Burned. Part 18

"How about we agree on a compromise," Len.o.bia said. "Answer questions about Zoey when they're asked, focusing on the truth-that we're all working to get her back from the Otherworld."

"And we issue a general warning through all homeroom cla.s.ses for fledglings to be watchful and vigilant in reporting anything they see or hear that might be unusual," Dragon added.

"That sounds reasonable," Penthasilea said.

"All right, that seems good to me, too," Stevie Rae said. Then she paused before adding, "Uh, I'm just wonderin', but am I supposed to go back to the cla.s.ses I was in before?"

"Yeah, I's wondering that, too," Kramisha said.

"Me, too," Dallas said.

"Fledglings should attend cla.s.ses, taking up where they left off," Len.o.bia said smoothly, smiling at Kramisha and Dallas as if the "left off" part had been unscheduled vacations rather than unwelcome deaths, which somehow made the whole thing sound weirdly normal. Then she turned to Stevie Rae. "Vampyres choose their career paths and the areas they'd like to study-not in cla.s.s with fledglings but with other vampyres who are experts in their field. Do you know what it is you'd like to study?"

Even with everyone gawking at her, Stevie Rae had no hesitation in her answer. "Nyx. I want to study to be a High Priestess. I want to be one because I've earned it, and not just 'cause I'm the only dang red vamp female in the known universe."

"But we have no High Priestess under which you may study-not since Neferet was driven away," Penthasilea said, giving Len.o.bia a pointed look.

"Then I guess I'll study on my own until we get our High Priestess back." She met Penthasilea's eyes, and added, "And I can promise you that High Priestess will not be Neferet." Stevie Rae stood. "Okay, well, I'm gonna go to the abbey like I said before. When I come back, I'll go see the rest of the red fledglings and clue them in that cla.s.ses start tomorrow."

Everyone had started to shuffle out of the room when Dragon pulled her aside. "I want you to promise me that you will be cautious," he said. "You have powers of recovery that border on miraculous, but you are not immortal, Stevie Rae. You must remember that."

"I'll be careful. I promise."

"I'm goin' with her," Kramisha said. "I'll keep an eye to the sky for them nasty bird things. And I got me a girl scream that is deadly. If one shows up, I can make sure the whole world knows he there."

Dragon nodded but didn't look convinced, and Stevie Rae was relieved when Len.o.bia called him over to her and started a conversation with him about making his martial arts cla.s.ses mandatory for all fledglings. She slipped out of the room and was trying to figure out how she could get rid of Kramisha, who was being way too sticky-boogerish, when Dallas caught up with them.

"Can I talk to you for a sec before you leave?"

"I'll be in Zoey's Bug," Kramisha said. "And no, you can't get outta takin' me."

Stevie Rae watched her march down the hall before she reluctantly turned to Dallas.

"Can we go in there?" he asked, pointing to the deserted media center.

"Sure, but I do gotta get goin'."

Without saying anything, Dallas opened the door for her, and they stepped into the cool, dim room that smelled like books and lemon furniture polish.

"You and me, we don't have to be together anymore," Dallas said, all in a rush.

"Huh? Don't have to be together? What do you mean?"

Dallas crossed his arms over his chest and looked super uncomfortable. "I mean we were goin' out. You were my girlfriend. You don't want to be anymore, and I get it. You were right, I couldn't do s.h.i.t to protect you from that bird thing. And I just want you to know I'm not gonna turn into an a.s.shole about you and me. I'll still be here for you when you need me, girl, 'cause you're gonna always be my High Priestess."

"I don't want to break up!" she blurted.

"You don't?"

"No," and she didn't. At that instant, Dallas was all she could see, and his heart and his goodness were so obvious that Stevie Rae felt like losing him would be like getting punched in her gut. "Dallas, I'm so sorry for what I said before. I was hurt and mad, and I didn't mean it. I couldn't even get out of the circle, and I cast the dang thing. There's no way you, or anyone else, not even a Warrior, could've gotten in there to me."

Dallas met her gaze. "That Raven Mocker got in there."

"Well, like you said yourself, he's on the side of Darkness," she said, even though his bringing up Rephaim was like throwing cold water in her face.

"There's a lot on the side of Darkness out there," Dallas said. "And a bunch of it seems to be runnin' into you. So, be careful, will ya, girl?" He reached out and brushed a springy blond curl from her face. "I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you." He let his hand rest on her shoulder. His thumb gently caressed the line of her neck.

"I'll be careful," she said softly.

"You really don't want to break up?"

She shook her head.

"I'm glad, 'cause I don't want to either."

Dallas leaned down as he pulled her into his arms. His lips met Stevie Rae's in a hesitant kiss. She told herself to relax and melted into him. He was a good kisser-he always had been. And she liked that he was taller than her, but not crazy tall. He tasted good, too. He knew that she liked her back rubbed, so as he slipped his arms around her his hands went under her shirt-not to try to maul her b.o.o.bs, like most guys would have. Instead, Dallas started to rub soft, warm circles over her lower back, pressing her closer to him and deepening their kiss.

Stevie Rae kissed him back. It felt good to be with him ... to block out everything ... to forget for even a little while about Rephaim and all that stuff ... especially about the debt she'd willingly paid that made her- Stevie Rae pulled away from Dallas. They were both more than a little breathless.

"I, uh, I do have to go. Remember?" Stevie Rae smiled at him, trying not to sound as awkward as she felt.

"Actually, I'd kinda forgotten," Dallas said, smiling sweetly at her and brushing that stubborn curl out of her eyes again. "But I know you hafta go. Come on. I'll walkya to the Bug."

Feeling part traitor, part liar, and part doomed prisoner, Stevie Rae let him take her hand and lead her to Zoey's car, just like they really, truly could be boyfriend and girlfriend again.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

Stevie Rae "That boy's gone on you," Kramisha said, as Stevie Rae pulled out of the school's parking lot, leaving behind Dallas, who was looking more than kinda pitiful. "You know what you gonna do 'bout that other kid?"

Stevie Rae braked the car in the middle of the blacktop that led to Utica Street. "I'm too stressed-out to deal with guy stuff right now. So if all you wanna do is talk about that, you can stay here."

"Not dealing with guy stuff just causes more stress."

"Bye, Kramisha."

"If you gonna act all crazy, then I won't say nothin' about it. Right now. Anyway, I got other more important stuff that you need to deal with."

Stevie Rae put the Bug into gear and kept driving off campus though she wished Kramisha would press her about the guy stuff so she'd have an excuse to leave her behind, too.

"Remember when you told me to think harder 'bout my poems and such to try to get somethin' that might help Zoey?"

"Of course I remember."

"Well, I did. And I got somethin'." She dug around in her huge bag until she brought out a well-worn notebook with pages that were her signature purple color. "I think everbody, including me until I focused myself, is forgetting 'bout this." She opened the notebook and waved a page with her cursive print at Stevie Rae.

"Kramisha, you know I can't read that while I'm drivin'. Just tell me what you remembered."

"The poem I wrote right before Zoey and the rest of the kids took off for Venice. The one that sounds like it's from Kalona to Zoey. Here, I'll read it to ya: A double-edged sword One side destroys One releases I am your Gordian knot Will you release or destroy me?

Follow truth and you shall: Find me on water Purify me through fire Trapped by earth nevermore Air will whisper to you What spirit already knows: That even shattered anything is possible If you believe Then we shall both be free.

"Ohmygoodness! I had had totally forgotten 'bout that! Okay, okay, read it again, only slower." Stevie Rae listened closely while Kramisha read the poem again. "It has to be from Kalona, doesn't it? That part about being trapped by the earth makes it definitely from him." totally forgotten 'bout that! Okay, okay, read it again, only slower." Stevie Rae listened closely while Kramisha read the poem again. "It has to be from Kalona, doesn't it? That part about being trapped by the earth makes it definitely from him."

"I'm practically sure it's from him to her."

"It must be, even though that's kinda scary, what with the whole double-edged sword beginning, but the end seems like a real good thing."

"It says, 'then we shall both be free,' " Kramisha quoted.

"Sounds to me like Z's gonna get free from the Otherworld."

"And so will Kalona," Kramisha added.

"We'll deal with that when it happens. Gettin' Z free is what's most important. Hang on! I think some of it's already come true! What was the part about water?"

"It says: 'Find me on water.' "

"And she did. San Clemente Island is definitely on water."

"It also says that Zoey has to 'follow truth.' What do you think that means?"

"I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I might have an idea. The last time I talked to Z, I told her to follow her heart, no matter that it might seem to everyone else in the world that she was messin' up royally, just follow what everything inside her said was the right thing to do." Stevie Rae paused, blinking hard against the sudden urge to bawl. "I-I've felt real guilty about sayin' that, though, 'cause of what happened to her right afterward."

"But maybe you was right. Maybe what's happenin' to Z is supposed to happen, 'cause I'm thinkin' to follow your heart and to hold on to what you believe is right, even when everbody else says you're dead-a.s.sed wrong, is a powerful kind of truth."

Stevie Rae felt a flutter of excitement. "And if she keeps doin' that, keeps holdin' to the truth she has in her heart, the end of the poem will will happen, and she'll be free." happen, and she'll be free."

"It feels right to me, Stevie Rae. Real right, like down deep in my bones."

"Me, too," Stevie Rae said, grinning at Kramisha.

"Okay, but Z needs to know all this. The poem is like a map to the end. The first step, findin' him on water, already happened. Next she has to-"

"Purify him through fire," Stevie Rae broke in, remembering the line. "And then doesn't it say something 'bout earth and air?"

"Yeah, and spirit. It's all five of the elements."

"All of Z's affinities, ending in spirit, which is her most powerful affinity."

"And the one in charge of the realm she's in right now," Kramisha said. "Okay, I ain't gonna say this just 'cause I wrote me a kick-a.s.s poem, so you gotta seriously listen up: Zoey has to know this stuff. It's gonna make the difference between her comin' back and her being killed dead by whatever's goin' on over there."

"Oh, I believe you."

"Then how you gonna do it?"

"Me? I'm not. I can't. I'm into earth. No way can my spirit take off and get to the Otherworld." Stevie Rae shivered. Just the thought gave her the heebie-jeebies. "But Stark's gonna get his b.u.t.t there. He has to-that disgusting cow said so."

"Bull," Kramisha said.

"Whatever."

"You want me to call Stark and read the poem to him? You got his number?"

Stevie Rae thought about it. "No. Aphrodite says Stark's head is seriously messed up right now. He might ignore your poem, thinkin' he has other, more important stuff to deal with."

"Well, he'd be wrong."

"Yeah, I agree. So, what we need to do is get the poem to Aphrodite. She's hateful and all, but she'll understand how important it is."

"And 'cause she's so hateful, there's no way she'll let Stark ignore her or the poem."

"Exactly. Text it to her right now and tell her I said to make Stark memorize it for Zoey. And to remember it's a prophecy, not just a poem."

"You know, I seriously question her amount of good sense 'cause she don't like poetry."

"Girl, you are preaching to the dang full-gospel Pentecostal choir," said Stevie Rae.

"Um-hum, that's all I have to say." And while Stevie Rae pulled into the newly plowed parking lot of the Benedictine Abbey, Kramisha bent her head over her phone and got busy texting.

Stevie Rae Right away, Stevie Rae could tell that Grandma Redbird was getting better. The terrible bruises on her face had faded, and instead of being in bed, she was sitting in a rocking chair by the fireplace in the abbey's main lounge, so into the book she was reading that she didn't even notice Stevie Rae at first.

"Blue-Eyed Devil?" Even though she was there to tell Z's grandma awful news, Stevie Rae couldn't help smiling as she read the t.i.tle. "Grandma, that sounds like a romance book to me." Even though she was there to tell Z's grandma awful news, Stevie Rae couldn't help smiling as she read the t.i.tle. "Grandma, that sounds like a romance book to me."

Grandma Redbird's hand went to her throat. "Stevie Rae! Child, you startled me. And it is a romance-an excellent one at that. Hardy Cates is a magnificent hero."

"Magnificent?"

Grandma lifted her sliver brows at Stevie Rae. "I'm old, child. Not dead. I can still appreciate a magnificent man." She motioned to one of the padded wooden chairs not far away. "Pull that up, honey, and let's have a chat. I'm a.s.suming you have news of Zoey all the way from Venice. Just think of it-Venice, Italy! I would love to visit ..." The old woman's voice trailed off as she looked more closely at Stevie Rae. "I knew it. I knew something was wrong, but my mind has been so muddled since the accident." Sylvia Redbird went very, very still. Then, in a voice that that was rough with fear, she said, "Tell me quickly."

With a sad sigh, Stevie Rae sat in the chair she'd pulled beside the rocker and took Grandma's hand. "She's not dead, but it's not good."

"All of it. I want all of it. Don't stop, and don't leave anything out."

Grandma Redbird held on to Stevie Rae's hand as if it were a life-line as Zoey's best friend told her everything-from Heath's death to the bulls to the present and Kramisha's prophetic poem, leaving out only one thing: Rephaim. When she was finished, Grandma's face had gone as pale as it had been right after her accident, when she'd been in a coma and near death.

"Shattered. My granddaughter's soul is shattered," she said slowly, as if the words carried thick layers of grief all their own.

"Stark's gonna get to her, Grandma." Stevie Rae met the old woman's gaze steadily. "And then he's gonna protect her so that she can pull herself together."

"Cedar," Grandma said, nodding like she'd just answered a question, and Stevie Rae should be agreeing with her.

"Cedar?" Stevie Rae asked, hoping the news about Zoey hadn't made Grandma lose her mind. Literally.