Hidden (House of Night 10)

Neferet

Neferet would not have seen the press conference had she not called room service to her penthouse suite. The pleasingly subservient blond boy was almost young enough to interest her. The last bellboy who had had the good fortune to answer her summons would be calling in sick for the next several days. Weak and bruised, he would not remember anything except a fascination for her beauty and a series of dark, erotic dreams. Fever dreams, his doctor would no doubt call them. Humans were such frail creatures. Such a shame that she constantly needed to find a new plaything.

Neferet studied this bellboy. He was tall, and he looked extremely nervous. His skin was bad. He practically oozed virgin from his over-sized pores. Thinking that virgin blood would mix nicely with the chilled bottle of champagne he was carrying past her, she motioned to her sitting room.

"Please, bring the bottle inside my suite," Neferet purred.

Virgin blood was so very sweet that a bad complexion and sweaty palms could be easily overlooked. After all, she was not going to touch him. At least not very much ...

"Is right here fine, ma'am?" His eyes kept flitting from her breasts to her mouth and then back to the bottle he was opening, all the while he reeked of sexual desire, fear, and fascination.

"Right there is perfect." Neferet ran a long, pointed fingernail down the low bodice of her silk robe.

"Wow," he gulped, working the gold foil off the top of the champagne with inexperienced, shaky hands. "I hope you don't mind me sayin' this, but you're way prettier than those other vampyres on the news."

"Other vampyres? News?"

"Yes, ma'am. They're on Fox 23 late night right now."

"Turn it on for me!" she snapped.

"But the champagne's not-"

"Leave it! I am fully capable of opening it myself. Put on the news and go."

The boy did as he was told and then slunk out, still casting longing glances at her. Neferet paid him no mind. She was utterly engrossed in the scene unfolding before her on the large flat screen television. It was Thanatos, Zoey, and several of her group. They were outside at the House of Night, clustered together and talking easily with the reporter. Neferet scowled. They all looked so normal.

Her lip curled as she heard Thanatos explain away Dragon Lankford's death as a tragic bison accident.

"That wretched Aurox," Neferet muttered. "Imperfect, inept Vessel! All of this is his fault."

She kept watching the interview, smirking at Stark and Zoey, only concentrating when she heard her name mentioned. Neferet pressed the volume button and Thanatos's voice blared, "... Neferet is a disgruntled ex-employee with no whistle to blow..."

Neferet's body became very cold.

"She dares to name me an employee!" Neferet continued to watch. Her anger built to such intensity that the glass door to the penthouse balcony burst open, raining shards of crystal across the marble floor.

"We're sharing Tulsa, and we love it. So, let's just all get along!" Zoey's ridiculously cheerful voice grated up and down Neferet's spine.

"I will not allow you to undo what I have begun, you obnoxious child!" Neferet seethed. When Thanatos announced that the Tulsa House of Night would be taking applications for human professors her mouth gaped along with the reporters. After the new High Priestess's benevolent, merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again, Neferet watched in disbelief as the news anchors chattered inanely about how interesting all the vampyre interaction was and how great the open house and job fair would be for the city as a still shot close-up of Zoey's smiling face decorated the screen. She punched the power button, unable to bear one more instant of Zoey Redbird.

From the clever little alcove that was tucked between the living room and the dining room, Neferet's computer began to ring. On the screen the silhouetted figure of Nyx's upraised arms flashed and beside the icon were the words: VAMPYRE HIGH COUNCIL.

Neferet walked slowly over to the computer and clicked the mouse to answer, automatically activating the video camera. She smiled coolly at the six somber High Priestesses seated on their carved marble thrones. "I have been expecting your call."

Duantia, the senior member of the Vampyre High Council, spoke first. Neferet thought she sounded very, very old. There certainly seemed to be more silver than brown in her long, thick hair, and Neferet was sure she could see bags under her dark eyes. "You were summoned to appear before us, yet there you are in Tulsa, and here we are in Venice. What has delayed you?"

"I am busy." Neferet pitched her voice to sound more amused than annoyed. Or afraid. She must never allow them to believe she feared them, or anyone, at all. "It is not convenient to make a trip to Italy at this time."

"Then you force us to pass judgment over you in absente reo."

Neferet scoffed. "Save your Latin for vampyres too old to live in the present."

Duantia continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Our sister High Priestess, and the seventh member of this Council, Thanatos, has produced irrefutable evidence though a reveal ritual witness by High Priestess Zoey Redbird, her-"

"That insolent child isn't a High Priestess!"

"You will not interrupt me!" Even through the Internet, thousands of miles away, Duantia's power was palpable. It was only with a supreme effort that Neferet didn't cringe from the computer screen.

"Say what you must. I will not interrupt again," Neferet said emotionlessly.

"The reveal ritual over which Thanatos presided was witnessed by the young High Priestess, Zoey Redbird; her circle, each member of which has been gifted by Nyx with an elemental affinity; as well as several Sons of Erebus Warriors. During this ritual the earth gave record that you murdered a human, sacrificing her to the white bull of Darkness, who appears to be your Consort."

Neferet watched the High Council members shift nervously, as if just hearing the word Consort associated with the white bull was difficult for them to bear. That pleased her. Very shortly the High Council would have to bear more than simple words.

"Neferet, what do you say in your defense?" Duantia concluded.

Neferet drew herself up to her full height. She felt the threads of Darkness rustle around her, lapping at her ankles and slithering around her calves. "I need no defense. Killing the human was not an act of murder. It was a sacred sacrifice."

"You dare call Darkness sacred?" the Council member named Alitheia shouted.

"Alitheia, or Truth, as we would say in a language that isn't dead, I will impart a little of your own to you. The truth is that I am immortal. In a little over a hundred years I have attained more power than all of you in all of your centuries have managed to acquire. The truth is that in another hundred years, most of you will be dust, and I will still be young, powerful, beautiful, and a goddess. If I choose to sacrifice a human, no matter for what purpose, it is sacred and not sin!"

"Neferet, is Darkness your Consort?" Duantia's question shot through the silence following Neferet's shout.

"Conjure the white bull and ask Darkness yourself. But only if you dare," Neferet sneered.

"High Council, what is your judgment?" Duantia asked. She held Neferet's gaze as each of the High Council members stood and, one at a time, pronounced the same word, over and over, "Shunned!"

Duantia stood last. "Shunned!" she said firmly. "From this day forth, you will no longer be recognized as a High Priestess of Nyx. You will no longer be recognized as a vampyre at all. Henceforth you are dead to us." As one, the High Council members turned their backs to Neferet, and then the screen bleeped the CALL ENDED sound and the picture went blank.

Neferet stared at the black screen. She was breathing heavily, trying to control the tumult within her. The High Council had shunned her!

"Horrid old crones!" she ranted. Too soon! Neferet had, of course, intended to break with the High Council, but not before she had divided them and set them at each other's throats so that they would be too busy with the destruction happening within to meddle in the world she was fashioning outside their cozy little island. "I almost accomplished it before-when Kalona was posing as Erebus at my side. But Zoey ruined that by forcing me to reveal him as a fraud." Unable to quiet her frustration, Neferet stalked from the room, her stiletto heels crunching on the broken glass. She went out on the balcony, pressing her hands against the cold stone balustrade. "Zoey caused Thanatos to be sent to Tulsa to spy on me. And it was Zoey's mother who was too weak, too imperfect a sacrifice. Had Aurox not been a cracked vessel, the reveal ritual would have been stopped by Rephaim's death. And now I am shunned by the High Council and viewed as a domesticated ally by Tulsa humans." Neferet raised her arms to the sky and shrieked her anger. "Zoey Redbird will pay for what she has caused!"

Neferet reached down and ripped the silk robe from her, baring her body to the night. Naked, she threw out her arms and tilted back her head so that her long hair veiled her like a dark curtain. "Come to me, Darkness!" She braced herself, ready for the painful pleasure of her white bull's icy touch.

Nothing.

The only movement in the night was the restless, dark tendrils that had become her constant companions.

"My lord! Come to me! I am in need of you!" Neferet called.

"Your call is not a surprise, my heartless one."

Neferet heard his voice in her head, as always, but she did not feel his awe-inspiring presence. She dropped her arms, turning, searching for him. "My lord, I cannot see you."

"You need something."

Still not understanding why he had not appeared to her, Neferet did not allow her confusion to show. Instead she responded seductively. "What I need is you, my lord."

Instantly, the thickest of the snake-like minions of Darkness detached itself from the others that slithered over her ankles. It whipped around her waist, slicing through her smooth skin and drawing a perfect circle of scarlet. The other tendrils crawled up her legs, moving to feed from the warm wash of her blood.

Neferet was very careful not to cry out.

"Lying to me is not wise, my heartless one."

"I need more power," Neferet admitted. "I want to kill Zoey Redbird, and she is well protected."

"Well protected and the beloved of a goddess. Even you are not ready to openly destroy one such as her."

"Then help me. I beg it of you, my lord." Neferet cajoled, ignoring the razor-like thread that continued to cut into her skin and the other tendrils that were feeding from her.

"You disappoint me. I expected you to call me and beg for aid. You see, my heartless one, I should not be able to predict your actions. That bores me, and I have no desire to waste my powers on predictability and tedium." The voice battered relentlessly at her mind.

Neferet did not flinch.

"I will not ask you to forgive me," she said coldly. "You knew what I was when first we came together. I have not changed. I will not change."

"Indeed, and that is why I have always called you my heartless one." The voice was less of a violation. Now it was tinged with amusement. "You remind me of how well we began. You were such a delicious surprise. Surprise me again, and I will consider coming to your aid. Until then, I grant you control over the bits of Darkness that choose to remain with you. Do not despair. Many will choose you. You feed them so well. I will see you again, my heartless one, when ... if ... you pique my interest enough for me to return..." His voice faded as the thick tendril encasing her waist detached itself and disappeared into the night.

Neferet collapsed. She lay on the cold stone balcony, watching the threads of Darkness lap her blood. She did not stop them. She let them feed from her as she stroked them, encouraging them, taking stock of how many remained true to her.

If the bull would not help her, Neferet would help herself. Zoey Redbird had been a problem for far too long. For far too long she had allowed that child to interfere with her plans. She would not kill her, though. That would bring down the wrath of Nyx too soon. Unlike the Vampyre High Council, a goddess could not be ignored. No, Neferet thought, I need not kill Zoey. All I need do is create a being to do the job for me. The Vessel failed once because of an imperfect sacrifice. With the perfect sacrifice I will not fail.

"I am immortal. I do not need the bull to create. All I need is a sacred sacrifice and power. I have learned the spell. Aurox was only the beginning..." Neferet stroked the threads of Darkness and allowed them to continue feeding from her.

Enough, she assured herself, there are just enough left.

Zoey

"Goddess knows I hate to say it, but I was wrong. This is like watching The stupid Bachelorette." Aphrodite shook her head and rolled her eyes. She, Stevie Rae, and I were walking slowly to the parking lot and the waiting bus full of kids. We were moving slowly because we were super busy gawking at Damien and the reporter guy, Adam. The two of them were standing by the Fox 23 news van smiling and chattering.

"Shhh!" I whispered at Aphrodite. "They're gonna hear you and that will embarrass Damien."

"Oh, please," Aphrodite snorted. "Gay boy's all atwitter, or atitter, or whatever. He's not paying any attention to us."

"I'm just glad he's flirting," I said.

"Look! They're takin' out their phones!" Stevie Rae gushed in a whisper that was too exclamation pointed to be whispery.

"I was wrong again," Aphrodite said. "It's not like watching The Bachelorette. It's like watching the National Geographic Channel."

"I think he's a cutie patootie," Stevie Rae said.

"The guy talking to Damien?" Shaylin asked as she joined us.

"Yeah. We think they're makin' a date," Stevie Rae said, still gawking.

"He has soft, pretty colors," Shaylin said. "Actually, they go real well with Damien's."

"What, are their rainbows merging?" Aphrodite snorted sarcastically.

Shaylin frowned. "They don't have rainbow colors. That's such a horrible stereotype. They have summer sky colors-blues and yellows. Damien also has some billowy white stuff that looks a lot like cumulus clouds."

"Oh, for shit's sake, it has no sense of humor at all," Aphrodite said.

"Aphrodite, you gotta stop callin' Shaylin it. It's not nice," Stevie Rae said.

"So, for future reference, how not nice is it on the retard-mean-word scale?" She lifted a questioning blond brow at Stevie Rae. "Is it more asstard, fucktard, or old school, hardcore, retard not nice?"

"You're the High Priestess, but I say answering her at all just encourages her. You know, like what happens when you pick up a screaming toddler-they keep on screaming," Shaylin said, sounding very matter-of-fact.

All I could think was holy crap, Aphrodite is going to yank her hair out by the roots.

Instead Aphrodite laughed. "Hey, it made a joke! It might actually have a personality."

"Aphrodite, I think you might be brain damaged," Stevie Rae said.

"Thank you," Aphrodite said. "I'm getting on the bus. And I'm timing Gay Boy. If he flirts for more than five more minutes I'm going to-" Her words stopped when she turned toward the bus. My eyes followed her gaze. Shaunee and Erin were standing just outside the bus's open door. Shaunee looked upset. Erin's face had no expression on it whatsoever. I could see that they were talking, but we were too far away to hear what they were saying.

"There's something wrong about her," Shaylin said.

"Who her?" Stevie Rae asked.

"Erin," Shaylin said.

"Shaylin's right. There's something wrong about Erin," Aphrodite said.

I couldn't tell which shocked me more, what Aphrodite and Shaylin were saying, or that they were agreeing.

"Tell me what you're seein'," Stevie Rae spoke quietly to Shaylin.

"Here's the best way I can describe it. There was this culvert that ran behind the house I lived in when I was a kid, just before I lost my sight. I used to play by it and pretend that it was a bubbling, beautiful mountain stream and I was growing up in the Colorado Rockies, 'cause it was clear and even kinda pretty. But the second I got too close to it I could smell it. It stunk like chemicals and something else, something rotting. The water looked good, but under the surface it was dirty, polluted."

"Shaylin." I was seriously at the edge of my patience. I felt like I was listening to one of Kramisha's poems-and that's not necessarily a good thing. "What in the hell are you saying? Erin is the color of polluted water? And if she is, why didn't you say something before now?"

"She's changing!" Shaylin yelled. When faces on the bus, along with Shaunee and Erin, turned their heads toward us, she added, "Winter seems to be changing to Spring! Isn't it a beautiful night?"

Kids shook their heads and squinched their foreheads at her, but at least they seemed to quit listening.

"Oh, for shit's sake. You are no good at espionage at all." Aphrodite lowered her voice and huddled us up. "Z, get a clue. It's simple. What Shaylin is saying is that Erin looks like she used to-pretty, blond, popular, perfect. You know, typical. But the truth is that under the surface, there's something rotting. You can't see it. I can't see it. But Shaylin can." Aphrodite glanced over at the bus. We all looked with her in time to see Shaunee shake her head no, and disappear quickly up the black, rubber-treaded stairs while Erin stood there looking beautiful but very, very cold. "Seems like Shaunee might be able to see it, too. Not that we'd believe her. We'd believe she was just pissed at Erin because the Dorkamise Twins have been surgically separated."

"I think that's pretty harsh," I said.

"So do I," Stevie Rae said. "But my gut's tellin' me it's the truth."

"Mine is as well," Damien said, walking up to us. His cheeks were still flushed, and he waved gaily as the Fox 23 van pulled away, but his attention was focused on Erin. "My gut's telling me something else, too."

"That you and News Boy are about to become butt-buddies?" Aphrodite's voice was perky and polite, which was in direct contradiction to what she'd just said.

"That is none of your business," Damien said, then transitioned smoothly to, "And you may want to pay attention, Aphrodite. What I'm getting ready to say is going to rock your world."

"That's a seriously old saying," Aphrodite said.

"Old doesn't equate to inaccurate," Damien said. "You translated what Shaylin envisioned. That means you're acting as an oracle."

"I'm not an effing oracle. I'm a Prophetess." Aphrodite really looked pissed.

"Oracle-Prophetess," Damien held up first one hand then the other, as if he was measuring something in each palm and equaling them both out. "Seems the same thing to me. Check your history, Prophetess. Sibyl, Delphi, Cassandra! Do these names not ring a bell with you?"

"No. Seriously. I try not to read too much."

"Well, I'd start if I were you. They are just the top three of many that come to my well-educated mind. Some name them Oracle. Some call them Prophetess. Same thing."

"Can I get the short version from the Internet?" Aphrodite was trying to sound like a smartass, but her face had lost all of its color and her eyes looked giant and even more topaz blue than usual. And scared. She looked super scared.

"Okay, well, lesson learned. I say, well done, us!" I piped in perkily. When everyone just stared at me I attempted an explanation. "Thanatos said we had to practice our Gifts. I think what just happened is, like, extra credit for us. How 'bout we get on that bus and go back to the tunnels and watch some Fringe reruns?"

"Fringe? I'm in," Shaylin said, and started off toward the bus.

"I like Walter," Aphrodite said. "He reminds me of my grandpa. Well, except Walter's a little smarter and is high and crazy versus drunk and sociopathic. Yet oddly they're both likeable."

"You have a grandpa? And you like him?" Stevie Rae beat me to the question.

"Of course I have a grandpa. What are you, a biology moron?" Then Aphrodite shrugged. "Whatever. My family is kinda hard to explain. I'm going to follow it on the bus." And she did. She followed Shaylin.

Stevie Rae, Damien, and I were left alone.

"Crazy Town," was all I could think to say.

"Indeed," Damien nodded.

"All right, well, do you think everyone else is on the bus?" I asked.

"I hope so. I know Rephaim's there, and we only have a couple of hours until sunrise. I can pretty much be sure he's never seen any episodes of Fringe, and I think he'd like them. Watchin' DVDs curled up with him sounds real good right now, even if we do have to do it with Crazy Town Aphrodite." She grinned at me. "Can we order Andolini's pizza?"

"Totally," I said.

"Hurrumph..." Damien cleared his throat with staged precision.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Do, um, you guys think it's awful if I, um, maybe, meet someone for coffee. Late. Tonight. At The Coffee House on Cherry Street?"

"Are they still open?" I asked, glancing at my phone. Jeesh, it was almost 4:00 A.M.

"They've started staying open 24/7. The ice storm killed business for weeks and they're trying to make up for it by catering to the, well, night-time crowd," Damien explained.

"Seriously? They're staying open for us?" I so remembered their awesome deli sandwiches and the beautiful local art they displayed. "They used to close at 11:00 P.M.!"

"Not anymore," he said happily.

"Wow, that's cool. I mean, I've never been there, but it's awesomesauce that a coffee shop is stayin' open in Midtown so that we can hang out there," Stevie Rae said.

"How about tomorrow we have Darius detour the bus there on the way back to the depot?" I followed my gut. It's normal for a group of high school kids to want to stop off at a coffee shop after school. "Damien, if you went tonight would you ask whoever's working if they'd be okay with us coming by tomorrow?"

"I would definitely reconnoiter for you!" Then Damien's expression dimmed. "So, what do you think? Would Jack hate me?"

"Oh, honey, no!" I said quickly. "Of course he wouldn't."

"Jack would understand," Stevie Rae added. "He wouldn't want you to be sad and lonely while you waited for him to come back around."

"He will, won't he?" Damien stared in my eyes. "Jack will come back around, right?"

Their souls are meant to meet again ... the words whispered through my mind. Recognizing the wise, familiar voice of Nyx I smiled, twining my arm through Damien's. "He will. I promise. And so does the Goddess."

Damien blinked tears from his eyes. "I have a date! And I'm going to be happy about it."

"Yeah!" I said.

"I'm so happy I could just spit! Even though that's kinda gross," Stevie Rae said, taking Damien's other hand.

"It is a weird saying," Damien observed.

"Totally," I said. "You know it was disgusting during the Titanic movie when Leonardo did that whole spitting scene with Kate."

"Never would have happened," Damien agreed. "It was the only flaw in that movie."

"Well, that and Leo turning into an attractive Popsicle," I added.

Damien and Stevie Rae made noises in absolute agreement with me as we approached the bus. I could see the kids' faces in the windows. It looked like it was full, which made me feel a giant rush of relief because I was more than ready to go home. Stark was there, standing at the top of the stairs beside Darius. His eyes found me and his gaze made my skin feel tingly and warm. Rephaim was sitting in the first seat, right in front of Kramisha, and I could practically feel Stevie Rae vibrating with joy as she waved at him. Shaylin and Aphrodite were climbing the stairs. I couldn't see Aphrodite's face, but the toss of her hair said she was already flirting with her Warrior.

Okay, Darkness was a pain in the butt and hard things happened to us, but at least we were together and we had love. Always love.

"I need to talk to you."

Erin's emotionless voice was like ice water on my happy shower.

"Okay, sure. Hey, I'll be in the bus in a sec," I told Stevie Rae and Damien.

"I'm staying." Erin spoke the two words as soon as we were alone.

"Staying? You mean here?" I knew what she meant, but I needed to stall, to buy some time to try to wade through the questions in my mind. I mean, I'd stopped Shaunee when she'd tried to break away from us and move back to the House of Night right after she and Erin had started having problems. Shouldn't I stop Erin, too?

"Yeah, of course I mean here. I'm sick of the tunnels. The humidity is frizzing my hair."

"Uh, there's product for that. Aveda makes it. We'll pick you up some from the Utica Ilhoff salon tomorrow," I said.

"Okay, so, it's not just my hair. I don't want to live in the tunnels. This is where I live. This school. I don't want to be bussed in. It's stupid."

"Erin, I know taking the bus is stupid. Hell, it was stupid before I was Marked. But I think we need to stay together. We're more than just a group or a clique, we're a family."

"No, we're not a family. We're a group of kids who all go to the same school. That's it. The end."

"Our affinities make us more than that." She was shocking me-not just by what she was saying, but by her attitude. Erin was so damn cold! "Erin, we've been through too much together to ever believe that we're just a group of kids who happen to go to the same school."

"What if that's how you feel, but not how I feel? Don't I get to choose? I thought Nyx was all about free choice."

"She is, but that doesn't mean we can't say something when someone we care about is messing up," I said.

"Let her go."

Erin and I looked up to see Aphrodite standing on the bottom stair of the bus. She was leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. I expected to see the familiar Aphrodite Sneer on her face, but she didn't look mad. She didn't sound sarcastic. She just seemed very sure of herself. Behind her I could see Stevie Rae and Shaylin. Each of them nodded, and that unspoken support for Aphrodite tipped me over as I realized that my Council had ruled-they'd decided what was best for all of us, even if it wasn't what was best for Erin.

"Thanks, Aphrodite. Who knew you'd be the one to agree with me?" Erin laughed, sounding petulant and childlike in the wake of Aphrodite's calm maturity.

"You know what, Erin, I'm glad you and Aphrodite reminded me," I said. "Nyx does give us free choice, and if you choose to live at the House of Night, then I'm going to respect that. I hope that doesn't change things with our circle. You're still water. Your element and you are still important to us."

Erin's lips smiled, but the expression didn't reach her cold blue eyes. "Yeah, of course. I'll always be water, and water can slide around from anywhere. Just call if you need me. I'll be sure to get right on it."

"Sounds good," I spoke quickly, feeling super awkward. "So, well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, right. I'll see you guys in class." With a flippant wave of her hand, Erin walked off.

I climbed the stairs into the bus asking Darius, "Are we all here?"

"All present and accounted for," he replied.

"Then let's go home." We all scattered to our seats-Stevie Rae beside Rephaim, Aphrodite in the first seat right behind Darius as the driver. Stark was waiting for me in the next seat back, and I leaned down, kissing him quickly and whispering, "I'm gonna go check on Shaunee, then I'll be back."

"I'll be waiting. Always," he said, touching my cheek gently.

I lurched in time to the potholes in the parking lot as Darius made a big U-turn and headed toward the school's long driveway, making my way to the back of the bus where Shaunee sat by herself.

"Mind if I sit down for a sec?"

"Sure, yeah," she said.

"So, you and Erin aren't so much talking anymore?"

Shaunee chewed the side of her cheek and shook her head. "No."

"She's pretty pissed." I was trying to figure out something to say that would help Shaunee open up.

"No, I don't think she is," Shaunee said.

I frowned. "Well, she seemed pissed."

"No," Shaunee repeated, staring out the window. "Go back and think about how she's been acting for the past couple of days, but especially today. Pissed doesn't describe her."

I did think about it. Erin had been cold. She'd been unemotional. And that's about all she'd been. "Well, you're right. Now that I really think about it she hasn't been much of anything except detached, and that feels weird," I said.

"You know what's weirder, she's showing more feeling than Erin." Shaunee pointed out the window at the little professors' courtyard not far from the edge of the parking lot. A girl was sitting beside the fountain there. As we drove past there was just enough light to glimpse that she had her face in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking as if she was bawling her heart out.

"Who is that?" I asked.

"Nicole."

"The red fledgling Nicole? Are you sure?" I rubber-necked, trying to get a better look at her, but we were already heading down the tree-lined driveway and my view of the girl was completely obscured.

"I'm sure," Shaunee said. "I saw her there on the way to the bus."

"Huh," I said. "Wonder what's going on with her?"

"I think things are changing for a bunch of us, and sometimes that just plain sucks."

"Anything I can do to make it less sucky for you?" I asked.

Shaunee looked at me then. "Just be my friend."

I blinked in surprise. "I am your friend."

"Even without Erin?"

"I like you better without Erin," I said honestly.

"I do, too," Shaunee said. "I do, too."

In a little while I went back to my seat beside Stark and let him put his arm around me. I rested my head against his shoulder and listened to his heartbeat, leaning on his strength and his love.

"Promise me you won't freak out on me and become some cold, distant stranger," I said softly to him.

"I promise. No matter what," he said with no hesitation. "Now, clear your mind of everything except the fact that I'm going to force you to try a different pizza tonight."

"No Santino? But we love that pizza!"

"Trust me, Z. Damien told me about the Athenian pizza. He said it's the ambrosia of pizzas. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I'm thinking it's better than good, so we're going for it."

I smiled, relaxed beside him and pretended, for the short ride from the House of Night to the depot, that my biggest problem was choosing to expand my pizza horizons.