CHAPTER SIX. “Duch, what is it, beautiful girl?

Jack

“Duch, what is it, beautiful girl? Why are you acting so psycho today? ” Jack pulled the pile of purple origami papers from under the blond Lab and

put them up out of dog-butt reach on the wooden stool he was using as an outside table and sword stand. The big dog huffed, thumped her tail on

the ground, and scooted closer to Jack. He sighed and gave her a loving but exasperated look. “You don’t have to be attached to my side.

Everything’s fine. I’m just decorating.”

“She is being more than a little codependent today, ” Damien said, folding his legs and sitting on the grass beside Jack.

Jack stopped working on the paper sword he’d been folding into shape and stroked Duchess’s soft head. “Do you think she can sense that S-TA-

R-K is still not feeling one hundred percent? Do you think she knows he’s not coming back tomorrow? ”

“Well, maybe. She is extraordinarily intelligent, but my guess is she’s more worried about you climbing up there than Stark being tired and tardy.”

Jack fluttered his fingers at the eight-foot ladder that sat open and ready not far from them. “Oh, there’s nothing for Duch or you to be worried

about. That ladder is perfectly safe. It even has an extra hold-it-open latch that makes it totally steady.”

“I don’t know. It’s awful high up there.” Damien gave the top rungs of the ladder a wary look.

“Nah, it’s not so bad. Plus, it’s not like I’m climbing up to the top—or at least not much. This poor tree has limbs that are hangy-downy now. You

know, ever since he burst up from under it.” Jack said the last sentence in a stage whisper.

Damien cleared his throat and gave the big oak they were sitting under the same wary glance he’d shot the ladder. “Okay, don’t get mad, but I

really need to talk to you about choosing this particular spot for Zoey’s Celebration Ritual.”

Jack held up his hand, palm out, in the universal stop signal. “I already know people are going to have issues with this location. I’ve just decided

that my reasons for it are better than the reasons against it.”

“Honey, you always have the best intentions, ” Damien took Jack’s hand and held it in both of his. “But I think this time you need to consider that

you might be the only one who can see anything positive about this place. Professor Nolan and Loren Blake were killed here. Kalona escaped from

the earth, ripped open the ground, and split the tree right here. It just doesn’t feel very celebratory to me.”

Jack’s free hand covered Damien’s. “This is a place of power, right? ”

“Correct, ” Damien said.

“And power isn’t negative or positive in its unused form. It only takes on those characteristics when outside forces take over and influence it.

Right? ”

Damien paused, considered, and then reluctantly nodded. “Yes, I suppose you’re correct again.”

“Well, I feel that the power in this place—this shattered tree and the area here by the east wall—has been misused. It needs a chance to be used

for Light and goodness again. I want to give it that chance; I have to. Something inside me is telling me that I need to be here, getting Zoey’s

Celebration Ritual ready for her return, even if she and Stark are going to be late.”

Damien sighed. “You know I wouldn’t ever ask you to discount your feelings.”

“So you’ll support me in this? Even when everyone is saying your boyfriend is super crazy? ”

Damien smiled at him. “Everyone isn’t saying you’re super crazy. They’re saying your zealous need to decorate and organize has tainted your

judgment.”

Jack giggled. “I’ll bet they didn’t say zealous or tainted.”

“Their words were synonymous, if inferior.”

“That’s my Damien—the wordsmith! ”

“And that’s my Jack—the optimist.” Damien leaned into Jack and kissed him gently on the lips. “You do what you need to do here. I know Zoey

will be appreciative, when she finally gets home.” He paused, smiled sadly into Jack’s trusting eyes, and added, “Honey, you do understand that

Zoey might not be coming back for quite a while? I know what Stark said to you, and I haven’t talked to Z herself yet, but Aphrodite says Zoey isn’t

herself—that she isn’t really staying on Skye because of Stark. She’s staying there because she’s withdrawn from the world.”

“I just don’t believe that, Damien, ” Jack said firmly.

“I don’t want to believe it, either, but the facts are that Zoey isn’t coming back with Aphrodite and Darius, and she really isn’t talking to anyone

about when she is returning. Then there’s the whole Heath issue. Zoey comes back to Tulsa, and you know she’s going to have to face the fact that

Heath isn’t here—that he’ll never be here again.”

“It’s terrible, isn’t it? ” Jack said.

Their eyes met in perfect understanding. “Losing someone you love that much would be awful. It has to have changed Zoey.”

“Of course it has, but she’s still our Z. I have a strong feeling that she’s going to be home sooner than you think, ” Jack said.

Damien sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

“Hey, even you admit that I’m right a bunch. I’ll be right about Zoey coming back soon, too. I just know it.”

“Okay, well, I’m going to believe you, mostly because I love your positive attitude.”

Jack grinned and gave him a quick kiss. “Thank you! ”

“Well, whether Z comes back in a week or a month, I’m still not sure it’s a one-hundred-percent good idea for you to hang paper swords outside

from a tree when you don’t know when you’re going to need those decorations. What if it rains tomorrow? ”

“Oh, I’m not going to put them all up, silly! I’m just doing a test run on a few of them to be sure I have the folds perfect so they’ll hang right.”

“Is that why you have the claymore here? It looks awfully sharp and, well, exposed leaning against the table like that. Shouldn’t the pointed end be

down? ”

Jack’s gaze followed Damien’s over to where the long silver sword rested, hilt down on the ground, blade up and shining in the flickering

gaslights that illuminated the school at night.

“Well, Dragon gave me strict instructions, which I mostly listened to even though I kept being distracted by how sad he looked. You know, I don’t

think he’s doing very well.” Jack said the last part of the sentence in a hushed voice as if he didn’t want Duchess to overhear him.

Damien sighed and threaded his hand with Jack’s. “I don’t think he’s doing very well, either.”

“Yeah, he was telling me stuff about not sticking the pointy part of the sword into the ground ’cause it’d make it dull or something, and all I could

think about was how dark the circles were under his eyes, ” Jack said.

“Honey, I don’t think he’s been sleeping, ” Damien said sadly.

“I shouldn’t have bothered him about borrowing a sword, but I wanted to use a real example to create origami from and not just a picture.”

“I don’t think you were bothering Dragon. Anastasia’s death is something he’s going to have to work through. I’m sorry to say it, but there’s

nothing we can or can’t do to change that. And anyway, you had an excellent idea. Your origami is looking very realistic.”

Jack wriggled with pleasure. “Oooh! Do you really think so? ”

Damien put his arm around him and held him close. “Absolutely. You’re a gifted decorator, Jack.”

Jack snuggled into him. “Thank you. You’re the best boyfriend ever.”

Damien laughed. “That’s not hard to be with you. Hey, do you need some help with folding the swords? ”

It was Jack’s turn to laugh. “No. You’re not even good at present wrapping, so I’m guessing origami is not one of your many talents. But I could

use your help with something else.” Jack shot Duchess a pointed look, then leaned closer to Damien and whispered into his ear. “You could take

Duch for a walk. She won’t leave me alone and she keeps messing up my paper.”

“Okay, no problem. I was going to go for a jog. You know what they say: a chubby gay is not a happy gay. Duch can take some laps with me.

She’ll be too exhausted to obsess over you.”

“It’s so cute that you jog.”

“You don’t say that when I’m hot and sweaty afterward, ” Damien said as he stood up and fished Duchess’s leash from the winter-browned grass.

“Hey, sometimes I like you hot and sweaty, ” Jack said, smiling up at him.

“Then maybe I won’t take a shower afterward, ” Damien said.

“Maybe that’s a really good idea, ” Jack said.

“Or maybe you should take the shower with me.”

Jack’s grin widened. “Now that’s more than maybe a really good idea.”

“Tart, ” Damien said, bending to kiss Jack deeply.

“Linguist, ” Jack said before kissing him back.

Duchess wriggled her way between them, huffing and wagging and licking both of them.

“Oh, pretty girl! We love you, too! ” Jack said, kissing Duchess on her soft muzzle.

“Come on, let’s go get some exercise so we stay properly svelte and attractive for Jack, ” Damien said, pulling on the big dog’s leash. She

followed him, but with obvious hesitance.

“It’s okay. He’ll bring you back soon, ” Jack said.

“Yep, we’ll see Jack soon, Duch.”

“Hey, ” Jack called after the two of them. “I love you two! ”

Damien turned, picked up Duchess’s paw, waved it at Jack, and yelled, “We love you, too! ” Then they jogged away, Duchess barking excitedly

as Damien pretended to chase her.

Jack watched them go. “They’re the best, ever, ” he said softly.

The sword he’d just put the final fold on was the last of the five he’d made. One for each of the elements, Jack told himself. I’ll hang these five

and let them be the testers.

As he cut the fishing line and threaded it through the last of the five, Jack’s eyes kept going upward, seeking the right spots from which to hang

the decorations. But he didn’t need to look long. The tree seemed to be showing him where he needed to go. The thick trunk had been split almost

in two, causing the sides of the massive old oak to tilt so that the thick branches leaned precariously close to the ground. Where before Kalona had

escaped from the earth, the lowest branches couldn’t have been reached with a twenty-foot ladder, now his eight-foot ladder gave Jack more than

enough height.

“Up there. Right up there is where the first one should go.” Jack gazed straight up from where he’d been sitting beside the little table at one of the

major limbs of the tree that hung directly above him like a sheltering arm. “It’s perfect because it’ll hang over where I made all of the swords.” Jack

dragged the ladder closer to the table and held the first of the five paper swords by the long length of fishing line he’d tied to its hilt. “Oh, oopsie.

Almost forgot. Gotta practice, ” he said to himself, pausing to punch the controls on the portable iPhone dock he’d carried out there with the table.

Something has changed within me

Something is not the same

I’m through with playing by the rules

Of someone else’s game …

Rachel’s voice began the song, strong and clear. Jack paused with one foot on the bottom rung of the ladder, and when Kurt took over the lyrics

he sang with him, matching his sweet tenor, note for note.

Too late for second-guessing

Too late to go back to sleep …

Jack moved up the ladder as he and Kurt sang, pretending he was climbing the steps of the Radio City Music Hall where the Glee cast had

performed on tour last spring.

It’s time to trust my instincts

Close my eyes: and leap!

He reached the top rung of the ladder, paused, and began the first chorus with Kurt and Rachel while he reached up and threaded the fishing lure

through the bare winter branches.

He was humming along with Rachel’s next lines, waiting for Kurt’s part again, when movement at the split base of the tree caught his attention

and his gaze shifted to the damaged trunk. Jack gasped. He was sure he saw, right there, an image of a beautiful woman. The image was dark and

indistinct, but as Kurt sang about losing love he’d guessed he’d lost, the woman became clearer, larger, more distinct.

“Nyx? ” Jack whispered, awestruck.

Like a veil lifting, the woman was suddenly fully visible. She raised her head and smiled up at Jack, as exquisitely lovely as she was evil.

“Yes, little Jack. You may call me Nyx.”

“Neferet! What are you doing here? ” The question burst from him before he could think.

“Actually, at this moment, I’m here because of you.”

“M-me? ”

“Yes, you see, I need your help. I know how much you like to help others. That’s why I’ve come for you, Jack. Wouldn’t you like to do something for

me? I can promise you that I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Worth my while? What do you mean? ” Jack hated that his voice sounded squeaky.

“I mean if you do a little thing for me, then I’ll do a little thing for you, too. I’ve been away from the House of Night fledglings far too long. Perhaps

I’ve lost touch with what makes their hearts beat. You could help me—guide me—show me. In return I would reward you. Think about your dreams,

what it is you would want to do with your long life after you Change. I could make your dreams come true.”

Jack smiled and threw his arms out wide. “But I’m already living my dream. I’m here, in this beautiful place, with friends who have become my

family. What more could anyone want? ”

Neferet’s expression hardened. Her voice was stone. “What more could you want? How about dominion over this ‘beautiful place’? Beauty

doesn’t last. Friends and family decay. Power is the only thing that goes on forever.”

Jack answered with his gut. “No, love goes on forever.”

Neferet’s laughter was mocking. “Don’t be such a child. I’m offering you much more than love.”

Jack looked at Neferet—really looked at her. She’d changed, and in his heart he knew why. She’d accepted evil. Utterly, completely, totally. He’d

understood it before without really knowing it. There is nothing of Light or me left within her. The voice in his mind was gentle and loving, and it

gave him the courage to clear the dryness from his throat and look Neferet squarely in her cold, emerald eyes. “Not to be mean or anything, Neferet,

but I don’t want what you’re offering. I can’t help you. You and I, well, we’re not on the same side.” He started to climb down the ladder.

“Stay where you are! ”

He didn’t know how, but Neferet’s words commanded his body. It felt like he was suddenly wrapped tightly, frozen in place by an invisible cage of

ice.

“You impudent boy! You actually think you can defy me? ”

Kiss me goodbye

I’m defying gravity …

“Yes, ” he said as Kurt’s voice rang around him. “Because I’m on Nyx’s side, not yours. So just let me go, Neferet. I really won’t help you.”

“That is where you’re wrong, you incorruptible innocent. You’ve just proven that you’re going to help me very, very much.” Neferet lifted her hands,

making a sifting movement in the air around her. “As I promised, here he is.”

Jack had no idea who Neferet was talking to, but her words made his skin crawl. Helplessly, he watched her leave the shadows of the tree. She

appeared to glide away from him and toward the sidewalk that would take her to the main House of Night building. With an oddly detached

observation he realized her movements were more reptile than human.

For an instant he thought she really was leaving—thought he was safe. But when she reached the sidewalk she looked back at him, and she

shook her head, laughing softly. “You’ve made this almost too easy for me, boy, with your honorable refusal of my offer.” She made a throwing

motion at the sword. Wide-eyed, Jack was sure he saw something black wrap around the hilt. The sword turned, turned, turned, until the upraised

point was aimed directly at him.

“There is your sacrifice. He is one I have been unable to taint. Take him, and my debt to your Master has been fulfilled, but wait until the clock

chimes twelve. Hold him until then.” Without another look at Jack, Neferet slithered out of his sight and into the building.

It seemed a long time before midnight came, before the school clock began chiming, even though Jack closed his mind to the cold, invisible

chains that bound him. He was glad he’d put “Defying Gravity” on a loop. It comforted him to hear Kurt and Rachel singing about overcoming fear.

When the clock began chiming, Jack knew what was going to happen. He knew he couldn’t stop it—knew his fate couldn’t be changed. Instead of

pointless struggle, last-minute regrets, useless tears, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then—joyously—joined Rachel and Kurt in the

chorus:

I’d sooner buy

Defying gravity

Kiss me goodbye

I’m defying gravity

I think I’ll try

Defying gravity

And you won’t bring me down!

Jack’s sweet tenor was ringing through the branches of the shattered oak when Neferet’s lingering, waiting magic hurled him off the top of the

ladder. He fell gruesomely, horribly, onto the waiting claymore, but as the blade pierced his neck, before pain and death and Darkness could touch

him, his spirit exploded from his body.

He opened his eyes to find himself standing in an amazing meadow at the base of a tree that looked exactly like the one Kalona had shattered,

only this tree was whole and green, and beside it was a woman dressed in glowing silver robes. She was so lovely Jack thought he could stare at

her forever.

He knew her instantly. He’d always known her.

“Hello, Nyx, ” he said softly.

The Goddess smiled. “Hello, Jack.”

“I’m dead, aren’t I? ”

Nyx’s smile didn’t waver. “You are, my wonderful, loving, untaintable child.”

Jack hesitated, then said, “It doesn’t seem so bad, this being dead thing.”

“You’ll find it isn’t.”

“I’ll miss Damien.”

“You’ll be with him again. Some souls find each other again and again. Yours will; you have my oath on it.”

“Did I do okay back there? ”

“You were perfect, my son.” Then Nyx, the Goddess of Night, opened her arms and enfolded Jack, and with her touch the last remnants of mortal

pain and sadness and loss dissolved from his spirit, leaving love—only and always, love. And Jack knew perfect happiness.