by P. C. Cast
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Zoey
"I need to talk to Zoey!" Aurox shouted, and then Stark punched him squarely in his mouth and he was too busy spitting blood and falling to his knees to shout anything else.
"Stark! Holy crap! Stop it!" I tried to grab my Warrior's arm.
"I said, get back inside!" Stark was yelling at me as he shook me off like I was an ant. He and Darius had thrown Aurox off the sidewalk and tossed him out into the school grounds and the waiting thicket of oaks where the shadows were deepest.
They're going to beat the crap out of him!
"He's not fighting you, Stark. He's not hurting anyone. " I jogged after Stark and Darius, hating the muffled sounds of pain Aurox was making as they pulled him across the grass. I tried to reason with him, but Stark was seriously not listening to me. Darius didn't even glance at me.
Then I felt Stevie Rae's hand on my wrist. "Z, let the guys handle this. "
"No, but he's-"
"He's not going anywhere. " Stark kicked him and Aurox rolled into the shadows at the base of a big oak. "Even if he changes into that creature. " Stark sounded as dangerous as he looked. He'd pulled his bow from the sling across his back and had notched an arrow, pointing it directly at Aurox.
"I don't want to change. I'm trying not to. " Aurox struggled to his knees. His head was bowed and blood spilled from his mouth onto his shirt. "If you won't let me speak to Zoey, get Thanatos. "
"Do it," Darius told Rephaim. "Get Kalona as well. " Rephaim took off as Darius walked up to Aurox. Aurox lifted his head. His eyes were glowing and I could see that his face was flushed. He started to stand, but Darius backhanded him, knocking him down again. Then the Warrior pulled a thin, dangerous looking knife from inside his coat and stood over him.
Aurox's face was pressed against the pavement and I heard a terrible groan escape from him.
"You change and I will kill you," Stark spoke slowly and clearly.
"I am trying not to!" The words sounded strange, as if they had been forced from Aurox's throat. He turned his head then, and I could see that his face was totally contorted and his eyes were glowing. His skin was twitching and rippling like dozens of bugs were skittering around underneath the surface.
It looked disgusting and made my stomach roll. This thing cannot be my Heath. The Seer Stone was wrong. I put my hand over the stone and pressed it against my chest. Nothing. It wasn't even warm. I'd made a mistake. It had all been just another mess up by me. I could barely think through the rush of sadness I felt.
"Try harder!" I was blinking at Aphrodite in surprise and wondering what the hell was going on, when she marched past me straight up to Aurox.
"Aphrodite, get back! He may-" Darius began, but Aphrodite interrupted him.
"He's not gonna do shit. Bow Boy will shoot his ass. Then you'll slit him open from crotch to throat. I couldn't be safer if I was teaching kindergarten. Well, I'd be totally nauseated by the brats surrounding me, but you get my meaning. "
"Aphrodite, what are you doing?" I found my voice again.
She pointed a manicured nail at Aurox. "As long as you don't attack anyone, there's nothing here for you to fight. So control that shit that's going on inside you. Now. " She glanced over her shoulder at me. "Get closer. We don't need the whole damn school gawking at us like a train wreck. " Her gaze took in my circle, my friends who had closed ranks and were hurrying up behind me: Damien, Shaunee, Shaylin. Their presence along with Stevie Rae's began to calm me, and helped me to think as she continued, "Okay, Shaylin says he's the color of moonlight, which made me think of Nyx, which then had me realizing that anyone, even someone as disgusting as this boy-bull-thing, who makes me think of Nyx should probably be allowed to speak. That's all. The end. "
"Yeah, sorry. " Shaylin moved closer to me and said softly, "I know it's not what anyone wants to hear, but I totally see silver moonlight when I look at him. "
"It's what I want to hear. " Aurox's voice was more normal. His skin had stopped doing the nasty bug twitchy thing. His mouth was still bleeding, and the side of his face had a bright red skid mark from where he'd hit the sidewalk when Stark had punched him, but he looked like a regular kid again and not like something out of Resident Evil.
"Don't you fucking move," Stark ground between his teeth. "Aphrodite, for once listen to Darius and back off. Do you not remember what he changed into?"
"He killed Dragon. He could kill you," Darius said.
"I did not want to! I tried not to. " Aurox's gaze found mine. "Zoey, tell them. Tell them that I tried to stop what was happening. I don't know what happened. You believe me. I know you do. Grandma Redbird said you protected me. "
Stark took a step toward Aurox. "Do not talk about Zoey's grandma!"
"That's why I'm here! Zoey, your grandma's in danger. "
I felt like Aurox had punched me in the gut. Stark was stepping on the back of Aurox's neck, forcing his face into the ground and yelling something about Grandma. Darius was shouting, too. Damien had started screaming. Aurox's face had begun to ripple again and suddenly Kalona was there. He picked up Stark in one hand and Darius in another and tossed them away. Wings fully spread, he stood over Aurox, fists closed, face looking like an immortal Hulk. He was totally going to smash Aurox into nothingness.
"Don't kill him!" I shrieked. "He knows something about Grandma!"
"Warrior, stand down!" Thanatos didn't raise her voice, but the power of her command rippled across Kalona's skin. He twitched like a horse trying to dislodge a fly, but he lowered his fists. The High Priestess of Death skewered me with her dark eyes. "Call spirit. Strengthen the good within Aurox. Help him not to change. "
I drew a shaky breath and closed my eyes so that I couldn't look at the thing that was Aurox-the thing that I'd thought was Heath-the thing that might have hurt Grandma. "Spirit, come to me," I whispered. "If there is good within Aurox, strengthen it. Help him to stay a boy. " I felt the element I considered my closest affinity whisk around me and heard Aurox's gasping intake of breath as it moved to him. And then, for just an instant, I felt my Seer Stone heat up.
I opened my eyes and the Seer Stone went cold. Aurox was sitting on the ground, leaning heavily against a big oak, bleeding and bruised, but completely a boy again. Darius and Stark had picked themselves up and, scowling, were moving back to our group. Kalona looked pissed, but he'd stepped aside.
"Stevie Rae, summon earth. Deepen the shadows beneath this tree. Damien, call on air. Make the breeze blow hard enough to muffle our words. Our fledglings do not need to witness more violence and chaos. What happens here remains private," Thanatos commanded.
Stevie Rae and Damien obeyed the High Priestess, and in moments it felt like the group of us was standing in a little oak-scented bubble as wind whipped around us, carrying away our words.
Thanatos gave the two of them a nod of approval. Then she turned to Aurox. "Now, what do you know about Sylvia Redbird?" Thanatos shot the question at him.
"Neferet has taken her. "
"Oh, Goddess!" I staggered and Stark caught me before I could fall. "Is she dead?"
"I-I do not know. I hope she is not," Aurox said earnestly.
"You don't know? You hope she's not dead?" Stevie Rae sounded super pissed. "Was this somethin' you did again, but tried not to do?"
"No! I had nothing to do with it. "
"Then how do you know about it?" I managed to ask, even though my voice was shaky and I felt like I was going to puke.
"I went back to her home and she was gone. There was blood on her porch. It was Neferet's. I know it. I know her scent. "
"Was Grandma's blood there, too?" I asked.
"No. " He shook his head. "But traces of her power lingered in smoke and in the land, as if she had been prepared for battle. "
"You said you went back to Sylvia's home. Why?" Thanatos asked.
Aurox brushed some of the blood from his mouth. His hand was trembling.
Actually, he looked like he was going to burst into tears.
"She found me yesterday morning, after that awful night. She forgave me. She said she believed in me, and then she offered me sanctuary. She talked to me, like I was normal. Like I wasn't a monster. She named me tsu-ka-nv-s-di-na. " Aurox met my gaze.
"Bull," I said, recalling words recited from my childhood lessons. "That's the Cherokee word for bull. "
"Yes, that's what Grandma said. She offered me sanctuary, as long as I didn't hurt anyone else, but I left. " He shook his head. "I shouldn't have! I should have stayed there and protected her, but I did not know she was in danger. "
"I am not blaming you. Not at this time," Thanatos said. "You say you left yesterday, and then returned today?"
Aurox nodded. "I left because I needed to figure out who I am-what I am. I came here. I hid under the shattered tree. " He looked beseechingly at Thanatos. "I heard what you said at Dragon's funeral pyre about what I am. I couldn't bear it. All I could think was that I had to get back to Grandma Redbird-that she would help me figure out a way to undo whatever was done to make me. "
"The killing of her daughter made you, Vessel," Kalona said, his voice cold. "You expect us to believe you were granted sanctuary by the woman whose daughter's death created you?"
"It is unbelievable. I know that. " Aurox's strangely colored eyes found mine again. "I do not understand how Grandma could be so kind, so forgiving, but she is. She even fed me chocolate chip and lavender cookies with milk. " He pointed down to his shoes, which I recognized as hand-stitched moccasins, the kind Grandma liked to make for Yule gifts.
"No human is that forgiving. Even a goddess would find it difficult to forgive one such as you," said Kalona's cold, dead voice.
"A goddess forgave me," Rephaim said softly. "And I have done worse things than Aurox. "
"Grandma named him bull. She makes chocolate chip and lavender cookies," I said. "And those are her handmade moccasins, too. "
"Which means you have been at her house, and that she talked to you," Stark said. "But it doesn't mean you didn't do something terrible to her and then steal her stuff. "
"If that's true, then why would he come here?" I heard myself asking.
"An excellent point," Thanatos said. She turned to Shaylin. "Child, read his colors. "
"I already have. That's why Aphrodite stopped Darius and Stark from beating him up," Shaylin said.
"His aura is made of moonlight," Aphrodite took up the explanation. "Which is why I stepped in and used a PAUSE button on the testosterone. "
"Explain, Prophetess," Thanatos commanded.
"If he's the color of moonlight then I have to believe he is, somehow, connected to Nyx because the moon is her main symbol," Aphrodite said.
"Well reasoned," Thanatos said. She studied Aurox. "Even before Zoey strengthened your spirit you were controlling the metamorphosis that was trying to change you. "
"I wasn't controlling it very well," he admitted.
"But I could see you were trying. " Her gaze went from Aurox to me. "Would your grandmother forgive him, even after witnessing what he can become?"
I didn't hesitate. "Yes. Grandma is the kindest person I've ever known. She is our Wise Woman, our Ghigua. " I walked up to Aurox. "Where is she? Where has Neferet taken her?"
"I do not know. I only know that Neferet battled with her. Grandma Redbird drew her blood, and now they are both gone. I am sorry, Zo. "
"Don't you ever, ever call me that again," I said.
Beside me, I could see Stark had narrowed his eyes and was studying Aurox like a fly he wanted to pull the wings off of.
"You are not Heath Luck," Stark said. He kept his voice pitched low, but it was obvious that he was ready to explode.
Aurox shook his head, looking utterly confused. "I am Aurox. I do not know this Heath Luck. "
"Damn right you don't," Stark said. "So, like Zoey said, don't ever call her Zo again. You couldn't even wipe the shoes of the guy who used to call her that. "
"Does Heath Luck have something to do with Grandma Redbird?" Aurox asked.
"No!" I cut off whatever pissed-off thing Stark was getting ready to say. "And we really need to focus on finding Grandma. "
"I may know where Neferet has taken Sylvia Redbird," Kalona said. We all stared at him expectantly. "She has a penthouse suite at the Mayo Hotel. The entire balcony is hers. The walls are solid marble and leak no sounds. She has all the privacy that her wealth can purchase. She could have taken Sylvia Redbird there. "
"How could she have done that?" I asked, even though I wanted very much to believe finding Grandma was as easy as following Neferet to her penthouse. "Grandma wouldn't have just walked in there with her, and even though the mayor and City Council seem to be kissing her butt, no way is the staff of the Mayo going to ignore the fact that she's dragging an old woman through their lobby. "
"You have seen her move silently, invisibly. I daresay you can appear and disappear fairly easily yourself, Zoey Redbird," Thanatos said.
"Well, yeah, I can. Sorta. But I don't think I can make someone else invisible. "
"Neferet can," Aurox said solemnly. "That and much more. Your goddess has gifted her with power. The white bull has gifted her with power. And what power she hasn't been gifted with, she steals through pain and death and deception. She is bloated with it. "
"It would be a mistake to underestimate Neferet," Thanatos agreed.
"Then we need to go to her penthouse and make her let Grandma go," I said.
"Hang on," Stark said. "How do we know he's not making this all up as a way to get us to go after Neferet?"
"I am not Neferet's creature!" Aurox cried.
"You sure as hell were two nights ago. Dragon Lankford is dead because of it," Stark shot back at him.
"Stark has a point," Stevie Rae said. "Try callin' your grandma. "
Glad I had something to do, I pulled out my phone and punched Grandma's number. As it rang, Thanatos said, "If she does not answer, sound normal. Leave her a message about the open house. If Neferet has taken her, she may have access to Sylvia's phone as well. "
I nodded and felt my stomach sink when she didn't answer and Grandma's familiar voice said she wasn't available, but that she would call right back. I took a deep breath, and after the beep tried to sound as normal as possible.
"Hey there, Grandma, sorry to be calling you so late. I'm glad you have your phone on silent, though, so I'm not waking you up. " My voice started to shake, but before I could fall totally apart and burst into tears Stark's strong arm slid around my shoulders. I leaned into him and spoke quickly, hoping I sounded perky and not hysterical. "I don't know if you saw the news yet, but Thanatos announced that we're having a big open house and job fair and basically inviting all of Tulsa. It's a charity for Street Cats, too, and a way to make Neferet look as crazy as she is and us look, well, not crazy," I added, thinking so there, you hateful hag! "Anyway, it's this coming Saturday, and Thanatos asked me to ask you if you'd help us coordinate with Sister Mary Angela. I told her I thought you'd be totally cool with that, so call me as soon as you can and I'll give you the details, 'kay? I love you, Grandma! I really, really love you! Bye. "
Stark took the phone from me and pressed the END call button. Then he pulled me into his arms as I did, indeed, burst into tears. During my shaking and snotting I felt another hand touch my back and recognized the calm presence of earth. Then another hand touched me, and air brushed softly against me. Yet another hand joined the others, and fire warmed me. Spirit, that was already present, settled within me, calming my tears and allowing me to pull back from Stark enough to smile shakily at my friends.
"Thanks, guys. I'm better now," I said.
"Well, you will be after you blow your nose," Stark gently kidded as he handed me a balled up tissue from his pocket.
"You're a mess, Z. That's for damn sure," Aphrodite said. She was shaking her head,
but she was also standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of my circle-showing solidarity-showing support.
"I am not lying. " I looked from my friends to see that Aurox had stood. He was facing Thanatos. Darius and Kalona had positioned themselves protectively between him and the High Priestess. Aurox turned his head and his eyes met mine. I was shocked to see tears standing in them. He looked almost as devastated as I felt. Then he faced the High Priestess and begged, "Chain me up. Lock me away. I will take whatever punishment you mete out to me, but please, for the sake of Sylvia Redbird, believe me. I am not in league with Neferet. I despise her. I hate that she created me from death and pain. In order to control me, she must have Darkness take over my body and awaken the creature within. High Priestess, you know that is true. "
"From what evidence we have uncovered it would seem that is the truth," Thanatos said.
"Then listen to me. I give you my oath-Neferet has taken Zoey's grandmother. "
"You only have this one chance. " I stepped from the circle of my friends and walked over to Aurox. "If you are lying to us. If you have anything to do with Grandma being hurt I will use all five of the elements and all of my Goddess-given powers to destroy you, no matter what you are. No matter who you are. You have my oath on that. "
"Accepted," he said, bowing his head to me.
"Bound," Thanatos said. "All beings with spirits have a choice. I hope you are making the correct one, Aurox. "
"I am," he said.
"Yes, we have your oath on that," Thanatos said, then she gazed around at the rest of us. "We need to get into Neferet's penthouse. "
"I can go," Aurox said.
"No!" Stark, Darius, Kalona, and I yelled together.
"I can get into her damn penthouse," Aphrodite said. "That bitch believes I'm as big a bitch as she is, and while in some ways that might be semi-true, Neferet measures everyone's loyalty by her own, which is non-existent. She's always wanted to use me, and she can't hear my thoughts. I can get in. "
"She may let you in, but she would never allow you to see whether she has taken Grandma Redbird prisoner," Aurox said.
"He speaks the truth. She would cloak her prisoner's presence from Aphrodite," Thanatos said.
"Not from me. She would never believe it necessary. Neferet will be angry at me for failing to stop the reveal ritual, but she will allow me in at least long enough for me to discover if she holds Grandma Redbird," Aurox said.
"Or long enough to manipulate you," Darius said.
"And wake up that thing that sleeps inside you," Stark added.
"Aurox, you cannot control the beast. Not if Neferet sacrifices to awaken it," Thanatos said.
"That may be why she captured Zoey's grandmother," Darius said, sending me an apologetic look. "Perhaps she needs a greater sacrifice than a Warrior's cat to regain control of Aurox. "
"No! I, no. . . " Aurox said brokenly, his shoulders sagged and he put his face in his hands.
All I could do was shake my head back and forth, back and forth. Stark took my hand and squeezed it. "We won't let that happen. We're going to get Grandma back. "
"But how?" My words came out between sobs.
"I will go. " Kalona was staring at me as he spoke. "I will not simply enter Neferet's home. If she is holding Sylvia Redbird prisoner, I will find her and rescue her. Darkness cannot cloak itself from me; we have too long known one another. Neferet thinks herself invulnerable because she has become an immortal, but she has only a child's experience compared to my vast centuries of power and knowledge. I cannot kill her, but I can steal an old woman from her. "
"Well, maybe. If she lets you in the front door," Stark said. "Last time I checked, she doesn't like you much. "
"Neferet loathes me, but that does not change the fact that she desires me. "
"Really? That's not how it looks to everyone else. Neferet's moved on," Stark continued. "Her Consort's the white bull. "
Kalona smiled sardonically at Stark. "You are young and know little of women. "
I felt Stark bristle and quickly wiped my eyes and my nose and pulled myself together. "You're going to have to make her believe you're betraying us to her-that your oath to Thanatos is a fake. "
"Neferet does not know I have sworn to Thanatos," he said.
"Uh, I think she might," Shaunee said.
I glanced at her in surprise.
"I'm not saying this to be mean, and I really don't want to go into details, so I'm asking you to just trust me-but it's pretty safe to say that whatever Erin knows about us, Dallas knows," Shaunee said.
"Holy crap!" Stevie Rae said.
"Dallas talks to Neferet," Rephaim said.
"Huh?" I'd practically forgotten Rephaim was there, and then I felt guilty as hell when he shrugged and explained, "I'm not used to talking a lot. I don't say much, so people ignore me and then I hear things. "
"I don't ignore you," Stevie Rae said, tiptoeing to kiss his cheek.
He smiled at her. "No, never you. But Dallas does. He was near me when his phone rang between classes today. Twice. It was Neferet both times. "
"And I'm about ninety-nine percent sure Erin would tell Dallas anything he wants to know about us," Shaunee said.
"Erin remained here at the House of Night when the rest of you returned to the depot yesterday," Thanatos said.
I met Shaylin's gaze. "Tell her. "
The fledgling didn't hesitate. "Erin's colors are different than they used to be. I noticed it a couple of days ago. "
"She's changing," Aphrodite said. "Shaylin and I both believe it. That's why we advised Zoey to let Erin stay when she told Zoey she wanted to. "
"Then I agree with Shaunee. It is very possible that Neferet knows everything Erin knows," Thanatos said.
"Here's what I think," Aphrodite said. "I think we all need to keep our mouths shut about what's going on with Grandma Redbird and Aurox and our business in general. If you're not part of this group, then you don't know shit. Erin's just one kid, but what she knows could definitely mess us up. "
"Prophetess, it sounds as if there is a lesson to be learned in what you're saying," Thanatos said, and the rest of us nodded.
I glanced at Kalona. Including him in our group felt really weird, but I couldn't tell if that meant we should or shouldn't trust him.
Weirdly echoing my thoughts, Thanatos asked Kalona, "Do you still believe she will trust you?"
"Neferet? Trust me? Never. But she does desire me, even if it is only my immortal power after which she lusts. And, as Aphrodite said, she measures everyone's depth of loyalty by her own," Kalona said.
"Neferet is only loyal to herself," Rephaim said.
"Exactly," Kalona said.
"Well, let's hope you're not that shallow," Stark added, sounding like he believed the opposite.
I just stood there, staring at Kalona, remembering what a lying, manipulative killer he had been, and thinking that's who's going to save my grandma?
I was blinking back freaked-out tears when Rephaim whispered my name. I looked over at him. He smiled and mouthed two small words: people change.