I was going to do this for Halloween, but do you guys know of that big storm heading for the U.S.? Yeah, I'm in one of the states that're supposed to get the worst of it. So I don't know if I'll get a power outage or what. If you're getting hit with Hurricane Sandy, I hope you stay safe, and so does your family.

Happy Halloween and Samhain early! I own none of the original.

Jet

Jet looked at Aurox as he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Jet!" Stark sounded breathless and worried. "You have to get to the House of Night. Now!"

Holding the phone away from his ear at the last part, he put the call on speaker. "What happened?" Aurox demanded.

"Zoey's okay, don't worry." Starr's brother regained his composure. "It's actually Starr I'm concerned about. She's being a little too reckless. There was a fire all over campus, and the stables especially. Her new horse, Kataigida I think, is going around with water and fire to help. But Nisroc showed up with Grandma, and now Starr is acting all weird." He sighed on the other end. "Sorry if I panicked you. There's mass confusion over here, and Z's taking it pretty hard. We could really use your help."

"Did…" Jet saw Aurox shiver. "Was it our former Priestess?"

Stark was grave when he answered: "Probably. It reeks of Darkness here. We still need you though, Aurox. It's time you really became the House of Night's guardian." He paused as if to consider something. "I'll let the dragons know you're coming. They mostly hid away, even though only us depot kids know they're here. Maybe I can find them and tell them not to kill you."

"What I want to know is how Neferet got past them in the first place." Jet was pissed. Messing with his best friend, no matter what she thought of him now, was not something anyone wanted to do. Get him mad enough and the amount of power or the species wouldn't matter. He would protect Starr with his life.

A shadow moved out of the corner of his eye. It seemed he would be giving his life sooner than he thought.

Aurox

It took him not even five minutes to get into the school. Aurox felt the Darkness before he even got on the grounds. Smoke hung heavy in the air. His powerful muscles bunched as he leaped the twenty-foot-or-so wall with the strength of a bull. Starr turned to him wearily, her brown eyes dull. A dragon melted into the better of the two types of shadows, hiding from the rest of the House of Night. Aurox was shaking.

When Priestess – no, Neferet – took Jet, she had tried to command him with the blood of a cat. It was a human cat and was only an experiment, yet it had been enough to make him almost forget what Light itself had taught him. She had nearly stripped him of his forgiveness, if not for Jet yelling "Remember Starr. Get to Zoey!" before he was knocked unconscious from a wraith.

Starr's eyes blazed gold suddenly. "What has happened, Aurox?" she growled, managing to sound furious and scared for her friend simultaneously.

"Neferet," he choked out as bile rose in his throat. "She kidnapped Jet."

The tension in her body spiked rapidly, making talons spring in place of fingers and fangs to replace her teeth. Old magick danced angrily around her, pulling Aurox in like a vortex. He felt his hands fist and harden into gleaming black hooves as he dropped to all fours, moonstone eyes staring at the wolf-eagle-thing in front of him. She turned a cold silver-black gaze on him. Her voice was otherworldly when she commanded, "Find Kalona and Zoey. I am going after Jet, but I need volunteers to help me. An army will be guarding my… friend." She skewered him with her harsh stare until he wanted to run from her anger. Like a magnet, he could not move. Then her grip on him loosened, and he was forced to obey her orders.

This is not how I am supposed to fight, he mused silently, sending messages like a novice. If I must prove myself again, I will!

His determination gave him extra speed; he found a cluster of the circle and accompaniment. "Aurox?" Zoey asked incredulously. He snorted and tossed his head.

Stark looked in the direction he had come. "She's hurt," he murmured.

Erik clutched his torso. "What the hell did you do to her!"

"Don't listen to him," Zo soothed. Aurox felt the magnet's pull once more and pranced like a skittish horse. Zoey placed her hand on his flank, unafraid. Her touch calmed him. "Lead us to her, please, Aurox," she said softly.

The two Warriors did not wait for him to go first – they were already there when the others caught up. "Thank you, Aurox," Starr whispered weakly, leaning heavily on Erik for support. "I am sorry I did that to you."

"It's alright," he replied once he was in human form again.

"What happened, my love?" Erik mumbled, angling his head on hers. She shuddered and closed her eyes. "Oh, spirits…" He looked up at the expectant faces. "Darkness has Jet."

Aurox coughed, feeling sick. His stomach clenched. "When she came to take him, she was… like a wraith. She had actual shadow-guards at her command, and sh-she wanted me to listen to her. She nearly got me to give up my place in Light, too, but J-Jet snapped me out of it. But I think she still tainted me." He was terrified, worried, sad, and overall exhausted. How could he have let his charge be stolen like that? Starr had put him as guard for Jet. He had failed.

"Don't think like that," Starr responded to his unspoken thoughts. "Kalona, Rephaim, Nicole, Nisroc, Darius, Aphrodite, and Aurox, you're coming with me. The rest of you, stay here and at least try to restore order to the House of Night."

Stevie Rae looked ready to argue. "Rephaim can hold his own," Erik reminded the Red High Priestess, and she shut her mouth.

"I love how the bastard comes with us anyway."

"Well, I let you come, didn't I, hateful?" Starr snapped. Aphrodite narrowed her eyes. Aurox stepped between them, feeling the thick hide of a bull slide over him like a second skin. He glared at Starr. "You're right. We're wasting time. Stark, you're in charge, since Zoey looks ready to pass out. Make sure Thanatos knows everything that has happened, and that the Sons of Erebus are ready for battle. Stevie Rae, Shaunee, and Damien, I wanted you to split into groups. Take some calm red and blue fledglings with you and reassure the other students. Hell, take cats and horses if you must! Kramisha, you need to find Dallas and lock him up. Erin, you are to stay within sight of Zoey and take care of your over-exhausted High Priestess. If I hear of you taking one misstep, I will expose you to the entire school as a farce." Aurox stared at Starr in astonishment like the rest of the group. "I cannot say unless she breaks my rules. Get to work now, all of you!"

When she finally faced Aurox, he was already a bull. Magick settled over the others; the Runes glowing in the darkness, ripping it to shreds and leaving only the serenity of the night behind. Kalona, Rephaim, and Nisroc were ravens. Aphrodite and Darius were leopards, which came to no surprise of him. Nicole was a coyote. Erik and Starr shifted into wolves. Starr cuffed Aphrodite over the ear, and the Prophetess bared her teeth in a snarl. Darius shoved Aphrodite away before she could lunge and positioned himself between Aphrodite and Erik, who was an extra barrier between her and Starr. Aurox wondered briefly what had happened between them.

Then Starr was nodding to him, and it was time to leave.