Page 12 (1/2)

Kalona

Being on the side of Light wasn&039;t as interesting as he remembered Truth be told, Kalona was bored Yes, he understood why Thanatos had told hiround and not draw attention to hion&039;s funeral It was then that she was going to announce to the school that he was her new Warrior, and would take the position of Sword Master and Leader of the Sons of Erebus at the Tulsa House of Night Until then his presence would be confusing, if not insulting to the other Warriors

The proble He was a powerful immortal Why should he be bothered by the inconsequential feelings of others?

Because those I find on, Aurox, Rephaim The last name in his mental list startled him Rephaim had seemed inconsequential to hi Kalona had realized he loved his son-needed his son

What else had he been wrong about?

Probably quite a lot of things

The thought depressed hi the darkest, most shadowy side of Nyx&039;s Teon&039;s pyre, so he could coht

Being told what to do annoyed him It had always annoyed hi who had an affinity for fire, Shaunee She seemed to have the ability to prod hi his ti

She&039;d done it before He&039;d et information about Rephaiifted hi ridiculously ift had saved his son&039;s life

Now she&039;d made him think about all those eons he&039;d spent apart fro the little grove of redbuds that had been planted on the west side of Nyx&039;s Temple to shake as if a storhts and quieted his teer filled with otherworldly power "I will not think of the centuries I have spent apart frohter danced around hirove to shimmer, shift, and then burst into full bloom as if the summer sun had suddenly beamed down upon them Kalona clenched his fists and looked up

He was sitting on the stone eaves of the te, which hy Thanatos had coht unto himself

Erebus-his brother-Nyx&039;s i in this universe asin this universe Kalona hated even more than he hated himself Here! In the mortal realm after all these eons? Why?

Kalona hid his shock with disdain "You are shorter than I remembered"

Erebus smiled "Good to see you, too, brother"

"As usual, you put words in ize I do not need to Not when your oords are so interesting I will not think of her at all" Not only was Erebus ale of Kalona, he also mimicked his brother&039;s voice perfectly

"I was speaking of Neferet" Kalona quickly collected his thoughts and lied easily It had been eons, but he used to be good at lying to Erebus Kalona found he still had the knack

"I doubt you not, brother" Erebus leaned forward, spread his golden wings, and floated gracefully to the ground before Kalona "You see, that is exactly why I made this little visit"

"You came to the earthly realm because I was Neferet&039;s lover?" Kalona crossed his araze

"No, I came because you are a liar and a thief The rape of the last of Neferet&039;s goodness is just one of your many crimes," Erebus said He, too, crossed his arhed "You have not been spying well enough if you believe rape had anything to do hat Neferet and I shared She was ,of her body!" Erebus&039;s voice had risen and Kalona could hear the sound of va over by Nyx&039;s Temple

"As usual, brother, you have appeared to cause problems for me I was supposed to reh, as I considerto watch you deal with mortal discovery A quick word of advice-even vaod"

Erebus didn&039;t hesitate He lifted both hands and commanded, "Conceal us!"

There was a rush of wind and a feeling of lightness that Kalona found so familiar, so bittersweet, that only two responses caer or despair He would not allow Erebus to see his despair

"You defy Nyx? She has proclaimed that I may not enter the Otherworld How dare you take s were fully extended and he tensed, ready to attack his brother

"You always play the iainstyou to the Otherworld I only brought a piece of the Otherworld to you to shield us, if only for a few ain This tilowed froold His skin was perfect as if he had been fashioned froht with disgust He had been fashioned when the sky kissed the sun Just as I had been fashioned when the sky kissed the moon The sky, like most immortals, is a fickle bastard who took as he pleased and then paid no attention to the offspring he left behind

"How does it feel? Better than when you snuck in, chasing after that little fledgling, Zoey Redbird Then you were only spirit You could not feel the ainst your skin And you alere so i you could touch, could physically claiht, he becory That will cause his perfection to blur

It was Kalona&039;s turn to sarish light of the sun It was the cool, silver luminescence of the moon "Still jealous that I touched her after all this tioddess, do you not? She could not be touched had it not been her will, her desire, to be stroked, caressed, loved by-"

"I did not come here to speak of olden heat around Kalona

"Such a display of godly temper!" Kalona chuckled sarcastically "And they naood one If only the lackeys that choose to remain in the Otherworld could see you now"

"It is not that they naood one They named you the usurper!" Erebus hurled the words at his brother

"Truly? Ask again I believe, after eons of careful consideration, they would name me the one who refused to share her," Kalona said

"She chose me" Erebus&039;s voice was low; his fists were clenched at his sides

"Did she? My memory differs"

"You betrayed her!" Erebus shouted

Kalona ignored his brother&039;s temper tantrum He had witnessed them before Instead he spoke with the coldness of the moon&039;s surface "Why did you coone The mortal world is not much of a realm, but it is mine I will not share it with you, just as I would not share her with you"

"I come to warn you We heard your oath in the Otherworld We know you have pledged to be Death&039;s Warrior and to become Sword Master of this school"

"And Leader of the Sons of Erebus," Kalona added "Do not forget the rest of et that you intended to blasphe with hurow up to be vaed so harshly for creating olden eyes began to glow "Leave this place and stopin the lives of Nyx&039;s vampyres and in the lives of the honorable Warriors who have pledged the by co me away? I am surprised Nyx allowed it"

"My Consort does not know I a her turmoil I live to keep turmoil from her That is the only reason I am here," Erebus said

"You live to lick her feet and you are, as always, jealous of e of joy at what Erebus&039;s words had revealed, I can still make Nyx feel! The Goddess watches me! The immortal reined in his eain, his voice was emotionless "Know this-I did not swear into your service I ah Priestess who personifies Death through her Goddess-given affinity All your visit has done is to give me cause to make a clear distinction between those Warriors who call themselves your sons, and those who do not I will not burden your sons with my leadership"

"Then you will leave this House of Night," Erebus said

"No But you will Bear this e to Nyx for me: Death does not differentiate between those who follow her and those who follow other gods Death comes to all mortals I do not need your perone, brother I have a funeral to attend" Kalona brought his ar a blast of frigid silver light to shockwave around hi the s Erebus up, away, and into the sky

When the light around him faded, Kalona&039;s feet oncebeside Nyx&039;s Temple

Aphrodite rushed around the corner Stopped And stared at him

"Am I summoned?" he asked

She blinked and rubbed her eyes, as if she was having trouble clearing her vision "Were you ht over here?"

"I own no flashlight Am I sum Kraot the spirit candle I need to grab one from Nyx&039;s Teon&039;s pyre Thanatos will finish the circle, say soon, and then introduce you"

Feeling oddly uncoe, abrasive human Nyx had, for reasons unfathorunted a wordless response, and turned to open the side door to the temple

It would not open

Kalona tried again