Hunted

nonjudgmental. She even thinks that Nyx is just another version of the Virgin Mary (and Mary is majorly important to the Benedictine Sisters). So I guess you could say Sister Mary Angela and I became friends, and when Grandma was attacked by the Raven Mockers and ended up in St. John’s Hospital in a coma, it was Sister Mary Angela I called to sit with her and protect her from the Raven Mockers hurting her again. When all hell broke loose at the House of Night irit Zand Neferet killed Shekinah and had Stark shoot Stevie Rae, Kalona rose, and the Raven Mockers became substantial, it was Sister Mary Angela who got Grandma safely belowground.

Or at least in theory she was supposed to have gotten Grandma, and the rest of the sisters, underground. I hadn’t talked to her since last night, just before our cell service was cut off.

So, in order of importance, I needed to call Sister Mary Angela—assuming my phone was working again—and then get directions to Damien and Jack so I could relieve them. Figuring I could kill two birds at once, I retraced my path back down the tunnel, heading for the basement entrance and Darius. He’d know how to get to the boys, and I could probably get cell service in the basement—unless the aboveground world had gone all postapocalypse and cell service was out forever. Thankfully, being filled with blood made me feel slightly optimistic, and even the possibility of a disgusting (and unattractive) I Am Legend–type world didn’t seem utterly hopeless.

One thing at a time. I’d just take it one thing at a time. First, I’d find out how Grandma was. Then I’d relieve Damien and Jack. Then I’d try to think my way through that awful nightmare.

I remembered the dark angel’s voice and the way pain and pleasure had somehow melded into one when he touched me and called me his love. I jerked my mind from those kinds of thoughts. Pain couldn’t equal pleasure. What I had felt in the dream was just that, a dream, and by the definition of “dream” (or nightmare) that meant it wasn’t real. And I was definitely not Kalona’s love.

It was about then that I also realized some of the nerves skittering through my body were fearful, and that had nothing to do with Kalona. While I’d been preoccupied with thinking about him I’d been pretty much ignoring the subconscious tightening in my body. My heartbeat had sped up again. My stomach rolled. I had the distinct and terrifying feeling that I was being watched.

I spun around, expecting to see—at the very least—bats flapping nastily around. But there was nothing except the dead silence of the deserted, lantern-lit tunnel stretching behind me.

“You are utterly freaking out,” I said aloud to myself.

As if my words had caused it, the lantern closest to me went out.

Dread filled me, and I started backing down the tunnel, keeping my eyes open for anything that might be more than my imagination. And I backed into the metal ladder that had been welded to the wall and led up into the basement of the depot. Giddy with relief at finding the end of the tunnels, I balanced my can of brown pop in one hand and smooshed the big bag of my breakfast Doritos noisily in the other. I had just started to climb when a strong male arm appeared from above, scaring the bejeezus out of me.

“Here, give me the pop and chips. You’re going to fall right on your butt trying to hold on to them and the ladder.”

My gaze flew up to see Erik smiling down at me. I swallowed quickly and gave him a perky “Thanks!” Handing him the pop and chips, I made my way more easily up the rest of the ladder.

The basement was several degrees colder than it was in the tunnels, which felt good on my fear-flushed face.

“I like that I can still make you blush,” Erik told me, stroking my hot cheek.

I almost blurted that I was freaked by shadows and unseen crap down in the tunnels, but I could imagine him laughing and accusing me of jumping at bats again. And what if I was just ultrasensitive because of the dream? Did I really want to talk to Erik, or anybody, about Kalona right then?

No.

Instead I said, “It’s cold up here, and you know I hate it when I blush.”

“Yeah, the temperature’s dropped like crazy in the past few hours. It’s going to be an icy mess out there. You know, I think you’re adorable with those pink cheeks.”

“You and my grandma are the only two people in the world who think that,” I said, smiling begrudgingly at him.

“Well, that puts me in good company.” Erik chuckled, reaching for a chip while I glanced around the basement. Everything was quiet up here, too, but not scary quiet like the stupid tunnels. Erik had a chair pulled over near the entrance to below and beside it were a couple oil lanterns (brightly burning), a half-empty liter bottle of Mountain Dew (eesh!), and, surprise, surprise, Bram Stoker’s Dracula with a bookmark stuck in it at about the halfway point. I waggled my brows at him.

“What? I borrowed it from Kramisha.” He was smiling kinda guiltily, which made him look like an adorable little boy. “So, I admit it. I’ve been curious about the book ever since you told me a while ago that it’s one of your favorites. I’m only about halfway through, so do not tell me what happens.”

I grinned at him, flattered that he was reading Dracula just because of me. “Oh, please,” I teased. “You know how the book ends. Everybody knows how the book ends.” I really loved that Erik was this big, tall, hot, studly guy who reads all sorts of books and watches old Star Wars movies. My grin got wider. “Sooooo, you’re liking it?”

“Yeah, I am. Even though I didn’t really expect to.” His grin mirrored mine. “I mean, come on. It is a little old school, what with the vamps being monsters and all.”

My mind instantly went to Neferet, whom I considered a monster in a beautiful disguise, and to my unanswered questions about the red fledglings, but I pulled my thoughts away from all that, not wanting darkness to intrude on this moment with Erik. Refocusing on Dracula, I said, “Well, yeah, Dracula is supposed to be a monster and all, but I always feel sorry for him.”

“You feel sorry for him?” Erik was obviously surprised. “Z, he’s pure evil.”

“I know, but he loves Mina. How can something that’s pure evil know love?”

“Hey, I’m not that far in it yet! Don’t give it away.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Erik, you have to know Dracula goes after Mina. He bites her and she starts to change. It’s through Mina that the Count is tracked and eventually—”

“Stop!” Erik said, laughing as he grabbed me and covered my mouth. “I wasn’t kidding. I don’t want you to tell me how it ends.”

My mouth was covered by his hand, but I knew my eyes were smiling at him.

“If I take my hand away, do you promise to be good?”

I nodded.

Slowly, he uncovered my mouth, but he made no move to step away from me. It felt nice to be close to him. He was gazing down at me, with a small smile still tugging at the corners of his mouth. I thought about how hot he was and how glad I was that we were together again, and I said, “Want me to tell you how I wish the book ended?”

His brows lifted. “How you wish? Which means you won’t really be telling me the ending?”

“Cross my heart.” Automatically, I crossed my heart. We were standing so close that the back of my hand brushed his chest.

“Tell me.” His voice had gone deep and intimate.

“I wish Dracula hadn’t let everyone come between him and Mina. He should have bitten Mina, made her like him, and then taken her away so they could be together forever—and lived happily ever after.”

“Because they’re the same and they belong together,” he said.

I looked up into Erik’s amazing blue eyes and saw that all the kidding had gone out of them.

“Yeah, even if bad things happened in their past. They’d have to forgive each other for the bad stuff, but I think they could have.”

“I know they could have. I think when two people care about each other enough, anything can be forgiven.”

Obviously Erik and I weren’t talking about fictional characters from an old book. We were talking about ourselves, testing each other to see if we could actually make it work between us.

I had to forgive Erik for being so awful to me after he’d caught me with Loren. And he had been horrible, but the truth was I’d hurt Erik a lot more than he’d hurt me—and not just with Loren. When I’d first started dating Erik,