Source LJ Smith Wiki-fandom

The story picks up very shortly after, if not immediately after, The Initiation, with Cassie meeting up with Diana, Adam, Sean, Melanie, and Laurel. They are going to use a pendulum to search for the dark energy they released when looking inside the skull. As they are getting ready to start, Faye, Deborah, Suzan, Chris, Doug, and Nick show up asking what they are doing. Everyone decides to work together. They follow the pendulum all the way to the graveyard. There the pendulum just swings in circles.

Faye orders Cassie to find the skull and bring it to her. There is no way Cassie can refuse. If Cassie refuses to do ask Faye to ask, Faye will tell Diana about Cassie’s feels for Adam and the fact they had kissed. Faye would ensure that she told it in the ugliest and mean way possible, forever breaking up the Circle. Cassie is Faye’s captive. Cassie wants to refuse and resist but she loves Diana so much that she doesn’t want to risk Faye destroying any relationship Cassie has with Diana. When Cassie’s first attempt fails, Faye gives her until Saturday to find it or Faye tells Diana.

When Cassie does find the skull, she doesn’t want to give it to Faye. Cassie gets a bad feeling. It continues to increase as Faye gets ready to use the skull. As Faye is scrying, Cassie can see the dark energy in the skull swirling. She tries warning Faye who refuses to listen. It’s the same dark energy they had dealt with as a full circle that was too strong. As the energy bursts out of the skull, Cassie saves Faye from the force of impact.

Finally, the day of the dance comes. The whole coven is jazzed and can’t wait to go. Unfortunately, Diana comes down sick leaving Adam dateless. The girls always get ready for dances together. It is the one time that comes around beside Circle business that Diana, Laurel, Melanie, Deborah, Suzan, and Faye come together peaceably. Cassie gets to be a part of this. The other girls all have their specialty in the getting ready process. Cassie comes out the other side feeling beautiful and finally “looking like a witch”.

Of course, Cassie was a hit at the dance. Unfortunately, there is a huge disturbance at the dance when Jeffery Lovejoy turns up dead from being hung. So many deaths lately. Kory, the principal Mr. Fogle and now Jeffery. Tensions are high among the kids at school. Mainly all the non-witches and the Circle. The non-witches are out for the Circle’s blood.

The Circle, minus Diana, use Cassie’s borrowed necklace as a pendulum to trace the dark energy. It leads them towards the cemetery. Close to the cemetery they see a shadowy figure and give chase only to come up empty-handed. To add insult to injury, Cassie managed to lose Melanie’s necklace.

After a disappointing talk with her mother and grandmother, Cassie heads to the cemetery to search for the necklace because she feels incredibly guilty. While there, Cassie sees that many of the kids in her coven lost one or both of their parents in 1976 and started to freak out. She asks Diana about it and learns that there was a freak hurricane that killed many people on the island one night in 1976. After this, Cassie learns about the Halloween Dance. She decides she will ask Nick to dance. It didn’t go well. On the way away from Nick, the Henderson brothers ask Cassie if she wants to go party with them. To her own surprise as well as the brothers, she accepts. They head to the witch’s dungeon.

Cassie gets invited to a party at Faye’s place. Well, invited isn’t quite the right word. However, she did go only to be extremely uncomfortable. After the party, Deborah approaches Cassie to encourage her to keep trying with Nick. He does accept and they head to the dance together.

When the Circle is done at the dance they all meet at lot 13 next to Cassie’s grandmother’s house. They are going to do a spirit summoning ritual. They must be drawn on more powerful protection as well as faith in each other. They end up summoning far more than they expected or bargained for.

At Nick’s “witchy” birthday party, Faye approaches Cassie to sway her vote for the leadership of the coven. Cassie doesn’t want to vote for Faye but the alternative is not what she wants at all. She had time to consider her answer and stew over the pros and cons of both choices.

What does Cassie decide? Who wins? Was it who you expected? Let me know in the comments below. Til next week…