Chapter Six
Amery
Amery used her fork to stab the yummy vegetarian lasagna on her tray. Sure it was great, but she just couldn't make herself eat. Kramisha was watching her was a look of obvious concern between talking to one of the other red fledglings. Amery mouthed 'I'm fine' to her. Kramisha looked at her for a few moments, nodded and turned her attention slowly back to her conversation, still shooting glances in her direction every once in awhile.
"Hey ya'll," Stevie Rae grinned as she slid in next to Kramisha. She glanced down at the time on her cellphone screen and smiled. "Zoey should be back soon."
The girl who she'd learned was named Venus rolled her eyes and muttered something she couldn't understand, but by the look of disaproval on Stevie Rae's face, knew was hateful. Great, she hadn't even been a red fledgling for a day and already met one of those girls. Wonderful.
"Hey, hey!" Stevie Rae called, getting not only the attention of the others but of the whole room. She smiled sheepishly and turned back to her group, this time in a whispery voice. "Zoey killed Elizabeth-No-Lastname, I know that okay? But she was trying to protect Heath from becoming like those other two football players. She saved our humanity so I think we owe her some respect. If it wasn't for her we'd all still be gross and undead dead and running around eatin' street people. So. be. niceee. Understand?"
All of the others, exept Venus who just ignorintly looked over her well manicured nails, mumbled a wave of yeses and okays.
Stevie Rae stared hard at Venus, looking like she could just reach across the table and knock her bobble head right off her skinny body, but was refraining from doing so. Amery wasn't so sure the first red vampyre in existance freaking out and basically ripping one of her fledglings head off would be a great way to convince a school full of blue fledglings that her red fledglings were safe.
"Venus," she said in a low but challenging tone, as if to say I-dare-you-to-start-with-me. "I am your High Priestess, and therefore in charge of you. Zoey is my bestfriend, and the reason we're here today so I expect ya'll to show her respect. She's been through a load of bullpoopie in the past few days and does not need your attitude Venus."
The pretty blonde narrowed her clear blue eyes but nodded, Stevie Rae stared at her for a little longer before turning her attention back to the rest of them. When her eyes landed on Amery she smiled, looking guinuinely happy, which was a suprise after her little 'lecture'. "I see Kramisha got you here all in one peice."
Kramisha snorted, stabbing her fork at her food. "What was you expecting? Her in a body bag?" She snorted again as she shoveled in a forkful of motzerella cheese and tomato sause.
The memories of dying and being dead flooded back to her, the blood, the pain, the darkness...all of it. She felt herself start to crumple remembering how horrible it'd been to be dead, even temperarily. Wanting so badly to scream, to get someone to come and save her from that nightmare but not being able to do a thing but hope that it'd end soon.
Amery's expression must've been pretty obvious because Stevie Rae sucked in a deep breath, and glared in Kramisha's direction before glancing at her and back again to Kramisha.
"Sorry." Kramisha murmered, her cheeks starting to turn pink with embaressment. She forced herself to smile reassuringly at the both of them. "It's fine, really." She told them, but they both knew it was a lie having been in the possition themselves for the past month up until afew days before.
Stevie Rae's phone started to vibrate, moving around on the table as it blasted 'Summertime' by Kenny Chesney. She grinned as she read the text on screen, making her look like a little girl on Christmas morning. "Correction, their on their way to the abbey and..." they want us to meet them there."
Aphrodite
The group unboarded from the plane as quickly as they could. Zoey, seeming a little anxious to see Grandma had rushed everyone straight through the airport to one of the school's Lexus' parked outside. The drive had been slow as Zoey sat anxiously in the backseat with her warrior. Aphrodite sat staring through the tinted windows at what she could see of Tulsa.
It hadn't changed much from the last time she'd seen it, right after the Raven Mocker's had flown around terrorizing humans and destroying the town. The branches and fallen trees that had before littered the streets were gone and Aphrodite could see someone up on a cherry picker attempting to repair the wires that hung down.
"So, Stevie Rae said there was a new red fledgling?" Damian asked. From where she was, Aphrodite could see the confusion on his cute face.
Zoey's gaze rested on him for a moment and she forced a little smile. "That's what she said on the phone, we figure that Neferet's making of a new red fledgling from Venice is just another part of the Tsi Sigili powers."
Aphrodite muttered something to herself, causing Zoey's eyes to slide over in her direction. "What was that?"
She cleared her throat. "I said, or maybe it's just another part of her totally-bad-super-hero-movie-like 'plan'."
Aphrodite heard Damian gasp in realization, obviously in agreement with the possiblity. Zoey watched Aphrodite whose eyes were now filled with fear even though she fought to keep her composure. The last thing she needed was the nerd herd thinking she was vulnerable.
"Did Stevie Rae say anything about this new fledgling? Any special gifts?" Damian asked. Aphrodite echoed his gasp when she understood what he must be thinking.
"You don't think..." she said. He just nodded, looking utterly defeated. Even Damian, who was just about the smartest kid any of them had ever met, didn't know what to do.
"I do." Damian said.
"So if she has a powerful gift," Erin said, looking unnaturally pale.
"Neferet will want to use it against the humans." Shaunee finished. Her voice was shakey and her dark eyes were wide.
Aphrodite watched as both Stark and Darius stiffened, and their faces turned grim. Darius sped up a little more and soon enough the abbey came into view. The nuns had obviously been cleaning up because there weren't any branches scattered over the grounds this time. But that figured since the last time they'd been here was when they were going to vanish Kalona & Neferet along with his nasty bird-babies, who had basically screwed up the whole damn town while they snacked on humans.
If she had been just an ordinary, ignorant and clueless human Aphrodite might've actually believed nothing had happened here but one of Oklahoma's weird storms. Unfortunately she wasn't that lucky.
"Z,ohmygoodness,I'msogladyourokay!" Stevie Rae said, ramming all the words together in one big breath of air. She bounced up and down with excitement, looking like a little Okie jack-in-the-box. She pulled her into a tight bone-crushing hug, like she wanted to make sure she was really there and that this wasn't just a dream.
If it weren't for the constant reminder of her blood red tattoos, Aphrodite could easily mistake her for just another sweet country bumpkin. But the truth was, Stevie Rae was a lot tougher than she looked. Not only was she the first red vampyre in existance but she was also gifted with an affinity for the element Earth.
"You are okay, aren't you?" she asked. Her big blue eyes had gotten all puppy-like, and she sounded like she could cry.
Zoey laughed, pulling back from her tight embrance. "Yes, yes, I'm fine, thanks to all of you."
Stevie Rae grinned, hugging her again. "Thank Nyx your alive!"
"Oh, my Zoeybird, my u-we-tsi-a-ge-a." Grandma Redbird called from where her wheel chair sat on the steps of the abbey with Sister Mary Angela was standing right beside her. Both with joyful tears in their eyes. Zoey picked up speed, taking off running up the stairs and gently but firmly hugged her grandmother who kept murmuring, "Thank you Nyx, thank you Great Spirit".
Even Aphrodite couldn't keep the tears from blurring her vison. Darius' arms wound themselves around her waist and she leaned back into him, loving how safe and secure she felt from just being in his arms.
Zoey next moved to Sister Mary Angela and into her embrace. Aphrodite could see the nun's lips moving but could not hear anything she said, but assumed the woman was just as greatful to her own goddess for Zoey's safe return.
There was a long time full of tears and joy and thankfulness and hugging before they all made their way into the warm cinnamon smelling sitting room of the abbey. The nuns had a fire going in their large fireplace and everyone was seated, all snug on couches, rockers and big arm chairs while the gang told of their trip to Venice, Heath's death, Aphrodite's visons, and finally, Zoey & Stark's time in the Otherworld.
"So what you are saying is that the fallen immortal has returned to his body, although it was bound by what Aphrodite has described as the physical form of Darkness?" Sister Mary Angela asked, not looking at all as suprised by any of this as you'd think a nun should be. But then again, she wasn't the average nun. She'd stood by a group of vampyre fledglings, who Christians would say are demons going straight to hell, and even helped vanish an evil immortal along with a deranged Ex High Priestess.
Aphrodite nodded. "It was like he'd been trapped."
"Neferet."
All eyes turned to Zoey, watching as she seemed to unravel a figurative thread of answers in her mind. Her hazel eyes suddenly widened with realization. "So he wasn't lying." Everyone stayed silent waiting for her to tell who this 'he' was and what he wasn't lying about. She looked around at everyone, looking like she'd forgotten they'd all been sitting there. "I had another dream on the plane. Kalona was there."
Stark's expression hardened. "What did he do?"
"Nothing!" Zoey shouted in a paniced voice. When Stark looked shocked and hurt she lowered her voice to a gentle one. "Nothing, he didn't try anything actually. He just said that Neferet was changing, she's no longer just a vampyre High Priestess gone bad or the Queen of the Tsi Sgili. She is Darkkness."
"Ah, no. I wish you didn't say that." Kramisha, our groups new Poet Laureate said as she rumaged frantically through her humongous black tote. The thing looked like she could carry a body in it. "Ah ha, found ya." She handed the poem over to Damien who passed it to Aphrodite who passed it, looking like she was in misery at the thought of the poem, Darius who passed it to Stevie Rae and finally to Zoey. "Wrote it this mornin'."
"Ah hell." Zoey said sounding battered.
"It ain't lookin' too good for us, is it?" Kramisha asked. The look on their High Priestess' face clearly mirrored the answer to Kramisha's question. "That what I figured."
Zoey's eyes lifted from the crumbled paper to the new girl whose name Aphrodite remembered was Amery. "What did you say your gift was again?"
A look of shock flashed in Amery's eyes but she soon recovered and raised a perfectly waxed brow. "I don't believe I did." Stevie Rae have her the look and Amery sighed. "I'm an empathetic, which means I can know and control the feelings of the people around me, why?"
Zoey acted as if she hadn't said anything. "So you can basically control a person? Make them do whatever you want?"
"Yeah I guess but I don't see what your getting at,.." Amery's voice trailed off.
"Okay I cannot believe I'm saying this and I will deny it if any of you ever try to tell anyone back home, but let me see the damn poem." Aphrodite said and once again the paper was passed down the row. Aphrodite's eyes scanned the crumbled peice of notebook paper.
They return once again
with the gift of domination.
Her choice decides,
are we to live or are we to burn?
Though the Darkness is tempting,
the Light shines through
Follow the truth,
and the hold shall be lifted.
"Oh my goddess." Aphrodite muttered.
Yep, it was official, the gloom and doom ship was definately out at sea, and apparently they were sailing first class.
Yes I know ya'll must hate me for making you wait like, 2 months for the next chapter but school is, well school. Something that my science teacher would call a "Necessary Evil", especially if I plan on going to college someday for either acting or writing. Hell, maybe I'll do both. But I swear I'll try to keep posting as much as I can without it messing with my homework, studying or grades. Oh and in the last chapter I said Erin's boyfriend TJ was the one who didn't move against Kalona but I screwed that up. It was TJ, not Shaunee's boyfriend Cole. Whoopsies(:? Maybe I should get a Beta Reader. Any takers? 'Cause the idea of asking someone I don't know all too well to read over my writing is a little awkward. Anways, enjoy!