Текст книги "Redeemed"

Автор книги: P. C. Cast

Соавторы: Kristin Cast,P. C. Cast
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CHAPTER SIX

Detective Marx

Ever since that dark, snowy night Zoey Redbird had called him to the old depot, where she and a teenage boy had narrowly escaped being killed, Detective Marx had had questions about Neferet, who was then High Priestess of the Tulsa House of Night. The vampyre has seemed off to him. Zoey had obviously been leery of her when he’d returned the fledgling to the House of Night and Neferet had welcomed her with what seemed like real warmth. Zoey had remained guarded. She’d even made a show of revealing new tattooing their Goddess had gifted her with that night, which, to the Detective’s trained eye, said the fledgling had successfully told the high-ranking, most powerful vampyre at the school to back off.

Marx supposed he should have taken the vampyre’s side and questioned the fledgling’s veracity. But instead Marx had felt an itch under his skin around Neferet, the same itch that had saved his ass more times than he could count out on the street. He’d liked Zoey just fine. There’d been no itch under his skin around her. Neferet, he hadn’t liked at all.

He’d asked his sister, who had been Marked almost two decades ago, about Neferet. Anne had been unusually short in her response to him: Neferet is a powerful High Priestess. Steer clear of her. When he’d asked her for details, Anne had totally shut down the conversation. She’d even avoided his calls for almost a week. That had been more than weird. He and Anne were twins, and they’d stayed close even after she’d been Marked and then Changed. Currently, she taught Spells and Rituals at the San Francisco House of Night. Marx vacationed there at least once a year. He’d even stayed on the school grounds as her guest several times. Anne was usually open and honest with him about her vampyre world. She knew she could trust her brother. But one mention of Neferet, and Anne had thrown up a wall between them.

Marx had hated that, hated not having his sister’s confidence. So he’d never asked about Neferet again.

Not even when the High Priestess had left the Tulsa House of Night and given a press conference, condemning mainstream vampyres in general and her old House of Night in particular.

Not even when Neferet had disappeared after her penthouse had been vandalized.

Not even when the Tulsa House of Night’s new High Priestess, Thanatos, had accused Neferet of the murder of Mayor LaFont.

Not even when an anonymous tip had come in through their Crime Stoppers line saying that a naked vampyre fitting Neferet’s description had been seen entering the Boston Avenue Church.

The last twenty-plus minutes had changed his mind about not questioning his sister.

“Here! Officer, down over here!” Marx waved his arms at the ambulance that had screamed up to the makeshift blockade he and the other officers were crouched behind. He glanced at Jamison. The guy was obviously a goner. The six bullets that had ricocheted from the invisible shield Neferet had erected had somehow conveniently hit him everywhere except the parts of his body covered by his Kevlar vest. How the hell had she done that? Marx added another to the long list of questions he was absolutely going to ask his sister.

More marked cars than he could count skidded up, parking in the middle of the streets surrounding the Mayo. The officers not running to back up Marx’s ground were hurrying to evacuate all the buildings adjacent to them. Marx had radioed officer down and a major hostage situation.

It was with a mixture of relief and regret that he saw Chief Connors leading the group of SWAT officers.

Chief Connors was not known for his diplomatic skills.

“Detective, bring me up to speed,” the chief said.

“Neferet confessed to the Boston Avenue killing. She’s in there with hostages. She has them under her control. I can’t tell if it’s a spell, or if she’s just got them so damn scared they’re willing to do anything for her. But you wouldn’t believe the terrible things she’s got those people doing.”

“After seeing what she did at Boston Avenue, I don’t think there’s anything she can do that’ll surprise me,” the chief said grimly.

“See that body? That girl ripped her own throat open for Neferet while she said, ‘Thank you, Goddess.’” Marx nodded at the bloody mess that used to be a young woman.

“Any idea how many people are in there with her?”

Marx shook his head. “It has to be around a hundred, but best guess is all we have. She’s closed the restaurant and locked the building up tight. As far as we can tell, she’s not letting anyone out.”

“Well, she’s going to have to let us in.”

“Chief, I think we’d better get some kind of intel on the hostage situation. We don’t want a repeat of what happened at the church. She slaughtered those people, but the bodies didn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen a vampyre do before. They were sliced up and chewed up and drained. Neferet’s power is like nothing we’ve ever dealt with.”

“Yeah, I saw them.” The chief shook his head. “How the fuck could a vampyre do that? I’ve heard of High Priestesses who can mess with people’s minds—do some control and even memory wiping. And I know they’re physically powerful, though not as powerful as their Warriors. But the slaughter in the church…” He shook his head. “That I’ve never heard of. What about you? Isn’t your sister a vampyre?”

“She is, and I’ll give her a call, but there’s something you should know. Neferet isn’t saying she’s a vampyre. She’s calling herself a goddess, specifically the Goddess of Darkness and Queen Tsi Sgili, whatever that is. She said she’s made the Mayo her Temple and she wants Tulsa to worship her.”

The chief made a derisive grunt. “Fat fucking chance. As soon as we’ve got the hostage situation pinpointed, we’re going in. Let’s see what our sniper’s fifty-caliber can do against her delusions of divinity.”

Marx nodded in agreement, but the familiar warning itch was back under his skin, giving him a bad feeling about how this thing was going to play out.

“Goddamned vampyres have lost their heathen minds lately. First killing the mayor, then those two men in the park, the church slaughter, and now this. I’m thinking we need to do more than just lock down the House of Night. I think we need to round them up and kick them the hell outta Tulsa!”

“Chief, about those two men in the park.” Marx frowned. He knew the anti-vampyre sentiment was running high, but he hated to hear such racist crap coming from the chief of police.

“Yeah, what about them? Wasn’t it you who brought in that fledgling who confessed to their killing? Hell, she could’ve killed LaFont, too!”

“Actually, sir, Neferet just confessed to the killing of the mayor and those two men. She bragged of it, as well as the massacre at the church.”

The chief blinked in surprise. “Well, then, what the hell was that fledgling doing giving herself up as a killer? Is she in league with Neferet?”

“I sincerely doubt it. Zoey Redbird and Neferet have a history of bad blood between them. It’s more likely that Zoey had a run-in with the men, she protected herself, and when she heard they were dead thought she must have killed them. She’s a good kid, Chief. I think she turned herself in because she was consumed by remorse. She didn’t even want any adult vampyre near her.”

The chief gave him a blank look. Marx stifled a sigh and explained. “If a fledgling isn’t around adult vampyres, there’s a one hundred percent chance her body will reject the Change and she’ll die. Zoey had tried and judged herself—and decided her sentence was death.”

“I forget how much you know about vampyres.” The chief shook his head in disgust. “Guess it doesn’t matter whether they’re human or fledgling—teenagers have no damn sense.”

Marx had opened his mouth to protest—respectfully—that he actually knew some teenagers who had some damn sense, and that would include Zoey Redbird, when the cry of a uniformed cop interrupted him.

“Oh my God! Look up!”

Marx’s head jerked and his gaze shot skyward in time to see creatures, grotesque black creatures that appeared to be snakelike, except they had no eyes—only gaping mouths framed with teeth that glistened wet and red—being hurled by some invisible force over the stone railing of the Mayo’s penthouse. The creatures carried with them an explosion of blood and guts, body fragments and gore. And as they fell, they expanded, changing from eyeless snakes to a dark, pulsing curtain, stained scarlet. The curtain clung to the stone façade of the Mayo, swathing it in darkness and blood as it unfurled downward.

“Fire! Kill them!” shouted the chief of police.

Marx tried to stop him. Tried to remind him that there were innocent citizens inside who could easily be wounded or even killed. Tried to tell him that the attack would only serve to antagonize the vampyre who held those citizens hostage and who was already so insane she believed she’d become immortal. But panicked gunfire erupted all around him, and his words were lost in the frenzy.

At first Marx didn’t want to look up. He didn’t want to see the gunfire-ravaged Mayo and start dealing with the aftermath of the chief’s rash command. But Marx wasn’t the kind of man who avoided the hard things in life; he’d made a career out of dealing with them. Resolutely, he looked up.

The snakes-turned-curtain had expanded so that it looked like the building had grown a crimson and black skin, a skin so tough that not even the Glocks the uniforms carried had penetrated it.

They all watched the darkness continue to spread down the building to street level and pool there with a rustling sound that reminded Marx of the time he’d visited New York City and stayed at the Plaza—and made the mistake of going out for a smoke at 3:00 A.M. Rats. He’d walked to a row of neatly trimmed hedges in front of the Plaza’s grand entrance and heard a rustling. He’d looked down, shocked to see dozens of fat rats scurrying among the hedges. That’s what the shroud of darkness Neferet had created sounded like as it settled where the building met the ground and washed, restlessly, against the 1920s stone.

“Fire on the doors. Break through that damn thing and get ready to rush inside!” the chief shouted.

“No!” Marx cried as the uniforms around them jumped to obey their chief.

Determined to survive to fight another day, Marx ducked down behind a squad car.

It was over in seconds. The officers ran toward the double doors, firing at the glass that now was covered in slick gore-stained black. His heart broke when the screams began. Marx was already calling into his radio, “Multiple officers down! We need more buses at the Mayo! And backup! More backup! Get every uniform in Tulsa here now!”

When the chief staggered back and fell heavily to the pavement, a friendly fire bullet causing a bloom of red in the middle of his forehead, eyes rolled back, milky, sightless, and undoubtedly dead, Marx did the only thing he knew to do—he took charge.

“Cease fire and fall back! Fall back!” he shouted, and the men responded with obvious relief.

A young uniformed cop crouched down next to him, breathing heavily, his hands trembling. Marx thought the kid couldn’t be much older than twenty-one.

“Mother of God, that black stuff didn’t even chip! It ricocheted the bullets back at us, like it was actually aiming. What the hell is that?” he said, voice shaking as hard as his hands.

“Magick,” Marx said. “Dark, evil magick.”

“How the hell do we fight it?”

Marx met the young man’s eyes. “We don’t. We need help. Thankfully, I know where to get it.”

Zoey

“I wish I knew what the hell was going on!” Stark paced back and forth in front of her cell.

“Go see if Grandma’s still in the waiting room. She can find out what’s happening. She brought cookies. No one can resist Grandma’s cookies,” I said.

“Good idea. I’ll be back in a sec.”

Stark shot down the hall, leaving me to take up his pacing for him.

Neferet. If something crazy was happening at the Mayo, Neferet had to be responsible. I wanted to grab the bars of my cell and shake them like a hysterical person and scream, Let me out let me out let me out! If Neferet was out there causing goddess only knew what, I should be out there, too, trying to figure out how to stop her.

And I would be if I hadn’t lost my mind and killed two men.

Stark jogged back to me and wrapped his hands over mine, which really had been holding onto the bars of my cell like I could bend the stupid things.

“They must have kicked your grandma out with Thanatos and the rest of them. No one’s here except a front desk cop. The fucking place is deserted! If I had a key I could break you outta here with no problem.” His brows raised and, with his hands still pressed over mine, he gave a little shake to the metal bars (which did not budge). Then he smiled his cute cocky grin. “But since I don’t have a key, do you happen to know someone who could, say, summon a few elements to, I dunno, blow this door down?”

“Stark, I’m in here for a reason. I did something really, really bad. Breaking out is not going to help anything.”

“It might help if Neferet is on the rampage, eating the unsuspecting citizens of Tulsa. Actually, they might forget about your accident at the park and thank you if you help bring down Ms. Batshit Crazy.”

I smiled sadly. “They might forget about it, but I wouldn’t. And Stark, I can’t stop Neferet.”

“You have before.”

“Not for good, and not without help.”

“Well…” He threw his arms wide. “You have help!”

I snorted. “Not enough. If we were enough, we would have been able to make sure Neferet couldn’t come back from when we kicked her butt last time.” Then my shoulders slumped and I shrugged. “It’s probably not her at all. It could be bank robbers.”

“At the Mayo? Uh, Z, that’s a hotel, not a bank.”

“Well, it could be—”

The door to our hallway opened, banging metallically against the wall, and Detective Marx hurried toward us. He looked crappy. I mean, really crappy. His suit was smudged with dirt and one knee of his pants was torn. I could smell blood, which I totally made myself ignore. Actually, it wasn’t that hard to do because the look on his face was so disturbing.

He looked scared.

“What happened at Woodward Park?” he demanded as he came up beside Stark.

“I already told you.”

“Tell him again,” Stark said.

“Why, what’s going on?”

“Answer my question first.”

“Okay, like I said before, the two men made me mad and I threw my anger at them.”

“What did they do that made you so mad?” he asked.

“Not enough to make killing them okay,” I said.

“Just answer my question!” Marx snapped.

Surprised at his tone, I heard myself saying, “They were hanging out in the park looking for girls to scare into giving them money. They didn’t see my tattoos until after they’d already started messing with me. Then when they realized I wasn’t just some helpless little teenager, they changed their minds about trying to scare me. They basically said they were just gonna look for some other girl to victimize. It really pissed me off.” I paused and added, “But there’s more to it than that. I was already pissed when I got to the park. That was why I was there. I was trying to cool off. I—I couldn’t get a handle on my temper.”

“Tell him the rest. Tell him why you gave Aphrodite the Seer Stone when you gave yourself up to him,” Stark insisted.

“I didn’t realize it then, but now I can see that the Seer Stone, a kind of talisman I’d been given on the Isle of Skye, had been doing something to my emotions—amplifying them, or causing them, or maybe just feeding off my stress. It gets hot when it works, and at the park it was super hot. That had to have been how I lifted those guys off their feet and smacked them against the wall by the grotto.”

“You can’t do that, say, right now, can you?” Marx asked, watching me closely.

“I don’t think so. At least, not by myself, no. I’d have to call one or all of the elements, and they’re most powerful if my circle is with me and all five of us are channeling them.”

Marx nodded thoughtfully. “Did you know that the two men were dead when you left the park?”

“No. I mean, I knew I’d smacked them against the wall, but it was like a crazy explosion from me. It, well, it surprised me,” I said. Absently, I rubbed the palm of my right hand on my jeans and then glanced down at it. In the center of the latticework tattoos a perfect circle had been branded there. I held my palm out so the detective could see it. “That mark in the center—the circle—that’s from the Seer Stone. It happened when I threw my anger at those men. It was like power came from it through me. When I realized what I’d done, I walked over to look at them.” I swallowed hard, remembering.

“And exactly what did you see?” Marx prompted impatiently.

“They were laying there, at the base of the wall that makes the stone ridge over on the Twenty-first Street side of the park. I—I remember that I heard one of them moan, and I saw the other one twitch. It was obvious that I’d hurt them—maybe even badly—so I got scared, and I ran away. They must have been dying when I took off. I’m so sorry. I really am. I know that doesn’t make any difference. And I know it also doesn’t make any difference about the fact that they were in the park messing with girls, or that the Seer Stone gave me the power to do what I did. My anger is what killed those guys. I’m responsible.” I bit my lip hard. I was not going to start crying.

“No, Zoey. The truth is that you didn’t do it, and no, you’re not responsible for their deaths.” He swiped a key card over the pad on my cell door, and the steel lock sprung open with a click.

“Huh?” I blinked at him, feeling like I must be dreaming. I looked at Stark, who was staring at the detective.

“This has something to do with Neferet,” Stark said.

“This has everything to do with Neferet,” Marx agreed. “She confessed to killing those two men. No, that’s not totally accurate. Neferet gloated about killing those two men.”

Stark whooped and scooped me up into his arms. “Z, you didn’t kill anyone!”

“I didn’t kill anyone!” I echoed Stark’s shout as he held me, laughing. I was feeling light-headed, almost dizzy. I hadn’t killed anybody! Holy crap—I’d almost rejected the Change. I’d almost died. Because of Neferet.

It always came back to Neferet.

I thumped Stark’s shoulder, and he put me down (but I did keep hold of his hand).

I faced Detective Marx. “What else has she done?”

“You and your friends were right. Neferet did kill the mayor. He and the two men at the park were her warm-ups. She slaughtered a church full of people, and right now she’s declared that she’s a goddess. She’s made the Mayo her Temple, and she’s barricaded in there with a bunch of people who are under her spell.”

“Shit!” Stark said.

“Ohmygoddess!” Neferet had finally done it. She’d finally outed herself and shown everyone what she really was.

“You’re free, Zoey. You’ve been cleared of all charges. But before you go, I do have a favor to ask.”

I met his gaze. “You don’t have to ask. I’ll help you. I’ll do everything I can to stop her.”

Marx’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank you. I’m not going to lie to you, Zoey. What’s going on at the Mayo is bad, really bad. Neferet is powerful and dangerous.”

“And absolutely batshit crazy,” I finished for him. “I know. I’ve known for months.”

“Then you know what you’re up against.”

“We all do,” Stark said. “Because we’ve been the only ones fighting the crazy bitch.”

“All right, then. Do you need to get that Seer Stone thing before I take you to the Mayo and—”

“Wait, no, you don’t understand, Detective Marx. When I said I’ll do everything I can to stop Neferet, that doesn’t mean me alone.” I squeezed Stark’s hand. “One thing I’ve learned for sure is that I’m stronger with my friends.”

“Just tell me what you need, and I’ll make it so,” Marx said.

“Everything I need is at the House of Night,” I said.

“Then come with me, Zoey. I’ll take you home.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Zoey

I’d barely gotten out of Detective Marx’s shot-up town car when Grandma rushed out of the front of the school building and wrapped me in her arms.

“U-we-tsi-a-ge-ya! It is you! I knew it—I knew you were coming home.”

I hugged her quickly, then linked my arms with hers and guided her back into the House of Night, with Detective Marx and Stark close behind me. The sun was in the process of setting, but I was hyperaware that it could still cause Stark pain. As we hurried into the building, I smiled at Grandma and said, “I didn’t kill anybody!” Then I remembered who had—and what else she’d done—and my smile slipped from my face. “Neferet killed them.”

“Neferet?” I looked up from Grandma’s happy face to see Thanatos, Aphrodite, and Darius coming out of the High Priestess’s office.

“Zoey, Detective Marx, please explain what has happened.” Thanatos said.

“Neferet has confessed to killing the two men in the park—” Detective Marx began to explain, but I interrupted him. “Wait, there’s way more to it than that, and I need my circle to hear all of it.” I looked at Thanatos. “Neferet’s revealed herself. We have to hurry.”

“Darius, Stark, gather Zoey’s circle. Bring them to the school Council Chamber. Get Lenobia as well. She is the oldest Priestess at this house—we can use her wisdom. Go, now!” Thanatos said.

Stark and Darius took off.

“Detective, let me show you the way to our Council Chamber. Sylvia, I would appreciate it if you lent your wisdom to whatever it is we’re now facing with Neferet. Would you join us?”

“Of course,” Grandma said wryly. “I know more than a little about Neferet and her unique brand of evil.” Grandma kissed me softly on the cheek and began walking with Thanatos and Detective Marx toward the stairwell that led upstairs to the Council Chamber.

That left me alone with Aphrodite.

“I’m not asking whether you want me to or not. I am coming to this meeting,” she said before she started to follow the three adults.

I touched her arm and her head jerked around so that she could look at me. I couldn’t tell if I saw more fear or anger in her eyes—both made me feel terrible.

“I’m sorry,” I said simply. “I was wrong. You were right all along. You were right to go to Shaylin. You were right to have her watch me. You were right to keep your vision from me. I should have listened to you, but I didn’t, and I wouldn’t have, even if you’d told me about your vision. I was out of control. I was selfish. I was stupid. I’m sorry,” I repeated. “Please forgive me.”

While I’d been talking, Aphrodite had gone very still. She didn’t put her hand on her hip, sneer, or flip her hair. She listened to me and watched me with intent, bright eyes. She didn’t say anything for what felt like a really long time, and when she finally spoke, her voice wasn’t snide or bitchy or sarcastic. She was serious. Her manner was calm. She looked and sounded like the Prophetess of a Goddess.

“I thought you were my friend,” she said.

“I am.”

“You hurt my feelings.”

“I know. I wish I could tell you that I didn’t mean to, but I’m not going to lie to you. At the time, I did mean to hurt you because I was hurting so bad. Aphrodite, the Seer Stone did something to me. I’m not using that as an excuse for what I said or did. It was still me. I was still wrong. I’m just trying to explain to you that I realize what happened—or at least how it happened. And I give you my oath that I won’t let it happen again.”

She kept studying me silently.

“I’m going to apologize to Shaylin, too,” I added.

Aphrodite nodded. “You should. You totally freaked her out.”

“It won’t happen again,” I repeated solemnly. “I swear it.”

“Do you want the stone back?”

“Hell no!” I said, taking a little step from her. “I want you to keep it away from me.”

“That’s my plan,” she said. “I just wondered what yours was.”

“I haven’t really got one past saying I’m sorry and asking you and Shaylin and, well, everyone else, to forgive me.”

“Well, that figures,” Aphrodite said, sounding more like herself. “You tend to be underprepared. And underdressed. Do they have no flat irons in jail?” She gave my bedhead hair an appraising look.

“No. Good hair isn’t a priority in jail.”

“Well, up until now I’d only heard that Oklahoma’s prison system sucked. Now I’m sure of it.”

That made me grin. “So, do you forgive me?”

“I suppose I have to. You look like crap. I’d hate to add insult to the fashion injury your short incarceration has already committed against you.”

I laughed and linked my arm with hers. “Is there anything you can’t simplify down to fashion?”

“No, and you are welcome.”

I laughed again and we headed to the stairway. I felt light and happy, and for a few moments I let Neferet slip from my mind. I focused my thoughts on a single, silent prayer to Nyx: Thank you, Goddess, for giving me such a good friend!

“Hey, don’t think that you can start hugging me and shit. I am not the hugging type. Let’s still consider this”—she waved her free hand in front of herself—“a no-touch zone. Darius, of course, has a zone waiver.”

“Got it,” I said, but I kept my arm linked with hers as we climbed the stairs in tandem. “I wouldn’t think of crossing the no-touch zone.”

“Good,” she said, but she didn’t pull her arm from mine until we were just outside the conference room. Then she paused and turned to face me. Serious again, she said, “I forgive you, Zoey.”

“Thank you.” I blinked fast, surprised by the sudden tears in my eyes.

“Well, shit,” she said and, after glancing around to be sure we were alone, opened up her arms and hugged me, whispering, “I love you, Z.”

I sniffed and hugged her back. “I love you, too.”

The sound of the stairwell door opening had her springing away from me. “Don’t cry,” she said sternly. “Snot will not help the fashion disaster you have going on.”

“’Kay.” I sniffed some more.

“Zo! I heard they unjailed you! Whoohoo!” Aurox yelled jubilantly, sounding weirdly and wonderfully like Heath. He jogged toward me, clearly intending on crossing my no-touch zone. I took a few skittering steps backward and then froze when he flinched and staggered to a halt. I didn’t know what the hell to do. I mean, we’d decided to be friends. Friends hugged. But then again, we’d decided to just be friends. Well, actually, I’d decided we’d just be friends and—

“Oh, for shit’s sake, throw the bull a bone. Without you he’s been bereft.” Aphrodite shook her head in disgust. “And I’m using alliteration. If I start rhyming, I’m going to hurl myself off a tall building. Suck face or whatever quickly, and then get your butt into the Council Chamber. Sadly, we don’t have time for boy drama.” She flipped her hair, opened the door, and twitched inside.

Aurox and I stared at each other.

“Suck face?” he asked.

My cheeks felt like they were on fire. “She means kiss.”

His brows lifted. “Would you like to kiss me?”

Thankfully, nothing he’d said after whoohoo sounded the least little bit like Heath. I cleared my throat. “I don’t think that would be a good idea, but thanks for asking.”

“Well, I am glad you’re back,” he said, smiling tentatively.

“Me, too.” I returned his smile. “And even though it’s confusing, I’m glad you’re back also.”

I’d meant it to be a compliment—and maybe even an inside joke (wouldn’t the whole situation be better if we could laugh about it??), but Aurox’s tentative smile instantly faded.

“You don’t mean me. You mean Heath. And Heath’s not me. Excuse me. Darius said he thought I should be in this meeting.” I moved aside and let him open the door. He didn’t hold it for me but let it swing shut in my face, leaving me standing in the hallway alone, feeling like poop.

Okay, I told myself, it would make my life easier if Aurox stayed pissed at me—or at least annoyed and uninterested. Aphrodite was proving to be right too damn often. I didn’t have time for boy drama (though I didn’t think that was very sad).

I combed my fingers through my really messy hair, squared my shoulders, and entered the School Council Chamber.

The room was big, but it always appeared to be small because of the giant round table that dominated it. I’m pretty sure the idea had been to mimic King Arthur (who had, of course, been the High Priestess, Mogan le Fay’s, consort), so that it had no real head, but what had ended up happening was that wherever the school’s current High Priestess sat, well, that automatically became the table’s head.

Speaking of the current High Priestess, I was surprised to see her enter the room from the rear door, just as I closed the front door behind me. Thanatos nodded to Aurox, who took a guard-like position standing beside that door. Then she glanced at me and gestured to the empty seat between Grandma and Aphrodite. Thanatos sat to Grandma’s left, beside Detective Marx. As I settled myself and tried not to fidget, Thanatos leaned forward and spoke around Grandma.

“It is officially good to have you home, Zoey,” said the High Priestess of Death.

“I can’t tell you how glad I am to be here—and to know I didn’t kill anyone,” I said.

“But you have learned a valuable lesson from the experience,” Grandma said.

“Yeah. Neferet has to be stopped no matter what,” Aphrodite said.

“Well, yeah, she does. But I think the lesson Grandma’s talking about is when in doubt, choose kindness,” I said.

“Don’t think that one is going to do us much good with Neferet,” Aphrodite muttered.

“You may be surprised, child,” Grandma said softly, smiling wisely at her.

The door opened then, and Stevie Rae burst in, followed by Stark, Damien, and Shaunee.

“Z! Ohmygoodness it’s so good to see you free!” Stevie Rae ran to me and enveloped me in a giant bear hug. “I knew you couldn’t have killed those guys.”

I gave her a quick hug back before disentangling myself. I met her gaze. “I have something to say about that, but I want to wait until everyone gets here.”

“Wait is over. Handsome is here,” Aphrodite said, smiling as Darius entered the room with Lenobia and Shaylin. Darius and Stark took their places on either side of the main door. Stark sent me a quick wink, and I was glad to see that he wasn’t as pale and his eyes had lost their bruised look. For him to be looking so much better, the sun must have set, and I figured Rephaim would probably be showing up any second, too.