Burned (House of Night #7)(33)

"You thinkin' we might actually be able to come back here and go to school again, like this is still our home?" Kramisha blurted once they'd reached the sidewalk outside the dorm, Stevie Rae gave her a surprised look. "Actually, I kinda have started to think that. Would it be so bad to be back here?"

Kramisha shrugged. "I ain't sure. All I'm sure of is I feel right when I'm sleepin' underground during the day."

"Yeah, that's a problem here."

"The Darkness in my poem that makes me feel wrong - you don't think that's 'bout us, do you?"

"No!" Stevie Rae shook her head emphatically. "There's nothin' wrong with us. You and me and Dallas and the rest of the red fledglings who came here decided. Nyx gave us a choice, and we chose good over evil - Light over Darkness. The poem isn't talkin' about us. I'm sure of that."

"It's the others, huh?" Even though they were alone, Kramisha lowered her voice.

Stevie Rae thought about it and realized Kramisha could be right. She'd just been so preoccupied with guilt about Rephaim that it hadn't occurred to her. Dang! She did need to get her head on straight. "Well, yeah, I guess it could be talkin' 'bout them, but if it is, it's really bad."

"Please. We all know they real bad."

"Yeah, well, I just found out some stuff from Aphrodite that gives Darkness with a capital D a whole new level of messed-up. And if they're involved with that, then they've reached a different kind of bad.

Like Neferet bad."

"Shit."

"Yeah. So your poem might be talkin' 'bout a fight with them. But also, and this is the part I wanted you to know, Aphrodite and I have started to learn about some ancient stuff. You know, really old. So old the vamps have even forgotten about it."

"That's some old shit."

"Well, we're - meaning me and Aphrodite and Stark and the rest of the kids with Zoey - are gonna try to see if we can use this old info to help Stark get to the Otherworld so he can protect Z while she puts her soul back together."

"You mean get Stark to the Otherworld without him being all dead and stuff?"

"Yeah, apparently him showin' up in the Otherworld dead wouldn't be good for Zoey."

"So you gonna use that old shit to figure out how to do it right?"

Stevie Rae smiled at her. "We're gonna try. And you can help."

"Say the word - I'm there."

"Okay, here goes: Aphrodite's found some new Prophetess powers since she's been focused on them."

Stevie Rae added a wry smile to her words. "Even though she's 'bout as happy as a cat in a thunderstorm about it." Kramisha laughed, and Stevie Rae continued, "Anyway, I was thinkin' that even though I don't have a circle here like Z does around her there, I do have a Prophetess."

Kramisha blinked, looked confused, and when Stevie Rae kept staring at her, her eyes finally widened in understanding. "Me?"

"You. Well, you and your poetry. You did it before and helped Z figure out how to chase Kalona outta here."

"But - "

"But look at it this way," Stevie Rae broke in. "Aphrodite figured it out. So are you sayin' she's smarter than you?"

Kramisha's eyes narrowed. "I got a whole world of smart that rich white girl don't know nothin' about."

"Well, then, cowboy up."

"You know you kinda scare me when you talk country."

"I know." Stevie Rae dimpled at her. "Okay, I'm gonna go conjure up some earth and see if I can figure anything more out from my end. Hey, find Dallas and fill him in on everything but the poem."

"I already told you I ain't rattin' you out."

"Thanks, Kramisha. You're a really good Poet Laureate."

"You ain't so bad yourself for a country girl."

"See ya." Stevie Rae waved and started to jog for Z's car.

"I got your back, High Priestess!"

Kramisha's parting words made Stevie Rae's stomach feel all squishy, but also had her grinning as she started Z's car. She was just getting ready to put the car into gear when she realized (a) she didn't know

where she was going, and (b) the whole "conjure the earth" thing would be loads easier if she'd bothered to grab a green candle and maybe even some sweetgrass to draw some positive energy. Totally annoyed at herself, she put the car into neutral. Where in the Sam Hill was she going?

Back to Rephaim. The thought was like breathing - instant and natural. Stevie Rae reached for the gearshift, but her hand paused. Would going back to Rephaim right now really be the smartest thing for her to do?

Sure, on one hand she'd gotten a bunch of info from him about Kalona and Darkness and such.

On the other, she didn't really trust him. She couldn't really trust him.

Plus, he messed with her head. When she'd read Kramisha's poem, she'd been too dang busy obsessing about him to consider anything else - like the fact the poem could be a warning about the bad red fledglings and not just stuff about her and the Raven Mocker.

So what the heck should she do?

She'd told Rephaim she'd come back to check on him, but she wanted to return because of more than just telling him she would. Stevie Rae needed to see him. Needed to? Yes, she admitted reluctantly to herself. She needed to see the Raven Mocker. The admission jarred Stevie Rae.