A distraction from what? Stevie Rae asked just before she hit the answer button and spoke quickly into the phone, saying, Z, hang on. I gotta tell you something important but I need a sec.
Zoeys voice came through the line sounding like she was talking from the bottom of a well. No problem, but call me back, kay? Im seriously roaming.
Will do in two shakes of a dead cats tail, Stevie Rae said.
Do you know how gross that sounds?
Stevie Rae smiled into the phone. Yep and bye.
You mean yuck and bye. Talk to you in a sec.
The line disconnected and Stevie Rae looked up at Rephaim. So explain about Neferet.
My father wishes to discover a way to sever the bonds that tie him to Neferet. To do so, hell need her to be distracted. Her obsession with Zoey is an excellent distraction, as is her desire to use the rogue red fledglings in her war with humans.
Stevie Raes brows went up. There isnt any war going on between vampyres and humans.
If Neferets will is done, there will be.
Okay, well, well have to be sure that doesnt happen. Looks like Z really does need to get home.
They want to use you, too, Rephaim blurted.
Huh? Whos they? Me? For what?
Rephaim looked away from her and spoke very quickly. Neferet and Father. They dont believe youve firmly chosen the way of the Goddess. They think you could be persuaded to move to the side of Darkness.
Rephaim, there is not even one tiny small chance of that. Im not perfect. I have my issues. But I chose Nyx and Light when I regained my humanity. Im never gonna change that choice.
I have never doubted that, Stevie Rae, but they do not know you as I do.
And Neferet and Kalona can never find out about us, either, can they?
It would be very bad if they did.
Very bad for you or for me?
For both of us.
Stevie Rae sighed. Okay, so Ill be careful. She touched his arm. You be careful, too.
He nodded. You should start back. Call Zoey as you drive. Dawn is too close.
Yeah, yeah, I know, she said, but neither of them moved.
And I must get back, he said, as if trying to convince himself.
Wait, you arent staying here anymore?
No. The ice storm has passed and there are too many humans about the grounds now.
Well, where are you?
Stevie Rae, I cannot tell you that!
Because youre with your daddy, right? When he didnt speak she continued. Hey, its not like I didnt already know it was totally b.s. when Neferet announced the whole hundred-lashes-and-banish-Kalona-for-a-century punishment.
She did have him lashed. The threads of Darkness cut him one hundred times.
Stevie Rae shivered, remembered how awful just the touch of one of those threads had been. Well, I wouldnt wish that on anyone. She met Rephaims eyes. But the part about him being banished from Neferets side for a century is b.s., right?
Rephaim gave a quick, almost imperceptible nod.
And you wont tell me where youre stayin because thats where your Kalonas stayin, too?
He gave another slight nod.
She sighed again. So if I need to see you I gotta go lurk around some scary old building somewhere or somethin?
No! You stay safe and in public places. Stevie Rae, if you need me come here and call me as you did tonight. Promise me that you wont go out trying to find me, he said, giving her arm a little shake.
Okay, okay. I promise. But this worried-about-you thing goes both ways. Rephaim, I know hes your daddy, but hes also into some bad stuff. I just dont want him to take you down with him. So be careful, kay?
I will be careful, he said. Stevie Rae, tonight I saw the rogue red fledglings. They are making their nest at Will Rogers High School. Dallas has joined them.
Rephaim, please dont tell Kalona and Neferet.
Why, so you can show them kindness and humanity and they can have another opportunity to kill you? he shouted at her.
No! Just cause I try to be nice doesnt mean Im stupid or weak. Jeeze, what is it with you and Aphrodite? I wouldnt run off to talk to them all alone. Heck, Rephaim, I wouldnt try to reason with them at all. I already proved that wont work. Whatever Id do would be with Lenobia and Dragon and Z, at the very least. Basically, I just dont want them joining Neferet, so I dont want her to know bout them.
It is too late. It was Neferet who put me on their trail tonight. Stevie Rae, Im asking you to stay away from the rogue reds. They mean nothing but doom for you.
Ill be careful. I already told you I would. But Im a High Priestess and the red fledglings are my responsibility.
The ones who have chosen Darkness are not your responsibility. And Dallas is no longer a fledgling. He is not your responsibility.
Stevie Raes smile was crooked. Are you jealous of Dallas?
Do not be ridiculous. I simply dont want to see you hurt again. Stop changing the subject.
Hey, Dallas isnt my boyfriend anymore, she said.
I know that.
Are ya sure?
Yes. Of course. He shook himself and his wings unfurled. Stevie Raes breath caught as she watched him. Call your Zoey as you drive back to the safety of the school. I will see you again soon.
Stay safe, kay?
He turned to her and cupped her face in his hand. Stevie Rae closed her eyes and stood there, taking comfort and strength from his touch. Too soon it was gone. Too soon he was gone. She opened her eyes to watch his majestic wings beat against the night air and lift him higher, higher, until he disappeared into the barely discernable lightening of the eastern sky.
Rephaim had been right. It was too close to dawn for comfort. Stevie Rae hit redial as she hurried through the deserted mansion and back to the Bug.
Hey, Z. Its me. I got some hard stuff to tell you, so brace yourself
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Zoey
Z? Are you still there? Are you okay? Say somethin.
The worry in Stevie Raes voice made me wipe the snot and tears from my face with the sleeve of my shirt and kinda sorta pull myself together. Im here. N-not okay, though, I said with a little hiccup.
I know, I know. Its terrible.
And theres no chance of a mistake? Jacks really dead? I knew in my heart it was ridiculous to cross my fingers and close my eyes when I asked, but I had to give it one silly little-girl try. Please, please dont let it be true
Hes really dead, Stevie Rae said through her own tears. Theres no mistake, Z.
Its so hard to believe, and its just not fair! It felt good to get mad, better than breaking down in completely useless snot and tears. Jack was the sweetest guy in the world. He didnt deserve what happened to him.
No, Stevie Rae said in a shaky voice. He didnt deserve it. I-I wanna believe Nyx has him and is takin care of him real good. Youve been thereto the Otherworld, I mean. Is it true that its wonderful there?
Her question tugged at my heart. I know weve never talked about it, but didnt you go there, before, you know, when you
No! she said as if she wanted to cut off my words. I dont remember much from that time, but I do know I wasnt anywhere nice. And I didnt see Nyx.
The words came to me as I began to speak and I knew in my soul that Nyx was talking through me. Stevie Rae, when you died Nyx was with you. Youre her daughter. You have to remember that always. I dont know why you and the other kids died and un-died, but I can tell you that I am one hundred percent sure Nyx never abandoned you. You just took a different path than Jack. He is in the Otherworld with the Goddess, and hes happier than hes ever been in his life. Its hard for those of us back here to understand, but I saw it with Heath. For whatever reason, it was Heaths time to die this go-round, and he belonged there, with Nyx. Just like Jack belongs there, too, now. I know in my heart that they are both completely at peace.
Promise?
Absolutely. We have to be strong for each other back here, though, and believe well see them again someday.
If you say it, then Ill believe it, Z, she said, her voice sounding better. You really need to come home. Its not just me who needs to hear your High Priestess everythings-gonna-be-okay speech.
Damiens pretty bad, huh?
Yeah, Im worried bout him, and the Twins, and the rest of the kids. Heck, Z, Im even worried bout Dragon. Its like the whole world is drownin in sadness.
I didnt know what to say. No, thats not true. I did know what I wanted to say: I wanted to shriek, If the whole worlds drowning in sadness why do I want to come back to it? But I knew that was weak and wrong on many different levels. So instead I said, kinda lamely, Well make it through this. We really will.
Yeah, we will! she said firmly. Okay, look, together you and me, we gotta be able to figure out a way to expose Neferets evil to the High Council once and for all.
I still cant believe they bought that load of bullpoopie she shoveled at them, I said.
Me neither. I guess it basically came down to a High Priestesss word against a dead human kid. Heath lost.
Neferet isnt a High Priestess anymore! Jeesh, it pisses me off! And now its not just Heath, but Jack. Shes going to pay for what she did, Stevie Rae. Im gonna make sure she does.
Shes gotta be stopped.
Yeah, she does. I knew we were rightthat we had to fight to get Neferet out of power, but just the thought overwhelmed me. Even I heard the exhaustion in my voice. I was tired all the way down to my soul, truly sick and tired of fighting against Neferets evil. It seemed like for every one step forward I won I was somehow, eventually, no matter what, knocked two steps back.
Hey, youre not in this alone.
Thanks, Stevie Rae. I know Im not. And anyway, this really isnt about me. Its really about doing whats right for Heath and Jack and Anastasia and whoever else Neferet and her evil horde decide to mow down next.
Yeah, you can say that, but evil has taken a pretty dang big toll on you lately.
Thats true, but Im still standing. A bunch of other folks arent. I wiped my face with my sleeve again, wishing I had a Kleenex. Speaking of evil and death and whatnot: have you seen Kalona? No way did Neferet really have him whipped and banished. Hes gotta be all into everything with her. That means if shes in Tulsa, hes in Tulsa.
Well, rumor has it she really did have him whipped, Stevie Rae said.
I snorted. That figures. Hes supposed to be her Consort, so she has him beaten. Wow. I kinda knew he liked pain, but even Im surprised that he agreed to that.
Well, uh, rumor has it he didnt exactly agree to it.
Oh, please. Neferet is scary, but she cant order around an immortal.
Looks like she can order around this one. She has some kinda hold over him because he failed in his, uh, dastardly mission to annihilate you.
I could hear the humor that Stevie Rae was trying to add to her voice and I attempted a little laugh for her benefit, but I think both of us knew the funny didnt begin to overcome the horrible.
Well, ya know, being bossed around by Neferet is something Kalona isnt gonna like, and its about time he got a big old dose of not liking something, I said.
I hear you. I think Kalonas probably here somewhere lurkin around all in her nasty shadow, and by that I mean her crotch, said Stevie Rae.
Eeeew! That did make me laugh, and Stevie Raes giggle joined mine. For a moment we were BFFs again, being cracked up by the proliferation of skank in our world. Sadly, too soon the less amusing parts of our world intruded and our laughter dried up way faster than it used to. I sighed and said, So, during all this rumor listening and stuff you didnt actually happen to see Kalona, did you?
Nope, but Im keepin my eyes open.
Good, cause catching that jerk with Neferet after shes told the High Council shes banished him for a hundred years would definitely be a step toward proving shes not what everyone thinks, I said. Oh, while youre keeping your eyes open, remember to have them pointed up. Wherever Kalona is, those gross birdboys of his will eventually show, too. No way do I think theyve all suddenly disappeared.
Okay. Yeah. Got it.
And didnt Stark tell me that there actually was a Raven Mocker spotted in Tulsa? I paused, trying to remember what he had said.
Yeah, there was one seen once, but not since then.
Stevie Raes voice sounded weird, all tight like she was having trouble talking. Hell, who could blame her? Id basically left her holding the ball there at my House of Night. Just thinking about what shed gone through with Jack and Damien made me feel sick.
Hey, be careful, kay? I couldnt stand it if anything happened to you, I said.
Dont worry. Ill be careful.
Good. So, sunset is in just a little over two hours. As soon as Starks up well get our stuff together and be on the first plane home, I heard myself say, even though it made my stomach feel sick.
Oh, Z! Im so glad! Besides needin you back here, Ive missed you so much.
I smiled into the phone. Ive missed you, too. And itll be good to be home, I lied.
So text me when you know what time yall will get in. If Im not in my coffin Ill be there to meet ya.
Stevie Rae, you do not sleep in a coffin, I said.
I might as well cause Im seriously dead to the world when the suns up.
Yeah, Stark, too.
Hey, how is your boy? Feelin better?
Hes good. I paused and added, Real good, actually.
True to form, Stevie Raes BFF radar heard between the lines. Oh, nuh uh. Yall did not?
What if I said we did? I could feel my cheeks getting warm.
Then Id say a big ol Oklahoma yee haw!
Well yee haw away then.
Details. I want some serious details, she said, and then gave a giant yawn.
Youll get details, I said. Almost dawn there?
A little past, actually. Im fadin fast, Z.
No problem. Get some sleep. Ill see ya soon, Stevie Rae.
Later, gator, she said around another yawn.
I ended the call and went over to stare at Stark where he slept like a dead guy in our canopied bed. That I was totally in love with Stark wasnt in question, but just then I would really, really have liked it if I could shake his shoulder and have him wake up like a normal guy. But I knew it would be useless to even try to get him up early. Today the sun was unusually shiny on SkyeI mean, super bright with not one speck of clouds. No way Stark would be able to communicate decently with me forI glanced at the clocktwo and a half more hours. Well, at least that gave me time to pack and also to find the queen and break the news to herthat I was gonna leave this place that felt so right, so much like a home to me, this place that Sgiach had decided to bring back into the real world again, at least kinda sorta, because of what Id brought back into her life. And now I was going to take off and leave it all behind because
My brain caught up with the babbling chaos of my thoughts and everything clicked into place.
Because this isnt my home, I whispered. Home is Tulsa. Its where I belong. I smiled sadly at my sleeping Guardian. Its where we belong. I felt the rightness of it even as I understood all that was waiting for me thereand all that I was losing leaving here.
Its time I went home, I said firmly.
* * *
Say something. Anything. Please. Id just blurted my guts out to Sgiach and Seoras. Naturally, telling the story of Jacks horrible death had made me bawl and snot. Again. And then Id babbled about having to go home and be a proper High Priestess even though I wasnt one hundred percent sure what that really meant, while both of them watched me silently with expressions that looked wise and unreadable at the same time.
The death of a friend is always difficult to bear. It is doubly difficult if it comes too soontoo young, Sgiach said. I am sorry for your loss.
Thank you, I said. It doesnt seem real yet.
Aye, well, it will, lass, Seoras said gently. You should be rememberin, though, that a queen puts aside grieving fur duty. You cannae have a clear head if tis filled with grief.
I dont think Im old enough for all of this, I said.
No one is, child, Sgiach said. I would have you consider something before you take your leave of us. When you asked if you could remain here on Skye I said that you should stay here until your conscience bade you leave. Is it your conscience talking to you now, telling you the time is right for you to leave, or is it the machination of others that is
Okay, stop, I said. Neferet probably believes shes manipulating me into coming back, but the truth is that I have to go back to Tulsa because its my home. I met Sgiachs eyes as I continued speaking, hoping that she would understand. I love it here. On lots of levels it feels right to be hereso right that itd be easy for me to stay. But, like youve said, the path of the Goddess isnt easydoing right isnt easy. If I stayed here and ignored my home I wouldnt just be ignoring my conscience, Id be turning my back on it.
Sgiach nodded, looking pleased. So your return comes from a place of power, not one of manipulation, though Neferet will not know that. She will believe that it only took one simple death to make you do her bidding.
Jacks death isnt a simple thing, I said angrily.
No, tisnae simple for you, but a creature of Darkness kills quickly, easily, and with nae thought beside her own gain, Seoras said.
And because of that Neferet will not understand that you return to Tulsa because it was your choice to follow the path of Light and Nyx. She will underestimate you because of that, Sgiach said.
Thank you. Ill remember that. I met Sgiachs clear, strong gaze. You and Seoras and any of the rest of the Guardians who want to could come with me, you know. With you guys beside me theres no way Neferet could win.
Sgiachs response was instantaneous. If I left my isle the consequences of that would ripple through the High Council. We have coexisted with them peacefully for centuries because I chose to absent myself from the politics and restrictions of vampyre society. Were I to join the modern world they would not be able to continue to pretend I do not exist.
What if thats a good thing? I mean, it seems to me its time the High Council was shaken up, and vamp society with it. They believe Neferet and let her get away with killing peopleinnocent people. My voice was strong and sharp and for a moment I thought I sounded almost like a real queen.
Tis not our battle, lassie, Seoras said.
Why not? Why isnt fighting against evil your battle, too? I rounded on Sgiachs Guardian.
What makes you think were not fighting evil here? It was Sgiach who answered me. Youve been touched by the old magick since youve been here. Tell me honestly, before then had you ever felt anything like it out there in your world?
No, I hadnt. I shook my head slowly.
Its fighting to keep the old ways alive weve been doing, Seoras said. And that cannae been done in Tulsa.
How can you be so sure? I asked.
Because there is no old magick left there! Sgiach said, almost shouting in frustration. She turned her back and paced over to the huge picture window that looked out on the sun setting into the gray-blue water that surrounded Skye. Her back was stiff with tension, her voice thick with sadness. Out there in that world of yours, the mystical, wonderful magick of old, where the black bull was revered along with the Goddess, where the balance of male and female was respected, and where even the rocks and trees had souls, had names, has been destroyed by civilization and intolerance and forgetfulness. People today, vampyres and humans alike, believe the earth is just a dead thing that they live onthat it is somehow wrong or evil or barbaric to listen to the voices of the souls of the world, and so the heart and the nobility of an entire way of life dried up and withered away
And found sanctuary here, Seoras continued when Sgiachs voice faded. Hed moved to her side. Her back was turned to me, but he faced me. Lightly, Seoras touched her shoulder and then let his fingers trail down her arm to take his queens hand. I could see her body react to his touch. It was like through him shed found her center. Before she turned to me, I saw her squeeze and then release his hand, and when our eyes met again she was, once more, noble and strong and calm.
We are the last bastion of the old ways. It has been my charge for centuries to protect the ancient magicks. The land here is still sacred. By revering the black bull, and respecting his counterpart, the white bull, the old balance is maintained and there is one small place left in this world that remembers.
Remembers?
Aye, remembers a time when honor meant more than self, and loyalty wasnae an option or an afterthought, Seoras said solemnly.
But I see some of that in Tulsa. Theres honor and loyalty there, too, and many of my grandmas people, the Cherokee, still respect the land.
To some extent that might be true, but think of the grovehow you felt within it. Think of how this land speaks to you, Sgiach said. I know you hear it. I see it in you. Have you felt anything truly like that outside my isle?
Yes, I said before actually thinking. The grove in the Otherworld feels a lot like the grove across the street from the castle. Then I realized what I was saying, and Sgiach all of a sudden made sense. Thats it, isnt it? You literally have a piece of Nyxs magick here.
In a way. What I really have is even older than the Goddess. You see, Zoey, Nyx hasnt been lost to the world. Yet. Her masculine balance has, and Im afraid because of that the balance between good and evil, Light and Darkness, has been lost, too.
Aye, we know it has been, Seoras corrected her gently.
Kalona. Hes part of this out-of-balance thing, I said. Its true that he used to be Nyxs Warrior. Somehow that got out of whack, along with a bunch of other stuff when he turned up in our world, cause thats not where he belongs. Knowing it didnt make me feel sorry for him, or bad for him, but it did make me begin to understand the air of desperation Id sensed so many times around him. And it was knowledge. With knowledge came power.
So you see why its important that I not leave my isle, Sgiach said.
I do, I said reluctantly. But I still think you could be wrong about there being no old magick left in the outside world. The black bull did materialize in Tulsa, remember?
Aye, but not until after the white bull appeared first, Seoras said.
Zoey, I would very much like to believe that the outside world hasnt entirely destroyed the magick of old, and because of that theres something I want you to have.
Sgiach reached up and untwined a long length of silver from the mass of twinkling necklaces that dangled from around her neck. She lifted the delicate chain over her head and held it up at my eye level. Hanging from the silver was a perfectly round milk-colored stone that was smooth and soft and reminded me of a coconut-flavor Life Saver. The torches that the Warriors had begun to light flickered against the stones surface, making it glisten, and I recognized the rock.
Its a piece of Skye marble, I said.
It isa special piece of Skye marble called a seer stone. It was found more than five centuries ago by a Warrior on his Shamanic quest as he ran the Cuillin Ridge on this very island, Sgiach said.
A Warrior on a Shamanic quest? That doesnt happen very often, I said.
Sgiach smiled and her gaze went from the piece of dangling marble to Seoras. About once every five hundred years it does.
Aye, thats about right, Seoras said, returning her smile with an intimacy that made me feel like I should look away.
In my opinion, once every five hundred years is more than enough for some poor Warrior dude to do the Shaman thing.
My stomach give a silly little flip-flop of pleasure at the sound of his voice and I looked from the queen and her Guardian to see Stark standing in the shadows behind the arched doorway, rumpled and squinting at what was left of the fading light in the picture window. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and he looked so much like his old self that a pang of homesicknessthe first real one Id felt since Id returned to myselfspeared through me. Im going home. The thought had me smiling as I hurried toward Stark. Sgiach made a gesture with her hand. The heavy drapes were drawn over the last of the sunlight, allowing Stark to step from the shadows and take me into his arms.
Hey, I didnt think youd be up for an hour or so, I said, hugging him tightly.
You were upset, and that woke me up, he whispered into my ear. Plus, I was having some majorly weird dreams.
I pulled back so I could look into his eyes. Jacks dead.
Stark started to shake his head in denial, and then stopped, touched my cheek, and blew out a long breath. Thats what I felt. Your sadness. Z, Im so sorry. What the hell happened?
Officially an accident. Really it was Neferet, but no one can prove it, I said.
When do we leave for Tulsa?
I smiled my thanks at him as Sgiach said, Tonight. We can arrange for you to leave as soon as you have your bags packed and ready.
So, whats with this stone? Stark asked, taking my hand.
Sgiach lifted it again. I was thinking how pretty it looked when it twisted gently on the chain and my gaze was pulled to the perfect circle in the center. The world narrowed and faded away around me as my entire being became focused on the hole in the stone because for an instant I caught a glimpse of the room through the hole.
The room was gone!
Fighting a wave of nauseating vertigo, I stared through the seer stone at what had looked like an undersea world. Figures floated and flitted around, all in hues of turquoise and topaz, crystal and sapphire. I thought I saw wings and fins and long, swirling cascades of drifting hair. Mermaids? Or are they sea monkeys? I have utterly lost my mind, was my last thought before I lost my battle with dizziness and ended up flat on my back on the floor.
Zoey! Look at me! Say something!
Stark, looking completely freaked, was bent over me. Hed grabbed me by the shoulders and was currently shaking the bejeezus outta me.
Hey, stop, I said weakly, trying unsuccessfully to shove him away.
Just let her breathe. Shell be fine in a moment, came Sgiachs uber-calm voice.
She fainted. Thats not normal, Stark said. He was still gripping my shoulders, but he had stopped rattling my brains around.
Im conscious and Im right here, I said. Help me sit up.
Starks frown said hed rather not, but he did as I asked.
Drink this, Sgiach held a goblet of wine under my nose that I could smell was laced heavily with blood. I grabbed it and drank deeply while she said, And it is normal for a High Priestess to faint the first time she uses the power of a seer stone, especially if she is unprepared for it.
Feeling much better after the bloody wine (eesh, but yum), I raised my brows at her and stood up. Couldnt you have prepared me for it?
Aye, but then a seer stone only works for some High Priestesses, and if it hadnae worked for yu, yud have had yer feelins hurt, now wouldnt ya? Seoras said.
I rubbed my backside. I think Id rather have risked the hurt feelings instead of the hurt butt. Okay, what the heck did I see?
What did it look like? Sgiach asked.
A weird undersea fishbowl through that little hole. I pointed in the direction of the stone, but was careful not to look at it.
Sgiach smiled. Yes, and where have you seen beings like that before?
I blinked in understanding, The grove! Theyre water sprites.
Indeed, Sgiach nodded.
So its like a magick finder? Stark asked, giving the stone a sideways glance.
It is, when used by a High Priestess with the right kind of power. Sgiach lifted the chain and placed it around my neck. The seer stone settled between my breasts, feeling warm like it was alive.
This really finds magick? I put my hand reverently over the stone.