The James Logan Courier

By Brandie Moore, Courier Book Editor

Something was after me, I could feel it. Deep darkness was surrounding me, trying to find me, to envelop me. I tried to make the rune signs for protection, but I couldn't lift my hands: my fingers weren't working. I'd been bound, just as Cal had bound me to entrap me. Smoke and flames burned in the back of my throat, and I heard a voice screaming, 'Not again!' somehow I knew the voice belonged to my birth mother, Maeve. Then faces rose up out of the smothering darkness: Selene and Cal. I begged them to leave me alone. I pushed my lips together tightly, knowing, somehow, that they wanted me to breathe in the darkness, wanted it to become a part of me. Just as I felt myself about to suffocate, I saw a tiny sliver of light. The faces of Cal and Selene dissolved as the light approached. And then I began to see a new face in its midst. Hunter.

For all of you who have been following my reviews of Cate Tiernan's series Sweep, we are now on book 5 of 14. As we learned in my last book review, book four left us with more questions and concerns and few answers.
Some of the questions: What happened with Selene and Cal? Are Morgan and Bree going to be good friends again? And most importantly, what is up with Hunter? Is he good or is he bad? It's only natural that we hope that book five answers these questions; well, let's just see what we get.

The book starts out with Morgan sitting outside of Cal's pool house with Bree and Robbie. As they sit there, they hear sirens in the distance. Sky and Hunter arrive, and Hunter wants to talk with Morgan about what happened and she tells him she can't. While Sky puts up an illusion to hide them from the firemen that came with the sirens, they all make their escape. Hunter and Sky bring Morgan to their house to get cleaned up so her parents don't go crazy with worry.

After Morgan takes a shower and puts on a fresh pair of clothes, she goes and talks with Hunter. Morgan tells Hunter everything from her and Sky's scrying experience to how Cal overpowered her with magic and took her to his house and locked her in his se≥mar and set it on fire. Hunter asks with urgency if she still had her birth mother's tools and she says yes and reveals that the tools are hidden under Bree's house.

When Morgan gets home, she tells her parents that she and Cal have broken up. Her parents try to console her, but she goes and lies down in her room. In the morning, when Morgan wakes up, she notices that her house is really quiet and that she is late for school. After she goes downstairs she finds a note from her mom saying she can stay home for the day.

Since she has the day off, she decides to go to Practical Magick, a local wicca supply store. Alyce and David greet her and tell her they heard everything from Hunter and enquire if she is okay. Morgan wonders if they had anything to do with the previous day's tragedy. After talking with Alyce and David, she sees that neither of them did. Morgan also discovers that the store might be closing if they can't pay off the debts that David's aunt, who just died, left.

When Morgan get home she notices the birthday presents that Cal gave her. She questions if the gifts are under spells like his necklace was. Morgan uses the spell Alyce gave her to purify things and puts all the gifts in a cauldron and purifies everything. Later that night Morgan's aunt and her girlfriend come over to celebrate their finding a house. While they eat dinner, Morgan feels Hunter come up their walk.

Hunter tells Morgan that, their coven, Cirrus needs a new coven leader, someone who is initiated witch, and he says that he wants to do it. Morgan questions him on this and he replies that he just wants to help get rid of anything Cal might have left behind. At school the next day all of the Cirrus coven agrees to this.

The coven circle is held at Hunter's house. During the circle, Morgan feels nothing and doesn't understand why when everyone else feels what she always has. Morgan is uncomfortable when Hunter asks to hear everyone's option on what just happened. As every one speaks in turn, Hunter skips Morgan. Later , when she questions his actions, he says he didn't think she wanted to talk about it.

One day, on a visit to Practical Magick, Morgan is glad to hear that the store is not closing because Mr. Afton has come into a large amount of money and has decided to share his fortune by not closing them down. Hunter is immediately suspicious of this.

Here is where I leave you with the remaining questions: What really changed Mr. Afton's mind? Why is it that David's wound on his hand never heals? And what are Hunter's true feelings for Morgan and what are Morgan's feelings for Hunter?

We're only on book 5 of 14. That means we'll have a while before all of these questions are answered, and that's okay, because that just gives us more to look forward to.

So let's sit back and continue our way through this fascinating series.