"And I need Grandma. I know it's going to be hard for her, but I need her out here, or at least wherever it is that's the center of this power I feel around us."

"Kramisha, child, would you get Stevie Rae's grandmother?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kramisha said, and hurried away.

"Mary's Grotto is the seat of our power." Sister Mary Angela pointed behind me and to the side of where we were standing--a place that was between us, the northwesternmost edge of the neatly cut lawn, and the monster-filled grove of trees.

I turned to see what she was pointing at and gasped in surprise, wondering how I hadn't noticed it before now. It was the biggest shrine I'd ever seen. It was made of large pieces of Oklahoma sandstone. Each stone had been chosen carefully to fit snugly against its neighbors. It was bowl-like in shape, reminding me of pictures I'd seen of famous outdoor theaters. There was a bench sitting protected inside it, as well as several natural rock ledges running around the curved inside at various places, and every available surface was covered with candles, so that the entire shrine was glazed in candlelight and ice. As I walked toward it, I looked at its gracefully arched top, which stretched several feet over my head, and sucked in my breath. There, nestled toward the top of the structure, was the most beautiful statue of Mary I'd ever seen. Her face was serene in prayer, almost smiling as she looked up. And at her feet a riot of gorgeous roses twined around her as if they had given birth to her. I studied Mary's face and felt my heart give a little stutter beat. I recognized this Mary. How could I not? She'd appeared to me just days before in the form of my Goddess.

"I can feel the power of this place," Aphrodite said.

"Wow, that statue of Mary is really, really pretty," Jack said. He and Damien were holding hands and gazing up.

"Check out the sidewalk--it's perfect," Stevie Rae said.

I looked down. The sidewalk that led from where we'd left the horses changed when it reached the front of the shrine. Here it got lots bigger and formed a circle. I grinned at Stevie Rae. "It's definitely perfect."

"What is it you need us to do, Zoey?" Sister Mary Angela asked, but before I could answer, the roar of an engine pulled everyone's attention back to the bird-infested trees and the road beyond.

With growing fear, I watched the big black Hummer, the very one I'd been taken back to the school in, leave the road. Gunning its engine, the vehicle lurched down the ditch, then up the other side and made its growling way through the grove of trees, causing the Raven Mockers to beat their wings and croak in a frenzy of encouragement.

"Sister, stay close to me," I said. "Aphrodite, Stevie Rae, I need you beside me, too."

"We're here," Aphrodite said as Erik and Darius stepped out of the way and the two of them moved into position beside me.

"I need Grandma," I said.

"She's coming. Do not fear," Sister Mary Angela said.

Finally, the Hummer rolled to a stop, so close to the horses that they snorted at it and backed away until they were standing under the carport. The doors to the vehicle opened, and Kalona and Neferet stepped out together. She was wearing all black--a floor-sweeping silk dress with a neckline that plunged to expose the onyx winged pendant resting between her br**sts. A dark aura pulsed around her, making her thick hair lift and move around her shoulders. "Holy shit," Aphrodite whispered.

"Yeah, I know," I said grimly.

Kalona strode at her side. He was wearing black pants and nothing else. As he moved away from the Hummer with Neferet, his wings rustled and opened a little, showing just a hint of their magnificence.

"Oh, blessed Mary!" Beside me Sister Mary Angela gasped.

"Don't look in his eyes!" I whispered to her. "He can have a hypnotic effect on people. Don't let him get to you."

She hesitated, studying the winged man, and then said, "He does not draw me, but I do pity him. He has certainly fallen."

"How old does he look to you?" I couldn't help asking her.

"Ancient. Older than the earth."

I didn't have time to tell her he looked about eighteen to me; it was then that the driver got out of the Hummer and joined Kalona and Neferet. The driver was Stark. His eyes found mine instantly, and ever so slightly, he bowed his head to me.

I heard Stevie Rae's quick intake breath of surprise and the movement of the red fledglings behind us.

"That's the kid that shot me, isn't it?" she said.

"Yes," I said.

"He's Changed," Stevie Rae said. "He's a red vampyre."