by P. C. Cast
"It'll be fine. You'll see. This'll all work out." Then she crawled out the window. I watched her start to climb down the sheer side of the dorm. She looked creepily buglike until her body rippled and practically disappeared. Actually, had I not known she was there, I would never have seen her at all.
"It's like she's one of those lizards that can change the color of their bodies to match their surroundings," Aphrodite said.
"Chameleons," I said. "That's what they're called."
"Are you sure? Gecko sounds more Stevie Rae–ish to me."
I frowned at her. "I'm sure. Stop being such a smart aleck and help me close the window."
With the window closed and the drapes drawn again, I sighed and shook my head. More to myself than to her, I said, "So what are we going to do?"
Aphrodite started to paw through the chic little Coach purse she wore like decoration over her shoulder. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to use this ridiculous eyeliner pencil to draw my Mark back. Can you believe I found this shade at Target?" She shuddered. "Like, which of the fashion-challenged would even wear it? Anyway, I'm going to fix this thing, then I'm going to go to the stupid meeting Neferet called."
"I meant, What are we going to do about all this life-and-death stuff that's going on?"
"I don't fucking know! I don't want this." She pointed at her fake Mark. "I don't want any of this. I just want to be what I was before you showed up here and all hell broke loose. I want to be popular and powerful and dating the hottest guy in school. Now I'm none of those things, and I'm a human who has scary visions and I don't know what to do about any of it."
I didn't say anything for a second, thinking about the fact that I had been the cause of Aphrodite's losing her popularity, her power, and her boyfriend. When I did finally speak, I surprised myself by saying exactly what was on my mind.
"You must hate me."
She stared a long time at me. "I did," she said slowly. "But now it's mostly myself I hate."
"Don't," I said.
"And why the hell shouldn't I hate myself? Everyone else hates me." Her words sounded sharp and mean, but her eyes were filled with tears.
"Remember the hateful thing you said to me not too long ago when you thought I was perfect?"
A small smile tilted up her lips. "You'll have to remind me. I've said lots of hateful things to you."
"Well, this particular time you said something about the fact that power changes people and that it makes them mess up."
"Oh, yeah. It's coming back to me now. I said power changes people, but I was talking about the people around you."
"Well, you were right about them and me, and I understand that now. I also understand a lot of the stupid things you've done." I smiled and added, "Not all of the stupid things you've done, but a lot of them. Because now I've done my share of stupid things, and I kinda think I'm not done doing stupid things—as depressing as that is."
"Depressing, but true," she said. "Oh, and by the way, while we're talking about power changing people, you need to remember that when you're dealing with Stevie Rae."
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. She's changed."
"You're gonna have to do better than that," I said, getting a sick feeling in my stomach.
"Don't pretend like you didn't notice anything weird about her," Aphrodite said.
"She's been through a lot," I justified.
"My point exactly. She's been through a lot, and it's changed her."
"You've never liked Stevie Rae, so I don't expect you to suddenly start getting along with her, but I'm not going to listen to you talk crap about her—especially after she just offered to let you come with her so that you don't have to stay here and pretend to be something you're not." I was working myself up into getting really pissed, and I couldn't tell if that was because what Aphrodite was saying was hateful and wrong, or because what she was saying was a scary truth I didn't want to face.
"Did you ever think that maybe she wanted me to go with her because Stevie Rae doesn't want me to spend any time with you?"
"That's stupid. Why would she care? She's my best friend, not my boyfriend."
"Because she knows I've seen through her little act and that I'll tell you the real deal about her. The truth is that she's not what she used to be. I don't know exactly what she is now, and I don't think she knows either, but she's definitely not good ol' white-bread Stevie Rae anymore."
"I know she's not exactly like she used to be!" I snapped. "How could she be? She died, Aphrodite! In my arms. Remember? And I'm a good enough friend that I'm not going to turn my back on her just because going through something life-changing actually changed her."
Aphrodite stood there and stared at me a long time without saying anything—so long that my stomach started to hurt again. Finally she lifted one shoulder. "Fine. Believe what you want to believe. I hope you're right."
"I'm right, and I don't want to talk about it again," I said, feeling weirdly shaky.
"Fine," she repeated. "I'm done talking about it."
"Good. So finish drawing in your Mark and let's go to the meeting."
"Together?"
"Yep."
"You're not caring that people know we don't hate each other?" she said.
"Well, I look at it like this: People, especially my friends, will be thinking a whole lot of not-so-nice stuff about the possibility that you and I have suddenly become friends."
Aphrodite's eyes widened. "Which will keep their wee little brains from thinking about Stevie Rae."
"My friends do not have wee brains."
"Whatever."
"But, yes, Damien and the Twins will be busy thinking pissed-off thoughts about you, which will definitely keep their minds busy if Neferet happens to be listening in," I said.
"Sounds like the beginnings of a plan," she said.
"Sadly, it's all I have of a plan."
"Well, at least you're consistent about not knowing what the hell you're doing."
"So good of you to look on the bright side of things."
"Anything I can do to help," Aphrodite said.
When she'd put the finishing touches on her fake Mark, we headed toward the door. Just before I opened it, I glanced sideways at her. "Oh, and I don't hate you, either," I said. "Actually, you're kinda growing on me."
Aphrodite gave me one of her best sneers and said, "See, that's what I mean about you being consistent about not knowing what the hell you're doing."
I was laughing when I pulled open the door and ran smack into Damien, Jack, and the Twins.
CHAPTER 7
"We want to talk to you, Z," Damien said.
"And we're glad to see she's leaving," Shaunee said, glaring at Aphrodite.
"Yeah, don't let the door hit your skinny ass on the way out," Erin said.
I saw the hurt that flashed across Aphrodite's face. "Fine. I'm out of here," she said.
"Aphrodite, you're not going anywhere." I had to wait till the Twins got over making sputtering sounds of disbelief before I could go on. "Nyx is working strongly in Aphrodite's life. Do you trust Nyx's judgment?" I asked, looking at each of my friends.
"Yes, of course we do," Damien spoke for all of them.
"Then you're gonna have to accept Aphrodite as one of us," I said.
There was a long pause during which the Twins, Jack, and Damien all shared looks, and then Damien finally said, "I suppose we do have to admit that Aphrodite is special to Nyx, but the honest truth is none of us trust her."
"I trust her," I said. Okay, maybe I didn't trust her one hundred percent, but Nyx was working through her.
"Which is ironic, because we're having trust issues with you," Shaunee said.
"Nerd herd, you make no damn sense," Aphrodite said. "In one breath, you're all 'Oh, yes! We trust Nyx!' and in the next you're saying you have trust issues with Zoey. Zoey is the fledgling. No one—vamp or fledgling—has ever been so gifted by Nyx. Get a clue, would ya?" Aphrodite r
olled her eyes.
"Aphrodite may have a point," Damien said into the stunned silence.
"No shit?" Aphrodite said sarcastically. "Here's another newsflash for the herd of nerd—my latest vision is of Zoey being killed and the world being thrown into total chaos because of it. And guess who was responsible for your supposed friend's murder?" She paused, raising her brows at Damien and the Twins before answering her own question. "You all are. Zoey's killed because you guys turn your backs on her."
"She had a vision of your death?" Damien asked me. His face had suddenly gone very white.
"Yeah, two actually. But the visions were pretty messed up. She saw them from my point of view, which was kinda nasty. Anyway, I just have to stay away from water and—" My words broke off as I almost said and Neferet. Thankfully, Aphrodite chimed in.
"—She has to stay away from water, and she can't be isolated," she said. "Which means you guys need to kiss and make up. But wait till I'm not watching, 'cause it's definitely going to make me sick."
"You pissed us off, Z," Shaunee said, looking almost as pale as Damien.
"But we don't want you to die," Erin finished, looking equally upset.
"I'd just die if you died," Jack said, sniffling. Then he reached for Damien's hand.
"Well, then, you're gonna have to get over yourselves and be the buddy-buddy dork pack again," Aphrodite said.
"Since when have you cared whether Zoey lives or dies?" Damien said.
"Since I'm working for Nyx, and not myself. And Nyx gives a shit about Zoey; therefore, I give a shit about Zoey. And it's a good thing I do. You're supposed to be her best friends, and a secret or two and some stupid misunderstandings have made you freeze her out." Aphrodite looked and me and snorted, "Hell, Zoey, with friends like them, it's a good thing we're not enemies."
Damien turned from Aphrodite, shaking his head and looking more hurt than angry. "What really confuses me about all of this is that it's perfectly clear you're telling her the things you won't tell us."
"Oh, please, gay boy. Don't get your panties all in a big bunch over me taking your dorkish place beside Zoey. It's simple why she tells me stuff. Vamps can't read my mind."
Damien blinked in surprise. Then, eyes widening in understanding, he looked at me. "They can't read your mind either, can they?"
"No, they can't," I said.
"Oh, shit!" Shaunee said. "You mean you think telling us things is like telling everyone?"
"It can't be that easy for the vamps to read fledglings, Z," Erin said. "If it was, then a bunch of kids would be in trouble all the time."
"Wait, they overlook things like fledglings sneaking off campus or PDA," Damien said slowly, as if he were putting two and two together as he spoke. "The vamps don't really care enough about a little broken rule here and there just as long as it's only typical teenage stuff, so they don't 'listen in' or whatever you want to call their psychic eavesdropping all the time."
"But what if they thought something was going on that was more than a little broken rule or two, and they had an idea about a certain group of fledglings who might know something," I said.
"They'd focus their thoughts on that group of fledglings," Damien concluded for me. "You really can't tell us certain things!"
"Damn," Shaunee said.
"Sucks royally," Erin said.
"Took you guys long enough," Aphrodite said.
Damien ignored her. "This has something to do with Stevie Rae, doesn't it?"
I nodded.
"Hey, speaking of," Shaunee said.
"What happened to her?" Erin asked.
"Didn't shit happen to her," Aphrodite said. "She found me. I un-freaked when I finally got my Mark back, and then I came back here."
"And she went where?" Damien asked.
"Do I look like a damn babysitter? How the hell am I supposed to know where your bumpkin friend went? All she said was she had to go because she had issues. Like that was a big shock."
"You're gonna have issues with my fist in your face if you start talking shit about Stevie Rae," Shaunee said.
"I'll hold her skinny ass for you, Twin," Erin said.
"Do you two share a brain?" Aphrodite said.
"Oh. My. God! Enough!" I yelled. "I might die. Twice. Some weird ghostly thing messed with me today, and now I'm feeling scared crapless about it. I'm not sure what the hell's going on with Stevie Rae, and Neferet has called a Council Meeting probably to go over her plans for war—a war that is totally not the right thing to do. And you guys can't stop bickering! You're giving me a headache and pissing me off."
"You better listen to her. I counted two real cuss words and one almost cuss in that little speech. She's serious," Aphrodite said.
I saw the Twins actually have to stifle smiles. Jeesh. Why is my not liking to cuss such a big deal?
"Okay. We'll try to get along," Damien said.
"For Zoey," Jack said, giving me a sweet smile.
"For Zoey," the Twins said together.
My heart squeezed as I looked at each of my friends. They had my back. No matter what—they would still stand beside me.
"Thanks, guys," I said, blinking back tears.
"Group hug!" Jack said.
"Ah, hell no," Aphrodite said.
"That's one thing we can agree with Aphrodite on," Erin said.
"Yeah, time to go," Shaunee said.
"Ah oh, Damien, we gotta go, too. You told Stark we'd check to be sure he was settled in before the meeting," Jack said.
"Oh, that's right," Damien said. "Bye, Z. See ya soon."
He and Jack followed the Twins out of my room. Calling goodbye to me, they filed down the hall, then went on chattering about the hottiness of Stark, leaving me with Aphrodite.
"So, my friends aren't so bad, huh?" I said.
Aphrodite turned her cool blue gaze on me. "Your friends are dorks," she said.
I grinned and butted my shoulder into her. "Then that makes you a dork."
"That's what I'm afraid of," she said. "Speaking of me being in hell—come to my room. There's something you have to help me figure out before we go to the Council Meeting."
I shrugged. "Okay by me." Actually, I was feeling pretty good about myself. My friends were speaking to me again, and it seemed that everyone might actually have a chance of getting along. "Hey," I said as we walked down the hall to Aphrodite's room. "Did you notice that the Twins said something nice to you before they left?"
"The Twins are symbiotic, and I hope very soon someone takes them away to perform science experiments on them."
"That attitude is not helping," I said.
"Could we just focus on what's really important?"
"Like?"
"Me, of course, and what I need you to help me with." Aphrodite opened the door to her room, and we walked into what I liked to think of as her palace. I mean, jeesh, the place looked like she'd decorated it out of a Guide to Gossip Girl Design magazine—if there was such a thing. Which, sadly, there probably was. (Not that I don't adore Gossip Girl!)
"Aphrodite, has anyone ever told you that you might have a personality disorder?"
"Several overpaid shrinks. Like I care." Aphrodite walked across the room and opened the door to the hand-painted (probably antique and majorly expensive) armoire that sat in front of her hand-carved (for sure antique and majorly expensive) four-poster canopy bed. As she rummaged around in it, she said, "Oh, by the way, you have got to find a way for the Council to make it okay for you and, tragically, me and—as much as I hate to say it—your nerd herd, too, to be allowed off campus."
"Huh?"
Aphrodite sighed and turned to face me. "Would you please keep up with me? We have to be able to come and go so we can figure out what the fuck is going on with Stevie Rae and her nasty friends."
"I already told you that I'm not gonna let you talk bad about Stevie Rae. Nothing is going on with her."
"That's up for discussion, but since you refuse to sanely discuss it this particular tim
e, I'm talking about the freaks she's hanging with. What if you're right and Neferet wants to use them against humans? Not that I particularly like humans, but I definitely don't like war. So I'm thinking you need to be checking into that."
"Me? Why me? And why do I have to figure out a way to get all of us in and out of the school?"
"Because you are the superhero fledgling. I'm just your more attractive sidekick. Oh, and the herd of nerd are your dorky minions."
"Great," I said.
"Hey, don't stress about it. You'll think of something. You always do."
I blinked in surprise at her. "Your confidence in me is shocking." And I wasn't kidding. I mean, she really looked like she thought I'd figure out this mess.
"It shouldn't be." She turned back to searching through the cluttered armoire. "I know better than just about anyone else how gifted you've been by Nyx. That you're powerful, blah, blah, whatever. So you'll figure it out. Finally! God, I wish they'd let us have housekeepers in here. I can never find anything when I'm forced to clean up after myself." Aphrodite emerged with a green candle in a pretty green crystal glass and a fancy lighter.
"You need me to help you figure out something about a candle?"
"No, genius. Sometimes I really wonder about Nyx's choices." She handed me the little gold lighter. "I want you to help me figure out if I've lost my affinity for earth."
CHAPTER 8
I looked from the green candle to Aphrodite. Her face was pale and her lips were compressed into a thin bloodless line. "You haven't tried to evoke earth since you lost your Mark?" I asked gently.
She shook her head and continued to look like her stomach hurt.
"Okay, well, you're right. I can help you figure this out. I should probably cast a circle."
"That's what I thought." Aphrodite drew in a deep shaky breath. "Let's get this over with." She walked over to the wall that was on the opposite side of the room as her bed. She stood there, holding up her candle. "This is north."
"All right." Resolutely, I went to stand in front of Aphrodite. Turning to the east, I closed my eyes and centered myself. "It fills our lungs and gives us life. I call air to my circle." Even without a yellow candle representing the element—and without Damien and his air affinity—I felt the instant response of the element as a soft breeze smoothed against my body.
