by P. C. Cast
“Hang on,” I said, seeing Nala curled up on my bed. I looked around my room, taking inventory of the eight—eight!—cats that were hanging out there. “What’s with all the cats?”
“That’s why I’m over here,” Aphrodite said, sniffling softly as she snuggled back into Darius’s arms. “Maleficent was acting very odd. She kept coming in and out of her cat door and making weird yowling sounds.” Aphrodite paused and blew a kiss to the awful white puff-ball that masqueraded as her cat. “So finally I followed her. She led me to your room. I came in and found all these cats. Then I heard you guys in the hall.” She turned her beautiful blue eyes on the Twins. “I heard everything you guys said in the hall, and do not think for one instant just because I’ve turned human it doesn’t mean I cannot happily kick your combined asses.”
“But what are all these cats doing in here?” I said quickly before the Twins started a mini human-fledgling war.
“Hey there, Nefertiti!” Darius called, and a sleek calico female jumped up on the bed beside him and began to wind around his body.
“They’re our cats,” Damien said, still petting Cameron. “Remember when we escaped from here yesterday? They were all outside the school wall waiting for us.” He glanced up at me. “Are we leaving again?”
“I hope so,” I said. “But wait.” I was still taking stock of the cats. “All of our cats are here, but what about that great big one over there, and the little cream-colored one who’s sticking close to him?”
“That big cat is Dragon Lankford’s Maine Coon,” Damien said. “His name is Shadowfax.” Dragon Lankford, who almost everyone called Dragon, is our fencing professor and is a master with the blade. Damien was a talented fencer, so it wasn’t surprising he recognized Dragon’s cat.
“Hey, I think that little white one is Guinevere, Professor Anastasia’s cat,” Erin said.
“You’re right, Twin,” Shaunee said. “She’s always hanging out during Spells and Rituals class.”
“What about that one?” I pointed to a familiar-looking Siamese whose body was the silver-white of moonlight, tipped in delicate gray ears and face. Then I realized why she looked familiar and answered my own question. “That’s Professor Lenobia’s cat. I don’t know her name, but I’ve seen her following the professor around the stables.”
“So, let me get this straight: All of our cats, plus cats that belong to Dragon, his wife, and Professor Lenobia, are suddenly hanging out in Zoey’s room,” Darius said.
“Why are they here?” Erin asked.
I answered her question with my own. “Have you guys seen any other cats today? I mean, while you were in class and at lunch, coming and going from the dorm and class to class, did you see any cats?”
“No,” the Twins said together.
“I didn’t,” Damien answered more slowly.
“Not a one,” Aphrodite said.
“And you noticed earlier that we saw not one cat between the infirmary and the dormitory,” Darius said.
“I thought it was bad then; I still think it’s bad,” I said.
“Why would all the cats except these disappear?” Damien asked.
“The cats hate the birdmen,” I said. “Whenever Nala’s been with me and one’s been around, she’s totally freaked.”
“There’s more to it than that. If it was just about hating them, then the cats would all be hiding, and not just special ones hanging out in here,” Aphrodite said.
“Maybe that’s it,” Damien said. “There’s something special about these particular cats.”
“Okay, I hate to be a bitch—or maybe I don’t—but anyway, can we forget about the damn cats for a second? I want to know who the hell did this to my man’s face,” Aphrodite said.
“Kalona,” I said, when it was obvious Darius was too involved with grinning at the “my man” title Aphrodite had awarded him to answer.
“I was afraid of that,” Damien said. “How’d it happen?”
“Darius attacked Rephaim,” I explained, “which pissed off Kalona. He didn’t let Stark kill him, but the cut was his parting gift for Darius wounding his favorite son.”
“That fucking Stark!” Shaunee said.
“He’s really bad news. He and the nasty-assed birdmen do whatever the hell they want,” Erin said.
“And no one does anything about it,” Shaunee finished.
“It’s like the thing you just witnessed with Becca,” Damien said.
“Speaking of,” Shaunee said. “What was the deal with you agreeing with that bimbo about oh, no big deal because Stark’s sooooo hot! Talk about annoying.”
“You weren’t going to get through to her. Becca’s on their side. As far as I can tell, Stark and the birds and Kalona do anything to anyone, and there are no repercussions for their actions.”
“It’s worse than no repercussions,” Aphrodite said. Still within Darius’s arms, she’d gotten herself together. “It’s like Kalona’s cast a spell over everyone, and the spell somehow extends to Stark and the birds.”
“That’s why I agreed with Becca and just let her go. It’s not a good idea to call attention to the fact that we’re the only ones not in the Kalona Fan Club,” Damien said.
“And Neferet, don’t forget about her,” Aphrodite said.
“She’s with him, but I don’t think she’s under his spell,” I said. “I overheard them talking when they thought I was out, and she disagreed with him. He got big and bad and scary with her, and she seemed to back off, but what she really did was just change her tactics. She’s manipulating him, and I can’t tell if he knows it or not. And she’s changing, too.”
“Changing? What do you mean by that?” Damien asked.
“Her power is different than it used to be,” Darius said.
I nodded. “It’s like a switch has been thrown inside her, and it’s let loose a different kind of power.”
“A dark power,” Aphrodite said. We all looked at her. “Her power isn’t based on Neferet anymore. Sure, she’s still using the gifts our Goddess gave her, but she’s channeling energy from somewhere else, too. Couldn’t you guys feel it in the hall outside the sickroom?”
There was a long silence, and then Damien spoke up. “I think we were too busy struggling against Kalona’s attraction.”
“And scared shitless,” Erin said.
“Entirely,” Shaunee agreed.
“Well, so now we know. Neferet is even more of a threat than she’s ever been. They talked when they thought I was passed out. Neferet and Kalona are planning a new future, and it has something to do with taking over the Council,” I said, wishing I could crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head.
“Oh my goddess! The High Council?” Aphrodite said.
“I don’t know for sure, but that’s what I’m afraid of. I’m also afraid her new power has given her special abilities.” I paused. I didn’t want to freak out the gang before I had my talk with Stevie Rae, but they did need to be warned, so I picked my words carefully. “I think Neferet can project her influence by moving through, or maybe manipulating, shadows.”
“That’s bad,” Damien said.
“It means we have to be on guard,” Erin said.
“Majorly on guard,” Shaunee agreed.
Darius nodded. “Remember always: Neferet is our enemy, Kalona is our enemy, and most of the other fledglings are our enemies, too.” His sharp gaze went from kid to kid. “What about the rest of the professors?” Darius asked them. “All of you attended classes today, didn’t you? How were they acting?”
“Yeah, we went to class, weird as that was,” Shaunee said.
“It was like attending Stepford High School,” Erin said.
“It seems the professors are all enthralled with Kalona, too,” Damien said. “Of course, I can’t tell you that for sure. We weren’t ever alone with the professors.”
“Not alone? What do you mean?” I said.
“I mean those bird things are everywhere—coming and going from class, and
even in class.”
“Are you kidding?” A shiver of revulsion quavered though my body at the thought of those terrible mutations of nature moving freely among fledglings—like they belonged here!
“He’s not kidding. They are everywhere. It’s like Invasion of the fucking Body Snatchers,” Aphrodite said. “The good guys look the same on the outside, but are screwed on the inside, and the Raven Mockers are the damn aliens.”
“And the Sons of Erebus? Are they supporting this?” Darius asked.
“I haven’t seen one warrior since Aristos escorted us onto campus,” Damien said. “How about you guys?”
The Twins and Aphrodite shook their heads no.
“This is so not good,” I said. I rubbed my forehead as a wave of exhaustion engulfed me. What were we going to do? Who were our friends? And how the hell were we going to get out of the House of Night and to what I could only hope would be safety?
CHAPTER 22
“Zoey? Are you okay?”
I looked up to meet Damien’s soft brown eyes. Before I could answer him, Darius spoke up.
“She is not. Zoey must get sleep; she must rest to restore her strength.”
“How’s your nasty, ugly, gaping wound?” Erin asked.
“It doesn’t look like you’re bleeding through that charming hospital garb, so we assumed you were fixed right up,” Shaunee said.
“I’m better, but I’m having an issue with getting my strength back. It’s like I’m a cell phone with a messed-up charger.”
“You must rest,” Darius repeated. “Your wound was almost fatal. Recovery takes time.”
“We don’t have time!” I yelled in frustration. “We need to get the hell out of here and away from Kalona until we can figure out how we can beat him.”
“Getting out of here isn’t going to be as easy as it was last time,” Damien said.
Aphrodite snorted. “As if that was easy!”
“It will be compared to what we’re up against now,” Damien continued. “Raven Mockers are everywhere. Last night they were attacking people randomly. It was mass confusion then, and that helped us slip away. Today they’re well organized and stationed all over.”
“I saw them around the perimeter. They’ve more than doubled the guards we had before,” Darius said.
“But there aren’t any of them outside the dorm, like you used to be,” I said to him.
“It’s because they don’t care whether we’re safe. They just care that we don’t leave the school,” Damien said.
“Why?” I asked wearily, rubbing at my temple where a headache was starting to pound.
“Whatever they’re planning needs isolation right now,” Darius said.
“Doesn’t that point more to them just taking over this House of Night, versus trying anything with the High Council?” Aphrodite said.
She asked me, but when I couldn’t make myself give her the reassuring response she was obviously hoping for, Darius spoke up.
“Perhaps, but it is too early to really know.”
“Well, the ice storm’s helping with the isolation thing. Power is down everywhere. Cell phone service is sketchy. Except for little pockets being run by generators, Tulsa’s blacked out,” Damien said.
“I wonder if Nyx’s High Council even knows Shekinah is dead,” Darius said.
I looked at Damien. “What happens when the High Priestess of all Vampyres dies?”
Damien’s forehead scrunched up as he thought. “Well, if I remember correctly from Vamp Soc class, Nyx’s Council meets and elects a new High Priestess. That only happens about once every three to five hundred years. Once elected, a High Priestess reigns for her entire life. The election is a big deal, especially when it’s sudden like this one will have to be.”
I perked up. “Doesn’t it make sense that Nyx’s Council would be verrrry interested in how Shekinah suddenly dropped dead?”
Damien nodded. “I’d definitely say so.”
“So that might be a major reason for Kalona wanting to keep our House of Night isolated. He doesn’t want the attention of the High Council,” Aphrodite said.
“Or he does want their attention—as in presenting Neferet as the new vamp High Priestess, but they are gathering their power so they can be sure of the Council’s vote.”
There was a dead silence in the room as everyone stared in horror at me.
“We cannot allow that to happen,” Darius finally spoke.
“We won’t,” I said firmly, hoping we’d somehow be able to back up my statement. “Hey, is Kalona still saying he’s Erebus come to earth?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Erin said.
“And even though it sounds stupid, everyone believes him,” Shaunee said.
“Did you actually see Kalona today?” I asked Shaunee. “I mean, except for when we first got here?”
She shook her head, “Nope.”
I looked from her to Erin.
“Ditto. I didn’t see him either,” she said.
“Didn’t see him,” Damien said.
“Neither did I, and I say good riddance,” Aphrodite said.
“Yeah, but you might be the only one,” I said slowly. I looked from the Twins to Damien. “We’ve already said that Kalona has some kind of mojo crap he uses on everyone. It even works on us, or at least it does unless we don’t look him in the eye and fight it real hard—and we were ready for him. We knew he was evil. Hell, it took me seeing him almost choke Darius to death for me to stop panting over him.”
“That bastard choked you?” Aphrodite said. “Damn, that pisses me off! Oh, and abbreviated herd of nerd, in case you didn’t get it the first time, get this: I’m not in the least bit affected by the mojo the winged freak lays on you. I don’t like him. At all.”
“That’s right,” I said. “I noticed that earlier today. You really don’t feel drawn to him at all.”
“What’s to be drawn to? He’s a big old bully. And he’s never dressed properly. And I really don’t like birds. I mean, the bird flu is supposed to be a seriously unattractive way to die. So, no. He’s got nothing for me.”
“I wonder why his stuff doesn’t work on you?” I mused aloud.
“’Cause she’s abby-normal?” Shaunee said.
“A serious freak in a human skin suit?” Erin added.
“How about because I’m exceptionally intuitive, and I see through his bullshit? Oh, that also means I see through yours, too,” Aphrodite said.
“She might have something there,” Damien said, sounding excited. “We’ve all felt his draw, but we can resist him, unlike the other fledglings, right?”
We nodded.
“Well, we’re all into the elements—have been physically and intuitively touched by them, much more so than the other fledglings. Maybe our extrasensory abilities give us the power to resist Kalona’s allure.”
“The red fledglings said they weren’t drawn to him at all, just like Aphrodite,” I said. “And they all have psychic abilities.”
“That sounds logical, and it works for fledglings, but what about adult vampyres?” Darius said.
“Don’t your psychic abilities vary, just like ours do?” Aphrodite said. “Sure, fledglings say all vamps can do the mind thing, but it’s not really true, is it?”
“No, it isn’t really true, though many of us are highly intuitive,” Darius said.
“Are you?” I asked.
Darius smiled. “Only when it comes to protecting those I have sworn to defend.”
“But that means there is something especially intuitive about you,” Damien said, still sounding excited. “Okay, so what other vamps at this House of Night are the most psychic?”
“Neferet,” we all said together.
“We already know that. She’s made her decision for Kalona, so we’re not going to count her right now. Who else?”
“Damien! I think you are on to something!” I said. Everyone stared at me, but I was staring at the extra cats in the room.
And, as p
er usual, Damien got it right away. “Dragon, Professor Anastasia, and Professor Lenobia! They’re who I’d consider as the most intuitive after Neferet.”
“It’s no coincidence their cats are here with us,” Darius said.
“They’re a sign, sent to us to let us know we’re on the right track,” Damien said.
“Then that’s the second reason we can’t get out of here tonight,” I said.
“The second reason?” Aphrodite said.
“The first is that there’s no way I can control the elements long enough to keep all those Raven Mockers from seeing us; I’m just too tired. And the second is if Dragon and Professor Anastasia and Professor Lenobia can actually see through Kalona’s bullpoopie, then maybe they can help us get rid of him.”
“The world is falling apart. It’s really okay to cuss a little,” Aphrodite said.
“The world falling apart isn’t an excuse to take up bad habits,” I said, sounding weirdly like my grandma.
“So it is agreed: We stay here one more day. Zoey, you must sleep. Tomorrow you all attend classes as you normally would,” Darius said.
“Yeah, agreed,” I said. “Damien, can you get Dragon alone long enough to see if he might be on our side?”
“I should be able to during my fencing class tomorrow.”
“Who has Professor Anastasia’s Spells and Rituals class?”
The Twins raised their hands like good students.
“Can you guys check her out?”
“Definitely,” Erin said.
“Will do,” Shaunee said.
“I’ll talk to Lenobia,” I said.
“And Darius and I will scout out where all those nasty Raven Mockers are stationed around the walls,” Aphrodite said.
“Be careful,” I told her.
“She will be,” Darius said.
“I think no matter what, we should leave tomorrow. Staying here any longer than absolutely necessary feels wrong,” I said.
“Agreed. If your strength has returned,” Darius said.
“It better,” I said.
There was a pause, and then Darius told me solemnly, “When we escape, Kalona will come after you. He will hunt you until he finds you.”