Awakened

Stevie Rae



"I think y'all should give Zoey a break. After what she's been through she could use a vacation," Stevie Rae said.



"If that's all it is," Erik said.



"What's that supposed to mean?"



"Word is she isn't planning on coming back. At all."



"That's just plain silly."



"Have you talked to her?" Erik asked.



"No, have you?" she countered. "No."



"Actually, Erik brings up a valid point," Lenobia said. "No one has talked with Zoey. Jack said that she's not returning. I've spoken with Aphrodite. She and Darius are, indeed, arriving soon. Zoey is not making or taking calls."



"Zoey is tired. Stark is still messed up. Isn't that what Jack reported?" Stevie Rae said.



"Yes," Dragon Lankford said. "But the truth is, we have barely spoken to Zoey since her return from the Otherworld."



"Okay, seriously, why is this such a big deal? You're acting like Z is some truant bad kid, and not a kick-ass High Priestess."



"Well, for one thing, it concerns us because she does have so much power. With power comes responsibility. You know that," Lenobia said. "And then there is the issue of Neferet and Kalona."



"Here I must speak," Professor Penthasilea said. "I am not the only one of us to have received the High Council's most recent message. There is no Neferet and Kalona. Neferet has broken with her Consort since his spirit returned to his body and he regained consciousness. Neferet had him publically lashed, and then banished from her side, and from vampyre society for one century. Neferet spearheaded his punishment for the crime of killing the human boy.



The High Council ruled that Kalona, and not Neferet, was responsible for the crime."



"Yes, we know that, but--," Lenobia began.



"What are y'all talkin' about?" Stevie Rae interrupted, feeling like her head was going to explode.



"Looks like we ain't on the email list," Kramisha said, looking every bit as freaked out as Stevie Rae. As the clock outside began to chime midnight, Neferet stepped from within the hidden door that was the High Priestess's entrance to the Tulsa Council Chamber. She moved with purpose to the huge round table. Her voice was whip-like and full of confidence and command.



"I see I have returned none too soon. Would someone please explain to me why we have begun allowing fledglings access to our Council Meetings?"



"Kramisha is more than just a fledgling. She's a Poet Laureate and a Prophetess. Add to that the fact that I'm a High Priestess and I've invited her--all that gives her the right to be in this Council Meeting."



Stevie Rae swallowed the sick fear that came with confronting Neferet and was incredibly relieved that her voice sounded steady when she finally freed the words from the back of her throat. "And why aren't you in jail for Heath's murder?"



"Jail?" Neferet's laughter was cruel. "What impudence! I am a High Priestess, one who has earned that title and not simply been given it by default."



"And yet you avoid the question of your culpability in the human's murder," Dragon said. "I, too, did not receive communication from the Vampyre High Council. I would like an explanation of your presence, and why you were not held responsible for the behavior of your Consort."



Stevie Rae expected Neferet to explode at Dragon's questioning, but instead her expression softened and her green eyes filled with pity. Neferet's voice was warm and understanding when she answered the Sword Master. "I imagine the High Council is holding your communication because they are cognizant that you are still grieving deeply for your lost mate."



Dragon's face paled, but his blue eyes hardened.



"I did not lose Anastasia. She was taken from me. Murdered by a creature who was the creation of your Consort, acting under his command."



"I understand how your grief can taint judgment, but you need to know that Rephaim and the other Raven Mockers were not under orders to harm anyone. On the contrary, they were commanded to protect. When Zoey and her friends set the House of Night afire and stole our horses, they took that as an attack. They simply reacted."



Stevie Rae and Lenobia shared a quick look that telegraphed don't let them know who was in on what, and Stevie Rae kept her mouth shut, refusing to give up Lenobia's part in Zoey's "escape."



"They killed my mate," Dragon said, pulling everyone's attention to him.



"And for that I will be eternally sorry," Neferet said.



"Anastasia was a good friend to me."



"You chased Zoey and Darius and the rest of the gang," Stevie Rae said. "You threatened us. You commanded Stark to shoot Zoey. How do you excuse all of that?"



Neferet's beautiful face seemed to crumple. She leaned on the table, and sobbed softly. "I know ... I know. I was weak. I let the winged immortal taint my mind. He said Zoey had to be destroyed, and because I believed he was Erebus Incarnate, I also believed him."



"Oh, that's just a bunch of bull," Stevie Rae said. Neferet's emerald eyes skewered her.



"Have you never cared for someone, only to find out later that he was truly a monster in disguise?"



Stevie Rae felt all the blood drain from her face. She answered the only way she knew how--with the truth. "In my life, monsters don't disguise themselves."



"You did not answer my question, young Priestess."



Stevie Rae lifted her chin. "I'll answer your question. No, I've never cared for someone and not known what he was from the beginning. And if you're talkin' 'bout Dallas, I knew he might have issues, but I never expected him to turn to Darkness and go all crazy."



Neferet's smile was sly. "Yes, I heard about Dallas. So sad ... so sad." "Neferet, I still need to understand the ruling of the High Council. As Sword Master and Leader of the Sons of Erebus at this House of Night, I am entitled to be kept informed regarding anything that might compromise the security of our school, whether I am in mourning or not," Dragon said, looking pale but determined.



"You are quite right, Sword Master. It is really very simple. When the immortal's soul returned to his body, he confessed to me that he killed the human boy because he thought Heath's hatred for me was a threat." Neferet shook her head, looking sad and contrite. "The poor child had somehow convinced himself that I was to blame for the deaths of Professor Nolan and Loren Blake. Kalona believed that by executing Heath, he was protecting me." She shook her head. "He had been apart from this world for too long. He truly did not understand the human could pose no threat to me. His action in executing Heath was simply a misguided Warrior protecting his High Priestess, which is why the High Council and I have been so merciful in his punishment. As some of you are already aware, Kalona was flogged one hundred strokes and then banished from vampyre society and my side for one full century."



There was a long stretch of silence, then Penthasilea said, "It seems like this entire debacle has been one tragic misunderstanding after another, but surely we have all paid enough for what has happened in the past. What is important now is that the school reconvene and we all get on with our lives."



"I bow to your wisdom and experience, Professor Penthasilea," Neferet said, inclining her head respectfully. Then she turned to face Dragon. "This has, indeed, been a difficult time for many of us, but you have paid the greatest price, Sword Master. So it is you I must look to for absolution for my mistakes, both personal and professional. Can you possibly lead the House of Night into a new era, creating a Phoenix from the ashes of our heartache?"



Stevie Rae wanted to scream at Dragon that Neferet was fooling them all-- that what had happened at the House of Night wasn't a tragic mistake, it was a tragic misuse of power by Neferet and Kalona. But her heart sank as she watched Dragon bow his head and in an utterly heartbroken and defeated voice say, "I would like us all to move on, for if we do not, I'm afraid I will not survive the loss of my mate." Lenobia looked like she wanted to speak up, but when Dragon began to sob brokenly, she kept silent and moved to his side to comfort him.



That leaves me to stand up to Neferet, Stevie Rae thought, and glanced at Kramisha, who was watching Neferet with a barely veiled what-the-fuck look. Okay, so that leaves me and Kramisha to stand up to Neferet, Stevie Rae corrected inside her head. She squared her shoulders and readied herself for the epic confrontation that was sure to come when she called bullshit on the fallen High Priestess.



At that moment a weird noise drifted into the Council Chamber from the window that had been left open to the crisp night air. It was a horrible, mournful sound, and it caused the small hairs on Stevie Rae's arms to lift.



"What is that?" Stevie Rae said, her head turned --along with everyone else's--to the open window.



"I never heard nothin' like it," Kramisha said. "And it gives me the creeps."



"It's an animal. And it's in pain." Dragon instantly pulled himself together, his expression shifted, and he was, once again, a Warrior and not a heartbroken mate. He got to his feet and crossed the Council Chamber to the window.



"A cat?" Penthasilea said, looking distressed.



"I can't see it from here. It's coming from the east side of campus," Dragon said, turning from the window and heading to the door purposefully.



"Oh, Goddess! I think I know the sound." Tragic and broken, Neferet's voice had them all turning their attention back to her. "It's the howling of a dog, and the only canine on this campus is Stark's Labrador, Duchess. Has something happened to Stark?"



Stevie Rae watched Neferet press one slim hand against her throat, as if to hold back the pounding of her heart at the terrible thought that something could have happened to Stark. Stevie Rae wanted to slap her. Neferet could have received a dang Academy Award for Best Fake Tragic Performance by a Lead Bitch. That's it. She wasn't going to let her get away with this crap.



But Stevie Rae didn't get a chance to confront Neferet. The moment Dragon opened the door to the hallway a cacophony of sound flooded everyone. Fledglings were rushing toward the Council Chamber. Most of them were crying and shouting, but above all of the noise--above even the horrible howling--one sound became distinctly recognizable: that of a person keening in grief.



Within the grief, Stevie Rae recognized the voice.



"Oh, no," she said, rushing down the hallway.



"That's Damien."



Stevie Rae was ahead of even Dragon, and when she wrenched open the outside door of the school, she barreled into Drew Partain with such force that both of them tumbled to the ground. "Jeeze Louise, Drew! Get outta my--"



"Jack's dead!" Drew shouted, scrambling to his feet and pulling her up with him. "Over there by thebroken tree at the east wall. It's bad. Really bad. Hurry--Damien needs you!"



Stevie Rae felt a surge of nausea as she processed what Drew was saying. And then she was swept with Drew in a tide of vampyres and fledglings as they all rushed across campus.



When Stevie Rae got to the tree she had a terrible moment of d?j? vu. The blood. There was so much blood everywhere! She flashed back to the night Stark's arrow had opened her body and drained practically all of her life's blood out of it at this very spot.



Only this time it wasn't her. This time it was kind, sweet Jack and he really was dead, so it was terrible times ten. For a second the scene didn't seem to make sense to her because no one moved --no one spoke. There were no sounds except Duchess's howling and Damien's keening. The boy and the dog were crouched beside Jack, who lay, facedown, on the blood-soaked grass, with the point of a long sword protruding several feet from the back of his neck. It had run through him with such force that it had almost severed his head from his body.



"Oh, Goddess! What has happened here?" It was Neferet who unfroze everyone. She hurried up to Jack, bending to rest her hand gently on his body.



"The fledgling is dead," she said solemnly.



Damien looked up. Stevie Rae saw his eyes. They were filled with pain and horror and maybe, just maybe, even a shadow of madness. As he stared at Neferet she watched his already pale face blanch almost colorless, and that jolted her.



"I'm thinkin' you should leave him alone," Stevie Rae said, moving so that she stood between Neferet and Jack and Damien.



"I am High Priestess here. It is my place to deal with this tragedy. What's best for Damien is for you to step aside and let adults sort all of this out," Neferet said. Her tone was reasonable, but Stevie Rae was looking into her emerald eyes and she saw something stir there that made her skin crawl.



Stevie Rae could feel everyone watching her. She knew there was some rightness in what Neferet was saying--she hadn't been a High Priestess long enough to know how to deal with something as horrible as what had happened tonight. Heck, she was really only a High Priestess because there weren't any other red fledgling girls who had Changed. Did she have any right to speak up as Damien's "High Priestess"?



Stevie Rae stood there, silent and struggling with her own insecurities. Neferet ignored her and crouched beside Damien, taking his hand and forcing him to look at her. "Damien, I know you are in shock, but you must get control of yourself and tell us how this happened to Jack."



Damien blinked blindly at Neferet, and then Stevie Rae saw his vision clear and he focused on her. He snatched his hand from hers. Shaking his head back and forth, back and forth, he started sobbing, "No! No! No!" That was it. Stevie Rae had had enough. She didn't care if the whole damn universe couldn't see through Neferet's bullshit. She wasn't gonna let her terrorize poor Damien.



"What happened? You're asking what happened? Like it's just a coincidence that Jack is murdered at the same time you show up back here at school?"



Stevie moved back to Damien's side, taking his hand. "You can trick-or- treat the blind-as-bats High Council. You can even talk some of these good folksinto believin' you're still on our side, but Damien and Zoey and"--she paused when she heard two very similar gasps of horror as the Twins ran up. "--and Shaunee and Erin and Stark and I. We do not effing believe you're a good guy. So why don't you explain what happened here?"



Neferet shook her head, looking sad and tragically beautiful. "I feel sorry for you, Stevie Rae. You used to be such a sweet, loving fledgling. I do not know what happened to you."



Stevie Rae felt rage rush through her. Her body trembled with the force of it. "You know better than anyone on this earth what happened to me." She couldn't help herself. The anger was too much. Stevie Rae started to move toward Neferet. At that moment she wanted nothing so much as to wrap her hands around the vampyre's throat and press and press and press until she no longer breathed--was no longer a threat.



But Damien didn't loosen his hold on her hand.



That link of touch and trust between them, as well as Damien's broken whisper, held her back. "She didn't do it. I saw it happen and she didn't do it."



Stevie Rae hesitated, glancing down at Damien.



"What do you mean, honey?"



I was way over there. Just outside the field house door. Duchess wouldn't let me jog. She kept pulling me back toward here. I finally gave in to her." Damien's voice was rough and he spoke in sharp bursts of words. "She made me worried. So I was looking. I saw it." He started to sob again. "I saw Jack fall from the top of the ladder and land on the sword. There was no one around him. No one at all."



Stevie Rae turned to Damien and pulled him into her arms. As she did so she felt two more pairs of arms enfolding them as the Twins joined their circle, holding them tightly.



"Neferet was with us in the Council Chamber when this horrible accident happened," Dragon said solemnly, touching Jack's hair gently. "She was not responsible for this death."



Stevie Rae couldn't look at Jack's poor broken body, so she was watching Neferet when Dragon spoke. Only she saw the flash of smug victory that passed over her face, quickly replaced by a practiced look of sadness and concern. She killed him. I don't know how, and I can't prove it right now, but she did. Then, as quickly as that thought formed, another came on its heels: Zoey would believe me. She'd help me figure out how to expose Neferet. Zoey has to come back.