Upon returning to the Otherworld, Kevin—Other Kevin— had made work of gathering the members of his Circle. It'd hadn't been that hard to be honest, all he'd had to do was go to his House of Night and ask around for Shaunee and Erin. Once he had found them he'd explained what Zoey—Other Zoey—had told him about the elements and having powers over them.
Surprisingly, the Twins had believed him and agreed to help him with his Circle—despite not even knowing if they had an elemental power of their own.
Kevin had gone on to find Aphrodite, she was a little bit harder to convince though. She had not wanted to help and snubbed him and the Twins for thinking they were smart enough to outdo Neferet and her armies.
"You'll die before you even get the chance to say 'abracadabra.'" She'd scoffed as she'd sat in the common room, painting her nails.
"C'mon, we need your help." Kevin had said, never thinking he'd actually be begging Aphrodite, Queen Bitch, for help.
"And why would I help you?" She'd raised a blonde eyebrow and showed him her signature sneer.
Kevin had then went on to explain about crossing over to the Otherworld—a Tulsa were Neferet had been defeated and vampyers and humans lived together peacefully.
He'd also talked of seeing Zoey again and her friends.
"And you." He'd said, "You're friends with Z, actually you're her Prophetess and you're a fully Changed vamp. You're what helped me and the rest of the red fledglings get their humanity back."
Aphrodite had just blinked at him, her blue eyes filled with disbelief, yet, wonder too.
"I saved you?" She'd asked slowly.
"Yes. You did. So, please help me save everyone else."
Aphrodite had sat there, silent and lost in thought for several minutes, before finally agreeing to help.
"How are you even sure this'll work though? I only have shitty, pain-in-my-ass visions. Not an affinity for air." She'd asked as they had walked back to the Twins' dorm room.
"We just have to try." He'd said, "And even if none of you have any affinity you can still stand in for them while I call them."
Aphrodite had stopped walking then, "Hold up," She'd held up a hand as if to pause everything, "what do you mean you'll 'call' them?"
Kevin had stopped too and had turned around to face her, brow furrowed, "I didn't mention that I have an affinity for all five elements?" He'd hoped that hadn't sounded too showboat-y.
"No." She had answered pointedly.
"Well I do, now come on, we can't waste time." He'd led her back to the room.
The Twins hadn't been too happy that Aphrodite was joining them in their Circle. Kevin expected much anyway, everyone—girls especially—hated Aphrodite.
"Oh, hell no, we are not working with Aphroskanky!" Shaunee had bellowed. Her eyes had been narrowed like a cat's.
"Like she cares about saving anyone but herself. Please!" Erin had rolled her eyes, arms crossed.
"Look Dumb and Dumber, I'm not doing this just so I can spend time with you—Goddess knows I'd rather eat glass. I'm doing this so that bitch Neferet can be snuffed out once and for all. I'm sick of her and her whole take-over-the-world mumbo-jumbo. The sooner she's gone the sooner I can graduate from this place and move far away from you and everyone else here." Aphrodite had ranted sourly.
The Twins had made irritated noises but kept their mouths shut of any insults.
Kevin had explained that they just needed to find someone who could represent Earth.
"And who would that be?" Aphrodite had asked, she was sitting on the edge of Erin's bed, legs crossed and arms folded.
"Well, in the Other Tulsa, Earth had been Stevie Rae." Kevin had said lightly.
Stevie Rae had been a fledgling there but had been kidnapped by the Blue Army and was said to be dead.
She and Aphrodite had been . . . close.
"So who will it be now?" She'd asked in a tight voice, eyes guarded of any emotion.
"I'm not sure." Kevin had shrugged, "I was told to look for a girl named Shaylin. Maybe she could help."
"Shaylin?" Erin had piped up, "Ruede? I've seen her around, she was in my second hour Lit class today."
Hope had bloomed in Kevin's chest at those words, he'd asked where Shaylin might be and Erin had said the library, she had seen the girl go in there the last few days after school.
Kevin had then ran off to the library, hoping Shaylin would still be there.
Luck had been on his side that day when he'd seen Shaylin sitting at a table, quietly reading a book and sipping from a water bottle.
Kevin hadn't wanted to freak her out too much, she'd still been fairly new and the last thing he'd wanted to do was scare her with stories of alternate universes and Earth affinities.
So he'd slowly and kindly explained that he had needed help with something, not fully going into his plan to take out Neferet.
Shaylin had taken some convincing but had agreed to help Kevin with his 'experiment' in seeing if his Circle could work.
"But what about Spirit?" Aphrodite had asked when Shaylin had joined them in the dorm room.
"I'll represent it." Kevin had answered, he'd told Shaylin a little bit more of his plan.
"So, you really have power over the elements. Even Spirit?" Shaylin had asked quietly, her brown eyes wide.
"Yes. Crazy, right?" He'd smiled gently at her.
"When do we test this out?" Shaunee had asked.
"After dinner. Near the West wall. No one should be around then and we'll be covered by the trees if anyone is outside." Kevin had explained, feeling oddly positive about this whole thing.
He did wish he had Zoey with him to make sure he didn't screw anything up.
If I can't have Z here, at least I have Nyx.
After dinner, Kevin and the girls had walked out toward the West wall, he'd had grabbed candles from Nyx's Temple and had passed them out to the girls.
"Why candles?" Erin had asked, taking her place in the Circle.
"It'll help you channel Water, it's like a symbol." Kevin had answered, remembering what Z had told him, "You don't need the candle but it helps."
Once everyone had gotten into their places, Kevin had pulled out a lighter from his pocket—he'd swiped it from his pot-head roommate—and went over to Aphrodite.
"Ready?" He'd asked, suddenly nervous.
"Yes." Aphrodite had murmured, looking more or less bored.
Just make it simple, He'd told himself, nothing too big.
Taking a deep breath he'd flicked the lighter and said, "Air is what we breathe."
He'd heard the Twins snort with laughter, he'd rolled his eyes, he wasn't very poetic but still, he'd been trying.
"We—we need it, so . . . um . . . I call Air to our Circle." He'd lit the yellow candle.
And a breeze had flown across his skin and had tussled his hair; he'd seen Aphrodite gasp and had watched her own hair dance in the wind around her. The flame hadn't gone out even as the whirlwind had danced around it.
"I—I . . . am . . . am I doing . . . that?" Aphrodite'd whispered, her voice had been soft with wonder.
Kevin had smiled at her, "We're doing that."
He had then gone over to Shaunee, she'd been staring at the ground, unaware of what had happened between him and Aphrodite.
"Fire is what warms us, so I call you . . . Fire to our Circle." He'd said.
He'd been about to light the candle, when a small flame had lit the wick for him. He had felt warmth on his skin and had been surprised—and a little scared—to see flames flowing between his fingers.
"Oh. My. Goddess." Shaunee had said. Her mouth had been open in shock.
Kevin had stared at his hands, the fire had curled around his fingers like a caterpillar. And had left his skin feeling warm and tingly.
"Holy—" He'd paused when he had felt warmth at his feet. He'd looked down and seen smoke and sparks coming from Shaunee's heeled shoes.
"Fuck!" she'd squealed and had jumped reflexively, the grass underneath had been a little black.
"Twin! You're Fire!" Erin had gasped.
Shaunee had stopped hopping and had stood in the small smoking circle for a moment, her feet unharmed.
"I am." She'd whispered, a big grin had stretched across her face.
Kevin had stepped away from Shaunee and had gone to Erin, "Water, I call you to our Circle too." He'd used the tip of his finger to light Erin's candle.
The fire had vanished from his hands and had been replaced with a small, palm sized pool of water. He'd cupped it in his hand, marveled at the sight of it.
"Wow." He'd whispered.
"Look!" Erin had cried and had pointed to her feet.
The grass around her had been sopping wet and water had been trailing up her legs; soaking through her jeans.
"I'm Water, Twin!" She'd giggled and had splashed her feet in the soggy grass.
Kevin had grinned and laughed; and had let the cool liquid slither up his jeans too.
He had gone over to Shaylin, who had looked much more nervous then, her teeth had been chewing at her bottom lip. Her hands had been clasped tightly around her candle.
"Don't be nervous," He'd whispered to her over the sounds of the girls' excited chatter. "I have a feeling you'll do great."
Shaylin hadn't said anything, she'd just held out her candle for him to light.
"Earth, I call you to our Circle." And he'd lit the green candle.
The water that had been cupped in his free hand had evaporated.
"Huh!" Shaylin had gasped.
Kevin had looked down and seen the grass around the girl's feet grow.
"You're Earth!" He'd cried.
"I—I'm . . . Earth!" She'd nodded, her eyes had gone to his face. They had been filled with wonder and awe.
"Your hand, Kevin!" Erin had called out.
Kevin had looked down at his free hand and had seen that it was glowing a bright green. It'd been like he'd stuck it in a vat of toxic sludge.
He'd chuckled, "Told you."
He'd walked toward the middle of the Circle, picked up the purple candle, and had lit it.
"Spirit, I call you to our Circle."
His hand had stopped glowing when he'd lit the candle; he had felt his body shiver and his chest had filled with heat.
He'd heard the others gasp in amazement and he'd looked down to see a silver thread outline his body. A purple mist had been pulsating from the hand that had been holding the lighter.
Spirit. That had been Spirit.
"So this is how we stop Neferet?" Aphrodite'd asked. A gentle wind had caressed her head.
"Yes. This is part of it." Kevin had answered. His voice had seemed bigger, stronger.
"What else is there?"
"We go to the rebels, tell them about our Circle and offer our help."
"Do you think it'll work?" Shaylin had asked, "Just cast a Circle and ask the elements and Nyx to send Neferet away?"
"Yeah, that seems way too easy." Shaunee had agreed. (Surprisingly).
"Well, a Circle isn't going to be the only thing. We'll just have to think of something else to go with it." He'd explained.
"What did they do in the Other Tulsa?" Aphrodite had asked.
"They imprisoned Neferet in a cave-thing in Woodward Park, in the grotto area."
"Then let's just do that." Erin had shrugged, "Like you said she isn't immortal in this world so she'll die lots faster."
Kevin had swallowed, killing Neferet had seemed so . . . dark. Had he really wanted to go down that road? Even if Neferet had been awful and a monster, she'd still been a person. A living being. He hadn't been sure if he could do that.
"Let's . . . uh, brainstorm some more before we come to that conclusion." Kevin had said.
They'd all given him confused looks but had shrugged and agreed.
Kevin had soon closed the Circle and had told them they'd meet at breakfast in the morning to go over a plan.
Back in his room Kevin had laid down on his bed and closed his eyes; exhaustion had quickly pulled him under.
Finally.
It had been hard—harder than Kevin would've had liked it to be—but their plan had worked.
Neferet was gone and so were her armies.
It'd had taken a lot of work, weeks of it, and the help of the rebels—they had been skeptical at first, a bunch of fledglings saying they had a way to kill a rouge High Priestess had seemed doubtful. But Kevin and the others had showed the rebels what they had been able to do and the leader, Fiona, had agreed to let them help.
"I've never seen a male fledgling—or vamp for that matter—with an affinity. Much less for five elements." Fiona had remarked on his first day with the rebels.
"That's because he's unique." Aphrodite had said. Her lips had been turned into a smirk and she'd winked at him.
Fiona had chuckled, "Guess so."
The first few days there Kevin and the girls had sat in on rebel meetings and had been told of a few action plans.
"Neferet is located at the Mayo, it's like her creepy ass liar." Fiona had explained. They'd been seated in a small circular room in an old mansion that had been abandoned.
"She has Sons of Erebus Warriors stationed at the main entrance, the two side doors, the back way, and the roof. They're heavily armed and aren't afraid to shoot if need be." She'd gone on, pointing at a picture of the Mayo's lay out.
It'd been pinned to the wall and had had marks on it.
"But even if we get passed those ones there are more inside." Curtis, a blue vampyer, had said, "I'd hacked into the Mayo's security system—before they took it down and set up a stronger one—and saw a sea of red and blue vamps."
"The only way you'd be able to get passed them is if you were invisible."
Invisible, Kevin had thought to himself, I'll remember that.
Fiona had then said that even if they made it passed the guards inside and into Neferet's penthouse, they'd still have to deal with her Children.
"Bloodthirsty, nasty creatures of Darkness." Curtis had shuddered, "They're worse than leeches, even after they drain you of your blood they still stick to you."
"But we can hurt them." Kevin had said, speaking for the first time, "Me and Shaunee can use fire to burn them up, right?" He'd looked at Shaunee who'd given him a firm nod.
"You could, yes," Fiona had agreed, "but they multiply fast. When one dies, another takes its place in a snap."
"Then we'll just have to be faster than them."
Fiona had rolled her eyes and had gone on to say that Neferet had never been alone in her penthouse.
"She has those gross snake-things, but she also has her own personal Warrior." Fiona had told the room.
"Stark." Kevin had answered, "Yeah, I know."
"Didn't you say there was another Stark in the Otherworld you'd been in?" Aphrodite had asked, she'd been seated beside him and had been listening quietly.
"Yes, he's not like the one we know. He's good, he's a Red vamp and is my sister's Warrior and Mate."
Fiona had clucked her tongue at that, "Interesting."
"So how would we get passed him?" Erin had piped in, brow furrowed.
"Could we mention your sister? Maybe that would break him a bit."
"No," Kevin had shaken his head, "Stark never knew Z. She was just some fledgling to him. It wouldn't work.
"This Stark isn't like the one I met in the Otherworld. He's bad, completely infused with Darkness—"
"And Neferet." The Twins had murmured.
"—he's also obsessed with keeping Neferet safe. He'd probably die just to make sure she isn't hurt."
"Maybe that's what needs to happen." Curtis had said, he'd looked a bit grim. "Kill the guard dog and she's free range."
Kevin had felt his stomach clench, he hadn't wanted to do that, like Neferet, Stark had been a person, a life. Take that away and he'd be nothing more than an empty shell.
"So, when we do get to Neferet," Aphrodite had spoken into the silence, "do we just call our elements and blast her into oblivion?"
"Yes." Fiona had answered in a hard voice. "But do you guys know how to handle your powers? Especially you, Kevin. Five elements is a lot."
No. None of them had known how to use their powers. The Circle had just been a practice run and calling the elements had been easier than actually wielding them.
He'd shaken his head silently.
"Then I guess we're gonna have to do some training."
They had trained for months, each one trying to perfect their abilities.
It'd been hard, harder than anything Kevin had done before, and long. They'd meet Fiona in the basement of the mansion and would stay there till after sunrise. After each lesson, Kevin would go to sleep and not wake till 4 A.M.
The others would feel the pull of exhaustion too; each one had been swaying on their feet by the end of it.
"It means you've done well." Fiona would say.
If that had been 'well' Kevin hadn't wanted to see what 'perfect' looked like.
His days became filled with practicing his abilities. Some had been good—like when he formed a ball of fire. And some had been bad—like when he'd dropped said ball on his foot.
But each time Kevin had felt like he was improving. Just a little bit.
Finally, when the day had came to take down Neferet, Kevin and the rebels had mapped out a plan the night before.
"There are guards posted outside the Mayo." Curtis had explained, he'd pointed to a map of the building, "Here, here, and here."
Guards had been stationed in the front of the Mayo, the back, the front of the roof and behind.
Two to each place.
"How are we going to get passed them?" Shaylin had asked, her voice had trembled a little.
"We're going to shield ourselves." Kevin had answered.
She and the other girls had given him blank looks.
Kevin had explained that he'd thought about what Curtis had said about being invisible; that maybe there was a way it could work.
"I've been playing around with Spirit and Air and I think I found a way to conceal ourselves from the Guards." Kevin had said.
He'd then stepped back from the table and called Spirit and Air. He'd thought the same thing he had for months: Make me invisible. Hide me. Conceal me from others.
The gasps around the room had told him his idea had worked.
"But can you do that for all of us?" Fiona had asked when Kevin had become visible.
"Yeah, I mean I'll need Aphrodite's help—" He'd looked at the blonde who had been seated next to him.
"Of course." She'd smiled.
That'd been another change in the past few months, Aphrodite had been eerily nice to him. Supportive, actually. Always telling him he could do anything when he felt like he couldn't. Always saying that he wasn't alone in this big mess of danger. Listening to him when he had needed to talk, vent, about what was in his head.
It'd been nice. Really nice.
Kevin had smiled back, "—but I think I can do it."
There had been twenty-seven of them, five Circle members and twenty-two rebels. It'd had been a big stretch but it had worked in the end.
"Okay, so we'll be concealed until we reach Neferet's chambers." Fiona had said, "Curtis, Felix, Lola, and Evie will deal with two of her guards." She had nodded to a few people around the room, "Me, Henrietta, Will, and Sal will deal with Stark.
"And you guys," She had looked to Kevin and the others, "will deal with Neferet."
Kevin had nodded but his stomach had clenched. They were really doing this. Taking out Neferet.
"What about the other guards outside?" Shaylin had asked, "They'll hear what's going on and rush in."
"We're not all going in, the rest of the rebels will be outside, visible, and ready to take out the guards." Fiona had smiled.
"How will they know when to attack?" Shaunee had questioned.
"They'll know, don't worry."
"What about after?" Aphrodite had asked, her voice had been soft, "Who will take over?"
"We'll get to that." Fiona had answered, "It'll take time, a new Council will have to be made and a new High Priestess will have to be sworn in to the school.
"But it'll be okay." Her eyes had glanced around the room, "Everything will be okay. We have the strategy, the power, it'll work out. Let's just take it one step at a time." Her voice had been firm, confident.
Fiona had had enough hope for all of them.
Making twenty-seven people invisible had been hard—draining actually. Even with Aphrodite's help, Kevin had felt a little weak.
Even so, they had made it to the Mayo, the Sons of Erebus Warriors were alert and ready to defend.
Kevin and the others had slipped passed them easily, not one of the Warriors had noticed them.
Once inside the building they had taken the stairs up to Neferet's penthouse; it'd been a hard climb but they'd managed.
When they had stood outside Neferet's door, Fiona had motioned for Kevin to let the shield drop.
"On my count." She'd whispered when they had become visible.
Kevin had waited with baited breath as Fiona had picked the lock; his heart had been pounding in his chest.
Fiona had then turned toward them, hand on the doorknob and had mouthed, "Three . . . two . . . one!"
Everything had happened so fast after that.
The door had flown open and they had rushed in, weapons raised as two Warriors had come at them from the entryway,
Curtis and his group had already gotten to the guards. They had kicked and punched them away from Kevin and the others.
The guards had been big, tall, and broad. Menacing as they had brandished their swords.
Before he'd gone around the corner, Kevin had seen one guard swing his sword down on Lola. The tiny girl had spun out of the way just before the blade had been able to slice through her shoulder.
The rest of them had made it to the living room, where Neferet had stood, looking outraged and fearless, as they had stopped in front of her.
"Get them." She'd commanded in a cold, thin voice, her eyes had been blazing with fire. Her teeth had been bared.
Before Kevin had been able to think, Stark was on them, a sword had been grasped in his hands.
He had been so different than the Stark Kevin had seen earlier; this one had been lethal, dangerous. Ready to kill.
He'd flung his blade down on Fiona but she'd blocked it with her own sword. It was smaller and thinner than Stark's but it'd been just as deadly.
"Do it! Now!" She'd ordered as she'd flung Stark's blow away from herself, kicking him in the gut.
Kevin had shakily nodded, his nerves had been cracking like sparks.
As he'd gotten the Circle casted, the rebels had formed one of their own around him. He had seen Henrietta shoot an arrow at a tendril of Darkness.
"Silly boy," Neferet had crooned from her place outside the two circles, she'd been leaning against her couch, relaxed now, calm, "you're out of your league if you think you can take me down."
Kevin had met her eyes then, he'd raised his chin slightly, "Watch me." He'd said.
As he'd called Air to the circle though he'd heard Aphrodite scream for him to 'watch out.'
But it'd been too late, Kevin had felt the bite of pain against his left calf. He'd looked down and had seen a thick, black tendril clinging to his leg.
He'd shuddered and had tried to shake it off but it was no use; the snake-like creature clung to him and drew blood. It's small, razor-like teeth sinking into his skin.
Kevin had gritted his teeth and had tried to ignore the pain as he'd gone on to call Fire.
Just as he'd done that though another tendril had wrapped around his waist. He'd felt it draw a lash along his hips; warm, thick blood had rained down from the cut.
"Kevin!" Aphrodite had screamed, her voice had been fearful.
He'd looked at her and had seen her face contorted into a look of horror.
"It's . . . f—fine. I—I'm . . . g—g—good." He'd hissed out between clenched teeth.
The others had given him worried looks but he'd ignored them and had gone over to Erin.
She'd looked pale and scared, her hands had been trembling as they had held the blue candle.
In the middle of Kevin summoning Water he'd felt a sharp pain against his spine. He had only been able to guess that it had been another tendril, drawing blood from him.
He'd looked down briefly as he'd finished calling Water and had seen a pool of blood grow around him.
My blood. My blood? He'd thought faintly.
Pain had made him slow but he'd limped over to Shaylin.
He'd felt each tendril dig deeper into his skin and draw energy from him. He had closed his eyes against the wave of agony.
Opening them he'd called Earth.
Another tendril had latched onto his right arm.
In a haze of blood and nausea, Kevin had made it to the middle of the Circle.
Woozily, he'd picked up his own candle and had summoned Spirit.
He'd felt his chest flutter just as a final tendril had wrapped around his throat, cutting off his air and drawing blood.
But before he'd had a chance to pass out, the tendrils had dropped from his body, shrieking and slithering out of the Circle.
Kevin had looked down and had seen his body pulsing with a purple glow; Spirit surrounded him.
"No!" Neferet had screamed, she'd stalked toward the Circle but Sal had pushed her away.
She'd stumbled back and had flung her hand out at him. A tendril had struck against Sal's cheek and had wrapped itself around his eyes.
He'd screamed and fallen to his knees, blood streamed down his face.
Kevin had looked from Sal to his Circle, taking a deep breath he'd said, "Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit, in . . . in the Goddess Nyx's name I ask for your protection!"
His voice had been loud, fueled by Spirit, as a silver bubbled had covered the Circle and the rebels.
But not before Henrietta had been shot with an arrow. It'd buried itself deep into her chest. Blood had splattered around her and she'd hit the ground hard.
Dead.
No. Kevin had thought as the silver bubble had finished covering them.
The tendril that had been around Sal slithered away, but Sal had been unconscious. His eyes had been sliced over, steeped in blood.
Outside the bubble Neferet had banged on it with her fists, her mouth had been set into a furious frown.
Stark had tried stabbing at the barrier with his sword but it had done no good.
"Elements." Kevin had said, "I ask you to do away with the Evil here. Banish it. Wash away the tainted places. Please." He'd recited the words Shaylin had helped him write weeks ago.
The elements had swirled around the Circle, mixing together to create a sphere of color and light.
The ball had flown out of the bubble and had exploded with a blast of light.
Kevin had shielded his eyes as Neferet's and Stark's screams filled his ears.
Then it had gone silent.
Kevin had opened his eyes and had closed the Circle.
When he'd finished he'd felt dizziness overcome him. He'd swayed and had almost hit the ground when he'd felt an arm go around his shoulders.
Aphrodite had stood beside him, her small frame had been pressed against his side.
"It's okay." She'd said softly, "I got you."
The last thing Kevin had seen before passing out had been two piles of ashes, Henrietta's body, and Fiona's severed hand on the floor.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this little thing I came up with. I just wanted to see how Kevin would've handled taking down Neferet and how he'd manage coming into his powers. I may write a second part to this, i'm not sure. Tell me what you think by leaving a comment, they are a huge motivator for me!