Tempted: A House of Night Novel

by P. C. Cast

  “Hey, Z! You’re finally up! Check out the seriously yummy pancakes the nun cooks made us,” Jack bubbled at me.

  “Pancakes?” My world instantly brightened.

  “Yeah! There’re plates and plates of this stuff and bacon and hash browns. It’s better than IHOP!” He glanced down the table and yelled, “Hey! Pass the pancakes!”

  Platters started to clatter our way, and my mouth began to water. I seriously heart me some pancakes.

  “We like French toast better,” Shaunee said.

  “Yeah, it’s not as mushy,” Erin said.

  “Pancakes aren’t mushy,” Jack said.

  “Merry meet, Z,” Damien spoke up, obviously defusing a pancake debate.

  “Merry meet,” I smiled at him.

  “Hey, except for your poofy hair you look lots better than you did before,” Jack said.

  “Thanks. I think.” I said it through a big bite of pancake.

  “I think she looks amazing,” Stark said from where he was sitting a little way down the table.

  “Me, too. I like Zoey’s bed head,” Heath grinned at me.

  I was rolling my eyes at both of them when Erik’s voice drifted across the room to me.

  “Really, really crowded over there.” His back was turned to us, but that didn’t stop his voice from projecting obnoxiously.

  Why couldn’t breakups be easy? Why couldn’t Erik just not be a butt? Because you really hurt his feelings flitted through my mind, but I was sick of being worried about Erik’s feelings. He’d been a possessive jerk! And what a damn hypocrite. He’d called me a ho, but it’d taken him less than a day to hook up with someone else. Jeesh.

  “Wait, Erik’s with Venus?” Jack’s voice caught my attention.

  “We broke up last night,” I said, nonchalantly forking pancakes onto my plate and waving at Erin to pass me the platter of bacon.

  “Yeah, that’s what Aphrodite told us. But now he’s with Venus? Just like that?” Jack repeated, staring at Erik and the aforementioned Venus, who was spider monkeying all over him so much that I was shocked that he could eat. “I thought he was a nice guy.” Jack sounded totally young and disillusioned, like Erik had just burst his perfect-guy bubble.

  I shrugged. “It’s okay, Jack. Erik’s not really a bad guy. We’re just bad together,” I said, hating how upset Jack looked. Wanting to change the subject, I announced, “Aphrodite had another vision.”

  “What did you see?” Damien asked her.

  Aphrodite glanced at me, and I nodded almost imperceptibly. “Kalona burning up vamps and people.”

  “Burning them?” Shaunee spoke right up. “Sounds like something I should be able to discourage. I am Miss Fire.”

  “Right you are, Twin,” Erin said.

  “Brain sharers—you weren’t in the vision.” Aphrodite jabbed her syrupy fork at the Twins. “Fire and blood and horror and whatnot were. You two were probably shopping.”

  Shaunee and Erin narrowed their eyes at Aphrodite.

  “Where was Zoey?” Damien asked.

  Aphrodite’s gaze found mine as she answered. “Zoey was there. In one of my visions that was a good thing. In the other, not so good.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jack asked.

  “The vision was confusing. Seemed like what I saw was a double-edged sword.”

  To me it was obvious that she was stalling, and I was just opening my mouth to tell her to go ahead and tell them everything when Kramisha, who was sitting down the table to my right, raised her arm and waved around the piece of paper she was holding.

  “I know what it means,” she said. “Or I know part a what it means. I wrote this before I went to bed last night.” She smiled at Sister Mary Angela. “After we finished watching that nun movie.”

  “I’m glad you liked it, dear,” Sister Mary Angela said.

  “I did, but I still think them kids was bad.”

  “What are you flailing around?” Aphrodite asked.

  “You could be a little patient,” Kramisha said. “And show some manners. It’s for Zoey anyway. Here, pass it down to her.”

  The piece of paper was passed from person to person till it got to me. As everyone had probably suspected, it was one of Kramisha’s poems. I stifled a sigh.

  As if reading my mind, Aphrodite said, “Please tell me it’s not another one of those prophetic poems. Goddess, they give me a headache.”

  “Better stock up on Tylenol,” I said. I read the first line to myself, blinked, and then looked up at Aphrodite. “What did you say just a second ago? Something about a sword?”

  “She said you bein’ there with Kalona was a double-edged sword. That’s what made me give you the poem now, ’stead of waitin’ for a more private time.” Kramisha’s sharp gaze found Erik, then she added, “I have more sense than some people ’bout puttin’ my business all out in public.”

  “That’s the first line of this poem, ‘A double-edged sword,’” I said.

  “That’s spooky,” said Stevie Rae.

  “Yep,” I said, staring at the poem. “Spooky is a good word for it.”

  “What do you want to do about it?” Damien asked me.

  “I want to take the poem and, with the help of my friends, figure it out. But I want to do it at home,” I said simply.

  Damien smiled and nodded. “Home. That sounds good.”

  I looked at Aphrodite. “What do you think?”

  “I think I miss the Vichy shower in my room,” she said.

  “Darius?” I asked.

  “We have to go back before we can focus on going forward.”

  “Shaunee and Erin?”

  They glanced at each other, and then Erin said, “Home. Definitely.”

  “Stevie Rae?”

  “Well, I have somethin’ to tell y’all before you make any big decisions.”

  “Okay, go ahead,” I said.

  I watched Stevie Rae suck in a big, long breath and then blow it out through her pursed lips, like she was taking an asthma test. Her words followed her breath and she spoke quickly and clearly, letting what she said carry throughout the room.

  “There’re more red fledglings than just the kids here. They didn’t change when I did like these guys. They’re still bad. I think—I think they might still be connected to Neferet.” She turned to me and her eyes begged me to understand. “I didn’t say anything to you ’cause I wanted to give them a chance. I thought that they’d find their humanity again if they were just left alone and could think through things on their own, or if maybe I could help them. I’m sorry, Z. I didn’t mean to cause any problems and I never wanted to lie to you.”

  I couldn’t be pissed at Stevie Rae. All I could do was feel relieved that she’d finally told me the truth.

  “Sometimes you can’t tell your friends everything you’d like to tell them,” I said.

  Stevie Rae let out her breath on a sob. “Oh, Z! You don’t hate me?”

  “Of course not,” I said. “I’ve had to keep some pretty crappy secrets, so I get it.”

  “Where are they?” Damien’s question would have seemed harsh, but his voice was gentle, his warm brown eyes filled with understanding.

  “They’re in the depot tunnels. That’s why I just sealed off the dirt tunnel that I made to get everyone here. I didn’t want any of the others following us and causing the nuns problems.”

  “You should have warned us last night,” Darius said. “We would have posted guards while everyone was sleeping.”

  “There were rogue red fledglings at the other end of your tunnel?” Sister Mary Angela’s hand found the rosary that hung around her neck.

  “Oh, Sister, you weren’t in any danger. Darius, we didn’t need to post guards, promise!” she quickly explained. “Those other kids are affected by daylight big-time. They never move around while the sun’s up, not even in the tunnels.”

  Darius’s frown said he still would have posted a guard. Sister Mary Angela didn’t say anything, but I saw h
er fingers worrying her rosary beads. It was then that I noticed none of the red fledglings were speaking. I glanced at the only other red vampyre in existence. “Did you know about these other fledglings?”

  “Me? Hell no. I would’ve told you right away,” Stark said.

  “I should have told you right away. I’m real sorry I didn’t,” Stevie Rae said.

  “Sometimes the truth can get buried and it’s hard to figure out how to uncover it,” I told her, and then I looked around the room at the other red fledglings. “You guys all knew, didn’t you?”

  Kramisha spoke up. “We knew. We don’t like them other kids. They’s bad news.”

  “They smell bad, too,” little Shannoncompton said from a ways down the table.

  “They suck,” Dallas said. “And they remind us of how it used to be.”

  “That’s something we don’t like to remember,” said muscle-y Johnny B.

  I turned my attention back to Stevie Rae. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

  “Well, I don’t think it’s smart for us to go back to the depot tunnels right now, so going home to the House of Night sounds good to me, too.”

  “Then it’s settled. We go home,” I said.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Zoey

  “I’m all for getting back where we belong, but your grandma should stay here,” Aphrodite said suddenly. “We don’t know what all we’re going to have to deal with at the House of Night.”

  “Did your visions show you something else?” I asked, noticing that she was looking at Stevie Rae instead of me.

  Aphrodite shook her head slowly. “No, I told you everything I saw in my visions. I just have a feeling, that’s all.”

  Stevie Rae laughed nervously. “Well, heck, Aphrodite, we’re all feelin’ jumpy and on edge, which makes total sense. We just chased away some major booger monsters, but that’s no reason to freak Zoey out.”

  “I’m not freaking her out, bumpkin,” Aphrodite said. “I’m just being careful.”

  “It is wise to anticipate dangers,” Darius said thoughtfully.

  Since there was nothing wrong with being careful, I opened my mouth to agree with both of them when Stevie Rae turned to Darius and in a cold, flat voice said, “Just because you’ve sworn your Warrior’s Oath to her doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything she says.”

  “What?” Stark said. “You gave Aphrodite your Oath?”

  “Really?” Damien said.

  “Wow, too cool,” Jack said.

  Erik snorted from the table behind us. “I’m shocked Zoey let you and didn’t just add you to her private collection.”

  By that time I’d had enough. I yelled over at him, “Oh, go to hell, Erik!”

  “Zoey!” Sister Mary Angela gasped.

  “Sorry,” I muttered.

  “Don’t be sorry,” Aphrodite said, glaring at Stevie Rae. “Hell isn’t a bad word. It’s a place. And some people do need to be sent there.”

  “What?” Stevie Rae said innocently. “You didn’t want everyone to know about you and Darius?”

  “My business is my business,” Aphrodite said.

  “Just like I was sayin’ before,” Kramisha nodded sagely. “It just ain’t right to put your personal business all out in public.” She turned her dark eyes on Stevie Rae. “I know you our High Priestess and all, so I don’t mean no disrespect, but I think you was raised better than that.”

  Stevie Rae looked instantly contrite. “You’re right, Kramisha. I guess I didn’t think it was that big a deal. I mean, everyone would know sooner or later.” She smiled at me and shrugged her shoulders. “A Warrior’s Oath isn’t exactly somethin’ you can hide.” She turned to Aphrodite. “Sorry, I wasn’t tryin’ to be mean.”

  “I’m not interested in your apology. I’m not Zoey. I’m not going to automatically believe everything you say.”

  “Okay, enough!” I shouted. Anger and frustration added power to my words, and I saw several kids flinch. “All of you need to listen up and get something straight. We can’t fight big, world-ending evil if we’re bickering with each other! Stevie Rae and Aphrodite—get over the fact that you’re Imprinted and learn not to embarrass each other.” I saw hurt in Aphrodite’s eyes and shock in Stevie Rae’s, but I kept going. “Stevie Rae, don’t keep important stuff from me, even if you think you have a good reason to.” I looked squarely at Erik, who had turned around in his chair so he could stare at me. “And Erik, we have lots bigger problems than you being pissed I dumped you.” I heard Stark chuckle and I rounded on him. “You don’t get a free pass, either.”

  Stark raised his hands like he was surrendering. “I’m just laughing because Erik the Great got put in his place.”

  “Which is real crappy of you since you can feel how much this whole thing with you and Erik and Heath has hurt my feelings.”

  Stark’s cocky smile faded.

  “Darius, it’s an icy mess out there, but do you think you can drive the Hummer back to the House of Night?” I asked.

  “I do,” said the warrior.

  “Who’s good on a horse?” Instantly several hands went up like I was a mean teacher and they were all scared of being in trouble. “Shaunee, you and Erin can ride the horse you got here on.” I looked around at the kids still holding up their hands. “Johnny B, can you and Kramisha double on the other mare?”

  “Yep, we can,” he said. Kramisha nodded briskly, and they both put down their hands.

  “Stark, you can ride behind me on Persephone,” I said without looking at him. “Damien, Jack, Aphrodite, Shannoncompton, Venus, and . . .” I stared at a brunette red fledgling whose name I absolutely could not remember.

  “Sophie,” Stevie Rae said hesitantly, like she was scared I might snap her head off.

  “And Sophie. You guys go with Darius in the Hummer.” I looked at Stevie Rae. “Can you be sure the rest of the red fledglings and Erik get to the House of Night safely?”

  “If that’s what you want me to do, then that’s what I’ll do,” she said.

  “Good. Finish breakfast and then let’s go home.” I stood up and took in all the nuns with one long look. “I appreciate you helping us more than I’ll ever be able to tell you. As long as I’m alive, the Benedictine Sisters will have a High Priestess as a friend.” Then I turned to leave. As I passed Stark, I saw him start to get up, but I caught his eyes and shook my head. “I’m going to say bye to Grandma—by myself.” I could see that I’d hurt him, but he only saluted me respectfully and said, “As you wish, my lady.”

  Ignoring the silence I left in my wake, I walked out of the room, alone.

  “So, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya, you made everyone angry?” Grandma said after listening to me rant while I paced back and forth beside her bed.

  “Well, not everyone. I hurt some people’s feelings instead of making them mad.”

  Grandma studied me for a long time. When she finally spoke her words were typically simple but straight to the point. “That is unlike you, so you must have had a good reason for acting so out of character.”

  “Well, I’m scared and confused. Yesterday I felt like a High Priestess. Today I’m just a kid again. I have boyfriend issues and a best friend who’s been keeping stuff from me.”

  “All that means is neither you nor Stevie Rae is perfect,” Grandma said.

  “But how do I know that’s all it means? What if I’m a shallow ho and Stevie Rae’s gone evil?”

  “Only time will show whether your trust in Stevie Rae has been misplaced. And I think you should stop being so hard on yourself for being attracted to more than one boy. You’re making good judgments about the relationships in your life. From what you’ve said, Erik’s behavior was controlling and boorish. There are many young women who would have ignored all of that because he’s, how do you put it, so hot!” Grandma did a bad teenage imitation. “You’ll learn to balance Heath and Stark, many High Priestesses do. Or you won’t, and you’ll decide committing yourself to one man is the ri
ght path for you. But, darling, that is something you have many, many years to decide.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” I said.

  “Of course I’m right. I’m old. Which means I can also tell there’s more bothering you than boys or Stevie Rae. What is it, Zoeybird?”

  “I had a memory of A-ya, Grandma.”

  Grandma’s sharp intake of breath was the only outward sign of her inward shock. “Did the memory involve Kalona?”

  “Yes.”

  “Was it pleasant or unpleasant?”

  “Both! It started out as terrifying, but as I got closer and closer to A-ya, it changed. She loved him, Grandma. And I could feel that.”

  Grandma nodded and spoke slowly. “Yes, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya, that makes sense. A-ya was created to love him.”

  “It scares me and makes me feel out of control!” I cried.

  “Sssh, daughter,” Grandma soothed. “We are all affected by our pasts, but it is within our power not to let what we have done dictate what we will do.”

  “Even at a soul-deep level?”

  “Especially at a soul-deep level. Ask yourself where is it your great gifts originate.”

  “Well, from Nyx,” I said.

  “And did the goddess gift your body or your soul?”

  “My soul, of course. My body’s just a shell for my soul.” I was surprised at the firmness of my voice. I blinked in surprise. “I have to remember it’s my soul now, and treat A-ya like I would any memory from my past.”

  Grandma smiled. “Ah, there, I knew you’d find your center again. When you make mistakes, whether they are from this life or another, learn from them—then they become opportunities.”

  Not if my mistakes let Kalona burn up the world, I thought, and almost said aloud, but just then Grandma closed her eyes. She looked so tired and hurt and old that it made my stomach clench and feel more than a little sick.

  “I’m sorry I dumped all this on you, Grandma,” I said.

  She opened her eyes and patted my hand. “Don’t ever be sorry for speaking your mind to me, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya.”