Burned

they attempt to do so—they die,” Thanatos said.
    “Well, how do I get permission to enter the Isle?” Stark asked.
    There was a long, awkward silence, and then Thanatos said, “Therein lies the first of your problems. Since Sgiach cast her protective circle, no outsider has been given permission to enter her Isle.”
    “I’ll get permission,” Stark said firmly.
    “How are you going to do that, Warrior?” Thanatos asked.
    Stark blew out a long breath, and said, “I know how I’m
not
going to do it. I’m not going to be civilized. And right now that’s about all I know.”
    “Hang on,” Damien said. “Thanatos, Darius, you both know things about Sgiach and this ancient barbaric religion. So, where did you learn it?”
    “I’ve always liked to read.” Darius shrugged. “So I was drawn to the old scrolls at the House of Night where I studied the blade. In my off time, I read.”
    “Dangerous
and
sexy. That’s an excellent combination,” Aphrodite purred, snuggling into him.
    “Okay, we’ll all barf later,” Erin said.
    “Yeah, right now, stop interrupting,” Shaunee said.
    “What about your knowledge of the bulls and Sgiach?” Damien asked Thanatos, giving the Twins and Aphrodite “be quiet” looks.
    “From ancient texts here in the palace archives. When I first became a High Priestess, I spent many hours studying here by myself. I had to; I had no mentor,” Thanatos said.
    “No mentor? That’d be hard,” Stark said.
    “Apparently our world only needs one High Priestess at a time who has been gifted with an affinity for death,” Thanatos said with a wry smile.
    “That’s a sucky job description,” Jack said, and then clamped his hand over his mouth, and squeaked, “Sorry!”
    Thanatos’s smile widened. “I take no offense at your words, child. To be allied with Death is not an easy career path.”
    “But because of that, and because Darius is a reading Warrior, we have something to go by,” Damien said.
    “What are you thinking?” Aphrodite said.
    “I’m thinking that I’m really good at one thing—and that’s studying.”
    Aphrodite’s blue eyes widened. “So we just need to point you to something to study.”
    “The archives. You need access to the palace archives,” Thanatos said, already heading toward the door. “I’ll speak with Duantia.”
    “Excellent. I’ll get ready to study,” Damien said.
    “I’ll help,” Jack said.
    “Nerd herd, as much as I hate it, it looks like we’re all gonna get ready to study.”
    Stark watched Thanatos go. He vaguely registered that the rest of the kids were excited that they had somewhere to focus their energy, but his gaze went back to Zoey’s pale face.
    And I’ll get ready to ally myself with death.
    Zoey
    Nothing seemed right.
    It wasn’t like I didn’t know where I was. I mean, I knew I was in the Otherworld but not dead, and that I was with Heath, who definitely was dead.
    Goddess! It was so weird that it was becoming more and more normal to think of Heath as DEAD.
    Anyway, besides that, stuff just wasn’t right.
    At this moment I was curled up with Heath. We were spooning like an old married couple at the base of a tree on a mossy mattress made by the joining of ancient roots in a roughly bedlike oval. I should have been majorly comfortable. The moss was definitely soft, and it reallydid seem like Heath was alive. I could see him, hear him, touch him—he even smelled like Heath. I should be able to relax and just be with him.
    So why,
I wondered as I stared at a gaggle of dancing blue-winged butterflies,
am I so restless and generally “out of sorts” as Grandma would say?
    Grandma . . .
    I did miss her. Her absence was like a mild toothache. Sometimes the feeling went away, but I knew it was there, and it would come back—probably worse.
    She must really be worried about me. And sad. Thinking of how sad Grandma would be was hard, and my mind skirted away from it quickly.
    I couldn’t keep lying there. I moved away from Heath, careful not to wake him up.
    Then I started to pace.
    That helped. Well, it seemed to for a little while. I walked back and forth, back and forth, making sure I could see Heath. He did look cute while he slept.
    I wished I could sleep.
    I couldn’t, though. If I rested—if I closed my eyes—it was like I lost pieces of myself. But how could that be? How could I be losing myself? It reminded me a little of the time I had strep throat and such a high fever that I had a