“And I say the sacred hoop of my people was one of the many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father.”
— Black Elk

The circle is perhaps the most recognized and revered of spiritual symbols, representing the ultimate in cosmic order. The circle represents our world and our journeys, from the passage of a day to the loop of time itself; thus, we felt it was a fitting image for the conclusion of the L.O.S.T. trilogy.

At the heart of Witch Circle lies the truth of all travels, that destinations and origins often share much in common, that to get where we’re going, we must go where we’ve been. When Bren and Jazz face their old nemesis Nire, they realize that to bring peace and safety to their lives, they must revisit their worst battle and struggle through their worst fears.

Like many teens, Bren and Jazz come to understand that sometimes simply staying on the Path isn’t enough. You have to look where you’ve been, where you’re going — and find a way to come full circle.

We wrote Witch Circle with both joy and sadness, since this book represents both the start of a new phase of our lives and the end of our visits with Bren and Jazz, who have become as much alter-egos as characters. As always, the characters surprised us at every turn, and Jazz and Bren threw each other a few wicked curves like flying barn doors, stacks of slither dung — oh, and wasn’t there something about a huge, stinky flower?

Witch Circle begins a few months after ShadowQueen, as the King and Queen of the Witches struggle to keep the Path and the community of L.O.S.T. from falling apart. Bren feels trapped by his responsibilities, and his inability to find his kidnapped brother Todd cuts deep. Jazz has her hands full attempting to integrate the Shadow people and keep the peace between races that have long been at war. They have no time for each other, and no time for themselves. And to make it all worse, something is attacking the Sanctuaries. Something evil and cold. Something a lot like the Shadowmaster.

The treacherous, shapeshifting Erlking stirs trouble at every juncture, and dreams reveal that Nire’s power is growing. Using ancient magic and perverting sacred symbols, the Erlking and his new companions have discovered a way to do the unthinkable: bring Nire back from exile. As the clock ticks down toward Beltane and the promised return of the Shadowmaster, Bren and Jazz grieve a treasured companion and find it difficult to distinguish allies from enemies.

Jazz must deal with her fears of failing against Nire again, while Bren faces the unimaginable horror of losing his brother and confronting evil in his own family.

Jazz and Bren know they must unite the witches of L.O.S.T. once and for all. They know they must find magic stronger than the Path itself, and fight against the monster of their nightmares. There must be a solution, a way to contend with this evil without tearing out the heart of every belief they hold. Bren and Jazz face an uphill battle — literally — culminating at the crest of the mythic Tor itself.

“The sea is calling … with war and death I am finished.”