“Well, then, Z needs to choose one of these other spells.” Shaunee pushed a stack of spell books toward me.
I looked at the books and sighed. “I’ve already gone through them. Nothing fits. Nothing at all. They’re either too dark, or too light and happy. Or they’re for, like, protecting your garden against pests. Or being protected against migraines—”
“Hang on. I need that one,” Aphrodite interrupted, snatching a book from me.
“Or ill wishes. Or clumsiness. I didn’t even know that was a thing,” I said. “Or warding off annoyances, like flat tires or bird poo landing on your head.”
“Seriously? There’s a spell for that?” Stevie Rae asked.
“That’d be a good one for you to have,” Aphrodite said, then she dissolved into giggles, which the rest of us ignored.
“Yeah, there are spells for a bunch of minor things. There are spells for major things, too. Spells that don’t keep the High Priestess who casts them connected to the protection, but … I don’t know. I just …” My words trailed off and I just sat there staring at the giant pile of books and a bunch of cookie crumbs, trying to figure out what it was that wasn’t right. As if that made sense.
“U-we-tsi-a-ge-ya, I think the answer is within you. You simply have to let it out.”
“Okay. How?”
“Show me one of the protection spells that almost feels right.”
I shuffled through the books until I found one of the spells I’d marked earlier. It was an old protection spell against ill wishes.
“Here’s one.” I handed it to her.
“Protection against an Ill Wish,” she read. “That does sound promising, and I see you even marked the page. But you rejected it. Why?”
“It just didn’t feel right.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Well, it wasn’t big enough,” I said.
“Big enough? What does that mean?” Aphrodite asked.
“If Neferet’s stirring she’s going to be up to a lot more than an ill wish or two. She’s a killer. I just didn’t think it was big enough.”
“That makes sense. But, Zoeybird, what if you changed some of this spell and made it bigger. Would that work?”
“No.” I glanced through the spell again. “Yes.” I kept reading. “No.” I sighed. “Even if I change some of the wording, it still doesn’t feel right. None of these do.”
“Why?” Grandma prodded again.
Beginning to feel annoyed, I blurted, “Because they’re not mine! They’re just some random, generic spells created by vampyres who are probably dead, but even if they’re still alive they don’t know me. They don’t know my circle. They don’t know Neferet. They don’t even know Tulsa. These just won’t work.”
Grandma’s face split into a dazzling smile. “And there you have your answer!”
“Huh?”
“Your grandma’s right!” Damien cried, coming around the table to give Grandma a hug.
“I don’t get it,” Stevie Rae said. “But I’m real glad someone does.”
“Time to fill the rest of us in,” Shaunee said.
“It’s so simple I can’t believe we all overlooked it,” Damien said. “Zoey, you have to create the spell yourself.”
“Oh, but not by herself,” Grandma said. “In order to make it powerful, but keep it from linking only to our Zoeybird, her circle must help her create the spell. Then all of you will have a part in it.”
“And if it’s linked to anyone—it’ll be linked to all of us,” Damien said.
“Is—is that okay with all of you?” I asked.
“Yes,” Damien said.
“Of course, Z,” Stevie Rae said.
“Absolutely,” Shaunee said.
“One for all—all for one!” Shaylin grinned.
“And the Herd of Nerds rides again,” Aphrodite said.
“Yes, isn’t it glorious?” said my wonderful, wise grandma.
“If you mean Andolini’s Pizza, yep, it most definitely is glorious!” Stark shouted from behind the tower of pizza boxes he was carry as he, Darius, Rephaim, and Nicole poured into the room in a wave of cold air and warm pizza smells.
“Is it still snowing?” I asked.
“Yep, but no ice. So the roads shouldn’t get too bad,” Stark said.
“He says that like he’s unaware of how Oklahoma drivers lose every bit of their minds as soon as one flake of snow falls.” Shaunee shook her head in disgust. “They need to check out a Connecticut winter. I got some snow for them up there.”
“Hey there, Grandma Redbird!” Stark went to her and picked her up in a giant hug. “How’s my second-best girl?”
“Oh, tsi-ta-ga-a-s-ha-ya. Such a charmer.” She patted his cheek and gave him a grandma kiss. “Now put me down. We just figured out Zoey’s protection spell and if we work fast, she can cast the spell tonight.”
I almost choked on the piece of pizza I was shoving into my face. “Wait, tonight?”
“Seems perfectly timed. It’s snowing, which means the park will be deserted. And it’s still two hours before midnight. If you hurry, you could time the casting of the spell for midnight. Correct me if I’m wrong, Damien, but isn’t midnight the perfect timing for a protection spell?”
“It is, Grandma,” he said. “But, Z, can you be ready by then?”
I pushed aside my nerves. “Yeah, probably. If you guys help me. So, my intent is going to be specific. I’m going to protect against any tears in Aurox’s seal. It’s his sacrifice that’s keeping her in there. I figured it’d be smart to give him a boost.”
“Logical,” Damien said. “And what do you need from each of us?”
“Bring me something that symbolizes each of your elements. Something that means protection to you. I’ll write the items into the spell.”
“Ya mean like somethin’ you can touch?” Stevie Rae asked.
“Yes. Let’s be as literal as possible. It’ll make the spell simpler.”
“Z’s right. The simpler the spell is—the less chance of confusion,” Shaylin said. “Or at least that’s what I found out when I tried to cast a happy spell over the opening of the new House of Night in San Francisco. I used symbolism. It, um, didn’t turn out as I expected.”
Nicole giggled. “Yeah, she used our relationship as her symbol for happiness when she cast the spell, which was very sweet. But it also made every girl at the event suddenly have the hots for girls.”
Shaylin let out a long-suffering sigh. “Whether they were gay or not.”
Nicole’s giggles made her snort, but she managed to say, “Especially the girls who weren’t gay. It definitely turned into an interesting night.”
“And there was a lot of happiness. Just, um, not what I’d imagined.”
“Shaylin, that lotta happiness wasn’t what a whole bunch of those straight girls imagined,” Nicole said.
“Is it misogynistic to say that I wish I’d been there to witness that?” Erik asked, using all of his vast acting skills to sound and look innocent.
“Nah, boy. Doesn’t sound misogynistic. Sounds typical. And you know how I feel about typical,” Shaunee said, aiming a lazy, sexy smile at Erik.
“I hear and I obey. I don’t need a room full of pretend lesbians when I have my own Nubian Princess.” Erik bowed to Shaunee with a flourish and kissed her gracefully extended hand.
“How’d she do that?” Aphrodite whispered to me.
“No clue,” I said, watching Erik drool over Shaunee.