Untamed

back of her hand wiped it across her forehead, smearing the fake sapphire crescent tattoo she'd drawn there. "I'm not a fledgling anymore. I'm human again."
    "Well, she's not exactly a normal human," I added. "She still has visions, as is obvious by the prophecy she just copied for us. She's also still really important to Nyx." I smiled at Aphrodite. "I heard the Goddess say so."
    "Okay, that's majorly freaky!" Jack said.
    "It's totally queer," Shaunee said.
    "And she doesn't mean that in the gay sense," Erin input.
    "So, like Stevie Rae and the red fledglings, Aphrodite is something that's never been before," Damien said thoughtfully.
    "Looks like it," I said.
    "Things are changing," Damien said slowly. "The world order is shifting into something new."
    A cold shiver passed through me. "Is that good or bad?"
    "I don't think we can know yet," he said. "But I think we will know pretty soon."
    "It's scary," Jack said.
    I looked at my friends. They all seemed frightened and unsure, and I knew this would not do. We had to be strong. We had to stick together and believe in each other.
    "I don't think it's scary." When I started saying it, it was a big fat lie. But the more I spoke, the more I began to believe. "Change can be weird, or even queer." I grinned at Damien and Jack, and they smiled hesitatingly back at me. "But change has to happen for things to grow—for us to grow. Hey, if it wasn't for this change, Stevie Rae would be dead. I remember that when I start feeling overwhelmed by all of this. Plus"—I looked at each of them—"we have each other. And change isn't so bad when you're not in it alone."
    Their looks of growing confidence made me think that I might, someday, become a halfway decent High Priestess.
    "So what's the Plan?" Damien asked.
    "Well, you and Jack have to install the nanny cam in the morgue. Think you can do that without getting caught?" I said.
    "I think we might be able to create a diversion," Jack said slowly, looking from Duchess to Maleficent, who had spent the entire "meeting" growling ominously at the dog from the bathroom. "If we can count on Aphrodite's help."
    "Fine. But if my cat eats that dog, I don't want to hear a word about it, even if S-t-a-r-k wakes up and gets testy about why his Lab's muzzle has been torn to shreds."
    "Uh, try to make it just a diversion, not a bloodbath," I said.
    "Deal," Damien and Jack said together.
    "I'm going to go find Shekinah and tell her that my grandma is coming to visit, and that I need her to stay in a guest room," I said.
    "And we're gonna stay the hell away from Neferet," Erin said.
    "Ditto," Shaunee said. "And that should be ditto for all of us except Z and Aphrodite."
    I was opening my mouth to agree with her when Aphrodite's loud, "No!" shocked all of us.
    "What do you mean no? We have to stay away from Neferet. If she starts listening in to our minds, she'll know we all know about Stevie Rae and the other kids. And if she's really the Queen of the Tsi Sgili, she'll be warned that we know about her, the Raven Mockers, and even Kalona," Damien said, sounding totally exasperated.
    "Wait a second. Tell me why you think they shouldn't avoid Neferet," I asked Aphrodite.
    "Simple. If the nerd herd avoids her, Neferet is going to for sure start listening in to their thoughts. She'll listen long and hard and deep. But what if Damien and Jack and the Dorkamese Twins act like their normal, clueless selves? What if they don't avoid her, but if they even maybe seek her out and say hi to her, ask her questions about homework, and make up complaints about the food being too healthy?"
    "We really wouldn't have to make that up," Jack said.
    "Exactly, and while they're around Neferet, let's say Jack is thinking about nothing but how stressful it is to try to deal with a sad dog all the time. Damien's thinking about homework and how cute Jack's eyes are. And the twins are thinking about sneaking out for the end-of-season winter shoe sale at Saks, which is next week, by the way."
    "No way! It starts already!" Shaunee said.
    "I knew it. I knew it was going to be early this year. What with that stupid snowstorm we had, they have to increase sales, so it's thrown off the whole traditional sale schedule," Erin said.
    "Tragic, Twin, just tragic," Shaunee said.
    "See, if the geeks and freaks act as empty-headed as Neferet really, deep down, believes they are, she won't look farther," Aphrodite said.
    "Do you really think Neferet believes we're empty-headed?"