Chosen

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.

CHAPTER 14

'Drop me back by the trapdoor in the wall. I still don't think it's a good idea if people think we're hanging out,' Aphrodite said.

I turned right on Peoria Street and headed back to the school. 'I'm surprised you care so much what other people think.'

'I don't. I care what Neferet finds out. If she thinks the two of us are friends, or even just not enemies, she's going to figure that we've shared info about her.'

'And that would be majorly bad,' I finished for her.

'Definitely,' she said.

'But she's going to see us together once in a while because you're going to be evoking earth in my circles.'

Aphrodite gave me a startled look. 'No, I'm not.'

'Of course you are.'

'No, I am not.'

'Aphrodite, Nyx has given you an affinity for earth. You belong in the circle. Unless you want to ignore Nyx's will.' I didn't add the word 'again,' but it seemed to hang in the air between us.

'I already said I'd do Nyx's will,' she said through clenched teeth.

'Which means you're going to be part of the Full Moon Ritual tonight,' I said.