CHAPTER 13

Refusing to gossip with Aphrodite about Stevie Rae, I went back to staring at the TV, but after a while I could not sit still, so I got up and went from window to window closing the shutters and the thick drapes. That didn't take long, so I headed into the kitchen and started to dig though the cupboards. I'd already noticed that the fridge had a six-pack of Perrier, a couple of bottles of white wine, and a few bricks of that expensive imported cheese that smells like feet. There were some packages of butcher-paper-wrapped meat and fish in the freezer and ice cubes, but that was it. The cupboards had a bunch of stuff in them, but it was all rich-people food. You know, imported tins of fish that still have their heads on, smoked oysters (eesh), other strange meat and pickled stuff, and long boxes of something called water crackers. There was not one can of decent pop.

" We're gonna have to go to the grocery store, " I said.

" If you can keep Stinky locked back in the bedroom, all you have to do is get into my parents' on-line account with Petty's Foods. Click what you want from the store. They'll deliver and charge it to my parents. "

" Won't they freak when they see the bill? "

" They won't even notice, " she said. " The bank pays it directly. It's no big deal. "

" Really? " I was amazed people actually lived like that. " You guys are rich. "

Aphrodite shrugged. " Yeah. Whatever. "

Stevie Rae cleared her throat and Aphrodite and I jumped. The sight of her made my heart squeeze hard. Her short blond hair was wet, and it hung around her face in familiar curls. Her eyes were still tinted red and her face was thin and pale, but it was clean. Her cloths were baggy, but she looked like Stevie Rae again.

" Hi, " I said softly. " Feel Better? "

She looked uncomfortable, but nodded.

" You smell better, " Aphrodite said.

I glared at her.

" What? That was nice. "

I sighed and shot her an obvious you're not helping look. " Okay, how about we talk about coming up with a plan? " I meant it to be a rhetorical question, but Aphrodite spoke up right away.

" What exactly are we planning about? I mean, I know Stevie Rae has, uh, unique issues, but I'm not sure what you think can be done about them. She's dead. Or undead dead. " She glanced a Stevie Rae. " Okay, I'm not actually trying to be mean, but—"

" It's not mean. It's just the truth. " Stevie Rae interrupted her. " But don't pretend that you care about my feelings now any more than you did before I died. "

" I was trying to be nice, " Aphrodite snapped, sounding the opposite of nice.

" Try harder, " I said. Then, " Sit down Stevie Rae. " She sat in the puffy leather chair beside the couch. I ignored my headache and sat on the couch. " Okay, here's what I know. " I ticked the points off on my fingers. " First, Stevie Rae doesn't have to live around adult vamps anymore, so that means that she has completed a Change. " Aphrodite started to open her mouth and I hurried on. " Second, she has to have blood, even more often than normal adult vamps. " I looked from Stevie Rae to Aphrodite. " Do either of the two of you know if adult vamps go crazy if they don't drink blood regularly? "

" In Advanced Vampyre Soc we've learned that adults need to drink blood regularly to stay healthy. That's mind and body. " Aphrodite shrugged. " Neferet is the prof for the class, and she's never said anything about vamps going crazy if they don't drink. But that might be one of the things they tell us only after we've made the Change. "

" I didn't know anything about it till I died, " Stevie Rae said.

" Can it be blood from any mammal, or does it have to be human blood? "

" Human. "

I'd asked Stevie Rae, but she and Aphrodite answered at the same time.

" Okay, well, besides having to drink blood and not having to be around adult vamps, Stevie Rae can't come in someone's house unless she's invited. "

" By someone who lives there, " Stevie Rae added. " But that's not such a big deal. "

" What do you mean? " I asked.

Stevie Rae turned her red-tinged gaze one me. " I can get humans to do things they don't want to do. "

With an effort, I didn't shiver.

" That's not a shocker, " Aphrodite said. " Lots of adult vamps have such strong personalities that they can be very persuasive to humans. That's one of the reasons they're so damn scared of us. You should know about that, Zoey. "

" Huh? "

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow. " You've Imprinted with your human boyfriend. How tough was it for you to persuade him to let you have a little suck. " She paused, smiling wickedly. " Of his blood, I mean. "

I ignored her stankness. " Okay, Stevie Rae has that in common with Changed vamps, too. But vamps don't have to be invited in to someone's house, do they? "

" Never heard of anything like that, " Aphrodite said.

" It's because I'm soulless, " Stevie Rae said in a voice totally washed of all emotion.

" You are not soulless, " I said automatically.

" You're wrong. I died and Neferet figured out a way to bring my body back, but she didn't bring my humanity back, too. My soul's still dead. "

I couldn't even stand to think that what she was saying might be possible, and I opened my mouth to argue with her, but Aphrodite was quicker.

" That makes sense. It's why you can't come inside a living person's home without being invited. It's also probably why you'll burn up if the sun hits you. No soul—no standing against the light. "

" How did you know about that? " Stevie Rae asked.

" I'm vision girl, remember? "

" Thought Nyx abandoned you and took the visions away, too, " Stevie Rae said cruelly.

" That's what Neferet wants people to believe because Aphrodite had visions about her—and about you, " I said pointedly. " But Nyx has no more abandoned her than she's abandoned you. "

" So why are you helping Zoey? " Stevie Rae shot the question at Aphrodite. " And don't give me that crap about Nyx having a sense of humor. What's the real reason? "

Aphrodite sneered. " Why I'm helping is my own damn business. "

Stevie Rae sprang to her feet and moved across the room so fast that her movements were one big blur. Before I could blink she had her hands around Aphrodite's throat and her face pressed close to hers. " You're wrong. It's my business, too, because I'm here. Remember, you invited me in? "

" Stevie Rae, let her go. " I kept my voice calm, but my pulse was pounding like crazy. Stevie Rae looked and sounded dangerous and more than a little crazy.

" I've never liked her, Zoey. You know that. I told you a zillion times she was no damn good and you should stay far away from her. I don't know why I shouldn't snap her neck. "

I was beginning to worry about how bugged Aphrodite's eyes looked and how bright red her face was turning. She struggled against Stevie Rae, but it was like a little kid trying to break the hold of a big, mean adult. Help me to get through to Stevie Rae. I sent up a silent prayer to the Goddess as I began to center myself so I could call the power of the elements to me. Then words whispered into my mind and I quickly repeated them.

" You shouldn't snap her neck because you're not a monster. "

She didn't let go of Aphrodite, but Stevie Rae turned her head so she could look at me. " How do you know that? "

I didn't hesitate, " Because I believe in our Goddess, and because I believe in the part of you that is still my best friend. "

Stevie Rae released Aphrodite, who started coughing and rubbing her neck.

" Say you're sorry, " I told Stevie Rae. Her red eyes pierced me, but I lifted my chin and stared right back at her. " Say you're sorry to Aphrodite, " I repeated.

" I'm not sorry, " Stevie Rae said as she walked (at a normal speed) back to the chair.

" Nyx has give Aphrodite an affinity for earth, " I said abruptly. Stevie Rae's body jerked like I'd slapped her. " So by attacking her you're really attacking Nyx. "

" Nyx is letting her take my place! "

" No. Nyx is letting her help you. I cannot figure this out on my own, Stevie Rae. I can't tell any of our friends about you because if I do it's only a matter of time before Neferet knows everything they know, and even though I'm not sure about much, I do absolutely believe Neferet has gone bad. So basically it's us against a powerful High Priestess. Aphrodite is the only fledgling besides me who Neferet can't read. We need her help. "

Stevie Rae narrowed her eyes at Aphrodite, who was still rubbing her neck and sucking air. " I still want to know why she'd bother to help us. She's never liked any of us. She's a liar and a user and a total bitch. "

" Atonement, " Aphrodite managed to gasp.

" What? " Stevie Rae said.

Aphrodite glared at her. Her voice was raspy, but she was definitely regaining her breath and had gone from being scared to being pissed. " What's wrong? Is the word too big for you? A-T-O-N-E-M-E-N-T. " She spelled it. " It means I have to make up for something I've done. A lot of somethings, actually. So I have to do what I didn't do before—which is to follow Nyx's will. " She paused and cleared her throat, grimacing in pain. " No, I don't like it any better than you do. And, just by the by, you still smell bad and your country-ass clothes are stupid. "

" Aphrodite answered your question, " I told Stevie Rae. " She could have been nicer about it, but you did just try to choke her to death. Now apologize to her. " I stared hard at Stevie Rae while I silently called spirit energy to me. I saw Stevie Rae flinch, and she finally looked away.

" Sorry, " she muttered.

" I can't hear her, " Aphrodite said.

" And I can't deal with the two of you acting like big of babies! " I snapped. " Stevie Rae, apologize to her like a normal person instead of spoiled brat. "

" I'm sorry, " Stevie Rae said, frowning at Aphrodite.

" Okay, look, " I said. " We need to have some kind of truce between the three of us. I cannot be afraid if I turn my head the two of you are going to be trying to kill each other. "

" She couldn't kill me, " Stevie Rae said, curling her lip unattractively.

" Because you're already dead or because I don't want to get close enough to your stinkiness to kick your bony ass? " Aphrodite asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

" This is exactly what I mean! " I shouted. " Stop it! If we can't get along, how in the hell can we expect to figure out a way to stand up to Neferet and fix what's happened to Stevie Rae? "

" We have to stand up to Neferet? " Aphrodite said.

" Why do we have to stand up to her? " Stevie Rae said.

" Because she's fucking evil! " I yelled.

" You said fuck, " Stevie Rae said.

" Yeah, and you didn't get struck by lightning or melt or anyfuckingthing like that, " Aphrodite said gleefully.

" That didn't even look right coming out of your mouth, Z, " Stevie Rae said.

I couldn't help smiling at Stevie Rae. She suddenly looked and sounded so much like herself that I felt a huge rush of hope. She was still in there. I just had to figure out a way to get her to be in touch with—

" That's it! " I sat forward excitedly.

" You cussing is it? I don't think so, Z. It's really just not you, " Stevie Rae said.

" I think you were right when you said your soul was missing, Stevie Rae. Or at least part of it's missing. "

" You're sounding like that's a good thing, which I totally don't get, " Aphrodite said.

" I hate to agree with her, but yeah, why is my missing soul a good thing? " Stevie Rae said.

" Because that's how we fix you! " They just stared at me with blank, dopey looks. I rolled my eyes. " All we have to do is figure out how to get your soul back into you all in one piece and you'll be whole. You might not be exactly like you used to be. Clearly, you've completed a Change that's not exactly normal. "

" Clearly, " Aphrodite mumbled.

" But with a healed soul you get your humanity back—you get yourself back. And that's really what's most important. All this other stuff, " I made an abstract gesture at her. " You know, your weird eyes and the whole drink-blood-or-you-go-crazy issue, all that stuff can be dealt with if you're really you again. "

" Is this more of that what's-inside-is-more-important-than-what's-outside shit? " Aphrodite said.

" It is, and Aphrodite you are getting on my last nerve with your negative attitude, " I said.

" I think your group needs a pessimist, " she said, looking kinda pouty.

" You aren't part of her group, " Stevie Rae said.

" Neither are you right now, Stinky, " Aphrodite shot back.

" Hateful hag! Don't you ever—"

" Enough! " I flung my hands out at both of them while I concentrated on the fact that both of them needed a good spanking. Wind obeyed me and they were knocked back in their seats as a small, concentrated gale surged around them. " Okay, stop now, " I said quickly. The wind instantly died. " Uh, sorry. Lost my temper. "

Aphrodite immediately began to run her fingers through her completely messed up hair. " I think you lost your damn mind, " Aphrodite grumbled.

Personally, I thought that she might have been right, but I didn't want to say so. I glanced at the clock and was shocked to see that it was seven o'clock. No wonder I was exhausted. " Look, you two. We're all tired. Let's get some sleep and meet back here after the Full Moon Ritual. I'll do some more research and see if I can come up with anything about missing or broken souls and how to fix them. " At least I had something I could focus on now, versus flailing around aimlessly in the library. Well, that is when I wasn't making out with Loren. Ah, hell. I'd forgotten about him.

" Sounds like a plan to me. I'm ready to get out of here. " Aphrodite stood up. " My parents are going to be gone for three weeks, so you don't need to worry about them coming home. There's yard boys who come twice a week, but that's during the day and—oh, yeah—you'll burst into flames if you go out during the day, so them seeing you shouldn't be a problem, either. The maid service usually comes once a week when my parents are gone, to keep the house all perfect, but they only come out here when my grandma's visiting, so no problem with them, either. "

" Wow, she's really rich, " Stevie Rae said to me.

" Apparently, " I said.

" Do you have cable? " Stevie Rae asked Aphrodite.

" Of course, " she said.

" Cool, " Stevie Rae said, looking happier than she had since she died.

" Okay, so, we're out of here, " I said, joining Aphrodite at the door. " Oh, Stevie Rae, I got you one of those GoPhones. It's in my bag. If you need anything, just call my cell. I'll remember to keep it with me and actually turned on. " I paused, feeling weirdly uncertain about leaving her.

" Go on. I'll see you later, " Stevie Rae said. " You don't need to worry about me. I'm already dead. What more can go wrong? "

" She has a point, " Aphrodite said.

" Okay, well. See ya, " I said. I didn't want to say I thought she had a point, too. That seemed to be asking for trouble. I mean, she was undead, and that was pretty awful. But there were other things that could go wrong, too. The thought made a creepy chill go up my spine, which, sadly, I ignored and kept blundering on into my future. Too bad I didn't have any idea of the horror I was blundering blindly into.