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“Which is completely understandable.” Damien hugged me. “That’s why we’re here. We’re going to get her back.” He looked at Aurox. “Are you ready?”

Aurox nodded. I didn’t think he looked ready, but then again I probably didn’t look ready, either, so I tried not to judge. Shaylin and I were pulling our element candles from our purses when Kalona, silent as the night itself, dropped from the sky.

“What news from the school?” Thanatos asked the winged immortal.

“Dallas and Erin have fragmented the red fledglings. They sow dissention, even within their own kind. They will have to be dealt with when this is over.”

“Agreed,” Thanatos said. “But the plan worked.”

“It did. They are so busy lording the responsibility you have given them over the other students that they care nothing about what Zoey and you, or any of the rest of us, are doing,” Kalona said.

“Erin’s making a big mistake,” Shaunee said quietly.

“I’m glad she’s making it without you,” Damien said.

“We’re all glad of that,” I agreed.

My Bug pulled up then, and Stevie Rae and Rephaim got out. “Sorry, y’all,” she said, hurrying to us with her green candle. “Erin and Dallas were in a car behind me, so I had to pretend to start drivin’ to Henrietta. Jeeze Louise, I was worried they were gonna follow me all the way, but then they turned off the highway and I realized they were just goin’ to Garbee’s lighting store.” She paused and gave me a look. “You okay, Z? You’re remindin’ me of a deer in the headlights.”

I blinked and realized I’d been staring at her. “It’s just so weird to see you without your tattoos.”

Stevie Rae lifted her hand and touched her forehead, careful not to smudge off the heavy makeup concealer that covered her beautiful vampyre Mark. “Yeah, looks weird to me, too. All you guys do.”

“But we’re less noticeable, and that’s the point tonight,” Stark said.

I understood and agreed that we all needed to keep a low profile—hell, even Kalona was wearing a long leather duster that, in the dark, actually mostly hid his giant wings. But it didn’t change the fact that minus our Marks we looked strange and ordinary. Too ordinary. Tonight we needed to be powerful and confident and extraordinary. I tried to focus on the positive and believe we’d all be okay, but the truth was my stomach hurt and I was struggling not to cry.

No. I’m not crying. Weak little girls cry. Leaders act. For Grandma’s sake, if not for my own, I am going to act.

“Hey, your Mark is inside. That can’t ever be covered or lost or forgotten,” Stark said, obviously feeling my tension.

“Thanks for reminding me,” I said, touching his temporarily tattoo-free face gently.

“Let us all remember. Our power lies not in the trappings of our kind, but within, through our choices and the gifts given to us by our Goddess,” Thanatos said. “And so, we shall begin. The first step tonight is the opening of our circle and the casting of a spell of protection. Once I have set the spell in motion, our circle will be cloaked. As long as the circle remains unbroken, each of the five of you will be safe. Human eyes will not see you. Human hands cannot harm you. But before and after the setting of the spell, you will all be vulnerable.”

The little hairs on my forearms were standing up and I had to breathe deeply to keep from freaking totally out. I kept sneaking little glances at Aurox. He had hardly said anything since we picked him up. In my mind, I pictured the Goddess as I’d last seen her—lush and wise and strong—and prayed silently: Please, Goddess, let him be ready for this!

“Shaunee, the front of the Mayo faces south. Though it is winter, there are bistro tables outside the entrance. That is where you will position yourself with your candle. Darius, you will join Shaunee. Protect her,” Thanatos said.

“I will, High Priestess,” Darius said solemnly. “I will also be close enough to protect Aphrodite and Zoey, if need be.”

“The tables are part of the restaurant. They’re still out there because of smokers,” Aphrodite explained. She reached into her purse, felt around, and tossed Shaunee a pack of cigarettes.

“You smoke?” It seemed silly, but after all we’d been through together the thought that Aphrodite was a smoker shocked me.

“Hell no. Do you know how many wrinkles smoking causes? Hello, beef-jerky-looking skin at thirty. I know about the smoking tables because I’ve been to the Mayo’s restaurant before, so I came prepared.” Aphrodite looked at Shaunee. “While Zoey and I are pretending to study, you can pretend to smoke and pretend Darius is your boyfriend. Again, pretend is an important word here. Keep in mind I can see you through the picture window and I will kill you dead if you pretend too well. Oh, p.s., order the white chili soup. That, you don’t have to pretend to eat. It’s good.”

“Thanks,” Shaunee said. “And even though you’re more than kinda hateful, thanks for the loan of your Warrior.”

“Don’t mention it. Seriously. Ever.”

“Damien,” Thanatos continued, ignoring Aphrodite like the rest of us, “an alley runs the length of the east wall of the Mayo. It’s poorly lit and is where they keep the refuse. You may position yourself there. Stark, you’ll be with Damien. Should anyone attempt to interfere with him before the circle is cast and the protection spell is set, you are to use all of your mind control skills to make him or her begone.”

Stark nodded. “I understand. I won’t let anyone mess with Damien. Just like Darius won’t let anyone mess with my Z.”

“You have my oath on it,” Darius said.

I squeezed Stark’s hand. I knew he hated me being separated from him, but like me, he understood why. The circle had to be protected, and Damien’s air was the first element to be called, so he’d be there—holding a candle —just hanging out in a cold, dark alley, waiting for Thanatos to walk all the way around the block and set the protective spell in place. Damien was going to be a whole lot more vulnerable than I’d be in a nice restaurant pretending to study geometry.

“Stevie Rae, Damien’s alley meets a small servants’ entryway in the very rear of the building, just this side of Fourth Street.”

Stevie Rae nodded to Thanatos. “That’s my north. Rephaim and I will be there.”

Thanatos turned to Shaylin. “Cheyenne is the street that follows the west side of the Mayo. There is no adequate hiding place for you. It is simply a sidewalk beside a building beside a street. Water is the third of the five elements to be called. I will not lie to you. You will be alone until earth and fire complete the circle.”

“No she won’t,” I spoke quickly, thankful for the words my intuition was guiding me to speak. “Nyx will be with her. She’s already given Shaylin awesome gifts—True Sight, an affinity for water, and the mind power ability all red fledglings have.”

“That’s right, Shaylin,” Stevie Rae added. “You haven’t been Marked for long, so you haven’t had much time to practice ’cause, well, we’ve pretty much decided it’s not very nice to poke around in the heads of regular people, but you can do it. If someone tries to bother you, just look at them. Make them meet your eyes, and then tell them what you want them to do while you think about it real hard.”

Shaylin nodded. She didn’t look nervous at all. She looked rock solid. “I’ll think go away, leave me alone, forget you ever saw me! Is that right?

“Yep, sure is.” Stevie Rae smiled. “See, easy-peasy.”

“I will watch out for you as well,” Kalona said.

“No! Shaylin can handle herself. We all can. You’re not supposed to take your eyes from the top of the Mayo and the balcony of Neferet’s penthouse. The second you see Grandma, swoop in and save her. That’s your only job tonight,” I said.

“Not true, young Priestess,” Thanatos cut in. “Kalona is my Warrior, and as such he has a responsibility to protect our fledglings, as well as me.” She walked to Kalona. “Shadow me as I cast the circle and set the spell. Watch over our people. Be sure that the stage is set for what we mean to accomplish tonight.” Thanatos’s gaze shifted to me and then to where Aurox stood at the edge of our group. “Until the circle is cast, you are not to enter Neferet’s lair.”

“I will wait until I feel the infilling of the elements,” Aurox said.

“Remember, Aurox, without the strength of the elements, you have no way to control the beast, and it will