Page 29 (1/2)

Neferet

The shadoere agitated So

"Read the next chapter in your sociology book I have business to which I must attend" Neferet snapped the co fifth hour students before hurrying from the classroo eyes and all too curious professors would not witness her passage as she hurried to her private cha her pal "Drink! Tell me what is amiss!"

The tendrils of Darkness swar onto her leach-like As they fed, whispered words from many different voices filled herto hinder earth

Joined with spirit the death vision will be given rebirth

"What?" Anger filled Neferet "Is Aurox not there? Was he too stupid to find the farm?" The vessel is there

He watches without care

"Force him to act! Make him stop the da a stew of confusion in her mind She closed her palm and slapped them away "Do as I command! You&039;ve had your blood"

Thevoices were abruptly cut off as the specter of the white bull e was transparent and not fully formed, but his voice, powerful and obviously irritated, blasted through her mind I have told you before your sacrifice must be equal to the comer and, with soft, placating words she spoke to the ghostly apparation, "But the vessel was a gift froreat sacrifice to control a creature created fro from my command"

I warned you at his creation that the sacrifice used to form him was not perfect and so the vessel would be flawed

"Well, I can tell you that recently I&039;ve begun to doubt his intelligence"

It could be he is thinking for himself rather than not at all

"So, he&039;s lazy? I gave hi!" Neferet paused, controlled her tehed dramatically "It isn&039;t that I mind so much for myself, but it seems disrespectful to you"

Ah, my heartless one, it touches me that your concern is on

"If you prompt him, you would have my thanks" Neferet curtseyed deeply to the apparition

For you, my threads will force his actions Still, they require an appropriate sacrifice

Trying not to sound as annoyed as she felt, Neferet said, "Very well What sacrifice do they require?" The vessel is a beast, thus a beast must be sacrificed to control it

"A beast? A Raven Mocker?"

No, the sacrifice must be a creature allied with you

Neferet felt ill "Skylar? I must sacrifice my cat?"

If it troubles you so, choose another There are many felines about this place, are there not

With those words, the specter of the white bull wavered and then dissipated With a look of cold detered athaan su the perfect sacrifice It would not be Skylar-he was not a Warrior&039;s cat His death wouldn&039;t be imbued with the appropriate violence No, there was only one feline whose death would suit this need Cloaked in ht

Zoey

"Come air, sweet, soft touch of Nyx breath divine"

From the very first sentence of Thanatos&039;s spell, I knew that this wasn&039;t going to be like any circle I&039;d ever before experienced First of all, the High Priestess&039;s voice had changed It wasn&039;t that she shouted or anything like that, but there was so cadence of the spell that lent power to her voice so that her words see us As she continued to speak that power bled out into the space around us It sizzled across ooseflesh raised on his ar affected by it, too

"Blow fro shadows past

It is death&039;s shade to viee do incline

Death revealed through this circle spell we cast"

With a flourish of her hands Thanatos gestured for Damien to lift his candle The Priestess nodded at me and I struck the match, lit the wick, and said, "Air, please join our circle"

There was aThanatos&039;s cloak Bill ow

"To fire," she told me, and I walked doceil or clockwise to Shaunee Her brown eyes were big and round, and she was staring behind us

Reasped in astonishht snaked fro our path from him to Shaunee

I was used to the silver thread that often appeared when I cast a circle, but this was different Yeah, it was powerful, but it also felt ominous I didn&039;t know if Thanatos saw it or not; I didn&039;t know if it was a good or bad sign that it was there, but I didn&039;t want to interrupt the High Priestess&039;s spell as she was already beginning the fire invocation

"Co, sure, and true

Strike, burn, destroy ould prevent our sight

Force violent death revealed to us anew

Your illuht"

At her gesture, Shaunee lifted the red candle and I lit it saying, "Fire, please join our circle" It was as if ere suddenly standing inside an inferno Fla the already charred circle, but this fire didn&039;t add to the destruction Instead I heard aand frohted mist lifted, as if fire had met ice and not earth

Then air joined fire and the flames and mist flew up into the sky to streak and flash

"Lightning" Shaunee&039;s voice sounded hushed and awed "Air "

"To water," Thanatos said

The thick rope of glowing scarlet followed us

When we stopped in front of Erin I thought she looked scared, but she nodded and said, "Bring it on I&039;m ready" Thanatos spoke:

"Cohout this circle space

With tide of truth wash clear sight-stealing ti us to see death&039;s tear-streaked face

Violence cleansed sets us free of evil&039;s grime"

Erin lifted the candle to meet my match as I said, "Water, please join our circle" There was a roar as if we&039;d suddenly been transported into the ht turned brilliant shades of blue and turquoise and sapphire-all the colors of water The eleushed into the blackened circle Water swirled around like an angry whirlpool and then, just like air and fire, it gushed straight up into the lightning-streaked sky Clouds Bill owed and roiled-thunder clapped, growling with such fierceness that I cringed

"No," Erin said quickly "Water&039;s not mad at us"

"Neither is fire," Shaunee said

"Nor wind," Daed at the act that was committed here," Thanatos said "Prepare yourself, circle Weabove us and lightning ill u storm, I moved to stand in front of Stevie Rae

"Time to cowboy up," she said

Thanatos nodded and spoke the earth invocation:

"Come earth, rich, verdant truly Goddess blessed