“Does it feel right to you, deep in your soul? Is the Goddess speaking to you?”
I smiled and my heart soared. “It does! It feels right.”
“The most obvious place of power is here at the House of Night,” she said.
“No!” I spoke with more emphasis than I’d intended, causing Persephone to snort nervously. I petted and soothed her and in a more reasonable voice said, “No, inside the school the place of power has been tainted by him. It was his power joined with Neferet’s and mixed with Stevie Rae’s blood that released him and—” I gasped, realizing the implications of what I’d just said. “Stevie Rae! I would have thought she’d represent earth. I mean, that’s her affinity and all, but she’s not earth: she’s blood!”
Lenobia smiled and nodded. “Very good. One down. Now all you must name is the other four.”
“And the place,” I muttered.
“Yes, the place,” she agreed. “Well, places of power are also tied to spirit. Like Avalon, the ancient isle of the Goddess, is tied in spirit to Glastonbury. Even Christians felt the pull of the power of the place and at one time built an abbey there.”
“What?” I came around Persephone to stand excitedly in front of Lenobia. “What did you say about an abbey and the Goddess?”
“Well, Avalon isn’t literally of this world, though it is a great place of power. Christians felt it and built an abbey dedicated to Mary there.”
“Oh, Lenobia, that’s it!” I had to blink hard to clear the tears of relief from my eyes. Then I laughed. “And it’s perfect! The place of power is at Twenty-first and Lewis, the abbey of the Benedictine nuns.”
Lenobia’s eyes widened, and then she smiled. “Our Goddess is wise. Now, all you need do is to figure out who the other four are, and get everyone there. The rest of the poem tells how they join together…” She paused. Glancing down she read:
Night leads to Spirit
Blood binds Humanity
And Earth completes.
“Blood is there already, or at least I hope she is,” I said. “I told Stevie Rae to get herself and the red fledglings to the abbey when I found out Kalona was going to grab her.”
“Why would you think of sending her there?”
My grin was so wide I swear I almost split a lip. “Because that’s where Spirit is! Spirit is the head nun, Sister Mary Angela. She saved my grandma from the Raven Mockers, and she’s been taking care of her there.”
“A nun? To represent Spirit and conquer an ancient fallen angel? Are you quite sure, Zoey?”
“Not conquer—just banish and give us enough time to regroup and figure out how to get rid of him permanently. And, yes, I’m sure.”
Lenobia hesitated only an instant, then she nodded. “So you have identified Blood and Spirit. Think. Who have Earth, Night, and Humanity hidden within them?”
I went back to currying Persephone, and then I laughed and had an urge to hit myself in the head. “Aphrodite. She has to be humanity, even though most of the time she wants nothing to do with it.”
“I will take your word for it,” Lenobia said caustically.
“Okay, so, only Night and Earth are left.” I hurried on. “As I said before, my first guess for earth would have been Stevie Rae, because of her affinity. But I know in my heart she’s blood. Earth…earth…” I sighed again.
“Could it be Anastasia? Her gift for spells and rituals is often grounded in the earth.”
I thought about it, and sadly didn’t feel the twinge that told me I had the right answer. “Nope, it’s not her.”
“Perhaps we’re focusing on the wrong people. Spirit came from outside the House of Night, which is something I would not have anticipated. Maybe Earth does, too.”
“Well, it’s worth considering when you look at it like that.”
“What person—not a fledgling or a vampyre—could symbolize Earth?”
“I guess the people I’ve known who are closest to the earth are my grandma’s people. The Cherokee have always respected the earth, versus using and owning and abusing it. The worldview of traditional Cherokee people is much different than today’s worldview.” And then I suddenly closed my mouth and rested my forehead against Persephone’s soft shoulder, whispering a small thank-you to Nyx.
“You know who it is, don’t you?”
I looked up, smiling. “It’s my grandma. She’s Earth.”
“Perfect!” Lenobia agreed. “Then you have them all!”
“Not Night. I still haven’t figured out who—” I broke off as I registered Lenobia’s knowing look.
“Look deeper, Zoey Redbird, and I do believe you will discover who Nyx has Chosen to personify Night.”
“Not me,” I whispered.
“Of course it is you,” Lenobia said. “The poem states it perfectly, ‘Night leads to Spirit.’ None of us would have ever looked to the Benedictine Abbey or its prioress to fill in the pieces of the poetic puzzle, but you led us straight to it.”
“If I’m right,” I said a little shakily.
“Listen to your heart. Are you right?”
I drew a deep breath and searched inside me. Yes, it was there, the feeling I knew came from my Goddess, the feeling that told me I’d gotten it right. I met Lenobia’s wise gray eyes. “I’m right,” I said firmly.
“Then we need to get you and Aphrodite to the Benedictine Abbey.”
“All of us,” I said automatically. “It has to be Darius, the Twins, Damien, and Aphrodite. If something goes wrong, I have to have my circle together. Plus, my reception here hasn’t been great, and if getting rid of Kalona doesn’t snap the fledglings and faculty out of their weird obsession, I don’t think I’ll be coming back to school any time soon. And, of course, we still have to deal with Neferet; I’m going to need a lot of help for all of that.”
Lenobia frowned slightly, but nodded. “I understand, and though it pains me, I am in agreement with you.”
“You should come with us—you and Dragon and Anastasia. The House of Night is no place for you right now.”
“The House of Night is our home,” she said.
I met her eyes. “Sometimes the people closest to you betray you, and your home isn’t a place you can be happy anymore. It’s hard, but it’s true.”
“You sound very wise for your years, Priestess.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a product of divorce and crappy stepparenting. Who knew it would come in handy?”
We were laughing together when the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Lenobia was on her feet in an instant. “We should get messages to your friends. They can meet here. It, at least, is safe from the ears and eyes of the Raven Mockers.”
“Already done,” I said. “They’ll all be here in a little while.”
“If Neferet realizes you’re meeting here, it will go badly for us.”
“I know,” was what I said; Ah, hell, was what I thought.
CHAPTER 30
Despite the fact that it had started to sleet again, Damien, the Twins, Aphrodite, and Darius arrived just minutes after the bell rang.
“Nice note,” Erin said.
“Very wily of you to get us here without having us think about it beforehand,” Shaunee said.
“Well done, you!” Damien said.
“But you are thinking of it now, so we need to be sure those thoughts are protected, and move and move fast with whatever it is we’re going to do,” Darius said.
“Agreed,” I said. “Guys, summon your elements and get them to form a protective wall around your thoughts.”
“No problem,” Erin said.
“Yeah, we’ve been practicing,” Shaunee said.
“Do you need me to cast a quick circle?” I asked.
“No, Z, we just need you to hush for a second,” Damien said. “We’ve already had our elements primed and waiting.”
“Partial herd of nerd, get to it!” Aphrodite said.