"I give my word. I will return soon," Rephaim's voice drifted down to Aurox. The boy was leaving, though temporarily. Aurox relaxed against the earthen wall. His body ached and his mind whirred.

That he could not stay in the pit was obvious, but that was all that was obvious to Aurox.

Had Rephaim's goddess, the one who had forgiven him, also led him to Aurox's pit? If so, was it to show Aurox redemption or revenge?

Should he turn himself in, perhaps to Zoey, and take whatever consequences were meted out?

What if the beast emerged again, and this time he could not control it at all?

Should he flee?

Should he go to Priestess and demand answers?

"I know nothing," he whispered to himself. "I know nothing."

Aurox bowed his head under the weight of his confusion and longing. Tentatively, silently, he mimicked Rephaim with his own prayer. It was simple. It was sincere. And it was the first time in his life Aurox had ever prayed.

Nyx, if you are, indeed, a forgiving goddess, please help me ... please ...

CHAPTER NINE

Zoey

"Neferet must be stopped," Thanatos said with no preamble.

"Sounds like good news to me. Finally," Aphrodite said. "So is the entire High Council showing up here to call bullshit on her stupid press conference, or is Duantia coming by herself?"

"I can't wait till the humans hear the real deal about her," Stevie Rae spoke after Aphrodite, sounding as pissed as Aphrodite and not giving Thanatos a chance to reply. "I'm dang tired of Neferet smiling and batting her eyes and making everyone believe she's all sugar and spice and everything nice."

"Neferet does much more than bat her eyes and smile," Thanatos said grimly. "She uses her Goddess-given gifts to manipulate and harm. Vampyres are subject to her spell-humans have little defense against her."

"Which means the Vampyre High Council has to stand up and do something about her," I said.

"I wish it were that simple," Thanatos said.

My stomach clenched. I had one of my feelings, and that was almost never good.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't it be that simple?" I asked.

"The High Council will not mingle humans in vampyre affairs," she said.

"But Neferet's already done that," I said.

"Yeah, talk about closin' the barn door after the cows have already gone out," Stevie Rae said.

"The bitch killed Zoey's mom." Aphrodite was shaking her head as if in disbelief. "Are you saying that the High Council is just going to ignore that and let her get away with murder and talk shit about all of us?"

"And what would you have the High Council do? Expose Neferet as a killer?"

"Yes," I spoke up, glad I sounded tough and mature instead of scared and about twelve, which was really how this whole thing was making me feel. "I know she's immortal and powerful, but she killed my mom."

"We have no proof of that," Thanatos said quietly.

"Bullshit!" Aphrodite exploded. "We all saw it!"

"In a reveal ritual set in motion by a death spell. Neither can be repeated. The land has been washed clean of that act of violence by all five elements."

"She took Darkness as her Consort," Aphrodite argued. "She's not just in league with evil, she's probably doing the nasty with it!"

"Eeew," Stevie Rae and I said together.

"Humans would never believe any of it, even if they had been there." We all turned to look at Shaylin, who until then had been standing silently and watching the four of us with what I'd thought was a kinda glazed, shocky expression. But her voice was steady. Sure, she looked nervous, but her chin was lifted again and she had what I was coming to recognize as her stubborn face on.

"What the hell do you know about it and why are you speaking?" Aphrodite snapped at her.

"This time last month I was a human. Humans don't trust vampyre magick." Shaylin faced Aphrodite without flinching. "You've been around all this magick too long. You have totally lost perspective."

"And you have totally lost your mind," Aphrodite snarled, puffing up like a blowfish.

"Squabbling children again." Thanatos didn't raise her voice, but her words cut through the almost-girl-fight tension between Aphrodite and Shaylin.

"They don't want to fight," I spoke into the sudden silence. "None of us do. But we're all frustrated and we expected you and the High Council to do something, anything, to help us against Neferet."