I stopped for a moment confused by how eerily quiet the common room was when grandma and I entered. That was until I heard the coughing. My skin paled and my heart raced. Becca was lying on the floor surrounded by her friends as well as many of the other fledglings. Blood was pouring from her mouth and nose filling the room with its rich sent and I could hear tiny gurgling noises echoing softly as she tried to breathe.

"Becca no!" Her roomnmate sobbed trying to hold onto her. My heart clenched as my mind flashed back to Stevie Rae. I could still see her doubled over in the temple, both of us crying as her lifeblood left her.

"Someone get Neferet," I said with a strong authority as I pushed through the crowd. My voice sounded completely in control even though my whole body was shaking as I took off one of my sweaters leaving me in just a tank top and began using it to wipe the blood from Becca's face. "It's going to be alright," I whispered softly taking her from her roommate and gently laying her in my lap.

"I'm scared," she whispered back coughing again as she tried to inhale. "I don't want t die."

"I know," I said softly feeling tears pouring down my own face as I drew her near trying in vain to comfort her. I didn't know what else to do for her. I could tell she was in pain and that she was scared beyond belief. How could she not be? "The goddess is with you," I said as I gently ran my fingers through her hair trying to sooth her and remembering how I had cradled Stevie Rae in my arms. Stevie Rae! I blinked a few time annoyed that I hadn't thought of calling earth to me minutes ago. "Earth," I said with a strength I really wasn't feeling. Was that what being a High Priestess was like? They always seemed so sure, so certain and so strong, I realized that that power shown through them in spite of their fear, not because they weren't feeling any. "Earth I need you," I said a little more reverentially. "I ask that you come and comfort this Fledgling as she makes her way home to the goddess's arms."

I was instantly surrounded by the smell of fresh grass and flowers that slowly changed to the smell of fruit and summer rain. "I loved the rain," Becca said her voice wet with blood. The sound of birds chirping and singing filled the air around us and I gave a sad smile when Becca opened her red blood stained eyes. She coughed again, but the pain was subsiding.

I reached up whipping away my own tears and sent up a silent prayer to Nyx for strength and wisdom. I felt my spirit turn softly and I knew that this death was once again not something natural. Something had caused it. "Becca," I whispered softly brushing the hair from her face. Her eyes fluttered open again red tears spilling down her cheeks as she looked at me. "Becca, did your parents give you anything to drink tonight?" I asked softly. I didn't remember Becca's parents being church members, but maybe things had recently changed. If the Elders were convincing other church members to kill their kids, like Jacob's father, then perhaps they had somehow gotten to Becca's parents too.

Becca shook her head, a motion I would have missed had I not been holding her. Her body was getting weaker and I knew it wouldn't be long until she left us completely. "No," she whispered her eyes somewhat confused and sad. "I wish they were still here," she said and I watched fresh tears streak across her face staining her cheeks pink.

"I know," I said gently holding her tighter and rocking her. She coughed again trying to push herself from me and I felt myself choke up as she vomited blood all over the soft white carpets. In a way the deep crimson on the snow white carpet was beautiful, as beautiful as it was horrible. The smell whirled around us, powerful and seductive and yet completely wrong. I let my eyebrows pull together as I tried to figure out what the difference was. Something in the blood I heard Neferet's voice whisper through my memory. "Becca, did you eat or drink anything tonight?" I asked again, desperate to find answers. I was vaguely aware of the door opening behind me, but I was focusing all of my concentration on Becca whose breathing had grown even more labored.

She took in one last shaky breath, her eyes never leaving mine as she struggled to answer. I felt the earth growing still around us as it prepared to receive Becca as its own. She coughed again and then with the last of her energy she whispered two words, "the wine."

Everything was still and quiet. Becca's body had gone limp in my arms, her eyes closed and her last breath gone. I could feel the sticky blood that clung to my arms and legs, hear the people around me sobbing at the loss of their friend. I was particularly aware of the hysteria of Becca's roommate. Even though I was aware of everything, nothing quite made it through the dizzying fog left by Becca's last words. The wine. The wine that was served at all of our banquets and put out so readily for the fledglings and teachers to drink.

I turned around to see my friends all gathered behind me. It had been them who had walked through the door moments before. I glanced at all of them and knew that they had heard. Looks of fear and terror filled their faces as they looked down at Becca and I.

"Tell me none of you drank from the wine," I said ignoring the other fledglings in the room who were now becoming confused by Becca's statement and my obvious worry which was actually suppressed panic!

They all shook their heads and I sighed in relief, until the sound of coughing once again began to fill the room. I looked over to see a six former girl named Mikayla on her knees clutching her chest. Another round of coughing raked her body causing her shoulders to shake as her chest heaved, struggling to receive air.

"What's going on here?" Neferet asked bursting through the door to the common room with Natasha and a few warriors. She stopped glancing at me and the body I was holding and then looked across the room as the sound of rushing blood made its way to us. I looked over and saw that blood was already pouring from her mouth and nose.

Someone Poisoned the wine! I thought as hard as I could, willing Neferet to hear me. Normally my mind was blocked from her, but I was hoping thatwith a little help from Nyx my message would get through. I couldn't tell her out loud without causing an uproar. There was no telling how many fledglings had drank the wine, or how many were fighting off an illness even as we spoke. Neferet's moss green eyes widened and though I was sure no one else could see it, I saw fear sweep through her momentarily.

She turned to the warriors behind us, "Get the stretcher over there and get her to the infirmary. I need two of you to run to the boy's dormitory and make sure all the fledglings there are alright and then send them to the dining hall quickly." She turned back to the room, "All of you are to report to the dining hall immediately." I saw the confused looks pass over each of the girl's face. They were scared and clearly didn't understand why Neferet was sending them away. Death was never made a big deal of at the House of Night. We wouldn't be able to hide this from them for long. "NOW!" Neferet's voice echoed of the stone walls when no one moved. I shivered, my heart rate increasing at the authority in Neferet's voice, a voice that had now gone as cold as ice.

I felt movement below me and took a deep breath as Becca's body was lifted from my arms by two more warriors. I released earth and swallowed down more tears as I watched the students leaving the common room.

"Check the bedrooms for any students," Neferet's voice cut through the air as she motioned to the rest of the warriors. Her voice was charp and I cringed away from it as though it were a sword that could slice through my skin. She turned back to me her moss green eyes boring into mine emotionlessly, "Zoey, I want you and your friends to run to the staff dining room and grab all of the human blood we have and get it to the dining hall."

"Will that help?" I asked slowly standing up. My shirt and pants were covered in warm sticky blood that was cooling and turning a rust color. I was grateful that besides my jeans I was wearing mostly black.

"As long as we get it into them before their bodies begin rejecting the change, yes," Neferet said her eyes hard and cold and I felt myself shudder.

"Neferet?" I questioned feeling alarmed at her lack of response. There should have been sadness or possibly fear like I had seen pass through her moments before, but there was nothing, just a hard shell.

"Do as I ask you, Zoey," Neferet said firmly. Her eyes softened for just a moment allowing me to see that she was still there and I nodded. I motioned to my friends and my grandma to follow me and quickly ran from the room. I could hear Neferet's voice speaking to Natasha as we left, and then there was nothing but cold air and silence that made my skin crawl. Everything felt out of place. There were no sounds of laughter or students talking, no sounds of night owls, or crickets, not even the sound of the wind brushing through the leaves of the trees. Everything was still like it was responding to the unnatural fear that was sweeping over the school.

I shoved open the staff dining room door not even bothering to knock. Most of the teachers were still in the temple or had been sent to the dining hall, either way the dining room was completely empty. I ran to the fridge and began pulling out bags of blood and passing them back.

"Take as many as you can carry," I said over my shoulder.

"Here," Aphrodite said handing me a huge tote bag. I shook my head wondering why anyone would need a bag that huge and began filling it up. I packed them in making sure to fit in as many as possible before passing it back.

"Run this to Neferet," I said handing the bag to Damien and reaching in to grab more. I heard him and Jack leave and sighed, "this isn't going to be enough." Though the teachers kept their kitchen fully stocked there was no way this would be enough to feed all of the fledglings in the school. Besides the big bag Damien and Jack had just taken off with, each of my friends were carrying approximately five bags of blood of their own.

"We have more blood in our dorms," Stevie Rae said in her Okie twang.

"Grab it," I said slamming the fridge. Stevie Rae nodded handing me the blood she had been carrying and then took off through the open door.

The scene before me as we entered the dining hall was completely unreal. There were more fledglings coughing and sputtering as their body's rejected the change. The professors were moving through the students forcing blood into them and trying to keep everyone calm though it was clearly not working. I watched as Warrior's lifted and carried out each of the dying fledglings and I bit my lip forcing myself not to cry though that was exactly what I wanted to do. The three that were now being carried to the infirmary left us with a total of five fledglings who had rejected the change in the last half hour.

"Zoey, bring me that blood," Natasha called to me as she took Jaylynn's face into her hands. I handed her a bag feeling helpless and uncertain as Natasha ripped it open with her teeth. She licked her lips and lifted it to Jaylynn who shook her head, her eyes wide with fear and disgust. I looked around and noticed that many of the younger fledglings were being forced to drink. They were refusing the blood in spite of knowing their lives depended on it.

"They don't have bloodlust," Stark said coming up behind me. "They're too recently Marked," he said shaking his head.

"But they'll die without it," I said softly not wanting to alarm Jaylynn who was still fighting Natahsa.

"Their bodies haven't changed that much yet," Stark said. "The taste to them is appalling, like disgusting medicine you get as a child, only worse."

"Jaylynn!" Natasha said her voice firm and commanding. She reached over gripping Jaylynn tighter and holding the bag to her mouth. "You have to drink this," she said a little more gently. Jaylynn's eyes watered as she slowly relinquished control of her body allowing Natasha to pour the cold liquid in. She made a face as she swallowed and I could tell it was taking everything she had in her not to vomit it back up. "That's it," Natasha encouraged, "Drink all of it."

"No!" I heard another fledgling yell as Lenobia and Anastasia struggled to get them to drink.

"This is a mess," Erin said looking around.

"That's exactly what I was thinking, twin," Shaunee said her eyes darting around the room.

I was about to comment when the floor below me began to tremble. No it wasn't the floor, it was as if the earth was moving, as if some invisible barrier was being shaken. I looked at Marla who had gone ashen white and was staring wide eyed through the dining hall windows.

"What's happeneing?" I asked as something like a loud roar sounded through the air.

"Their getting stronger," she whispered as silver began to fly around her. I looked out the window and couldn't see anything though I could clearly hear them now. Everyone could which just seemed to increase the panic in the room.

"Remain calm!" Natasha said raising her voice over the commotion as another loud roar sounded followed by more shaking and trembling. It sounded like gigantic dinosaurs had escaped from the Lost World of Jurassic Park! The earth shook again and I realized that it was from the creatures moving and walking.

"Marla, can they get to us?" I asked quickly eyeing the room which had gone completely still at Natasha's commanding voice. Everyone seemed to be looking around trying to find the source of the trembling that was shaking the building we were standing in.

Marla shook her head, "they can't get through your line, but if student keep dying..." She let her voice trail off and I swallowed as the sound of more coughing filled the dining hall. Six, that would make six fledglings in one night.

"Take that blood and get it to the teachers," Natasha said sharply. I nodded and began walking through the crowd, my friends doing the same. My stomach was tuning and I felt like I was going to be sick.

Everything seemed to pass in a crazy blur as we moved from professor to professor, fledgling to fledgling. I passed the blood absently just trying to tune out the cries of the students and the trembling of the school while keeping everyone else from panicking. On the surface I was calm and collected everything a High Priestess should be. In reality I had to keep telling myself that everything was going to be alright.

The human blood did seem to be helping, though most of the fledglings were scared and confused, the coughing had stopped. I watched as Neferet moved among the students, touching them gently using her gift to heal and check for signs of illness.

"Again, I say this is a mess!" Erin said handing out her last bag of blood.

"It's fucking shit, that's what it is!" Aphrodite said looking around. The dining hall was quieting down, the panicked cries becoming soft whispers as the professors comforted each of the students. "How were they able to slip anything into the wine without anyone seeing?" She asked. "We had warriors all over the place!"

"Warriors who were looking for parents who were trying to hurt their kids or take them off campus," Damien said. "None of us thought they would try something like this."

"It doesn't make any sense if you ask me," Erin said. "It seems like they would have had a little help."

"And how did they keep the rest of the parents from drinking it?" Shaunee asked.

"That's just what I was thinking twin," Erin said nodding.

The earth trembled again and I sighed looking over at Marla who was standing with my grandma. Silver wisps flew from around her as she stared out the window and into the night.

"I think we need to talk," Neferet said coming up behind me placing a hand on my shoulder. I turned to face her and nodded. Something was going to have to be done. We couldn't just stand by, not anymore. "Meet me in my office in an hour would you?" She asked gently, cupping my face with her hand, her eyes full of concern as she looked me over.

"Yes," I said calmly back.

"Good," she said and then turned to the rest of my friends who were watching her. "We are sending everyone back to their dorm rooms and the school is closing to the general public, including all parents." Neferet sighed, "we don't normally do this, but circumstances seem to be leading to this a lot lately. We are having a Council meeting in half an hour and I expect all of the schools prefects to be there."

My friends all nodded never taking their eyes off her and I exhaled as she walked away joining Natasha who was giving instructions to teachers and students alike.

"Again I say," Erin began.

"A mess," Shaunee finished for her.