Revealed (2 page)

“That surprise turned out great, which is why I think the two kittens will be perfect as well,” said the dad.

Like seeing Lenobia and Travis together—this family made my heart feel good.

I had started to move to the makeshift desk with Aphrodite when one of the little girls asked, “Hey mommy, what are those black things?”

Something in the child’s voice had me pausing, changing direction, and heading to the kitten cage.

When I got there I instantly knew why. Within the cage the two calico kittens were hissing and batting at several large, black spiders.

“Oh, yuck!” the mom said. “Looks like your school might have a spider problem.”

“I know a good exterminator if you need a recommendation,” the dad said.

“We’re gonna need a shit ton more than a good exterminator,” Aphrodite whispered as we stared into the kitten cage.

“Yeah, uh, well, we don’t usually have bug issues here,” I babbled as disgust shivered up my back.

“Eesh, Daddy! There are lots more of them.”

The little blond girl was pointing at the back of the cage. It was so completely covered with spiders that it seemed to be alive with their seething movements.

“Oh, my goodness!” Sister Mary Angela looked pale as she stared at the spiders that appeared to be multiplying. “Those things weren’t there moments ago.”

“Sister, why don’t you take this nice family into the tent and get their paperwork started,” I said quickly, meeting the nun’s sharp gaze with my own steady one. “And send Damien out here to me. I can use his help to take care of this silly spider problem.”

“Yes, yes, of course.” The nun didn’t hesitate.

“Get Shaunee, Shaylin, and Stevie Rae,” I told Aphrodite, keeping my voice low.

“You’re going to cast a circle in front of all of these humans?” Aphrodite whispered at me.

“Would you rather have her do that, or have Neferet start
eating
all these humans?” Suddenly Stark was there, beside me. I could feel his strength and his concern. “It is Neferet, isn’t it?”

“It’s spiders. Lots of spiders.” I pointed at the cages.

“Sounds like Neferet to me,” Damien said quietly as he joined us.

“I’ll get the rest of the circle.” Aphrodite dropped her cup and started jogging back to the bakery tent.

“What’s the plan?” Stark asked, his eyes not leaving the ever-growing nest of spiders.

“We protect what is ours,” I said. Then I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and tapped the name thanatos. She answered on the first ring.

“Something has changed here. I can feel the approach of death.” The High Priestess didn’t raise her voice, but I could hear the tension thrumming through it.

“Spiders are materializing in the Street Cats booth. Lots of them. I’ve called my circle to me.”

“Neferet.” She spoke the name solemnly, confirming my gut reaction. “Invoke the protection of the elements. Whatever the Tsi Sgili is materializing, we know it isn’t natural—so use nature to expel it.”

“Will do,” I said.

“I’ll begin the raffle—call the attention of the humans to the Warrior tent. They’ll be safest there. Zoey, be as discreet as you can be. It only serves Neferet’s purposes if today ends in panic and chaos.”

“Got it.” I hung up.

“Are we circling?” Damien asked.

“Yep. We’re using our elements to get rid of this bug problem.” I didn’t hesitate, nor did I wait for the rest of my circle. While Stark looked on protectively, I took Damien’s hand. He and I faced the kittens’ cages.

“Air, please come to me,” Damien said.

I felt the response of his element instantly. “Focus it,” I told him.

He nodded. “Air, blow this Darkness away.”

The wind, that had been almost teasingly lifting Damien’s hair, rushed from him, swirling around the nest of spiders and making them writhe angrily.

“Ladies and gentlemen, fledglings, and vampyres, this is Thanatos, High Priestess of Tulsa’s House of Night, and your hostess this evening. I ask that everyone please make their way to the center of the campus and the silver and white Warrior tent, our raffle is beginning and you must be present to win.”

Thanatos’s voice over the loudspeaker sounded so normal, so principal-like, that it made the skittering nest of spiders seem even more abhorrent.

“Oh, no, you don’t need to worry about the details.” Sister Mary Angela was herding the young couple and their twin girls from the booth. “My assistants will have the kittens all ready for you to pick up after the raffle.”

“Why are the kids holding hands like that?” I heard one of the little girls ask.

“Oh, I’m sure they’re just praying,” Sister Mary Angela said smoothly. Then, over her shoulder, she told the half dozen or so nuns who had been running the booth, “Sisters, be sure the young people have the privacy they need for their prayers.”

“Of course, Sister,” the women murmured. Without question or hesitation, they spread out, creating a semi-circle around their tent, the cat cages, and the rest of the campus, effectively forming a nun curtain between possible gawkers and us.

Then Shaunee and Stevie Rae were sprinting up with Aphrodite, bursting through the nun barrier, and skidding to a halt, eyes bugging wide at the seething mass of insects.

“Ah, shit!” Shaunee said.

“Ohmygood
ness
!” Stevie Rae pressed her hand over her mouth in distaste.

“Neferet seriously makes my ass hurt,” Aphrodite said, grimacing at the spiders.

“We need to get all the elements here and have them kick these spiders off campus,” I said. “But we can’t make a scene.”

“Yeah, ’cause Neferet would want to F everything up by causing a big ol’ scary scene and freaking out the humans,” Shaunee said. “No worries, Z. I’ll keep it on the back burner.” She walked purposefully over to Damien, who held his hand out to her. She took it and, staring at the mass of dark legs and pulsing bodies, “Fire, come to me.” The air around us warmed. The beautiful black girl smiled and continued, “Heat ’em up, but don’t make ’em fry.”

Fire did exactly as she asked. There was no smoke or flames or fireworks, but the air around us got really warm and the mass of spiders twitched in obvious discomfort.

I looked around, just then noticing that Shaylin hadn’t joined us. “Where’s water? We need Shaylin for the circle.”

“She’s not back from the parking lot,” Stevie Rae said. “I called her phone, but she’s not answering.”

“Probably can’t hear it,” Damien said. “There’s a lot going on out there.”

“Okay, no problem. I’ll stand in for water,” Aphrodite said. “It won’t be as strong, but at least it’ll be a complete circle.”

Aphrodite started to move to take Shaunee’s hand when Erin stepped through the nun barrier.

“I knew a circle was going on! I could feel it,” Erin said, then she curled her lip at Aphrodite. “
You’re
going to call water? Ha! You’re a piss poor substitute for me—the real deal.”

“You’re a real something, that’s for sure,” Aphrodite told her. “But a
deal
isn’t it.”

“I told you not to have anything to do with these pussies,” Dallas said, sneering at a nun who tried to keep him outside their barrier.

“I know what you said, baby.” Erin sent him a flirty smile. “But you know I gotta do what I gotta do. And I’m not cool with water being left out of a circle.”

Dallas shrugged. “Whatever. Seems like a waste of time to me. Plus, why the hell are your idiot ex-friends circling during the open house?” His mean, sharp gaze narrowed, as if he just realized what the nun barrier meant. “Hey, what’s going on in here?”

“We don’t have time for this,” I snapped. “Stark, get rid of Dallas, and be sure he stays shut up until the open house is over.”

“Gladly!” Smiling, Stark picked Dallas up by the back of his shirt and pulled him away from us and from the center of campus. Dallas was struggling and cussing, but he was little more than a buzzing mosquito to Stark’s strength. I turned to Erin. “No matter what else has happened, you’re water and your element is welcome in our circle, but we don’t need any negative energy here—this is too important.” I nodded to the spiders. Erin’s gaze followed mine and she gasped.

“What the hell is that?”

I opened my mouth to evade her question, but my gut stopped me. I met Erin’s blue eyes. “I think it’s what’s left of Neferet. I know it’s evil and it doesn’t belong at our school. Will you help us kick it out?”

“Spiders are disgusting,” she began, but her voice faltered as she glanced at Shaunee. She lifted her chin and cleared her throat. “Disgusting things should go.” Resolutely, she walked to Shaunee and paused. “This is my school, too.”

I thought Erin’s voice sounded weird and kinda raspy. I hoped that meant that her emotions were unfreezing and that, maybe, she was coming back around to being the kid we used to know.

Shaunee held out her hand. Erin took it. “I’m glad you’re here,” I heard Shaunee whisper.

Erin said nothing.

“Be discreet,” I told her.

Erin nodded tightly. “Water, come to me.” I could smell the sea and spring rains. “Make them wet,” she continued.

Water beaded the cages and a puddle began to form under them. A fist-sized clump of spiders lost their hold on the metal and splashed into the waiting wetness.

“Stevie Rae.” I held my hand out to her. She took mine, then Erin’s, completing the circle.

“Earth, come to me,” she said. The scents and sounds of a meadow surrounded us. “Don’t let this pollute our campus.”

Ever so slightly, the earth beneath us trembled. More spiders tumbled from the cages and fell into the pooling water, making it churn.

Finally, it was my turn. “Spirit, come to me. Support the elements in expelling this Darkness that does not belong at our school.”

There was a whooshing sound and all of the spiders dropped from the cages, falling into the waiting pool of water. The water quivered and began to change form, elongating—expanding.

I focused, feeling the indwelling of spirit, the element for which I had the greatest affinity, and in my mind I pictured the pool of spiders being thrown out of our campus, like someone had emptied a pot of disgusting toilet water. Keeping that image in mind, I commanded: “Now get out!”

“Out!” Damien echoed.

“Go!” Shaunee said.

“Leave!” Erin said.

“Bye-bye
now
!” Stevie Rae said.

Then, just like in my imagination, the pool of spiders lifted up, like they were going to be hurled from the earth. But in the space of a single breath the dark image reformed again into a familiar silhouette—curvaceous, beautiful, deadly. Neferet! Her features weren’t fully formed, but I recognized her and the malicious energy she radiated.

“No!” I shouted. “Spirit! Strengthen each of the elements with the power of our love and loyalty! Air! Fire! Water! Earth! I call on thee, so mote it be!”

There was a terrible shriek, and the Neferet apparition rushed forward. It surged from our circle, breaking over Erin like a black tide. With the sound of a thousand skittering spiders, the specter fled through the main entrance of the school and then disappeared completely.

“Holy shit. That was seriously gross,” Aphrodite said.

I was going to agree with Aphrodite when I heard the first, terrible cough.

I felt the circle break before I saw her fall to her knees. She looked up at me and coughed again. Blood sprayed from her lips. “Didn’t think it would end like this,” she rasped.

“I’m getting Thanatos!” Aphrodite called as she sprinted away.

“No! This can’t be happening,” Shaunee said, dropping to her knees beside the already blood-soaked Erin. “Twin! Please. You’ll be fine!”

Erin fell into her arms. Damien, Stevie Rae, and I shared a look, and then as one, we joined Shaunee while she held her friend.

“I’m so sorry,” Shaunee sobbed. “I didn’t mean anything bad that I said to you.”

“It’s—it’s okay, Twin.” Erin spoke slowly between wracking coughs as the blood bubbled in her throat and streamed crimson from her eyes and ears and nose. “It was my fault. I—I forgot how to feel.”

“We’re here with you,” I said, touching Erin’s hair. “Spirit, calm her.”

“Earth, soothe her,” Stevie Rae said.

“Air, envelop her,” Damien said.

“Fire, warm her,” Shaunee spoke through her tears.

Erin smiled and touched Shaunee’s face. “It already has warmed me. I—I don’t feel cold and alone anymore. Don’t feel anything except tired…”

“Just rest,” Shaunee said. “I’ll stay with you while you sleep.”

“We all will,” I said, wiping tears from my face with the back of my sleeve.

Erin smiled one more time at Shaunee, and then she closed her eyes and died in her Twin’s arms.

The reflection from the past that had suddenly manifested in Zoey Redbird’s mystical mirror had been a terrible reminder of the death of Neferet’s innocence. It had been so unexpected for Neferet to see herself again as a broken, beaten girl that the memory had shattered her, leaving her vulnerable to the mutinous attack from the creature that had been her vessel. Aurox had overcome her, gored her, and hurled her from the penthouse balcony. When she had hit the pavement below, Neferet, former High Priestess of Nyx, had, indeed, died. As her mortal heart had ceased beating, the spirit within her, the immortal energy that had made her Queen Tsi Sgili, had taken over, dissolving her broken shell of a body and living … 
living.

The mass of Darkness and spirit nested together, going to ground, waiting, waiting, surviving, while the Tsi Sgili’s consciousness struggled to continue to exist.

The violated girl in the mirror had resurrected a memory that Neferet believed had long ago been dead … buried … forgotten. That past had risen with a force that she had been utterly unprepared to battle.

Alive again, the past had killed Neferet.

Neferet remembered. She had once been a daughter. She had once been Emily Wheiler. She had once been a vulnerable, desperate child, and the human male who should have been her most vigilant protector had molested, abused, and violated her.

The instant Emily’s reflection had flashed within the magickal mirror, all the decades of power and strength that Neferet had fashioned into a barrier she had used to repress that violation, that murdered innocence, evaporated.