Untamed

supposed to have installed the nanny cam in the morgue," I said. "Did you, Jack? I saw some of your diversionary tactics." I gave Duchess a grin and ruffled her ears. She woofed softly and licked my face. Maleficent and Beleezebub, who were curled up together near the door (seems hateful cats attract each other—who knew?) lifted their heads and hissed in unison. Nala, who was sleeping on my pillow, barely opened her eyes.
    "Oh, yeah, in all the excitement I almost forgot!" Jack jumped up and went over to where he'd laid his man purse—or "satchel," as he liked to call it—on the floor by the door. He carried it back to me and then pulled out a weird, mini TV-screen thing. He played with some knobs and then, with a grin of victory, handed it to me. "Voilà! Thus you can view the—hopefully—sleeping guy."
    Everyone crowded around, peeking over my shoulder. Bracing myself, I pressed the ON button. Sure enough, the little screen showed a black-and-white picture of a small room with a big oven-looking thing at one end, a bunch of metal shelves lining all the visible walls, and a single metal table (body-sized), on which lay a human form covered in a sheet.
    "Icky," the Twins said.
    "Not pleasant," Aphrodite said.
    "Maybe we should turn it off while the d-o-g is in here," Jack said.
    I was all for that and turned the knob to OFF , not liking the feeling of spying on the dead.
    "That's the boy's body?" Grandma asked, looking kinda pale.
    Jack nodded. "Yep. I had to look under the sheet to be sure." His eyes turned sad, and he began petting Duchess a little frantically. The big Lab lay her head on his lap and sighed, which seemed to settle him down because Jack sighed, too, and hugged the dog before saying, "I just, you know, pretended he was sleeping."
    "Did he look dead?" I had to ask.
    Jack nodded again. He pressed his lips together and didn't say anything.
    "You're doing the right thing," Grandma proclaimed firmly. "Neferet's power has a lot to do with secrecy. She is perceived as being a powerful priestess of Nyx—a mighty force for good. She's hidden behind that façade for quite a while, and it has allowed her the freedom to commit acts that, if you're right about the extent of them, are atrocious."
    "So you agree that bringing Stevie Rae and the red fledglings out in the open tomorrow is what we should do?" I asked.
    "I do. If secrecy is evil's ally, then let's break their allegiance."
    "Okay!" I said.
    "Okay!" everyone else chimed in.
    And then Jack yawned. "Oopsie! Sorry. I'm not bored or anything," he said.
    "Of course you're not, but it's almost dawn. You've had an exhausting day," Grandma said. "Perhaps we should all get some sleep? Besides, isn't it past curfew for boys to be in the girls' dormitory?"
    "Uh-oh! We totally forgot about that. Like we need detention crap to worry about right now on top of everything else!" Jack said. Then, looking chagrined, he added, "Sorry, Grandma. I didn't mean to say crap. "
    Grandma smiled at him and patted his cheek. "No harm done, honey. Now, off to bed with you."
    Not surprisingly, we all responded instantly to Grandma's mothering. Jack and Damien shuffled off with Duchess in tow.
    "Hey," I called before they were out the door. "Duchess didn't get in any real trouble for being the central part of that diversion, did she?"
    Damien shook his head. "Nope. We blamed it on Maleficent, and as insane as that cat was acting, no one batted an eye at Duchess."
    "My cat is not insane," Aphrodite said. "She's just a really good actress."
    The Twins headed out next, hugging Grandma and then picking up a sleepy Beelzebub. "See you at breakfast," they called.
    That left Grandma and me alone with Aphrodite, Maleficent, and a totally asleep Nala.
    "Well, I guess I should go, too," Aphrodite said. "Tomorrow's going to be major."
    "Maybe you should sleep in here tonight," I said.
    Aphrodite raised a perfect blond eyebrow and gave my twin beds a disdainful look.
    I rolled my eyes. "You're so spoiled. You can sleep in my bed. I'll use a sleeping bag."
    "Has Aphrodite ever stayed in your room before tonight?" Grandma asked.
    Aphrodite snorted. "Not hardly. Grandma, if you saw my room, you'd know why I prefer to stay there."
    "Plus, Aphrodite has a reputation for being a hateful hag. She doesn't do sleepovers." I failed to mention that she might do guy sleepovers—that would definitely be TMI for Grandma.
    "Thank you," Aphrodite said.
    "If she stays in your room, especially since I