"That's an excellent point to make," Damien said.

"Thanks," I said. "And what I'm expecting is that there will be a lot of explaining that will need to go on after the ritual, so I'm going to cut it pretty short."

"Then we watch Neferet deal with the fallout," Aphrodite said.

"And if she's Queen Tsi Sgili, like we think she might be, she's going to be way too busy trying to squirm her way out of how pissed Shekinah is going to be to do anything about fulfilling Kalona's prophecy," I said. And if the very worst happens, and Queen Tsi Sgili is Stevie Rae or one of her kids, I'll trust Shekinah and Nyx to handle that, too. Out loud I added, "Damien, keep an eye open for those Raven Mockers, though. If you think you see, or even hear one, zap him with wind."

"Will do," Damien said.

"So are we ready?" I asked my friends.

"Yes!" they yelled.

Then we all hurried out of the dorm and, with confident hearts, headed straight into our last moments of innocence.

Chapter Thirty-one

It seemed like the whole school was already there waiting for us. By prepositioning the tall pillar candles, the Twins had already set the stage, so fledglings and vampyres made a huge circle around the appointed area, with the big oak serving as the focal point and head of the soon-to-be-cast circle.

I was glad to see all the Sons of Erebus. The warriors had situated themselves all along the outside of the circle, but they'd also taken up positions on top of the big stone- and-brick wall that surrounded the school. I knew it was probably making it a pain in the butt for Stevie Rae and the red fledglings to get onto the school grounds, but between the Raven Mockers, Kalona, and whoever had been killing vampyres--they made me feel safe.

Jack and I stood off to the side while Damien, the Twins, and Aphrodite took their places facing inward with the colored candles representing their elements in their hands. If I stood on my tiptoes, I could just make out Nyx's feast table that we sometimes put in the center of the circle. Tonight I imagined it held dried fruits and pickled vegetables, as would be right for deep winter, along with the ritual goblet of wine and such. I thought I also saw someone standing beside the table, but there were too many people in the way, and I couldn't be sure.

"Merry meet!" Shekinah greeted me.

"Merry meet." I smiled and saluted her.

"How is your grandmother?"

"She's holding her own," I said.

"I considered canceling the ritual, or at least postponing it, but Neferet was adamant it should go on as planned. She seemed to believe it would be important to you."

I fixed my expression so that I looked interested but neutral about what she'd said.

"Well, I think the ritual is important, and I wouldn't want to be the cause of it being cancelled," I said. I looked around. Weird that Neferet herself wasn't here to jab at me. I was sure the only reason she'd been pushing for this to go on tonight was because she knew I'd been hurt and distracted by Grandma's accident. "Where is Neferet?" I asked.

Shekinah glanced behind her, and then I saw her frown and send a quick look around the crowd. "She was just here behind me. Odd that I can't find her now . . ."

"She's probably already part of the circle." I hoped my face didn't betray any of the warning bells that had started to bong in my head. I looked over at where Jack was tinkering with the audio equipment. "Well, I should probably get started."

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention this to you. Actually I expected Neferet to tell you." Shekinah paused and looked around for Neferet again. "No matter, I can let you know just as easily. Neferet mentioned that you'd never performed such a large cleansing ritual before and that perhaps you didn't know, because you are such a very young fledgling, that during a ritual of this type you must mix the blood of a vampyre with the sacrificial wine you'll offer to the elements."

"What?" I couldn't have heard her right.

"Yes, it's quite simple, actually. Erik Night has volunteered not only to call you into the circle, taking our poor Loren Blake's place, but Erik will also play the traditional role of priestess's consort and offer his blood to you as sacrifice. I hear he's an excellent actor, so he'll do quite well tonight. Just follow his lead."

"That was the surprise I was talking about!" Jack said, popping up beside Shekinah. "Well, the part about Erik calling you into the circle, I mean. The blood part is just whatever." Said the kid who was still a young enough fledgling not to be deeply affected by blood like, say, I was. "Isn't it cool that Erik volunteered!"