Redeemed

Lynette’s lack of food mixed with the rich red wine, and she was just tipsy enough to blurt, “That’s easy. It’s why I’m here right now. Nothing and no one means more to me than being successful and surviving. I’ve sacrificed everything in my life for those two things. And it has been worth it.”

“Nothing and no one…” the Goddess mused. Then a long, slow smile lifted Neferet’s lush lips. “After listening to you and an associate of mine, I have just realized how I can break Thanatos’s spell. Now, let us eat cake while we plan the most spectacular event Tulsa has ever witnessed!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Zoey

Kalona’s funeral was sad and happy at the same time, and it happened super fast. Travis and Shaunee worked together so well it sometimes seemed like they were reading each other’s minds. Darius and Aurox put up an awning to shield her from the sunlight, and from there she gave directions to Aurox, Travis, and a team of humans, which included Detective Marx and the officers who’d put themselves in charge of Kalona’s body, as well as a group of men they’d somehow talked into helping.

All the while a big raven, obviously Rephaim, perched on the edge of the awning roof, right above Shaunee, cocking his head with active interest and silently watching over everything.

It was mid-afternoon when Shaunee said the logs and planks were perfect and called for Kalona’s body. Detective Marx and Darius carried the front of the litter. The TPD officers, in freshly pressed uniforms, and Aurox, dressed all in black, spread out around the rest of the litter, lifting it and walking slowing, in perfect step, to the pyre. I waited beside the pyre with Shaunee, Damien, Lenobia, and Erik. At the last minute, wearing round, heavily tinted Chanel sunglasses, Aphrodite joined us.

“You okay?” I asked her softly.

“No, but too many of the Nerd Herd are missing. Someone has to represent.”

I smiled at her and gave her a quick hug. “Thanks from them.”

“Stop. Seriously. There’s only so much PDA I can take when I’m hungover. Or even when I’m not hungover.”

Then everyone’s attention focused on Kalona’s body as they carried him across the center green. He was covered with a ginormous silver rectangle of cloth. The afternoon sunlight seemed to brighten as he got closer and closer to the pyre, and the material shined and fluttered as if it were made of liquid mercury.

“That’s incredible,” I said. “I’ve never seen anything like that cloth.”

“I found it in the drama room and gave it to Damien for Kalona’s shroud,” Erik said. “But it didn’t shine like that inside.”

“It’s Erebus,” Damien said. “He’s put magick in the sunlight for his brother.”

I blinked fast, and was so focused on not crying that I didn’t notice the people until Shaunee pointed them out.

“Wow, check out all the humans!”

Led by Travis, a long line of somber people were trailing out of the field house.

“They liked him,” Lenobia said. When I gave her my question mark look, she explained, “Kalona fascinated the humans, but it seems they also truly liked him. He was patient with their questions and didn’t get angry when children tugged on his feathers.”

“So kids did actually grab his feathers,” Aphrodite said. “Wish I’d seen that.”

“And also you have to remember that interview made him look like a hero,” Lenobia said. “And the YouTube thing went viral.”

“Kalona was a hero,” Shaunee said firmly. “He saved Rephaim. He tried his best to save Grandma Redbird. He saved a bunch of us in front of the Mayo. He even died trying to save someone he’d never met. He made terrible mistakes in his life, but at the end, he was on the right side—he did the right thing.”

“And Nyx forgave him,” I said, agreeing with her.

The raven, circling low over our heads, croaked as if agreeing with Shaunee, too. And then he landed in the oak tree nearest the pyre, perching on a thick branch that extended toward it.

“Zoey, I’ll help Travis circle the people. You can start whenever you’re ready.” I nodded and then turned to Shaunee.

“I think you should speak. He and I had too much history.” She started to protest, but I interrupted her. “I don’t mean that I have any bad feelings about Kalona now. Actually, I haven’t for a while. But that’s different from being his friend. His friend should speak at his funeral, and I think you were his friend.”

“I’m agreeing with Z,” Aphrodite said.

“As am I,” Damien said.

“But I don’t know what to say,” Shaunee said.

“Yes you do.” Erik took her hand and smiled intimately at her. “You’re good at saying what you feel. Just do that for Kalona one more time.”

Huh! They’ve got something going on between them! I was honestly happy for them.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” Shaunee said.

“I’ll follow you with the torch. Let me know when you want me to give it to you,” I said.

Shaunee nodded, lifted her chin, and walked purposefully through the circle of people to stand in front of Kalona’s pyre.

The already quiet crowd went absolutely silent. I heard Shaunee draw in a big breath, and then she began, “Kalona was our High Priestess’s Warrior, and Protector of this House of Night. He was my friend. He was father to his son, Rephaim. Those things are important—Warrior, friend, and father—but Kalona was something more. He was an ancient walking this earth among us, for good or ill, a constant reminder that our world is filled with magickal forces. Kalona was tangible proof that those forces can be awe-inspiring and awesome, frightening and mesmerizing, wonderful and terrible—all at the same time. He was our superhero, and even a superhero sometimes makes mistakes. Ours did, but in the end he kept his oath and sacrificed himself to protect us. When I remember Kalona, I’ll remember him with respect and love, always love.”

Shaunee motioned to me, and I stepped forward, handing her the burning torch I carried.

“Now you should all move back three big paces. I’m going to light Kalona’s pyre, and it’s going to be bright and hot. But you don’t need to be scared. Fire listens to me, and I give you my oath that I will only use it to protect and serve goodness and Light.” I saw her exchange smiles with Detective Marx and the uniformed officers. When everyone had moved far enough back, Shaunee said, “Fire, I call you to me. Light a blaze that Kalona will see all the way from the Otherworld!”

She touched the torch to the pyre, and fire roared from it, like she had just turned on a flamethrower. At the same instant a beam of light speared from the west, intensifying Shaunee’s already awesome blaze. We all shuffled back farther, though no one acted scared or panicked. Above us, Kalona’s son, in the form of a raven, called mournfully over and over. As dark shapes circled far above us, throwing strange shadows over the pyre, Rephaim’s cries echoed in the wind, and I realized that it wasn’t just one raven I was hearing, but hundreds of them.

Zoey

With the help of fire and, we suspected, a major dose of sunlight, the pyre had burned faster than any I’d ever seen before. Aphrodite, Damien, Erik, and I hadn’t left yet, even though we were all doing a lot of yawning. No one said it, but I guessed they felt a lot like I did—I didn’t want to leave Rephaim perched up there by himself, cawing pathetically. Stevie Rae would want us to stay. Hell, Kalona would probably even want us to stay. So we stayed.

The humans had mostly wandered back inside, though some of the children had discovered a bunch of jump ropes in the Warriors’ gym, and they were noisily skipping up and down the sidewalk.

Aphrodite looked over the black rim of her sunglasses at the kids. “I don’t know why anyone would purposefully procreate.”

I grimaced as one of the children laughed so shrilly that I was pretty sure I heard Duchess howl in response.