Hidden (House of Night #10)(60)

Aurox closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Please, he pleaded silently, let me know what has happened here.

Feelings assailed him-hatred and anger. Those feelings were easy to understand, familiar. "Neferet," he whispered. "You have been here. I scent you. I feel you." But after the familiar emotions came those which knocked him to his knees.

Aurox felt Sylvia Redbird's courage. He knew her wisdom and determination, and finally her fear.

He fell to his knees. "Oh, Goddess, no!" Aurox cried to the heavens. "This is Neferet's blood, drawn by Grandma Redbird. Did Neferet kill her as she did her daughter? Where is Grandma's body?"

There was no answer except the sighing of the listening wind and the annoying clicks and croaks of a huge raven that perched at the edge of the porch.

"Rephaim! Is that you?" Aurox ran his hands through his dirty hair while the raven stared at him, turning his head from side to side. "I wish the Goddess would take the bull within me and make me a bird. If she did I would take to the skies and fly forever and ever."

The raven croaked at him, then spread his wings and flew away, leaving Aurox completely alone.

In equal parts Aurox wanted to weep in despair and frustration, as well as to call the beast to him and attack someone, anyone, in anger and fear.

The boy who was also a beast chose to do neither. Instead Aurox did nothing-nothing at all, except think. He sat on Grandma's porch for a very long time, and amidst the residue of blood and smoke, fear and courage, Aurox reasoned his way to truth.

Had Neferet killed Grandma Redbird, her body would be here. She has no reason to hide her deeds. Her crimes have already been discovered. Thanatos made sure of that. So, what is it Neferet wants more than death and destruction?

The answer was as simple as it was horrible.

Neferet wants to create chaos and one very easy way to do that is to cause Zoey Redbird pain. Aurox knew the truth of it as the thought came to him. Grandma was unique among mortals-she was a gifted leader-beloved of many. And powerful. Grandma was powerful.

Sylvia Redbird would make a more perfect sacrifice than her daughter had made.

"No!" Aurox's mind skittered away from that terrible thought. It was also true that by capturing Zoey's beloved grandmother, Neferet would ensure the fledgling would come after her with all of her very impressive might. In doing so she would also fragment the vampyre community and wreak havoc locally.

"Whether she is used as a sacrifice or as a hostage, as long as Neferet holds Grandma Redbird, and Zoey tries to save her, Neferet gets what she most desires-chaos and vengeance. Well, then, someone else must save Grandma."

Aurox made his decision quickly, though he understood it could very well be the end of him. The drive back to Tulsa seemed to take an unusually long time. Aurox had time enough to think. He thought about Neferet and her callous disregard for life. He thought about Dragon Lankford and how he'd fought and vanquished the loneliness and despair that had tried to swallow his life. Aurox thought about the courage of those who stood against a foe so great that just the memory of the white bull made his insides shiver. And Aurox thought about Zoey Redbird.

It was well past sunset by the time Aurox returned to Tulsa. He did not drive to the obscure back lot of Utica Square. Instead, Aurox drove past the closed shopping center, heading east on Twenty-first Street. He turned left at the Utica Street light, and then left again a block later, entering through the front gate of the House of Night, parking not far from the empty small yellow bus.

Aurox drew a deep breath. Be calm. Control the beast. I can do this. I must do this. Then he got out of the car.

Aurox had thought a lot on the way from Grandma Redbird's empty home, but he hadn't actually considered the specifics of what he should do when he reached the House of Night. So, letting his instincts guide him, he simply began walking through campus.

It was obviously lunchtime. The scents that drifted from the cafeteria part of the main building made his mouth water, and he realized he hadn't eaten in an entire day. Automatically, his feet moved toward the center of campus, following the food.

Just as he stepped on the sidewalk outside the entrance to the dining hall, the big wooden doors opened and a group of fledglings poured out, talking and laughing in familiar, easy voices.

Zoey saw him before anyone else did. He knew it because her eyes widened with surprise. She'd begun shaking her head and was opening her mouth as if to shout at him when Stark's voice shot across the space between them like an arrow.

"Zoey, get back inside! Darius, Rephaim, to me. Let's get him!"

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Zoey

"I need to talk to Zoey!" Aurox shouted, and then Stark punched him squarely in his mouth and he was too busy spitting blood and falling to his knees to shout anything else.

"Stark! Holy crap! Stop it!" I tried to grab my Warrior's arm.

"I said, get back inside!" Stark was yelling at me as he shook me off like I was an ant. He and Darius had thrown Aurox off the sidewalk and tossed him out into the school grounds and the waiting thicket of oaks where the shadows were deepest.

They're going to beat the crap out of him!

"He's not fighting you, Stark. He's not hurting anyone." I jogged after Stark and Darius, hating the muffled sounds of pain Aurox was making as they pulled him across the grass. I tried to reason with him, but Stark was seriously not listening to me. Darius didn't even glance at me.