Destined (House of Night Book 9)

by P. C. Cast

  He missed Rephaim’s company.

  Kalona’s shoulders slumped.

  It was then that he felt the presence of Darkness. It was subtle and well cloaked, but Kalona had known Darkness too long, both battling against it and fighting beside it, to be fooled.

  Kalona put the phone away from him and schooled his features to an impassive, neutral mask. He had no idea why the white bull was lurking this night, but he knew his presence portended great trouble and tribulations for this world and, perhaps, even for him.

  He understood something Neferet was too intoxicated by power to realize: the incarnation of Darkness could never truly be an ally. The white bull had only one objective: to destroy and consume the black bull. He would use anything or anyone to gain his objective, just as he would destroy anything or anyone who got in his way.

  If Neferet believed she was his Consort, she was utterly, completely incorrect. The white bull of Darkness did not have Consorts—it had conquests.

  The presence dissipated and Kalona breathed a sigh of relief. Then he straightened, considering. Neferet? Did I sense her presence, too?

  He glanced down at the iPhone. How long had they been watching him? What had they heard? What did they know?

  Was Rephaim in danger?

  Kalona surged to his feet and launched himself into the sky. His mighty wings beat against the night as he rode the air currents swiftly and silently, heading east into the pre-dawn glooming.

  He reached the depot moments before sunrise, landing on the gravely ground near the railroad tracks, well away from the high front entrance that Shaunee had already explained to him was unused. Kalona was pacing, staring at an old metal grate and silently cursing the fact that he’d left the damned phone on the rock when the rusting grate was pushed aside and his son ran from the building.

  Kalona began to move toward him, relieved beyond words that they boy was whole and well, when his son’s mouth opened and he shrieked—a terrible sound to hear. Then he watched Rephaim’s body shiver, writhe, morph and a raven burst forth from the skin of the boy!

  Moving on instinct alone, Kalona took to the sky following the raven. The immortal stayed well aloft, high above the prying eyes of the city, though in truth the raven spent very little time in the city. Instead he flew west and a little south, eerily following the same path Kalona had taken. It wasn’t long before the raven was on the ridge perched in an old oak whose branches spread like a protective giant around the hunters’ blinds. There Rephaim the Raven stayed, only occasionally feeding, sometimes climbing the sky, but always, always circling back to the ridge.

  As sunset approached the bird flew. This time he did not circle, but instead he faced the east and made wing toward Tulsa. Kalona followed and as the sun dipped below the horizon, the raven landed just outside the basement entrance to the depot. The bird shrieked a cry that changed into a shout of agony, and then there was Rephaim, naked, breathing hard, and on his knees.

  Kalona backed into the shadows and watched his son dress and then the sound of metal grating being moved had them both looking.

  “You’re back! Yeah!” The Red One hurled herself into his son’s arms. He caught her and held her close, laughing and kissing her. Hand in hand the two of them disappeared inside the basement of the building.

  Kalona, suddenly weak-kneed and feeling unimaginably old, sat upon the rusted railway track and spoke aloud to the night and to the Goddess that was its personification.

  “You forgave him, and yet still you make him suffer as a beast. Why? Because he is paying for my transgressions? Damn you, Nyx. Damn you.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Zoey

  So, I was nervous about first hour and what Thanatos was gonna say about losing a parent—specifically my mom—but the day was starting out really well. For the first time in a really long time Stark was awake before me, and so I got woken up with kisses and him calling me Sleeping Beauty. He wolfed down the most ginormic bowl full of Cap’n Crunch I’d ever seen, and in the parking lot outside the depot he was messing around with Darius, doing a little mock boxing match while kids were filling up the short bus.

  I was already on the bus watching him out the window with what I’m sure was a goofy happy smile on my face when Aphrodite emerged from the depot. I was surprised to see her ’cause I figured she’d be so hungover and exhausted that she would definitely not be going to school today. She squinted and then put on sunglasses, even though it was 7:30 P.M. and there was no sun at all.

  “She don’t look good,” Kramisha said from her seat behind me.

  “How can you tell from this far away?”

  “She got flats on and her hair’s in a ponytail. That girl never wears flats and her hair usually looks like Barbie,” Kramisha said. “I mean regular Barbie and not none of those weird dolls like Tennis Barbie or Go to the Gym Barbie.”

  “Everyone knows Barbie doesn’t have to work out to keep her kick-ass body,” Shaunee said.

  “Bull truth,” Stevie Rae said.

  “Huh?” I said, totally befuddled.

  “Just trust us. Aphrodite don’t look good,” Kramisha repeated.

  “She doesn’t even have any lip gloss on. Bad sign,” Erin said.

  “If she doesn’t have on any eye makeup, Hell has officially frozen over,” Shaunee said, which was interesting because that’s as close as she’d gotten to a Twin comment in days.

  I glanced at Shaunee, who was sitting in the front seat of the bus, as far away from Erin’s place in the back as she could get. Shaunee was digging in her purse like she’d misplaced a tube of one of MAC’s seasonal lipsticks that you buy and fall in love with AND THEN THEY DISCONTINUE IT BECAUSE THEY REALLY HATE US AND WANT US TO BE CRAZY.

  Anyway, I was sure Shaunee’s cheeks looked pink. So, was she embarrassed about the kinda accidental Twin comment she had made, or excited about it? I didn’t have much time to consider which it could be because Aphrodite climbed into the bus and sat heavily in the first seat behind the driver’s chair, which was directly in front of me.

  “Coffee,” she croaked. “I told Darius we have to swing the short bus through Starbucks at Utica on the way. I’m going to die if I don’t get an uber-sweet caramel double espresso coffee drink and a giant slab of their blueberry coffee cake.”

  “Them’s a lot of calories,” Kramisha told her.

  “If you try to stop me I will kill you dead,” Aphrodite said.

  “I think your hair looks good like that,” Shaunee told her.

  “For shit’s sake, I don’t need the pity of half a brain-sharer. I do not feel that damn bad.”

  Shaunee skewered her with a look. “I’m not half of anything and I’m not giving you any pity. I was just sayin’ I like your hair ’cause you usually don’t wear it like that, but if you’re too much of a bitch to accept a compliment then you can fuck yourself.”

  The entire bus inhaled a giant breath. The silence was total and frightening. I wasn’t sure whether I should summon elements or run. Then Aphrodite pulled her sunglasses down her nose and looked over their rims at Shaunee. Her eyes were pink-tinged and bruised and just all-around horrendously unattractive, but they were shining with humor. “I think I like you using a brain of your own.”

  “Yeah, well, I haven’t decided if I like you at all, but your hair still looks good.”

  “Huh,” Aphrodite said.

  “Huh,” Shaunee said.

  We all breathed a long sigh of relief.

  And that’s pretty much how the day proceeded. Stark was back to his old, charming, sexy, totally fabulous self. When I asked what the heck had gotten into him he said, “Z, I slept like a log and I feel like Superman today!” Seriously. Superman. And, apparently, he meant it ’cause he was zooming around everywhere, laughing and being a total guy.

  He was the cutest thing I’d seen since that Trololo Cat YouTube video.

  So, before school was cool. The ride to school was even okay. Well, Aphrodite was grumpy, but that wa
s pretty much normal. Plus, she was actually talking to Shaunee, which was nice ’cause it was obvious Shaunee wasn’t sure who she was now that she wasn’t one half of the Twin team. And we did stop at Starbucks on the way. I know fledglings aren’t supposed to feel caffeine highs anymore, but it definitely seemed like we were all buzzing by the time we pulled into the House of Night.

  Of course once we got to school everything else was, as Stevie Rae would’ve said, as under control as herding cats.

  It all started with first hour. Okay, I hadn’t actually forgotten Thanatos was going to use me as an example for her how-do-we-deal-with-losing-parents class project or whatever. I’d just kinda misplaced the memory of it, which probably had to do with Stark being so dang adorable and me being so dang happy he was acting like himself again.

  And maybe I hadn’t wanted to remember. Maybe I’d just wanted to not be momless and heartbroken for a little while.

  Anyway, my selective amnesia didn’t last more than just about two-point-five seconds after I stepped into first hour and followed Stevie Rae and Rephaim up front. Aurox was there, just where he’d been yesterday. He met my gaze for an instant before he looked away. Then I remembered what was up—that class wasn’t just going to be me being entertained or me daydreaming. Class was gonna be, well, me. That totally made my stomach clench and suddenly I was nervous and anxious and wishing I’d gotten permission to go to the bathroom or the nurse or anywhere except class.

  It was only later that I realized my seer stone, for the first time, hadn’t heated up at the sight of him because, of course, Thanatos started to talk, which totally distracted me by putting the cherry on top of my anxiety sundae.

  “I read your questions and found a common theme in many of them,” she said. “Quite a few of you expressed a desire to discuss how to deal with the loss of your parents. The truth is if you complete the Change and become vampyres, you will inevitably lose not just your parents, but all of your mortal contemporaries because, as you already know, although vampyres are not immortal we are definitely longer lived than humans. So, to help us delve into this subject I have solicited the aid of the only one of your peers who has lost a parent, as well as a mate, to death—Zoey Redbird.”

  I wanted to die.

  Everyone was quiet and paying attention, even the jerky red fledgling back row that surrounded Dallas.

  “First, let me begin with a word of encouragement,” Thanatos said. “As you know, my affinity is death. I often guide spirits in their crossing from this world to the Otherworld, so I can tell each of you with certainty that there is an Otherworld waiting for us. I have not traveled there, but Zoey has.” She smiled encouragement to me. “I believe you have seen both your mate and your mother joyously welcomed into Nyx’s realm.”

  “Yes.” I realized my voice was way too soft, so I cleared my throat and tried again, louder. “Yes, I saw my mom welcomed by Nyx, and I actually spent time there with Heath.”

  “And is it a beautiful place?”

  I felt a little of the sickness leave my stomach as I remembered the good part. “Yeah, it’s awesome. Even when my soul was shattered and I was super messed up, I could feel the peace and happiness in the Goddess Grove.” I just couldn’t reach it for myself, I added silently.

  Stevie Rae’s hand went up. “Yes, Stevie Rae.” Thanatos called on her.

  “Is it okay if we ask questions?”

  “Zoey?” Thanatos’s wise gaze turned to me.

  “Yeah, sure, I guess.”

  “Then go ahead and ask your question, Red High Priestess.” Thanatos’s gaze took in the entire class. “But let us remember the rules of civility that are always in effect in my classroom.”

  There was a pause and then Stevie Rae asked me, “Uh, so, the Otherworld, it’s a big grove?”

  I was surprised by her question and her obvious curiosity—then I realized she’d never asked me much of anything about the Otherworld. Really, outside of Sgiach, and mentioning it when I’d led the ritual for Jack, I really hadn’t talked about it hardly at all.

  “Well, yeah, but I know there are a bunch of different parts of the Otherworld. Like when I first found Heath he was fishing off a dock that was on a really pretty lake.” Even though missing him made me sad, the memory made me smile. “Heath loved to fish. I mean, seriously loved it. So, that’s where I first found him, but when we needed to be safe we went to the Goddess Grove. That was in a different part of the Otherworld.”

  Damien’s hand went up and Thanatos called on him.

  “I know you didn’t see Jack up there, but are you saying that you believe there are places in the Otherworld that are specific to each of us?”

  I thought about it for a second, and then nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s a good way of describing it. Jack is probably in the arts and crafts section.”

  Damien smiled through his tears. “He wanted to be a fashion designer. He’s in the Project Runway section.”

  “Oooh! Nice section,” I heard from somewhere behind me and a few kids laughed softly.

  Hesitantly, Aurox’s hand went up. After Thanatos called his name, he turned so that he could meet my gaze. “You said there are different parts of the Otherworld. Do you think there is a part that is a place of punishment?”

  His strange, moon-colored eyes were filled with an unspoken anguish, and I knew his question came from a place that was deeper than curiosity and that my answer would mean more than just providing random school information. Please, Nyx give me the words; let my answer be true.

  I drew a long breath and found spirit within me. I held to the element that was closest to my heart and trusted that through it my Goddess would guide my words. As I started speaking I noticed how quiet it had gotten in the room and I could practically feel the back-row kids holding their breaths.

  “I saw things in the Otherworld that were scary and not nice, but they were outside forces and not from the Goddess. Did I see a place of punishment? No, but what I did see was Heath moving on to another realm of the Otherworld. He believed he was going to be reborn from that part of the realm. While he was leaving he told me that, even though he was moving on, our love stayed with him.” I paused and had to blink hard and wipe at one tear that had somehow escaped. “What my gut tells me is that Nyx isn’t a Goddess of punishment, but it wouldn’t surprise me if really hateful people are reborn in a way that either makes up for the awfulness of their past lives, or teaches them something they didn’t learn before.”

  “You mean like someone who was a wife beater gets reborn as a woman?” Shaunee said.

  “How about as a woman in a burka in Afghanistan?” Aphrodite added with a sarcastic lift of an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, that is kinda what I mean,” I said. “But I think the what and where and who would be up to the Goddess.”

  “Do you think it’s ever up to the person?” Aurox asked me.

  “I hope so,” I said earnestly, thinking of Heath and my mom.

  “So, knowing beyond any doubt that there is an Otherworld and that our loved ones can find their way to it, even if they aren’t vampyres, or even fledglings, is some comfort to us as we outlive the mortals in our lives. That does not mean losing a parent is ever easy. Zoey, I know this is painful, but could you share with us what it is that is most difficult for you about your mother’s death?”

  I nodded and opened my mouth to say something about the fact that now she can’t ever make up for the way she un-mom-ed me over the past three years, but the words wouldn’t come.

  “Take your time,” Thanatos said.

  Stevie Rae reached over and took my hand. Squeezing it, she whispered, “It’s okay, just pretend like there’s no one here except us. You can tell me.”

  I looked at my BFF and blurted, “It’s so awful that I don’t know what really happened to her.”

  “Why do you think that is what saddens you the most?”

  From the stage Thanatos asked the question, but I kept looking at Stevie Rae. She smiled an
d said, “How come it would be better if you knew what happened to your momma?”

  “Because someone needs to pay for what was done to her,” I told my BFF.

  “Vengeance?” Thanatos asked.

  Then I did look at her. “No. Justice,” I said firmly.

  “It is admirable as well as understandable for you to desire justice. Let this be a lesson to the rest of you—there is a distinct difference between wanting to gain revenge and exact vengeance, and wanting the truth to shine forth so that justice for all is illuminated.” Thanatos met my gaze. “I believe I can help give you the truth, so that you will be able to get justice for your mother and closure for yourself.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I spoke with your grandmother. Today is the fifth night after your mother’s death. I explained to her that five is an important number in our belief system—it represents the elements and our closeness to them. She has agreed to pause her traditional cleansing on this, the fifth night. It is not a certainty, but with the elemental power held by your circle and your connection to the one whose death we seek to reveal, I believe I can illuminate the truth of your mother’s murder if you are willing to cast your circle and witness what it reveals.”

  “I’m willing.” I felt sick, but I knew I had to go through with this.

  “There is more,” Thanatos said. She looked from me to Stevie Rae. “Zoey will cast the circle. I will be there to invoke the presence of death, but the spell that invokes death hinges upon you.”

  “Me?” Stevie Rae squeaked.

  “It is your element in which this deed was imprinted. It is through your element the truth of it will be revealed.” Thanatos’s gaze sought out each member of my circle as she continued explaining. “This spell will not be pleasant. Zoey’s mother was murdered. If we are successful, we will witness that horrendous act. You must each be willing participants, focused and aware of what it is you are agreeing to.”

  “I’m willing,” Stevie Rae said immediately.

  “Me, too … Yep, I’m in … I’m willing,” came from Shaunee and Damien and Erin.