Awakened (House of Night #8)(69)

The Sons of Erebus leaped into action. More than a dozen of them rushed to defend their Sword Master. Kalona was a deadly blur, but even he was struggling to handle so many Warriors at once.

"Rephaim! Son!" Kalona called to him. "To me! Defend me!"

Chapter Twenty-Two

Stevie Rae

"You can't kill anyone!" Stevie Rae cried as Rephaim picked up a fallen Son of Erebus's sword.

He looked at her and whispered, "Force Kalona to go against Neferet's wishes. It is the only way to end this." Then he ran to do his father's bidding.

Force Kalona to go against Neferet? What is Rephaim talking about? Isn't Kalona under her control? Stevie Rae struggled to stand up, but those terrible black threads had not just sliced through her earth shield, they had also drained her. She felt weak and light-headed and wanted to puke her guts out. Then Zoey was there, crouching beside her, and Stark was standing guard in front of the two of them, positioning himself between them and the bloody battle between the Sons of Erebus and Kalona and Rephaim. Stevie Rae looked up just in time to see a giant sword materialize in his hand. She grabbed Zoey's wrist.

"Don't let Stark hurt Rephaim!" Stevie Rae begged her BFF. Zoey met her eyes. "Please," she told her. "Please trust me."

Zoey nodded once, then called to her Warrior. "Don't hurt Rephaim." Stark turned his head, though he didn't take his eyes from the battle. "I'll damn sure hurt him if he attacks you," he retorted.

"He won't," Stevie Rae said.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Aphrodite said, running up to the two of them while Darius, his own sword drawn, joined Stark, joining the barrier between danger and their priestesses. "Bumpkin, you have royally f**ked up this time."

"Hate to agree with Aphrodikey," Erin said.

"Really hate to, but she's right," Shaunee said.

Damien, looking haggard, knelt on the other side of Stevie Rae. "We can yell at Stevie Rae later. Right now let's just figure out how to get her out of this mess," he said.

"You don't understand," Stevie Rae told him, her eyes filling up with tears. "I don't want out of it, and the only thing that's a mess is that y'all found out like this instead of me tellin' you 'bout Rephaim."

Damien stared at her for what seemed like a long time before he replied, "Oh, I see. I do understand because before I lost it, I learned a lot about love."

Before Stevie Rae could say anything else, a painful cry from one of the Sons of Erebus Warriors drew all of their eyes. Kalona had just stabbed him in the meaty part of his thigh, and the young Warrior had gone down, but as quickly as he'd fallen, another Warrior dragged him out of the way and yet another took his place, closing the break in the deadly circle around the winged beings.

They were fighting back to back. Stevie Rae wanted to curl up and die as she watched the House of Night Warriors press the attack over and over. Perfectly matched, perfectly in tune, Kalona and Rephaim complemented each other's movements.

In one part of her brain, Stevie Rae could acknowledge the beauty of the lethal dance that was going on between the Warriors and the winged beings--there was a grace and a symmetry to the fight that was awe- inspiring. But in most of her brain she just wanted to scream at Rephaim, Run! Fly away! Get outta here! Save yourself!

A Warrior lunged at Rephaim and at the very last moment he parried the blow. Sick and scared and almost completely defeated by the terrible unknown of what was going to happen to both of them, it took Stevie Rae longer than it should have for her to really see what Rephaim was doing--or rather, not doing. And when she did see it, Stevie Rae felt the sweet stirring of hope.

"Zoey," she clutched her friend's hand, unwilling to look away from the battle. "Watch Rephaim. He's not attacking. He's not hurting anyone. He's only defending himself."

Zoey paused, observing, and then said, "You're right. Stevie Rae, you're right! He's not attacking."

Pride for Rephaim made Stevie Rae's chest hurt, like her heart was thudding too hard to be held inside her rib cage. The Warriors kept attacking, brutal and deadly in their intent. Kalona kept wounding, maiming, and even killing. Rephaim continued to only defend himself--he blocked blows, he feinted and lunged, but he harmed none of the Warriors who were so obviously trying to kill him.

"She's correct," Darius said. "The Raven Mocker is entirely on the defensive."

"Press them! Kill them!" Neferet shouted. Stevie Rae took her gaze from Rephaim long enough to glance at her. Neferet looked bloated with power, reveling in the violence and destruction that was happening before her. Why didn't anyone else see the horrible Darkness that pulsed and slithered in excitement around her, wrapping around her legs, caressing her body, feeding from her power as, in turn, Neferet fed from the death and destruction around her?

With an avenging Dragon Lankford leading them, the Sons of Erebus Warriors redoubled their attack. "I have to stop it," Stevie Rae spoke more to herself than aloud. "Before it's gone too far and he can't help but kill somebody, I have to stop it."

"There's no stopping it," Zoey said quietly. "I think Neferet planned something like this all along. Kalona's probably here because she told him to be."

"Kalona may be, but Rephaim isn't," Stevie Rae said firmly. "He came here to be sure I'm okay, and I'm not gonna let him go down because of that."