Revealed

even may have assisted him in his crimes. They, too, should share his fate. I now call forth the followers of Dallas who wish to stand with him!”
    I was super curious about what was going to happen next. There were probably about ten kids who hung around Dallas all the time. Well, nine now that Nicole had come over from the Dark Side. I kinda expected a whole herd of his red fledglings to come forth, swaggering like jerks and throwing notes at people.
    Only two actually joined Dallas. One of them was the big kid named Kurtis. I remembered him from the fight in the tunnels. He was a total ass. The other kid was Elliott, the fledgling I’d watched die all those months ago in English class. I knew Elliott was a mean breather (a kid who didn’t do much in class but breathe), but I would have figured he was too lazy to stand up with Dallas, especially since it looked like he was going to be kicked out of school with him.
    Oh, wait.
That
made sense. The kid didn’t like school. Getting expelled with Dallas would seem like a permanent vacation to him.
    “Elliott and Kurtis, do the two of you knowingly stand with this vampyre as accomplices to his crimes?” Thanatos asked.
    “Hell yes!” Kurtis said. He looked nervously around, but he was trying to sound all tough and sure of himself.
    “Yeah, whatever,” Elliott said.
    “Now I ask my Council—do you acknowledge the guilt of this vampyre and his fledgling followers?”
    The instant Thanatos asked that question, my Seer Stone began to radiate heat. I cupped my hand around it, wishing I knew what it was reacting to, and wishing I knew what to do about it.
    Each of the Council members answered Thanatos by solemnly saying, “I do.”
    “Prophetesses of Nyx, these three have been found guilty of plotting to murder a vampyre High Priestess. Look within you. Use your gifts. Are you in agreement with me that, as in ancient times, their punishment should be swift and public?”
    Aphrodite answered first. “I agree with you.”
    Shaylin took longer. She walked a few steps closer to where Dallas, Kurtis, and Elliott stood and studied them. Her face looked like she smelled something disgusting, but she didn’t say anything to them. She returned to her place near Thanatos. She still didn’t say anything. She just stared at Thanatos for what seemed like an uncomfortably long time. Finally, Shaylin drew a deep breath and said, “I believe the right thing to do is to agree with you.” Then Shaylin bowed her head. I was pretty sure she also closed her eyes, and it looked like she might have been praying, but I didn’t have any more time to watch because it was my turn to be called on.
    “Zoey Redbird, as the only other High Priestess present, do you stand in agreement with me and my ancient right to condemn these three for the violence they admit to conspiring and committing?”
    I felt like I got the easiest question. “Yes, I agree,” I answered quickly. The Seer Stone was scorching my hand.
    Thanatos raised her arms. Power crackled around her, lifting the hairs on my neck and arms. Her voice was amplified by the power of Nyx and she sounded like Death personified.
    “Then I invoke my right as High Priestess of this House of Night. Crimes against a High Priestess under my protection shall be punished as they were in ancient times. I command my Oath Bound Warrior to execute the red vampyre and then to cast his two fledgling followers into the country, far enough away from any vampyre that their bodies will reject the Change and they, too, shall die!”
    I didn’t even have time to gasp. Kalona moved with lightning speed. He drew the longsword that had been strapped across his back and in one swift stroke beheaded Dallas. Stark stepped away as the body convulsed and blood geysered from the stump that had been his neck. I couldn’t stop staring at Dallas’s head. His eyes were wide open. He looked stunned. And his mouth kept opening and closing—opening and closing—like a fish on dry ground.
    Kurtis and Elliott screamed and started to run. The winged immortal caught them before they’d broken the circle of the shocked crowd. He grabbed them around their waists. The crowd surged away from him and he ran forward, taking mighty strides, his huge wings beat the air once, twice, three times, and then he and the two boys were airborne. The boys kicked and screamed, but it didn’t seem to affect Kalona at all, and within moments he’d flown out of sight, to the