Hunted

“And I stay.” Damien sounded small and shaky, but I saw that his fists were still clenched firmly by his sides.

“Us, too,” Erin said, and Shaunee nodded grimly.

It was Neferet’s turn to laugh. “Surely you don’t think you can stay with Zoey through my examination?” The amusement in her voice disappeared. “Stop being ridiculous! Darius, take her into that room and leave her on the bed. If you insist, you may wait here in the hall for her, though by the look of you, the wiser choice would be for you to eat and refresh yourself. After all, you have brought Zoey home, where she is safe, so you have completed your charge. The rest of you return to the dorms. The human part of the city might be paralyzed by a simple storm, but we are not humans. Life goes on for us, which means school goes on.” She paused and gave Aphrodite a look so filled with hatred that it twisted her face into something that was too hard and cold to keep even a tiny bit of its beauty. “But you are now a human, are you not, Aphrodite?”

“I am,” Aphrodite said. Her face was pale, but she lifted her chin and met Neferet’s frigid gaze.

“Then you belong out there.” Neferet made a vague motion away from us.

“No, she doesn’t,” I said. Concentrating on Neferet had broken the spell staring at Kalona had cast over me. I barely recognized my own voice. It sounded like a whispery, weak old woman, but Neferet didn’t have any problem hearing me, and she turned her attention from Aphrodite to me. “Aphrodite still has visions from Nyx. She belongs here,” I managed to say, even though I had to blink rapidly because gray spots kept messing up my sight.

“Visions?” Kalona’s deep voice cut the air between us. This time I refused to look at him, though he was standing so close that I could feel the weird chill that came from his body. “What type of visions?”

“Warnings of future disasters,” Aphrodite spoke up.

“Interesting.” He drew the word out. “Neferet, my Queen, you did not tell me you had a prophetess at the House of Night.” Before Neferet could speak, he continued, “Most excellent, most excellent. A prophetess can be quite useful.”

“But she is not a fledgling, nor is she a vampyre, and thus she does not belong at the House of Night. So I say she should leave.” Neferet’s voice had an odd tone to it I didn’t recognize at first, and then as I blinked more and my vision cleared enough for me to get a good look at her body language—she was all but hanging on Kalona—I realized with a little shock that Neferet was actually pouting.

Then, mesmerized, I watched Kalona reach out and stroke the side of Neferet’s cheek, sweeping his palm along the curve of her long, smooth neck, continuing to caress her shoulder, and finally trailing off down the length of her back. Neferet trembled under his touch and her eyes dilated, as if his caress made her high.

“My Queen, surely a prophetess will be of some use to us,” he said.

Still staring at him, Neferet nodded.

“You stay, little prophetess,” Kalona told Aphrodite.

“Yes,” she said firmly. “I do. I stay with Zoey.”

Okay, I’ll freely admit that Aphrodite was utterly surprising me. I mean, yes, I was hurt badly and probably in serious shock, so I can blame my altered mental and physical state on that and hope that some of the weirdly hypnotic affect the fallen angel was having on me was because I very well might be dying. But obviously everyone else was being affected by Kalona to some degree. Everyone except Aphrodite. She totally sounded like her normal bitchy self. I just didn’t get it.

“Prophetess,” Kalona said. “You say you are given warning of future disasters?”

“Yes,” Aphrodite said.

“Tell me, what do you see in the future if we were to turn Zoey away at this moment?”

“I haven’t had a vision, but I know Zoey needs to be here. She’s been hurt badly,” Aphrodite said.

“Then let me assure you that I, too, have been known to prophesy.” Kalona spoke. His voice, which had been so delicious and deep that I honestly wanted nothing more than to curl up and listen to him forever, had started to change. Subtly, at first, I felt the shift in timbre. As he continued to speak to Aphrodite, my flesh began to crawl with fear. His obvious displeasure was reflected in his voice, until even Darius took a staggering step away from him. “And on my oath I tell you if you do not do as I command, this priestess will not live another night. Leave us now!”

Kalona’s words crackled through my body, causing my already dizzied senses to reel. I clung to Darius’s shoulders. “Just do what he says,” I told Aphrodite, pausing to try to catch my breath. “He’s right. I’m not gonna last long if I don’t get help.”

“Give the priestess to me. I shall not ask another time,” said Kalona, spreading his arms for me again.

Aphrodite hesitated for just a moment, then she reached over and grasped my hand. “We’ll be here when you’re better.” She squeezed my hand and I suddenly felt the rush of spirit reenter my body.

I wanted to tell her no, she needed to keep the element—she needed its protection—but Aphrodite had already turned to Damien and given him a nudge toward me, saying, “Tell Zoey bye, and give her your strongest get-well wishes.”

I watched Damien glance quickly at Aphrodite, who nodded slightly. Then he grabbed my hand and squeezed, too. “Be well, Z,” he said, and when he let loose my hand I could feel a sweet breeze wrap around me.

“You guys, too,” Aphrodite told the Twins.

Shaunee took one of my hands, and Erin the other. “We’re pulling for you, Z,” Erin said, and when they turned away, I was left with the warmth of summer and the freshness of a cleansing rain.

“Enough sentimentality. I’ll take her now.” And before I could draw another breath Kalona had taken me from Darius. Pressed against his naked chest I closed my eyes and tried to cling to the strength of the elements as I trembled at the wonderful cold heat of his body.

“I will wait here.” I heard Darius say before the door closed with a sickening thud of finality, shutting my friends out and leaving me alone with my enemy, a fallen angel, and the monstrous bird creature his ancient lust had created.

Then I did something I’d only done twice before in my entire life. I fainted.

CHAPTER 18

The first thing I realized as I began to regain consciousness was that the crisp sheets of the infirmary bed were cool against my naked skin, which meant I didn’t have any clothes on.

The second thing I realized was everything within me was telling me to keep my eyes closed and keep breathing deeply. In other words, I needed to pretend I was still out.

Staying as still as possible I tried to take inventory of my body. Okay, the long nasty wound on my chest was hurting considerably less than it had been when I’d passed out. I searched around with my senses (except sight, of course) and could feel and smell the lingering presence of spirit, air, water, and fire. The elements weren’t fully manifested and glaringly obvious, but they were there around me, soothing and strengthening—and making me worried as hell for my friends. Go back to the others! I ordered the elements silently, and felt their reluctant departures. All except for spirit. I wanted to sigh and roll my eyes. Instead I concentrated harder. Spirit, go to Aphrodite. Stay close to her. Almost instantly I felt the absence of the powerful element. I must have made an involuntary movement at the departure of spirit because from somewhere near my feet Neferet spoke up.

“She stirred. I do not doubt she will regain consciousness soon.” There was a pause, and I could hear her moving as if she were pacing as she continued to speak. “I still say I should not have healed her. Zoey’s death could have been easily explained. She was almost dead when she arrived here.”

“If what you have told me is true and she has dominion over all five of the elements, she is too powerful to be allowed to perish,” Kalona said. He, too, sounded like he was standing near the end of my bed.

“What I’ve told you is the complete truth,” Neferet said. “She controls the elements.”

“Then we can use her. Why not include her in our new vision of the future? Having her allegiance would sway any members of the Council who would not readily succumb to me.”

New vision of the future? Swaying the Council? As in the High Council of Vampyres? Holy crap!

Neferet’s response was smooth and confident. “We won’t need her, my love. Our plan will succeed. You