Tempted (36 page)

“Seriously. You are, Zoey. You’ve earned it. And you’re connected to Nyx in a way no other fledgling or vampyre has ever been. Keep following the Goddess and make us proud,” she said.

“I’ll try my best.”

“And that is all we ask of you. Blessed be, Zoey Redbird.”

“Blessed be,” I said. Then I followed my gang to gate twenty-six, trying not to think too much about the fact that a High Priestess of Nyx had no business dreaming of her Goddess’s ex-Warrior.

“Grandma, hi! How are you feeling?”

“Oh, Zoeybird! I am better today. I think the storm ending has strengthened me. Ice is beautiful, but only in small doses,” said Grandma.

“Hey, don’t think that means you need to rush back out to the
lavender farm. Please promise me you’ll let Sister Mary Angela take care of you for a while.”

“Oh, do not fear,
u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya.
I find I rather like the company of the good sister. Will you come see me tonight? How are things at the school?”

“Well, Grandma, that’s what I’m calling about. I’m getting ready to get on the school jet and go to Venice. Kalona and Neferet are there, and it looks like they’re messing with the High Council.”

“That is bad,
u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya.
You are not going into that battle alone, are you?”

“No way, Grandma. The whole gang’s with me, plus Heath.”

“Good. Don’t feel ashamed to use his connection to you; it is the natural order of things.”

Tears burned in the back of my throat. Grandma’s constant love, no matter how vampyre-monster–like and weird my life had become, was the foundation of my whole world. “I love you, Grandma,” I choked out.

“And I you,
u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya
. Do not fret about an old woman. Focus on your task at hand. I’ll be here when you have won your battle.”

“You sound so sure I will.”

“I am sure of you,
u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya
, and sure you have your Goddess’s favor.”

“Grandma, I had a really weird dream about Kalona.” I lowered my voice, even though I’d walked away from where the rest of the kids were waiting by the gate for our plane to be ready to board. “I saw that Kalona hasn’t always been evil. He used to be Nyx’s Warrior.”

Grandma was silent for several long moments. Finally she said, “This sounds more like a vision than a dream.”

I could feel the rightness of what she was saying. “A vision! So does that mean it’s true?”

“Not necessarily, though it does give what you saw more importance than a simple dream. Did it seem truthful?”

I chewed my lip, then admitted, “Yes, it felt like what I was seeing was the truth.”

“Remember to temper feelings with common sense. Listen to your heart, mind,
and
soul.”

“I’m trying.”

“Weigh your feelings with logic and reason through them. You are not A-ya. You are Zoey Redbird, and you have free will. If it becomes too overwhelming, look to your friends, especially Heath and Stark. They are connected to
you
, to Zoey, and not the ghost of an ancient Cherokee maiden.”

“You’re right, Grandma. I’ll remember. I’m me, and that’s not going to change.”

“Zo! Plane’s boarding!” Heath called.

“I gotta go, Grandma. I love you!”

“My love goes with you,
u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya.
”

I got on the plane feeling renewed by my grandma’s love. She was right. I needed to balance what I knew about Kalona and what I
thought
I
might
know about him.

My positive attitude was reinforced by the cool jet we were getting to fly in. It was all like first class with huge leather seats that lay all the way back and super-thick window coverings, which I immediately went around and pulled down.

“The sun’s not out there right now, dork,” Aphrodite said.

“I’m just taking care of this right now in case any of you
forget
”—I made air quotes around the word—“to close them later.”

“I’m not going to burn up your Warrior,” Aphrodite said. “Then
my
Warrior would have way too much to do.”

“I will never be too busy for you,” Darius said, taking the seat beside her and lifting the arm that separated them so they could snuggle.

“Barf,” Erin said.

“Moving to the back of the plane so we don’t get Aphrodite sick,” Shaunee said.

“Is there a beverage service on this plane?” Damien asked.

“I hope so. I could use some brown pop,” I said, loving that everyone was sounding as normal as I was suddenly feeling.

“Lenobia said we’d be on our own on this flight, but I would bet
you could forage around after we get airborne and find something to drink,” Darius said.

“I know where they keep the pop,” Stark said. “This is the plane that flew me from Chicago to here. I’ll get you some as soon as we take off.” Then he gestured to the empty seat next to him. “Sit by me?”

“Hey, Zo!” Heath called from farther back in the plane. “I saved you a seat back here.”

I sighed. “You know what, I think I’m going to sit over here by myself and just try to sleep. Jet lag is a killer,” I said, choosing a seat midway between Heath and Stark.

“I’m taking a Xanax. I know how to fly,” Aphrodite said. “I’ll be ready to hit the stores the second we touch down in Venetia.”

“Stores?” Shaunee called.

“Shopping?” Erin said.

“Perhaps we should reconnoiter with Aphrodikey,” Shaunee said.

“Excellent idea, Twin,” Erin agreed.

I smiled to myself as the Twins moved up to seats across from Aphrodite, who sneered at them, but launched quickly into an enthusiastic list of the shopping possibilities in Venice.

“Here.” Stark handed me a blanket and a pillow. “It gets cold in planes sometimes, especially when you’re trying to sleep.”

“Thanks,” I said. I wanted to tell him that I would like to curl up with him, but that I wouldn’t like how that would make Heath feel (who was now in a big debate with Jack over whether Macs or PCs were better).

“Hey, it’s okay. I understand,” Stark said, lowering his voice.

“You’re the best Warrior in the world.”

He smiled that cocky little grin I liked so much and kissed the top of my head. “Go to sleep. I’ll keep a psychic ear on your feelings. If things get weird, I’ll wake you up.”

“I’m counting on that,” I said.

I curled up with the blanket and pillow my Warrior had given me, and fell asleep almost before we were airborne.

If I dreamed I didn’t remember it.

“I still disagree with you,” Lenobia said.

“But it’s my decision to make, right?” Stevie Rae said.

“It is. I just wish you would reconsider. Let me come with you. Or even Dragon—he could accompany you.”

“Dragon is still too messed up from Anastasia’s death, and you’re pretty much in charge here. The way things are going, I don’t think it’s smart for you to leave the school right now,” Stevie Rae said. “Look, I’ll be fine. I know them. They’re not gonna hurt me, and even if they’ve lost every bit of what’s left of their minds and they do try to mess with me, they can’t. I’ll call earth and smack them around or somethin’ like that. Don’t worry. I’ve handled them before. This time I’m hopin’ I can talk them into comin’ back here with me. I think bein’ back at the school would really help ’em.”

Lenobia nodded. “That is logical. Return them to where they last felt normal and perhaps they can find that feeling again.”

“That’s kinda what I thought.” Stevie Rae paused, and then added in a soft, sad voice, “I still argue back and forth with myself sometimes. Sometimes it feels like the darkness is so close to me that I could touch it. And I see it in my group—the ones who also found their humanity. It’s not always easy for them, either.”

“Maybe you’ll always have a choice. Maybe the line between good and evil is less clear for you and your red fledglings.”

“But does that make us bad? Or worthless?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then you can see why I have to go back to the depot and talk to the other kids again. I can’t turn my back on them. Zoey didn’t turn her back on Stark, even though he shot me—which sucked and wasn’t very nice of him, by the way—but it turned out okay in the end.”

“You will make a fine High Priestess, Stevie Rae.”

Stevie Rae’s cheeks went all hot. “I’m not really a High Priestess. I’m just all they have.”

“No, you are a High Priestess. Trust that. Trust yourself.” She smiled at Stevie Rae. “So when will you return to the depot?”

“I think I’ll be sure the red fledglings here are set. You know, get the rooms straight and get stuff for them to wear and all. Plus, they have to be put back into all their classes, which is a real pain in the butt since the classes change every semester. But I’d like to get back there tonight still.”

“Tonight? Are you sure you shouldn’t wait until tomorrow? Shouldn’t you get settled here first?”

“Well, the truth is I don’t really know if we can settle here.”

“Of course you can. The House of Night is your home.”

“It
was
our home. Now we feel better resting in the earth during the day.” Stevie Rae gave her nervous grin. “It makes me sound like I should be in one of those stupid slasher movies, doesn’t it?”

“No, it actually makes sense. You died. When that happens to any of us, all of our bodies return to the earth. Though you were resurrected, you still have a connection with the earth we do not.” Lenobia hesitated. “There is a basement under the main House of Night building,” she said. “It’s used for storage and is not particularly habitable, but with some work . . .”

“Maybe,” Stevie Rae said. “Let me see what happens with the kids at the depot. We really did like it there, and we were fixin’ it up real nice, too.”

“I don’t suppose there is any reason why we couldn’t bus your fledglings back and forth. Human children do it every day.”

Stevie Rae grinned. “The big yellow limo!”

Lenobia laughed. “Either way, we will make it work with your group. You are part of us, and this is your home.”

“Home . . . That sounds nice,” Stevie Rae said. “Okay, well, I better get busy if I’m gonna make it back to the depot before it gets close to dawn.”

“Be sure to give yourself plenty of time. I don’t want you stuck there, and the forecast is for lots of Oklahoma sunshine. Travis Meyers even reported it might get above freezing long enough to get rid of some of this ice.”

“Trav is my favorite weatherman, and don’t worry. I’ll be back before dawn.”

“Excellent, then you’ll have time to tell me how it went.”

“I’ll come straight here.” Stevie Rae started to get up and then changed her mind. She had to ask—Lenobia wouldn’t think it was a totally weird question—and she
had to ask
. “Um, so, the Raven Mockers were pretty bad, huh?”

Lenobia’s serene expression changed to disgust. “I pray to Nyx they were banished from this realm when their father was forced to flee from Tulsa.”

“Have you ever heard of them before? I mean, did you know about them before they all flew out of the ground?”

Lenobia shook her head. “No. I knew nothing of them. I’d never even heard of the Cherokee legend. But I did recognize one thing about them very easily.”

“You did? What?”

“Evil. I have battled evil before, and they were simply another of its dark faces.”

“Do you think they were totally bad? I mean, they were part human.”

“Not part human—part immortal.”

“Yeah, that’s what I meant.”

“And the immortal they are part of is completely evil.”

“But what if Kalona wasn’t always like he is now? He came from somewhere. Maybe he was good there, and if that’s true, then maybe there could be some good found in a Raven Mocker.”

Lenobia studied Stevie Rae silently before replying. Then she spoke quietly, but with conviction. “Priestess, do not let the compassion you feel for the red fledglings color your perception of evil. It
exists here in our world. It also exists in the Otherworld. It is tangible there, just as it is here. There is a great difference between a broken child and a creature fathered by evil and conceived through rape.”

“That’s basically what Sister Mary Angela said, too.”

“The nun is a wise woman.” Lenobia paused and then continued, “Stevie Rae, have you sensed something I should know about?”

“Oh, no!” she said hastily. “I was just thinkin’, that’s all. You know, about good and evil and the choices we make. So I thought that maybe some of the Raven Mockers might be able to choose, too.”

“If they had that ability they made the choice for evil long ago,” Lenobia said.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right. Okay, well, I better get. I’ll come back around and see you before dawn.”

“I’ll look forward to meeting with you. May Nyx be with you, Priestess. And blessed be.”