Why doesn’t he ever wear a shirt? flitted through my mind. Then Thanatos gestured at us to join her, saying, “Ah, good. Here is Zoey. I am glad to see she is accompanied by the young High Priestess Stevie Rae, as well as our Prophetess, Aphrodite.”
Kalona stepped back so that the three of us could be seen by the computer camera, along with Thanatos. The large screen showed the High Council Chamber in the temple at San Clemente Island, just off the coast of Venice. Seven stone thrones, each ornately carved, were on a stage-like area. Six of the thrones were occupied. I knew the seventh belonged to Thanatos. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the fact that they hadn’t filled her spot on the High Council. I liked that Thanatos was here with us, yet still had enough power to maintain her seat on the High Council. I didn’t like that that might mean she could be yanked back there at any time.
I realized no one was saying anything and everyone was staring at me. My face flamed with heat and I fisted my hand over my heart, bowing quickly. “Merry meet, High Priestesses. I’m sorry I’m late. I was, um—” I paused, totally losing whatever excuse I was going to babble.
“She’s stressed out because we’re all stuck here,” Aphrodite finished for me. She performed a cursory bow. “Merry meet. It’s me, Aphrodite.”
“We remember who you are, Prophetess.” Duantia spoke first. “It would be rather difficult for us to forget our first human Prophetess.” She was sitting in the most ornate of the thrones and, obviously, was leading the High Council. Then Duantia turned her dark eyes on me, and I could feel their power even with thousands of miles separating us. “Being late is sometimes inevitable. Stress is also inevitable. Learning to limit one and handle the other is part of being a High Priestess.” Before I could start to apologize again, she looked from me to Stevie Rae. “Merry meet, Stevie Rae. When events allow, the Council and I would like to extend an invitation to you and your unusual Consort, Rephaim, to visit San Clemente Island. We are intrigued by the two of you. It is true that the boy actually shifts his form from human to raven daily?”
“Merry meet,” Stevie Rae said, bowing formally. Then she smiled a little shyly, but answered Duantia’s question with no hesitation or embarrassment. “Yes, ma’am, Rephaim’s just like a normal boy at night, but as soon as the sun rises he changes into a raven.”
“He has no recollection of the hours when he is a beast?” another High Council member asked.
“Not really, no. Or at least if he does he hasn’t told me. Rephaim doesn’t like to talk about it much.”
“We will speak more of this when you and your Consort visit us,” Duantia said.
“Better get one of those really big dog travel crates,” Aphrodite whispered to Stevie Rae.
I elbowed her.
“Now, back to the subject at hand,” Duantia continued. “Thanatos has summarized last night’s events. Aphrodite, the Council extends our condolences to you. A parent’s death is never easy.”
“Thank you.”
“Zoey, Stevie Rae, Aphrodite, you were present when the apparition manifested on your campus. Thanatos reports to us that you believe it was Neferet. Are the three of you in agreement on this?”
“We are,” I said. “Aphrodite and I saw the spiders first. I knew it was Neferet then. She’s manifested as spiders before, here at the House of Night, and when she fell from the balcony it looked like her body disintegrated into a whole nest of spiders.”
“It was obvious from the beginning the spiders weren’t normal,” Aphrodite added. “And it only got more obvious when Z started casting the circle.”
“As I already said, I had felt a change in the school’s energy just before Zoey called me to report what was happening. My initial thought was that I was sensing the approach of death, and death did visit our campus that night, but upon reflection I believe I also sensed the approach of the Tsi Sgili. Her power is derived from death and Darkness—it is what has fueled her immortality. I agree with Zoey and her circle. Neferet attempted to manifest.”
“We saw her,” I said, not liking that the Council members looked undecided. “It was definitely Neferet’s body that almost reformed before the elements threw her off campus.”
“Not far off,” Aphrodite said. “She killed my father at the school’s main entrance. That’s probably as far as she could make it without draining someone.”
“We also believe Neferet could be responsible for the fledgling’s rejection of the Change that night,” Thanatos said. “Her specter passed through the girl as she fled the circle, and the fledgling died mere minutes later.”
“Yes, the child with the water affinity,” Duantia said. “Such a shame to lose a Goddess-gifted fledgling.”
“Though it does make sense that an immortal who feeds from death and Darkness could cause a fledgling’s death in such a way,” said another Council member. “That could be what gave her the power she needed to fully manifest.”
“Neferet killed Erin and Aphrodite’s dad,” I said firmly. “We even tried to tell the detectives that, but no way can we explain the whole truth to them. No way are they going to believe us.”
“And now they are asking for us to begin DNA testing with my professors to compare with the evidence they found on the mayor’s body,” Thanatos said.
I heard Aphrodite’s surprised intake of breath and realized I should have warned her about that detail. Crap! I really had to start managing my time better.
“Humans want to investigate this murder within your House of Night.” Duantia didn’t make the statement a question, but Thanatos answered her anyway.
“Yes, which is in direct contradiction to our traditions. I will not give the permission to invade this school. That is why I have asked for your intercession,” Thanatos said. “All the human authorities need to understand is that the vampyre community has charged Neferet with the death of the mayor, and that we are working diligently to find her and to bring her to justice. They can end their investigation and lift the restrictions on our House of Night. In return our oath is given that we will be quite certain Neferet will pay for her crimes.”
“And yet the local humans believe Neferet has been the victim of violence herself,” Duantia said.
“Because we couldn’t explain to them that she used Darkness to kidnap my grandma, so we had to use magick to save her!” I hadn’t meant to yell, but I was just so frustrated at how unfair the whole dang thing was!
“There is much that cannot be explained to the humans, Zoey,” Duantia said. “Your mother’s death at Neferet’s hands is another sad example of this.”
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
“Zoey, if the restrictions are lifted from the House of Night, are you and Stevie Rae still determined to continue to live off campus, separated from the school?” a Council member who had been silent until then suddenly asked.
“Yes,” I said. “The tunnels under the depot are more comfortable for red vampyres and fledglings.”
“Yet you are neither.”
I frowned. “Well, I’m not a normal fledgling either.” I raised my hands, palms outward, so that the lattice tattooing the Goddess had placed there was fully visible to the camera.
“And I’m not a normal Prophetess of Nyx,” Aphrodite said. “So, I’ll be going with them.”
“I’m the first red High Priestess,” Stevie Rae said. “That’s not normal, either, and I’m with Zoey and Aphrodite. We’re not meanin’ to make trouble, but it is what it is—we’re stickin’ together.”
“I don’t get the problem with us living at the depot. You guys were okay with it before,” I said.
“Yes, that was before Neferet was provoked enough to kidnap your grandmother and kill a fledgling and a human, and bring the local authorities into your House of Night,” said the same Council member.
I could hardly believe what she was saying. “That was not our fault!”
“No one is blaming you,” Duantia said quickly. “We are only attempting to sift through the many recent tragic events.” Suddenly she shifted her attention. “Kalona, you are the only immortal here. What is your opinion?” Duantia’s question seemed to surprise all of us. Thanatos shifted in her chair, and Aphrodite and I moved aside a little so that Kalona could stand between us and face the High Council.
He bowed, fisting his hand over his heart, before answering. “I see no problem with Zoey and her group, and that includes my son, Rephaim, living in the depot. They are guarded by strong, loyal Warriors, and the tunnels provide safety for them. As to the murders, I have no doubt that the creature, Neferet, manifested and caused both deaths, and that humans cannot begin to make her pay for her crimes.”
“Kalona, we have accepted you as part of our community because of the oath you swore to Thanatos, but we are all curious about your answer to one question in particular,” Duantia said.