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AN: I. Am. So. Sorry. I'm so bad, it's been too long since I updates. In my defense, Not long after Christmas, I got a really bad cold, which eventually turned into an ear infection, so I was sick for my first week back at school. And it snowed which meant my mum was working from home, meaing I couldn't get the computer. I had written the first half before I got ill, but I just finished it now. It's unedited, and short, and quite poor, and I'm really very sorry. Forgive me? *Full AN at the bottom*

Chapter Four

Stevie Rae

Stevie Rae sat quietly – or as quietly as she could when people were constantly staring at her and peeking round corners to get a good look at the Red Vampyre – in the infirmary at the House of Night, trying to get a read on Rephaim's emotions. He was buried in the ground, not something he was keen on, and Stevie Rae could mostly detect uncomfortable vibes coming from him. Not so much fear as anxiety, bordering on paranoia, and he definitely felt stifled. She sighed, turning over onto her side to avoid the inquisitive gaze of a rather rude fledging who was blatantly staring at her red Mark, and resigned herself to the fact that she was stuck here for at least the remainder of the night, and even then, perhaps through the day. She would have to see to Rephaim tomorrow though. She was just glad she could feel his emotions, otherwise she would be even more out of her mind with worry as to how he was coping down there.

Finally, the grating snickers of two Fourth Formers severed her final nerve and she turned round to snap at them.

"Look, if y'all keep staring and snickering like that then I will hurt you. I'm not stranger to that, after all," she added as an afterthought. Better to threaten them, she decided. The giggling immediately ceased as the fledglings sauntered off, clearly affronted by the temperament of the once polite and ever-cheerful Stevie Rae.

Thinking of fledglings, Stevie Rae couldn't help but let her mind wander to the other red fledglings down in the tunnels. Hopefully they were keeping to themselves and hadn't emerged now that the sun had gone down to go kill any passers by. She knew how difficult it could be to get a hold of the blood lust. For the short while before she regained her humanity – or some shreds of it – she had been wild, in a frenzy, a deep yearning for the blood of humans deep within her, causing her to lose her humanity, her compassion, her mind. She could not get over how barbaric she had been. Stevie Rae of all people. Aphrodite, perhaps, but not Stevie Rae. That was how, even though they had tried to kill her in cold blood, she managed to maintain some amount of empathy for them; they didn't know what they were doing; they were just misled.

Aphrodite, Stevie Rae remembered. She wondered how she was coping with having lost their imprint. She was human...surely she'd be okay? Heath managed, didn't he? Thinking of Aphrodite and Heath brought her roundabout thoughts to Zoey and the rest of the gang, and how they were doing over in Italy. Would they have called if something was wrong? Unless Stevie Rae hadn't heard their calls... She reached inside the front left pocket of her trademark jeans where she always kept her phone, only to realise it wasn't there. What? She paled. She must have lost it up on the roof when Rephaim rescued her. Oh, Goddess. What could she do now?

She sat up in the bed and looked around. It was close to dawn, not many people were around, save for those who needed medical attention. She could easily slip out undetected. Jumping lithely off the bed and putting on her shoes, Stevie Rae walked as quietly as she could out of the doors of the infirmary. One or two of the fledglings in there gave her funny looks, but didn't pay her much mind. They might have been on Zoey and the gang's side, but there was still a lot they didn't know or understand about Stevie Rae and the red fledglings. She managed to get into the corridor without being seen by either of the healers of the House of Night. Not like they'd have cared all that much. It was only due to Lenobia and Erik's insistence that they treat her. They, like all the other mindless sycophants here were following Kalona, and believed that Stevie Rae was as bad as sin.

Thanking her stars that she had avoided contact with everyone so far, she allowed herself to move faster and therefore more loudly once she exited the doors to the grounds. She was almost at the entrance to the underground tunnels to find Rephaim and ask if he had seen her phone when she was stopped in her tracks.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Stevie Rae froze, halting. After a moment, she recognised the voice as that of Erik, and knew it would be easy to lie to him, much as she didn't want to.

"I was, uh, heading back to the tunnel. I think I dropped my cell phone," she said, inclining her head slightly to indicate faux sheepishness. Goshdarnit, she was raised to be a god-fearing girl, lying was a sin!

"What do you need your cell phone for?" Erik asked suspiciously. She realised that Erik wasn't as trusting as the rest. As much as it irritated her at that moment, she was relieved in a way that not everyone was to blindly trusting of her.

"I wanted to call and check in on Zoey, or see if she'd called me. I'm worried about her, Erik, aren't you?" Good girl, play on his emotions, she thought. Though Erik was angry at Zoey for choosing Heath, and essentially Stark over him, he did still have feelings for her.

"You can use my cell phone," he offered, removing it from his pocket and holding it out to her. Though perhaps we'd be better doing it inside. Dawn isn't far off, and you've had enough sunlight for a while, don't you think?" He quirked an eyebrow.

Damn, she though. She hadn't banked on him offering his own phone. She'd just have to find another way to see to Rephaim later.

"Oh, thanks. And yeah, you're right, we should take it inside."

She allowed him to lead the way as they headed back to the main doors and stood in the deserted foyer. She took the phone from him and dialed Zoey's number. It rang four times before a groggy sounding Zoey answered.

"Hello?"

"Zoey? It's me, Stevie Rae,"

"Stevie Rae! Are you okay? Aphrodite felt you getting killed or something, and then the imprint broke! What happened?"

"Yeah, I just got trapped by something - a fallen piece of metal wire – while I was out on the roof. I managed to push it off me before the sun hit me too badly. I got nasty cut on the head, though." Stevie Rae felt terrible for lying to her best friend, but it had to be done, for more people's sake than just her own. "What about you, any sign of Kalona?"

There was a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line. She took the phone away and put it on speaker. "Zoey, I'mma put you on speakerphone so Erik can hear y'all, that okay?"

Zoey's voice was pained. "Yeah, I guess so. Well we'd been here a while, and we went to the High Council. Kalona was there with Neferet putting up his defense. They dismissed us for a while, but while we were gone Heath...Kalona killed him, Stevie Rae! I tried to get there on time, I tried, but he was too fast. I threw Spirit at him, but..."

Her voice trailed off and she began to sob, and Stevie Rae's heart almost stopped. Heath was dead? Oh, God. What had happened to Kalona?

"Zoey? Zoey, honey, are you there?"

"Stevie Rae?" Stark's voice came onto the phone, taking over from Zoey's broken one.

"Yeah, I'm here. Hey. Stark, what's going on?"

"Well, you heard about Kalona. After that he escaped, and Zoey collapsed. It took so much out of her that her soul split, and she just lost consciousness. Her marks all disappeared, and her body started to fail too. It took us a while, but we worked out a way to bring her back. I had to break our bond, relinquish the Warrior's Oath. It almost killed both of us, but she's back, we managed."

Stevie Rae's mind was going a mile a minute. All the information was whirring about in her mind and she blurted out, "You both almost died and no one though to tell me?"

"We, uh, did try, actually, but you didn't answer your cell."

"Oh. Sorry about that... how are you both now? Are you okay?"

"Zoey's fine, and I'm getting there. Neither of us is at full strength yet, but we'll be okay in a couple of days."

"And then what? What do we do next, Stark? We can't just sit around and wait for an attack," Stevie Rae replied, worried both for her friends and for the other red fledglings, and everyone, really.

"I know. That's why we're going to fight."

"We're going to fight? How? What do you mean?"

"I mean that we're going to come back to Tulsa, with the High Council, and make sure all the fledglings know the truth. Then we're going to assemble for battle. We're going to contact the other Houses of Night, and we're going to summon Neferet and Kalona. And we're going to attack."

"Are you serious? How thought out is this plan?"

"Not very. I only thought of it about an hour ago, when I woke up. It's the only thing I can think of right now, so until something better comes up, I suggest we go with it. Providing the High Council agrees with it."

"That doesn't sound too bad, actually," Erik interjected, speaking for the first time. "It's only Kalona, Neferet and the Raven Mockers. With all the fledgling and vamps from the other houses, surely they can't be that much of a match."

"You're forgetting that Kalona is an immortal, and Neferet is an evil witch – literally. That puts us at an advantage, really," Stark said sharply. Erik seemed affronted and a slightly sulky look came over his features.

"Okay. So you're coming back here, right?" Stevie Rae checked.

"Yeah, in a few days, as soon as we can. Make sure no one leaves the House of Night, got it?"

"Yessir," she replied, trying to lighten to atmosphere slightly. "And Zoey?"

"Yes?" a muffled and think voice replied.

"I'm really sorry about Heath, honey."

"Thanks."

They hung up, and Stevie Rae handed the phone back to Erik wordlessly. She looked up at him to see him running ah and through his hair. "Well, shit," he said. "I...Heath."

"I know," Stevie Rae replied solemnly. "Come on, we have to set up barricades or something."

As they set about thinking of ways to stop any teachers or anyone else leaving the House of Night, Stevie Rae's thoughts once again returned to Rephaim. She concentrated as hard as she could on sending a message to him.

I'll come for you. Things are complicated here, but I will come back, soon. Hold on.

AN: Again, I'm sorry. This chapter is so pathetically short, but I promise the next one will be longer.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. 14 REVIEWS. I love you guys. So much. I don't like to be cheeky and I'm not going to be one of those people who tells people they won't update until they get x amount of reviews, but can we push for twenty? Come on guys, I know you can do it. I think I replied to everyone's didn't I? And for all those who review anonymously or have your PM's blocked, thank you very very much :)

Please forgive me for taking so long, and I shall see you next chapter! I'm going to go drug myself up on painkillers now XD

Abby x