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Aurox

Waiting in the tower of the depot building gave Aurox a chance to relax It was strange, but ever since he&039;d been given the responsibility of rescuing Grandma Redbird, the chaos and tuht path He knew it And when the elethened him so that his will controlled the beast, Aurox had been elated

"I am more than a shell fashioned from Darkness" The words bounced from the stone walls of the tower Aurox smiled He wished he could shout them from the top of the Mayo "I will," he promised himself aloud "When Grandma Redbird is free and safe, I will shout that I have chosen Light over Darkness" Right now it h he was the only one who heard the

Aurox glanced up at the night sky It was clear, and even though the depot was in the heart of don, an abundance of stars was visible, as well as a thin, bright sliver of a moon

"The crescent Your symbol," Aurox spoke to the moon "Nyx, if you can hearto do with the fact that I can choose to be iven me this choice-it had to be you So, thank you And I would appreciate it if you strengthened Grandet there and rescue her" Feeling confident and happy, Aurox leaned against the rounded side of the stone tower, closed his eyes, and with a smile still on his face, fell into a deep sleep

Aurox wasn&039;t used to drea hours So the fishing drea

Aurox had never fished, but the dock he sat on seemed familiar The placid lake was topaz blue and tucked within a beautiful grove of ancient looking trees He&039;d never held a fishing pole before, but this one felt right in his hands Aurox reeled it in and then let fly The bobber plunked out in the lake with a satisfying sound He sighed and gazed lazily down at thejolt of shock

Aurox&039;s face didn&039;t look back at him

Another boy&039;s face did He had messy, sand-colored brown hair, and blue eyes that ith the surprise Aurox was feeling

He lifted his hand and it touched the face

"This is not me," he told the inaccurate reflection, and felt the jolt of shock again It was his voice, but it was inside the wrong body! "It is a drea mind" Aurox just needed to awaken But he couldn&039;t stop staring

And then the reflection opened itswords over which he had no control "Hey, get a clue You only borrowed oodness It&039;s not your own"

Dread filled Aurox This boy-this body was speaking truth In the reflection Aurox watched his head shake back and forth, back and forth, denying what his heart told hiht over Darkness I ain, dude I made the choice, you just coat-tailed So ya can&039;t afford to relax, especially if you&039;re gonna rescue Zo&039;s grandma"

"Zo" Aurox frowned "I&039;m not supposed to call her that"

"Well, no shit Sherlock That&039;s &039;cause I used to call her Zo Anyway, I&039;ivin&039; you a heads-up Don&039;t be so cocky It&039;s just not gonna be that easy for you I&039;onna come a time when you&039;ll actually have to step up to the plate"

Then a fish took Aurox&039;s line, rippling the water, disturbing itsthe dreaasped and sat straight up He was breathing hard His heart was racing-so ot to his feet and paced off his anxiety

He looked up at the sky The silver crescent had moved Aurox checked the watch Stark had let him borrow It was almost 10 PM Thanatos would be back for hiether andHe needed to find his confidence again and get ready to confront Neferet and Darkness

Aurox climbed up the rusted metal ladder and then dropped from the tower to the roof of the depot Fro as Thanatos had asked hi on hi on hiht to trust him with Grand ht His voice was reassuring, but his heart hurt as ghost-like doubt slipped within it

Zoey

"There he is, waiting over there under the darkest part of the overhang, just like Thanatos told hi entrance of the abandoned depot Aurox was in the shadows, but his super blond hair, and ed Stark pulled close to him and Thanatos opened the back door of one of the school&039;s et in

"This is not everyone," Aurox said after shutting the door and glancing around the interior

"Uh, no, of course not," I said, thinking he sounded really nervous "Thanatos pretended to split us up and send us on different errands so that Neferet wouldn&039;t hear anything that would make her suspicious Remember?"

"Oh, yes Yes" He paused and then added, "Merry meet, Thanatos"

"Merry roup is joining us across the street fro kinda pale" Shaylin spoke up from the backseat

I craned ?"

"No, his aura&039;s the same I meant pale, pale His face is really white," Shaylin said

"I aet this done"

"As are we," Thanatos said "Calm yourself and save this tension for the battle"

Aurox nodded and went silent I chewed onout theThankfully, the Mayo wasn&039;t far from the depot Stark pulled off Fifth Street and parked in the rear of the Oneok Plaza Another dark SUV was already there Darius, Aphrodite, Shaunee, and Da their ele on to Darius with one hand, and a super thick geometry textbook with her other

"Geometry? Really? That was best choice for our pretend study session?" I realized I was doing soeometry

"Pretend is the key word We aren&039;t really going to study We&039;re just pretending to study, retard"

"Yeah, okay, fine," I said "I knoe&039;re not really studying I&039;m just nervous as hell and worried about Grandma"

"Which is coed et her back" He looked at Aurox "Are you ready?"

Aurox nodded I didn&039;t think he looked ready, but then again I probably didn&039;t look ready, either, so I tried not to judge Shaylin and I were pulling our eleht itself, dropped from the sky

"What news froed is They sow dissention, even within their own kind They will have to be dealt hen this is over"

"Agreed," Thanatos said "But the plan worked"

"It did They are so busy lording the responsibility you have given the about what Zoey and you, or any of the rest of us, are doing," Kalona said

"Erin&039;slad she&039;sit without you," Dareed

My Bug pulled up then, and Stevie Rae and Rephai to us with her green candle "Erin and Dallas were in a car behind me, so I had to pretend to start drivin&039; to Henrietta Jeeze Louise, I orried they were gonna follow hway and I realized they were just goin&039; to Garbee&039;s lighting store" She paused and gave me a look "You okay, Z? You&039;re rehts"

I blinked and realized I&039;d been staring at her "It&039;s just so weird to see you without your tattoos"

Stevie Rae lifted her hand and touched her forehead, careful not to se off the heavy makeup concealer that covered her beautiful vauys do"

"But we&039;re less noticeable, and that&039;s the point tonight," Stark said

I understood and agreed that we all needed to keep a low profile-hell, even Kalona earing a long leather duster that, in the dark, actually e the fact that e and ordinary Too ordinary Tonight we needed to be powerful and confident and extraordinary I tried to focus on the positive and believe we&039;d all be okay, but the truth wasnot to cry

No I&039;irls cry Leaders act For Grand to act

"Hey, your Mark is inside That can&039;t ever be covered or lost or forgotten," Stark said, obviously feelingently

"Let us all res of our kind, but within, through our choices and the gifts given to us by our Goddess," Thanatos said "And so, we shall begin The first step tonight is the opening of our circle and the casting of a spell of protection Once I have set the spell inas the circle remains unbroken, each of the five of you will be safe Human eyes will not see you Hu of the spell, you will all be vulnerable"