Tentyrian Legacy (11 page)

The main path merged with dozens of others,
all offshoots of the Covens’ villas. To the north were Capricorn,
Aquarius, and Pisces. To the east, Libra, Virgo, and Scorpio. South
was home to Aries, Gemini, and Taurus. And in the west, closest to
the Royal Villa, were the Leo, Cancer, and Sagittarius Covens. The
royal processional was joined by hundreds of other Tentyrians as
they walked together by candlelight to the ceremony.

A pair of shifty eyes watched the parade from
afar. The lights flickered as they snaked through the city and
entered the temple. He thought their ceremonies were pathetic—a
testament to unnecessary rituals that served to pacify and give
meaning to the meaningless. He knew what the Tentyrians were
capable of. They certainly knew it. So why the charade? The end
would begin tonight, he vowed to himself.

Two minutes until nine. All the Covens were
present. The Zodiac Council stood on a raised dais, set up
specifically for the ceremony, with Hathor at its center. The
temple walls glowed with light, and the crowd of Tentyrians
chattered as they waited for the ceremony to begin.

With a shake of Hathor’s sistrum, silence
followed. She addressed the crowd: “Brothers and sisters. We are
gathered here tonight not to just say farewell to an era but to
remember who we are. We are Tentyrian. And together, we celebrate
our future!” A cheer rose from the Tentyrians, who raised their
candles in salute.

Hathor continued her address. “We are here to
remind each other that the blood in our veins is unique, and we
must cherish that. This is a world of constant change. Governments,
famines, riches. They come and go. But for us, there is a constant.
The Tentyrian way. The way is written in our Code, which we have
pledged to follow. We must remember that way if we are to continue.
The future for us will be different. We may not have Tentyris
anymore, but we will remain united as one clan. With the leadership
of your Covens and the values you carry with you, this will be
possible. As you go forth, I urge you to remember this. Some of you
may doubt these values. You may ask yourself, would it not feel
liberating to feed openly and without restraint? Yes. Would it not
feel empowering to share our immortality with the world? Yes, it
would. But that would be counterintuitive to our self-preservation
and legacy. Your Coven leaders have explained the purpose of our
relocation, which undoubtedly you have been mulling over,
discussing, and acting upon within the last year. I want to sum up
that purpose in one word. Longevity.”

With a rallying cheer of approval, the crowd
raised their candles in agreement.

“Our future will not be without its
challenges. But by granting further independence to your Covens,
you will be able to thrive freely in your new homelands for
hopefully centuries to come. Maximos will now lead us in prayer,”
completed Hathor.

Maximos took Hathor’s place in the center of
the dais. The gold lion clasp with sapphire eyes on the shoulder of
his pallium seemed to roar with silent fierceness.

“Blessed be,” he began. The crowd and Council
all moved their right hands to hover over their candles. They let
the flames lick the underside of their palms as they continued to
pray in unison.

“We are he who is clothed with the body of
flesh yet in whom flames the spirit of the eternal gods. We are the
Lord of Life. We are triumphant over death, and whosoever partaketh
with us shall with us arise. We are the manifester in matter of
those whose abode is the invisible. We are the purified. We stand
upon the universe. We are its reconciler with the eternal gods. We
are the perfecter of matter, and without us, the universe is
not.”

By the end of the prayer, the candle flames
burned deep enough into their flesh that blood was now dripping
from all the Tentyrians’ hands. But they felt no pain, only
exhilaration. Their senses were fully alive. And the pricking in
their gums they felt at the beginning of the prayer was no more.
With their fangs exposed, they stood with each other as they truly
were.

“Let us rejoice in the blood that binds us!”
exclaimed Hathor. The Tentyrians turned to each other and clasped
their hands with their neighbors. The connection of Tentyrian blood
caused a ripple of energy to course through their palms, like a
shock of electricity that traveled up their arms and into the core
of their bodies.

“Blessed be the blood that binds us,” they
cried out in unison as the feeling of united power hummed through
their veins. With a snap of her finger, Phoebe doused the lights in
the temple. It was pitch black and silent. But Tentyrian senses
allowed them to see as if it were daylight. They could even hear
the buzz of the nighttime insects from the distant gardens.

A soft blue glow began to grow from the
center of the dais. The Council members encircled it. The glow
originated from a small rotating orb of light that spun and began
to increase in size. Together, the Council controlled the orb
within their circle as their outstretched arms urged and willed the
orb to grow bigger. It rose higher and higher, and with one
intentioned push, the orb exploded into a cascade of sparking
lights that rained down upon the Tentyrians, who cheered at the
beautiful display.

Phoebe reignited the temple’s torchlight, and
Hathor addressed the crowd once more. “We would like to welcome you
all now to celebrate this glorious night at the Royal Villa. Please
join us!” The Tentyrians clapped their hands, which were already
healed, in exuberant applause. The ceremony had been short, but it
was a unifying reminder of who they were. As the crowd exited
through the temple’s newly erected portico, they admired the
ceiling’s bas-relief of the zodiac that honored Tentyris and its
Covens.

As a planisphere, or map of the sky’s stars
and planets, the zodiac relief portrayed the symbols of the twelve
Covens within a circle— from the image of Taurus’ bull to Libra’s
scales. The four Luminaries appeared as maidens supporting the
circular zodiac while Hathor’s outstretched body stood alongside.
Hathor commissioned its design shortly after the decision to leave
Tentyris was made. It was a masterpiece that would surely be
cherished long after the Tentyrian race became a distant
memory.

It was time for the festivities to begin. The
Royal Villa was packed with guests. A fire and acrobatic show
started in the main hall as a well-muscled Egyptian tossed flaming
batons effortlessly and caught them in his mouth after a series of
backflips. Plates filled with chickpeas, lentils, cucumbers, and
onions were passed around, as well as sweet cakes drenched in honey
and nuts.

Daria hung back from the festivities. She
could see Aristos laughing with his best friends and fellow Council
members Maximos and Pello. Ammon was holding Darrius on his
shoulders to help him get a better look at the acrobatics. It was a
happy sight, but she had a pit of worry in her stomach. Daria’s
thoughts drifted to her mother’s book. Hathor brushed off the
discussion, but Daria knew the book was a viper sleeping quietly in
its hiding spot at the Sanctum. And why would her mother give it to
her and her sisters now? Daria wished she could read her mother’s
mind. There was something serious brewing.

Spying Phoebe and Narcissa talking to a group
of their friends, Daria walked over. It was rude to shift into a
conversation. “Ladies, a pleasure to see you,” said Daria. The
three Tentyrian women from the Cancer Coven bowed their heads
reverently. As the oldest and First Luminary, Daria intimidated
people. It was the same effect her mother had. Admittedly, she
wasn’t as understanding as Phoebe, as frank as Calypso, or as
sensitive as Narcissa. But it wasn’t her intention to come off as
intimidating. Aristos said it was her eyes that created the effect.
“No one likes looking into emerald eyes of judgment—except me,” he
would tease.

“If you can excuse us, ladies, I need to
speak with my sisters,” requested Daria. The women politely
curtsied and left.

“You could try being a little friendlier,
Dar,” said Narcissa.

“Yes, well there are other more important
matters on my mind. Where is Calypso, anyway?” Daria replied.

“She said she went to grab a mind-settling
potion. She was feeling a bit dizzy. I offered to help with my own
power, but she said she had just the right medicine. You want to
talk to us about Mother, don’t you?” said Phoebe.

“Yes. I’m worried about the book and why she
gave it to us tonight,” Daria answered.

“I think we are all feeling the same way.
Mother obviously thinks she will die,” Phoebe said as she chewed on
a fingernail.

“Yes, but we’ve all taken the appropriate
precautions. It would be virtually impossible for Auletes’ men to
hurt her,” replied Narcissa in earnest.

“I do think we should speak further with her
tonight. It can’t wait until tomorrow. I have a terrible feeling .
. . Shall we convene in the library?” asked Daria.

“Yes, I’ll go find Calypso. Phoebe, you get
Mother,” said Narcissa.

The women agreed to meet in twenty
minutes.

Narcissa scanned the party for Calypso. She
did a few circuits around the room and finally found her speaking
with Calix. A pang of anger stabbed at Narcissa. She knew what they
were discussing was harmless, but the hatred Narcissa had for Calix
ran deep. She forced a smile.

“Calypso, sorry to take you away, but we’re
having a quick meeting. Luminary business,” Narcissa emphasized
while staring pointedly at Calix.

“I’ll come,” said Calypso tiredly, “but let
me first tell Alexander so he doesn’t worry.”

“Hurry up then,” Narcissa replied as she
turned on her heel. With an inscrutable smile on his lips, Calix
watched her stride away.

Calypso found Ceres and Alexander on the
dance floor. Ceres loved the drumbeats, and she tried to move her
hips and arms like the belly dancers. Calypso wrapped her arms
around Alexander and whispered in his ear, “She’s going to be a
handful when she’s older, isn’t she?”

“When she’s older? She already is a handful,”
replied Alexander as he pulled Calypso into a dramatic spin in
front of him. “Did you know I found her underneath a table earlier
with Darrius? They were playing warrior and warrior queen.”

“Well, she is a little queen, so why not?”
grinned Calypso with effort. She was feeling exhausted; the
medicine she took hadn’t kicked in yet. She briefly wondered if she
was carrying a child. She smiled up at Alexander. “I have to speak
with my mother and sisters for a bit, but I’ll be back as quickly
as I can.”

“All right, but are you feeling okay, my
dear? You look paler than usual,” Alexander asked with concern.

“Yes, of course I am,” assured Calypso.

“Well in that case . . .” Before she could
object, Alexander picked up Calypso by the waist and tossed her
straight into the air ten feet. Calypso pulled in her arms tightly,
like a pinwheel retracting, and twisted her body so she spiraled
down effortlessly into his waiting arms. Her man could dance; she
had to give him that. But he certainly didn’t help her nausea. With
a wink, Calypso vanished.

Daria took a sip of her drink and handed it
back to Aristos as she absorbed the revelry around her. Even
Maximos looked like he was having fun as he spoke with Stavros,
Aglaia, and Asia. Maximos was always so serious; a bit of fun would
be good for him, she thought. The liquid was invigorating, and she
could feel the blood nourishing her.

“Ah, I needed that. I can’t remember the last
time I ate,” said Daria.

“The past few months have just been so busy.
It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is the day we leave. It’s come
quickly, hasn’t it?” she said, mostly talking to herself.

“Yes, it has,” Aristos replied. Wanting
Daria’s full attention, he took her hand in his. “Thank you for
being so amazing, Daria. I don’t know if I tell you enough . .
.”