Again I listened to my instincts, and instead of sending away my concealing spirit right outside the Council Room, I moved quickly down the hall, retracing my path until I was at the bottom of the stairs. Then I lifted the concealment, thanking spirit, and started back up the stairs completely visible and telling myself, Be calm . . . be normal . . . Neferet is a liar and Shekinah is very, very wise . . .

Outside the Council Chamber, I paused to knock twice on the door.

"You may come in, Zoey!" Shekinah called.

I tried not to wonder if she'd known I'd been outside before. Putting a smile on my face, I entered the room. I fisted my hand over my heart and bowed respectfully. "Merry meet, Shekinah."

"Merry meet, Zoey Redbird," she said. I didn't notice any weirdness in her voice. "So, how was your visit with the ladies at Street Cats?"

I grinned. "Did you know that Street Cats is run by Benedictine nuns?"

She smiled back at me. "I did not, though I did expect the charity to be run by women. Women have long had a strong connection with cats. Were the good sisters open to your volunteer work?"

"Definitely. They were really nice. Oh, and Aphrodite adopted a cat while we were there, although Maleficent adopting Aphrodite is probably a more accurate way to describe what happened."

"Maleficent? What an unusual name."

"Yeah, but it fits her. All that noise that's happening out there." I jerked my head back in the direction of the hallway and the front of the school. We both listened and could still hear dog barking, cat yowling, and kid shouting. "I think you'll find out that all of that was instigated by Maleficent."

"So what you're saying is the nuns have double cause to thank you. For your volunteerism and for helping them rid themselves of one very difficult feline?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Oh, and Sister Mary Angela asked me to check with you about a date that would work well for the flea market. She said she'd work their schedule around ours. Besides that, they're going to stay open late every Saturday night so that we can volunteer once a week."

"That sounds lovely. I will meet with Neferet about a date that works best for the school." Shekinah paused for a moment, and then added, "Zoey, Neferet is your mentor, isn't she?"

I heard warning bells inside my head, but I forced myself to relax. I was going to answer Shekinah as honestly as I could in everything she asked me. I hadn't done anything wrong!

"Yes. Neferet is my mentor."

"And do you feel close to Neferet?"

"I used to. We were very close when I first came here. Actually, my mom and I haven't been close for several years, and I kinda felt like Neferet was the mom I wish I'd had," I said truthfully.

"But that has changed?" she asked gently.

"Yes," I said.

"And why is that?"

I hesitated, choosing my words very carefully. I wanted to tell Shekinah as much of the truth as I dared, and for an instant I considered telling her everything—the whole truth about Stevie Rae and the prophecy and what we were afraid was happening, but my gut told me not to reveal everything now. Shekinah would learn the truth tomorrow. Until then, I didn't want Neferet to have any inkling about what was going to happen—about the fact that she was going to have to face what she had done, and what she was becoming.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure," I said.

"What is your best guess?"

"Well, I think she's changed lately, and I'm not sure why. Some of it might have to do with some personal stuff that happened between us. I'd really rather not talk about that, if it's okay with you."

"Of course. I understand your need to keep things that are private to yourself. But, Zoey, you should know that I am here for you to talk with if you need me. Though it was long ago, I remember very well what it was to be a powerful fledgling and to feel like I was carrying so many responsibilities that the burden of them sometimes became too much to bear."

"Yeah," I said, suddenly having to fight back tears. "That's exactly what it feels like sometimes."

Her candid gaze was warm and kind. "It gets better. I can promise you that."

"I really hope so," I said. "Oh, and speaking of making things better—my grandma would like to come for a little visit. She and I are really close. I meant to spend some of winter break with her, but, well, you know that break was called off. So Grandma said she'd like to come here to spend some time with me. Do you think it would be okay if she stayed at the school?"

Shekinah studied me carefully. "There are guest rooms in the professors' building, but I believe they are all filled right now because of my visit and the influx of the Sons of Erebus."

"Could she maybe stay in my room with me? My roommate, Stevie Rae, died last month, and I haven't gotten a new one, so I have an empty bed and everything."

"I suppose I don't see any harm in that. If your grandmother is comfortable with being surrounded by so many fledglings."

I grinned. "Grandma likes kids. Plus, she knows a bunch of my friends here, and they all like her."

"Then I'll let the Sons of Erebus, as well as Neferet, know that you have permission for your grandmother to visit and to stay in your room. Zoey, you know that asking for special favors is not always wise, even if you have special abilities."

I met Shekinah's gaze steadily. "This is the first favor I have asked for since I came to the House of Night." Then I thought about it for a second and corrected myself. "No, wait. It's the second. The first favor I asked for was to keep a few of my roommate's things after she died."

Shekinah nodded slowly, and I hoped as hard as I could that she believed me. I wanted to yell: Check it out with the other professors! They know I don't ask for special treatment! But I couldn't say anything to let Shekinah believe that I'd overheard her conversation with Neferet.

"Well, good. Then you're already starting down the right road. Gifts from our Goddess don't mean privilege—they mean responsibility."

"I understand that," I said firmly.

"I think maybe you do," she said. "Now, I'm sure you have homework to catch up on and a ritual to prepare to lead tomorrow, so I will bid you a good night and hope that you will blessed be," she said.

"Blessed be." I saluted her formally again, bowed, and left the room.

Things really hadn't gone so bad. Sure, Neferet was lying her butt off about me and was clearly an evil-filled bitch, but I'd already known that. Shekinah wasn't stupid, and she certainly wouldn't be made into Neferet's fool (like Loren had been, my mind whispered). Grandma was on her way to the school, and she was going to stay with me while we figured out this whole prophecy thing. My friends finally knew everything, so I didn't have to constantly make excuses and evade them, and they had my back, even though just thinking about the Raven Mockers creeped me totally out. But I could handle the creeping-out part with my friends by my side. And tomorrow everyone would know about Stevie Rae and the red fledglings, and Neferet would lose the power of secrecy. Then maybe Stark wouldn't really be dead, and would come back himself. Things really were looking up! I was just opening the door to the front of the building and grinning like a fool when I ran smack into Erik.

"Oh, sorry I wasn't looking—," he began, automatically reaching out to steady me before he realized who he'd almost knocked over. "Oh," he repeated, this time in a much less nice-guy voice. "It's you."

I pulled my arm out of his hand and stepped back, brushing my hair from my face. Looking up into his cold blue eyes was like taking a nosedive into freezing water—and I'd just about had enough cold water splashed in my face by him.