Hunted

“Hey there, Nefertiti!” Darius called, and a sleek calico female jumped up on the bed beside him and began to wind around his body.

“They’re our cats,” Damien said, still petting Cameron. “Remember when we escaped from here yesterday? They were all outside the school wall waiting for us.” He glanced up at me. “Are we leaving again?”

“I hope so,” I said. “But wait.” I was still taking stock of the cats. “All of our cats are here, but what about that great big one over there, and the little cream-colored one who’s sticking close to him?”

“That big cat is Dragon Lankford’s Maine Coon,” Damien said. “His name is Shadowfax.” Dragon Lankford, who almost everyone called Dragon, is our fencing professor and is a master with the blade. Damien was a talented fencer, so it wasn’t surprising he recognized Dragon’s cat.

“Hey, I think that little white one is Guinevere, Professor Anastasia’s cat,” Erin said.

“You’re right, Twin,” Shaunee said. “She’s always hanging out during Spells and Rituals class.”

“What about that one?” I pointed to a familiar-looking Siamese whose body was the silver-white of moonlight, tipped in delicate gray ears and face. Then I realized why she looked familiar and answered my own question. “That’s Professor Lenobia’s cat. I don’t know her name, but I’ve seen her following the professor around the stables.”

“So, let me get this straight: All of our cats, plus cats that belong to Dragon, his wife, and Professor Lenobia, are suddenly hanging out in Zoey’s room,” Darius said.

“Why are they here?” Erin asked.

I answered her question with my own. “Have you guys seen any other cats today? I mean, while you were in class and at lunch, coming and going from the dorm and class to class, did you see any cats?”

“No,” the Twins said together.

“I didn’t,” Damien answered more slowly.

“Not a one,” Aphrodite said.

“And you noticed earlier that we saw not one cat between the infirmary and the dormitory,” Darius said.

“I thought it was bad then; I still think it’s bad,” I said.

“Why would all the cats except these disappear?” Damien asked.

“The cats hate the birdmen,” I said. “Whenever Nala’s been with me and one’s been around, she’s totally freaked.”

“There’s more to it than that. If it was just about hating them, then the cats would all be hiding, and not just special ones hanging out in here,” Aphrodite said.

“Maybe that’s it,” Damien said. “There’s something special about these particular cats.”

“Okay, I hate to be a bitch—or maybe I don’t—but anyway, can we forget about the damn cats for a second? I want to know who the hell did this to my man’s face,” Aphrodite said.

“Kalona,” I said, when it was obvious Darius was too involved with gri

“I was afraid of that,” Damien said. “How’d it happen?”

“Darius attacked Rephaim,” I explained, “which pissed off Kalona. He didn’t let Stark kill him, but the cut was his parting gift for Darius wounding his favorite son.”

“That fucking Stark!” Shaunee said.

“He’s really bad news. He and the nasty-assed birdmen do whatever the hell they want,” Erin said.

“And no one does anything about it,” Shaunee finished.

“It’s like the thing you just witnessed with Becca,” Damien said.

“Speaking of,” Shaunee said. “What was the deal with you agreeing with that bimbo about oh, no big deal because Stark’s sooooo hot! Talk about a

“You weren’t going to get through to her. Becca’s on their side. As far as I can tell, Stark and the birds and Kalona do anything to anyone, and there are no repercussions for their actions.”

“It’s worse than no repercussions,” Aphrodite said. Still within Darius’s arms, she’d gotten herself together. “It’s like Kalona’s cast a spell over everyone, and the spell somehow extends to Stark and the birds.”

“That’s why I agreed with Becca and just let her go. It’s not a good idea to call attention to the fact that we’re the only ones not in the Kalona Fan Club,” Damien said.

“And Neferet, don’t forget about her,” Aphrodite said.

“She’s with him, but I don’t think she’s under his spell,” I said. “I overheard them talking when they thought I was out, and she disagreed with him. He got big and bad and scary with her, and she seemed to back off, but what she really did was just change her tactics. She’s manipulating him, and I can’t tell if he knows it or not. And she’s changing, too.”

“Changing? What do you mean by that?” Damien asked.

“Her power is different than it used to be,” Darius said.

I nodded. “It’s like a switch has been thrown inside her, and it’s let loose a different kind of power.”

“A dark power,” Aphrodite said. We all looked at her. “Her power isn’t based on Neferet anymore. Sure, she’s still using the gifts our Goddess gave her, but she’s cha

There was a long silence, and then Damien spoke up. “I think we were too busy struggling against Kalona’s attraction.”

“And scared shitless,” Erin said.

“Entirely,” Shaunee agreed.

“Well, so now we know. Neferet is even more of a threat than she’s ever been. They talked when they thought I was passed out. Neferet and Kalona are pla

“Oh my goddess! The High Council?” Aphrodite said.

“I don’t know for sure, but that’s what I’m afraid of. I’m also afraid her new power has given her special abilities.” I paused. I didn’t want to freak out the gang before I had my talk with Stevie Rae, but they did need to be warned, so I picked my words carefully. “I think Neferet can project her influence by moving through, or maybe manipulating, shadows.”

“That’s bad,” Damien said.

“It means we have to be on guard,” Erin said.

“Majorly on guard,” Shaunee agreed.

Darius nodded. “Remember always: Neferet is our enemy, Kalona is our enemy, and most of the other fledglings are our enemies, too.” His sharp gaze went from kid to kid. “What about the rest of the professors?” Darius asked them. “All of you attended classes today, didn’t you? How were they acting?”

“Yeah, we went to class, weird as that was,” Shaunee said.

“It was like attending Stepford High School,” Erin said.

“It seems the professors are all enthralled with Kalona, too,” Damien said. “Of course, I can’t tell you that for sure. We weren’t ever alone with the professors.”

“Not alone? What do you mean?” I said.

“I mean those bird things are everywhere—coming and going from class, and even in class.”

“Are you kidding?” A shiver of revulsion quavered though my body at the thought of those terrible mutations of nature moving freely among fledglings—like they belonged here!

“He’s not kidding. They are everywhere. It’s like Invasion of the fucking Body Snatchers,” Aphrodite said. “The good guys look the same on the outside, but are screwed on the inside, and the Raven Mockers are the damn aliens.”

“And the Sons of Erebus? Are they supporting this?” Darius asked.

“I haven’t seen one warrior since Aristos escorted us onto campus,” Damien said. “How about you guys?”

The Twins and Aphrodite shook their heads no.

“This is so not good,” I said. I rubbed my forehead as a wave of exhaustion engulfed me. What were we going to do? Who were our friends? And how the hell were we going to get out of the House of Night and to what I could only hope would be safety?