daniel, depicting him in mythic-looking costumes and one page is some kind of contract whereby the writer has pledged her soul to him. There are also pages of mystical symbols--some appear to be researched and others invented. I try to read the scrawly left-handed pages.

"It looks like she was doing guided writing," I remark.

"Guided writing?" Daniel asks.

"It's sometimes called automatic writing. You sort of let an . . . entity write through you. People often use their non-dominant hand for that, since you're less used to using it. Lily had a book in her shop about it. I tried it a few times, but didn't get much."

"You're probably the first person ever to even attempt to make sense of it. So you're saying she was possessed when she wrote this stuff?"

"Possibly. Or maybe she just thought she was. It takes a little practice to discern the difference between what's true and what you just want to be true." I slowly read the words from one page aloud, "Do . . . not . . . believe . . . what . . . the . . . World . . . tells . . . you . . . we . . . are . . . bound . . . as . . . few . . . can . . . be . . . bound. These . . . are not . . . secrets . . . to . . . be . . . seared . . . in . . . the . . . light . . . of . . . their . . . artifice. There . . . are. . . worlds . . . beyond . . . worlds . . . and . . . you . . . are . . . a . . . child . . . of . . . the . . . greater . . . realms . . . than . . . of . . . those . . . who . . . cast . . . doubt."

I close the book and shudder. "The poor girl. What did you say to her?"

"I never saw her again. I asked the kids if they knew her and they'd never seen her before or since. Some of the kids saw her at the show, that was about it. Near as I can tell, she'd made some kind of god of me and this was her prayer book. It starts as some kind of pseudo-Wiccan thing and then just gets crazier and crazier. It's flattering and disturbing at the same time. Anyway, it's what I smack Ethe over the head with when he starts whinging about the crazy girls who are after him."

"I don't whinge," Ethan mutters.