Destined

begin as we intend to end—we seek the truth so that this land, these people, can mend.”

Together Thanatos and I walked to Damien who was clutching his yellow candle with both hands and looking as nervous as I felt.

All right, here we go, I thought. Please help me, Nyx. I can’t do this without you.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Neferet

The shadows were agitated. Something was very wrong.

“Read the next chapter in your sociology book. I have business to which I must attend.” Neferet snapped the command to her very surprised-looking fifth hour students before hurrying from the classroom. She cloaked herself in mist and darkness so that prying eyes and all too curious professors would not witness her passage as she hurried to her private chamber. There she quickly slashed her hand. Cupping her palm she held it out in offering. “Drink! Tell me what is amiss!”

The tendrils of Darkness swarmed her blood, latching onto her leach-like. As they fed, whispered words from many different voices filled her mind.

The vessel does nothing to hinder earth

Joined with spirit the death vision will be given rebirth

“What?” Anger filled Neferet. “Is Aurox not there? Was he too stupid to find the farm?”

The vessel is there

He watches without care

“Force him to act! Make him stop the damn ritual!” The tendril voices all babbled at once, forming a stew of confusion in her mind. She closed her palm and slapped them away. “Do as I command! You’ve had your blood.”

The myriad of whispering voices were abruptly cut off as the specter of the white bull materialized in the middle of her chamber. The image was transparent and not fully formed, but his voice, powerful and obviously irritated, blasted through her mind. I have told you before your sacrifice must be equal to the command!

With an effort, Neferet stifled her own anger and, with soft, placating words she spoke to the ghostly apparation, “But the vessel was a gift from you. Why would it take a great sacrifice to control a creature created from Darkness? I don’t even understand why he is deviating from my command.”

I warned you at his creation that the sacrifice used to form him was not perfect and so the vessel would be flawed.

“Well, I can tell you that recently I’ve begun to doubt his intelligence.”

It could be he is thinking for himself rather than not at all.

“So, he’s lazy? I gave him a task and he’s doing nothing!” Neferet paused, controlled her temper, and then sighed dramatically. “It isn’t that I mind so much for myself, but it seems disrespectful to you.”

Ah, my heartless one, it touches me that your concern is on my behalf. Perhaps the vessel does need prompting.

“If you prompt him, you would have my thanks.” Neferet curtseyed deeply to the apparition.

For you, my threads will force his actions. Still, they require an appropriate sacrifice.

Trying not to sound as annoyed as she felt, Neferet said, “Very well. What sacrifice do they require?”

The vessel is a beast, thus a beast must be sacrificed to control it.

“A beast? A Raven Mocker?”

No, the sacrifice must be a creature allied with you.

Neferet felt ill. “Skylar? I must sacrifice my cat?”

If it troubles you so, choose another. There are many felines about this place, are there not …

With those words, the specter of the white bull wavered and then dissipated. With a look of cold determination, Neferet took the razor-edged athame from her dresser, opened the door to her chamber, and began summoning the perfect sacrifice. It would not be Skylar—he was not a Warrior’s cat. His death wouldn’t be imbued with the appropriate violence. No, there was only one feline whose death would suit this need. Cloaked in mist and shadow, Neferet glided into the night …

Zoey

“Come air, sweet, soft touch of Nyx breath divine.”

From the very first sentence of Thanatos’s spell, I knew that this wasn’t going to be like any circle I’d ever before experienced. First of all, the High Priestess’s voice had changed. It wasn’t that she shouted or anything like that, but there was something about the singsong cadence of the spell that lent power to her voice so that her words seemed to be alive and surrounding us. As she continued to speak that power bled out into the space around us. It sizzled across my skin and down my body. I could see Damien’s gooseflesh raised on his arms, and I knew the others were being affected by it, too.

“Blow from this place concealing shadows past

It is death’s shade to view we do incline

Death revealed through this circle spell we cast.”

With a flourish of her hands Thanatos gestured for Damien to lift his candle. The Priestess nodded at me and I struck the match, lit the wick, and said, “Air, please join our circle.”

There was a mighty whoosh! and whipping wind swirled around us, lifting my hair and making Thanatos’s cloak billow.

“To fire,” she told me, and I walked doceil or clockwise to Shaunee. Her brown eyes were big and round, and she was staring behind us. Remembering Grandma’s warning, I glanced back and gasped in astonishment. A glowing length of scarlet light snaked from Damien, outlining the circle and tracing our path from him to Shaunee.

I was used to the silver thread that often appeared when I cast a circle, but this was different. Yeah, it was powerful, but it also felt ominous. I didn’t know if Thanatos saw it or not; I didn’t know if it was a good or bad sign that it was there, but I didn’t want to interrupt the High Priestess’s spell as she was already beginning the fire invocation.

“Come fire, your blaze must be strong, sure, and true

Strike, burn, destroy what would prevent our sight

Force violent death revealed to us anew

Your illumating flame expose with truth’s light.”

At her gesture, Shaunee lifted the red candle and I lit it saying, “Fire, please join our circle.”

It was as if we were suddenly standing inside an inferno. Flames shot from Shaunee’s body, filling the already charred circle, but this fire didn’t add to the destruction. Instead I heard a massive hissing and from everywhere that had been dead and blighted mist lifted, as if fire had met ice and not earth.

Then air joined fire and the flames and mist flew up into the sky to streak and flash.

“Lightning.” Shaunee’s voice sounded hushed and awed. “Air mixed with fire is making lightning.”

“To water,” Thanatos said.

The thick rope of glowing scarlet followed us.

When we stopped in front of Erin I thought she looked scared, but she nodded and said, “Bring it on. I’m ready.”

Thanatos spoke:

“Come water, flow throughout this circle space

With tide of truth wash clear sight-stealing time

Allowing us to see death’s tear-streaked face

Violence cleansed sets us free of evil’s grime.”