Burned. Part 12

"Dallas, you couldn't have stopped what happened on the roof," she said truthfully. "You know how those kids are."

"I should have been with you; I should be your Warrior."

"I don't need a Warrior!" she yelled, exasperated at his stubbornness and hating the fact that he was so upset.

"Well, you sure as h.e.l.l don't need me anymore." He turned his back on the Bug and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets.

Stevie Rae looked at his hunched shoulders and felt terrible. She'd done this. She'd hurt him because she'd been pushing him and everyone away to keep Rephaim a secret. Guilty as a rabbit in a carrot patch, she got out of the car and touched his shoulder gently. He didn't look at her.

"Hey, that's not true. I do need you."

"Sure. That's why you've been busy shoving me away."

"No, I've just been busy. Sorry if I've come across as mean," she said.

He turned to her. "Not mean. Just not caring anymore."

"I care!" she said quickly, and stepped into his arms, hugging him back as tightly as he was hugging her.

Dallas spoke softly into her ear. "Then let me come with you."

Stevie Rae pulled back so she could look at him, and the "no, you can't" she'd been ready to say died on her lips. It was like she could see his heart through his eyes, and it was clear that she was breaking it-breaking him. What the h.e.l.l was she doing hurting this kid because of Rephaim? She'd saved the Raven Mocker. She wasn't sorry about that. She was sorry that it was affecting the people around her. Well, that's it, then. I'm not hurtin' the folks I care about most. Well, that's it, then. I'm not hurtin' the folks I care about most.

"Okay, yeah, you can come with me," she told him.

His eyes instantly brightened. "You mean it?"

" 'Course I mean it. I do need that earth candle, though. Well, and the sweetgra.s.s, too. And it's still not a stupid errand."

"h.e.l.l, I'll get you a whole bag of candles and all the gra.s.s you want!" Dallas laughed, kissed her, and then, yelling that he'd be right back, sprinted away.

Slowly, Stevie Rae got back into the Bug. She gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead, reciting her mental to-do list aloud like a mantra. "Conjure earth with Dallas. Find out what I can about the cows. Bring Dallas back to the school. Make an excuse. A good good excuse to leave again, only this time alone. Go to the Gilcrease and check on Rephaim. See if he knows anything else that might help Stark and Z. Come back here. Don't hurt your friends by shoving them away. Check on the red fledglings. Clue in Len.o.bia and the rest of 'em 'bout what's going on with Z. Call Aphrodite back. Figure out what the heck to do 'bout the bad fledglings at the depot. And then try, real hard, not to hurl yourself off the top of the nearest tall building ..." Feeling like she was drowning in a big ol' stinkin', stagnant, Okie pond of stress, Stevie Rae lowered her head until her forehead pressed against the steering wheel. excuse to leave again, only this time alone. Go to the Gilcrease and check on Rephaim. See if he knows anything else that might help Stark and Z. Come back here. Don't hurt your friends by shoving them away. Check on the red fledglings. Clue in Len.o.bia and the rest of 'em 'bout what's going on with Z. Call Aphrodite back. Figure out what the heck to do 'bout the bad fledglings at the depot. And then try, real hard, not to hurl yourself off the top of the nearest tall building ..." Feeling like she was drowning in a big ol' stinkin', stagnant, Okie pond of stress, Stevie Rae lowered her head until her forehead pressed against the steering wheel.

How in the world did Z deal with all of this bulls.h.i.t and stress?

She didn't, the thought came unbidden to her mind, the thought came unbidden to her mind, it shattered her. it shattered her.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

Stevie Rae "Wow! It looks like one of those super tornados cut its way through Tulsa," Dallas said. He was gawking as Stevie Rae maneuvered the Bug carefully around yet another pile of fallen tree limbs. The entry road to the park was blocked by a Bradford pear tree that had been split almost perfectly in half, so Stevie Rae ended up stopping beside it.

"At least some of the power is comin' back on." She gestured at the streetlights that ringed the park, illuminating what was a total mess of ice-damaged trees and flattened azalea bushes.

"Not for those folks, though." Dallas jerked his chin at the neat little houses near the park. Here and there a light shone bravely through a window, proving that some people had had the foresight to buy propane generators before the storm hit, but mostly the surrounding area remained dark and cold and silent.

"It sucks for them, but makes my life easier tonight," Stevie Rae said, getting out of the car. Carrying a tall green ritual candle, a braided length of dried sweetgra.s.s, and a box of long matches, Dallas joined her. "Everyone's all hunkered down and won't be paying any attention to what I'm doin'."

"You're definitely right about that, girl." Dallas draped his arm familiarly over Stevie Rae's shoulders.

"Aw, you know I like it when you tell me I'm right." She threaded her arm around his waist, sticking her hand in the back pocket of his jeans like she used to do. He squeezed her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

"Then I'll tell ya you're right more often," he said.

Stevie Rae grinned up at him. "You tryin' to soften me up for somethin'?"

"I dunno. Is it workin'?"

"Maybe."

"Good."

They both laughed. She b.u.mped him with her hip. "Let's go over there to the big oak. That looks like a good place."

"Whatever you say, girl."

They made their way slowly to the center of the park, walking around shattered tree limbs and sloughing through the cold, wet muck that was left from the storm, trying not to slip on the patches of ice that had begun to refreeze in the chill of the night. She'd been right to let Dallas come with her. Maybe part of her confusion about Rephaim had happened because she'd gotten kinda isolated from her friends and was focusing too hard on the weirdness of their Imprint. Heck, the Imprint with Aphrodite had seemed totally bizarre at first, too. Maybe she just needed some time-and s.p.a.ce-to deal with the newness of it.

"Hey, check it out." Dallas pulled her attention back to him. He was pointing at the ground around the old oak. "It's like the tree made a circle for you."

"That's cool!" she said. And it was! The solid tree had weathered the storm well. The only branches it had lost were a smattering of limb tips. They'd fallen onto the gra.s.s, forming a perfect circle completely around the tree.

Dallas hesitated at the edge of the circ.u.mference. "I'm gonna stay out here, okay? So it really can be like this is a circle cast especially for you, and I haven't broken it," he said.

Stevie Rae looked up at him. Dallas was a good guy. He was always saying sweet things like that and letting her know he understood her better than most folks did. "Thank you. That's really nice, Dallas." She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly.

His arms tightened around her, and he held her closer to him. "Anything for my High Priestess."

His breath was warm and sweet against her mouth and, on impulse, Stevie Rae kissed him again, liking that he was making her feel all tingly inside. And liking that his touch was blocking thoughts of Rephaim from her mind. She was more than a little breathless when he reluctantly let her go.

He cleared his throat and gave a little laugh. "Be careful, girl. It's been a long time since you and me been alone."

Feeling kinda giggly and light-headed, she dimpled at him. "Too long."

His smile was s.e.xy and cute. "We'll have to fix that soon, but first you better get to work."

"Oh, yeah," she said. "Work, work, work ..."

Smiling, she took the sweetgra.s.s braid, the green candle, and the matches he'd brought her.

"Hey," Dallas said, handing her the stuff, "I just remembered something about sweetgra.s.s. Aren't you supposed to use somethin' else before you burn it? I was kinda good in Spells and Rituals Cla.s.s, and I swear there was more to it than just lighting the braid and waving it around."

Stevie Rae screwed up her forehead, thinking. "I dunno. Zoey talked about it 'cause it's a Native American thing. I swear she said it draws positive energy."

"Okay, well, I guess Z would know," Dallas said.

Shrugging, Stevie Rae said, "Yeah, plus it is just gra.s.s that smells good. I mean, how bad could it be?"

"Yeah, seriously. Besides, you're Earth Girl. You should be able to control some burnin' gra.s.s."

"Yep," she said. "Okay, well, here goes." Whispering a simple, "Thank you, earth," to her element, she turned her back to Dallas, stepped over the boundary and entered the earth-made circle. Stevie Rae strode confidently to the northernmost point inside the circ.u.mference, which was directly in front of the old tree. She stopped there and closed her eyes. Stevie Rae had learned early that the best way to connect with her element was through her senses. So she breathed in deeply, clearing her mind of all the cluttered thoughts she usually carried around with her and allowing only one thing to leak through: the sense of hearing.

She listened to the earth. Stevie Rae could hear the wind murmuring through the winter leaves, the night birds singing to each other, the sounds and sighings of the park settling down for a long, cold night.

When her sense of sound was full of earth, Stevie Rae drew in another breath and focused on smell. She breathed in the earth, scenting the damp heaviness of ice-encapsulated gra.s.s, the crisp cinnamon of the browned leaves, the uniquely mossy fragrance of the ancient oak.

Her sense of smell filled by earth, Stevie Rae drew another deep breath and imagined the rich, full taste of a garlic bulb and the ripeness of summer tomatoes. She thought about the simple earth magick of pulling at green, tufty tops and discovering below them thick, crisp carrots that had been nurtured within the earth.

Taste overflowing with earth's bounty, she thought about the touch of the softness of summer gra.s.s against her feet-of dandelions tickling her chin as she held one there to see if it'd leave the telltale yellow blush of secret love-of the way the earth lifted to fill all of her senses after a spring rain.

And then, drawing an even deeper breath, Stevie Rae let her spirit embrace the wonderful, amazing, magickal way the gift of her element made her feel. Earth was mother, counselor, sister, and friend. Earth grounded her, and even when everything else in her world was totally screwed up, she could count on her element to calm and protect her.

Smiling, Stevie Rae opened her eyes. She turned to her right. "Air, I ask you to please come to my circle." Even though she didn't have a yellow candle, or anyone to represent air, Stevie Rae knew it was important to acknowledge and pay respect to each of the other four elements. And, if she was really lucky, they might actually show up and strengthen her circle. Facing south, she continued, "Fire, I ask that you please come to my circle." Turning deosil, or clockwise, she called, "Water, I'd like you to please come to my circle. Then, deviating from a traditional casting, Stevie Rae stepped back a few feet to the middle of the gra.s.sy area, and said, "Spirit, this is out of order, but I'd really like it if you joined my circle, too."

Walking forward to the north, Stevie Rae was almost one hundred percent sure she caught sight of a thin silver thread of light spiraling around her. She grinned over her shoulder at Dallas. "Hey, I think it's workin'."

"Of course it's workin', girl. You got some serious High Priestess mojo."

It sounded really good that Dallas kept calling her High Priestess, and Stevie Rae was still smiling when she turned back to the north. Feeling proud and strong, she finally lit the green candle, saying, "Earth, I know I'm doin' things outta order here, but I had to save the best for last. So now I'm askin' you to come to me like you always do, because you and me, we got a connection that's somethin' even more special than fireflies filling Haikey Creek Park during a summer night. Come to me, earth. Please come to me."

Earth burst around her like an exuberant puppy. Moments before the night had been cold and wet and dominated by the crippling ice storm, but now Stevie Rae felt the welcomed warmth and humidity of an Oklahoma summer night as the presence of her element dominated the fully cast circle.

"Thank you!" she said joyfully. "I can't tell you how much it means to me that I can always count on you." Heat radiated up from under her feet, and the ice that encased the gra.s.s within the circle cracked and shattered as the blades sprang free, temporarily released from their winter prison. "Okay." She kept her mind filled with her element and spoke to earth as if it was personified in front of her. "I gotta ask you somethin' important. But first I'm gonna light this, 'cause I think you'll like it a lot." Stevie Rae held the dried sweetgra.s.s in the flame and then set the candle at her feet when the braid took light. She blew softly on it, so that the gra.s.s began to smoke. Stevie Rae turned and, grinning at Dallas, walked around the inside of the circ.u.mference of her circle, wafting the gra.s.s until the entire area was hazy with gray smoke and heady with the scent of summertime on the prairie.

When she returned to the top of the circle, Stevie Rae faced north again, the direction most closely allied with her element, and began to speak. "My friend, Zoey Redbird, said that sweetgra.s.s draws positive energy, and I definitely need some energy tonight, 'specially since it's for Zoey that I'm asking your help. I know you remember her-she has an affinity for you, just like she does for all the elements. She's special, and not just 'cause she's my BFF. Z's special 'cause," Stevie Rae paused, and then the words came to her, "she's special 'cause Zoey has a little bit of everything inside her. I guess it's kinda like she represents all of us. So we need her back. Plus, she's hurtin' where she is, and I think she needs help to find her way out. So her Warrior, a guy named Stark, is gonna go after her. He definitely needs your help. I'm asking that you show me the way for Stark to help Zoey. Please."

Stevie Rae wafted the still-smoking braid around her one more time, and then she waited.

The smoke was sweet and thick. The night was unusually warm because of the presence of her element.

But nothing else was going on.

Sure, she could feel earth there, surrounding her, willing to do her bidding.

But nothing was happening.

At all.

Not sure what else to do, Stevie Rae wafted the sweetgra.s.s braid around her some more and tried again.

"Well, maybe I wasn't specific enough." She thought for a second, trying to remember everything Aphrodite had told her, and added, "With the power of earth, and through the energy of this sacred gra.s.s, I call the white bull from the old days to my circle because I need to know how Stark can get to Zoey so that he can protect her while she finds a way back together and back to this world."

The sweetgra.s.s that had been gently smoking until then turned red-hot. With a cry, Stevie Rae dropped it. Thick, black smoke billowed from the sizzling braid, like it was a snake belching darkness. Pressing her burned hand against her body, Stevie Rae stumbled back.

"Stevie Rae? What's happening?"

She could hear Dallas, but when she looked behind her she couldn't see him anymore. The smoke was just too thick. Stevie Rae turned around, trying to peer through the darkness at him, but she couldn't see one dang thing. She looked where her burning earth candle should be, and it, too, had been covered by the smoke. Disoriented, she yelled, "I don't know what's goin' on. The sweetgra.s.s got weird all of a sudden and-"

The earth beneath her feet, that tangible part of her element that Stevie Rae felt so connected to-so comfortable with-began to shake.

"Stevie Rae, you need to come outta there now. I don't like all this smoke."

"Can you feel that?" she called to Dallas. "Is the ground shakin' out there, too?"

"No, but I can't see you, and I got a bad feeling 'bout this."

Before Stevie Rae saw it, she felt its presence. The feeling it gave her was terrifyingly familiar and in the heartbeat of an instant, Stevie Rae understood why. It reminded her of the moment she'd realized she was dying. The moment she'd begun to cough, grabbed Zoey's hand, and said, I'm scared, Z I'm scared, Z. The echo of that terror paralyzed Stevie Rae, so that when the tip of the first horn took form and glinted at her, white and sharp and dangerous, all she could do was stare and shake her head back and forth, back and forth.

"Stevie Rae! Can you hear me?"

Dallas's voice seemed to be miles away.

The second horn materialized, and, along with it, the bull's head began to form, white and ma.s.sive, with eyes so black they glistened like a bottomless lake at midnight.

Help me! Stevie Rae tried to say, but fear trapped the words in her throat. Stevie Rae tried to say, but fear trapped the words in her throat.

"That's it. I'm comin' in there and getting' you, even if you don't want me to break the circle and-"

Stevie Rae felt the ripple when Dallas reached the boundary of her circle. So did the bull. The creature turned its great head and snorted a gust of fetid air into the inky smoke. The night shivered in response.

"s.h.i.t! Stevie Rae, I can't get inside the circle. Close it and get out of there!"

"I-I c-c-can't," she stammered, her voice a broken whisper.

Fully formed, the bull was a nightmare come alive. Its breath gagged Stevie Rae. Its eyes trapped her. His white coat was luminous in the all-encompa.s.sing darkness, but it wasn't beautiful. Its brilliance was slimy, its glistening surface cold and dead. One of the beast's enormous cloven hoofs lifted and then fell, tearing the earth with such malice that Stevie Rae felt an echo of the pain of the wound within her soul. She ripped her gaze from the bull's eyes to stare down at his hooves. She gasped in horror. The gra.s.s around the beast was broken and blackened. Where he had pawed the earth-Stevie Rae's earth-the ground was torn and bleeding.

"No!" The dam of terror broke enough for her words to finally escape. "Stop! You're hurting us!"

The bull's black eyes bored into hers. The voice that filled her head was deep and powerful and unimaginably malicious. "You had the power to evoke me, vampyre, and that has amused me enough that I choose to answer your question. The Warrior must look to his blood to discover the bridge to enter the Isle of Women, and then he must defeat himself to enter the arena. Only by acknowledging one before the other will he join his Priestess. After he joins her, it is her choice and not his whether she returns." "You had the power to evoke me, vampyre, and that has amused me enough that I choose to answer your question. The Warrior must look to his blood to discover the bridge to enter the Isle of Women, and then he must defeat himself to enter the arena. Only by acknowledging one before the other will he join his Priestess. After he joins her, it is her choice and not his whether she returns."

Stevie Rae swallowed her fear and blurted, "That doesn't make sense."

"Your inability to comprehend has no bearing on me. You summoned. I answered. Now I shall claim my blood price. It has, indeed, been eons since I tasted the sweetness of vampyre blood-especially one filled with so much innocent Light."

Before Stevie Rae could begin to form any kind of response, the beast started to circle her. Tendrils of darkness slithered from the smoke surrounding him and began to snake their way toward her. When they touched her, they were like frozen razor blades slicing, tearing, ripping her flesh.

Without conscious thought, she screamed one word: "Rephaim!"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.