by P. C. Cast
“Thank you,” Neferet said shortly. She made a brusque gesture at the Sons of Erebus who had carried Kalona into the Council Chamber on the litter. “Bring Erebus. We are leaving this place.” With the barest of bows to the Council, Neferet strode imperiously from the room.
Everyone was watching her exit when Aphrodite grabbed Stark’s arm, and said urgently, “Stall. Don’t give them an answer about where you want to take Zoey.”
“Now that that interruption is gone, you are free to tell the Council where it is you’d like to take your High Priestess, Stark,” Thanatos said.
“Right now I want to take her to our room in the palace. That is, if you say it’s okay. I really need some time to think about what’s best for Zoey, and I haven’t had a chance to do that.”
“Young but wise.” Thanatos smiled in approval.
“I am pleased it seems you’ve been able to rein in your anger, Warrior,” Duantia said. “May you continue to think clearly and wisely.”
Stark clenched his teeth together and bowed his head respectfully, careful not to meet any of the Council members’ gazes, afraid that they would see the reality of his un-reined anger.
“The Council gives its permission for you to retire to the palace with your wounded High Priestess and your friends. We will ask for your decision about where you wish to take her on the morrow. Please know you may still decide to remain here. If you ask it of us, we will provide sanctuary for all of you, for as long as is necessary.”
“Thank you,” Stark said. He bowed formally to the group of powerful High Priestesses.
“Council is adjourned. We shall reconvene on the morrow. Until then, I truly wish you to blessed be.”
Before even Darius could help him, Stark went to Zoey, lifted her body in his arms, and, holding her close to him, carried her from the Council Chamber.
Stark
“Tell me everything you know.” He’d only just laid Zoey’s body on the bed in the suite assigned to them when Stark confronted Aphrodite.
“Well, it’s not much, but it’s enough to make me think the vamps are wrong,” Aphrodite said, snuggling into a big velvet chair beside Darius.
“You mean you know of a case where a Warrior actually brought back his High Priestess from the Otherworld?” Damien asked, as he and Jack pulled chairs from the suite’s living room into the bedroom.
“No. Not exactly.”
“What do you mean, Aphrodite?” Stark paced back and forth in front of Zoey’s bed.
“I mean I don’t give a shit about ancient history. Zoey isn’t some stick-up-her-ass High Priestess from back in the day.”
“People who ignore history end up repeating it,” Damien said softly.
“I didn’t say I was ignoring it, Gay Boy. I said I didn’t give a shit about it.” Aphrodite’s sharp gaze went from Damien to the Twins, who were still standing in the entryway to the bedroom. “Dorkamese Twins, why are you lurking?”
“We aren’t lurking, Hateful,” Shaunee’s voice was little more than a whisper.
“Yeah, we’re respectful-ing,” Erin added in a twin whisper.
“Oh, for shit’s sake. What are you two talking about?” Aphrodite said.
“It’s disrespecting Zoey’s, um, body to be all talking and stuff around her while she’s—” Shaunee broke off, looking at her twin for help.
Before Erin could, as usual, finish her sentence, Stark said, “No. We aren’t treating her like she’s dead. She’s just not here, that’s all.”
“So it’s more like a waiting room than a hospital room,” Jack said, reaching from his chair to touch Zoey’s hand.
“Yeah,” Stark said. “Only it’s a waiting room for something really good.”
“Like at the DMV when you’ve passed your driver’s test and had a really bad picture taken and you’re just waiting for them to bring you your license?” Jack said.
“Exactly, only without the filth and the peasants,” Aphrodite said. “So pull up some chairs, brain-sharers, and stop acting like Zoey’s a corpse.”
The Twins hesitated, shared a glance, shrugged, and then pulled chairs into the bedroom and joined the group’s little circle.
“All right, now that we’re all together on this, you need to tell us what you found out from Stevie Rae,” Darius said.
Aphrodite smiled at her Warrior. “How’d you know I got the info from Stevie Rae?”
Darius touched her face gently. “I know you.”
Stark clenched his fists and looked away from the bond that was so obvious between Aphrodite and Darius. He wanted to hit something. He needed to hit something. He was going to explode if he didn’t get rid of some of the feelings that were choking him from the inside out. Then Aphrodite’s words penetrated the mess that was his mind, and he whirled around to face her. “Say that again!”
“I said, Kalona really is in the Otherworld. Neferet’s sent him there to be sure Zoey doesn’t pull herself together and make it back here.”
“Wait, no, I remember overhearing Kalona talking to Rephaim once. He was real pissed because the Raven Mocker had said something about returning to the Otherworld. I’m sure Kalona said he couldn’t go back because Nyx kicked him out,” Stark said.
“She kicked out his body. His body isn’t there,” Aphrodite said. “It’s his soul that’s slithered its way back in.”
“OhmyGoddess!” Damien said.
“Zoey’s in bigger trouble than we thought,” Erin said sadly.
“And that was already some really big trouble,” Shaunee agreed.
“It gets worse,” Aphrodite said. “Neferet’s behind all of this.” She sighed and met Stark’s eyes. “Okay, this is gonna be not so nice for you to hear, but you need to listen up and deal with it. Kalona used to be Nyx’s Warrior.”
The color drained from Stark’s face. “That’s what Zoey told me right before . . .” He rubbed a hand through his hair. “I didn’t believe her. I got pissed and jealous and stupid. That’s why I wasn’t with her when she saw Kalona kill Heath.”
“You’re going to have to find a way to forgive yourself for that mistake,” Darius told Stark. “If you do not, you will not be able to focus on the here and now.”
“And it’s going to take a shitload of focus to save Zoey,” Aphrodite said.
“Because Stark’s gonna have to go to the Otherworld and fight Kalona for Zoey.” Jack’s voice was hushed, almost like he was talking during church.
“And figure out a way to help her get the pieces of her soul together,” Damien said.
“Then that’s what I’ll do.” Stark was glad he sounded confident because his gut felt like someone had punched him in it.
“If you try to do that without the right preparation, you will have no chance at all of succeeding, young Warrior.”
Stark’s eyes followed the voice to the doorway, where Thanatos stood, looking tall and grim and way too much like death personified.
“Then tell me how to prepare!” Stark wanted to shout his frustration from the rooftops of the world.
“To do battle in the Otherworld, the Warrior in you must die to give birth to the Shaman.”
Stark didn’t hesitate. “All I have to do is kill myself? You mean then my soul can go to the Otherworld and help Zoey?”
“It cannot be a literal death, Warrior. Think what it would do to Zoey’s already wounded spirit were she to have to bear your death as well as that of her consort.”
“There’s no way she’d ever leave the Otherworld then,” Damien said solemnly. “Even if she could get the pieces of her soul together.”
“Exactly, and that is what I believe happened to the other High Priestesses whose Warriors followed them into the Otherworld,” Thanatos said, entering the room and walking to Zoey’s bedside.
“So the other Warriors really did kill themselves to protect their Priestesses?” Aphrodite moved even closer to Darius and threaded her fingers through his.
“Most of them did, and the Warriors who did
n’t die before their souls left their bodies did so shortly thereafter. You must understand that Warriors aren’t High Priestesses. They don’t have the gifts it takes to move freely in the spirit realm.”
“Kalona is there, and he’s definitely not a High Priestess,” Stark said.
“Even those of us who do not believe he is Erebus come to earth know that this being you call Kalona is an immortal who has somehow arrived here from the Otherworld. The rules that bind a Warrior, or even a male vampyre who is not a Warrior, do not apply to him.”
“He is bound, though,” Aphrodite said, leaning forward with urgency. “I can see his chains. His body is covered by them.”
“Tell me what you’ve seen, Prophetess,” Thanatos said.
Aphrodite hesitated.
“Tell her everything,” Damien said. Aphrodite met his eyes. “We have to trust someone, or it won’t end up any different for Stark and Zoey than it has for those other Warriors and High Priestesses.”
“We might as well trust Death,” Stark said. “Because, one way or another, that’s what I’m going to have to face to get to Zoey.”
Aphrodite looked from Stark’s pale face to Darius. “I agree.”
“Me, too,” said Jack.
“Yeah,” said Shaunee.
“Tell her everything,” added Erin.
“All right,” Aphrodite said. She gave Thanatos a wry smile. “So, I better start with Neferet, and you better sit down.”
Chapter 10
Stark
Stark thought it was pretty impressive that Thanatos kept her shock to a minimum as Aphrodite, with some help from Damien, explained everything to the High Priestess, beginning with Zoey’s entrance to the House of Night, going through the discovery of the red fledglings, Kalona’s rising, their slow realization of the depth of Neferet’s evil, and finally finishing up with the conversation she’d had with Stevie Rae on the phone.
At the story’s conclusion, Thanatos stood and walked over to stare down at Zoey’s body. When the High Priestess finally spoke, it seemed she was talking to Z more than to them.
“So from the beginning this has been a battle between Light and Darkness, only until now it has been fought mostly in the physical realm.”
“Light and Darkness? It sounds like you’re using those two words as titles,” said Damien.
“Very astute of you, young fledgling,” Thanatos said.
“That’s what Stevie Rae was doing, too. Using Darkness like a title,” Aphrodite said.
“Titles? Like they’re two people?” Jack asked.
“Not people—that’s too limiting. Think of them more as immortals who are so powerful that they can manipulate energy to such an extent that spirit can be made tangible,” Thanatos said.
“You mean like Nyx is Light and Kalona, or at least what he represents, is Darkness?” Damien said.
“It is more accurate to say that Nyx is allied with Light. The same can be said for Kalona and Darkness.”
“Okay, I’m not Miss Perfect Schoolgirl, but I’m smart, and I actually did pay attention in class. Most of the time. I haven’t heard of any of this stuff,” Aphrodite said.
“Neither have I,” Damien said.
“And that’s saying something, ’cause Damien is definitely Miss Perfect Schoolgirl,” said Erin.
“Totally,” said Shaunee.
Thanatos sighed and turned from Zoey to face the rest of the room. “Yes, well, it is an ancient belief that I don’t think was ever fully accepted by our society, or at least the Priestesses of our society.”
“Why? What’s wrong with it?” Aphrodite asked.
“It was based on struggle and violence and the clash of the raw powers of good and evil.”
Aphrodite snorted, “You mean guy stuff.”
Thanatos’s brows lifted. “I do.”
“Hang on. What’s so guy-stuff-like about believing in good fighting evil?” Stark said.
“It’s more than a simple belief that there is good and that it should fight the evil in the world. It’s a personification of Light and Darkness at their most elemental level, as forces that are so absorbed with themselves that one cannot exist without the other though they constantly try to consume one another.” Thanatos sighed again at the blank looks the kids were giving her. “One of the earliest representations of Light and Darkness was of Light being a massive black bull and Darkness being an enormous white bull.”
“Huh? Shouldn’t the white be Light and the black be Darkness?” Jack asked.
“One would think so, but it is thus that they were represented in our ancient scrolls. It was written that each creature, Light and Darkness, carried something for which the other would always long. Think of the bulls, swollen with the power they wield, meeting in eternal combat, each struggling to get something from the other it could never attain without destroying itself. I saw a depiction of their battle once when I was a young High Priestess, and I’ve never forgotten how raw and violent it was—disturbingly so. The bulls’ horns were locked. Their powerful bodies strained to reach the other, blood spewed, nostrils flared. It was a deadlock that was frightening in its intensity—the painting itself seemed to vibrate with power.”
“Masculine power,” Darius said. “I’ve seen that depiction, too, when I was in training to become a Warrior. It decorated the cover of some of the ancient journals written by great Warriors from our past.”
“Masculine power. I can see why the vamp leaders let that bull stuff fade away,” Erin said.
“Seriously, Twin.” Shaunee nodded. “Too much guy power when vamps are mostly about girl power.”
“But our belief system isn’t about female power suppressing male power. It’s about a healthy balance between the two,” Darius said.
“No, Warrior, the truth is our belief system is not supposed to be about female power suppressing male power; but as with Light and Darkness, it is an eternal struggle to find a balance between the two without one destroying the other. Think of the images of Nyx that we see about us every day, with their feminine beauty and appeal. Contrast that to an imagining of the raw power unleashed in the form of two great, battling, male creatures. Do you see how a world trying to contain both would be in conflict, and thus one must be suppressed in order to allow the other to thrive?”
Aphrodite snorted, “That’s not so hard to imagine. I can’t imagine the uptight High Council wanting anything to do with something as messy as two giant guy bulls and any beliefs they represent.”
“She means except for you,” Stark said, frowning at Aphrodite and sending her a “you’re not helping” look.
Thanatos smiled. “No, Aphrodite is correct. The Council has changed over the centuries, especially over the past four I have existed. It used to be a vital force, in its own way very elemental and rather barbaric in its power. But in modern times it has become . . .” The High Priestess hesitated, searching for the correct word.
“Civilized,” Aphrodite said. “It’s super civilized.”
“It is,” Thanatos said.
Aphrodite’s blue eyes widened. “And being too civilized isn’t necessarily a good thing, especially when you’re dealing with two bulls ramming against each other and taking out anything that stands between them.”
“Zoey’s awfully close to Light,” Damien said softly.
“Close enough to get gored by Darkness,” Stark said. “Especially if Darkness has been sent to be sure she doesn’t ever reach the Light again.”
The room went silent while everyone’s eyes went to Zoey, lying silent and pale against the very civilized cream-colored satin linens.
It was within the silence that the realization came to Stark, and with the instincts of a Warrior guarding his High Priestess, he knew he had found the right path.
“Then finding out how to protect Zoey isn’t about ignoring the past. It’s about looking deeper into the past than anyone today would think to do,” Stark said, excitement raising his voice.
“And it�
�s about embracing and understanding the raw power that is unleashed by the struggle between Light and Darkness,” Thanatos said.
“But where the hell do we find out about that?” Aphrodite said, brushing her hair back from her face in frustration. “The beliefs we need have died out—you said that yourself, Thanatos.”
“Perhaps not everywhere,” Darius said, sitting up straighter, his eyes sharp and intelligent as his gaze met Stark’s. “If you want to find ancient and barbaric beliefs you have to go to a place formed by an ancient and barbaric past. A place that is essentially cut off from today’s civilization.”
The answer jolted through Stark. “I have to go to the Isle.”
“Exactly,” Darius said.
“What the hell are you two talking about?” Aphrodite said.
“They speak of the place where Warriors were first trained by Sgiach.”
“Sgiach? Who is that?” Damien asked.
“It is the ancient title for the Warrior who was called The Great Taker of Heads,” Darius said.
“Sgiach was as raw and barbaric as it gets as a Warrior,” Stark said.
“Okay, this is all well and good, but we need him to be alive today and not just an old story Warriors know, ’cause I’m pretty sure if Stark can’t travel to the Otherworld, he also can’t travel to the past,” Aphrodite said.
“She,” Darius corrected.
“She?” Aphrodite’s face was a question mark.
“Sgiach was a female Warrior, a vampyre of amazing powers,” Stark said.
“And those ‘old stories,’ my beauty, also say that there will always be a Sgiach.” Darius gave Aphrodite an indulgent smile. “She lives on the Isle of Women at the House of Night there.”
“There’s an Isle of Women House of Night?” Erin said.
“Why don’t we know about that?” Shaunee said. “Do you know about that?” she asked Damien.
He shook his head. “Never heard of it.”
“That’s because you’re not Warriors,” Darius said. “The Isle of Women is also known as the Isle of Skye.”
“Skye, like in Scotland?” Damien said.
“Yes. It is there that the very first vampyre Warriors were trained,” Darius said.
