I'm okay, I whispered back automatically. Stay strong. Don't let him get to you. I nodded. I could feel people looking at me with even more than their normal curiosity for my added tattoos. I glanced over my shoulder to see Damien, Jack, and the Twins all gawking at Kalona. Then I caught Heath's eye. He wasn't looking at Kalona. He was staring at me, obviously worried. I tried to smile at him, but the expression felt more like a guilty grimace. Then a Council member spoke, and I was relieved to focus my attention on her. The High Council is convened for this special session. I, Duantia, call us to order. May Nyx lend her wisdom and guidance to us. May Nyx lend her wisdom and guidance to us, intoned the rest of the room. During Erce's briefing she'd told us the names of the Council members, and described each of them, and from her I knew that Duantia was the senior member, so it was her job to call it to order and to decide when the session would close. I stared at her. It was unbelievable that she was several hundred years old, and except for the intense confidence and power she commanded, her only outward sign of age was that her thick brown hair was streaked with silver.

We have further questions for Neferet and the being who calls himself Erebus. I saw Neferet's green eyes narrow just the slightest, though she nodded graciously to Duantia. Kalona stood and bowed to the Council. Merry meet again, he greeted Duantia and nodded to each of the other six Council members. Several of them nodded back to him. We have questions about your origins, Duantia said. It is natural that you would, Kalona said. His voice was deep and rich. He sounded humble and reasonable and very, very honest. I think I, along with almost everyone present, wanted to listen to him, whether we believed what he said or not. And then I did something that was silly and totally childish. Like a little girl I closed my eyes and prayed one prayer to Nyx harder than I'd ever prayed before in my life. Please let him speak only the truth. If he tells the truth, maybe there is hope for him. You say that you are Erebus come to earth, said Duantia. I opened my eyes to see Kalona smile and respond with, I am, indeed, an immortal being. Are you Nyx's consort, Erebus? Tell the truth! I screamed in my head. Tell the truth! I once stood at Nyx's side. Then I fell to earth. Now I am here at-- At the side of the Goddess Incarnate, Neferet interrupted, standing beside Kalona. Neferet, we already know your viewpoint of who this immortal is, Duantia said. She didn't raise her voice, but her words were sharp, their warning clear. What we want is to hear more from the immortal himself. As any consort would, I bow to my vampyre mistress, Kalona said, bowing slightly to Neferet who flashed him a triumphant smile that made me clench my teeth. Do you expect us to believe that Erebus's incarnation on this earth has no will of his own? Whether on earth or beside Nyx in the Goddess's Realm, Erebus is devoted to his mistress, and his desires reflect hers.

I can tell you that I know the truth of these words through personal experience, Kalona said. And he was speaking the truth. As Nyx's Warrior he had witnessed Erebus's dedication to his Goddess. Of course the way he worded his response made it seem like he was claiming to be Erebus--without actually saying the untrue words. But isn't that what I'd prayed he'd do? That he'd only speak the truth? Why did you leave Nyx's Realm? asked another Council member, one who had not nodded her welcome to him. I fell. Kalona looked from the Council member to me and spoke the rest of his response as if he and I were alone in the room. I chose to leave because I no longer believed I served my Goddess well. At first it felt as if I had made a terrible mistake, and then I rose from the earth to find a new realm and a new mistress. Lately I have begun to believe I could, indeed, serve my Goddess again, only this time through her representative on earth. Duantia's gracefully arched brows rose as she followed his gaze, which rested on me. Her eyes widened only slightly. Zoey Redbird. The Council recognizes you.

Chapter Thirty-nine

Zoey Feeling hot and cold at the same time, I dragged my gaze from Kalona and stood to face the Council. Thank you. Merry meet, I said. Merry meet, Duantia responded and then continued smoothly. Our sister, Lenobia, notified us that in Neferet's absence from your House of Night, you have been named High Priestess; therefore, you represent their will. It is entirely inappropriate for a fledgling to be named High Priestess, Neferet said. I knew she was totally pissed, but instead of showing it, she smiled indulgently at me, as if I were a toddler who'd been caught playing dress up with her mom's clothes. I am still High Priestess of Tulsa's House of Night. Not if your House's Council has deposed you, said Duantia. The appearance of Erebus and the death of Shekinah has shaken Tulsa's House of Night greatly, especially following so soon after the terrible and tragic murders of two of our professors by local humans. It saddens me, but the Council members of my House are not thinking clearly. That the Tulsa House is in turmoil is undeniable.