Hidden

“If nothing else, the old woman will bleed to death,” Kalona said.

“I’m sure she will. Eventually. Pity that her blood is good for nothing. It’s absolutely undrinkable. No matter. I’ll wait her out.”

“You intend to kill her?”

“I intended to sacrifice her, but as you can see that has turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated. No matter. I am a Goddess. I adapt easily to change. Perhaps I’ll keep her, make her my pet. That would truly torture her granddaughter.” Neferet shrugged. “No matter—kill her or use her. It will all end the same. She is, after all, nothing but a mortal shell.”

“I thought the Aurox creature was your pet.” Kalona forced himself to sound only vaguely interested. “Why would you abandon such a powerful creature for an old woman?”

“I did not abandon Aurox. The bull creature is flawed and has not been as useful as I had hoped he would be. A little like you, my lost love.” She caressed a pulsing tendril. “But you already know that, don’t you? You are Sword Master for the House of Night in Dragon Lankford’s place. Surely you know how your predecessor was killed.”

“Of course. Aurox killed him.” Kalona began to move slowly toward Sylvia’s cage. “And I have only taken Dragon’s place so that I can gain the confidence of Thanatos and the High Council.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“For us, of course. They have shu

“Interesting,” Neferet said. “And so considerate of you, especially as the last time we parted we did so as sworn enemies.”

“I was wrong to so hastily leave you. I only realized how wrong when I learned that you had taken another as your Consort. I do not enjoy being made to feel jealousy.” Kalona paced as he spoke to her. He hoped to appear frustrated at her questioning. In truth he made quite certain that his pacing kept bringing him closer and closer to Sylvia Redbird’s cage.

“And I do not enjoy being betrayed. Yet here we are.”

“I am not betraying you.” Kalona said the words honestly. He was not betraying Neferet. He owed her absolutely no allegiance.

“Oh, I believe you are doing much more than betraying me. I believe you have also betrayed your own nature.”

Her words halted his pacing. “You make no sense.”

“How is your son, Rephaim?”

“Rephaim? What has he to do with us?” Kalona felt his first sliver of worry at the mention of his son’s name.

“I saw you. I watched you grieve over his loss. You care for him.” Neferet spat the words, as if they had a foul taste. She took a step toward him. He backed one step away.

“Rephaim has long been by my side. He has done my bidding for centuries. I missed his presence as I would any dedicated servant.”

“I believe you lie.”

He made himself chuckle. “And by believing so, you prove that immortality does not equate to infallibility.”

“Tell me you have not allowed feelings and sentiment to make you weak. Tell me that you have not chosen, like a pathetic lapdog, to chase after a Goddess who already rejected you.”

“My feelings do not make me weak. You are the one torturing an old woman to torment a child.”

“You dare to speak to me of Zoey Redbird! You, who knows how much pain she has caused me?” Neferet was breathing hard. The tendrils of Darkness that slithered around her writhed in agitated response.

“Pain Zoey caused you?” Kalona shook his head in disbelief. “You leave chaos and pain in your wake. Zoey does not antagonize you—you attack her. I know. You have used me to hurt her.”

“I knew you lied. I have always known you’ve loved her—your sweet, special little A-ya reborn.”

“I do not love her!” Kalona almost blurted the truth: I have always and will always love Nyx! A moan from behind him changed his words. “But I do not hate her, either. Can you not consider that you might find contentment in fragmenting the High Council and ruling those vampyres who choose a more ancient path from your island castle on Capri? Your red vampyres in particular would worship you and be eager to breathe life into the ancient vampyre ways. I will aid you with that path, be your Consort, do your bidding,” Kalona spoke in a calm, reasonable voice. He also moved another step backward. Farther from Neferet. Closer to Sylvia Redbird.

“You want me to leave Tulsa?”

“Why not? What is here? Ice in winter, heat in summer, and narrow-minded, religious humans. I believe we both have outgrown Tulsa.”

“You make an excellent point.” The tendrils of Darkness, still swollen from Kalona’s blood, quieted as Neferet seemed to consider his proposition. “You would, of course, have to swear a blood oath to serve me.”

“Of course,” Kalona lied.

“Excellent. Perhaps I did misjudge you. I do have the perfect creatures to aid me in casting such a spell.” She stroked the snake-like tendrils fondly. “Shall they mix my blood with yours and bind us together forever?”

Kalona tensed his muscles, readying himself to spring the few feet that now separated him from Sylvia Redbird. He would command the strands of Darkness from her, and then fly her to freedom as Neferet was slicing open her skin and conjuring a dark spell that would never be cast. Kalona smiled. “Whatever you wish, Goddess.”

Neferet’s full, red lips were begi

“With immortal blood you’ve been fed.

Now make the Rephaim bird dead!”

The tendrils that had been wrapped around her body released and shot like black arrows at the raven.

Kalona did not hesitate. He hurled himself between the raven and death, absorbing the blow meant for his son.

The force of the impact lifted him from the penthouse and flung him out onto the balcony, throwing him against the stone balustrade. As pain exploded in his chest, Kalona shouted at the unmoving bird, “Rephaim, fly!”

He had little time to feel relief as the raven obeyed his command. Neferet advanced, tendrils of Darkness slithering in her wake. Kalona stood. He ignored the terrible pain in his chest. He spread his arms and wings.

“Betrayer! Liar! Thief!” Neferet shrieked at him. She, too, spread her arms wide fingers splayed. She combed the air and gathered the sticky tendrils that multiplied around her.

“You think to battle me using Darkness? Do you not remember you attempted to do so not long ago, and I commanded them away? You are as foolish as you are mad, Neferet,” Kalona said.

Neferet’s answer was in the singsong words of a spell:

“Children, you know my need!

Make this immortal bleed!

Then you may feed and feed and feed!”

She hurled the tendrils of Darkness at him. Kalona brought his hands forward and spoke directly to the snake-like minions the same words he’d used mere weeks before when Neferet had first dared to challenge him when he was whole, undamaged, and free from the suffocating confines of the earth. “Halt! I’ve long allied with Darkness. Obey my command. This is not your battle. Begone!

Shock hit him at the same time the tendrils sliced into his body. The tendrils did not obey him! Instead they cut his flesh, ripping and tearing and drinking—like toxic leeches. The immortal pulled one of the pulsing creatures from his chest and hurled it to the balcony floor. There it shattered, only to re-form into dozens more of the razor-teethed horrors.

Neferet’s laughter was manic. “It seems only one of us is allied with Darkness, and that would not be you, my lost love!”