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Dani Naete Mella Abforth (original surname "All-Bringing-Forth") is a witch and a character that appears in the book Spellbinder. Like Thea Harman, she is a member of Circle Twilight.
Appearance[]
Dani is described as "small-boned and pretty, with thick eyelashes and hair black and soft as soot", with "a heart-shaped face - and dimples". Dani also has dark-colored eyes.
Personality[]
She is depicted as a kind, "shy" girl, with an "infectious" laugh. She is proud of her witch heritage and warm to other witches, although she prefers being among fellow Circle Twilight members rather than Circle Midnight. She is additionally awed at Thea's relation to Hellewise Hearth-Woman, but accepts Thea for who she is rather than just for her status.
Like her fellow Nightpeople, Dani is disdainful of humans, and particularly their depiction of witches on Halloween.
Spellbinder[]
Thea, the protagonist of the book, meets Dani while attending classes in Las Vegas; noticing the girl wearing a dahlia pin, Thea draws the dark flower in her own notebook to catch Dani's attention. Seeing the drawing, Dani smiles at Thea, and the two meet after class ends. At first, Dani presumes Thea is affiliated with Circle Midnight, as all other witches in the school are, but to her delight learns the Harman girl is in fact part of her own circle, Circle Twilight. She is awed by Thea's connection to Hellewise, although she is surprised that Thea doesn't know her from other circle meetings (the explanation for which is Thea having to constantly move due to being orphaned at birth and because of her cousinBlaise's antics). As the bell rings, the two agree to meet up for lunch.
The two eat lunch out in front of the school; Dani comforts Thea when she becomes angry at Blaise and feels herself "stupid" for not stopping her. The smaller girl compares Blaise to the Greek goddess Aphrodite when she hears of the other Harman girl's record of harming human boys. The two go to seek Vivienne Morrigan and Selene Lucna, hoping to convince them to help keep Blaise under control, although they are members of Circle Midnight.
As the two enter the cafeteria, they see a sign for a Halloween event, and are offended by the stereotypical human concept of witches. Dani regards humans as inferior for this, and justifies her assumption in stating that humans themselves are prejudiced, even against others of different skin colors. The two locate Blaise with Selene and Vivienne, and sit with them; Thea notes that even Dani is fascinated with her cousin.
When presented with Blaise's idea of gathering blood of boys the witches will target at the homecoming dance, Dani reacts with shock, and is uneasy about doing such a thing, even to a human. The next day when witnessing Blaise toy with a guy, Dani stands up from the lunch table, intending to go with Thea; she admits she has never been to a "[human] dance" before. At the dance, Thea notes with relief that, like her, Dani's vial, given to each of the girls by Blaise to fill with blood, is empty.
When Dani next sees her, Thea is on edge after accidentally summoning the spirit of a long-dead witch, Suzanne Blanchet, and snaps at her, although Dani later forgives her, believing the Harman girl is upset that Grandma Harman is ill.
Dani remains with her when the Crone is taken to be healed, and Thea explains what she had done with summoning a spirit; the two research the spirits and manage to identify it as Suzanne, with whom, upon learning her history, Dani sympathizes. Thea then shares her family history with Dani, who is astonished at the fact that one of the Harman ancestors, Maeve, had married a lamia vampire: Hunter Redfern (she has mild issue with the idea of copulating with a vampire). Therefore, through their marriage, the Redferns and Harman families are relatives and even modern members consider one another kin. Furthermore, when searching for a way to stop Suzanne, Dani locates an old story telling of luring a wayward spirit into a circle to banish it. Despite her dislike for humans, she is upset at the violent way Blaise's former target, Kevin, had been killed by Suzanne.
Dani next sees Thea at the Samhain celebration held by Circle Twilight; she is dressed as her ideal goddess, the Egyptian Isis. However, she and her friend, along with Blaise, are taken before the Inner Circle, where they are confronted with unleashing a spirit (Thea defends Dani and admits to being the one who summoned it). In the end, Dani learns of Thea's human soulmate, and is sorrowful when Thea is given the Cup of Lethe to forget her heritage as a witch, saying farewell to her friend for the final time.
Trivia[]
- Judging from her costume for Halloween, Dani's personal deity appears to be the Egyptian goddess Isis.
- It can be presumed that, like the other Circle Twilight witches, Dani has seceded from the Night World and joined Circle Daybreak.