Marked

moment. Then she smiled again and matched my clueless tone of voice perfectly. "Yes, I bet Neferet will be glad to hear you've joined us, but I am the leader of the Dark Daughters and I know our schedule by heart, so there's no need to bother her with silly questions. Tomorrow is our Samhain celebration. Wear your dress," she emphasized the word, and my smile widened. I'd meant to get to her and I had. "And meet at the rec hall right after dinner, four thirty A.M., sharp.”
    "Great. I'll be there.”
    "Good, what a nice surprise," she said slickly. Then, followed by Terrible and Warlike (who looked vaguely shell-shocked), the three of them left the kitchen.
    "Hags from hell," I muttered under my breath. I glanced at Stevie Rae, who was staring at me with a stricken expression frozen on her face.
    "You're joining them?" she whispered.
    "It's not what you think. Come on, I'll tell you on the way to class." I put our breakfast dishes in a dishwasher and herded the too quiet Stevie Rae out of the dorm. Nala padded after us, occasionally hissing at any cat who dared wander too close to me on the sidewalk. "I'm reconnoitering, just like you said last night," I explained.
    "No. I don't like it," she said, shaking her head so hard she made her short hair bounce crazily.
    "Have you never heard of the old saying 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'?”
    "Yeah, but―”
    "That's all I'm doing. Aphrodite gets away with too much crap. She's mean. She's selfish. She can't be what Nyx wants for a High Priestess.”
    Stevie Rae's eyes got huge. "You're going to stop her?”
    "Well, I'm gonna try." And as I spoke I felt the sapphire crescent moon on my forehead tingle.
    * * *
    "Thanks for the cat things you got for Nala," I said.
    Neferet looked up from the paper she was grading and smiled. "Nala―that's a good name for her, but you should thank Skylar, not me. He's the one who told me she was coming." Then she glanced at the orange ball of fur that was impatiently twining between my legs. "She's really attached to you." Her eyes lifted again to meet mine. "Tell me, Zoey, do you ever hear her voice inside your head, or know exactly where she is, even when she's not in the same room as you?”
    I blinked. Neferet thought I might have an affinity for cats! "No, I―I don't hear her in my head. But she does complain at me a lot. And I wouldn't know about whether or not I know where she is when she's not with me. She's always with me.”
    "She is delightful." Neferet crooked a finger at Nala and said, "Come to me, child.”
    Instantly, Nala padded over and jumped up on Neferet's desk, scattering papers everywhere.
    "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, Neferet." I grabbed for Nala, but Neferet waved me away. She scratched Nala's head, and the cat closed her eyes and purred.
    "Cats are always welcome, and papers are easily reorganized. Now, what is it you really wanted to speak with me about, Zoeybird?”
    Her use of my grandma's nickname for me made my heart hurt, and I suddenly missed her with an intensity that had me blinking tears from my eyes.
    "Are you missing your old home?" Neferet asked softly.
    "No, not really. Well, except for Grandma, but I've been so busy that I guess I just now realized it," I said guiltily.
    "You don't miss your mother and father.”
    It wasn't like she'd said it as a question, but I felt that I needed to answer her. "No. Well, I don't really have a dad. He left us when I was little. My mom remarried three years ago and, well…”
    "You can tell me. I give you my word that I will understand," Neferet said.
    "I hate him!" I said with more anger than I'd expected to feel. "Since he joined our family"―I said the word sarcastically― "nothing has been right. My mom totally changed. It's like she can't be his wife and my mother anymore. It hasn't been my home for a long time.”
    "My mother died when I was ten years old. My father did not remarry. Instead, he began to use me as his wife. From the time I was ten until Nyx saved me by Marking me when I was fifteen, he abused me." Neferet paused and let the shock of what she was saying settle into me before she continued. "So you see, when I say that I understand what it is to have your home become an unbearable place I am not just spouting platitudes.”
    "That's awful.” I didn't know what else to say.
    "It was then. Now it is simply another memory. Zoey, humans in your past, and even in your present and future, will become less and less important to you