'No. Stevie Rae's gonna have to learn to deal with you.' I glanced at Aphrodite as I came to a stop sign and added cheerfully, 'Or maybe she'll do us all a favor and eat you.'
'It's so nice that you always look on the positive side of things,' Aphrodite said sarcastically. 'Okay, turn right here. Then when you get to Peoria, take a left and go down a few blocks until you see that big brick sign that points to the turnoff to the Philbrook.'
I did as she said. We didn't make small talk, but it didn't feel all awkward and uncomfortable between us. It was weird how easy it actually was to be around Aphrodite. I mean, not that she wasn't still a bitch, but I was kinda liking her. Or maybe this was just another sign that I needed to give some serious consideration to therapy, and I wondered abstractly if Prozac or Lexapro or some other lovely antidepressant worked on fledglings.
At the Philbrook sign I turned left and Aphrodite said, 'Okay, we're almost there. It's the fifth house on the right. Don't take the first driveway, take the second one. That one goes around behind the house to the garage apartment.'
We came to it and all I could do was shake my head.
'Used to live,' she said.
'It's an f-ing mansion!' And I meant a cool one. It looked like something I'd imagine rich folks in Italy would live in.
'It was a fucking prison. It still is.' I was going to say something semi-profound about her being free now that she'd been Marked and was a legally emancipated minor and that she could actually tell her 'rentals to get lost (kinda like I had), but her next smart-alecky comment made me forget the kinda nice thing I meant to say. 'And it's really annoying that you're too damn pure to cuss. Saying fuck won't kill you. It won't even mean you're not all virginal.'
'I cuss. I say hell and crap and even damn. A lot.' And why did I feel the sudden need to defend my non- cussing preference?
'Whatever,' she said, clearly laughing at me.
'And there's nothing wrong with being a virgin. It's better than being a skank.'
Aphrodite was still laughing. 'You have a lot to learn, Z.' She pointed at a building that looked like a miniature version of the mansion. 'Go around behind there. There's a back way into the apartment and your car will be blocked from the street.'
I pulled up behind the totally cool garage and we got out of my Bug. Aphrodite used her key to unlock the door, which opened to a stairway. I followed her up to the apartment.
'Jeesh, servants must have lived pretty well back in the day,' I mumbled, looking around at the dark, shiny wood floors, the leather furniture, and the gleaming kitchen. There weren't a bunch of cheesy knickknacks polluting the decor, but there were candles and some vases that looked totally expensive. I could see that the bedroom and bathroom were at the other end of the apartment, and could just peek in to see a big bed with puffy down comforters and pillows. My guess was the bathroom was nicer than my parents' master bathroom.
'Do you think it'll work?' Aphrodite asked.
I went to one of the windows. 'Thick curtains—that's good.'
'Shutters, too. See, we can close them from in here.' Aphrodite demonstrated.
I nodded at the flat-screen TV. 'Cable?'
'Of course,' she said. 'There's a bunch of DVDs around here somewhere, too.'
'Perfect,' I said, moving to the kitchen. 'I'll just stick all but one of the blood packs in here, and then go get Stevie Rae.'
'Fine. I'll watch
'Fine,' I said. But instead of leaving, I cleared my throat uneasily. Aphrodite looked up from messing with the TV. 'What?'
'Stevie Rae doesn't look or act like she used to.'
'Really? I wouldn't have had a clue about that if you hadn't enlightened me. I mean, most people who die and then come back to life as bloodsucking monsters look and act totally the same.'
'I'm serious.'
'Zoey, I saw Stevie Rae and some of the other creatures in my visions. They're gross. Period, the end.'
'It's worse when you see them in person.'
'No big surprise there,' she said.
'I don't want you to say anything to Stevie Rae,' I said.
'You mean about her being dead and all? Or about her being gross?'
'Either. I don't want her scared off. I also don't particularly want her to jump on you and rip out your throat. I mean, I think I could probably stop her but I'm not one hundred percent sure. And besides the fact that it would be disgusting and hard to explain, I really hate thinking about what all that blood would do to this cool apartment.'
'How sweet of you.'
'Hey, Aphrodite, how about you try something new. Try being nice,' I said.
'How about I just don't say anything.'
'That would work, too.' I headed for the door. 'I'll try to get her here soon.'
'Hey,' Aphrodite called after me. 'Could she really rip out my throat?'
'Absolutely,' I said, and closed the door behind me.
CHAPTER 12
I knew Stevie Rae had gotten to the gazebo before me. I couldn't see her, but I could smell her. Eesh. Seriously, eesh. I hoped a bath and some shampoo would help that stench, but I kinda doubted it. After all, she was, well, dead.
'Stevie Rae, I know you're here somewhere.' I called as quietly as I could. Okay, vamps have the ability to move silently and to create a kind of bubble of invisibility around them. Fledglings also have this ability. It's just not as complete. Being as I'm a weirdly gifted fledgling, I can move around fairly well and not be seen by anyone who might be gawking out a window at 3:00 a.m., like a museum security guard. So I was pretty confident about my ability to be unseen in the semi-dark, fairyland grounds of the museum, but I had no idea if I could extend that ability to covering Stevie Rae. In other words, I needed to get her, and get out of there. 'Come on out. I have your clothes and some blood and the latest Kenny Chesney CD.' I added that last part as a blatant bribe. Stevie Rae had been ridiculously in lurve with Kenny Chesney. No, I don't understand it either.
'The blood!' A voice that might have been Stevie Rae's if she had a really bad cold and had lost every last bit of her mind hissed from the bushes at the rear of the gazebo's base.
I walked around behind the gazebo peeking into the thick (yet well-trimmed) foliage. 'Stevie Rae?'
Eyes glowing a horrible rust red, she stumbled out of the bushes and lurched toward me. 'Give me the blood!'
Ohmygod, she looked like an absolutely crazy person. Hurriedly I reached into my bag, jerked out the bag of blood, and handed it to her. 'Hang on a sec, I have a pair of scissors in here somewhere and I'll—'
With a really disgusting snarl, Stevie Rae tore open the little lip of the bag with her teeth (uh, fangs is more like it), upended the bag, and gulped down the blood. When she'd squeezed the bag dry she dropped it on the ground. She was breathing like she'd just run a race when she finally looked up at me.
'Ain't pretty, is it?'
I smiled and tried my best to ignore how horrified I really was. 'Well, my grandma always says that correct grammar and good manners make one more attractive, so you might want to drop the 'ain't' and try saying 'please' next time.'
'I need more blood.'
'I got you four more packets. They're in the refrigerator at the place you're going to be staying. Do you want to change your clothes here, or wait till we get there and take a shower? It's just down the street.'
'What are you talking about? Just give me my clothes and the blood.'
Her eyes weren't such a bright red, but she still looked mean and mad. She was even thinner and paler than
