Burned

Stevie Rae



"Skye? Really? Where is that? Ireland?" Stevie Rae said.



"It's Scotland, not Ireland, retard," Aphrodite said.



"Aren't they kinda the same thing? And don't say 'retard.' It's not nice."



"How about if I say bite me? Is that nice enough? Just listen and try not to be so asstarded, bumpkin. I need you to go back and do more of your weird commune with the earth or whatthefuckever it is you do, and see if you can come up with some info about Light and Darkness - you know, with a capital L and D. Also pay attention if a tree or whatnot says something about two bulls."



"Bulls? You mean like cows?"



"Are you not from the country? How is it that you don't know what a bull is?"



"Look, Aphrodite, that's an ignorant stereotype. Just 'cause I'm not from a big city does not mean I automatically know about cows and stuff. Heck, I don't even like horses."



"I swear you're a mutant," Aphrodite said. "A bull is a male cow. Even my mom's schizophrenic Bichon Frise knows that. Focus, would you, this is important. You need to go ask the fucking grass about an ancient and entirely too barbaric and therefore unattractive mythology or religion or some such that includes two fighting bulls, a white one and a black one, and a very guylike, violent, unending struggle between good and evil."



"What does this have to do with gettin' Zoey back?"



"I think it might somehow open a door for Stark to the Otherworld, without him actually dying because, apparently, that doesn't so much work for Warriors protecting their High Priestesses there."



"The cows can do that? How? Cows can't even talk."



"Bulls, double retard. Stay with me. I'm not just talking about animals, but the rawness of the power that surrounds them. The bulls represent that power."



"So they're not gonna talk?"



"Oh, for shit's sake! They might and they might not - they're super old magick, stupid! Who the hell knows what they can do? Just get this: to make it to the Otherworld, Stark can't be civilized and modern and all nicey-nice. He's got to figure out how to be more than that to reach Zoey and to protect her without getting both of them killed, and this olden-time religion might be a key to that."



"I guess that makes sense. I mean, when I think about Kalona, I don't exactly think of a modern guy."



Stevie Rae paused, acknowledging only to herself that she was truly thinking of Rephaim and not his father. "And he's definitely got some raw power."



"And definitely in the Otherworld without being dead."



"Which is where Stark needs to be."



"So, go talk to flowers about bulls and such," Aphrodite said.



"I'll go talk to flowers," Stevie Rae said.



"Call me when they tell you something."



"Yeah, okay. I'll do my best."



"Hey, be careful," Aphrodite said.



"See, you can be nice," Stevie Rae said.



"Before you go all strawberries and cream on me, answer this question: who'd you Imprint with after ours broke?"



Stevie Rae's body went ice-cold. "No one!"



"Which means someone totally inappropriate. Who is it, one of those red fledgling losers?"



"Aphrodite - I said no one ."



"Yeah, that's what I figured. See, one of the things I'm learning about because of this new Prophetess stuff, which is mostly a pain in the ass, by-the-by, is that if I listen without my ears, I know things."



"Here's what I know - you've lost your dang mind."



"So, again, be careful. I'm getting weird vibes from you, and they're telling me you might be in trouble."



"I think you've just made up a big ol' story to cover up that whole lot of crazy you got going on inside your head."



"And I think you're hiding something. So let's just agree to disagree."



"I'm goin' to talk to flowers about cows. Goodbye, Aphrodite."



"Bulls. Goodbye, bumpkin."



Stevie Rae opened the door to leave her dorm room, still frowning about Aphrodite's comments, and almost ran smack into Kramisha's hand, raised to knock on her door. They both jumped and then Kramisha shook her head. "Don't do weird shit like that. Makes me think you ain't normal no more."



"Kramisha, if I'd known you were out here, I wouldn't have jumped when I opened the door. And none of us are normal - at least not anymore."



"Speak for yourself. I'm still me. Meaning they's nothin' wrong with me. You, on the other hand, look like one hot messatude."



"I almost burned up on a roof two days ago. I think that gives me the right to look like crap."



"I don't mean you look bad." Kramisha cocked her head to the side. Today she was wearing her bright yellow bob wig, which she'd coordinated with sparkly fluorescent yellow eye shadow. "Actually, you lookin' good - all pink like white folks get when they real healthy. It kinda reminds me of cute little baby pigs with they pinkness."



"Kramisha, I swear you're makin' my head hurt. What are you talkin' about?"



"I'm just sayin' that you look good, but you ain't doing good. In there, and there." Kramisha pointed from Stevie Rae's heart to her head.



"I've got a lot on my mind," Stevie Rae said evasively.



"Yeah, I know that, what with Zoey totally jacked up and all, but you gotta keep your shit together just the same."



"I'm tryin'."



"Try harder. Zoey needs you. I know you ain't there with her, but I got this feelin' that you can help her.



So you gotta be using your good sense."



Kramisha was staring at her with an intensity that made Stevie Rae want to fidget. "Like I said, I'm tryin'."



"You up to somethin' crazy?"



"No!"



"You sure? 'Cause this is for you." Kramisha held up a piece of purple notebook paper that had something written on it in her distinctive mixture of cursive and printing. "And it feels like a whole bunch



of crazy to me."



Stevie Rae snatched the paper from her hand. "Dang it, why didn't you just say you were bringin' me one of your poems?"



"I was gettin' 'round to it." Kramisha crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway, obviously waiting for Stevie Rae to read the poem.



"Isn't there somethin' you need to go do?"



"Nope. The rest of the kids is eatin'. Oh, 'cept for Dallas. He's working with Dragon on some sword stuff, even though school ain't starting again officially, and I do not see no need to rush things, so I do not get why he in such a hurry to go to class. Anyway, just read the poem, High Priestess. I ain't goin'



nowhere."



Stevie Rae stifled a sigh. Kramisha's poems tended to be confusing and abstract, but they were also often prophetic, and just thinking about one of them being obviously for her had Stevie Rae's stomach feeling like she'd eaten raw eggs. Reluctantly, her eyes went to the paper and she started to read: The Red One steps into the Light



girded loins for her part in



the apocalyptic fight.



Darkness hides in different forms



see beyond shape, color, lies



and the emotional storms.



Ally with him; pay with your heart



though trust cannot be given



unless the Darkness you part.



See with the soul and not your eyes



because to dance with beasts you



must penetrate their disguise.



Stevie Rae shook her head, glanced up at Kramisha, and then read the poem again, slowly, willing her heart to please stop beating so loud that it would betray the guilty terror the thing instantly made her feel.



'Cause Kramisha was right; it was obviously about her. Of course it was also obviously about her and Rephaim. Stevie Rae supposed she should be grateful the dang poem didn't say anything about wings and human eyes in a dang bird head. Shoot!



"See what I mean 'bout it bein' 'bout you?"



Stevie Rae shifted her gaze from the poem to Kramisha's intelligent eyes. "Well, hell, Kramisha. 'Course it's about me. The first line says that."



"Yeah, see, I was sure 'bout that, too, even though I never heard nobody call you that."



"It makes sense," Stevie Rae said quickly, trying to drown out the memory of Rephaim's voice calling her The Red One . "I'm the only girl red vamp, so it's gotta be talkin' about me."



"That's what I thought, even though there is that whole bunch of freaky 'bout the beasts and stuff. I had to look up the gird-your-loins part 'cause it sounded nasty and sexual, but it ended up just bein' a way to say you need to get real ready for a fight."



"Yeah, well, there's been a bunch of fighting goin' on lately," Stevie Rae said, looking back at the poem.



"Looks like you in for some more - and it's some bad shit, too, you got to be real ready for." Then she cleared her throat meaningfully, and Stevie Rae reluctantly met her eyes again. "Who is he?"



"He?"



Kramisha crossed her arms. "Do not talk to me like I'm stupid. Him. The guy my poem says you're gonna give your heart to."



"I am not!"



"Oh, then you do know who he is." Kramisha tapped the toe of her leopard-print boots. "And he definitely ain't Dallas, 'cause you wouldn't be freaked about givin' him your heart. Everyone knows you two got a thing. So, who is he ?"



"I don't have a clue. I'm not seein' anyone but Dallas. Plus, I'm way more worried about the parts that talk about Darkness and disguises and such," Stevie Rae lied.



"Huh," Kramisha snorted through her nose.



"Look, I'm gonna keep this and think about it," Stevie Rae said, stuffing the poem into her jeans pocket.



"Let me guess - you want me to keep my mouth shut 'bout it," Kramisha said, tapping her foot again.



"Yeah, 'cause I want to try to . . ." The excuse died under Kramisha's knowing stare. Stevie Rae blew out a long breath, decided to tell as much of the truth as she could, and started again. "I don't want you to say anything 'bout the poem 'cause I got a guy issue goin' on, and havin' it come out right now would suck for Dallas and for me, especially when I'm not real sure what's goin' on between me and this other guy."



"That's more like it. Guy shit can be one hot mess, and like my mama always says, it just ain't right to put your personal business all out there for everbody to see."



"Thanks, Kramisha. I 'preciate that."



Kramisha held up her hand. "Hang on. Didn't nobody say I was done with this subject. My poems is important. This one is about more than your jacked-up love life. So like I said before, get the crazy cleared from your head and remember to use your good sense. And also, every time I wrote the word Darkness , it made my insides feel wrong."



Stevie Rae gave Kramisha a long look, then made her decision. "Walk with me to the parking lot, 'kay?



I got somethin' to do off campus, but I wanna talk to you on the way."



"No problem," Kramisha said. "Plus, it's 'bout time you said something 'bout what's going on inside your head to someone. You been actin' wacked lately, and I mean even before Zoey got herself shattered."



"Yeah, I know," Stevie Rae mumbled.



Neither one of them said anything more while they walked down the stairs and through the busy dorm.



Stevie Rae thought it was like the thawing ice had also unfrozen the fledglings. Over the past couple of days, the kids had started coming out and acting more and more normal. Sure, she and Kramisha still got plenty of looks, but they'd gone from hostile and fearful to mostly curious.



"You thinkin' we might actually be able to come back here and go to school again, like this is still our home?" Kramisha blurted once they'd reached the sidewalk outside the dorm, Stevie Rae gave her a surprised look. "Actually, I kinda have started to think that. Would it be so bad to be back here?"



Kramisha shrugged. "I ain't sure. All I'm sure of is I feel right when I'm sleepin' underground during the day."



"Yeah, that's a problem here."



"The Darkness in my poem that makes me feel wrong - you don't think that's 'bout us, do you?"



"No!" Stevie Rae shook her head emphatically. "There's nothin' wrong with us. You and me and Dallas and the rest of the red fledglings who came here decided. Nyx gave us a choice, and we chose good over evil - Light over Darkness. The poem isn't talkin' about us. I'm sure of that."



"It's the others, huh?" Even though they were alone, Kramisha lowered her voice.



Stevie Rae thought about it and realized Kramisha could be right. She'd just been so preoccupied with guilt about Rephaim that it hadn't occurred to her. Dang! She did need to get her head on straight. "Well, yeah, I guess it could be talkin' 'bout them, but if it is, it's really bad."



"Please. We all know they real bad."



"Yeah, well, I just found out some stuff from Aphrodite that gives Darkness with a capital D a whole new level of messed-up. And if they're involved with that, then they've reached a different kind of bad.



Like Neferet bad."



"Shit."



"Yeah. So your poem might be talkin' 'bout a fight with them. But also, and this is the part I wanted you to know, Aphrodite and I have started to learn about some ancient stuff. You know, really old. So old the vamps have even forgotten about it."



"That's some old shit."



"Well, we're - meaning me and Aphrodite and Stark and the rest of the kids with Zoey - are gonna try to see if we can use this old info to help Stark get to the Otherworld so he can protect Z while she puts her soul back together."



"You mean get Stark to the Otherworld without him being all dead and stuff?"



"Yeah, apparently him showin' up in the Otherworld dead wouldn't be good for Zoey."



"So you gonna use that old shit to figure out how to do it right?"



Stevie Rae smiled at her. "We're gonna try. And you can help."



"Say the word - I'm there."



"Okay, here goes: Aphrodite's found some new Prophetess powers since she's been focused on them."



Stevie Rae added a wry smile to her words. "Even though she's 'bout as happy as a cat in a thunderstorm about it." Kramisha laughed, and Stevie Rae continued, "Anyway, I was thinkin' that even though I don't have a circle here like Z does around her there, I do have a Prophetess."



Kramisha blinked, looked confused, and when Stevie Rae kept staring at her, her eyes finally widened in understanding. "Me?"



"You. Well, you and your poetry. You did it before and helped Z figure out how to chase Kalona outta here."



"But - "



"But look at it this way," Stevie Rae broke in. "Aphrodite figured it out. So are you sayin' she's smarter than you?"



Kramisha's eyes narrowed. "I got a whole world of smart that rich white girl don't know nothin' about."



"Well, then, cowboy up."



"You know you kinda scare me when you talk country."



"I know." Stevie Rae dimpled at her. "Okay, I'm gonna go conjure up some earth and see if I can figure anything more out from my end. Hey, find Dallas and fill him in on everything but the poem."



"I already told you I ain't rattin' you out."



"Thanks, Kramisha. You're a really good Poet Laureate."



"You ain't so bad yourself for a country girl."



"See ya." Stevie Rae waved and started to jog for Z's car.



"I got your back, High Priestess!"



Kramisha's parting words made Stevie Rae's stomach feel all squishy, but also had her grinning as she started Z's car. She was just getting ready to put the car into gear when she realized (a) she didn't know



where she was going, and (b) the whole "conjure the earth" thing would be loads easier if she'd bothered to grab a green candle and maybe even some sweetgrass to draw some positive energy. Totally annoyed at herself, she put the car into neutral. Where in the Sam Hill was she going?



Back to Rephaim. The thought was like breathing - instant and natural. Stevie Rae reached for the gearshift, but her hand paused. Would going back to Rephaim right now really be the smartest thing for her to do?



Sure, on one hand she'd gotten a bunch of info from him about Kalona and Darkness and such.



On the other, she didn't really trust him. She couldn't really trust him.



Plus, he messed with her head. When she'd read Kramisha's poem, she'd been too dang busy obsessing about him to consider anything else - like the fact the poem could be a warning about the bad red fledglings and not just stuff about her and the Raven Mocker.



So what the heck should she do?



She'd told Rephaim she'd come back to check on him, but she wanted to return because of more than just telling him she would. Stevie Rae needed to see him. Needed to? Yes, she admitted reluctantly to herself. She needed to see the Raven Mocker. The admission jarred Stevie Rae.



"I'm Imprinted with him. That means we got a connection, and there's not much I can do about it," she muttered to herself while she squeezed the Bug's steering wheel. "I'm just gonna have to get used to it and deal with it."



And I have to remember that he is his father's son.



Fine. Okay. She'd check on him. She'd also ask him questions about Light as well as Darkness, and about two cows. She scowled. Well, bulls. But she should do some digging for herself without Rephaim.



She really should evoke her element and see what info she could get on the cow/bulls. That would be using her good sense. Then Stevie Rae grinned and slapped the steering wheel.



"I got it! I'll stop at that cute old park that's on the way to Gilcrease. Do a little earth magick, and then check on Rephaim. Easy-peasy!" Of course first she'd duck back into Nyx's Temple and grab a green candle, some matches, and some sweetgrass. Feeling better now that she had a plan, she was just getting ready to take the Bug outta neutral when she heard the sound of cowboy boots tapping against the asphalt of the parking lot and then Dallas speaking with exaggerated nonchalance.



"I'm just walkin' out here to Zoey's car. I'm not sneakin' up on Stevie Rae and makin' her jump."



Stevie Rae rolled down her window and grinned at him. "Hey there, Dallas. I thought Kramisha said you were working out with Dragon."



"I was. Check it out - Dragon gave me this cool knife. Said it's a dirk. He also said I might be good with it."



Stevie Rae watched dubiously as Dallas pulled a pointy, double-edged knife from a leather holder he was wearing strapped around his waist and held it kinda awkwardly, like he wasn't sure whether it would cut someone else, or cut him.



"It's real sharp-looking," Stevie Rae said, trying to sound positive.



"Yeah, that's why I'm not using it to practice with yet, but Dragon did say I could wear it. For a while. If I was careful."



"Oh, okay. Cool." If she lived a million years Stevie Rae was sure she'd never understand guy stuff.



"Yeah, so, I got done with my dirk lessons and ran into Kramisha on my way out of the Field House,"



Dallas said while he sheathed the knife. "She said she'd left you here 'cause you were gettin' ready to take off to go do some earth thing. I thought I'd try to catch you before you left and come along."



"Oh, well. That's nice, Dallas, but I'm fine by myself. Actually, it would really help if you grabbed a green candle and some matches for me from Nyx's Temple and ran them back out here to me. Oh, and if you see some sweetgrass in the temple, bring it here, too, would ya? Don't know where my mind's been, but conjuring earth is definitely easier with an earth candle, and I totally forgot one, not to mention the sweetgrass for drawin' positive energy."



She was surprised when Dallas didn't say 'kay and jog away for the stuff. Instead, he just stood there, watching her, with his hands shoved down in his jeans pockets and looked kinda annoyed.



"What?" she asked.



"I'm sorry I'm not a Warrior!" he blurted. "I'm tryin' the best I can to learn somethin' from Dragon, but it's gonna take me a while to get decent at it. I've never really cared about all that fightin' stuff, and I'm sorry!" Dallas repeated, looking more and more upset.



"Dallas, what the heck are you talkin' about?"



He threw his hands up in frustration. "I'm talkin' about me not being good enough for you. I know you need more - that you need a Warrior. Hell, Stevie Rae, if I'd been your Warrior, I could've been there for you when those kids attacked you and almost killed you. If I were your Warrior, you wouldn't be sendin' me off on stupid errands. You'd keep me close to you, so I could protect you during all this stuff you're goin' through."



"I'm doin' fine protecting myself, and gettin' me an earth candle and stuff is not a stupid errand."



"Yeah, okay, but you deserve better than a guy who doesn't know shit about protecting his woman."



Stevie Rae's brows went up to meet her curly blond hair. "Did you just call me your woman?"



"Well, yeah." He fidgeted, and then added, "But in a good way."



"Dallas, you couldn't have stopped what happened on the roof," she said truthfully. "You know how those kids are."



"I should have been with you; I should be your Warrior."



"I don't need a Warrior!" she yelled, exasperated at his stubbornness and hating the fact that he was so upset.



"Well, you sure as hell don't need me anymore." He turned his back on the Bug and shoved his hands



into his jeans pockets.



Stevie Rae looked at his hunched shoulders and felt terrible. She'd done this. She'd hurt him because she'd been pushing him and everyone away to keep Rephaim a secret. Guilty as a rabbit in a carrot patch, she got out of the car and touched his shoulder gently. He didn't look at her.



"Hey, that's not true. I do need you."



"Sure. That's why you've been busy shoving me away."



"No, I've just been busy. Sorry if I've come across as mean," she said.



He turned to her. "Not mean. Just not caring anymore."



"I care!" she said quickly, and stepped into his arms, hugging him back as tightly as he was hugging her.



Dallas spoke softly into her ear. "Then let me come with you."



Stevie Rae pulled back so she could look at him, and the "no, you can't" she'd been ready to say died on her lips. It was like she could see his heart through his eyes, and it was clear that she was breaking it - breaking him. What the hell was she doing hurting this kid because of Rephaim? She'd saved the Raven Mocker. She wasn't sorry about that. She was sorry that it was affecting the people around her.



Well, that's it, then. I'm not hurtin' the folks I care about most.



"Okay, yeah, you can come with me," she told him.



His eyes instantly brightened. "You mean it?"



" 'Course I mean it. I do need that earth candle, though. Well, and the sweetgrass, too. And it's still not a stupid errand."



"Hell, I'll get you a whole bag of candles and all the grass you want!" Dallas laughed, kissed her, and then, yelling that he'd be right back, sprinted away.



Slowly, Stevie Rae got back into the Bug. She gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead, reciting her mental to-do list aloud like a mantra. "Conjure earth with Dallas. Find out what I can about the cows. Bring Dallas back to the school. Make an excuse. A good excuse to leave again, only this time alone. Go to the Gilcrease and check on Rephaim. See if he knows anything else that might help Stark and Z. Come back here. Don't hurt your friends by shoving them away. Check on the red fledglings.



Clue in Lenobia and the rest of 'em 'bout what's going on with Z. Call Aphrodite back. Figure out what the heck to do 'bout the bad fledglings at the depot. And then try, real hard, not to hurl yourself off the top of the nearest tall building . . ." Feeling like she was drowning in a big ol' stinkin', stagnant, Okie pond of stress, Stevie Rae lowered her head until her forehead pressed against the steering wheel.



How in the world did Z deal with all of this bullshit and stress?



She didn't, the thought came unbidden to her mind, it shattered her.