Awakened

She was careful to keep the disdain from her voice. “You are right to remind me, Sword Master. Those of you who honored Jack with purple spirit candles, throw them on the pyre as you leave. The Sons of Erebus Warriors will hold vigil over the poor fledgling’s body for the remainder of the night.” And in that way I will be rid of both the power of the spirit candles as the flames consume them, and the annoying presence of too many Warriors, Neferet thought.

“As you wish, Priestess,” Dragon said, bowing to her.

She barely spared him a glance. “Now I must seclude myself. I believe Nyx’s message to me was multilayered. Some of it she whispered to my heart, and she has given me pause. Now I must pray and meditate.”

“What Nyx said disturbed you?”

Neferet had already begun to hurry away from the prying eyes of the House of Night when Lenobia’s voice stopped her. I should have known she did not remain because she was snared by my trap, Neferet acknowledged silently to herself. She remains to turn the captor into the captive.

Neferet regarded the Horse Mistress. With one flick of her fingertip, she sent Darkness in her direction, and was then surprised as well as concerned to see Lenobia’s gaze darting around her as if she could actually see the seeking threads.

“Yes, what Nyx said did, indeed, disturb me,” Neferet spoke abruptly, pulling everyone’s attention from the Horse Mistress back to her. “I could tell that the Goddess is deeply worried about our House of Night. You heard her speak of a split in our world—and that has happened. She was warning me. I only wish I could have found the means to keep it from happening.”

“But she forgave Rephaim. Could we not have—”

“The Goddess did forgive the creature. But does that mean we must suffer him in our midst?” Gracefully, she swept her arm toward Dragon Lankford, who was standing miserably by the head of the fledgling’s pyre. “Our Son of Erebus made the right choice. Sadly, too many young fledglings were led astray by Zoey and Stevie Rae and their tainted words. As Nyx herself said this night, forgiveness is a gift that must be earned. Let us hope for Zoey’s sake she continues to have the Goddess’s good will, but after her actions here I am afraid for her.” While her people were gazing between her and the pitiful, guilty spectacle the Sword Master made, Neferet stroked the air, pulling from the shadows more and more threads of Darkness. Then, with a flicking motion, she threw them out at the crowd, suppressing her smile of satisfaction when the groans and confused, pain-filled gasps reached her ears. “Depart—go to your rooms, pray and rest. This evening has been entirely too taxing for all of us. I leave you now, and as the Goddess said, I wish you to blessed be.”

Neferet swept from the center of the courtyard, whispering under her breath to the ancient force around her, “He will be there! He will be awaiting me!” She gathered her power so that she felt swollen, throbbing with the rhythm of Darkness, and then gave herself to it, letting it pick up her newly immortal body and carry her on the colorless wings of death and pain and despair.

But before she could reach the Mayo, and the opulent penthouse where she knew, she was certain Kalona would be awaiting her, Neferet felt a great shifting in the powers that carried her.

The cold reached her first. Neferet wasn’t certain if she commanded the powers to cease and allow her to halt, or whether the coldness froze them; either way, she found herself spewed out onto the middle of the intersection of Peoria and 11th Street. The Tsi Sgili picked herself up and looked around her, trying to get her bearings. The graveyard to her left drew her attention, and not simply because it housed the rotting remains of humans, which amused her. She sensed something approaching from within it. With one movement Neferet snagged a retreating thread of Darkness, hooked into it, and forced it to lift her over the spiked iron fence that surrounded the graveyard.

Whatever it was, she could feel it coming toward her, calling to her, and Neferet ran, darting ghostlike between the aging gravestones and crumbling monuments that humans found so soothing. Until finally she came to the centermost part of it, where four wide, paved pathways converged to form a circle where an American flag hung, the single illumination in the graveyard—except for him.

Of course Neferet recognized him. She’d caught glimpses of the white bull before, but he’d never fully materialized and appeared to her.

Neferet was stuck speechless at his perfection. His coat was a luminous white. Like a magnificent pearl it glowed—coaxing, alluring, compelling. She swept off the concealing shirt the pubescent Stark had given her, baring herself to the bull’s consuming black gaze. Then Neferet sank gracefully to her knees.

You bared yourself to Nyx. Now you bare yourself to me? Are you that free with yourself, Queen of the Tsi Sgili?

His voice resonated darkly in her mind, sending shivers of anticipation throughout her body.

“I didn’t bare myself to her. You, above all else, know that. The Goddess and I have parted ways. I am no longer mortal, and do not desire to subjugate myself to any other female.”

The mammoth white bull strode forward, causing the ground to shake under his great cloven hooves. His nose did not quite touch her delicate skin, but he inhaled her scent and then his cold breath released, surrounding Neferet, caressing her most sensitive places, awakening her most secret desires.

So instead of subjugation to a goddess you choose to chase after a fallen immortal male?

Neferet’s gaze met the bull’s black, bottomless eyes. “Kalona is nothing to me. I was going to him to exact my revenge for the oath he broke. It is my right to do so.”

He broke no oath. It did not bind him. Kalona’s soul is no longer fully immortal—he has foolishly given a piece of it away.

“Truly? How very interesting…” Neferet’s body hummed with excitement at the news.

I see that you are still infatuated with the thought of using him.

Neferet lifted her chin and shook back her long auburn hair. “I am not infatuated with Kalona. I only wish to harness and use his powers.”

You are truly a magnificent, heartless creature. The bull’s tongue snaked out. He licked Neferet’s naked flesh, causing her to gasp in exquisite pain as her body trembled with excitement. It has been more than a century since I have had such a willing follower. The idea seems suddenly appealing.

Neferet stayed on her knees before him. Slowly, gently, she reached out and touched him. His coat was frigid as ice, but slick like water.

Neferet felt his body shiver in anticipation. Ah, his voice resonated through her mind, and entered her soul, making her head dizzy with the power of it. I’d forgotten how surprising touch can be when it is not forced. It is not often that I am surprised, and I find myself wanting to show you such a favor in return.

“I would willingly accept any favor Darkness would do for me.”

The bull’s knowing chuckle rumbled through her mind. Yes, I do believe I would like to gift you with something.

“A gift?” she said breathlessly, loving the irony that Darkness Incarnate’s words so clearly mirrored those of Nyx. “What is it?”

Would it give you pleasure to know that I could create for you a Vessel, to take Kalona’s place? He would be yours to command—yours to use as an absolute weapon.

“Would he be powerful?” Neferet’s breathing had increased.

If the sacrifice is deserving, he would be very powerful.

“I would sacrifice anything or anyone to Darkness,” Neferet said. “Tell me what you desire for the creation of this creature, and I will give it to you.”

To create the Vessel, I must have the lifeblood of a woman who has ancient ties to the earth, passed to her through generation upon generation of matriarchs. The stronger, purer, older the woman, the more perfect the Vessel.

“Human or vampyre?” Neferet asked.

Human—they are more thoroughly tied to the earth, as their bodies return to the earth so much