Destined (9 page)

“Does that really matter?” Shaylin asked.

“Yes,” he said, trying to keep a handle on his temper, even though she was annoying the living crap out of him. “What does the pea color mean?”

“Fine. It means you’ve never had to work very hard at getting what you want.”

He scowled at her.

She shrugged. “You’re the one who asked.”

“You don’t know shit about me.”

Shaylin suddenly looked pissed. “Oh, please! I don’t know why, but I do know I know what I’m seeing.”

“Hey, it’s not like I have to be dripping in mushy peas for you to figure out this smile has taken me places,” Erik said sarcastically.

“Yeah, well, explain to me why I also know the gray, foggy-looking stuff means something has made you sad.” She put her hands on her hips, squinted her eyes, stared at him. Hard. Then she nodded, like she was agreeing with herself. Looking smug she added, “I think someone close to you just died.”

Erik felt like she’d smacked him in the face. He couldn’t say anything. He just looked away from her and tried to think through a wave of sadness.

“Hey, I’m sorry.”

He looked down to see that she’d hurried up to him and put her hand back on his arm. She didn’t look smug anymore.

“That was really wrong of me,” she said.

“No,” he said. “You weren’t wrong. A friend of mine did just die.”

She shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I was wrong to have said it like that—all mean-girl. That’s not who I am. That’s not how I am. So, I’m sorry.”

Erik sighed. “I’m sorry, too. None of this happened like it was supposed to.”

Shaylin touched her forehead gingerly. “You’ve never Marked someone with red?”

“I’ve never Marked anyone beside you,” he admitted.

“Oh, wow. I’m your first?”

“Yeah, and I messed it up.”

She smiled. “If me being able to see is a mess-up, I’m all for it.”

“Well, I’m glad you can see, but I still need to figure out how that happened.” He gestured at her red Mark. “And this.” Erik waved his hand around him. “The pea stuff.”

“The pea stuff came from you, but there’s other colors there, too. Like when you said sorry I could see—”

“No!” he held up a hand, cutting her off. “I don’t think I want to know what else you can see.”

“Sorry,” she said softly, looking down and scuffing the toe of one shoe through the winter-brown grass. “I guess it is really weird. So, what happens next?”

Erik sighed again. “Don’t be sorry, and there’s nothing wrong with weird. I’m sure Nyx has a reason for giving you this gift, and this red Mark.”

“Nyx?”

“Nyx is our Goddess. The Goddess of Night. She’s awesome, and sometimes she gives her fledglings cool gifts.” As he spoke Erik felt like a total ass. He had to be the crappiest Tracker in House of Night history. He’d turned a blind kid into a red fledgling who could see inside stuff, and he was just now telling her about their Goddess. “Come on.” He didn’t care if Charon would approve or not—he wasn’t following the damn script anyway. He might as well go for broke and screw everything up. “Show me where you used to live. Pack a bag or whatever. You’re going to come with me.”

“Oh, yeah. To the House of Night in Tulsa, right?”

“Actually, no. First I’m going to take you to a red fledgling High Priestess. Maybe she can figure out what I did wrong.”

“Hey, she’s not gonna try to ‘fix’ me by making me blind again, is she?”

“Shaylin, as much as I hate to admit it, I don’t think it’s you who needs to be fixed. It’s me.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Zoey

“Zoey, did you hear me?”

I realized that while I’d been maniacally brushing Persephone, Lenobia had come into the stall and had been talking at me. Well, I mean I realized she’d been saying words. Out loud. To me. But I hadn’t really heard them. I sighed and turned to face the Horse Mistress, leaning against the mare’s warm, sturdy side and trying to draw calmness and energy from her familiar presence. “Sorry, no. I wasn’t paying attention. I’m super distracted. What were you saying?”

“I was asking what you know about this Aurox boy.”

“Nothing except that I can promise you he’s not just a boy,” I said.

“Yes, word’s already spread around campus that he’s a shape-shifter.”

I felt my eyes get really big. “Seriously? There are such things? Like Sam and his crazy white trash mom and brother?”

“Sam?”

“True Blood,”
I explained. “They’re shape-shifters. They can change into anything they’ve seen. I think. Although I don’t think they can change into inanimate stuff. Jeesh, I need to read those books to get the real deal. Anyway, again,
there are such things
?”

“A, I don’t watch TV. I never got into the habit. I’ll have to read the
True Blood
books, too.”

“Actually, they’re the Sookie Stackhouse books by a cool human author named Charlaine Harris.” I registered Lenobia’s look and hastily added, “Sorry, sorry, that’s really not your point. What’s your B?”

“My B is back to your original question, there are a lot of
things
out there—in this world as well as the Otherworld.”

I swallowed hard. “I know that. Especially the Otherworld part.”

“That said, many cultures have evidence of shape-shifters in their legends and mythology. It only stands to reason that at least some of those stories are based on truth.”

“I can’t figure out whether that’s good or bad,” I said.

“I think the best we can hope for is that it’s like the rest of us—good or bad based on the individual. Which leads me to my next question. Along with campus gossip about Aurox and his ability to at least appear to be able to change form, word has it that you had a pretty strong reaction to him. Is that true?”

I felt my cheeks getting hot. “Sadly, yes. I made a fool out of myself in front of most of the school. Again.”

“Why? When you know better then anyone how dangerously manipulative Neferet can be, why would you confront her publicly like that?”

“Because I’m a moron,” I said miserably.

“No.” She smiled kindly. “You’re definitely not a moron, which is why I wanted to talk with you about this—alone. I think you should play down your reaction to Aurox, maybe even to your closest friends. Keep what you’re feeling to yourself. Put on your poker face.”

“Poker face? Sorry, I only know how to play Candyland.”

“It means to keep your reaction to what you’re seeing and how you feel about it secret from everyone watching you.”

“Why?” She really had my attention now. It wasn’t like Lenobia (or any
sane
vampyre) to ask a fledgling to keep secrets.

Her eyes met mine and I was struck anew by their unusual gray color. It was almost like she’d harnessed storm clouds within them.

“I learned young that evil sometimes likes to be bragged about, even when it would be best if it kept a low profile. It has been my experience that Darkness’s true struggle isn’t against Light and the strength of love and truth and loyalty. I think evil’s greatest threat comes from its own pride and arrogance and greed. I’ve yet to see a bully who doesn’t gloat, or a thief who doesn’t brag. That’s why they get caught. Darkness could get a lot more of its destructive work accomplished if it was more, shall we say,
circumspect.
”

“But it’s in Darkness’s nature to brag and gloat, so Darkness understands it when someone calls attention to its actions and stuff,” I said, finally getting her point. “Which means when someone who is trying to fight for good stays quiet, and watches and waits for the right time to act, evil is thrown a curve ball.”

“And caught unaware by the strength that comes from honesty and serenity and quiet determination,” Lenobia said.

I drew a deep breath, looked around to make sure no one was lurking outside Persephone’s stall, and then spoke softly to Lenobia. “From the second I saw Aurox my seer stone got hot. The only two other times that’s happened has been when old magick has been present.” I hesitated, then admitted, “Last night I looked through the seer stone and saw something weird around Stark. It kinda freaked me out.”

“What did Stark say about it?”

“I, uh, haven’t told him.”

“You haven’t? Why not?”

“Well, first because I got distracted by him.” I hurried on, knowing that I was probably blushing. “And since then I don’t know why I haven’t said anything.” I thought about the almost-fight we’d had on the way to school. “No, wait, I do know why. Ever since the whole Otherworld thing things haven’t been the same between Stark and me. Some of that’s good—we’re really close most of the time. But some of it’s weird, too.”

Lenobia nodded. “That’s understandable. An experience the magnitude of what the two of you went through should change the dynamics of a relationship. And glimpsing some old magick attached to Stark could simply be a remnant of his time in the Otherworld.” She smiled. “I imagine if you could look through the seer stone at yourself you might see—”

“Oh, hell no! I don’t want to see anything hanging around me!”

Lenobia’s smile faded. “You sound frightened.”

“I’m freaked, that’s for sure. I think I’ve had enough of old magick and the Otherworld and all that goes with that stuff for a good long while.”

“Ah, I understand. If Aurox carries traces of old magick, that’s why his presence affected you so much.”

“He definitely made me feel funny, even before I saw him change into a bull.”

“Funny? Like you were frightened then, too?”

“Yeah, but I also had a weird surprised feeling, like my intuition was seeing something that my mind couldn’t handle. And then I got super anxious. There’s something wrong about that guy, Lenobia, and that something is real, real old.”

“But do you see that he looks like a handsome teenager to the rest of the world?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Then I snorted. “I’d like to take him to Skye and find out what
that
part of the ‘rest of the world’ sees when they look at him.”

“Your seer stone came from Skye?”

“Yeah, the Queen gave it to me. She said if old magick is around when I look through it, I can see it.” I thought about Stark and shadows and creepiness. “Dealing with what I can see with my own eyes is way more than enough for me. I don’t want to look through the seer stone again.” I shook my head, ashamed of my weakness. “I’m sorry. I’m such a big baby. I shouldn’t be so darn scared. I should have looked through the stupid stone at Aurox.”

“And what would have happened had you seen something terrible? Can everyone who looks through the stone see old magick?”

“No.” I wiped tears from my cheeks. “It’s a gift only certain High Priestesses have.”

“So, if you’d seen something of Darkness through the stone, told everyone, and relied on the stone to show them what you were seeing, you would have had no real proof?”

“Yeah, that’s about it. I was and am screwed.”

“No, you were and are wise to listen to your instincts. Something is very wrong with this pawn of Neferet’s. You knew that from the first instant you saw him, and because you knew it you couldn’t just stand there and shut your mouth and pretend to be a vapid child.”

I made an internal note to look up vapid or ask Damien for a quick definition.

Lenobia wasn’t finished. She continued earnestly, “I want you to spend some time thinking about Aurox. Note how you feel and exactly what you observe the next time you see him—but note those things silently. Keep your poker face on. Don’t let anyone know what’s going on underneath that pretty little teenage façade.”

“You don’t think I should look at him through my seer stone?”

“Not until you’re no longer so frightened of what you might see. When your instincts tell you the time is right, then and only then is when you should look.”

“What about Stark?” I held my breath.

“Stark is pledged to you and our Goddess. I think it’s a good thing that old magick clings to him. Stop worrying about your Warrior—he can sense it and that won’t help him.”

“Yeah, okay, that makes sense. So, being super relieved that I don’t have to look through the seer stone doesn’t make me a big ol’ baby or a coward?”

She smiled. “No, nor a moron, either. You’re a young fledgling High Priestess, the first one in history, and you’re simply trying to find your path in a very confusing world.”

“You’re really smart,” I said.

Lenobia laughed. “No, I’m really old.”

Then I laughed, too, because even though I was pretty sure she was like a hundred or so, Lenobia looked about thirty years old. “Well, you look twenty-something,” I lied, “which only makes you kinda old, not
really
old.”

“Twenty-something! With an ability to dissemble like that, you’ll do just fine keeping your thoughts about Aurox to yourself,” Lenobia said. Then I swear she giggled, which actually did make her look super young. “Twenty-something! I haven’t been that for more than two hundred years!”

“What’s your secret? Botox and lip injections?” I asked, giggling with her.

“B negative and sunscreen,” she replied.

“Hey you two, sorry to interrupt.” Stevie Rae’s curly blond head popped into view as she peeked into the stall.

“You aren’t interrupting, Stevie Rae,” Lenobia said, still smiling. “Come, join us. We were just talking about aging gracefully.”

“My mama always said eight hours of sleep, drinking lots of water, and not havin’ any kids was a better anti-aging recipe than anything a doctor or L’Oréal could ever cook up.” She grinned at Lenobia and then gave Persephone a worried glance. “And thanks for askin’ me to come in, but I’ll stay out here. I don’t like horses much. No offense; they’re real big.”

“No offense taken,” Lenobia said. “Do the Warriors need something?”

“Uh-uh. The arena is great for classes. They’re havin’ a bunch of guy fun, which means they’re hittin’ each other with wooden swords and shootin’ arrows at things while they yell a lot.” The three of us rolled our eyes. “But your cowboy is here, so I came to get ya.”

“
My
cowboy?” Lenobia looked totally confused. “I don’t have a cowboy.”

“Well, he has to be yours ’cause he just showed up outside the corral entrance with a giant horse trailer sayin’ he’s reportin’ for work and askin’ where he can unload his stuff,” Stevie Rae said.