“We’ll take the Escalade. It has chains.”
“She’ll also fill the Escalade with Warriors.” Stark gave me a dark but resigned look.
“Okay, I’m out of here,” Marx said. “Aphrodite, want me to give you a call and update you on how your mom’s doing?”
“No thank you,” she said.
I watched Aphrodite. She was definitely not drunk or high anymore, but that wasn’t a surprise. Vampyres metabolized alcohol and drugs differently than humans, so in order for her to be drunk she’d have to drink, like, a case or so of booze—which I wouldn’t put past her, but she clearly hadn’t had the time. Yet. I had no clue if Xanax was still going to work on her at all, and I wondered how she was going to handle her new powers—and her new attitude about her mom—sober. For as long as I’d known her, Aphrodite hadn’t handled much of anything sober.
“You are staring.”
“Sorry. Your Mark is really pretty.”
“I know, right? But you weren’t staring at me with a your-Mark-is-really-pretty stare.”
“Well, it’s a lot to take in,” I equivocated.
“Guys, could we get some help downstairs?” Shaylin rushed into the conference room looking wide-eyed and wild-haired. “Those new fledglings are crying. Seriously. I mean, bawling with snot and everything. Damien and Other Jack are trying to comfort them, but they’re super freaked. And by-the-by, their auras are all over the place.”
“Someone needs to knock them out,” Aphrodite muttered.
That gave me an idea. “Hey, what if we moved them from the basement to the boy’s dorm. The windows are securely draped and they’d be safe from sunlight, but it’s harder for red fledglings to stay awake if they’re above the ground.”
“That’s a good idea,” Stark said. “And you’re right.”
Shaylin smacked herself on the forehead. “Sheesh, I used to be a red fledgling. You’d think I would’ve remembered that.”
“Okay, I’ll help move them,” Stark said.
“And be sure they’re safe,” I said. “And I mean even from themselves.”
“How about assigning one of our fledglings to each of them?” Aphrodite said.
“I like that. Where’s Lenobia?”
“In the basement, very awkwardly trying to get a bunch of boys to stop crying,” Shaylin said. “At this moment I’m pretty sure she hates her job.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re right. So, have Lenobia make a list of students she thinks would be good partners for the new fledglings. Then you guys start pairing them off to the dorm.”
“Okay, will do!” Shaylin said. Before she disappeared down the hallway, her eyes focused on Aphrodite. “Your Mark freaks me out. It’s beautiful and all, but still. Freaks. Me. Out.”
“Thank you,” Aphrodite said. Then her eyes brightened and she was on her feet. “There’s my man!” She glanced around the room and rolled her eyes. “Why do we not have a mirror in here?”
“Uh, it’s a conference room. A student conference room,” Shaunee said.
“And your point is students don’t want to look good? That’s just ridiculous.” She came to me and peered into my face like I was a mirror. “How do I look?”
“Well, your Mark is gorgeous.”
“I know.”
“And your hair is very cray.”
“If Erin were here she’d say it looks like a fart,” Shaunee said.
“No words. I have no words for you and that awful comment,” Aphrodite said to Shaunee.
While Shaunee cackled, I told Aphrodite the truth. “Hey, stop stressing. Darius is going to think you’re beautiful. Because you are beautiful and because he loves you.”
“You’re absolutely right. Thanks, Z.”
Then Darius walked into the room, with a wall of Sons of Erebus Warriors at his back.
“This is gonna be good,” Shaunee whispered.
Aphrodite turned. I saw Darius’ face go blank, as if he couldn’t process what he was seeing, and then his eyes widened and his face flushed. He went to Aphrodite and knelt on one knee and bowed his head.
“Marx said something happened. He said you are why the red fledglings woke and why the red vampyres committed suicide. My beauty, my High Priestess, my Consort, and my love—it is my lifelong honor to be your Oathbound Warrior. Do you accept my pledge?”
Aphrodite knelt in front of him. She took his face between her hands so that he looked into her eyes. “Always, Darius. Always. I haven’t deserved you. But I give you my oath in return that I’ll work harder to be worthy of you. Now, please stand up and kiss me.”
Darius did as his High Priestess commanded, and the Warriors behind him cheered.
“That was super sappy,” Shaunee said under her breath.
“What Shaunee said.” Stark kissed me quickly. “I’ll go help with the red fledglings. I have my phone with me, but if the cells go out again, be sure you keep radioing in back here. I want constant updates. Okay?”
“Okay.” I kissed him back. “Thank you. By the way, just in case you even wonder—you are my definition of awesomesauce.”
He grinned his cocky James Stark smile, tapped the end of my nose with his finger, and whispered, “I love you, too, my Queen.”
Zoey
I was beyond frustrated. We’d been searching downtown on a grid, and hadn’t found Kevin or any recent sign of him or any other red vampyres.
Oh, we’d found where they’d broken into the old Sinclair Building on Boston. They’d eaten some poor homeless people who’d had the bad luck to think they’d found safety from the blizzard, but the red vampyres hadn’t returned. And now it was 5:00 and almost sunset, and I could only think of one thing to do.
“Let’s return to the House of Night. I’ll get Stark and Stevie Rae and Rephaim, and we’ll come back out and keep searching.”
“Z, not sure that’s such a good idea. It’s starting to snow again,” Shaunee said.
“It’d be bad if you got stuck out here in another blizzard. Especially bad as there are red vampyres, probably panicked and dangerous, that are going to emerge from wherever they’re hiding in just a few minutes,” Darius added.
“I have to keep looking. He’s my brother.” What I didn’t want to admit aloud is what had been circling around and around inside my head all day—that I couldn’t let Other Kevin down. I’d already let one Kevin down. I’d basically abandoned him, leaving him to deal with my step-loser and high school peer pressure by himself.