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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Aurox
Waiting in the tower of the depot building gave Aurox a chance to relax. It was strange, but ever since he’d been given the responsibility of rescuing Grandma Redbird, the chaos and tumult in his mind had quieted. He was on the right path. He knew it. And when the elements reached within him and strengthened him so that his will controlled the beast, Aurox had been elated.
“I am more than a shell fashioned from Darkness.” The words bounced from the stone walls of the tower. Aurox smiled. He wished he could shout them from the top of the Mayo. “I will,” he promised himself aloud. “When Grandma Redbird is free and safe, I will shout that I have chosen Light over Darkness.” Right now it made him feel good just to speak the words, even though he was the only one who heard them.
Unless the Goddess was listening …
Aurox glanced up at the night sky. It was clear, and even though the depot was in the heart of downtown, an abundance of stars was visible, as well as a thin, bright sliver of a moon.
“The crescent. Your symbol,” Aurox spoke to the moon. “Nyx, if you can hear me I want to thank you. You must have something to do with the fact that I can choose to be more than what created me. Darkness would not have given me this choice—it had to be you. So, thank you. And I would appreciate it if you strengthened Grandma Redbird. Help her hang on until I get there and rescue her.” Feeling confident and happy, Aurox leaned against the rounded side of the stone tower, closed his eyes, and with a smile still on his face, fell into a deep sleep.
Aurox wasn’t used to dreaming. He rarely remembered anything from his sleeping hours. So the fishing dream was unusual from the very begi
Aurox had never fished, but the dock he sat on seemed familiar. The placid lake was topaz blue and tucked within a beautiful grove of ancient looking trees. He’d never held a fishing pole before, but this one felt right in his hands. Aurox reeled it in and then let fly. The bobber plunked out in the lake with a satisfying sound. He sighed and gazed lazily down at the mirror-like water—and felt a sickening jolt of shock.
Aurox’s face didn’t look back at him.
Another boy’s face did. He had messy, sand-colored brown hair, and blue eyes that were wide with the surprise Aurox was feeling.
He lifted his hand and it touched the face.
“This is not me,” he told the inaccurate reflection, and felt the jolt of shock again. It was his voice, but it was inside the wrong body! “It is a dream. Simply an image of my sleeping mind.” Aurox just needed to awaken. But he couldn’t stop staring.
And then the reflection opened its mouth and Aurox heard himself speaking words over which he had no control. “Hey, get a clue. You only borrowed my choice and my goodness. It’s not your own.”
Dread filled Aurox. This boy—this body was speaking truth. In the reflection Aurox watched his head shake back and forth, back and forth, denying what his heart told him.
“No, I chose Light over Darkness. I made the choice!”
“Guess again, dude. I made the choice, you just coat-tailed. So ya can’t afford to relax, especially if you’re go
“Zo.” Aurox frowned. “I’m not supposed to call her that.”
“Well, no shit Sherlock. That’s ’cause I used to call her Zo. Anyway, I’m just givin’ you a heads-up. Don’t be so cocky. It’s just not go
Then a fish took Aurox’s line, rippling the water, disturbing its mirrored surface, and fragmenting the dream.
Aurox’s eyes opened. He gasped and sat straight up. He was breathing hard. His heart was racing—so much so that he felt the beast within him stir. Aurox got to his feet and paced off his anxiety.
He looked up at the sky. The silver crescent had moved. Aurox checked the watch Stark had let him borrow. It was almost 10 P.M. Thanatos would be back for him at any moment. He needed to get himself together and make his way down to the front of the old depot building. He needed to find his confidence again and get ready to confront Neferet and Darkness.
Aurox climbed up the rusted metal ladder and then dropped from the tower to the roof of the depot. From there he hurried to the side stairs. He would be waiting as Thanatos had asked him. She was counting on him. Zoey was counting on him. They were all counting on him.
He would prove they had been right to trust him with Grandma Redbird’s life.
“It was a dream. Nothing more,” Aurox spoke to the empty night. His voice was reassuring, but his heart hurt as ghost-like doubt slipped within it.
Zoey
“There he is, waiting over there under the darkest part of the overhang, just like Thanatos told him to.” I pointed to the Gotham City–looking entrance of the abandoned depot. Aurox was in the shadows, but his super blond hair, and moonstone-colored eyes didn’t exactly keep him camouflaged. Stark pulled close to him and Thanatos opened the back door of one of the school’s many SUVs, motioning for him to get in.
“This is not everyone,” Aurox said after shutting the door and glancing around the interior.
“Uh, no, of course not,” I said, thinking he sounded really nervous. “Thanatos pretended to split us up and send us on different errands so that Neferet wouldn’t hear anything that would make her suspicious. Remember?”
“Oh, yes. Yes.” He paused and then added, “Merry meet, Thanatos.”
“Merry meet, Aurox. Do not be concerned. The rest of our group is joining us across the street from the Mayo.”
“Are you okay? You’re looking kinda pale.” Shaylin spoke up from the backseat.
I craned my head around. “What kind of pale? Is his aura changing?”
“No, his aura’s the same. I meant pale, pale. His face is really white,” Shaylin said.
“I am fine,” Aurox said firmly. “Just anxious to get this done.”
“As are we,” Thanatos said. “Calm yourself and save this tension for the battle.”
Aurox nodded and went silent. I chewed on my lip, thinking about Grandma, and staring out the window. Thankfully, the Mayo wasn’t far from the depot. Stark pulled off Fifth Street and parked in the rear of the Oneok Plaza. Another dark SUV was already there. Darius, Aphrodite, Shaunee, and Damien climbed out. Shaunee and Damien were holding their element candles. Aphrodite was holding on to Darius with one hand, and a super thick geometry textbook with her other.
“Geometry? Really? That was best choice for our pretend study session?” I realized I was doing some nervous babbling, but I seriously hated geometry.
“Pretend is the key word. We aren’t really going to study. We’re just pretending to study, retard.”
“Yeah, okay, fine,” I said. “I know we’re not really studying. I’m just nervous as hell and worried about Grandma.”
“Which is completely understandable.” Damien hugged me. “That’s why we’re here. We’re going to get her back.” He looked at Aurox. “Are you ready?”
Aurox nodded. I didn’t think he looked ready, but then again I probably didn’t look ready, either, so I tried not to judge. Shaylin and I were pulling our element candles from our purses when Kalona, silent as the night itself, dropped from the sky.
“What news from the school?” Thanatos asked the winged immortal.
“Dallas and Erin have fragmented the red fledglings. They sow dissention, even within their own kind. They will have to be dealt with when this is over.”
“Agreed,” Thanatos said. “But the plan worked.”
“It did. They are so busy lording the responsibility you have given them over the other students that they care nothing about what Zoey and you, or any of the rest of us, are doing,” Kalona said.