"Yeah, but I've felt eyes on me ever since."

"Raven Mockers." Grandma's voice was hard as steel. "What you've been dealing with are the spirits of the demon children of Kalona."

"I've heard them, too," Aphrodite said, looking pale again. "Actually I've been thinking how annoying they've been the last few nights."

"Ever since Professor Nolan was killed," I said.

"I think that's when I started noticing it, too. OhmyG.o.d, Grandma! Could they have had something to do with Professor Nolan and Loren's deaths?"

"No, I don't think so. The Raven Mockers lost their physical forms. They only have their spirits left and can do little harm except to those who are old and very near death. How badly did they hurt your hand, sweetheart?"

Automatically I looked down at my unmarked hand. "Not bad. The scratch went away in just a few minutes."

Grandma hesitated before saying, "I have never heard of a Raven Mocker being able to really hurt a vibrant young person.

They are mischief makers-dark spirits that take pleasure from annoying the living and tormenting those at the cusp of death. I do not believe they could cause a healthy vampyre's death, but they could be drawn to the House of Night by the deaths of those vampyres, and have somehow become stronger because of them. Be wary. They are terrible creatures, and their presence is always an ill omen."

As Grandma had been talking, my eyes had wandered back to the poem. Over and over I kept reading the line Through the hand of the dead he will be free.

"What happened to Kalona?" I asked abruptly.

"It was his insatiable l.u.s.t for women that eventually destroyed him. The warriors of the tribes tried for years to overpower him. They simply could not. He was a creature of myth and magic, and only myth and magic could defeat him."

"So what happened?" Aphrodite said.

"The Ghigua called a secret council of Wise Women from all tribes."

"What's a Ghigua?" I asked.

"It is the Cherokee name for the Beloved Woman of the tribe. She is a gifted Wise Woman, a diplomat, and often very close to the Great Spirit. Each tribe chooses one, and she serves on a council of women."

"Basically they're High Priestesses?" I said.

"Yes, that's a good way to think of them. So a Ghigua called the Wise Women together, and they met in secret in the only place where Kalona would not eavesdrop on them-a cave deep in the earth."

"Why wouldn't he hear them there?" Aphrodite asked.

"Kalona had an aversion to the earth. He was a creature of the heavens, which is where he belonged."

"Well, why didn't the Great Spirit or whoever make him go back to where he belonged?" I said.

"Free will," Grandma said. "Kalona was free to choose his path, just as you and Aphrodite are free to choose your paths."

"Free will sometimes sucks," I said.

Grandma laughed and the familiar happy sound made my insides relax a little. "Indeed it sometimes does, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya.

But in this case, the free will of the Ghigua women is what saved our people."

"What did they do?" Aphrodite said.

"They used the magic of women to create a maiden so beautiful, she would be impossible for Kalona to resist."

"Created a girl? You mean they did some kind of magical makeover on someone?"

"No, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya, I mean they created a maiden. The Ghigua who was the most gifted potter formed a maiden's body from clay, and painted a face for her that was beautiful beyond compare. The Ghigua known as the most gifted weaver in all the tribes wove long, dark hair for her that fell in waves around her slim waist. The Ghigua dressmaker fashioned a dress for her that was the white of the full moon, and all of the women decorated it with sh.e.l.ls and beads and feathers. The Ghigua who was the most fleet of foot stroked her legs and gifted her with speed. And the Ghigua who was known as the most talented singer of all the tribes whispered sweet, soft words to her, giving her the most pleasing of all voices.

"Each of the Ghigua cut their palms and used their own blood as ink to draw on her body symbols of power representing the Sacred Seven: north, south, east, west, above, below, and spirit. Then they joined hands around the beautiful clay figure and, using their combined power, breathed life into her."

"You've got to be kidding, Grandma! The women made what was basically a doll come alive?" I said.

"That's how the story goes," she said. "Young lady, why is that any more difficult to believe than a girl having the ability to call forth all five of the elements?"

"Huh," I said, feeling my cheeks getting warm at her mild rebuke. "I guess you have a point."

"For sure she has a point. Now be quiet and let her tell the rest of the story," Aphrodite said.

"Sorry, Grandma," I muttered.

"You must remember that magic is real, Zoeybird," Grandma said. "It is dangerous to forget that."

"I'll remember," I a.s.sured her, thinking how ironic it was that I could doubt the power of magic.

"So, to continue," Grandma said, drawing my attention back to the story. "The Ghigua women breathed life and purpose into the woman they called A-ya."

"Hey, I know that word. It means 'me,' " I said.

"Very good, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya. They named her A-ya because she had a piece of every one of them within her-she was, to each Ghigua woman, me."

"That's pretty cool, actually," Aphrodite said.

"The Ghigua told no one about A-ya-not their husbands or daughters, sons, or fathers. With the next dawn, they led her out of the cave to a place near the stream where Kalona came every morning to bathe, all the while whispering to her what she must do.

"So it was there, sitting in a little patch of morning sunlight, combing her hair and singing a maiden's song, that Kalona saw her, and-as the women knew he would-he became instantly obsessed with possessing her. A-ya did what she had been created to do. She fled from Kalona with her magical speed. Kalona followed her. In his fierce need for her, he barely hesitated at the mouth of the cave into which she disappeared, and he did not see the Ghigua women who followed behind him, nor did he hear their soft magical chanting."Kalona caught A-ya deep within the bowels of the earth. Instead of screaming and struggling against him, this most beautiful of maidens welcomed him with smooth arms and inviting body. But the instant he penetrated her, that soft, inviting body changed back into what it had once been-earth and the spirit of woman. Her arms and legs became the clay that held him, her spirit the quicksand that trapped him, as the Ghigua Women's chanting called on the Earth Mother to seal the cave, trapping Kalona in A-ya's eternal embrace. And there he still is today, firmly held to the bosom of Earth."

I blinked, like I was surfacing after a long underwater dive, and my eyes found the poem lying on the bed beside the lavender pot. "But what about the poem?"

"Well, Kalona's entombment wasn't the end of the story. At the moment his tomb was sealed, each of his children, the terrible Raven Mockers, began to sing a song in a human's voice that promised Kalona would one day return, and described the horrible vengeance he would take against human beings, especially women. Today the details of the Raven Mockers' song are pretty much lost. Even my grandmother knew only snippets of what it said, and only that from words whispered by her grandmother. Few people wanted to remember the song. They thought it bad luck to dwell on such horrors, though enough of it has survived by being pa.s.sed from mother to daughter that I can tell you it spoke of the Tsi Sgili and the bleeding earth, and how their father's terrible beauty would rise again." Grandma hesitated as Aphrodite and I stared in horror at the poem. Finally she said, "I'm afraid the poem from your vision is the song the ravens sang. And I think it's a warning that Kalona is about to return."

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"It is a warning," Aphrodite said solemnly. "All of my visions are warnings of a tragedy that could happen. This one really wasn't any different."

"I think you're right," I said to Aphrodite and Grandma.

"And aren't Aphrodite's visions warnings that, if heeded, prevent the terrible outcomes from occurring?" Grandma said.

Aphrodite looked doubtful, so I answered for her, making my voice sound much surer than I felt. "Yes, they are. Her vision saved you, Grandma."

"And several other people who would have died on the bridge that day, too," Grandma said.

"All we had to do then was figure out how to prevent the accident from happening the way she saw it, so that's all we have to do with this warning, too," I said.

"I agree, Zoey. Aphrodite is a vessel of Nyx, and the G.o.ddess is clearly warning you."

"She also clearly wants you to help us," Aphrodite said. "It was you who I saw reading the poem." She hesitated, looked at me, and I nodded, understanding what else she wanted to say to Grandma. "When I copied the poem, it came out in your handwriting."

I heard Grandma's small gasp of surprise. "You're quite sure of that?"

"Yeah," I said. "I even got one of your letters and double-checked. It's definitely your handwriting."

"Then I must agree that Nyx wants me to play a part in this," Grandma said.

"That's not surprising," I said. "You're the only Ghigua Woman we know."

"Oh, sweetheart! I'm not a Ghigua Woman. That's something an entire tribe votes on, and besides, there hasn't been an official Ghigua Woman for generations."

"Well, you've got my vote," Aphrodite said.

"And mine," I said. "And I'll bet Damien's and the Twins', too. Plus, we're kinda a tribe all our own."

Grandma laughed. "Well, I wouldn't think of arguing with the will of the tribe."

"You should come here," Aphrodite said suddenly.

I looked at her in surprise, and she nodded her head slowly, deadly serious. I listened to my gut instinct and knew with a sickening thud of my heart that Aphrodite was right.

"Oh, Aphrodite, thank you, but no. I really don't like to leave my lavender farm. We'll just talk on the phone or instant- message each other and figure this out."

"Grandma, do you trust me?" I said.

"Of course I trust you, daughter," came her unhesitating reply.

"You need to come here," I said simply.

The phone was silent, and I could almost see Grandma thinking. "I'll pack just a few things," she finally said.

"Bring some of those feathers," Aphrodite said. "I'm betting we're going to have to do more smudging.""I will, child," Grandma said.

"Come now, Grandma." I hated the sense of urgency I was feeling.

"Tonight, Zoeybird? I can't wait a few hours until morning?"

"Tonight." As if to punctuate my request through the phone, Aphrodite and I heard the chilling sound of a raven's deep, creepy, croaking cry. It was so loud, it could have been in her warm, tidy living room with her. "Grandma! Are you okay?"

"They're spirit creatures, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya. They can cause me real harm only if I am near death, and I can a.s.sure you-I am nowhere near death," she said firmly.

I remembered the freezing fear they'd brought with them and the stinging welt that had risen on my hand, and wasn't convinced she was one hundred percent right about that. "Just hurry, Grandma. I'll feel a lot better when you're here," I said.

"Me, too," Aphrodite said.

"I'll be there within two hours. I love you, Zoeybird."

"I love you, too," Grandma.

I was just getting ready to click the phone closed when Grandma added, "And I love you, too, Aphrodite. This might very well be twice that you are responsible for saving my life."

"Bye. See you soon," Aphrodite said.

I did click the phone closed then and was surprised to see that Aphrodite's eyes, which were now almost entirely clear blue again, had filled with tears and she was pink-cheeked. She felt me watching her and shrugged one shoulder and wiped at her eyes, looking totally uncomfortable. "What? So I kinda like your Grandma. Is that a crime?"

"You know, I'm beginning to think that somewhere inside you there's a nice Aphrodite hiding."

"Well, don't get all warm and tingly. As soon as I find her, I'm going to drown her in the bathtub."

I just laughed at her.

"Don't you think you should get going? You have a lot to do."

"Huh?" I said.

She sighed. "You have to round up the nerd herd, brief them on the poem and whatnot, and figure out where your grandma's staying, which means you'll probably have to okay something with Shekinah, since I'll bet you don't want to have a cozy one-on-one with Neferet, and there's still the nanny cam you have to have Jack set up in the morgue. Good luck with all of that."

"c.r.a.p, you're right. While I'm doing all of that, what are you gonna be doing?"

"I am going to be resting so I can be refreshed and ready to put the scarily awesome powers of my brain to work on the poem puzzle."

"So you're gonna take a nap?"

"Basically. Hey, cheer up. We managed to skip out on a whole day of school," she said.

"You managed to skip out on a whole day of school. I managed to make the one cla.s.s my ex-boyfriend is teaching just in time to do a really uncomfortable and more than slightly embarra.s.sing improvisation scene with him in front of the entire cla.s.s."

"Ooooh! I want to hear all about that!"

"Don't hold your breath," I said over my shoulder as I went out the door.

Damien and the Twins weren't hard to find. They were downstairs in the main room of the dorm, snarfing down bags of pretzels and baked chips. (Ugh! It was such a pain in the b.u.t.t that the vamps made us eat healthy stuff.) It was obvious when everyone shut up at first sight of me and then all began to babble at once that they were also gossiping about me.