Neferet looked from Kevin to the rest of us. “You do realize I did nothing extraordinary to free her, don’t you? I fed her. That’s it. Sprites could have been summoned to do the same thing. Actually, pouring fresh blood into that grotto would have probably allowed her to feed enough to break free. I do understand it was a mistake to loose her, but had I not done it, someone would have. You think I don’t know about the humans who began worshiping her? So, keep your blame to yourselves. It helps nothing.”
She had a point, though I was reluctant to agree with her. Instead, I changed the subject. “Anastasia, I’m ready to begin. Are you?”
“Yes, Zoey.”
“Let’s get nearer the circle and I’ll go over what we’re going to do. Do you have the music ready?”
Anastasia nodded and lifted a small remote. “All I have to do is press this and it will begin.”
I know it seemed a little weird to have music and such when what we were doing was so serious, but I’d decided that we needed to mimic what had been done to raise our Kalona, which had begun as a cleansing ritual for the school. Traditionally, the High Priestess who called the elements and cast the circle would enter it dancing joyously to music as the vampyre who was playing the part of her Consort would speak the lines of a poem that was reflective of the ritual.
The poem wasn’t a necessity, and neither was the music, so I’d done away with one and kept the other, hoping it would help us set our intention and concentrate. There would be no one playing my Consort because Neferet was going to be within the circle taking his place.
I remembered clearly the night Kalona had broken free. Erik had played the Consort role. It had been his blood that was shed before all hell broke loose and Stark, newly resurrected and completely not himself, had been ordered by Neferet to shoot Stevie Rae. Her blood had been the sacrifice that had risen Kalona.
The irony wasn’t lost on me that tonight it would be a different Neferet whose blood would awaken an immortal—as she was going to have to take Stevie Rae’s place.
I was standing in the middle of what would be our circle, before the giant oak that looked exactly as ours had before Kalona had burst out of the ground beneath it. I swallowed and licked my lips. My hands were fisted at my side to keep them from shaking with nerves. “Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. At first, it’ll be kinda like a regular cleansing ritual. Anastasia will start the music, and I’ll dance to the center of our circle. Try to let the music relax you as you use it to focus. Our intention is to raise an immortal to battle Darkness alongside our Light.”
“Do you not think you should change your clothes?” Neferet asked, looking me up and down. She was wearing a gorgeous cashmere dress that hugged her curves and left her arms bare. It was the exact color of her eyes. I was wearing jeans and my current fav peasant top from Free People.
I shook my head. “No, Neferet, I don’t. The elements don’t care what I’m wearing. Nyx doesn’t care what I’m wearing. You do know that all that extra stuff is just for show, don’t you?”
Lynette chimed in: “Looking your best is always important.”
“Neferet, don’t you want your human to wait inside the dorm with my grandma? She’d be safer there,” I said.
“Lynette stays with me. Always,” Neferet said.
Anastasia said, “Then she’ll need to be quiet and remain outside the circle.”
“Will you keep her safe?” Neferet asked.
“Of course,” said Anastasia.
Panic flashed across Lynette’s face, but Neferet patted her shoulder gently. “It will be fine, dearest. Remain with Anastasia. She and I have our differences, but she is a High Priestess who keeps her word. You will be safe.”
“So, to continue,” I drew their attention back to me. “I’ll come in with the music. As in a regular ritual, I’ll call the elements. As always, Damien is air. Shaunee,” I paused and nodded at her, “are you sure you’re okay to represent fire?”
“Absolutely,” she said without any hesitation. “I can do it.”
“All right. That’s good because we need a superstrong circle. So, that means Kacie will be water and Stevie Rae earth, of course. And I’ll invoke spirit.” I met my brother’s gaze. “Kev, I’d like you to be inside the circle with me, and I want you to move to each element with me too. It can’t hurt to have double the affinities.”
“I’ll have your back,” he said.
“Rephaim,” I continued. “You’ll need to be inside the circle too. When I cut Neferet, her blood will drip on the base of the tree. When it does that, I’ll need you to call Kalona. Then, hopefully, he’ll bust up out of the tree like he did in our world. Our circle will still be intact in case he’s, um, disoriented.” I had a flash of memory about the first time I’d seen our Kalona and how mesmerizing he’d been, literally causing fledglings and vampyres to fall to their knees and worship him. I was counting on the fact that that was only a thing with bad Kalona, but just in case, I planned to be safely inside a very strong circle with the elements invoked and ready to persuade him not to be an immortal douchebag—if necessary.
I also had an alternative plan that Stark and I had discussed. I met his gaze. He touched the bow he’d slung across his shoulder and nodded just enough for me to see.
“So, questions?”
“I do not think this is going to be pleasant for me,” said Neferet.
Aphrodite snorted. “Ya think? And that’s not a question. I have one you should’ve asked, though. What are we going to do with Neferet’s disgusting snake things?”
Lynette’s response was immediate. “They aren’t disgusting. Nor
