Hidden (House of Night #10)(48)

"Hey there, uh, sorry to interrupt, but I'm looking for the school lobby."

As a group, we turned and gawked at the human who was walking toward us down the sidewalk that led from the main parking lot. Behind him trailed a guy holding a camera and a big bag of stuff crammed into a black bag slung over his shoulder and a long gray mic-thing dangling over his head.

Predictably, Damien was the first of us to pull himself together. I mean, Damien really should be crowned Miss Congeniality for the Tulsa House of Night.

"You are absolutely at the correct spot. Well done, you, for finding us!" Damien's smile was so warm that I watched the tense set of the human's shoulders relax. Then he actually held out his hand and said, "Excellent. I'm Adam Paluka, from Tulsa's Fox News 23. I'm here to interview your High Priestess and, I'm guessing, some of you as well."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Paluka. I'm Damien," Damien said, taking his hand. Then he giggled a little and added, "Oooh, strong grip!"

The reporter grinned. "I aim to please. And call me Adam. Mr. Paluka is my dad."

Damien giggled again. Adam chuckled. They made major eye contact. Stevie Rae nudged me and we shared a Look. Adam was cute, seriously cute in a young, up-and-coming metro-sexual guy way. Dark hair, dark eyes, good teeth, really good shoes, and a man satchel, which Stevie Rae and I spotted together. Our eyes telegraphed to each other potential boyfriend for Damien!

"Hi there, Adam, I'm Stevie Rae." She stuck out her hand. As he took it she said, "You don't have a girlfriend, do ya?"

His straight-toothed smile faltered, but only a little. "No. I don't, um. No. I absolutely do not have a girlfriend." Then his eyes took in Stevie Rae's red tattoo Mark. "So, you're one of the new kind of vampyres your ex-High Priestess has been talking about."

Stevie Rae gave him a big smile. "Yep, I'm the first Red Vampyre High Priestess. Cool, isn't it?"

"Your tattoo is certainly pretty," Adam said, looking more curious than uncomfortable.

"Thank you!" Stevie Rae gushed. "This here's James Stark. He's the first Red Vampyre Warrior. His tattoo is awesome, too."

Stark put his hand out. "Nice to meet ya. And you don't have to tell me my tattoo is pretty."

Adam's face lost some of its color, but he shook Stark's hand. His smile seemed genuine-nervous, but genuine.

"Hi," I chimed in, shaking his hand. "I'm Zoey."

Adam's gaze quickly shifted from the full tattoo on my face, to the V-neck of my T-shirt and the glimpse of tattooing across my collarbone, down to my palm, which was also covered in the same filigree tattoo. "I didn't know vampyres were getting additional tattooing done. Is your artist here in Tulsa?"

I grinned. "Yeah, sometimes. But mostly she's in the Otherworld." I could see he was trying to process what I'd just said, so I took the opportunity to blurt, "Hey, you said you don't have a girlfriend, but how about a boyfriend?"

"Um, no, I don't have a boyfriend, either. At least not currently." Adam glanced at Damien, who met his gaze.

Success! was what I was thinking when Aphrodite snorted and said, "Oh, for shit's sake, this isn't The Bachelorette. I'm Aphrodite LaFont. Yes, the mayor is my father. Whoop-dee-f*cking-do." She wrapped her arm through Darius's. "And this is my Warrior, Darius."

Adam's cute brow went up as he took in Aphrodite's school sweater, with the sixth former insignia of the three Fates sewn over her left breast pocket. "Are human beings allowed to attend the House of Night?"

"Aphrodite is a Prophetess of Nyx, a fact proven by the bond she has with Darius, who is a Son of Erebus Warrior and Oath Sworn as her protector." Thanatos was speaking from the shadows as she walked gracefully toward us. I thought her timing was excellent, as was her entrance. She looked tall and powerful, ageless and classically beautiful. Her voice was pleasant and informative, as if she lectured human reporters every day. "I know the inner workings of our society are not common knowledge, but I believe most humans are aware that a Warrior cannot bond to a human with an oath of protection."

"Actually, even though this interview is last minute, I did have time to do some general research, and that is one fact I did uncover."

"That Aphrodite is a Prophetess of Nyx, and is attending school here, as are several red fledglings and vampyres, will be one of the topics of our interview. Although it appears that interview has already begun." Thanatos emerged fully from the shadows, nodding toward the cameraman who was holding up the camera and definitely had been filming us, even though none of us had been paying any attention to him. "I am Thanatos, the new High Priestess of the Tulsa House of Night. Merry meet, Adam Paluka. You are welcome at our school."

"M-merry meet." Adam only bobbled a little. "I didn't mean to offend by filming early."

Thanatos smiled. "You did not offend us. We invited you here. I am pleased that the interview has begun without formalities. Shall we remain out here, under the beautiful Tulsa night sky, and continue?"

"Sure," Adam said after a nod from the cameraman. "The gaslights are actually good lighting. If you give us a sec, we can use a boom mic and get as many of your group on tape as you'd like."

"That sounds lovely. Zoey, Aphrodite, Stevie Rae, Stark, and Damien, please stay for the interview. Darius, would you, Shaunee and Erin, be sure the gathered fledglings have returned to their dormitories? Tonight has been a difficult one for our school." Darius bowed to Aphrodite and Thanatos, then he and Shaunee walked off together. Erin headed in the opposite direction.