Hunted

by P. C. Cast

Chapter Four

  I had to clamp my jaws shut to keep from gasping along with the Twins.

  "Ohmigod! Imprinted! Really?" Jack blurted.

  Aphrodite shrugged. "Apparently. " I thought she looked way too nonchalant, and she was totally avoiding even glancing in Stevie Rae's direction, but I think almost everyone else in the room was fooled by her "what ever" attitude.

  "Well, spank me and call me your baby!" Shaunee said.

  "Make that a double spanking, Twin," Erin chimed in. And then the two of them burst into semi-hysterical giggles.

  "I think it's interesting. " Damien spoke up so he could be heard over the cackling Twins.

  "Me, too," Jack said. "In a freaky, ohmigod way. "

  "Sounds like Karma has finally caught up with Aphrodite," Venus said with a sneer that made her beauty turn reptilian.

  "Venus, Aphro iv dite just saved my life. Again. And it's really not right that you're being ugly to her," Stevie Rae said.

  Aphrodite finally looked at Stevie Rae. "Do not start doing that. " "Doin' what?" Stevie Rae asked.

  "Standing up for me! We may have somefuckinghow Imprinted, and that's bad enough. But Do. Not. Go. All. BFF. On. Me!" she said slowly and distinctly.

  "Your bein' hateful will not change this," Stevie Rae said.

  "Look, I'm just going to play like this never happened. " A wave of giggles from the Twins had Aphrodite glaring their way. "Dorkamese Twins, I will figure out a way to smother both of you while you sleep if you do not stop laughing at me. "

  Naturally, the Twins erupted into louder guffaws.

  Turning her back on them, Aphrodite faced me. "So, like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted times ten: pain-in-the-ass Venus, this is Zoey, the super fledgling I'm sure you've heard so much about, and Darius, the Son of Erebus warrior who you will not be sneaking around with, and Jack. He won't be sneaking around with you, either, but mostly because he's gay as a French pastry. His other half is Damien, the guy who is staring at me like a fucking science project. You already know that the Twins are the laughing heads over there. "

  I could feel Venus's eyes on me, so I managed to tear my gaze from Aphrodite (Imprinted! To Stevie Rae!) to look at her. Sure enough, she was staring at me with an intense expression that made me instantly defensive. I was still trying to decide whether my negative reaction to Venus was because she was (obviously) a bitch, because she had been skulking around the tunnels with Erik, or because I had a bad feeling about the red fledglings in general when she spoke up.

  "Zoey and I have already met, but it was unofficial. Seems last time I saw her she was trying to kill us. "

  I put a hand on my hip and met her cold, blue-eyed stare. "While we're taking this trip down Memory Lane, you might want to get a clue. I wasn't trying to kill anyone. I was trying to save a human kid you guys were trying to eat. Unlike you, I would have much rather been at IHOP munching on chocolate chip pancakes than football players. "

  "That doesn't make the girl you killed any less dead," Venus said as the red fledglings behind her stirred restlessly.

  "Z? You killed someone?" Jack asked.

  I opened my mouth to answer, but Venus beat me to it. "She did. Elizabeth No Last Name. "

  "I had to," I said simply, speaking to Jack and ignoring Venus and the red fledglings, even though something about them had the little hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. "They weren't letting Heath and me out of here alive. " Then I turned my attention back to Venus. She had an icy beauty. Venus was sleek and sexy in a pair of tight designer jeans and a simple cropped black tank that had a rhinestone skull's head on it. Her hair was long and thick and the kind of blond that looked golden. In other words, she was definitely attractive ?XJenough to hang with Aphrodite, which was saying something, because Aphrodite is totally gorgeous. And, like Aphrodite used to be, Venus was obviously a hateful bitch, and probably had been one before she died and un-died. I narrowed my eyes at her. "Look, I told you guys to back off and let us out of here. You didn't. I did what I had to then to protect someone I cared about--and you all should know I'd do it again. " My eyes shifted from Venus to the fledglings behind her while I stifled the urge to reach for a couple of the elements and have wind and fire put a little added punch to my threat.

  Venus glared back at me.

  "Okay, y'all have got to learn to get along. Are you remembering that the entire outside world might be against us, or at least filled with scary booger monsters?" Stevie Rae sounded tired but herself. She sat up, gingerly straightening her Dixie Chicks T-shirt and slowly leaning back against the pillows Darius had propped behind her. "So, like Tim Gunn on Project Runway would say, let's make it work. "

  "Ooooh, I love that show," Jack gushed.

  I heard a couple of the red fledglings mumble agreement and decided Stevie Rae might have had a point during one of our many trash TV arguments: Reality shows could make the world a better place and bring peace to all mankind.

  "Making it work sounds good to me. " Even though my internal alarm was still warning me that all was not sweetness and light with the red fledglings, I smiled at Stevie Rae, who dimpled back at me. Okay, she obviously believed we could figure out a way to get along. So maybe my alarm system was misfiring simply because Venus was a hateful bitch, and not because she and the rest of them were evil incarnate.

  "Good. So, first, could I please have a refill of that blood and wine? Heavy on the blood part. " She held her empty glass out toward the Twins, who gratefully moved closer to Stevie Rae's bed and farther away from the group of red fledglings. I noticed Damien and Jack, with Duchess by his side, had also managed to make their way over to where I was standing. "Thanks," she said when Erin took her glass. "And there're some scissors in the drawer over there so you don't have to rip it open with your teeth. " She gave me a little eye roll. While Erin and Shaunee were busy getting Stevie Rae more bloody wine, she studied the little group of red fledglings. "Look, we already talked about this. You know y'all are gonna have to make nice with Zoey and the rest of the kids. " She glanced up at Darius and smiled, "Well, kids and vamps, that is. "

  "Hey, excuse me, guys. I need to get through. "

  I'd bristled automatically as Erik pushed through the crowd at the door. If someone (Venus) tried to bite him, someone (me) was gonna kick her ass. Period.

  Ignoring the tension in the room, Darius said, "What does the radio report is happening in the world above?"

  Erik shook his head. "I can't get anything in. I even went up into the basement. Nothing but static. Couldn't get my cell phone to work, either. I did hear a bunch of thunder and could see flashings of massive lightning. It's still raining, even though it's getting colder, which means it'll probably turn to ice. Plus, the wind's kicked up like crazy. I couldn't tell if the weather was natural, or if Kalona and those bird thi said, &~

  "Aphrodite saved her by letting Stevie Rae drink her blood," Shaunee said, and then giggled.

  "Yeah, and now the two of them have Imprinted," Erin finished in a rush, and then joined Shaunee's laughter.

  "Wow, you're kidding. Right?" he said, sounding totally shocked.

  "No, they are not kidding," Venus said smoothly.

  "Huh. Well. That's interesting. " I watched Erik's lips twitch as he stared at Aphrodite. She totally ignored him and kept drinking straight from the wine bottle she clutched in her hand. He stifled a big laugh with a cough, and then his eyes lit on Venus. He nodded, his normal easygoing, popular self. "Hi again, Venus. "

  "Erik," she said, with a feral smile that made me want to squash her like a bug.

  "Aphrodite was right to start introductions," Stevie Rae said, and before Aphrodite could, she hurried on, "And, no, I'm not saying that because we're Imprinted. "

  "I really wish you would all quit talking about it," Aphrodite muttered.

  Stevie Rae continued as if she hadn't heard her. "I think being polite is a real good idea, and intro
ductions are always polite. Y'all already know Venus," she said, and then moved on quickly. "So I'll start with Elliott. " A redheaded kid stepped forward. Okay, dying and un-dying hadn't improved this kid any. He was still pudgy and pale with a frizzy ball of carrot-colored, uncombed hair sticking up in odd places on his head. "I'm Elliott," he said.

  Everyone nodded at him. "Next is Montoya," Stevie Rae said.

  A short, Hispanic guy who looked seriously thuggish with his sagging pants and his multiple piercings nodded his head, sending his thick dark hair waving around his face. "Hi," he said with just a touch of an accent and a surprisingly cute, warm smile. "And that's Shannon Compton. " Stevie Rae ran her first and last name together, so that it sounded like Shannoncompton.

  "Shannoncompton? Hey, didn't you read the spotlight piece in The Vagina Monologues last year at the school performance?" Damien asked.

  Her pretty face brightened. "Yeah, that was me. "

  "I remember because I just love The Vagina Monologues. They're so empowering," Damien said. "And then right after the show you. . . um. . . " His voice trailed off and he fidgeted.

  "I died?" Shannoncompton added helpfully.

  "Yeah, exactly," Damien said.

  "Oh, gosh, that's too bad," Jack said.

  Aphrodite sighed. "She's not dead anymore, morons. "

  "And this is Sophie. " Stevie Rae said quickly, frowning at Aphrodite, who was already sounding tipsy. A tall brunette stepped a little forward and gave us a tentative friendly smile. "Hi," she said.

  We waved and muttered hellos. I was actually feeling better about the red fledglings now that they were becoming inpiduals--and not inpiduals who were trying to chomp on us. Or at least at that moment they weren't.

  "Dallas is next. " Stevie Rae pointed to a kid standing behind Venus. At the sound of his name he kinda slouched around her and mumbled what sounded like a version of hi. He would have been totally unremarkable looking if it hadn't been for the quick intelligence in his eyes and the kinda flirty smile he threw Stevie Rae. Hm, I thought, wonder if something's going on there? "Dallas was born in Houston, which we all think is odd and confusing," Stevie Rae was saying.

  The kid shrugged. "It's a gross story my dad tells about him and my mom making me in Dallas. I never wanted the details. "

  "Ugh, parent sex," Shaunee said.

  "Completely disgusting," Erin agreed.

  I could see a little laugh ripple through the group of red fledglings at the Twins' comments, making the tension that had been hanging between our two groups begin to really loosen up.

  "Next is Anthony, who everyone calls Ant. "

  Ant waved awkwardly at us and said hi. Well, it was obvious why everyone called him Ant. He was one of those little kids. You know, the ones that look, like, ten when they're really fourteen and supposed to have gone through puberty already. Then, as if to provide the biggest contrast possible, Stevie Rae moved on to the next kid. "This is Johnny B. "

  Johnny B was tall and built. He reminded me of Heath with his athletic body and the easy confidence with which he held himself. "Hey," he said, flashing white teeth and obviously checking out the Twins, who raised their brows at him and checked him out right back. "Next is Gerarty. She's the best artist I've ever known. She's started to decorate parts of the tunnels. It's gonna look majorly cool when she gets done. " Stevie Rae beamed at yet another blonde, only Gerarty wasn't all tall and Barbie-like. She was pretty, but her blond hair was more dishwater than platinum, and cut in a seventies shag. She nodded at us and looked uncomfortable.

  "And last but not least is Kramisha. "

  A black girl twitched out of the group. It was a testament to how distracted I'd been with Venus and Aphrodite and Stevie Rae that I hadn't noticed her before then. She had on a form-fitting bright yellow shirt cut low to show the top of her black lace bra and a pair of high-waisted, skintight cropped jeans that were cinched up with a wide leather belt that matched her chunky gold shoes. Her hair was cut geometrically into a short poof on her head, and half of it was dyed bright orange.

  "Let's get it straight right now that I'm not sharin' my bed with no one," Kramisha said, weaving her head around and looking bored and pissed off at the same time.

  &ld UR me ofquo;Kramisha, I told you about a zillion times, don't make an issue outta somethin' that isn't one," Stevie Rae said.

  "I just want to be clear about myself," Kramisha said.

  "Fine. You're clear. " Stevie Rae paused and looked up at me expectantly. "Okay, that's my group. "

  "And these are the extent of the red fledglings?" Darius asked before I could launch into my introductions.

  Stevie Rae chewed the inside of her cheek and didn't meet Darius's eyes. "Yeah, these are all of my red fledglings. "

  Ah oh, that's her I'm-not-telling-the-whole-truth look. I knew it, but when she met my eyes, hers so clearly begged me not to say anything that I decided to keep my mouth shut and get the whole story when we weren't the focus of everybody's attention.

  But me putting off questioning Stevie Rae didn't put off the feeling that had come back, alarm bells ringing inside my head, loud and clear, at her evasion. There was definitely something going on with the red fledglings, and I didn't think that something was going to be good.

  I cleared my throat. "Well, I'm Zoey Redbird. " I tried to sound polite and normal in a situation that didn't feel either.

  "I've told y'all about Zoey. She has an affinity for all five elements, and it's through her powers that I was able to Change and we were all given our humanity back," Stevie Rae said. I noticed she was looking directly at Venus.

  "Well, it wasn't just through me that happened. My friends had a lot to do with it, too. " I nodded at Aphrodite, who was still drinking directly from the bottle of wine. "You guys obviously know Aphrodite. She's a human now, but let's just say she's not normal," I said, completely avoiding the subject of her fresh Imprint with Stevie Rae.

  Aphrodite snorted, but didn't say anything.

  "This is Erin and Shaunee, the Twins. Erin has an affinity for water, Shaunee's affinity is fire. " The Twins nodded and said hi.

  "Damien and Jack are a couple," I said. "Damien's affinity is air. Jack is our audiovisual guy. "

  "Hi," Damien said.

  "Hey there," Jack said. He lifted the bag he was still carrying. "I made sandwiches. Anyone hungry?"

  "Can someone explain why that dog's in here?" Venus said, totally ignoring Jack's friendly overture.

  "She's here 'cause she's mine," Jack said. "She stays with me. " He reached down and petted Duchess's soft ears.

  "Duchess stays with Jack," I said firmly, giving Venus a hard look and thinking that I could happily strangle her with Duchess's leash before I continued with the intros. "And this is Erik Night. "

  "I remember you from drama class," Shannoncompton said, her cheeks turning pink. "You're really famous. "

  "Hi, Shannon. " Erik smiled easily at her. "Nice to see you again. "

  "I remember you, too. You were with Aphrodite," Venus said.

  "Not anymore," Aphrodite said quickly, giving Darius a look.

  "Obviously. You're not a fledgling anymore," Venus said in a silky voice that sounded way too interested. "When did you Change?"

  "Just a few days ago," he said. "I was on my way to the Europe an acting academy when Shekinah asked that I take Professor Nolan's place temporarily at the House of Night. "

  "Wow, I knew that High Priestess looked familiar. That was actually Shekinah!" Shannoncompton said. "I saw her just before she started toward that winged guy and--" She stopped talking and picked at her lip worriedly.

  "And she was killed by Neferet," I bluntly finished for her.

  "Was she? Do you know that for certain?" Darius asked.

  "She's dead and I saw Neferet do it. I think she killed her with her mind," I said.

  "Queen Tsi Sgili," Damien murmured. "It's true then. "
r />   "I need all of this explained to me," Darius said curtly.

  "And this is our Son of Erebus warrior, Darius," I said.

  "He's right," Stevie Rae said. "We need what happened to night explained to us. "

  "Not just to night's happenings," Darius said. His gaze rested on the group of unusual fledglings. "I need information if I am to protect you. I must know everything that has been going on. "

  "Agreed," I said, glad beyond words that we had an experienced Son of Erebus in our group.

  "We could eat and talk," Jack said. When I looked at him, he gave me a big smile. "It always helps to eat with each other. A meal makes things better. "

  "Unless you're the meal," I heard Aphrodite mutter.

  "Jack's right," Stevie Rae said. "Why don't y'all go grab some of the egg crates we have in the kitchen and some bags of chips and whatnot. Let's eat while we talk. "

  "Would the whatnot be more blood?" Venus said.

  "Yes, it would," Stevie Rae said matter-of-factly, clearly not wanting to make a big deal out of the blood issue. "Fine. I'll go get some more," Venus said.

  "Hey, while you're getting blood, grab me another bottle of wine," Aphrodite said.

  "You know I'm not into charity, so you'll be paying me back," Venus said.

  "I remember," Aphrodite said. "And you should remember that I pay my debts. "

  "Yeah, that's how you used to be, but seems you've made a change," she said.

  "No shit? You mean you just now noticed I turned human?"

  "Not what I was talking about. So just replace the wine," she added before leaving the room.

  "Hey, weren't y'all roomies?" Stevie Rae asked Aphrodite.

  Aphrodite ignored Stevie Rae and I had the urge to shake her and yell, Not talking to her or looking at her is not going to break your Imprint with her.

  "Yes, they were," Erik said into the dead air, reminding me that because he and Aphrodite used to be together, he would know her roommate, maybe too well.

  "Yeah, well, things change. " Aphrodite found her voice.

  "People change," I said, pulling my gaze from Erik.

  Aphrodite met my eyes. Her lips curled up in a sad, sarcastic smile. "And that is too damn true," she said.