They about you
“Kramisha, I do not know what you’re talkin’ ’bout.”
Stevie Rae started to stand up, but Kramisha reached into her huge bag and pulled out a piece of violet- colored paper that had her bold writing scrawled across it. With another heavy exhale of breath, Stevie Rae sat down and held out her hand.
“Fine. Let me see.”
“I wrote ’em both on this paper. The old one and the new one. Somethin’ told me you might need your memory refreshed.”
Stevie Rae didn’t say anything. Her eyes went to the first poem on the paper. She took her time reading it. Not because she needed her memory refreshed. She didn’t. Every line of the poem had been burned into her mind.
Stevie Rae told herself she wouldn’t cry, but her heart felt bruised and broken. The poem had been right. She’d seen Rephaim with her soul, not with her eyes. She’d parted Darkness and trusted and accepted him—and because of that, because she’d allied herself with a beast, she had paid with her heart. She was still paying with her heart.
Reluctantly, Stevie Rae looked to the second poem on the page—the new one. Reminding herself not to react, not to let her face give away anything, she started reading:
Stevie Rae’s mouth felt dry. “Sorry, I can’t help you. I don’t know what these things are about.” She tried to hand the piece of paper back to Kramisha, but the poet’s hands were folded across her chest.
“You ain’t a good liar, Stevie Rae.”
“It’s not smart to call your High Priestess a liar.” There was an edge of meanness to Stevie Rae’s voice that had Kramisha shaking her head.
“What’s happenin’ to you? You dealing with somethin’ that’s eatin’ you from the inside out. If you was yourself, you’d be talkin’ to me. You’d be trying to figure this out.”
“I can’t figure out this poetry stuff! It’s metaphor and symbolism and weird, confusing predictions.”
“That’s a damn lie,” Kramisha said. “We been figuring this stuff out. Zoey has. You and I did, or at least we did enough to get word to Z in the Otherworld. And it helped. Stark said it did.” Kramisha pointed at the first poem. “Some of this one came true. You met the beasts. Those bulls. You been different ever since. Now I been given another one of them beast poems. I know they for you. And I know you know more than you sayin’.”
“Look, stay outta my business, Kramisha.” Stevie Rae stood up, stepped out of the alcove, and as she walked right into Dragon Lankford she yelled back at Kramisha, “I’m done talking ’bout this beast stuff!”
“Hey, whoa, what’s this about?” Dragon’s strong hand steadied Stevie Rae when she stumbled because of their collision. “Did you say
“She did.” Kramisha pointed at the notebook page in Stevie Rae’s hand. “Two poems come to me, one the day Stevie Rae tangled with them bulls, and the second just a little while ago. She don’t want to pay them no mind.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to pay them any mind. I just want to take care of my
“Do you consider me every dang body?” Dragon asked.
Stevie Rae forced herself to meet his gaze. “No, ’course not.”
“And you are in agreement with me that Kramisha’s poems are important.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Then you can’t just ignore them.” Dragon rested his hand on Stevie Rae’s shoulder. “I know how it feels to want to keep your life private, but you’ve stepped into a position where there are more important things than your privacy.”
“I know that, but I can deal with this myself.”
“You didn’t deal with the bulls,” Kramisha said. “They still happened.”
“They’re gone, aren’t they? So I did deal with them just fine.”
“I remember seeing you after your battle with the bull. You were gravely injured. Had you understood Kramisha’s warning the cost to you might not have been so great. And then there is the fact that a Raven Mocker appeared, and he might even be the creature Rephaim. That monster is still out there somewhere and a danger to all of us. So, you must understand, young priestess, that a forewarning meant for you cannot be kept private because it touches the lives of others.”
Stevie Rae stared into Dragon’s eyes. His words were strong. His tone was kind. But was that suspicion and anger she saw in his expression, or was it just the grief that had been shadowing him since the death of his wife?
While she hesitated, Dragon continued, “A beast killed Anastasia. We cannot allow any other innocent to be touched by these creatures of Darkness if we can prevent it. You know I speak truth, Stevie Rae.”
“I-I know,” she stuttered, trying to order her words.
And that lack of feeling made the decision for Stevie Rae. “Okay, you’re right. I need help with this.”
As Dragon read the poetry Stevie Rae watched his expression get darker. When he finally looked from the page and into her eyes, there was no mistaking his worry.
“The second bull you conjured, the black one that vanquished the evil bull, what type of connection did you have with him?”
Stevie Rae tried not to show how relieved she was that Dragon was focusing on the bulls and not questioning her about Rephaim.
“I don’t know if you could really call it a connection, but I thought he was beautiful. He was black, but there
