'Move in to us, but don't break the circle!'
'Zoey.' Stevie Rae gasped my name. She looked up at me with pain-filled eyes. 'Listen to Aphrodite. Don't break the circle. No matter what!'
'But you're—'
'No! I'm not dying. I promise. He's just taken my blood, not my life. Don't break the circle.' I nodded, then stood up. Erik and Venus were closest to me. 'Get on either side of Stevie Rae. Hold her up. Help her keep the candle, and no matter what, don't let it go out and don't let the circle be broken.'
Venus looked shaky, but she nodded and moved to Stevie Rae. Erik, white-faced with shock, just stared at me.
'Make your choice now,' I said. 'You're either with us or with Neferet and the rest of them.'
Erik didn't hesitate. 'I made my choice when I volunteered to be your consort tonight. I'm with you.' Then he hurried to help Venus lift Stevie Rae.
Stumbling over the shifting ground, I staggered to Nyx's table and caught my purple spirit candle just before it fell over and went out. Clutching it close to me, I turned my attention to Damien and the Twins. They were following Aphrodite's calm instructions and, in the midst of the screaming chaos that was outside our circle, they were walking slowly together, tightening the circumference of the silver thread toward Stevie Rae, until we were all of us, Damien, the Twins, Aphrodite, Erik, the red fledglings, and me clustered together around Stevie Rae.
'Start moving her away from the tree,' Aphrodite said. 'All of us, without breaking the circle. We need to head to the trapdoor in the wall. Now.'
I stared at Aphrodite, and she nodded solemnly. 'I know what's going to happen next, and it's not going to be good.'
'Then let's get out of here,' I said.
We started to move as a group, taking small steps over the bucking earth, having to be ultra-careful with Stevie Rae and the candles and the circle that seemed so important to maintain. You'd think fledglings and vampyres would be in our way. You'd think at least Shekinah would have said something to us, but it seemed we existed in a weird little bubble of serenity amidst a world suddenly awash in blood and panic and chaos. We kept moving away from the tree, following the wall, slowly and carefully making progress. I'd noticed that the grass underneath our feet was smoother and completely dry of Stevie Rae's blood when Neferet's terrible laughter floated across the grounds to me.
The oak, with a horrible ripping sound, tore apart. I had been walking backwards, helping to prop Stevie Rae up from the front, so I had a clear view of the tree when it split. From underneath the middle of the destroyed oak a creature rose. At first all I saw were huge black wings that completely enfolded something. Then he stepped from the destroyed oak, straightening his mighty body and unfurling his night-colored wings.
'Oh, Goddess!' The cry was ripped from me at my first sight of Kalona. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. His skin was smooth and completely unmarred, and was gilded with what looked like the kiss of the sun's loving rays. His hair was as black as his wings, and fell loose and thick around his shoulders, making him look like an ancient warrior. His face—how can I ever fully describe his beautiful face? It was like a sculpture come to life, and it made even the most handsome mortal, be he human or vampyre, look like a sickly, unsuccessful attempt at imitation of his glory. His eyes were the color of amber, so perfect, they were almost golden. I found myself wanting to get lost in them. Those eyes called to me . . . he called to me . . .
I had stumbled to a stop, and I swear I would have broken the circle right then so that I could run back and fall at his feet, had he not raised his gorgeous arms and called in a voice that was deep and rich and full of power, 'Arise with me, children!'
Raven Mockers burst from the hole in the ground and filled the sky, and it was the fear that filled me at the sight of their terribly familiar misshapen bodies that broke the spell Kalona's beauty had cast on me. They shrieked and circled their father, who laughed and held his arms up higher so that their wings could caress him.
'We have to get out of here!' Aphrodite hissed.
'Yes, now! Hurry,' I said, totally myself again. The ground was no longer shaking, so we were able to increase our pace. I was still moving backwards, so I watched in fascinated horror as Neferet approached the newly freed angel. She stopped before him and swept a low, graceful curtsey.
He inclined his head regally, his eyes already glinting with lust as he looked at her. 'My Queen,' he said.
'My Consort,' she said. Then she turned to face the crowd that had stopped milling around in panic and was instead staring in fascination at Kalona.
'This is Erebus, come to earth finally!' Neferet proclaimed. 'Bow to Nyx's consort, and our new Lord on earth.'
Many of the watching crowd, especially the fledglings, instantly dropped to their knees. I looked for Stark, but didn't see him. I did see Shekinah begin to stride forward, picking her way around worshipful fledglings, her wise face guarded, her expression fixed in a deep frown. As she walked, many of the Sons of Erebus joined her, looking alert, but I couldn't tell if they were questioning Kalona, as Shekinah obviously was, or if they thought to protect him from the High Priestess. Before Shekinah could break through the crowd and confront the risen angel, Neferet lifted her hand and made a slight flicking motion with her wrist. It was a gesture so small and insignificant that had I not been watching for it, I would not have seen it.
Shekinah's eyes went wide, she gasped, grabbed her neck, and then crumpled to the ground. The Sons of Erebus rushed to her body.
It was at that moment that I took the cell phone out of my pocket and keyed up Sister Mary Angela's number.
'Zoey?' she answered on the first ring.
'Get out. Get out now,' I said.
'I understand.' She sounded utterly calm.
'Take Grandma! You have to take Grandma with you!'
'Of course I will. Look after yourself and your people. I shall look after her.'
'I'll call you when I can.' I flipped the phone shut.
When I looked up from the phone I saw that Neferet had turned her attention to us.
'We're there!' Aphrodite said. 'Get that damn door open now!'
'It is already open,' said a familiar voice. I glanced behind me at the wall to see Darius standing beside a cracked trapdoor that seemed to appear magically in the bricks and rock. And, with a huge rush of relief, I saw that Jack was standing beside the warrior, bawling his eyes out, but in one piece with Duchess close to his side.
'If you're with us, you have to be against them,' I told Darius, jerking my chin back toward the House of Night and the Sons of Erebus who filled the school grounds and who were not making one move against Kalona.
'I've made my choice,' said the warrior.
'Can we please get out of here? She's looking at us!' Jack said.
'Zoey! You've got to buy us some time,' Aphrodite said. 'Use the elements—all of them. Shield us.'
I nodded and closed my eyes, centering myself. Vaguely in the back of my mind I knew Aphrodite was ordering around the red fledglings and telling them to stay close, stay inside our circle, even if it was mushed and not really circle-shaped anymore as we crammed ourselves through the trapdoor. But I was only partly there. The rest of me was commanding wind, fire, water, earth, and spirit to cover us, protect us, to blot us from Neferet's view. As they hurried to obey me, I felt a drain on my strength like I'd never known before. Of course I'd never tried to command all five of the elements at once to do such powerful work for me—it felt as if my mind, my will, was trying to sprint a marathon.
I gritted my teeth and held on. The elements swarmed above and around us. I could hear the wind and smell the salt of ocean as a strong breeze swirled a thick mist around us. Then thunder rolled in the suddenly cloudy sky and with a
I got one last glimpse of Neferet as she looked wildly around, clearly not wanting to believe that we had
