Most of the ride back was as dark and silent as ice-swept Tulsa had become. Darius had to battle the Hummer to keep it on the sheets of ice that masqueraded as streets, and Aphrodite only commented once in a while on a fallen limb in their way or a turn they should take. Damien, tense and speechless, held me securely on his lap, and the Twins were, for a change, not chattering with each other. I closed my eyes, trying to control the dizziness and the pain. A disturbingly familiar sense of numbness had started to creep slowly over my body again. This time I recognized it, though, and knew how dangerous it would be to give in to the numbness, no matter how restful and compelling it seemed. This time I knew the numbness was a disguise for death. I forced myself to take deeper breaths, even though each one made pain radiate throughout my body.

Pain was good. If I hurt, it meant I wasn't dead.

I opened my eyes and cleared my throat, making myself speak. My blood-wine buzz was gone and all I felt was exhausted and consumed by pain. "We have to remember what we're walking into. It's not the old House of Night. It's not our home," I said. My voice carried, but I sounded like a hoarse stranger. "Besides keeping our elements close to us, I think the smartest thing we can do is to try to stick as close to the truth as possible whenever we're questioned about anything."

"That's logical," Damien said. "If they sense we're telling the truth, they'll be less likely to feel the need to probe farther into our minds."

"Especially if those minds are protected by the elements," Erin said. "We might very well baffle them with our supposed ignorance, and Neferet will undreep slo Id ignerestimate us again," Shaunee said.

"So we're coming back because of that text message sent from the school calling all of us back," Damien said. "And because Zoey's been hurt."

Aphrodite nodded. "Yeah, and the only reason we left was because we were scared."

"And that's the damn truth," Erin said.

"Totally," Shaunee added.

"Just remember: Tell the truth when possible and keep your guard up," I said.

"Our High Priestess is correct. We are entering the enemy's camp, and we can't afford to be lulled into forgetting that by the familiarity of our surroundings," Darius said.

"I have a feeling we won't be tempted to forget it," Aphrodite said slowly.

"What kind of feeling do you mean?" I asked.

"I think our entire world has changed," Aphrodite said. "No, I know it has. The closer we get to the school, the more wrong it feels." She swiveled and looked over the seat at me. "Can you feel it?"

I shook my head slightly. "I can't feel anything except the cut in my chest."

"I can feel it," Damien said. "It's like all the hair on the back of my neck is standing up."

"Ditto," Shaunee said.

"My stomach feels awful," Erin said.

I took another deep breath and blinked hard, concentrating on staying conscious. "It's Nyx. She's warning you with those feelings. Remember the effect Kalona's appearance had on the other fledglings?"

Aphrodite nodded. "Zoey's right. Nyx is making us feel like crap so we don't give in to this guy. We have to fight against what ever it is about him that sucks the rest of the fledglings in."

"We can't go over to the Dark Side," Damien said grimly.

Darius crossed the intersection of Utica and Twenty-first Street.

"It looks really creepy that Utica Square is totally dark," Erin said.

"Creepy and horrible and wrong," Shaunee said.

"There's no power anywhere," Darius said. "Even St. John's Hospital has hardly any lights, like it's barely running on generators."

Darius continued down Utica and I heard Damien gasp. "It's eerie, the way it's the only thing in Tulsa still lit up."

I knew the House of Night had finally come into view. "Lift me up. I need to see it," I told Damien.

He hoisted me up as gently as he could, but still I had to grit my teeth so I wouldn't scream. And then the bizarre sight of the House of Night made me temporarily forget my pain. It was ablaze with flickering oil lights, illuminating the huge castlelike structure. Ice covered everything, and the capturs t tB+ed flames glistened against the slickened stone, making it appear faceted as if it were one humongous jewel. Darius reached into his pocket and pulled out a little remote. He aimed it at the school's wrought-iron gate and clicked, and with a creaking sound it swung open, the movement sending shards of ice raining down on the driveway.