Part 29 (1/2)

”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 k.n.o.bs and then, with a grin of victory, handed it to me. ”Voila! Thus you can view the-hopefully- sleeping guy.”

Everyone crowded around, peeking over my shoulder. Bracing myself, I pressed the ON b.u.t.ton. 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 k.n.o.b 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 d.u.c.h.ess 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 facade 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 c.r.a.p 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 c.r.a.p.”

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 d.u.c.h.ess in tow.

”Hey,” I called before they were out the door. ”d.u.c.h.ess 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 d.u.c.h.ess.”

”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 would guess that by now Shekinah has told Neferet I'm here, wouldn't it seem very unusual behavior for her?”

”Yes,” I admitted reluctantly.

”It would be more than unusual-it would be utterly bizarre,” Aphrodite said.

”Then you must return to your room so that we give Neferet no reason to look more closely at us than she already has,”

Grandma said. ”But, you will not sleep unprotected.” Grandma got up a little stiffly and went over to her pile of bags. She started digging through the pretty blue carry-on she liked to call her ”overnight bag.”

First she pulled out a beautiful dream catcher. It was a leatherwrapped circle with lavender-colored string webbed inside, and caught within the center of the web was a smooth turquoise stone, the breathtaking blue of a summer sky. The feathers that hung in three tiers from the sides and the bottom were the pearl gray of a dove. Grandma handed the dream catcher to Aphrodite.

”It's gorgeous!” she said. ”Really. I absolutely adore it.”

”I'm glad you like it, child. I know many people believe dream catchers do nothing more than filter good dreams-or maybe not even that. I've made several of them lately, and as I wove the protective turquoise within the center of each one, I thought about the need to filter more than bad dreams from our lives. Take this and hang it in your window. May its spirit protect your sleeping soul from harm.”

”Thank you, Grandma,” Aphrodite said sincerely.

”And one more thing.” Grandma turned back to her bag, searched a little while, and then brought out a pillar candle that was a creamy white color. ”Light this on your bedside table while you sleep. I spoke protective words over it last full moon and let it soak up the rays of moonlight all that night.”

”Been a little obsessed with protection lately, Grandma?” I asked with a grin. After seventeen years, I was used to Grandma's weird way of knowing things she shouldn't know-like when guests were coming, or a tornado was brewing (long before Doppler 8 was invented)-or, in this case, when we would need protecting. ”It is always wise to be cautious, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya.” She took Aphrodite's face between her hands and kissed her lightly on her forehead. ”Sleep well, little daughter, and may your dreams be happy ones.”

I watched Aphrodite blink her eyes hard and knew she was struggling not to cry. ”Night,” she managed. Waving at me, she hurried from the room.

Grandma didn't say anything for a little while; she just gazed thoughtfully at the closed door. Finally she said, ”I don't believe that girl has ever known the warmth of a mother's love.”

”You're right again, Grandma,” I said. ”She used to be so awful, no one could stand her, especially not me, but I think most of it was an act. Not that she's perfect. She's majorly spoiled and shallow, and sometimes she can be seriously hateful, but she's . .

.” I paused, trying to put Aphrodite into words.

”She's your friend,” Grandma finished for me.

”You know, you're freakishly close to perfect,” I told her.