“Wait, first, am I here? At this House of Night in this world? I’d like to know before I run into myself. Man, that’d be freaky, huh?”
“You’re here, but you’re not Marked. You’re a human kid going to BA.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Are we close?”
I hesitated. Tell him the truth. “No. Not anymore. Not since Mom married the step-loser and our family basically fell apart.”
“The step-loser sucks. I wish Mom would wake the hell up and get rid of that asshat.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. “Mom’s alive in your world.”
“Of course she’s alive. Not that she has anything to do with me. She was all, ‘As if your sister didn’t cause me enough grief, now you had to go and get Marked, too.’ You know how she is now—blah, blah, God. Blah, blah, John. Blah, blah, church.” Then Kevin shook his head and said, “Wait. Mom’s not alive here?”
“No.”
His expression sobered. “What happened?”
Stark told him when I couldn’t make my mouth work. “Neferet killed her.”
Other Kevin stared down at the table, obviously trying to compose himself. “Did—did she suffer?”
In my mind I replayed the scene. Neferet coming to Grandma’s door, looking for the perfect sacrifice to make her Vessel of evil. Mom answering the door. Neferet slitting her throat. It had been quick, but there were some things Kevin didn’t need to know. There were some things, many things, I wish I didn’t know.
“No. Mom didn’t suffer,” I said firmly. “And she’d left the step-loser.”
Other Kevin’s eyes lifted to mine. “She was going to be Mom again?”
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
“Zo, what about Barbie?”
“She’s at OSU,” I said.
“Majoring in beer, cheerleading, and hot guys?” he asked.
That had me almost smiling. “Yep.”
“Glad some things don’t change. Okay, so, where was I? Marked. Well, I was Marked the day you died.”
“This makes me very uncomfortable,” Stark said.
“Join the crowd,” I said. “But go on. I want to know how I died.”
My brother hesitated. “I’ll tell you, Zo, but it’s pretty gross. Are you sure you want to know?”
“Kev, I’m here. I’m alive. That me isn’t this me. It’s fine. And I do want to know.”
“All right, here goes. The official word from the House of Night was that you were the last in a string of murders. First two other professors, then you, were found decapitated, disemboweled, and nailed to our front gate with some stupid scripture bullshit hung around your neck. The cops never found the killers of the first two professors, and they didn’t have a chance to bumble your case, either. Neferet held the People of Faith responsible. Zo, your death was what started the human-vampyre war.”
27
Zoey
“I’d be worried about interrupting, but with the way Z looks I’m thinking she might need to be saved,” Aphrodite said.
I felt dizzy and everything suddenly looked blurry. I’d told Kev it wouldn’t bother me to hear how I’d died, but that was before I’d realized how absolutely violent and awful it had been. I blinked my eyes fast to clear my vision, and looked up to see Aphrodite and Darius standing beside our table. Her hands were on her hips and she was giving Other Kevin the stank eye.
“You’re not interrupting. Sit down,” Stark said. “Other Kevin just told Zoey how she was killed in his world. It—er—wasn’t good.”
“Well, of course it wasn’t good, boy genius. She died.” Aphrodite continued to glare at Other Kevin as he stood up and switched seats so that she and Darius could join us.
“Aphrodite, Darius, this is my brother, Kevin. Or Other Kevin.” I glanced at my brother and he shrugged.
“I’m cool with being Other Kevin.”
I nodded and continued, finding that a simple thing, like an introduction, was better to focus on than my decapitation and disembowelment at Neferet’s hands. “Kev, this is Aphrodite, the prophetess who returned the humanity to you and your guys.”
Other Kevin held out his hand for the traditional greeting and Aphrodite’s eyes narrowed at him, but she took it, grasping his forearm. “Merry meet,” she said.
“Wow,” Kevin said. “Your Mark is extraordinary, but I shouldn’t be surprised. Only an extraordinary priestess could’ve done what you did.”
“Huh. You’re Z’s brother?”
“I am.”
“You’re taller than I imagined.”
“So, you imagined things about me?” Other Kevin’s smile was just the right amount of cute and cocky.
“Uh, did I mention Darius is Aphrodite’s Oathbound Warrior and her Consort?” I added.
“You did now.” He offered his hand to Darius, too. “My man, you’re a lucky Warrior.”
Darius grunted at him, but took his hand. Briefly. Before sitting beside Aphrodite.
“Kevin, dear, I did find some cookies left in my basket, which might truly be a miracle. Zoey and her friends remind me often of locusts.” Grandma was holding a lavender-colored platter of her cookies, which she put in the center of the table before sliding in beside Kevin. “Oh, don’t let me interrupt.” She patted him on the cheek and flashed me a hello grin.
No one said anything. I sighed.
“Grandma, Kevin is telling me that in his world I’m dead. Are you sure you want to hear this?”
Grandma lifted her chin. “Zoey Redbird, I have battled evil beside you. I have almost been killed by the denizens of Darkness. Do not underestimate me.”
“Good point, Grandma,” Stark said.
“Excellent point, actually. So, go on with your story, Kevin. Z died. I take it horribly. Tell us everything,” Aphrodite said with way too much glee for my taste.
“Neferet killed me. Just like she did Professors Nolan and Blake.”
“Zoey’s death started the human-vampyre war. Other Kevin was Marked on the same day she died. Now you’re caught up,” Stark explained.
“That awful, awful, creature!” Grandma said. She grabbed a cookie and bit into it like she needed to devour something.