Awakened (House of Night #8)(17)

"Maybe that's a really good idea," Jack said.

"Or maybe you should take the shower with me."

Jack's grin widened. "Now that's more than maybe a really good idea."

"Tart," Damien said, bending to kiss Jack deeply.

"Linguist," Jack said before kissing him back.

Duchess wriggled her way between them, huffing and wagging and licking both of them.

"Oh, pretty girl! We love you, too!" Jack said, kissing Duchess on her soft muzzle. "Come on, let's go get some exercise so we stay properly svelte and attractive for Jack," Damien said, pulling on the big dog's leash. She followed him, but with obvious hesitance.

"It's okay. He'll bring you back soon," Jack said.

"Yep, we'll see Jack soon, Duch."

"Hey," Jack called after the two of them. "I love you two!"

Damien turned, picked up Duchess's paw, waved it at Jack, and yelled, "We love you, too!" Then they jogged away, Duchess barking excitedly as Damien pretended to chase her.

Jack watched them go. "They're the best, ever," he said softly.

The sword he'd just put the final fold on was the last of the five he'd made. One for each of the elements, Jack told himself. I'll hang these five and let them be the testers.

As he cut the fishing line and threaded it through the last of the five, Jack's eyes kept going upward, seeking the right spots from which to hang the decorations. But he didn't need to look long. The tree seemed to be showing him where he needed to go. The thick trunk had been split almost in two, causing the sides of the massive old oak to tilt so that the thick branches leaned precariously close to the ground. Where before Kalona had escaped from the earth, the lowest branches couldn't have been reached with a twenty-foot ladder, now his eight-foot ladder gave Jack more than enough height.

"Up there. Right up there is where the first one should go." Jack gazed straight up from where he'd been sitting beside the little table at one of the major limbs of the tree that hung directly above him like a sheltering arm. "It's perfect because it'll hang over where I made all of the swords." Jack dragged the ladder closer to the table and held the first of the five paper swords by the long length of fishing line he'd tied to its hilt. "Oh, oopsie. Almost forgot. Gotta practice," he said to himself, pausing to punch the controls on the portable iPhone dock he'd carried out there with the table.

Something has changed within me Something is not the same

I'm through with playing by the rules

Of someone else's game ...

Rachel's voice began the song, strong and clear. Jack paused with one foot on the bottom rung of the ladder, and when Kurt took over the lyrics he sang with him, matching his sweet tenor, note for note.

Too late for second-guessing

Too late to go back to sleep ...

Jack moved up the ladder as he and Kurt sang, pretending he was climbing the steps of the Radio City Music Hall where the Glee cast had performed on tour last spring.

It's time to trust my instincts

Close my eyes: and leap!

He reached the top rung of the ladder, paused, and began the first chorus with Kurt and Rachel while he reached up and threaded the fishing lure through the bare winter branches.

He was humming along with Rachel's next lines, waiting for Kurt's part again, when movement at the split base of the tree caught his attention and his gaze shifted to the damaged trunk. Jack gasped. He was sure he saw, right there, an image of a beautiful woman. The image was dark and indistinct, but as Kurt sang about losing love he'd guessed he'd lost, the woman became clearer, larger, more distinct.

"Nyx?" Jack whispered, awestruck.

Like a veil lifting, the woman was suddenly fully visible. She raised her head and smiled up at Jack, as exquisitely lovely as she was evil.

"Yes, little Jack. You may call me Nyx."

"Neferet! What are you doing here?" The question burst from him before he could think.

"Actually, at this moment, I'm here because of you." "M-me?"

"Yes, you see, I need your help. I know how much you like to help others. That's why I've come for you, Jack. Wouldn't you like to do something for me? I can promise you that I'll make it worth your while."

"Worth my while? What do you mean?" Jack hated that his voice sounded squeaky.

"I mean if you do a little thing for me, then I'll do a little thing for you, too. I've been away from the House of Night fledglings far too long. Perhaps I've lost touch with what makes their hearts beat. You could help me--guide me--show me. In return I would reward you. Think about your dreams, what it is you would want to do with your long life after you Change. I could make your dreams come true."

Jack smiled and threw his arms out wide. "But I'm already living my dream. I'm here, in this beautiful place, with friends who have become my family. What more could anyone want?"

Neferet's expression hardened. Her voice was stone. "What more could you want? How about dominion over this `beautiful place'? Beauty doesn't last. Friends and family decay. Power is the only thing that goes on forever."

Jack answered with his gut. "No, love goes on forever."

Neferet's laughter was mocking. "Don't be such a child. I'm offering you much more than love."