Burned

Stevie Rae



She knew she'd catch a bunch of crap when she got back to school, but Stevie Rae didn't expect Lenobia herself to be waiting in the parking lot for her.



"Look, I just needed some time by myself. As you can see, I'm fine and - "



"On the evening news there was a bulletin about a gang break-in at the Tribune Loft apartments. Four people were killed. Their throats were cut out, and they were partially drained of blood. The only reason the police are not on our doorstep accusing us is the report from several witnesses who all swear it was a gang of human teenagers. with Red eyes."



Stevie Rae swallowed down the sick taste of bile in the back of her throat. "It was the red fledglings I left at the depot. They messed with the witnesses' memories, but none of them are Changed, so they don't have the ability to cover up everything."



"They couldn't wipe those blazing red eyes from the humans' memories," Lenobia said, nodding in agreement.



Stevie Rae was out of the car and moving toward the school. "Dragon hasn't gone after them, has he?"



"No. I've kept him busy with small groups of fledglings. He's already started going over self-defense skills with them in case of another attack from Raven Mockers."



"Lenobia, I seriously think that one in the park was a fluke. I'll bet he's miles away from Tulsa by now."



Lenobia made a dismissive gesture. "One Raven Mocker is one too many, but whether he's alone or



with a flock, Dragon will hunt him down and destroy him. And unless Kalona and Neferet are goading them, I don't think we need to worry about them attacking the school. I'm much more concerned about the rogue red fledglings."



"Me, too." Stevie Rae was eager to change the subject. "The news report said the people had only been partially drained of their blood?"



Lenobia nodded. "Yes, and their throats were ripped out - not cut or bitten and then bled as you or I would feed."



"They aren't feeding. They're playing. They like terrorizing people; it's a kind of high for them."



"That's truly an abomination of Nyx's ways." Lenobia's words came fast; her voice filled with anger.



"Those from whom we feed should only feel our mutual pleasure. That is why the Goddess gave us the ability to share such a powerful sensation with humans. We don't brutalize and torture them. We appreciate them - we make them our consorts. The High Council has even banished vampyres who misuse their power over humans."



"You haven't told the High Council about the red fledglings, have you?"



"I wouldn't do that without discussing it with you first. You are their High Priestess. But you must understand that their actions have taken them beyond where they can be ignored by the rest of us."



"I know, but I still want to deal with them myself."



"Not alone again. Not this time," Lenobia said.



"You're right about that. What they did today shows me how dangerous they are."



"Should I call Dragon in on this?"



"No. I'm not goin' alone, and I do plan on givin' them an ultimatum - shape up or ship out - but if I take outsiders down there, I won't have a chance of any of them deciding to give up Darkness and come with me." Then Stevie Rae realized what she'd said and stopped like she'd run into the side of a barn.



"Ohmygood ness, that's it! I couldn't have known it before I met the bulls, but now I understand.



Lenobia, whatever it is that gets ahold of us after we die, and then un-die, and we're all evil and filled with bloodlust and stuff - it's part of Darkness. That means it isn't a new thing. It has to be as ancient as the Warrior/bull religion. Neferet is behind what happened to me and the rest of the kids." She met the Horse Mistress's gaze and saw the fear she was feeling reflected there. "She's involved with Darkness.



There's no doubt about that now."



"I'm afraid there's been no doubt about that for a long time," Lenobia said.



"But how the heck did Neferet find out about Darkness? For centuries and centuries, vampyres worshipped Nyx."



"Just because people stop worshipping, doesn't mean the deity stops existing. The forces of good and evil move in a timeless dance, regardless of mortal whim or fashion."



"But Nyx is the Goddess."



"Nyx is our Goddess. You can't really believe there is only one deity for a world as complex as ours."



Stevie Rae sighed. "I guess when you put it like that, I gotta agree with you, but I wish there wasn't more than one choice for evil."



"Then there would be only one choice for good. Remember, there must always, eternally, be balance."



They walked in silence for a while before Lenobia said, "You'll take the red fledglings with you to confront the rogues?"



"Yep."



"When?"



"The sooner the better."



"There is only a little over three hours left until dawn," Lenobia said.



"Well, I'm askin' them a simple yes-or-no question. That's not gonna take much time."



"And if they say no?"



"If they say no, I'll make sure they can't use the depot tunnels as their cushy hideout anymore, and I'll make sure they're separated. As inpiduals, I still don't believe they're all bad." Stevie Rae hesitated, and then added, "I don't want to kill them. I feel like if I do, I'll be giving in to evil. And I don't want that Darkness to touch me, ever again." An image of Rephaim, wings spread, fully healed and powerful, flashed through her memory.



Lenobia nodded. "I understand. I don't agree with you, Stevie Rae, but I do understand. Your plan has merit, though. If you shake them from their stronghold and force them to scatter, those who are left will have to worry about surviving and won't have time to 'play' with humans."



"Okay, so let's split up and spread the word that I need all the red fledglings to meet me at the Hummer in the parking lot - now. I'll take the dorms."



"I'll go to the Field House and the cafeteria. Actually, on my way to meet you, I saw Kramisha going into the cafeteria. I'll get to her first. She always knows where everyone is."



Stevie Rae nodded, and Lenobia jogged away, leaving her alone and heading toward the dorms. Alone and able to think. She should be thinking about what the heck she was gonna say to the stupid Nicole and her group of killer fledglings. But she couldn't get Rephaim out of her mind.



Driving away from him had been one of the hardest things she'd ever done in her life.



So why had she?



"Because he's well again," she said aloud, and then closed her mouth and looked guiltily around her.



Thankfully, there was no one nearby. Still, she kept her big mouth clamped shut as her mind continued to race.



Okay, Rephaim was healed and all. So? Had she really thought he'd be broken forever?



No! I don't want him to be broken! The thought came quick and honest. But it wasn't just that he was well. It was that Darkness had healed him - had made him look . . .



Stevie Rae's thoughts trailed off because she didn't want to go there. She didn't want to admit, even silently to herself, how Rephaim had looked to her standing there, framed by the moonlight, powerful and whole.



Nervously, she twirled a blond curl. And anyway, they were Imprinted. He was supposed to look a certain way to her.



But Aphrodite hadn't affected her like Rephaim had started to.



"Well, I'm not gay!" she muttered, and then shut her mouth again because the thought had crept through even though she hadn't wanted it to.



Stevie Rae had liked the way Rephaim looked. He'd been strong and beautiful and, just for a moment, she'd glimpsed beauty inside the beast, and he hadn't been a monster. He'd been magnificent, and he'd been hers.



She staggered to a halt. It was because of that dang black bull! It had to be. Before he'd totally materialized, he'd asked Stevie Rae: I can chase away Darkness, but if I do so, you will owe a debt to Light, and that debt is that you will be forever tied to the humanity inside that creature over there - the one you called me to save. She'd answered with no hesitation: Yes! I'll pay your price. So the dang bull had zapped her with some kind of Light bullshit, and that had done something to her insides.



But was that really the truth? Stevie Rae twirled a curl around and around while she thought back.



No - it had changed between her and Rephaim before the black bull showed up. It had happened when Rephaim had faced Darkness for her and taken on the pain of her debt.



Rephaim had said she belonged to him.



Today she'd realized he was right, and that scared her worse than Darkness itself.



Stevie Rae



"Okay, so, we all here?"



Heads nodded and from beside her, Dallas said, "Yep, everyone's here."



"Them bad kids killed those folks at the Tribune Lofts, didn't they?" Kramisha said.



"Yeah," Stevie Rae said. "I think so."



"That's bad," Kramisha said. "Real bad."



"You can't let 'em kill people like that," Dallas said. "They're not even street people."



Stevie Rae blew out a long breath. "Dallas, how many times do I have to tell y'all that it doesn't matter if someone's a street person or not - it's not right to kill anyone ."



"Sorry," Dallas said. "I know you're right, but sometimes before gets messed up inside my head, and I



kinda forget."



Before. . . the word seemed to echo around them. Stevie Rae knew exactly what Dallas meant: before her humanity had been saved by Aphrodite's sacrifice, and they had the ability to choose good over evil.



She remembered before, too, but as she got another day farther away from that dark past, it was easier and easier for Stevie Rae to put it out of her mind. As she studied Dallas, she wondered if it was different for him - for the rest of the kids who hadn't Changed yet, because Dallas did seem to make little slips like he just had kinda often.



"Stevie Rae? You okay?" Dallas asked, obviously uncomfortable with her scrutiny.



"Yeah, fine. Just thinkin'. So, here's what's up: I'm goin' back down to the tunnels under the depot, our tunnels, and I'm givin' those kids one more chance to decide to act right. If they do, they stay and start back at school with us on Monday. If they don't, they're gonna have to find their own way, in their own place, 'cause we're takin' the tunnels back, and they're not welcome anymore."



Kramisha grinned. "We're goin' back to live in the tunnels!"



"Yep," Stevie Rae said, and she knew from the cheers and relieved shouts of "finally" she heard from the kids that she'd made the right decision. "I haven't talked to Lenobia about it yet, but I can't think that there's gonna be any problem with us busing back and forth from the depot to the House of Night. We need to be underground, and even though I really like this school, it doesn't feel like home anymore. The tunnels do."



"I'm with ya, girl," Dallas said. "But we need to get somethin' straight right now. You're not gonna face those kids alone again. I'm comin' with you."



"Me, too," Kramisha said. "I don't care what kind of big story you gave everbody else, I knew them bad kids was behind you almost gettin' fried up on the roof."



"Yeah, we've all talked about it," muscle-y Johnny B said. "We're not letting our High Priestess face that shit alone again."



"No matter how earth-will-kick-your-ass powerful she is," Dallas said.



"I'm not goin' alone. That's why I called y'all here. We're gonna take our tunnels back, and if ass needs to be kicked, we're gonna do it," Stevie Rae said. "So, Johnny B, I want you to drive the Hummer." She tossed him the keys. The big guy grinned at her and snatched them out of the air. "Take Ant, Shannoncompton, Montoya, Elliott, Sophie, Geraty, and Venus with you. I'll take Dallas and Kramisha in Z's Bug. Follow me - we're goin' to the lower parking lot of the depot."



"Sounds good, but how're we gonna be sure we can find those red kids? You know those tunnels are like, well, an anthill down there," said the little kid nicknamed Ant, and everyone chuckled.



"I been thinkin' 'bout that, too," Kramisha spoke up. "And I have an idea, if you don't mind me sayin'



somethin'."



"Hey, that's one of the reasons I called y'all together, 'cause I need everybody's help with this," Stevie Rae said.



"Yeah, well, this is my idea: Those kids tried to kill you once already, right?"



Figuring there was no hiding from her fledglings, Stevie Rae nodded. "Right."



"So I figured if they tried but didn't get rid of you once, they'd want to give it another shot, right?"



"Probably."



"What would they do if they thought you was down in the tunnels again?"



"They'd come get me," Stevie Rae said.



"Then use the earth to let them know you's there again. You can do that, right?"



Stevie Rae blinked in surprise. "I never thought about it before, but I bet I can."



"That's genius, Kramisha!" Dallas said.



"Totally!" Stevie Rae said. "So, hang on and let me try some-thin'." She hurried from the parking lot to the side of the school that adjoined it. There were a couple of old oaks there, a wrought-iron bench, and a tinkling fountain surrounded by what was now an ice-encapsulated bed of yellow and purple pansies.



While her fledglings watched, she faced north and knelt on the ground in front of the biggest of the two trees. She bowed her head and concentrated. "Come to me, earth," she whispered. Instantly, the ground around her knees warmed, and she smelled the scent of wildflowers and long, waving grass. Stevie Rae pressed her hands against the earth she loved so much and reveled in her connection with the element.



Feeling warm and filled with the strength of nature, she said, "Yes! I know you - I can feel myself within you and you within me. Please do somethin' for me. Please take some of this magic, this awesomeness that is us together, and pour it into the main tunnel under the depot. Let it be like I'm there, so much so that anyone who rests within you would know it." Stevie Rae closed her eyes and imagined a glowing green bolt of energy leaving her body, traveling through the earth, and pouring into the tunnel right outside her old room in the depot. Then she said, "Thank you, earth. Thank you for being my element. You can go now."



When she rejoined her fledglings, they were all staring at her with wide eyes.



"What?" she asked.



"That was amazing," Dallas said, his voice filled with awe.



"Yeah, you was green and all shiny," Kramisha said. "I never seen anything like it before."



"It was totally cool," Johnny B said, while the rest of the kids nodded and smiled.



Stevie Rae smiled back at them, feeling like a real High Priestess. "Well, I'm pretty sure it worked," she said.



"Ya think?" Dallas said.



"I think," she said, and they shared a look that made Stevie Rae's stomach feel quivery. She had to shake herself mentally and refocus, saying, "Uh, okay. Let's do this."



The kids scattered to the two vehicles, and Dallas draped his arm around Stevie Rae's shoulder. She let



him draw her close.



"I'm proud of you, girl," he said.



"Thanks." She reached around his waist and slid her hand in his back pocket.



"And I'm glad you're bringin' us along this time," he said.



"It's the right thing to do," she said. "Plus, we're stronger together than we are apart."



Beside the Bug, he stopped and pulled her all the way into his arms. Bending, he murmured against her lips, "That' right, girl. We are stronger together." Then he kissed her with a fierce possession that surprised Stevie Rae. Before she really knew it, she was kissing him back - and liking the hot way his hard, familiar, completely normal body was making her feel.



"Could y'all please get a room?" Kramisha called to them as she crawled into the little backseat of the Bug.



Stevie Rae giggled, weirdly light-headed, especially as the thought Get real - you can't even kiss the other one whispered through her mind.



Dallas reluctantly let her step out of his arms so she could move to the driver's side of the Bug. Over the roof, he caught her gaze, and said softly, "A room sounds good to me."



Stevie Rae felt her cheeks get hot, and another giggle escaped her mouth. She and Dallas ducked inside the car. From the backseat, Kramisha grumbled, "I heard that mess about a room soundin' good, Dallas, and all I'm sayin' is, you two best keep your minds out the gutter and on the bad kids who like to rip out people's throats."



"I said room, not gutter," Dallas grinned cockily over the seat at Kramisha.



"And I can multitask," Stevie Rae added with another giggle.



"Whatever. Let's just go. I got me a weird feelin' 'bout this," Kramisha said.



Instantly serious, Stevie Rae glanced at Kramisha in the rearview mirror as she pulled out of the parking lot. "A weird feelin'? Did you write another poem, I mean besides the ones you already showed me?"



"No. And I ain't talkin' 'bout those bad kids."



Stevie Rae frowned at Kramisha's reflection.



"What else could you be talkin' 'bout?" Dallas asked.



Kramisha gave Stevie Rae a long look before she answered him. "Nothin'. I just got me some paranoia goin' on, that's all. You two face-suckin' instead of payin' attention to business ain't helping."



"I'm payin' attention to business," Stevie Rae said, looking away from Kramisha's reflection and concentrating on the road.



"Yeah, remember my girl's a High Priestess, and they can definitely handle a bunch of shit at once."



"Huh," Kramisha snorted.



The drive to the depot was short and silent. Stevie Rae was uber-aware of Kramisha in the backseat.



She knows about Rephaim. The thought whispered through Stevie Rae's mind, and she immediately squelched it. Kramisha didn't know about Rephaim. She only knew there was another guy. Nobody knows about Rephaim.



Except the red fledglings.



Panic fluttered through her stomach. What the heck was she gonna do if Nicole or one of the other kids told her fledglings about Rephaim? Stevie Rae could imagine the scene. Nicole would be hateful and crude. Her kids would be totally shocked and freaked. They wouldn't believe she could have -



With a bolt of realization that almost had her gasping out loud, Stevie Rae knew the answer to her problem. Her fledglings wouldn't believe she'd Imprinted with a Raven Mocker. Ever. She would simply deny it. There wasn't any proof. Yeah, her blood might smell weird, but she'd already explained that. Darkness had fed from her - that was bound to make her smell weird. Kramisha believed it, so did Lenobia. The rest of the kids would, too. It would be her word, the word of a High Priestess, against a bunch of kids who had gone bad and had tried to kill her.



And what if some of them actually decided to choose good tonight and stayed here with the rest of them?



Then they'll have to keep their mouths shut, or they don't stay, was the grim thought that haunted Stevie Rae as she parked in the depot lot and gathered her fledglings around her.



"Okay, we're goin' in. Don't underestimate them," Stevie Rae said. Without any discussion, Dallas moved to her right, and Johnny B took her left side. The rest of the kids followed closely behind as they pushed aside the deceptively secure-looking grate that gave them easy access to the basement of the abandoned Tulsa depot.



It looked much like it had when they'd been living down there. There was maybe a little more trash, but basically it was a dark, cold basement. They moved to the rear corner entrance, where the tunnels dropped below them into an even deeper darkness.



"Can you see?" Dallas asked her.



"Of course, but I'll light the wall torches as soon as I find a match or whatever, so y'all can see, too."



"I got a lighter," Kramisha said, digging in her giant bag.



"Kramisha, do not tell me you're smoking," Stevie Rae said, taking the lighter from her.



"No, I ain't smokin'. That's just stupid. But I do believe in bein' prepared. And a lighter come in handy sometimes - like now."



Stevie Rae started to lower herself down the metal ladder, but Dallas's hand on her arm stopped her.



"No, I'm goin' first. They don't want to kill me ."



"Well, that you know of," Stevie Rae countered with, but she let him drop down the ladder before she



did, Johnny B following closely behind her. "Hang on." She made both of them wait by the foot of the ladder while she moved with utter confidence in the complete blackness to the first of the old-timey kerosene lanterns she'd helped to hang from old railroad nails on the curved wall of the tunnel. She lit the lantern and turned to smile at her boys, "There, that's better, huh?"



"Good job, girl." Dallas grinned at her. Then he hesitated and cocked his head to the side. "Do you hear that?"



Stevie Rae looked at Johnny B, who shook his head while he helped Kramisha down the ladder.



"Hear what, Dallas?" Stevie Rae asked him.



Dallas pressed his hand against the rough concrete wall of the tunnel. "That! " he sounded mesmerized.



"Dallas, you ain't makin' no sense," Kramisha told him.



He looked over his shoulder at them. "I'm not sure, but I think I can hear the electrical lines humming."



"That's weird," Kramisha said.



"Well, you have always been super good with electricity and all that kind of guy stuff," Stevie Rae said.



"Yeah, but it's never been like this before. Seriously, I can hear the electricity humming through the cables I connected down here."



"Well, maybe it's like an affinity for you, and maybe you didn't realize it before 'cause you were down here all the time, and it just seemed normal," Stevie Rae said.



"But electricity ain't from the Goddess. How can it be an affinity gift?" Kramisha said, sending Dallas suspicious looks.



"Why can't it be from Nyx?" Stevie Rae said. "Truthfully, I've known weirder things before than a fledging getting an affinity for electricity. Uh, like a white bull personifying Darkness for one."



"You got a point there," Kramisha said.



"So I could actually have an affinity?" Dallas looked dazed.



" 'Course you could, boy," Stevie Rae told him.



"If you do, then make it come in handy," Johnny B said, helping Shannoncompton and Venus down the ladder.



"Handy? Like how?" Dallas asked.



"Well, can you tell from the hummin' or whatever if those nasty red fledglings have been using electricity down here lately?" Kramisha said.



"I'll see." Dallas turned back to the wall, pressed his hands against the concrete, and squeezed his eyes shut. Within just a few heartbeats his eyes popped open, and he gave a surprised gasp, then his gaze went straight to Stevie Rae. "Yeah, the fledglings have been using the electricity. Actually they are right



now. They're in the kitchen."



"Then that's where we're going," Stevie Rae said.