This time I recognized it, though, and knew how dangerous it would be to give in to the numbness, no matter how restful and compelling it seemed. This time I knew the numbness was a disguise for death. I forced myself to take deeper breaths, even though each one made pain radiate throughout my body.
Pain was good. If I hurt, it meant I wasn’t dead.
I opened my eyes and cleared my throat, making myself speak. My blood-wine buzz was gone and all I felt was exhausted and consumed by pain. “We have to remember what we’re walking into. It’s not the old House of Night. It’s not our home,” I said. My voice carried, but I sounded like a hoarse stranger. “Besides keeping our elements close to us, I think the smartest thing we can do is to try to stick as close to the truth as possible whenever we’re questioned about anything.”
“That’s logical,” Damien said. “If they sense we’re telling the truth, they’ll be less likely to feel the need to probe farther into our minds.”
“Especially if those minds are protected by the elements,” Erin said.
“We might very well baffle them with our supposed ignorance, and Neferet will underestimate us again,” Shaunee said.
“So we’re coming back because of that text message sent from the school calling all of us back,” Damien said. “And because Zoey’s been hurt.”
Aphrodite nodded. “Yeah, and the only reason we left was because we were scared.”
“And that’s the damn truth,” Erin said.
“Totally,” Shaunee added.
“Just remember: Tell the truth when possible and keep your guard up,” I said.
“Our High Priestess is correct. We are entering the enemy’s camp, and we can’t afford to be lulled into forgetting that by the familiarity of our surroundings,” Darius said.
“I have a feeling we won’t be tempted to forget it,” Aphrodite said slowly.
“What kind of
“I think our entire world has changed,” Aphrodite said. “No, I know it has. The closer we get to the school, the more wrong it feels.” She swiveled and looked over the seat at me. “Can you feel it?”
I shook my head slightly. “I can’t feel anything except the cut in my chest.”
“I can feel it,” Damien said. “It’s like all the hair on the back of my neck is standing up.”
“Ditto,” Shaunee said.
“My stomach feels awful,” Erin said.
I took another deep breath and blinked hard, concentrating on staying conscious. “It’s Nyx. She’s warning you with those feelings. Remember the effect Kalona’s appearance had on the other fledglings?”
Aphrodite nodded. “Zoey’s right. Nyx is making us feel like crap so we don’t give in to this guy. We have to fight against whatever it is about him that sucks the rest of the fledglings in.”
“We can’t go over to the Dark Side,” Damien said grimly.
Darius crossed the intersection of Utica and Twenty-first Street.
“It looks really creepy that Utica Square is totally dark,” Erin said.
“Creepy and horrible and wrong,” Shaunee said.
“There’s no power anywhere,” Darius said. “Even St. John’s Hospital has hardly any lights, like it’s barely running on generators.”
Darius continued down Utica and I heard Damien gasp. “It’s eerie, the way it’s the only thing in Tulsa still lit up.”
I knew the House of Night had finally come into view. “Lift me up. I need to see it,” I told Damien.
He hoisted me up as gently as he could, but still I had to grit my teeth so I wouldn’t scream. And then the bizarre sight of the House of Night made me temporarily forget my pain. It was ablaze with flickering oil lights, illuminating the huge castlelike structure. Ice covered everything, and the captured flames glistened against the slickened stone, making it appear faceted as if it were one humongous jewel. Darius reached into his pocket and pulled out a little remote. He aimed it at the school’s wrought-iron gate and clicked, and with a creaking sound it swung open, the movement sending shards of ice raining down on the driveway.
“It looks like a castle out of one of those old, gruesome fairy tales where everything has been put under a spell and frozen in ice,” Aphrodite said. “Inside, a princess has been poisoned by an evil witch and she’s waiting to be rescued by her handsome prince.”
I stared at my home that was now a familiar stranger and said, “Let’s just remember that there’s always a terrible dragon guarding the princess.”
“Yes, something horrible, like a Balrog,” Damien said. “Like in
“I’m afraid your demon reference is more accurate than we might wish it to be,” Darius said.
“What’s that?” I asked. Unable to point, I jerked my chin in the direction ahead and to the left of us.
But I hadn’t needed to say anything. In seconds what had made the movement was obvious to all of us as the Hummer was surrounded. In the blink of an eye the night above us shifted and Raven Mockers dropped out of it to crouch all around us. Then from behind them one huge, scarred warrior I didn’t recognize stepped into the middle of the group, looking grim and dangerous.
“
“Which makes the Sons of Erebus our enemies, too,” I said.
“Priestess, at least when you’re referring to that warrior, I’m sorry to have to agree with you,” Darius said.
CHAPTER 17
Darius was the first of us out of the vehicle. His face was set in expressionless lines so that he looked strong and confident, but entirely unreadable. He ignored the Raven Mockers, who were staring at him with their terrible eyes, and addressed the warrior in the center of the group.
“Greetings, Aristos,” Darius said. Though he clenched his fist over his heart in a quick salute, I noticed Darius did not bow. “I have several fledglings, including a young priestess, with me. The priestess has been severely wounded and is in need of immediate medical attention.”
Before Aristos could respond, the largest of the Raven Mockers cocked its head to the side and said, “Which priestess returns to the House of Night?”
Even inside the Hummer I shivered hearing the creature’s voice. This one sounded more human than the one that had attacked me, but that made it even more frightening.
Slowly and deliberately Darius shifted his attention from Aristos to the horrible creature who was neither bird nor man, but a mutated mixture of both. “Creature, I do not know you.”
The Raven Mocker narrowed its red eyes at Darius. “Son of man, you may call me Rephaim.”
Darius didn’t blink. “I still do not know you.”
“You will know me,” Rephaim hissed, opening his beak so that I could see into his maw.
Darius ignored the creature and addressed Aristos again. “I have a priestess who has been badly wounded and several fledglings who are in need of rest. Will you allow us to pass?”
“Is it Zoey Redbird? Do you have her with you?” Aristos asked.
Every one of the Raven Mockers reacted to my name. Each of them turned their attention from Darius to our Hummer. Wings ruffling and abnormal limbs twitching with subdued energy, the things stared. I’d never been so glad for tinted windows in my life.
“It is.” Darius’s response was clipped. “Will you let us pass?” he repeated.
“Of course,” Aristos said. “All fledglings have been ordered to return to campus.” He gestured toward the school buildings. The movement briefly allowed the side of his neck to be illuminated by the nearest gaslight, and I saw a thin red line running across his skin, as if his neck had recently been injured.
Darius nodded tersely. “I will carry the priestess to the infirmary. She cannot walk.”
Darius had started to return to the vehicle when Rephaim said, “Is the Red One with you?”
