Hidden (House of Night #10)(77)

"Go on. Tell me everything." I sounded strong, but I had to press my hand against my mouth to keep from sobbing. I will not cry!

"Turquoise and silver-earth power. That protects her, but with my blood filling the tendrils, they were able to begin breaking through that protection. Had I stayed and continued to battle them, I would have been victorious, but Sylvia Redbird would have been dead."

"We must have a creature made of Darkness to break through the cage of Darkness that imprisons your grandmother," Thanatos said.

"That creature is me." Aurox stepped forward.

"Oh, for shit's sake! We are absolutely f**ked!" Aphrodite said.

Sadly, I had to agree with her.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Zoey

"I can do it. I was created by Darkness, from Darkness," Aurox said. "The tendrils will not feed from me-it would be like eating themselves. I may even be able to command them. If they will not obey my command, then I will vanquish them and rescue Sylvia Redbird. Zoey, I care very much for Grandma. I can save her. I know it."

"You can't control that shit inside you!" Stark shouted. "Sure, Neferet will let you into her penthouse. Are you kidding, why shouldn't she? She has plenty of blood from Grandma. She'll just use some of it to feed Darkness and control you. Again!"

"The tendrils cannot feed from Sylvia Redbird's blood," Kalona said. "Neferet admitted it, and I witnessed it myself. I can only guess that her blood is protected by the same earth magick that shields her body."

"But you can still be controlled, right?" Damien had walked up to Aurox. His voice was clinical and I knew he was accessing all the biology files he had in his very big brain. "You are a Vessel created by Darkness. So the beast within you, which is basically a creature formed from the evil of the white bull, morphs without a sacrifice. We saw it happening earlier when Stark and Darius hit you."

"The beast feeds on violence and hatred, lust and pain. That is true," Aurox said.

"But you have some control over it. You did not actually change earlier," Thanatos said.

"I try not to change. I try to control it."

"Well, do you have a clue how you've kinda controlled it so far?" Stevie Rae asked, joining the rest of us.

"No." Aurox sounded miserable.

"And that is why we are here. We must teach Aurox to control this change, at least long enough for him to break through the cage of Darkness that binds Sylvia Redbird so that he can throw her from the balcony of Neferet's lair," Thanatos said.

"Throw her?" My voice squeaked, but there wasn't much I could do about that. I felt like my head was going to explode.

"I will hover there and catch her and fly her to safety," Kalona said.

"And how long do we have to figure out how not to push Aurox's buttons and grab Grandma?" Aphrodite asked.

"I would not expect her to live another night," Kalona said.

"Well," I said. "Then let's get to work." I looked at Aurox. "Do you really care about my grandma?"

"I do. Very much. I would give my life to save her if I need to."

"You may need to," I said. Then I looked from him to Stark and Darius and Kalona. "Sounds like you need to start causing Aurox a bunch of pain and violence. Now."

The Warriors glanced at Thanatos. "I agree with Zoey. Cause Aurox pain."

Aurox

"I may enjoy this," Stark said, setting his bow and arrows aside and cracking his knuckles.

"As may I," Kalona said, as he began circling Aurox. "I owe you blows for my son."

"And I owe you for Dragon," Darius told him, pulling from his belt loop a small, deadly looking knife.

"You're not supposed to kill him," Zoey said. Her voice sounded cold, emotionless.

That absence of emotion frightened Aurox more than any of the three Warriors.

"I'll bet he's pretty hard to kill," Aphrodite said, crossing her arms and winking at Darius. "So, you go ahead and have some fun with your knives, handsome."

"The beast feeds on anger. Get serious. Get angry," Thanatos commanded the Warriors, and they went silent and closed on him.

Aurox felt the change in their energy immediately. Where before the three of them obviously disliked and mistrusted him, they were not angry. Now tension radiated from them, building in intensity. The beast within him stirred expectantly.

Aurox clenched his teeth and tensed his body. No, I will not release control. It is tsu-ka-nv-s-di-na, not beast. I will tame the bull!

Kalona struck first. With a movement that was inhumanly quick, he spun and backhanded Aurox across the face, knocking him to his knees. Before he could rise, Darius darted in. He felt an electric line of pain across the top of his shoulder, and then felt warmth as the thin, shallow cut began to bleed. An instant later, Stark punched him in the stomach.

Aurox doubled over. The Warriors were angry. The scent of his blood worked on the two vampyres. He could feel the violence within them build, especially that which rested inside Stark. Darkness-I can feel it. Stark has known evil, though he has chosen another path. Aurox was able to gain his feet, where he took a defensive stance just in time for Kalona to send another stinging blow to the other side of his face. Aurox turned, going with the blow, and brought his arm up in time to block Stark's fist.