Hunted hon-5

by P. C. Cast

  “Mary’s Grotto? Sounds like something that should be in the ocean and not in Tulsa. Look, just keep in mind that the place of power by the east wall has been misused about as much as it’s been tapped into for good,” she said. “And what about Stevie Rae and her freaks? Not to mention your boyfriends?”

  “They’ll be there. Or at least I hope they will. The Raven Mockers have been watching around depot.”

  “Well, I can tell you from being around her for those two days that she is majorly resourceful, and some of those resources are not so nice.” She paused and kinda squirmed uncomfortably.

  “What is it?” I prompted.

  “Look, if I tell you, I want you to promise to believe me.”

  “Fine. I promise. Now what is it?”

  “Well, talking about your bumpkin BFF and her bag of tricks kinda reminded me of something. Something I found out after she and I, well, you know.”

  “Imprinted?” I said, trying (unsuccessfully) not to smile.

  “It’s not funny, smart-ass,” she snapped. “It’s annoying. Anyway, remember when you were talking to Stevie Rae about the extent of the tunnels and whatnot?”

  I thought back. “Yeah, I remember.” Then my stomach clenched as I replayed the scene in my mind and I really did remember how Stevie Rae had looked all uncomfortable when I asked her about other red fledglings, and I braced myself to hear what Aphrodite had to say.

  “She lied to you.”

  I had a feeling Aphrodite had been going to say that, but knowing didn’t make hearing it any easier. “Exactly what did she lie about?”

  “So you believe me?”

  I sighed. “Sadly, yes. You’re Imprinted with her. That means you’re close to her in a way no one else is. My Imprint with Heath has taught me that.”

  “Okay, look. I do not want to do the nasty with Stevie Rae.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t mean that, you dork. There are different kinds of Imprints. My bond with Heath is very physical, but I’ve been attracted to him for years. Uh, can I assume I’m right when I say you’ve never been attracted to Stevie Rae?”

  “Hell yes, you can assume that,” Aphrodite said dryly.

  “Both of you have psychic abilities. It’s only logical that your bond would be mental, not physical,” I said.

  “Yeah, good. I’m glad you get that. And that’s how I know she was lying to you when she said the red fledglings she introduced us to are the only ones there are. There are more. She knows it, and she’s in touch with them.”

  “And you’re absolutely sure of this?”

  “Totally and absolutely,” she said.

  “Well, I can’t worry about that right now, but that could definitely explain some of the darkness I sensed down there. It’s the same aura that used to surround Stevie Rae, but it’s going to have to wait until we get out of here,” I said, feeling miserable and upset that my BFF felt like she had to lie to me.

  “I hate to be the one to clue you in, but Stevie Rae has more secrets than Paris Hilton has purses. On the bright side, I’m betting your lying bumpkin friend, the freaks, and your boyfriends make it past the bird boys.”

  “I hope so.” I sighed and messed with my napkin.

  “Hey,” she said softly. “Try not to let this thing with Stevie Rae freak you out. She’s keeping secrets, but I can also tell you that she cares about you—a lot. I also know she’s choosing good, no matter how hard it is for her sometimes.”

  “I know that. I believe Stevie Rae must have a reason for not telling me things. I mean, it’s not like I’ve never kept secrets from my friends before.” Yeah, I added silently to myself. And you messed up big-time because of that, too.

  “Okay, so it’s not just Stevie Rae that’s making you look like you need some pharmaceutical help to cheer up.” Then her brows raised as she continued to study me. “Oh, I get it. You’re having boyfriend issues. Or should I say boyfriends issues?”

  “Sadly, the plural seems to be the correct form of the word,” I muttered.

  “Erik and I used to have a thing, but you know that’s way over. You can talk to me if you need to.”

  I looked at her and again thought how ironic it was that she was right. I really could talk to her.

  “I’m not sure I want to be with Erik,” I blurted.

  Her eyes got just a little wider, but her voice stayed nonchalant. “He’s pressuring you about sex?”

  I shrugged. “Yes, no. Kinda. But it’s not just that.” I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “Aphrodite, did he ever get possessive and über-jealous with you?”

  She curled her lip in a sarcastic sneer. “He tried. I don’t so much tolerate the jealous bullshit.” Then she paused and in a more serious tone added, “Neither should you, Z.”

  “I know, and I’m not.” I sighed. “I have a lot to deal with when this mess is over.”

  “Seriously. You have a mess to deal with when this mess is over.” She gobbled another forkful of spaghetti.

  “Well, let’s try and get this particular mess over with then so I can go back to my ridiculous personal drama. Tell Darius to be ready for some bad stuff to go down tonight. Like he said, Kalona isn’t going to be happy when we get out of here.”

  “No, he said Kalona isn’t going to be happy when you get out of here. He really has a thing for you.”

  “I know, and I wish he’d just get over it,” I said.

  “Hey, have you thought any more about that first poem Kramisha gave you before we left the tunnels? It sounded like it was a formula for getting rid of Kalona.”

  “Well, if it’s a formula, I haven’t figured it out.” I didn’t want to admit to Aphrodite that I hadn’t thought at all about Kramisha’s poem—or at least not the one about Kalona. I’d been completely distracted by the second poem, and by the possibility of Stark’s humanity being returned to him. And that realization made my stomach clench. What if Stark was diverting me on purpose? What if he was putting on an act when the two of us were alone so that I would be too involved with him to figure out the other poem or anything else—like a way to get out of the House of Night?

  “Okay, clearly, your issues are weighing on you. And I think we can sum up your problems in one word,” Aphrodite said.

  I met her eyes and we said the one word together. “Boys.”

  She snorted, and I gave a kinda hysterical little giggle. “Let’s just hope someday all of this goes away and your biggest problem is boy drama.” She hesitated and then added, “I hope you’re not still thinking about Stark.”

  I shrugged and took a massive bite of spaghetti.

  “Look, I did some asking around, and the boy is wrong. Period, the end. Just forget about him.”

  I swallowed, chewed some more, and swallowed again. Aphrodite was still studying me.

  “The poem might not have even been about him,” she said.

  “I know,” I said.

  “Do you? And, look, you need to focus on getting us the hell out of here, and getting rid of Kalona—or at least chasing him away from here. Figure that out now. Worry about Stark and Erik and Heath and even Stevie Rae later.”

  “Yes, I know,” I said. “I’ll think about them all later.”

  “Yeah, right. I still remember how you were the night Stark died. He got to you. But you have to remember the Stark that’s strutting around here, acting like he’s all that, and basically using girls and throwing them aside after he fucks with their minds even more than their bodies, is not the guy who died in your arms.”

  “What if he is that guy, but he just needs to Change like Stevie Rae did?”

  “Well, I can promise you I’m not giving up another piece of my humanity to save his ass. Shit, Zoey, Erik’s a better bet than Stark! Are you hearing me?”

  “I’m hearing you.” I drew a deep breath. “Okay, I’m going to forget all guys right now and focus on getting us gone, and then getting Kalona gone, too.”

  “Good. You can deal with boy issues later.” />
  “Okay,” I said.

  “And you can deal with BFF issues later.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  “Okay,” she said.

  We went back to eating. I’d meant what I’d said. I was going to deal with all my personal issues. Later. Really. Or at least that’s what I told myself…

  CHAPTER 27

  I was thinking that drama class wouldn’t be a big deal. One of the pod professors would probably substitute for Erik, who had taken over temporarily for Professor Nolan after she’d been killed. I sat in the desk behind Becca, feeling weirdly déjà vu-ish, and half expecting to see Erik’s pissed-off face calling me up in front of the class to try to seduce or humiliate me.

  “Oh! My! God! He was not with me! Even though I sooooo wish he had been!”

  Becca’s annoying exclamation marks snagged my attention from being disgruntled at Erik. She was talking in little gaspy starts and stops to the girl across the row from her who I recognized as a fifth-former named Cassie. I kinda knew her because she’d placed twenty-fifth in the National Shakespeare Monologue Contest Erik had won, and all the drama kids tended to hang out with each other. Today, though, she wasn’t acting like a Shakespearean heroine. She was acting like a pain-in-the-butt giggly girl.

  “Well, he wasn’t with me, either. But I can tell you, since he bit me I’ve been dying to do a little biting and sucking of my own on him,” Cassie said, and then dissolved into giggles. Again.

  “Who are you guys talking about?” I asked, even though I was pretty sure I already knew.

  “Stark, of course. He’s only the hottest guy at the House of Night. Well, if you don’t count Kalona,” Becca said.

  “CFF—both of them,” Cassie said.

  “CFF?” I asked.

  “Completely freaking fine,” Becca said.

  I realized afterwards that I should have kept my mouth shut. I mean, I was attempting to converse with what amounted to brainwashed pod people, but I couldn’t stay out of it, and yes, I knew that some of my pissed-off-ness came from a totally inappropriate feeling of jealousy.

  “Uh, excuse me, Becca,” I said, heavy on the sarcasm. “But didn’t Darius and I recently save your butt from getting raped and bit by oooh! the hottest guy at the House of Night? Then you were snotting and whimpering.”

  Shocked at my outburst, Becca opened, shut, and opened her mouth again, reminding me of a fish.

  “You’re just jealous.” Cassie didn’t look or sound shocked; she looked like a hateful bitch. “Erik’s gone. Loren Blake’s dead. So now you don’t have the two hottest guys at school on your little leash.”

  I felt my face flush. Had Neferet told everyone about Loren and me? I didn’t know what to say, but Becca didn’t give me a chance to speak anyway.

  “Yeah, just because you’re all high and mighty with the elements doesn’t mean you can have any guy you want.” Becca was giving me the same hateful glare she’d given Damien and the Twins when they’d tried to talk sense into her last night. “The rest of us can actually have a chance once in a while, too.”

  I clamped down on my urge to shriek at her and tried reason instead. “Becca, you’re not thinking clearly. Last night, when Darius and I broke it up between you and Stark, he was forcing you to let him suck your blood, and he was also on the verge of raping you.” I hated saying it. I especially hated knowing it was true.

  “I don’t remember it that way,” Becca said. “I remember liking the sucking, and I would have liked the rest of what goes along with Stark sucking a girl’s blood. You busted up something good that was none of your business.”

  “You remember it like that because Stark messed with your mind.”

  Becca and Cassie laughed, causing lots of heads to turn in our direction.

  “The next thing you’re going to say is that Kalona is messing with our minds, too, and that’s why we think he’s so damn hot,” Cassie said.

  “Are you actually saying you two can’t tell that things have been different around here since Kalona broke out of the ground?”

  “Yeah. So? He’s consort to Nyx’s Incarnate. His presence is bound to make things different,” Cassie said.

  “And of course he came out of the ground. Earth is one of Nyx’s elements. Like you don’t know that?” Becca said, rolling her eyes at Cassie.

  I’d just opened my mouth to try to explain to them that he’d escaped the earth, not been born through it, when the door to the classroom opened and Kalona strode in.

  There was a cumulative sigh from every female except me. And, to be completely honest, I’d wanted to sigh and had to clamp my jaws together to stop myself. He was just so utterly gorgeous. Today he was wearing black slacks and a short-sleeved, button-up shirt that was untucked, unbuttoned, and hanging open enough that whenever he moved I could see the flawless bronze of his chest and his yummy six-pack. Someone had slit the back of the shirt, because his magnificent black wings protruded through and then tucked neatly against his broad back. His long dark hair was loose on his shoulders, making him look, despite his modern clothes, like an ancient god.

  I wanted to ask Becca or Cassie how old he looked to them, because to me he again seemed only eighteen or nineteen, in the prime of his youth and strength, and not too ancient and mysterious to be out of my reach.

  No! Listen to yourself! The next thing you know you’ll be sounding as empty-headed as Becca and Cassie and the rest of them. Think! He’s your enemy. Don’t forget that. Forcing myself to look beyond his physical beauty and the hypnotic allure he radiated, I realized he’d been talking while I’d been yelling at myself.

  “That said, I thought I would help direct this class, since it seems you are so very hard on your instructors.”

  The class’s appreciative laughter was warm and welcoming.

  I raised my hand. His amber eyes widened in surprise, and then he smiled and said, “How delightful that my first question comes from the most special of all the fledglings. Yes, Zoey, what answer may I give you?”

  “With you taking over Drama I was just wondering if that meant you expect Erik Night to be gone for quite some time?” Okay, I hadn’t wanted to ask him a question, but my instincts had made me raise my hand, just as my instincts were telling me what to say. I knew taunting him with the fact that Erik had escaped was dangerous, but I was doing so in a way that I hoped wouldn’t give him a reason for outright anger. I just wasn’t sure why I was being prompted to bait an already volatile immortal.

  Kalona didn’t look fazed at all by my question. “I believe Erik Night may return to the House of Night sooner than some may think. But, sadly, I’ve heard he might not be in any shape to resume his duties as a professor, or as anything else for quite some time.” His smile got warmer and more intimate, and I could feel Becca and Cassie and the rest of the girls in the room shooting daggered looks of envy at me. I realized with a terrible sense of fear and disbelief that the girls hadn’t really heard anything Kalona had said. They couldn’t grasp that he had just threatened Erik and said that he was coming back, probably just short of being hauled here in a body bag. All they’d heard was the sound of his beautiful voice. All they knew was that he’d singled me out for his attention.

  “Now, sweet Zoey, or as I like to think of you, A-ya, I give you the honor of choosing what piece of work we shall study first. Be wary! The entire class must abide by your choice. And know that I shall play the lead in whatever you choose.” He strode over to my side of the room. I was in the desk that sat second to the front, directly behind Becca, and I swear I could see her tremble at his nearness. “Perhaps I will give you a part to play in our little drama.”

  I stared at him, my heart hammering so violently in my chest that I was sure he must hear it. His being so close was hard on me. It reminded me of my dreams, where he’d come to me and held me in his arms. I could feel the tendrils of cold that snaked from his body…wrapping around me…making me yearn for the blanket of those ebony wings…

  He�
��s going to hurt Erik! I clung to that thought and felt the delicious chill slither from me. No matter what was going on between Erik and me, I wasn’t about to be cool with anything happening to him.

  “I know the perfect play for us to do.” I was proud that my voice was calm and strong.

  His smile was pure, sensual joy. “I’m intrigued! What is your choice?”

  “Medea,” I said without hesitation. “Ancient Greek tragedy set in a time when gods still walked the earth. It’s about what happens when a man has too much hubris.”

  “Ah, yes, hubris. When a man exhibits godlike arrogance.” His voice was still deep and seductive, but I could see the anger that had begun to burn in his eyes. “I think you will find that hubris only applies when you’re dealing with mortals, and not the gods themselves.”

  “So you don’t want to do the play?” I said with exaggerated innocence.

  “On the contrary! I believe the play will be amusing. Perhaps I shall let you dramatize Medea herself.” He broke eye contact with me and refocused his charisma on the class. “Study this play tonight. We will begin acting it tomorrow. Rest well, my children. I look forward to seeing each of you again.” He turned and, as abruptly as he’d entered the room, he left.

  There was complete silence for what seemed like a long time. Finally, to no one and everyone I said, “Well, I guess I’ll try to find some copies of Medea.” I got up and went to the back of the room. But not even the sound of opening and closing cabinets and pawing through files of old plays and mounds of scripts could cover the whispers that rained around me.

  “Why should she get noticed by him?”

  “It’s not fair!”

  “If this is Nyx being mysterious, then I’m damn sick of it.”

  “Yeah, it’s crap. If you’re not Zoey Redbird, then you’re not shit to Nyx.”

  “Nyx gives her anyone she wants. The Goddess doesn’t leave anything for the rest of us.”

  On and on they muttered, sounding more and more pissed off. The guys were even chiming in. Apparently I made a handy scapegoat for what had to be a massive amount of anger and jealousy they must already have had for Kalona, but weren’t allowed to take out on him because he was messing with their minds.