“That was a grave error on Zoey Redbird’s part.”
“Just one of many, dearest.”
The brazier was still ablaze, but there was no sign of the Warrior. Neferet’s invisible children rejoined her, thick and warm with fresh blood. She pushed through the shielding azalea bushes. Neferet wanted to get nearer to the tomb, and she could have ignored the unpleasantness that radiated from a glistening circle of ice-covered salt that surrounded the tomb, but she could already feel the presence of the guardian spirits. The last thing she wanted was to waste energy on battling the spectral bison.
Neferet turned to face the women for one last time. “Dark Sisters, now is your hour to shine. What you do tonight will be remembered for centuries and repeated over and over. You will please your stricken goddess, and she will never forget the sacrifice you make. I will be below. Take your places!”
She and Lynette remained there long enough to be sure the women were in position around the tomb, though neither of them paid any attention to which girl stood where. They weren’t truly casting a circle. They had no power in their blood to compel the elements to come to them, and Neferet did not need to cast a circle. All she needed was the power of the invisible moon above her, and that which writhed around her, eager for what was to come.
Lynette and Neferet circled around the tomb to carefully follow one of the slick stone paths down to the lawn that stretched to Twenty-First Street. The park was shadow upon shadow. No electricity fueled the streetlights. The only light came from the brazier above the grotto. The flames licked high, casting strange, tongue-like shapes against the stone roof of the wall that encased the grotto and the goddess trapped within.
Standing on that roof was Vanessa, dressed only in a purple velvet cloak. In a circle around her—some above the tomb, some below, were the four women who represented the elements.
“I must admit, they make a spectacular sight,” said Lynette. “They’re young and beautiful. The cloaks glisten with ice, and the silly face makeup they’re wearing works from a distance.”
“Those boots do not though.”
“I agree,” said Lynette. “But Uggs are easy to buy, which makes them difficult to trace, and allowing them to wear boots makes the five more comfortable. I honestly am not sure they would have walked across the park barefoot.”
“They are weak willed and spoiled,” said Neferet. “But they are here willingly. You are right about the boots. It only offends my sense of spectacle, and that is all.”
Vanessa turned to look around, squinting against the dark and trying to see Neferet.
“I forgot they would not be able to see me,” Neferet said, annoyed with herself.
Lynette reached into the pocket of the down ski jacket she’d “borrowed” from Kelsey’s closet and pulled out a small flashlight. “I didn’t forget.”
“You are a treasure.”
Lynette flicked the on button and focused the beam on Neferet, who lifted her spread arms and then dropped them with a flourish, signaling that Vanessa should begin casting the circle. Then she turned to Lynette while Vanessa walked to Jenna and pretended to invoke air.
“I want you to remain close to me but stay out of sight there in the shadows of the azalea hedge. I am going to cloak you with a very simple conceal spell. It will be strongest if you are close to me. Dearest, what happens next will be decidedly unpleasant. You know how the children can be when I loose them. Please do not feel as though you need to watch.”
“I don’t think I should,” Lynette said.
“I agree. When Neferet is freed you must remain still and silent. Should she be as volatile and mad as we suspect, I will not allow her to see you. Instead you must wait here, cloaked in shadow, until I have left the park with the goddess, then go back to the Rose Gardens. I noticed the greenhouse was alight and I broke the lock. Within, you will have warmth and safety until I rejoin you.”
“I hope she isn’t insane and is able to appreciate what you have done for her and reciprocate by giving you the information you need.”
“As do I, my dearest friend, but we must prepare for the worst. She killed one version of you. I will not allow her the opportunity to harm another.”
They embraced, and then Lynette backed to the azalea hedge. One of Neferet’s fat tendrils unwrapped from around her and slithered across the icy grass to Lynette, where it wound up her leg and draped around her waist.
Lynette smiled and stroked the tendril.
“Ah, my child, thank you for volunteering to stay with dearest Lynette. Trust me that your loyalty shall be rewarded tenfold, and you will feast and feast and feast.” Neferet raised her arms, pointing her palms toward the thickest of the shadows behind Lynette. “Blanketing night, I call you with the power that courses through my veins—conceal this one dearest to me—friend and partner—her blood is Imprinted throughout my body. Shadows come! Protect my Lynette!”
Night seemed to turn to tar, sliding from the deepest of the blackness above and below, to fill the space around Lynette as if a thick curtain of black velvet had closed around her. Satisfied her friend was safe, Neferet focused on the young women who called themselves Dark Sisters.
Vanessa had lit all four element candles and was returning to stand in the middle of the roof that covered the grotto. She turned to the north and lit her purple candle. It illuminated her face and Neferet thought that she had to agree with Lynette. The young woman certainly was a striking sight. She’d flung back her cape to reveal a body that had been expertly sculpted. As she’d been instructed to do, Vanessa lifted her purple candle. Still holding it, she spread her arms wide and threw back her head. The other four women mimicked her, and they began
