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"As I was telling your grand come to us in such an unusual manner before-- unconscious and with a completed Mark Can you remember what happened to you, Zoey?"

I openedand hittingspiritfollowing the weirdly visible words into the caveand finally ot a weird feeling, like someone had just hit me in my sto me to shut up

"I--I really don’t remember much--" I broke off and my hand found the sore spot where my stitches poked out "At least not after I hitThe Tracker Marked ht with the really sick, so when I climbed the path up to the bluffs" I remembered the rest of it--all of the rest of it--the spirits of the Cherokee people, the dancing and the cauess I slipped because I was coughing soI re and then I woke up here" I finished in a rush I wanted to look away fro that was orderingme that I had to keep eye contact with her, that I had to try really hard to look like I wasn’t hiding anything, even though I didn’t really have a clue why I was hiding anything

"It’s normal to experience memory loss with a head wound" Grand the silence

I could have kissed her

"Yes, of course it is," Neferet said quickly, her face losing its sharpness "Do not fear for your granddaughter’s health, Sylvia Redbird All will be ith her"

She spoke to Grandma respectfully, and so inside me loosened If she liked Grandma Redbird, she had to be an okay person, or vaht?

"As I’m sure you already know, va va is proceeding so well that it is perfectly safe for her to leave the infirmary" She looked from Grandma to me "Zoey, would you like to meet your new roommate?"

No I sed hard and nodded "Yes"

"Excellent!" Neferet said Thankfully she ignored the fact that I was standing there like a snome

"Are you sure you shouldn’t keep her here another day for observation?" Grandma asked

"I understand your concern, but I assure you Zoey’s physical wounds are already healing at a pace you would find extraordinary"

She sh I was scared and nervous and just plain freaked out I senuinely happy that I was there And, truthfully, she ht not be such a bad thing

"Grandma, I’m fine Really My head just hurts a little, and the rest of me feels way better" I realized as I said it that it was true I’d co My muscles didn’t ache anymore I felt perfectly nor that not only surprised in to trust her She walked over to Grandive you hter is safe here Each fledgling is paired with an adult mentor

To ensure my oath to you I will be Zoey’s mentor And now you must entrust her to my care"

Neferet placed her fist over her heart and bowed forrand her

"I will hold you to your oath, Neferet, High Priestess of Nyx" Then sheher own fist over her heart and bowing to her before turning tome hard "Call me if you need me, Zoeybird I love you"

"I will, Grandin her faently on my cheek and then with her quick, confident steps she walked out of the roo me alone for the first time in in your new life?"

I looked up at her and thought again how aed into a vampyre, would I have her confidence and power, or was that soot? For an instant it flashed though h Priestess--and then my sanity returned I was just a kid A confused kid at that, and definitely not High Priestess ure out how to fit in here, but Neferet had certainlyto lad I sounded more confident than I felt

Chapter Seven

"What tiently The walls werebrick Every so often flickering gaslights that hung fro black iron sconces stuck out of the wall, giving off a soft yello that was, thankfully, really easy on my eyes There were no s in the hall, and we didn’tnervously around, ilimpse of vampyre kids)

"It is nearly four AM, which means classes have been out for alhtly at what I’in at eight PM, and end at three AM," she explained "Teachers are available until three thirty AM to give students extra help The gym is open until dawn, the exact time of which you will always know as soon as you have coe Until then dawn time is clearly posted in all the classroo hall, library, and gym Nyx’s Temple is, of course, open at all hours, but forht after school The next ritual will be toht s now, but you’ll catch on quickly And your roo ready to open e ball of fur ran into the hall and without a sound, hurled itself into Neferet’s arms I jumped and made a stupid little squee sound--then I felt like a total retard when I saw that the orange ball of fur was not a flying boogiehed and scratched the fur ball’s ears "Zoey,to launch hiest cat I’ve ever seen," I said, reaching my hand out to let him sniff me

"Careful, he’s a known biter"

Before I could jerkhis face on ers I held my breath

Neferet tilted her head to the side, as if she was listening to words in the wind "He likes you, which is definitely unusual He doesn’t like anyone except me He even keeps the other cats away from this end of campus He’s really a terrible bully," she said fondly

I carefully scratched Skylar’s ears like Neferet had been doing "I like cats," I said softly "I used to have one, but when ive it to Street Cats to be adopted John, her new husband, doesn’t like cats"

"I’ve found that the way a person feels about cats--and the way they feel about hie by which to measure a person’s character"