Chosen

his face.
    "I think we have to do what Nyx wants us to do. Even if we don't like it," Damien said.
    "Shaunee?" I turned to her. "What's your vote?"
    Shaunee and Erin shared a look and I swear, weird as it sounds, I could almost see words pass in the air between them.
    "We'll let the hag join the circle," Shaunee said.
    "But only because Nyx wants it," Erin said.
    "Yeah, but we want to go on the record as saying we totally do not understand what Nyx is up to," Shaunee added, while Erin nodded in agreement.
    "Do they get to keep calling me a hag?" Aphrodite said.
    "Are you breathing?" Shaunee asked.
    "Then if you're breathing you're still a hag," Erin said.
    "Which is what we call you," Shaunee finished.
    "No," I said firmly. The Twins turned their glares on me. "You guys don't have to like her. You don't even have to like that Nyx wants her here. But if we accept Aphrodite, then we accept her. That means the name-calling has to stop." The Twins sucked air, obviously getting ready to argue with me, so I hurriedly added, "Look inside yourselves, especially right now when you have manifested your element. What is your conscience telling you?" Then I held my breath and waited.
    The Twins paused.
    "Yeah, okay," Erin said unhappily.
    "We see your point. We just don't like it," Shaunee said.
    "And what about her? So we stop calling her a hag and such, but she still gets to act like one?" Erin said.
    "Now Erin has a point," Damien said.
    I looked over at Aphrodite. By her expression she was bored, but I could see that she kept taking big gulps of air, like she couldn't get enough of smelling the meadow earth had manifested around her. Every once in a while I noticed that she trailed her fingers down around her as if she was letting them brush through tall, fragrant grasses. Clearly, she wasn't as unmoved by what had just happened as she pretended to be.
    "Aphrodite's going to do the same thing the two of you just did. She's going to search her conscience and then do the right thing."
    Aphrodite looked mockingly around like she was searching for something that might be hidden in the night. Then she shrugged. "Oops. Seems I don't have a conscience."
    "Stop it!" I snapped, and the energy I'd evoked with the circle whipped between Aphrodite and me, snaking dangerously around her body. The power augmented my voice, making Aphrodite's blue eyes widen in surprise and fear. "Not here. Not in this circle. You will not lie and pretend. Decide now. You have a choice, too. I know you've ignored Nyx before. You can choose to ignore her again. But if you choose to stay and do the Goddess's will, you're not going to do it with lies and hate."
    I thought she'd break the circle and walk away. I almost wished she would. It'd be easier not to have anyone represent earth. I could just light the green candle myself and put in on the ground. Whatever. But Aphrodite surprised me, and it would only be the first of many surprises Nyx had in store for me.
    "Fine. I'll stay."
    "Fine," I said. I glanced around at my friends. "Fine?"
    "Yeah, fine," they grumbled.
    "Good. So we have our circle," I said.
    Before anything else bizarre could happen I moved counterclockwise around the circle, bidding each element good-bye. The silver thread of power disappeared, leaving behind the scents of the ocean and wildflowers on a warm breeze. No one said anything, and the awkward silence grew until I was starting to feel sorry for Aphrodite. Of course, she opened her mouth and, as usual, destroyed any pity anyone might feel for her.
    "Don't worry. I'm leaving so you can get back to your Dungeons and Dragons meeting or whatever," Aphrodite sneered.
    "Hey, we don't play Dungeons and Dragons!" Jack said.
    "Come on, we have time to go down to the IHOP for something to eat before the movie starts," Damien said, and the whole group of them completely ignored Aphrodite as they walked away, chattering among themselves about how fine the Spartans are and how this time when they watch 300 they're going to keep track of how many vamp actors are in it.
    They were several feet away before Erik noticed I wasn't with them.
    "Zoey?" he called. The gang stopped and looked back at me, obviously surprised to see Aphrodite and me still standing in the dissolved circle. "Aren't you coming?" His voice was carefully neutral, but I could see his jaw tightening with a mixture of what might be annoyance or worry.
    "You guys go ahead. I'll meet you at the movies. I need to talk to