Chosen (House of Night #3)(70)

"Stevie Rae?" Damien sounded strangled.

With a command to "Be good, Nala!" I tossed my cat away so I could focus on my friends, but before I turned to face them I walked over to Stevie Rae. She didn't run away from me, but she definitely looked like she could bolt at any second. And she looked like crap, too. Her face was too thin and pale. She hadn't combed her curly blond hair and it looked matted and dull. Actually, the only thing shiny and healthy about her was her creepily glowing red eyes-and I already knew that wasn't a good sign.

"How are you?" I asked in a calm, quiet voice.

"Not good," she said. Her eyes darted over my shoulder, and she cringed. "It's hard to see them again, especially when I feel like I'm losing it."

"You're not going to lose it," I said firmly. "Brace yourself. They don't know about you."

"You didn't tell them?" Stevie Rae looked like I'd just slapped her.

"Long story," I said quickly. "Hey, why are you here?" Her brow wrinkled. " 'Cause you texted me and told me to meet you here." I closed my eyes against a new wave of pain. Loren. He'd taken my phone. He'd text messaged Stevie Rae. Or more accurately, Neferet had probably done the actual texting. She hadn't known I'd be out here, but she had known-thanks to Loren-that I hadn't told my friends about Stevie Rae. She'd also known that Loren had no intention of making sure Erik didn't tell anyone about us. She knew he would freak and tell the world (or at least my friends) about Loren and me, and that secret would be out. Stevie Rae being discovered on campus would be yet another secret of mine discovered. I could almost hear my friends' thinking: How can we ever trust Zoey again? And feel them pulling farther and farther away from me. Two points for Neferet. Zero points for Zoey.

I took Stevie Rae's unyielding hand, and even though I had to pull hard, I started walking with her back to where Damien, the Twins, Jack, and Aphrodite were standing-four of the five of them staring at Stevie Rae with their mouths open. Might as well get this over with before we were overrun with vamp warriors and the whole damn school found out everything and my life came crashing down around me.

"Stevie Rae isn't dead," I told them.

"Yeah, I am," Stevie Rae said.

I sighed. "Stevie Rae. We are so not going to have this argument again. You're walking and talking. And you're solid flesh." I held up our joined hands in demonstration. "So you're not dead." Somewhere in the middle of my argument with Stevie Rae the sound of sobs registered. It was the Twins. They were still staring at Stevie Rae, but had clutched on to each other and were bawling like babies. I started to say something to them, but Damien interrupted me.

"How?" His face was stark white, completely drained of color. He took one hesitant step forward. "How can this be?"

"I died," Stevie Rae's voice was as pale and lifeless as Damien's face. "Then I woke up like this, which, in case you can't already tell, isn't like I used to be."

"You smell funny," Jack said.

Stevie Rae turned her glowing eyes on him. "And you smell like dinner."

"Stop it!" I jerked on Stevie Rae's hand. "They're your friends. You shouldn't be scaring them." She yanked her hand from my grip. "That's what I've been trying to tell you all this time, Zoey. They're not my friends. You're not my friend. Not now. Not after what happened to me. I know you think you can fix this, but the only reason I came here tonight is to tell you that this has to end now. So, once and for all, either fix me, or leave me alone and let me finish becoming whatever bad thing it is I'm really supposed to be."

"We don't have time for this. Neferet put a spell on the perimeter of the school to let her know when any human, vamp, or fledgling comes or goes from here. You crossed the perimeter, so any second the Sons of Erebus are going to show up. I think you should go. I'll come to you as soon as I can, and we can finish this then."

"Hey, Zoey, I hate to contradict you, being as you're having a really shitty day, but I don't think the warriors are going to come because Neferet doesn't know Stevie Rae's here," Aphrodite said.

"Huh?" I said.

"Aphrodite's right," Damien said slowly, as if his brain was just then thawing out and starting to work again.

"Neferet bespelled the perimeter to tell her if it's breached by any human, fledgling, or vampyre. Stevie Rae isn't any of those things, so the spell wouldn't work on her."

"Why is she here?" Stevie Rae said, glaring with hot red eyes at Aphrodite. Aphrodite rolled her eyes, but I noticed she took several steps back so there was more space between Stevie Rae and her.

And then the Twins were suddenly standing in front of Stevie Rae. Shaunee and Erin were still crying, but quietly now, like they weren't even aware of it.

"You are alive," Shaunee said.

"We missed you so much," Erin said.

They threw their arms around Stevie Rae, who stood completely unmoving, like a statue of herself. Sometime in the middle of the hug Damien joined them. Stevie Rae didn't loosen up. She didn't put her arms around them. She closed her eyes and held perfectly still. I saw one blood-tinged tear spill from her eye and roll down her cheek.

Chapter Twenty-six