Lured

Chapter 4

We took our seats and the meeting began. Discussing a few minor topics, the mood of the conversation began to darken as the topics took on more meaning. I sensed their stress and it did nothing for my own.

"We are going to have to contact the High Council," Lenobia said with finality. The group nodded in unison, it was quite obvious we would have to take that route. "Zoey, is your group prepared to make the journey to Italy?"

I nodded, "We're ready for anything," and I felt the truth of my words fill me.

Stevie Rae's throat cleared and my gaze snapped to her, curious as to what she had to say. "I can't leave ya'll…" she trailed off, her eyes trained on the table.

"What do you mean?" I leaned forward in my seat as Lenobia questioned her.

Her eyes wandered, never resting on anyone or thing too long. Then she met my gaze, "Z, I'm so sorry. I really wanted to tell ya. But it was just impossible; there was no way for you to understand."

"Stevie Rae, just tell me," I was immediately concerned with what she had to say.

Taking a deep breath and keeping her eyes on mine, she replied, "There are more red fledglings."

With that, the entire room filled with harsh whispers and shouts. The tense air that settled over us was suffocating. I had to get away from it. I stood and made my way around the table towards the door, grabbing Stevie Rae's sleeve along the way and pulling her with me.

I closed the door behind us quietly so not to bring their attention to us. Putting my back to the door, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and centered myself. Nyx, please help her, I prayed and then opened my eyes to meet Stevie Rae's frightened ones.

"Zoey, I'm so so sorry. I really wanted to tell you I"-

I held my hand up and she stopped with her mouth opened to continue her apology. "I don't want apologies or excuses; I want to know the facts." My tone held strong and I hoped it didn't come out harsher than meant.

She nodded and took a shaky breath. "Well, ya know how after I almost killed Aphrodite" -wince- "and I got my humanity back and turned into an adult vamp?" I nodded impatiently. "Well, most of the red fledglings got their humanity back too, Z."

"Wait, you said 'most'." I pointed out and Stevie Rae nodded.

"There were some who stayed all creepy and stuff… Like how I used to be," she mumbled the last part.

I sighed, "Stevie Rae, you're not like that anymore. You're good now!"

Stevie Rae looked up and shook her head. "No Z, I ain't good. Do you know how much struggle I go through? I have to choose good every second of every day. I can't walk in the sun, at all; I'd burn till I was a crispy fried Vamp hot off the oven. I have to have blood or I go all crazy Vamp. I'm a monster, Z," her eyes puffed up and I hugged her.

"You are not a monster, Stevie Rae! I won't hear any more of that!" I scolded halfheartedly.

I took the moments she used to regain her control to contemplate over what she had said. So I had been right; about the fledglings at least. Stevie Rae had lied to me… The shock of that was surprising. But would it be right for me to hold it against her? I would be a hypocrite if I did that. No, I had to accept it with a smile. Yes, she lied to me. But I'm sure there was a good reason for her doing so. Just like how I hid her from our friends.

"Stevie Rae, I'm not upset with you," I said as she calmed down. Stevie Rae's eyes brightened to their old sparkly ways.

"Really, Z? You're not mad?" The disbelief in her voice kind of hurt, but I nodded with a smile. I told her why and she understood why I was taking it so easily.

"So tell me, Stevie Rae, where are they staying?" I questioned.

"Under the old depot where we had stayed at is where they'll be," she twanged.

"Now, why can't you go to Italy with us?" I asked.

Stevie Rae fidgeted a little before answering. "Z, ya know I can't just leave them. Goddess knows what they'll do without me here and ya know what happens when fledglings ain't around an adult Vamp." We both grimaced.

"If they're as bad as you imply, then we can't risk letting them live," I pointed out grimly.

"No," she shook her head. "I have high hopes for 'em. Just give me some time. I'll see to it that they get their humanity back. Z, you gave me a second chance. Let me give them a second chance," her big, puppy-like, blue eyes begged mine. It was my turn to shake my own head.

"I don't like this, Stevie Rae. It just doesn't feel right."

"Okay. How about I go down there today and see if my mind changes. If it does, I'll go with you. If not, then I'm staying here with them. 'Kay?" Stevie Rae pleaded.

I was still shaking my head, but I sighed. "Fine, but don't go by yourself. Please!"

"I'll go," Stark said, creeping out of the door and shutting it quietly. I could tell the room had settled slightly, but they were still arguing. Seems like some had a problem with the red fledglings as a whole.

I smiled at him slightly, "Would you? I need to stay here and work out the plans for the trip."

Stark nodded, not looking at me, but instead at Stevie Rae. "Yeah, I share Zoey's concern with the situation. It doesn't look safe to go alone. Earth affinity or not," he added with his cocky smile when Stevie Rae was about to protest.

She huffed, "fine." Then she shuffled passed us and back into the room.

I ran a hand through my hair and it got tangled in several knots. "Ah hell," I yanked my hand, but it didn't budge. "It's pretty, but an awful hassle to deal with."

Stark chuckled and lent a hand, untangling it quickly.

"Thank you," I said quietly as he dropped his hands and looked at the floor. Goddess, I was always hurting him. He really deserved better. "Stark, look at me." I placed a hand on his cheek and brought his face up so I could look into his eyes, but they were shifting. "Look at me." There, that's better. His eyes were trained on mine and I felt his breath on my face.

"That was really sweet what you did earlier, Stark. Thank you, for everything. You're way too good for me," I said honestly. His eyes darkened with a mix of emotions that switched so quickly, I couldn't place one before it moved to the next.

"Zoey, you don't need to thank me. I'm your warrior, I have to do what is best for you, whether I like it or not. My emotions can't get in the way of my job." The mask was on. I hated that damn mask.

"Stark, please don't hide from me," I wrapped my arms around him and leaned my head into the crook of his neck. It took a moment before his arms wound around me.

"I love you, Priestess," he mumbled into my hair.

I grinned through tears I had no idea had began to fall. "I love you, too, my Warrior." The arms around me squeezed then pulled away.

"C'mon, you have some people to chill and plans to make," he held my hand and led me back in.

We took our seats, unnoticed. I observed the arguing, taking in account who was feeling what on the matter of the red fledglings. After hearing about what I wanted to hear of it, I stood and called Spirit to me, drawing strength from it and spoke my own mind.

"Enough," my voice, laced with Spirit and the power of a High Priestess, gained everyone's attention. Those who had stood to get their point across sat down instantly. All eyes were fixed on me in awe, some a little frightened. The brief satisfaction I felt was nice, but I pushed it away so I could concentrate.

"Now, the red fledgling matter is something that Stevie Rae and I have discussed briefly outside. I have agreed to allow her sometime today to go down to where they live and to make her mind up on whether to stay and keep them alive, or to leave with us and let them die, again, and hopefully, for good. It is of little concern to the rest of you though. We should be focused on getting to Italy, and speaking with High Council immediately. Kalona and Neferet are our most utter importance right now and how we're supposed to stop them." I let the words settle and sink in before taking my seat again.

"Who will be accompanying her, Zoey?" Lenobia asked, breaking the silence.

Stark peeped in, "Me."

"Is that all?" Dragon questioned.

Both Stark and Stevie Rae threw Dragon incredulous looks. I myself had to hide a smirk. "Dragon," I said with small amusement traced in my tone, "I highly doubt that two red adult Vamps with amazing affinities, such as for the earth and the power to never miss his target, would have difficulties with a few juveniles with bad tempers."

Dragon's face flushed and he looked at the table with no more protests. Stark's cocky smile was in place when I glanced over and I shared a small look with him. I met Stevie Rae's eyes and she looked slightly pleased with how I handled it.

Lenobia smiled a little at me before saying, "If that is all to be discussed, I declare this meeting adjourned and that everyone be on their ways with their tasks."

I nodded and stood with the others and then headed for the door. "Zoey, wait." Lenobia's voice called after me. I snaked through the bodies as they tried to usher out and met with her. The door shut and we were alone.

"Are you sure it is wise to send Stevie Rae down there?"

I sighed. "Lenobia, I just don't think it's right to take their second chance of life away from them without even giving them an opportunity to regain their sanity." Lenobia met my gaze with unwavering clouds of thought.

"How do you truly feel on the subject of the … inhumane red fledglings?" She asked, pinning me down where I would have to give a direct answer with nothing but the truth.

I shook my head. "I don't like it. It's a nasty business and I'm getting the wrong vibes just thinking of them. I think Stevie Rae should just leave them and let them be, let what comes to them come. I don't understand how some fledglings gained their humanity back with Stevie Rae while the rest were doomed to wreak havoc on un-suspecting pizza delivery guys."

Lenobia raised her brows at this. "Pizza delivery guys?"

I managed to smile a bit. "Yes, it's a long story. But yeah… Pizza delivery guys. Anyways, I just don't like it."

She nodded. "I understand completely, Zoey. Neither do I. It really sounds like a terrible matter. I only hope Stevie Rae is right about them or that she comes to her senses, and soon before something awful happens."

I rubbed my temples, "you and me both."

Lenobia patted my shoulder, "It will all work out for the best, I am sure."

My smile was lazy, "Thank you, Lenobia."

She returned my smile. "Now go, you have a lot of work to do, High Priestess." My eyes widened a little at the title, I still wasn't used to it.

"Okay," and with that, walked out.

---

"You can't be serious!" someone yelled as I reached Aphrodite's door. I was a little surprised when she opened the door; closing it swiftly behind her and making me take a step back.

"You don't want to go in there," Aphrodite warned.

"And why not?"

Aphrodite sighed and ran a hand through her gorgeous blonde mane of hair; looking every bit like a model from an expensive hair product commercial. "They're arguing about Stevie Rae's little secret. I'm sure if Stevie Rae were here, we'd be seeing her true colors."

I arched one eyebrow at this. "What do you mean true colors?"

She gave me a pointed look; "Oh you know exactly what I mean, Zoey. And don't give me any of that bullshit because frankly, I'm not in the mood." My mouth was agape at this point, ready for a dentist to fill a cavity. "I hate to be the one to say I told you so, but, I told you so."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, you were right about the red fledglings. But Stevie Rae came clean about it that much I'm proud of."

"Zoey," Aphrodite narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure that's not all she is hiding?"

Her words stumped me. My mind had been racing a million miles a minute ever since Kalona broke free of his prison under the earth, which hadn't allotted me much time to think clearly about Stevie Rae's "issues" as Aphrodite so likes to put.

Stevie Rae had kept her mouth zipped shut about the other fledglings, the ones who were not saved of a life scavenging around in tunnels and eating delivery boys for dinner. I shuddered at just the thought.

But what if Stevie Rae was hiding more than she was willing to share? Could it be for their safety, or just her personal gain? I wasn't sure what to think, but Aphrodite sure did open the flood gates of questions regarding the matter.

"Goddess, Aphrodite, I don't know what to do," I breathed out. Aphrodite's expression softened and she nodded in understanding.

"Well, one thing you could do is get your ass in there and calm everyone the fuck down. They're all bickering like hell over the web of lies Stevie Rae spun and totally ruining the atmosphere I have set in my humble abode."

A smirk toyed at my lips. It was just like Aphrodite to encourage a fight as long as it wasn't in her living space, messing with her mojo. (And yes, I liked Austin Powers. He was so ugly, he was delectable.)

"Please, you love it when the 'nerd herd' snap at each other," I laughed lightly and pushed passed her and into the room.

The first thing I saw stopped me in my footsteps. Shaunee had one long, mocha colored, perfectly manicured finger in Damien's face. Erin was standing behind her and behind Damien was Jack who looked utterly lost. Damien had a stubborn look on his face while the Twins looked pissed.

Darius was sitting on Aphrodite's bed with an impassive expression while playing with Aphrodite's demon cat. Erik was on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed looking like a male model from Italian Vogue. I shook my head to clear it; I needed to focus.

I cleared my throat and that caught everyone's attention. Damien and Shaunee gave each other a glance then slumped their shoulders and went to opposite sides of the room. Jack went to consol Damien while Erin stood tenaciously in the middle of the room with her arms crossed. I sighed, this was not the kind of attitude I wanted to be on a flight for several hours.

With my gaze meeting each of theirs, I began, "Okay, so Stevie Rae lied. But so did I. The reason I lied to you was to protect you. Maybe she lied to protect them, or here's a thought, us? I understand that you might be upset" –I pointedly looked at Shaunee- "but we can't let that separate us again."

"When you guys found out about Zoey's secret, you abandoned her and she almost got killed because of it," Aphrodite interrupted, looking coldly at them. I gave her a small smile and she returned it.

I turned back to them. "Exactly. We can't abandon Stevie Rae at a time she needs us. It's too dangerous."

"What if she's hiding more than just those other dead-undead fledglings?" Shaunee almost echoed Aphrodite's earlier words and a question that swam through my mind constantly ever since Stevie Rae squeaked bout the undead fledglings.

I shrugged my shoulders at Shaunee. "Well, Stevie Rae will tell us when she's ready. Yes, a good friendship is based on trust. But Stevie Rae is more than just an average fledgling now. She is an adult red Vamp. She has a group of red fledglings under her wing seeking her guidance. She's her own kind of High Priestess. And she deserves her privacy. So again I say, when she's ready, or if she ever is ready, she'll tell us the whole story. Hopefully there's not much more to tell," I added on the last part quietly, but they all heard me loud and cleared.

So many more questions hung in the air, but they were shoved aside. It was time to get ready for the trip.

I clapped my hands together, "So, any more questions?" Some looked down and others nodded glumly. "Okay, now we need to go over the arrangements for the trip. Lenobia said we would be meeting with a friend of hers when we reached Venice. Now"- I was cut off by a sudden intake of breath. I looked over towards Aphrodite where the noise had come from and blanched.

She was having a vision.

"OUT!" I ordered. Besides Darius, who had grabbed Aphrodite and laid her on the bed, running about the room getting the necessities; everyone was just staring. This was not good for Aphrodite. "I said, OUT!" I yelled again, this time the power of a High Priestess layering my voice.

Jack squeaked and drug Damien out quickly. Shaunee and Erin followed them out silently, eyes wide. Erik was a little reluctant; he was staring at Aphrodite on the bed with a masked expression. He then turned to me and quirked a smile. I nodded my head with a small twitch of my lips. He left and I turned to find Aphrodite's pale face staring at me in horror, her bloodshot eyes unfocused.

I made my way over to her and sat next to her. "Aphrodite, what's happening? What are you seeing?"

Aphrodite screamed and threw her hands over her face, "NO!!"

"Aphrodite!" Darius ran out of the bathroom with a wet towel and a Fiji water bottle from her fridge. He sat on the other side of her, placing the washcloth over her eyes and allowing her a sip of the water, though she spit it up with another scream.

I grabbed her shoulders and shook her once, "Aphrodite, tell me what is going on around you."

Aphrodite was whimpering and her voice shook as she tried to describe her vision to us. "Blood and fire, everywhere. Fire burning everything, EVERYONE! You have to stop them! But you're too busy. NO! Zoey, NO! Don't!" She let out a shriek and sat up, her whole body shaking in compulsions. "It burns! Stop, please make it stop! It burns!" Aphrodite ripped at her clothes and threw her blankets to the floor.

"What's happening?" I asked urgently.

That's was when Aphrodite passed out.

---

"How is she?" Jack asked as I stepped out of Aphrodite's room half an hour later. The whole group was standing there, or rather, pacing.

I shook my head, "Darius is calming her down. Whatever it was she saw, it was pretty horrid. Her mouth is chattering too much to say anything understandable. So, I'm going to let her rest a bit and try back when she gets her sight back."

Jack nodded sadly and went back to Damien's side. Erin was staring at the door nervously as Shaunee asked what the screaming was about.

"I'm not sure," I answered honestly. "The one thing I know for sure is that she saw a lot of fire then began to burn like she had caught on fire herself."

"I heard her yell your name," Erik said.

I looked at the ground and moved my head up and down once in a tight nod. "Whatever she saw, like I said, wasn't good."

The door opened and Darius' head poked out. "She's asking for you, Zoey." I nodded and moved passed him, the door closing softly behind me.

Aphrodite's eyes were still a little red, but nothing compared to the usual bloody look they now took on during visions. Ever since her change back to human, her visions affected her a lot worse. She had a washcloth in one hand and a half empty water bottle in the other.

"Hey," I whispered, taking a seat next her.

She smiled slightly and rubbed her eyes again, taking a huff of air. "Hi."

I rubbed my neck, not sure if I should just come right out with the question digging in my mind.

"Go ahead, ask me," Aphrodite sighed, looking at her fingernails.

"Okay, what did you see?"

Aphrodite took a sip of her water then stared at me for a moment. "What are your true feelings towards Kalona?"

My mouth dropped open. "What do you mean?"

She narrowed her eyes, piercing me with her gaze. "You know exactly what I'm talking about Zoey Redbird."

"I hate him."

"Liar," she accused.

"Am not," I snapped. "I do hate him though…"

"Are you attracted to him?"

"Of course, who isn't?" Aphrodite raised her perfectly manicured brows at this. I sighed. "Fine; I've been holding this off until I had a chance to talk to Grandma about it, but I think I should tell you now…" She nodded, not pressuring me. "Well," I twirled a piece of my hair, "I think I'm A-ya reincarnate."

Aphrodite's eyes widened slightly, but she wasn't entirely shocked. "Hmm," she tapped a finger against her chin. "A-ya is the chick your grandma was telling us about, the Cherokee doll that captured Kalona in her arms underground before turning back into a doll, right?" I nodded and she thought some more. "Makes sense," she shrugged. I looked at her incredulously. "What? It's kind of obvious. I mean, Kalona has such a strong connection to you so it would make sense that you would be the reincarnation of his ex-lover, the one who got away."

I rolled my eyes as she grabbed at her chest and batted her eyelashes, saying in a country twang, "Oh Scarlett, Scarlett!" Aphrodite snickered. "Sounds so romance novel-ish."

I scoffed, "Can we just get back to your vision?" Her face instantly fell.

"Zoey, I saw you and Kalona… doing it, while the rest of the world burned." The breath I didn't realize I was holding rushed out, I left my mouth hanging wide open. Aphrodite looked at me sympathetically, and then scowled. "It was rather disgusting to watch. And Zoey," she closed my mouth with her hands, "that's unattractive."

I shook my head. "So you saw us… doing the… nasty?" I asked a little skeptically, still not putting A and B together.

Aphrodite nodded. "But I had two visions. It was weird. The first one, I was in a field of wheat and someone grabbed me. They pinned me to this wooden post and set me on fire. I heard this laugh while being burned alive," she shivered, her fingers curling around a pillow. "Oh my Goddess, Zoey, I've never felt so much pain before in my life." Aphrodite looked really frightened, her eyes wide with fear, so I grabbed her hands in mine.

"The laugh came from Kalona?" I assumed. She nodded again.

"It was a throaty laugh, very inhuman sound. So I turned in the direction of the laugh and saw you and Kalona grinning from a balcony. He turned to you and grabbed you by the waist then kissed you. It confused the hell out of me when you wrapped your arms around him, smiling. I watched in horror, screaming at you, but you never looked." It was my turn to shiver. "Then the vision changed. The field was burning in only a few places now, but everywhere else was scorched, burned bodies littered the ground. I don't know whose eyes I was seeing through, but they took me into this majestic castle that I had seen you two standing from in the last vision."

I nodded, waiting for Aphrodite to continue. She was really shaken up and I was really worried about her. But as I waited for her to sort through her thoughts, I, too, delved into my own. So I sat back and pondered. Would my connection to Kalona on a whole unworldly manner bring me to have sex with him while my friend lay dying at my feet, burning alive at the stake like something from the Vamp history books on Salem? No, I would never do that... Would I?

Aphrodite interrupted my inner battle; "So I'm walking through the castle and I reach this open room. There are two thrones and you're sitting on one. Then Kalona enters and you stand with a strained smile. When you two come together to embrace, you seem a little hesitant. And just as he was going to say something about it, you lean in closer to his ear and whisper something, what, I don't know. But all of the sudden he's shining like some fucking light bulb and poof, he's gone." She lifted her shoulders and dropped them.

"Poof?" I questioned incredulously.

"Poof," she made hand gestures to get the point across.

"Poof…" I repeated, dazed.

Aphrodite sighed, "Okay we get it, he went poof. Bye, bye little birdie, fly away home." She smirked and I rolled my eyes.

"And you don't know what I said to him to make him vanish?"

She shook her head, "Nope."

"Hmm…" Just then Kramisha ran into the room with a note, the others following behind her eagerly.

"I wrote another poem!" She waved it in the air.

Ah hell.

A/N: Okay, so I know the wait was realllllllllllllllllly long. I apologize profusely! I had most of this typed up, but I wasn't sure how I wanted the chapter to end. I was stuck between making Aphrodite see what she saw in the book, or something entirely different. And if I was going to include the poem in the story. So I'm going to use both and twist them my way. I hope that works… Review? They make me smile =)