Then air whooshed into him and he gasped-and laughed. It felt like a mini-tornado. Fire was a sizzling rush, which water cooled. Earth was a fragrant field of lavender, calming and strengthening.

Aurox laughed. He looked down at what had been hooves, cloven and deadly. He had hands and feet again!

"Don't take a victory lap yet. This doesn't mean shit if you can't fight." And Stark punched him. Hard. Blood rained with pain from his nose.

Aurox grunted and threw his own punch, which caught Stark on the side of his chin. "I can fight!" he shouted. Stark went down.

The beast quivered within him, but Aurox thought of the elements and their presence strengthened him, and as it did, he felt the creature shrink and cower.

Aurox was grinning when Darius struck at him. Aurox deflected the blow, knocking the Warrior's wrist so hard that his grip on the knife loosened. The blade skittered across the basement floor. Aurox was still grinning when he kicked Darius's legs out from under him and the Warrior fell back on his ass.

Kalona wasn't so easy. His speed was otherworldly, and now that Aurox didn't have the beast's reflexes, he was only able to block a third of his blows. But it didn't matter. What mattered was that Aurox was still fighting, and he was still a human.

"Okay! That's enough!" Thanatos's command came as Stark and Darius rejoined Kalona and were closing on Aurox. The Warriors halted, though Aurox thought they did so reluctantly.

"Spirit, earth, water, fire, air-I thank each of you for your powerful presence. You may depart now, and until next time, merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again!" Thanatos closed the circle. As one, all of the candles flamed high and then went out.

"Huh, it worked," Zoey spoke into the silence.

Using his shirt, Aurox wiped the blood from his nose and mouth. He didn't actually think about what he was doing-he just followed his legs as they strode over to Zoey. Then his arms were lifting her and his body was twirling her around and around as his voice shouted, "You did it! It worked!"

A burst of laughter escaped from her, but as soon as he put her down she was stepping away from him, moving to stand by Stark's side.

"It wasn't just me who did it. It was all of us." She took Stark's hand and, ignoring Aurox, smiled at everyone else. "You guys were all awesome."

"Okay, yeah, the circle worked," Stark said. "But how does that translate to helping him get Grandma out of Neferet's penthouse? Neferet isn't gonna let you cast a circle up there."

"Well, I didn't think that far ahead," Zoey said.

"Must you see Aurox to strengthen him with the elements?" Kalona asked.

"Actually, no," Zoey said. "It's harder, and I don't know how long we could keep it up, but we don't have to see someone to send our element to him."

"I believe a spell of protection is the answer." Thanatos spoke slowly, reasoning aloud. "Surround the Mayo building. I will open the circle and cast the spell, binding it with salt. Zoey, as long as spirit is at the center of the circle, in the heart of the building, the circle should hold."

"The lobby of the Mayo is big. There's a bar and a restaurant in it," Aphrodite said. "Food's pretty good, and they actually have a decent champagne list, and it's dark and romantic."

"I care because?" Zoey asked.

"Because you and I can sit there, in a corner booth. I can sip good champagne. You can read a boringly huge textbook while you really are lighting a smaller, less obvious version of that purple candle and zapping bull boy with all of the elements."

"Where will we be?" Stark asked, not looking happy at all.

"Outside, watching over the nerd herd so that some street crazy doesn't stagger into, say, Queen Damien and cause him to shriek, drop his candle, and f**k everything up," Aphrodite said.

"I would not drop my candle," Damien said.

"What if he smelled really, really bad and you thought he had lice?" Aphrodite asked.

"Eeew," Damien said and shuddered.

"Told you so," Aphrodite said.

"Aurox, can you do it?" Zoey asked.

He met her gaze and didn't hesitate. "Yes. I can do it. I will do it. As long as the elements can strengthen me." Aurox paused and couldn't stop a smile of pure joy. "Me! I am more than a beast. I am more than Darkness." He turned from Zoey to Thanatos. "You said I had a choice. I choose Light and the path of the Goddess."

Thanatos returned his smile. "Yes, child. Yes, I believe you have. I also believe Nyx has heard you."