Duchess was barking her head off as she raced after a snarling, hissing, yowling white ball of Maleficent. Aphrodite was chasing after the dog, screaming for her to "Come! Stay! Be good, damnit!" Damien was close behind her, flailing his arms and yelling, "Duchess! Come!" All of a sudden the Twins' cat, the huge and very stuck-up Beelzebub, joined in the chase, only he was tearing around after Duchess.

"Ohmygod! Beelzebub! Honey!" Shaunee ran into my view, yelling at the top of her very healthy lungs.

"Beelzebub! Duchess! Stop!" Erin wailed, right behind her twin.

Darius suddenly burst into the hallway, and I stepped back behind the curtains, not sure if my shrouding could be detected by him. Apparently he didn't notice me, or anything else, because he ran into the Council Room. I peeked through the drapes and could hear him telling Neferet that she was needed on the school grounds--that there was an "altercation." Then Neferet was hurrying out of the room and down the hall, following Darius into the dog-barking, cat-yowling, kid-screaming craziness.

I noticed that through all of it I hadn't seen hide nor hair of Jack.

Talk about an excellent persion!

Chapter Twenty-six

Again I listened to my instincts, and instead of sending away my concealing spirit right outside the Council Room, I moved quickly down the hall, retracing my path until I was at the bottom of the stairs. Then I lifted the concealment, thanking spirit, and started back up the stairs completely visible and telling myself, Be calm . . . be normal . . . Neferet is a liar and Shekinah is very, very wise . . .

Outside the Council Chamber, I paused to knock twice on the door.

"You may come in, Zoey!" Shekinah called.

I tried not to wonder if she'd known I'd been outside before. Putting a smile on my face, I entered the room. I fisted my hand over my heart and bowed respectfully. "Merry meet, Shekinah."

"Merry meet, Zoey Redbird," she said. I didn't notice any weirdness in her voice. "So, how was your visit with the ladies at Street Cats?"

I grinned. "Did you know that Street Cats is run by Benedictine nuns?"

She smiled back at me. "I did not, though I did expect the charity to be run by women. Women have long had a strong connection with cats. Were the good sisters open to your volunteer work?"

"Definitely. They were really nice. Oh, and Aphrodite adopted a cat while we were there, although Maleficent adopting Aphrodite is probably a more accurate way to describe what happened."

"Maleficent? What an unusual name."

"Yeah, but it fits her. All that noise that's happening out there." I jerked my head back in the direction of the hallway and the front of the school. We both listened and could still hear dog barking, cat yowling, and kid shouting. "I think you'll find out that all of that was instigated by Maleficent."

"So what you're saying is the nuns have double cause to thank you. For your volunteerism and for helping them rid themselves of one very difficult feline?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Oh, and Sister Mary Angela asked me to check with you about a date that would work well for the flea market. She said she'd work their schedule around ours. Besides that, they're going to stay open late every Saturday night so that we can volunteer once a week."

"That sounds lovely. I will meet with Neferet about a date that works best for the school." Shekinah paused for a moment, and then added, "Zoey, Neferet is your mentor, isn't she?"

I heard warning bells inside my head, but I forced myself to relax. I was going to answer Shekinah as honestly as I could in everything she asked me. I hadn't done anything wrong!

"Yes. Neferet is my mentor." "And do you feel close to Neferet?"

"I used to. We were very close when I first came here. Actually, my mom and I haven't been close for several years, and I kinda felt like Neferet was the mom I wish I'd had," I said truthfully.

"But that has changed?" she asked gently.

"Yes," I said.

"And why is that?"

I hesitated, choosing my words very carefully. I wanted to tell Shekinah as much of the truth as I dared, and for an instant I considered telling her everything--the whole truth about Stevie Rae and the prophecy and what we were afraid was happening, but my gut told me not to reveal everything now. Shekinah would learn the truth tomorrow. Until then, I didn't want Neferet to have any inkling about what was going to happen--about the fact that she was going to have to face what she had done, and what she was becoming.