“All right,” Aphrodite said. She gave Thanatos a wry smile. “So, I better start with Neferet, and you better sit down.”

Chapter 10

Stark thought it was pretty impressive that Thanatos kept her shock to a minimum as Aphrodite, with some help from Damien, explained everything to the High Priestess, beginning with Zoey’s entrance to the House of Night, going through the discovery of the red fledglings, Kalona’s rising, their slow realization of the depth of Neferet’s evil, and finally finishing up with the conversation she’d had with Stevie Rae on the phone.

At the story’s conclusion, Thanatos stood and walked over to stare down at Zoey’s body. When the High Priestess finally spoke, it seemed she was talking to Z more than to them.

“So from the beginning this has been a battle between Light and Darkness, only until now it has been fought mostly in the physical realm.”

“Light and Darkness? It sounds like you’re using those two words as titles,” said Damien.

“Very astute of you, young fledgling,” Thanatos said.

“That’s what Stevie Rae was doing, too. Using Darkness like a title,” Aphrodite said.

“Titles? Like they’re two people?” Jack asked.

“Not people—that’s too limiting. Think of them more as immortals who are so powerful that they can manipulate energy to such an extent that spirit can be made tangible,” Thanatos said.

“You mean like Nyx is Light and Kalona, or at least what he represents, is Darkness?” Damien said.

“It is more accurate to say that Nyx is allied with Light. The same can be said for Kalona and Darkness.”

“Okay, I’m not Miss Perfect Schoolgirl, but I’m smart, and I actually did pay attention in class. Most of the time. I haven’t heard of any of this stuff,” Aphrodite said.

“Neither have I,” Damien said.

“And that’s saying something, ’cause Damien is definitely Miss Perfect Schoolgirl,” said Erin.

“Totally,” said Shaunee.

Thanatos sighed and turned from Zoey to face the rest of the room. “Yes, well, it is an ancient belief that I don’t think was ever fully accepted by our society, or at least the Priestesses of our society.”

“Why? What’s wrong with it?” Aphrodite asked.

“It was based on struggle and violence and the clash of the raw powers of good and evil.”

Aphrodite snorted, “You mean guy stuff.”

Thanatos’s brows lifted. “I do.”

“Hang on. What’s so guy-stuff-like about believing in good fighting evil?” Stark said.

“It’s more than a simple belief that there is good and that it should fight the evil in the world. It’s a personification of Light and Darkness at their most elemental level, as forces that are so absorbed with themselves that one cannot exist without the other though they constantly try to consume one another.” Thanatos sighed again at the blank looks the kids were giving her. “One of the earliest representations of Light and Darkness was of Light being a massive black bull and Darkness being an enormous white bull.”

“Huh? Shouldn’t the white be Light and the black be Darkness?” Jack asked.

“One would think so, but it is thus that they were represented in our ancient scrolls. It was written that each creature, Light and Darkness, carried something for which the other would always long. Think of the bulls, swollen with the power they wield, meeting in eternal combat, each struggling to get something from the other it could never attain without destroying itself. I saw a depiction of their battle once when I was a young High Priestess, and I’ve never forgotten how raw and violent it was—disturbingly so. The bulls’ horns were locked. Their powerful bodies strained to reach the other, blood spewed, nostrils flared. It was a deadlock that was frightening in its intensity—the painting itself seemed to vibrate with power.”

“Masculine power,” Darius said. “I’ve seen that depiction, too, when I was in training to become a Warrior. It decorated the cover of some of the ancient journals written by great Warriors from our past.”

“Masculine power. I can see why the vamp leaders let that bull stuff fade away,” Erin said.

“Seriously, Twin.” Shaunee nodded. “Too much guy power when vamps are mostly about girl power.”

“But our belief system isn’t about female power suppressing male power. It’s about a healthy balance between the two,” Darius said.

“No, Warrior, the truth is our belief system is not supposed to be about female power suppressing male power; but as with Light and Darkness, it is an eternal struggle to find a balance between the two without one destroying the other. Think of the images of Nyx that we see about us every day, with their feminine beauty and appeal. Contrast that to an imagining of the raw power unleashed in the form of two great, battling, male creatures. Do you see how a world trying to contain both would be in conflict, and thus one must be suppressed in order to allow the other to thrive?”

Aphrodite snorted, “That’s not so hard to imagine. I can’t imagine the uptight High Council wanting anything to do with something as messy as two giant guy bulls and any beliefs they represent.”

“She means except for you,” Stark said, frowning at Aphrodite and sending her a “you’re not helping” look.

Thanatos smiled. “No, Aphrodite is correct. The Council has changed over the centuries, especially over the past four I have existed. It used to be a vital force, in its own way very elemental and rather barbaric in its power. But in modern times it has become . . .” The High Priestess hesitated, searching for the correct word.

“Civilized,” Aphrodite said. “It’s super civilized.”

“It is,” Thanatos said.

Aphrodite’s blue eyes widened. “And being too civilized isn’t necessarily a good thing, especially when you’re dealing with two bulls ramming against each other and taking out anything that stands between them.”

“Zoey’s awfully close to Light,” Damien said softly.

“Close enough to get gored by Darkness,” Stark said. “Especially if Darkness has been sent to be sure she doesn’t ever reach the Light again.”

The room went silent while everyone’s eyes went to Zoey, lying silent and pale against the very civilized cream-colored satin linens.

It was within the silence that the realization came to Stark, and with the instincts of a Warrior guarding his High Priestess, he knew he had found the right path.

“Then finding out how to protect Zoey isn’t about ignoring the past. It’s about looking deeper into the past than anyone today would think to do,” Stark said, excitement raising his voice.

“And it’s about embracing and understanding the raw power that is unleashed by the struggle between Light and Darkness,” Thanatos said.

“But where the hell do we find out about that?” Aphrodite said, brushing her hair back from her face in frustration. “The beliefs we need have died out—you said that yourself, Thanatos.”

“Perhaps not everywhere,” Darius said, sitting up straighter, his eyes sharp and intelligent as his gaze met Stark’s. “If you want to find ancient and barbaric beliefs you have to go to a place formed by an ancient and barbaric past. A place that is essentially cut off from today’s civilization.”

The answer jolted through Stark. “I have to go to the Isle.”

“Exactly,” Darius said.

“What the hell are you two talking about?” Aphrodite said.

“They speak of the place where Warriors were first trained by Sgiach.”

“Sgiach? Who is that?” Damien asked.

“It is the ancient title for the Warrior who was called The Great Taker of Heads,” Darius said.

“Sgiach was as raw and barbaric as it gets as a Warrior,” Stark said.

“Okay, this is all well and good, but we need him to be alive today and not just an old story Warriors know, ’cause I’m pretty sure if Stark can’t travel to the Otherworld, he also can’t travel to the past,” Aphrodite said.