“Yeah, I don’t like it either.” Beside me, Stark leaned closer to the TV screen that displayed the camera feed at Woodward Park. It was the middle of the night, but we’d clicked from the live feed to the recording of earlier that day and were staring at nothing but fog. “That’s why I called you guys here to review this with me. As soon as I saw all this fog, I realized it hadn’t just been confined to the House of Night. I checked the weather, and when Travis Meyer did a whole segment on what he called ‘the unusual fog phenomenon,’ I knew something must be up. Something not good.”
I sighed. Damien, Stevie Rae, and Aphrodite had joined me in the conference room, which we’d partially turned into a control center for the Woodward Park camera setup.
“Damien, can air tell you anything about the weird morning fog?” I asked.
Damien closed his eyes and whispered something to his element. His sandy brown hair lifted as air swirled around him. It didn’t take long. He opened his eyes and shook his head. “No. Everything is normal with air. But that’s not surprising. Fog is really a water thing. When did you say Shaylin is going to arrive?”
I sighed. “Not sure. There’s tension between humans and vamps in San Francisco right now, and I agreed that she needs to stay at her House of Night until that’s handled.”
“Wait, what?” Aphrodite, who’d been lounging in a leather chair checking her Insta, looked up over the screen of her phone. “I thought the humans in San Francisco were cool.”
“For the most part, they are,” I said. “The problem is coming from a group of incels. They hate all vampyres.”
“’Course they do. Incels hate all women, especially vamps because we’re matriarchal,” said Stevie Rae.
“Not to mention super attractive and so not interested in their pathetic asses.” Aphrodite looked like she’d sucked a lemon. “Incels—ewww. Now I get it. You’re right. Shaylin needs to stay there and handle that crap. And, again, ewww.”
“I could call Shaylin. Maybe water would be able to tell her something, even if she is all the way on the west coast,” I said.
“Why don’t you try calling water?” Stark asked. “Maybe it will tell you something.”
“Okay, I’ll give it a shot.” I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths, in and out, in and out. My affinity is for all five elements. That means I’m connected to air, fire, water, earth, and spirit. They’ll answer my call, especially when I’m circling and doing spellwork or rituals, but I’m closest to spirit. As to the other four—I’m more attuned to them than a vamp with no affinity, but compared to, like, Damien and air, I’m definitely not as connected.
But I oriented myself quickly and turned to face west, the direction from which water was invoked. I thought about the ocean and whispered, “Water, please come to me.” In a few breaths, I smelled the sea, which reminded me suddenly of the Isle of Skye and I made a mental note to email Sgiach, the queen of that isle and also my friend. Mentally, I shook myself, refocusing, and said, “Water, can you tell me anything about this morning’s fog, please?”
The scent of salt and sand increased, so that when I closed my eyes I could easily imagine standing beside Sgiach on the cliff where her castle perched overlooking the ocean. I concentrated and got a vague feeling of unease, but nothing specific—no images and definitely no answers.
I opened my eyes. “Thank you, water. You may go now.”
“Anything?” Stark asked.
“Nothing specific. The element felt uneasy, but that’s all I got. I have zero clue why. I’m just not connected to it strongly enough.”
“Z, I have an idea,” said Stevie Rae. “I know she’s inexperienced and all, but Kacie does have an affinity for water.”
“As well as fire,” added Damien.
“Speaking of fire, isn’t Shaunee on her way here?” asked Aphrodite.
“She will be soon,” I said. “She would’ve been here today, but she called and told me one of her fledglings just rejected the Change and she needed to be there for the rest of the students. She should get here tomorrow. I think.”
“Back to what I was sayin’,” said Stevie Rae. “Kacie’s young and all, but her connection to water is strong. I’ll bet it would tell her if something wonky is up.”
“I vote for Ice Cream Shoes,” said Aphrodite.
Stark and I shared a look. He shrugged, which is pretty much how I felt about it too. Technically, I was too young to be a High Priestess in charge of an entire House of Night, as well as being head of the new North American High Council, but that hadn’t stopped me—or my friends—from standing up to Neferet’s evil and taking on leadership positions.
“Good idea, Stevie Rae,” I said. “Go get Ice Cream Shoes.”
As Stevie Rae hurried from the conference room, Aphrodite muttered, “I knew that nickname would catch on.”
I rolled my eyes at Aphrodite and returned my attention to the five foggy images. I pointed at one of the recordings. “Are those humans?”
“Shit! I didn’t watch this far before I called you guys here. I can’t tell whether they’re fledglings or not.”
“Damien,” I said. “When we’re done here, would you please pass the word to the professors to check in with their students to be sure no blue fledglings were out messing around just after dawn?”
Aphrodite straightened in her chair and stared at the screen with me. “Those aren’t fledglings. I mean, kids can be stupid, but even teenagers know better than to hang out by Neferet’s tomb.”
Stark’s lips curved up and his eyes glinted mischievously. “Aren’t you a teenager?”
“Don’t be stupid, Bow Boy. I’m twenty-one. Totally adult.” She bumped him with her shoulder. “Move over. I wanta see.”
Stark had slowed the feed so that we could study it more closely, and we watched the recording creep forward in time as five hooded figures approached the wall that surrounded the grotto. It was too foggy to see anything very well, but we could tell that they were carrying offerings.
Aphrodite snorted with disgust. “Oh, for shit’s sake, are they actually bringing offerings to that crazy bitch’s tomb?”
“Looks like it,” I said, squinting at the screen.
“They’re wearing cloaks that correspond to the elements,” Damien observed.
“Hell!” I said. “We’ll need to be sure they aren’t fledglings.”
Aphrodite’s well-manicured finger pointed at the foggy group. “What are they looking at?”