Loved (House of Night Other World #1)(27)

For that moment we were just a circle of friends surrounded by laughter and joined by love.

Then Grandma kissed each of my friends and shooed them back to their places around the table as she retrieved the picnic basket she’d left by the door.

“I brought serious fortification—lavender chocolate chip cookies. Let’s get to work,” she said.

Like the smart group we are, we did what Grandma said.





9


Zoey


“So, none of the most powerful protection spells will work because—like the spell Thanatos used to trap Neferet in the Mayo—they’re always tied to the High Priestess who casts them,” I reasoned aloud.

Damien nodded. “Yes, and that’s bad because we need something that’s permanent.”

“Is there no way for Zoey to relegate a part of her subconscious mind to holding the spell?” Grandma asked.

“I could try, but eventually the spell will end.”

Grandma looked confused, so I continued.

“When I die. I mean, that’s not going to happen for possibly several hundred years, but still. Not good for whoever is here after me.”

“And there’s more to it than that. Linking Zoey to the spell will drain her, no matter if she’s actively aware of it or not,” Damien said. “And if Neferet is indeed stirring and decides to start pushing and testing the spell, Zoey might very well end up like Thanatos. Dead.”

“No. We will not allow that,” said my grandma.

“What if we take turns?” Stevie Rae asked. “We’re all High Priestesses. Z can start by casting the spell. She can hold it for, I dunno, however long she feels comfortable holding it—then we circle again, and I take a turn.”

“And when you get tired it’s my turn,” Shaunee said. “And so on and so on. Would that work?”

“I don’t think so.” Everyone turned to Aphrodite. “I know I’m not the bookworm Damien is.”

“I prefer the term scholar,” Damien said.

“Of course you do. Anyway. I don’t know all that Damien does, but I am a Prophetess of Nyx, and taking turns holding a protection spell doesn’t feel right. Too much could happen to mess it up.”

Stevie Rae sighed. “Is it like when my mama says there’re too many cooks in the kitchen?”

“This time I understand your bumpkin analogy, and yes. I think that’s it,” Aphrodite said.

“So, the core problem seems to be a stability issue,” Grandma said. “If the spell passes from priestess to priestess, there is no stability. And in a protection spell stability is paramount.”

“Well, then, Z needs to choose one of these other spells.” Shaunee pushed a stack of spell books toward me.

I looked at the books and sighed. “I’ve already gone through them. Nothing fits. Nothing at all. They’re either too dark, or too light and happy. Or they’re for, like, protecting your garden against pests. Or being protected against migraines—”

“Hang on. I need that one,” Aphrodite interrupted, snatching a book from me.

“Or ill wishes. Or clumsiness. I didn’t even know that was a thing,” I said. “Or warding off annoyances, like flat tires or bird poo landing on your head.”

“Seriously? There’s a spell for that?” Stevie Rae asked.

“That’d be a good one for you to have,” Aphrodite said, then she dissolved into giggles, which the rest of us ignored.

“Yeah, there are spells for a bunch of minor things. There are spells for major things, too. Spells that don’t keep the High Priestess who casts them connected to the protection, but … I don’t know. I just …” My words trailed off and I just sat there staring at the giant pile of books and a bunch of cookie crumbs, trying to figure out what it was that wasn’t right. As if that made sense.

“U-we-tsi-a-ge-ya, I think the answer is within you. You simply have to let it out.”

“Okay. How?”

“Show me one of the protection spells that almost feels right.”

I shuffled through the books until I found one of the spells I’d marked earlier. It was an old protection spell against ill wishes.

“Here’s one.” I handed it to her.

“Protection against an Ill Wish,” she read. “That does sound promising, and I see you even marked the page. But you rejected it. Why?”

“It just didn’t feel right.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Well, it wasn’t big enough,” I said.

“Big enough? What does that mean?” Aphrodite asked.

“If Neferet’s stirring she’s going to be up to a lot more than an ill wish or two. She’s a killer. I just didn’t think it was big enough.”

“That makes sense. But, Zoeybird, what if you changed some of this spell and made it bigger. Would that work?”

“No.” I glanced through the spell again. “Yes.” I kept reading. “No.” I sighed. “Even if I change some of the wording, it still doesn’t feel right. None of these do.”

“Why?” Grandma prodded again.

Beginning to feel annoyed, I blurted, “Because they’re not mine! They’re just some random, generic spells created by vampyres who are probably dead, but even if they’re still alive they don’t know me. They don’t know my circle. They don’t know Neferet. They don’t even know Tulsa. These just won’t work.”