Forgotten

by P. C. Cast

  “Yes, we can stop her visions from coming true. If we couldn’t I’d have died more times than Buffy,” I said firmly.

  “Z, how old are you, thirty? You gotta update your bingeing,” said Aphrodite.

  “Buffy is a classic,” I said.

  “Imagine me rolling my eyes,” Aphrodite said. “And, Jack, you’re right. We have stopped my visions from coming true many times, but Neferet’s escape happened before my vision. If that was stoppable, it would’ve happened during the vision.”

  “Maybe your vision isn’t to keep us from changing the fact that Neferet gets free, and instead it’s warning us that we need to be prepared,” I said.

  “Yeah, and we need to protect that woman from Neferet once she does get free,” added Stevie Rae.

  “So let’s start by tripling the guard at Woodward Park,” I said.

  “Immediately,” Darius said.

  “I’ll let the Sons of Erebus Warriors know,” said Stark. “You go ahead and stay here with Aphrodite until she falls asleep.”

  “Thank you.” Darius nodded gratefully.

  “Stark, how are those cameras coming?” I asked.

  “I’m pretty sure they’ll be delivered in the morning. At least that’s what the tracking info said. I was going to get them installed tomorrow after sunset.”

  “If they aren’t delivered in the morning go get something—anything,” I said. “Just put temporary cameras up if you have to. We need eyes out there during daylight. I’ll notify Detective Marx about Aphrodite’s vision right away.”

  Rephaim spoke up, sounding uncharacteristically defeated. “There isn’t much the TPD can do against an insane immortal vampyre.”

  “True,” I said. “But they can be prepared to evacuate people who live by the park should anything weird start happening.”

  Aphrodite yawned and shivered. “Is it cold in here? I’m freezing.”

  “No, my beauty. This happens every time you have a vision. You will be yourself again after you sleep,” Darius said.

  “Okay, that’s our cue,” I said. “I’ll call Marx.”

  “I’ll take care of tripling the Warrior guards at the park,” said Stark. “And I’ll also double-check the tracking on the cameras and have the IT vamps ready to install them the instant they arrive.” Then he added, “And if they aren’t arriving in the morning, I’ll be sure we buy some temp cameras and get those set up.”

  “Just text me,” said Damien. “I can go get the cameras after sunrise if need be. And I have a thought. Z, I know the last time we tried to cast a protective spell over the grotto it went awry.”

  “Understatement of the century,” Aphrodite mumbled.

  “But I think you should consider casting some kind of protection over the grotto—or maybe all of Woodward Park, even if it’s just an early warning system,” Damien finished.

  “I hear you,” I said. “And I don’t disagree, but we have to be careful about what kind of spell we cast.”

  “Yeah, it can’t be tied to Zoey,” said Stark. “We all know what happened to Thanatos when Neferet broke the protective spell she’d cast over the Mayo.”

  “It was terrible.” Stevie Rae shuddered. “We can’t take a chance on losing you like that, Z.”

  “I’m all about not dying,” I assured my BFF and everyone else. “But I also agree with Damien.”

  “How about I take a break from the depot renovation—move back the opening to, say, Valentine’s Day, and instead research protection spells?” Damien offered.

  “I hate to have your opening messed up,” I said.

  Rephaim rested his hands on Stevie Rae’s shoulders. “It won’t matter when the restaurant opens if Neferet destroys our world,” he said.

  “Rephaim makes an excellent point,” said Damien.

  Jack looked like he was going to burst into tears. “I really don’t want this world destroyed. It’s my fave.”

  “Neferet isn’t going to destroy this world,” said Aphrodite. “I’m given visions so that we can change things.”

  “That’s right. We can stop this,” I said. “We have to.”

  “We’re never lettin’ Neferet win,” said Stevie Rae.

  “Never,” Stark echoed.

  “We stopped her once. We can do it again,” said Darius.

  “Together,” I said firmly. “That’s the key. We can stand together against anything.”

  “Should you call Shaunee and Shaylin back here?” Stark asked.

  “Yes,” Aphrodite said.

  “It’s that urgent?” I asked her.

  She turned her head so that she faced me. I could see the bloody tear trails left on her cheeks and her shirt. She was so deathly pale that her red and blue tattoo looked neon.

  “It is. I feel like things are moving already. Small things, though. But they’re picking up energy—like the beginnings of an avalanche.”

  I made my decision instantly. “Stevie Rae, call Shaunee and Shaylin. Update them and tell them to come home as soon as they can.”

  “Sure thing, Z.”

  “I wonder if we should also call Kramisha,” I said. “She usually gives us a heads-up about—”

  My phone’s text notification chimed.

  I took my phone out of my jeans pocket. Kramisha’s name glared up at me, and, with a terrible sense of foreboding, I clicked on the text.

  Shit’s going down. I just wrote this. Knew I had to send it 2 you. I'm coming home ASAP. XO, K

  Her text included a simple haiku that had chills skittering up and down my spine and lifting the tiny hairs on my arms. I read the rest of the text aloud:

  “Her life is a key,

  Humanity locked within.

  Open at your peril.”

  “Shit,” Aphrodite said. “I seriously hate prophetic poems with all their figurative language and symbolism, but even I know that the ‘her’ has to be the woman I saw. Like I said—she dies and we’re fucked. And I’m using the global we’re.”

  Jack sounded out of breath as he blurted, “But that only happens if we don’t stop Neferet from killing one human woman. Right? Right you guys?”

  “Right.” I put on my best High Priestess–in–charge voice. “And we’re going to stop her.”

  Aphrodite snorted.

  In silent agreement, my mind shouted, Ah hell, ah HELL, AH HELL!

  21

  Other Neferet

  Neferet sat quietly while Lynette finished her coiffure. She’d decided to wear it up. A new look for a new world and a new life. They’d arrived at Balmacara Mains in the early afternoon and Neferet had fed and then slept—not stirring until well after sunset. She’d needed the time alone.

  Loren’s death hadn’t been initially difficult for her, but when she put it into perspective as killing her past it gave her pause. She’d been attached to her past. She was Neferet, High Priestess of the Tulsa House of Night. That title had defined her for decades and now that it was as dead as Loren, she had to decide who she was.

  Neferet wasn’t a High Priestess.

  Neferet wasn’t a goddess.

  Neferet wasn’t a normal vampyre. She never had been, and she never would be normal.

  And with that realization, the final piece of the riddle Oak had tasked her with completing slid into place.

  “That’s it! I know how to kill my future!”

  That realization opened the dam, and Neferet was washed with sudden insight.

  Over the past week, she’d discovered things about herself that had been a surprise—like how she’d come to rely on humans to aid and succor her. And that she truly considered Lynette a friend.

  The last time Neferet had a true friend she’d been a powerless child named Emily Wheiler. Strange that it seemed she had somehow come full circle here on the outskirts of an island that was filled wi
th unimaginable power as she took her final steps toward immortality.

  Neferet had summoned Lynette to her suite to help her dress. She hadn’t done that before, but this day was special, and Neferet felt there was a ritual-like importance to everything about it.

  Lynette had understood. Not wasting any time with chatter, she dressed Neferet slowly, carefully, with focused attention to detail. Neferet had Lynette clasp the silver pentagram around her neck. Then she slipped large diamond stud earrings into her lobes. With her hair up, they twinkled with cold fire and framed her face with starlight.

  Lynette stepped back and studied Neferet from head to toe. “You look fierce.”

  “As do you. You know how I feel about jeans, so I was hesitant when you told me what you planned to wear, but now I see the wisdom of it. You would blend in anywhere.”

  “That’s what I thought. I’m trying to be as unmemorable as possible.”

  “Temporarily, Lynette. Once I am a goddess and we return, this world will acknowledge you as my handmaid and dearest friend.”

  Lynette’s face flushed. Her hand went to her throat. “My lady! That’s how I feel too. It seems like I’ve known you my whole life but had to wait to meet you.”

  “And now that we have met I cannot do without you.”

  “I’ll always be here for you. That’s what being a friend is all about.” Lynette looked down and when she met Neferet’s gaze again the vampyre saw tears pooling in her eyes. “I have a confession to make. Before you I didn’t have any friends. Not really. I met women for brunch. I went to galas and mingled. I was always invited to restaurant openings and gallery shows—but not because I had friends. They invited me because I had money and business connections. They didn’t actually like me.”

  “I actually like you.” As Neferet said the words aloud she realized how true they were, and her own eyes filled with tears.

  “I actually like you too. I’m still frightened about tonight, though.”

  Neferet took both of her hands. “I give you my oath. As long as I draw breath, I will protect you. You have nothing to fear—not if you are at my side.”

  “That’s where I’ll be. I give you my own promise on that. Like Denise, I believe in you.”

  “When you say that, you make me want to be the best goddess I can possibly be—beloved by all, even humans.”

  “Maybe most especially humans. Many of us who aren’t magickal have craved that special something vampyres have—that could be why humans find it so hard to accept vampyres.”

  “Because they’re jealous?” said Neferet.

  “Yes, but it’s more than that. More like, because all of us want to be as special as vampyres and we can’t—that’s why we’re jealous. But being beloved by a benevolent goddess, one who cares for us as much as she cares for those who are special would be as close to a miracle as most humans will ever get.”

  “There is great wisdom to what you say. And I can tell you that during this past week I have felt more cared for and supported than during my entire reign as High Priestess in Tulsa—and that is solely because of humans.”

  “And remember this, my lady. There are a lot more humans than vampyres in the world. Think of the power you would wield if they all worshipped the Goddess of Night.”

  Neferet felt a rush of emotion that brought with it a happiness that bloomed within her breast. She embraced Lynette and held her close. The two women clung to one another as they finally understood how it felt to be accepted.

  “You are wise beyond your years, my dearest friend. I will do it. I will be Goddess of Night to all humans, and any vampyre who is wise enough to worship me.”

  “And if they choose not to worship you? The vampyres, I mean. Humans will—I feel quite sure of it.”

  “Well, I shall follow the wisdom of a vampyre named Darwin. He wrote that only the fittest and most intelligent of a species should survive. The others—” Neferet shrugged, “—should be culled from the herd for the good of the many.”

  “Very wise, my lady.”

  “Is the travel bag ready?” Neferet asked.

  “I have packed it with everything you requested.” Lynette picked up a large leather backpack and slid it onto her shoulders.

  “Excellent.” Neferet went to her makeup table, and from one of the small drawers she scooped up what was left of the jewelry that she’d brought from the travel collection she kept on her jet. “And now let us go. Let us not keep the sprites, and our future, waiting.”

  Mrs. Muir, Noreen, and wee Denise waited in the parlor Neferet had claimed as her own. As she and Lynette entered the room, the three women curtsied low, bowing their heads respectfully.

  “Please rise,” Neferet said.

  “I finished the bread ye asked me ta bake,” said Mrs. Muir. “Shall I ready it for the fey?”

  “Yes. Please add a bowl of honey and of wine. I will gift it to the sprites.”

  “Aye, Mistress.”

  Mrs. Muir disappeared into the kitchen to return shortly with a tray laden with fragrant, fresh bread still warm from the oven, local honey, and a big bowl of wine so rich and red it looked like blood.

  “Tonight, I ask the three of you to accompany me to the shore of the loch, but it is only a request. I do not demand it. I will never demand the worship of humans, but I will appreciate it and remember it for an eternity should you choose to follow me.” Neferet strode to the door. When she reached it, she turned to see who would follow.

  Lynette paused with her. When no one spoke, she held out her arms and said, “Mrs. Muir, shall I carry that try or will you be joining us?”

  The old woman hesitated, but finally muttered, “I’m gaunnae join Herself.”

  Lynette’s gaze took in Noreen and wee Denise.

  “I chose Herself before. I’ll be choosin’ her again and again.” Denise joined them at the door.

  “And you, Noreen?”

  “I’m afraid—my legs are all shoogly.”

  “I know just how you feel,” Lynette said. “I used to be afraid, but not anymore. Not after I swore to Neferet’s service. She is my protector. She commands the sprites.” She met Neferet’s gaze. “You’ll protect them, won’t you?”

  “You have the word of a goddess on it,” Neferet said.

  “’Tis good enough for me.” Noreen hurried to the door.

  Neferet smiled. “Excellent. Dear Lynette, please give me my dagger.”

  From within the backpack Lynette drew the dagger that had ended Loren Blake’s life.

  “Please place it on the tray Mrs. Muir carries.”

  Lynette did as she was told. Neferet watched Mrs. Muir give the sgian dubh a wary look. Noreen paled as the foyer light caught the blade and shimmered dangerously. Only wee Denise’s expression did not change. Neferet was not surprised.

  “Come with me, my dearest subjects.” Neferet lit the lantern that waited nightly beside the door and walked out into the still, dark night.

  A calm certainty filled Neferet as she picked her way across the rocks and driftwood of the empty, night-cloaked beach. She could feel the supportive presence of Lynette and the three servants as if it was as tangible as the tentacles of Darkness that swarmed to her, unseen by anyone except their mother.

  “You know what is about to happen, don’t you, children?” she whispered to the tentacles as they slithered around her, wrapping up her legs and coiling around her arms like the rarest of jewels. “Remain with me. Do not leave my side. I will not enter a world bereft of my children.”

  The night was cloudy, but as they reached the waterline the wind shifted, blowing from the island that crouched on the horizon. It brought to them the scent of the earth, rich with groves and moss and hidden places. It also blew away the low clouds to reveal a fat, shining crescent that turned the black water silver and made the damp rocks sparkle with mischief.r />
  Neferet turned her back to the loch to face the four humans. “I have something for each of you—a token of my appreciation and fidelity. Know that even though I shall be out of sight, you shall never be far from my thoughts. Keep my tokens as proof of my promise to return—and with my return I shall bring with me power beyond your imaginings.”

  Neferet opened her hand to reveal precious gemstones set in platinum.

  “Mrs. Muir, you may give the tray to Lynette and approach me.”

  The tray changed hands and then Mrs. Muir stood before the vampyre. She clasped her hands before her and Neferet thought she looked as if she might be praying—which she found highly appropriate.

  Neferet lifted a slim silver chain from the pile of jewels. Dangling from the end of it was a large freshwater pearl the color of a blushing sunset, set in a circle of pink tourmalines.

  “This is for you. And with it you have my thanks and my promise of return.”

  Mrs. Muir looked utterly shocked. She snatched the necklace from Neferet, her eyes wide as they reflected the fire of the stones. “Thank ye, Mistress.” She bobbed a curtsy.

  “Noreen, I have something for you next.”

  Noreen stumbled as she approached Neferet and then stood in front of her, chewing her lip and fidgeting.

  “This is for you, Noreen.” Neferet chose a brooch that was shaped like the fat crescent above them. It was flecked with rubies so that it glistened like fresh blood. “Wear it in remembrance of me.”

  Noreen’s hand shook as Neferet dropped it into her palm. She curtsied awkwardly. “Th-thank you, Mistress.”

  Neferet turned her attention to Denise. The girl didn’t wait to be summoned. With eager steps she hurried to stand in front of Neferet, and when she looked up at the vampyre, passion blazed from her eyes.

  “Dear wee Denise, I have saved the best for last. The first night I gave gifts to the sprites, I chose a ring made of an occluded sapphire the exact color of the water surrounding Skye. This pendant is its mate—the only match to my ring there will ever be.” Neferet held up the platinum chain from which hung a single sapphire—cut in a square like the ring. Its setting was encrusted with diamonds. It caught the flickering flame of Neferet’s lantern and shinned with a light that seemed otherworldly. “I give it to you along with my promise that this is just the beginning of the rewards you will reap for your loyalty. I shall never forget that you and my dearest Lynette were the first to swear into my service.”