Burned. Part 7

"Hang on." Stevie Rae held up her hand to stop the tirade that was obviously getting ready to come at Kramisha. "Did you say Aphrodite Aphrodite and and Prophetess Prophetess together?" together?"

"That is what the High Council has named her," Erik said dryly. "Even though most of us wouldn't call her that."

Stevie Rae lifted her brows at him. "Really? I would. Zoey would. And you have have. Maybe not out loud, but you've followed her visions, more than once. I've been Imprinted with her, not that I liked it or anything, but I can tell you that she's definitely touched by Nyx and knows stuff. Lots of stuff actually." She looked at Proffy Garmy. "Aphrodite can sense things about Kalona's spirit?"

"So the High Council believes."

Stevie Rae breathed a long sigh of relief. "That's the best news I've heard in days." She glanced at the clock, and started counting ahead seven hours for Venice time. It was about 10:30 P.M. P.M. in Tulsa, which meant it was probably still before dawn over there. "I need a phone. I gotta call Aphrodite. Dang it! I left my cell in my room." She started to get up. in Tulsa, which meant it was probably still before dawn over there. "I need a phone. I gotta call Aphrodite. Dang it! I left my cell in my room." She started to get up.

"Stevie Rae, what are you doing?" Dragon asked, as they all stared at her.

She hesitated long enough to look back at the room and the tense, glaring vamps. "How about I tell you what I'm not not doin'? I'm doin'? I'm not not gonna sit around and argue about who Kalona is or who Neferet is when Zoey needs help. I'm gonna sit around and argue about who Kalona is or who Neferet is when Zoey needs help. I'm not not gonna give up on Z, and I'm gonna give up on Z, and I'm not not gonna let y'all drag me into some weird teacher bicker war." She met Kramisha's startled gaze. "Do you believe I'm your High Priestess?" gonna let y'all drag me into some weird teacher bicker war." She met Kramisha's startled gaze. "Do you believe I'm your High Priestess?"

"Yep," she said without hesitation.

"Good. Then come with me. You're wastin' your time here. Dallas?"

"Like always, I'm with you, girl," he said.

Stevie Rae looked from vampyre to vampyre. "Y'all need to get your s.h.i.t together. Here's a newsflash from the only High Priestess you have left at this dang school: Zoey isn't dead. And believe me, I know dead. I've been there, done that, and got the frickin' T-shirt." Stevie Rae turned her back on the room and, with her fledglings, got the heck outta there.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

Aphrodite Aphrodite didn't let Darius carry her from the Council Chamber like he wanted to. She couldn't leave Zoey alone in the middle of the s.h.i.t pot Neferet was stirring with no one but a totally messed-up Warrior and a semi-hysterical nerd herd standing between her and some serious crazy.

"Yes, I believe it is important to keep Erebus's body under close watch while his spirit is absent. Perhaps this is only a temporary state he has fallen into as a response to Zoey's attack on him," Neferet was saying to the High Council.

"Zoey's attack on him him? Did you really just say that?" Stark, puffy-eyed and hollow-cheeked, looked like he was on the verge of exploding.

"Go to Stark and try to help him get a handle on his temper," Aphrodite whispered to her Warrior. When he hesitated, she added, "I'm fine. I'm just going to sit here and listen and learn-kinda like I'm at one of my mom's c.o.c.ktail parties gone bad."

Darius nodded. He moved quickly to Stark's side and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. Aphrodite thought it was a good sign that Stark didn't shrug him off, but then again, the arrow kid looked like total c.r.a.p. She wondered about what happened to a Warrior if his Priestess died, and then shivered with a terrible premonition of what could come.

"Zoey did attack Erebus. His spiritless body is undeniable proof of that," Neferet said, smugness coloring her voice.

"Zoey was attempting to stop the immortal from killing her consort," Darius said before Stark could shout his retort.

"Ah, and that is the issue, isn't it?" Neferet smiled silkily at Darius, making Aphrodite want to claw out her eyes. "Why did my consort feel the need to cause harm to Zoey's Heath? The only real knowledge we have about it is from Erebus himself before his spirit was wrenched from his body. His last words were 'I was protecting my G.o.ddess.' So what transpired between Zoey and Heath and Erebus is much more complicated than it might appear to a young, distraught witness." did my consort feel the need to cause harm to Zoey's Heath? The only real knowledge we have about it is from Erebus himself before his spirit was wrenched from his body. His last words were 'I was protecting my G.o.ddess.' So what transpired between Zoey and Heath and Erebus is much more complicated than it might appear to a young, distraught witness."

"This wasn't some fight for Nyx! Kalona killed Heath! Probably because he was jealous of how much Zoey loved him," Stark said, looking like he wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around Neferet's white throat and squeeze.

"And how did you feel about Zoey's love for Heath? A Warrior bond is an intimate one, is it not? You were there with them when the soul shattering happened. Where is your culpability, Warrior?" Neferet said.

Darius held Stark back from launching himself at Neferet, and Duantia spoke quickly into the rising tension. "Neferet, I think we can all agree that there are many unanswered questions about the tragedy that occurred on our island today. Stark, we also understand the pa.s.sion and rage you feel at the loss of your Priestess. It is a hard blow for a Warrior to-"

Duantia's wisdom was cut off by the sound of Aretha Franklin belting out the chorus from "Respect," which was coming from the little Coach purse Aphrodite had slung over her shoulder.

"Oopsie, um, sorry 'bout that." Aphrodite frantically unzipped her purse and dug for her iPhone. "Thought I had the ringer turned off. I don't know who would be ..." Her voice trailed off when she saw the caller ID was Stevie Rae. She almost pressed the IGNORE IGNORE b.u.t.ton, but a b.u.t.ton, but a feeling feeling hit her-strong and clear. She needed to talk to Stevie Rae. "Uh, sorry again, but I really have to take this." Aphrodite hurried up the stairs and out of the Chamber, feeling way too exposed as everyone glared after her like she'd just slapped a baby or drowned a d.a.m.n puppy. "Stevie Rae," she whispered hastily, "I know you probably just found out about Z, and you're freaked, but this really isn't a good time." hit her-strong and clear. She needed to talk to Stevie Rae. "Uh, sorry again, but I really have to take this." Aphrodite hurried up the stairs and out of the Chamber, feeling way too exposed as everyone glared after her like she'd just slapped a baby or drowned a d.a.m.n puppy. "Stevie Rae," she whispered hastily, "I know you probably just found out about Z, and you're freaked, but this really isn't a good time."

"Can you sense spirits and stuff from the Otherworld?" Stevie Rae asked without so much as a "Hey there, how ya doin'."

Something about the tone of her voice brought Aphrodite up short and kept her from replying with her usual sarcasm. "Yeah, I'm starting to be able to. Apparently, I've been tuned in to the Otherworld since I started having visions-I just didn't realize it until today."

"Where's Kalona's body?"

Aphrodite ducked around the corner of the foyer. No one was around her, but she still kept her voice low. "Down there in front of the High Council in their Chamber."

"Is Neferet there, too?"

"Of course."

"Zoey?"

"She's there, too. Well, her body is. Z herself has totally checked out. Stark's absolutely freaked by what's happened, plus Neferet is p.i.s.sing him off so bad he can hardly think. Darius is saving his a.s.s by not letting him tear her apart with his bare hands. The nerd herd is hysterical."

"But you kept your sense."

Stevie Rae didn't say it like a question, but Aphrodite answered her anyway. "Someone had to."

"Good. Okay, I think I have somethin' figured out about Kalona. If I'm right, Neferet is up to her elbows in evil, so much so that she's got his body trapped, and his spirit has to obey her to get it back."

"Like that would surprise any of us?"

"I'll bet it would surprise most of the High Council. Neferet has a way of gettin' people on her side."

Aphrodite snorted. "As far as I can tell, most of them are clueless about her."

"That's what I thought. So moving against her out in the open there is going to be even harder than moving against her when she was here."

"That about sums it up. So, what's the deal with Kalona?"

"You need to check out his body using your super Spidey Other-world senses."

"You're such a dork. There is no such thing as Spider-Man. He is a made-up comic-book-bulls.h.i.t character," Aphrodite said.

"They're called graphic novels, not comic books-don't be so dang judgmental. I do not have time to argue with you about the benefits of graphic novels on people's imaginations," Stevie Rae said.

"Oh, please, if its a.s.s is feathered and waterproof, it's a duck. h.e.l.lo, pictures with little word balloons makes it a comic book. They're dorky dorky comic books for comic books for nerdy nerdy antisocial, nonbathing people. End of discussion." antisocial, nonbathing people. End of discussion."

"Aphrodite! Focus! Just go back in the Chamber and check out Kalona's body with your Otherworld-spirit-sensing stuff. Look for any kind of weirdness that no one else can see. Like, I dunno-"

"A disgusting, sticky spiderweb of darkness wrapped all around him like freaky chains?" Aphrodite offered.

"Don't mess with me about this. It's too important." Stevie Rae's voice had gone completely serious.

"I'm not messing with you. I'm telling you what I've already seen. His body is completely covered by dark threads of yucky stuff that, apparently, no one else but moi moi can see." can see."

"It's Neferet!" Stevie Rae's voice was tense with emotion. "She's tapped into something called Darkness-that's evil with a capital D. It's how she's using the power of the Tsi Sgili. She managed to trap Kalona with it right after Zoey wounded his soul-it's the only time his body is weak enough to be vulnerable."

"How do you know that?"

"It's how the Cherokee imprisoned him last time." Stevie Rae avoided the question by using the only part of the truth she could ever tell anyone. "A-ya messed up his spirit with emotions he wasn't used to feeling, and the old women used his weakness to trap him."

"That does make sense. So now Neferet's got him all tied up and soulless. Why? She's his super nasty lover. Why wouldn't she want him here with her? The two of them could have taken off together and not been caught for killing Heath."

"Yeah, except for two things: she would have looked guilty, so the High Council would have been forced to act against her, and she wouldn't have been one hundred percent sure Zoey is going to die."

"What the h.e.l.l? The Council says she has a week, but then Z will be dead."

"Not true. If her soul returns to her body, Z won't die. Neferet knows that, so she-"

"She trapped Kalona's body and told him to follow Z to the Other-world and make sure she doesn't get back to her body," Aphrodite finished for her. "That f.u.c.king figures! But it doesn't feel right. Kalona's totally obsessed with Z. I don't think he wants her to die."

"Yeah, but what if the only way to get his body back is to kill Zoey?"

Aphrodite's voice hardened. "Then he'll kill her. Stevie Rae, what the h.e.l.l are we going to do?"

"We have to figure out a way to protect Z and help her get back to her body, and no, I don't know how we're gonna do that." She hesitated and, crossing her fingers behind her back against the semi-lie, added, "Today the earth helped me find out some pretty weird stuff about Kalona. Seems he used to be Nyx's Warrior. So, he used to be one of the good guys. Then something happened in the Otherworld, and the G.o.ddess banished him, and that's when he fell to earth."

"Which means he knows the Otherworld a h.e.l.l of a lot better than any of us," Aphrodite said glumly.

"Yeah. Dang it! What we need is a Warrior for Zoey in the Other-world who can stand up against Kalona and get Z back to her body."

Aphrodite felt a little zap of understanding at Stevie Rae's words. "But she already has a Warrior."

"Stark's in this this world. Not the Otherworld." world. Not the Otherworld."

"But a Warrior and his Priestess are connected by a bond that is all about spirit and oaths and dedication. I know! I have it with Darius." Aphrodite's voice was getting more and more excited as she reasoned it through. "And you can't tell me that my Warrior wouldn't follow me straight into the mouth of h.e.l.l to protect me. All we need to do is to get Stark's soul to the Otherworld so he can protect Z there, just like he does here." And it might save him, too, And it might save him, too, she added silently to herself. she added silently to herself.

"I don't know, Aphrodite. Stark has to be pretty messed-up after losing Zoey and all."

"That's the point. He has to save himself by saving her."

"But that doesn't work. I've been remembering somethin' from The Fledgling Handbook 101 The Fledgling Handbook 101. There was that whole big story in there about a High Priestess and and her Warrior who died when her soul was shattered and he went after her into the Otherworld." her Warrior who died when her soul was shattered and he went after her into the Otherworld."

"Please, dork. It's in the 101 handbook because it's meant to scare the c.r.a.p out of r.e.t.a.r.ded third formers, like you, so that hot young fledglings stay away from s.e.xy Sons of Erebus Warriors. The stupid thing was probably written by some dried-up old hag of a High Priestess who hadn't had s.e.x in, like, a hundred years. Literally. Stark needs to follow Zoey to the Otherworld, kick Kalona's spirit's a.s.s, and then bring her back here."

"It has to be more complicated than that."

"Probably, but whatever. We'll figure it out."

"How?"

Aphrodite paused, thinking of Thanatos and her wise, dark eyes. "I might know someone who can at least point us in the right direction."

"Don't let Neferet know you're onto her," Stevie Rae cautioned.

"I'm not stupid, stupid," Aphrodite said. "Leave this whole thing in my extremely capable and well-manicured hands. I'll call you later with an update. Bye!" She hit the red END CALL END CALL b.u.t.ton before Stevie Rae could nag her anymore. And, smiling slyly, headed back into the Council Chamber. b.u.t.ton before Stevie Rae could nag her anymore. And, smiling slyly, headed back into the Council Chamber.

CHAPTER NINE.

Stark The longer he stayed in the same room as Neferet, the hotter Stark's anger burned. And that was good. He could think through anger. He couldn't think through the grief. G.o.ddess! The unbearable grief of losing his Priestess ... his Zoey ...

"So we are in agreement then," Neferet said. "I will take my consort's body to Capri. There I can watch over him until the time when-"

It finally registered with Stark what the b.i.t.c.h was saying, and he rounded on her, only stopped short from launching himself at the evil hag by Darius's ironlike grip on his arm.

"You can't let her escape with him!" Stark yelled at Duantia, the Leader of the High Council. "Kalona killed Heath; I saw it. Zoey saw it. That's what made this this happen to her." He gestured at Zoey's soulless body without looking down at her. He couldn't look at her. happen to her." He gestured at Zoey's soulless body without looking down at her. He couldn't look at her.

"Escape?" Neferet scoffed. "I've already agreed to be escorted by a group of Sons of Erebus Warriors, and to make regular reports to the Council regarding Erebus's state of consciousness. After all, my consort isn't a criminal. It isn't against our laws for a Warrior to kill a human if he's in the service of the G.o.ddess."

Stark ignored Neferet and concentrated on Duantia. "Don't let her go. Don't let her take him. He did more than kill a human guy, and they aren't in the service of Nyx."

"Lies propagated by a jealous teenager, who had so little control over herself that her eternal soul has been shattered!" Neferet snapped.

"You f.u.c.king b.i.t.c.h!" Stark lunged for Neferet, who didn't so much as flinch. Instead, she lifted one elegant hand and pointed it, palm outward, at Stark. As he struggled to free himself from Darius's hold, Stark thought he saw black smoke begin materializing around Neferet's fingers.

"Stop it, Stark, you total moron!"

Suddenly, Aphrodite was there right in front of him. Stark knew she was Zoey's friend, but if Darius hadn't had a vise-like hold on him, he wouldn't have hesitated to knock her aside to get to Neferet.

"Stark!" Aphrodite yelled at him. "You're not helping Zoey!" Then the blonde did something that totally shocked him, and by Darius's sharp intake of breath, she shocked her Warrior, too. She took his face between her smooth palms and forced him to stare into her eyes, whispering words that changed his life. "I know how to help Zoey."

"You see how uncontrollable he is! If my consort's body remains here, who knows what this undisciplined child could do to it?" Neferet spewed her poison as Stark kept his eyes locked with Aphrodite's.

"Do you swear?" Stark whispered urgently back to her. "You're not just talking c.r.a.p?"

Aphrodite lifted one blond brow. "If you knew me better, you'd know I never just talk c.r.a.p just talk c.r.a.p, but yes. I swear on my new and annoyingly responsible t.i.tle of Prophetess that I know how to help Zoey, but we need her away from Neferet. Get it?"

Stark nodded once and quit straining against Darius. Aphrodite took her hands from his face. Looking and sounding every bit a Prophetess of Nyx, she whirled around to face Neferet and the High Council.

"Why are you all so willing to believe Zoey is going to die?"

Duantia was first to respond. "Her soul has left her body, and not just on a Spirit Journey to the Otherworld, or in temporary communion with the G.o.ddess. Zoey has been shattered."

One of the Council members who had stayed mostly silent until then spoke up. "You must understand what that means, Prophetess. Zoey's spirit is in the Otherworld in pieces. Past lives have been stripped from her, as have memories and different aspects of her personality. She is becoming one of the Caoinic Shi', a thing not dead and not alive-a being trapped in the realm of spirits, yet without the comfort of her own spirit."