Betrayed (28 page)

“No!” I gasped. “They've taken her stuff ! They can't do that!” Everything that was Stevie Rae was gone—from the cowboy boot lamp and the Kenny Chesney poster, to the gyrating Elvis clock. The shelves over her computer desk were empty. Her computer was gone. I knew if I looked in her closet, all of her clothes would be gone, too.

Erik put his arm around me. “It's what they always do. Don't worry, they didn't throw away her stuff. They just moved it so that it wouldn't make you sad. If there's something of hers you want, and her family doesn't mind, they'll give it to you.”

I didn't know what to say. I didn't want Stevie Rae's
stuff
. I wanted Stevie Rae.

“Zoey, you really need to get out of those clothes and take a hot shower,” Damien said gently.

“Okay,” I said.

“While you're in the shower we'll get you something to eat,” Shaunee said.

“I'm not hungry.”

“You need to eat. We'll get you something simple, like soup. Okay?” Erin said. She looked so upset, and was so obviously trying to do something, anything, to make me feel better that I nodded. Plus, I was too tired to argue with anyone. “Okay.”

“I'd stay, but it's past curfew and I can't be in the girls' dorm,” Erik said.

“That's okay. I understand.”

“I want to stay, too, but well, I'm not actually a girl,” Damien said. I knew he was trying to make me smile, so I made my lips move up. I imagined I looked like one of those scary, sad clowns who had a smile painted on his face along with a teardrop.

Erik hugged me, and so did Damien. Then they left.

“Do you need one of us to stay while you take a shower?” Shaunee asked.

“No, I'm fine.”

“Okay. Well . . .” Shaunee looked like she was going to cry again.

“We'll be right back.” Erin took Shaunee's hand and they left the room, closing it with a soft, final click.

I moved carefully, like someone had switched me “on,” but had set my speed at slow. I took off my dress, bra, and panties and put them in the plastic-lined wastepaper basket that sat in the corner of our—I mean
my
—room. I closed up the plastic bag and put it by the door. I knew one of the Twins would throw it away for me. I went into the bathroom and meant to get straight into the shower, but my reflection caught me, and I stopped, staring. I had turned into a familiar stranger again. I looked horrible. I was pale, but I had bruised-looking circles under my eyes. The tattoos on my face, back, and shoulders stood out in stark, sapphire contrast to the white of my skin and the rust-colored smears of blood that covered my body. My eyes looked huge and unusually dark. I hadn't taken off my Dark Daughters necklace. The silver of the chain and the copper of the garnets caught the light and gleamed.

“Why?” I whispered. “Why did you let Stevie Rae die?”

I didn't really expect an answer, and none came. So I got in the shower and stood there for a very long time, letting my tears mix with the water and the blood and wash down the drain.

When I came out of the bathroom Shaunee and Erin were sitting on Stevie Rae's bed. They had a tray between them that held a bowl of soup, some crackers, and a can of brown pop, nondiet. They had been talking in low voices, but as soon as I entered the room they stopped.

I sighed and sat on my bed. “If you guys start acting all abnormal around me I'm not going to be able to handle it.”

“Sorry,” they muttered together, looking sheepishly at each other. Then Shaunee handed me the tray. I looked at the food like I couldn't remember what to do with it.

“You need to eat so that you can take the stuff Neferet gave us to give you,” Erin said.

“Plus, it might make you feel better,” Shaunee said.

“I don't think I'll ever feel better.”

Erin's eyes filled with tears that spilled over and dripped down her cheeks. “Don't say that, Zoey. If you never feel better that means none of us will, either.”

“You have to try, Zoey. Stevie Rae would be pissed if you didn't,” Shaunee said, sniffing through her tears.

“You're right. She would be.” I picked up the spoon and started sipping at the soup. It was chicken noodle, and it made a familiar, warm path down my throat, expanding into my body and chasing away some of the terrible chill I'd been feeling.

“And when she got pissed that accent of hers went out of control,” Shaunee said.

That made Erin and me smile.

“
Y'all be niiice,”
Erin twanged, repeating the words Stevie Rae had said to the Twins a gazillion times.

We smiled at that, and the soup began to seem easier to swallow. About halfway through the bowl, I had a sudden thought. “They're not going to have a funeral or anything like that for her, are they?”

The Twins shook their heads. “Nope,” Shaunee said.

“They never do,” Erin said.

“Well, Twin, I think some of the kids' parents do, but that'd be back in their hometown.”

“True, Twin,” Erin said. “But I don't think anyone from here is going to travel to . . .” she trailed off, thinking. “What was the name of that little bumpkin town Stevie Rae was from?”

“Henrietta,” I said. “Home of the Fighting Hens.”

“Fighting Hens?” the Twins said together.

I nodded. “It drove Stevie Rae crazy. Even in her bumpkin-ness she wasn't okay with being a Fighting Hen.”

“Hens fight?” Shaunee asked.

Erin shrugged. “How should I know, Twin?”

“I thought only cocks fought,” I said. We all looked at each other and said, “Cocks!” and then burst out into laughter, which pretty soon was mixed with tears. “Stevie Rae would have thought that was hilarious,” I said when I could catch my breath again.

“Is it really going to be okay, Zoey?” Shaunee asked.

“Is it?” Erin echoed.

“I think so,” I said.

“How?” Shaunee asked.

“I don't really know. I think all we can do is take one day at a time.”

Surprisingly, I'd finished all my soup. I did feel better—warmer, more normal. I was also unbelievably tired. The Twins must have noticed my eyelids getting heavy, because Erin took my tray. Shaunee handed me a little vial of milky liquid.

“Neferet said you should drink this, that it'll help you sleep without nightmares,” she said.

“Thanks.” I took it from her, but I didn't drink it. She and Erin just stood there looking at me. “I'll take it in a minute. After I go to the bathroom. Just leave my pop in case it tastes nasty.”

That seemed to satisfy them. Before they left Shaunee said, “Zoey, can we get you anything else?”

“No, thanks though.”

“You'll call us if you need anything, right?” Erin said. “We promised Stevie Rae . . .” Her voice broke and Shaunee finished for her, “We promised her we'd take care of you, and we live up to our promises.”

“I'll call you,” I said.

“ 'Kay,” they said. “Night . . .”

“Night,” I called to the closing door.

As soon as they were gone I poured the creamy white liquid down the sink and threw away the vial.

Then I was alone. I glanced at my alarm clock, 6:00 A.M. It was amazing how much things could change in just a few hours. I tried not to, but flashes of Stevie Rae's death kept playing across my mind, like there was a horrible movie screen stuck inside my eyes. I jumped when my cell phone rang, and checked the caller ID. It was my grandma's number! Relief surged through me. I flipped the phone open and struggled not to burst into tears.

“I'm so glad you called, Grandma!”

“Little Bird, I woke from a dream about you. Is everything all right?” Her worried tone said she already knew it wasn't, which didn't surprise me. For my whole life my grandma and I had been linked.

“No. Nothing is right,” I whispered as I began to cry again. “Grandma, Stevie Rae died tonight.”

“Oh, Zoey! I'm so terribly sorry!”

“She died in my arms, Grandma, just minutes after Nyx gifted her with an affinity for the element earth.”

“It must have been a great comfort for her that you were with her at the end.” I could hear that Grandma was crying now, too.

“We were all with her, all of my friends.”

“And Nyx must have been with her, too.”

“Yes,” my voice caught on a sob. “I think the Goddess was, but I don't understand it, Grandma. It doesn't make any sense that Nyx would gift Stevie Rae, and then let her die.”

“Death never makes sense when it happens to the young. But I believe that your Goddess was close to Stevie Rae, even though her death happened too soon, and now she is resting peacefully with Nyx.”

“I hope so.”

“I wish I could come visit you, but with all this snow the roads out here are impossible. How about I fast and pray for Stevie Rae today?”

“Thank you, Grandma. I know she'd appreciate that.”

“And, honey, you have to move past this.”

“How, Grandma?”

“By honoring her memory by living a life she'd be proud of you for living. Live for her, too.”

“It's hard, Grandma, especially when the vamps want us to just forget about the kids who die. They're treated like speed bumps, just something to pause a little about, and then go on.”

“I don't mean to second-guess your High Priestess, or any of the other adult vampyres, but that seems shortsighted. Death is more difficult if it goes unacknowledged.”

“That's what I think. Actually, that's what Stevie Rae thought, too.” Then an idea came to me, along with a
feeling
that it was the right thing to do. “I can change that. With or without permission, I'm going to be sure Stevie Rae's death is honored. She's going to be more than a speed bump.”

“Don't get in trouble, honey.”

“Grandma, I am the most powerful fledgling in the history of vampyres. I think I should be willing to get in a little trouble for something I feel strongly about.”

Grandma paused, then she said, “I think you might be right about that, Zoeybird.”

“I love you, Grandma.”

“I love you, too,
u-we-tsi a-ge-hu-tsa
.” The Cherokee word for daughter made me feel loved and safe. “And now I want you to try to sleep. Know that I'll be praying for you, and asking the spirits of our grandmothers to watch over and comfort you.”

“Thanks, Grandma. Bye.”

“Good-bye, Zoeybird.”

I closed the phone softly. I felt better now that I'd talked to Grandma. Before it had been like there was a huge, invisible weight pressing down on my chest. Now that it had shifted some it was easier for me to breathe. I started to lie down, and Nala popped in through the kitty door, leaped up on my bed, and instantly began
me-uf-ow
-ing at me. I petted her and told her how glad I was to see her, and then glanced over at Stevie Rae's empty bed. She always laughed at Nala's grumpiness, and said she sounded like an old woman, but she had loved the cat as much as me. Tears stung my eyes and I wondered if there was a limit to how much someone could cry. Just then my cell phone chimed that I had a new text message. I rubbed my eyes clear and flipped my phone back open.

R U OK? Somethings wrong.

It was Heath. Well, at least now there could be no doubt at all that he and I were linked through an Imprint. And what the hell I was going to do about that, I didn't know.

Bad day. My best friend died. I text messaged him back.

It was so long that I didn't think he was going to respond. Then finally my phone chimed again.

My friends have died 2.

I closed my eyes. How could I have forgotten that two of Heath's friends had just recently been killed?

I'm sorry, I typed back.

Me 2. Do u want me to come see u?

The instant, powerful
yes!
that burst through my body surprised me, but I suppose it shouldn't have. It would be wonderful to find oblivion in Heath's arms . . . in the scarlet seduction of Heath's blood . . .

No, I typed hastily, my hands shaking. You have school.

Nuh uh SNOW DAY!

I smiled, and spent a sweet second or two wishing that I could return to the time when a snow day meant a mini-holiday of tramping through snow with my friends and then curling up to watch rented movies and eat delivery pizza. My phone chimed again, breaking into my past-life fantasy.

I'll make u feel btr fri

I sighed. I'd totally forgotten about promising Heath I'd meet him after the game Friday. I shouldn't meet him. I knew it. Actually, I should go to Neferet and confess everything about Heath and have her help me fix it.

Neferet lies
. Aphrodite's voice whispered through my mind. No. I couldn't go to Neferet, and for more reasons than just Aphrodite's warning. Something felt wrong about Neferet. I couldn't confide in her. My phone chimed.

Zo?

I sighed. I was so tired that it was getting hard to concentrate. I started to text back no and tell Heath that I just couldn't meet him, no matter how much I'd like to. I even hit the N and the O keys. Then I stopped, back-spaced over them, and resolutely typed: OK.

What the hell. It felt as if my life was unraveling like the hem of an old skirt. I didn't want to tell Heath no, and worrying about our Imprint was just one thing too many to worry about right now.

OK! Came his quick reply.

I sighed again, shut off my phone, and sat heavily on my bed, petting Nala, staring at nothing in particular, and wishing desperately that I could turn the clock back a day . . . or maybe even a year . . . Eventually I noticed that, for whatever reason, the vamps who had cleared out Stevie Rae's stuff had forgotten the old, handmade quilt that she kept folded on the end of her bed. I put Nala on my pillow and got up, pulling the quilt from Stevie Rae's bed. Then Nala and I curled up under it.