Hunted House of Night - By Kristin Cast Page 0,120

the mare's shoulder at her. "Kalona calls me A-ya."

Lenobia sucked in a shocked breath. "Then you are the instrument through which he will be defeated again."

"Yes, but not defeated, just chased away," I said automatically, and then my instinct caught up with my mouth and I knew what I'd said was true. "It is me. This time he can't be trapped because he's expecting that. But I can make him run away." I spoke more to Persephone than to Lenobia or even to myself.

"But you're not just a tool this time. You've been given free will by our Goddess. You choose good, and good is what will make Kalona flee." Lenobia spoke with a confidence that was infectious.

"Wait, what was that part about `five'?"

Lenobia retrieved the poem from where I'd laid it on the floor of the stall. "It says `place of power--joining of five.' And then it lists the five: Night, Spirit, Blood, Humanity, Earth."

"They are people," I said, feeling a rush of excitement. "Like Damien said, that's why they're capitalized, because the poem is talking about people who symbolize those five things. And...and I'll bet if Grandma was here, she'd tell me that there were five Ghigua women who got together and created A-ya."

"Does it feel r#O="5 aight to you, deep in your soul? Is the Goddess speaking to you?"

I smiled and my heart soared. "It does! It feels right."

"The most obvious place of power is here at the House of Night," she said.

"No!" I spoke with more emphasis than I'd intended, causing Persephone to snort nervously. I petted and soothed her and in a more reasonable voice said, "No, inside the school the place of power has been tainted by him. It was his power joined with Neferet's and mixed with Stevie Rae's blood that released him and--" I gasped, realizing the implications of what I'd just said. "Stevie Rae! I would have thought she'd represent earth. I mean, that's her affinity and all, but she's not earth: she's blood!"

Lenobia smiled and nodded. "Very good. One down. Now all you must name is the other four."

"And the place," I muttered.

"Yes, the place," she agreed. "Well, places of power are also tied to spirit. Like Avalon, the ancient isle of the Goddess, is tied in spirit to Glastonbury. Even Christians felt the pull of the power of the place and at one time built an abbey there."

"What?" I came around Persephone to stand excitedly in front of Lenobia. "What did you say about an abbey and the Goddess?"

"Well, Avalon isn't literally of this world, though it is a great place of power. Christians felt it and built an abbey dedicated to Mary there."

"Oh, Lenobia, that's it!" I had to blink hard to clear the tears of relief from my eyes. Then I laughed. "And it's perfect! The place of power is at Twenty-first and Lewis, the abbey of the Benedictine nuns." Lenobia's eyes widened, and then she smiled. "Our Goddess is wise. Now, all you need do is to figure out who the other four are, and get everyone there. The rest of the poem tells how they join together..." She paused. Glancing down she read:

Night leads to Spirit

Blood binds Humanity

And Earth completes.

"Blood is there already, or at least I hope she is," I said. "I told Stevie Rae to get herself and the red fledglings to the abbey when I found out Kalona was going to grab her."

"Why would you think of sending her there?"

My grin was so wide I swear I almost split a lip. "Because that's where Spirit is! Spirit is the head nun, Sister Mary Angela. She saved my grandma from the Raven Mockers, and she's been taking care of her there."

"A nun? To represent Spirit and conquer an ancient fallen angel? Are you quite sure, Zoey?"

"Not conquer--just banish and give us enough time to regroup and figure out how to get rid of him permanently. And, yes, I'm sure."

Lenobia hesitated only an instant, then she nodded. "So you have identified Blood and Spirit. Think. Who have Earth, Night, and Humanity hidden within them?"

I went back to currying Persephone, and then I laughed and had an urge to hit myself in the head. "Aphrodite. She has to be humanity, even though most of the time she wants nothing to do with it."

"I will take your word for it," Lenobia said caustically.

"Okay, so, only Night and Earth are left." I hurried on. "As I said before, my first guess for earth would have been Stevie