Marked

it?”
    "Yep. Last week she had a vision during lunch, but the hags closed ranks around her and started leading her out of the dining hall. If Damien hadn't run right into them because he was late and hurrying in to lunch, making them scatter so that he could see that Aphrodite was in the middle of a vision, no one would ever have known. And a whole plane full of people would probably be dead.”
    I choked on a pretzel. Between coughs I sputtered, "A plane full of people! What the hell?”
    "Yeah, Damien could tell Aphrodite was having a vision, so he got Neferet. Aphrodite had to tell her the vision, which was seeing a jet crash just after takeoff. Her visions are so clear that she could describe the airport and read the numbers on the tail of the plane. Neferet took that info and contacted the Denver airport. They double-checked the plane and found some problem that they hadn't noticed before, and said that if they hadn't fixed it the plane would have crashed immediately after takeoff. But I know darn well Aphrodite wouldn't have said a word if she hadn't been caught, even though she made up a big lie about her friends leading her from the dining hall because they knew she'd want to be taken to Neferet right away. Total b.s.”
    I started to say that I couldn't believe that even Aphrodite and her hags would purposefully allow the death of hundreds of people, but then I remembered the hateful stuff they'd said that night― Human men suck…They should all die― I realized they hadn't just been talking; they'd been serious.
    "So why didn't Aphrodite lie to Neferet? You know, tell her a different airport or switch the numbers of the plane around or something?”
    "Vamps are almost impossible to lie to, especially when they ask you a direct question. And, remember, Aphrodite wants to be a High Priestess more than anything. If Neferet believed she was as twisted as she is, it would seriously hurt her future plans.”
    "Aphrodite has no business being a High Priestess. She's selfish and hateful, and so are her friends.”
    "Yeah, well, Neferet doesn't think so, and she was her mentor.”
    I blinked in surprise. "You've got to be kidding! And she doesn't see through Aphrodite's crap?" That couldn't be right; Neferet is way smarter than that.
    Stevie Rae shrugged. "She acts different around Neferet."
    "But still…”
    "And she does have a powerful affinity, which has to mean that Nyx has special plans for her.”
    "Or she's a demon from hell, and she gets her power from the dark side. Hello! Has no one seen Star Wars? It was hard to believe Anakin Skywalker would turn, and look what happened there.”
    "Uh, Zoey. That's like total fiction.”
    "Still, I think it makes a good point.”
    "Well, try telling that to Neferet.”
    I chewed my sandwich and thought about it. Maybe I should. Neferet did seem way too smart to fall for Aphrodite's games. She probably already knew something was up with the hags. Maybe all she needed was someone to stand up and say something to her.
    "So, has anyone ever tried to tell Neferet about Aphrodite?" I asked.
    "Not that I know of.”
    "Why not?”
    Stevie Rae looked uncomfortable. "Well, I think it seems kinda tattletale-like. Anyway, what would we tell Neferet? That we think Aphrodite might hide her visions, but that the only proof we have is that she's a hateful bitch.” Stevie Rae shook her head. "No, I can't see that going over very well with Neferet. Plus, if by some miracle she believed us, what would Neferet do? It's not like she's going to kick her out of the school so she can cough herself to death on the streets. She'd still be here with her pack of hags and all those guys who would do anything for her if she snapped her little clawed fingers at them. I guess it's just not worth it.”
    Stevie Rae had a point, but I didn't like it. I really, really didn't like it.
    Things might be different if a more powerful fledgling took Aphrodite's place as leader of the Dark Daughters.
    I jumped guiltily, and covered it by taking a big gulp of pop. What was I thinking? I wasn't power hungry. I didn't want to be a High Priestess or get caught up in a pain-in-the-ass battle with Aphrodite and half the school (the more attractive half, at that). I just wanted to find a place for myself in this new life, a place that felt like home―a place where I fit in and was like the rest of the kids.
    Then I remembered the electric jolts I'd felt during the casting of both circles, and how the elements