Untamed

awful cat and shook my head in irritation. She looked one hundred gazillion percent diva bitch. "You know, I could smother you with your pillow and no one would miss you. By the time they found you, that hateful cat would have eaten you and all the evidence of my crime."
    "Maleficent wouldn't eat me. She'd eat you if you tried any crap. Plus, Darius would miss me. Just read the damn poem and tell me what it means."
    "You're Vision Girl. You're supposed to know what things mean." I turned my attention back to the poem. What was it about the writing that was making me feel so weird?
    "That's right, I vision. I don't interpret. I'm just the very attractive oracle. You're the High Priestess in training, remember? So figure it out."
    "All right—all right. Let me read it out loud. Sometimes it helps make poems understandable when you can hear them."
    "Whatever. Just get to the figuring out part."
    I cleared my throat and started reading.
    Ancient one sleeping, waiting to arise
When earth's power bleeds sacred red
The mark strikes true; Queen Tsi Sgili will devise
He shall be washed from his entombing bed

    Through the hand of the dead he is free
Terrible beauty, monstrous sight
Ruled again they shall be
Women shall kneel to his dark might

    Kalona's song sounds sweet
As we slaughter with cold heat
    When I was finished I paused, trying to understand what it meant and trying to figure out why it made me feel so freaked out.
    "It's scary, isn't it?" Aphrodite said. "I mean, it's definitely not love and roses and happily ever after."
    "It's definitely not that. Okay, let's see. What's earth's power, and when does it bleed red?"
    "Don't have a clue."
    "Hum." I chewed my cheek, thinking. "Well, the earth could look like it's bleeding when something is killed and the blood leaks into the ground. And maybe the power part comes from whatever is killed. Like a powerful person."
    "Or a powerful vampyre. It's like when I found Professor Nolan's body." The smartass in Aphrodite's voice was subdued by the memory. "The earth looked like it was bleeding then."
    "Yeah, you're right. So it might have something to do with this Queen Tsi Sgili dying or being killed because a queen is definitely a powerful person."
    "Who the hell is Queen Tsi Whatever?"
    "It sounds familiar to me. The name seems Cherokee. I wonder if it might—" My words were broken off by my gasp of shock as suddenly I knew why the writing had made me feel so weird.
    "What?" Aphrodite sat up again, lifting the washcloth off her eyes and squinting at me. "What's wrong?"
    "It's the writing," I said through lips that had gone cold. "This is my grandma's handwriting."

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

    "Your grandma's handwriting?" Aphrodite said. "Are you sure?"
    "Positive."
    "But that's impossible. I wrote the damn thing just a few minutes ago."
    "Look, I practically transported here with Darius, and that should have been impossible, but I definitely did it."
    "Yes, dork, seeing as there is no such thing as Star Trek ."
    "You recognized the transporter reference. You're a dork, too," I said smugly.
    "No, I'm just burdened with geeky friends."
    "Look, I'm positive it's Grandma's handwriting, but hang on. I have a letter from her in my room. I'll go get it. Maybe you're right . . ." I lifted my brows at her and added, ". . . for a change, and it just reminds me of her writing. "I started to hurry from the room, but on second thought stopped long enough to hold the paper with the poem on it up to Aphrodite. "Is this your normal handwriting?"
    She took the paper from me and blinked several times to clear her vision. I saw the shock pass over her face and knew what she'd say before she spoke. "Well, shit! This is soooo not my writing."
    "I'll be right back."
    I tried not to overthink what was going on while I rushed down the hall to my room, flung open the door, and was greeted by Nala's "mee-uf-ow!" of disgruntled surprise as I interrupted her beauty nap.
    It took me only a second to grab the last card Grandma had sent me. I had it sitting up on my desk (a much cheaper version of the one in Aphrodite's room). On the front of it was a picture of three grim-faced nuns (nuns!). The caption under them said, THE GOOD NEWS IS THEY'RE PRAYING FOR YOU . Inside it continued, THE BAD NEWS IS THERE ARE ONLY THREE OF THEM . It still made me giggle a little as I hurried back to Aphrodite's room, even as I wondered if Sister Mary Angela would think the card was funny or insulting. I'd bet on funny,