Revealed (House of Night #11)(71)

“Will you cast your circle and lead Shaunee in immolating the guilty vampyre?”

“Yes. I don’t want him martyred any more than you do,” I said.

“Thank you. Then I will leave you to your circle.” Her gaze went to Stark. “You did well today, Warrior. I am proud of you. Blessed be.” She bowed her head slightly and walked away.

“I swear she acts more and more like Death every day,” I said, staring after her.

“Z, I think she’s only doing her best to keep us all safe.”

My first impulse was to argue with Stark, to ask him why he wasn’t taking my side, but when I really looked at him I saw that his clothes were torn and muddy, and he had Dallas’s blood spattered all over his shirt and pants. His face was pale and strained, and I understood that even though Kalona had announced he’d brought Dallas back to school, it was Stark’s arrow that had made his execution possible.

Then Stark had watched Kalona behead the kid.

I put my arms around him, pressing my face into his shoulder. “I think you’re doing your best to keep us all safe.”

“Are you okay, Z? I wanted to tell you what Thanatos was going to do, but there wasn’t any time.” He hesitated, then added, “I felt that huge surge of power you had when you spoke up. It wasn’t like how you feel when spirit fills you, so I figured it might have something to do with Old Magick. Was I right?”

I fidgeted uncomfortably. “Well, my Seer Stone got hot, and now I feel crappy. So, yeah, I’m thinking it had something to do with Old Magick.”

“Guess that makes sense, especially with Thanatos invoking ancient rules and all.”

“Yeah, we were just talking about that in class, but I wish I knew whether that meant she’s doing the right thing or not,” I worried aloud.

“Hey.” He lifted my chin. “You’re the one with the Seer Stone. All you have to worry about is whether you’re doing the right thing. Cleaning up the Dallas mess is definitely the right thing to do. Okay?”

“Okay.” I kissed him. “How are you?”

“Tired,” he said. “And the whole cutting Dallas’s head off thing—well—I knew what was going to happen and I thought I was ready for it. But…” His words faded and he held me tightly.

“Stark, I don’t think there’s any way to get ready to see a kid’s head cut off.” I squeezed him back. “Hey, you should go take a shower and change. How about we meet at lunch?”

“How about we make a date to do nothing but curl up together after school alone and Roku a Big Bang Theory marathon.”

I grinned at him. “No one but me knows what a dork you truly are.”

“I need to laugh, and Sheldon makes me laugh.”

“Okay, but only if you don’t make fun of me when I don’t get all his jokes,” I said.

“That’s part of what makes me laugh,” he said.

“Fine. Laugh at me. I’ll sacrifice for you,” I said kiddingly.

His expression went serious. “I’ll always sacrifice for you.” He drew a deep breath, then blurted, “I don’t want you to start hooking up with Aurox.”

I pulled back from him. “What are you talking about?”

“I know I said I’d share you with Heath but I really only said that after the kid was already dead and now he’s back and I don’t think I can share you and I want you to stay away from him,” he said all in one big rush.

“Sorry it took forever! Someone put the ritual matches in the smudge stick drawer. I thought we’d never find them. I hate it when things get out of place,” Damien gushed, all out of breath and frazzled-looking as he, Shaylin, Shaunee, and Aurox hurried up to us, their hands filled with candles and matches.

“Shaylin told me what Thanatos wants, and I’m ready,” Shaunee said.

“Is something wrong?” Shaylin asked, looking from Stark to me with unsettling concentration.

“No, everything’s fine,” I said. “Stark was just on his way to take a shower and change. Right, Stark?”

Stark put his arms around me and pulled me to him. Then he kissed me. Right on the lips. Hard and possessive. One of his hands trailed down my back and rested on my butt as he said, “Right, Z. I’ll see you tonight. During our date. Alone.” He squeezed my butt and then hurried away.

Shaylin handed me the purple spirit candle, and I resisted the urge to throw the thick pillar at him. What the hell was I going to do about Stark? And did he really think acting possessive and telling me what to do was the way to get me to not want to be with another guy? Hell, no!

I pushed aside my irritation and forced a cheerful smile on my face.

“So, let’s get this circle cast,” I said. “Everyone ready?”

As we took our positions I ignored the fact that Shaylin kept watching me, and then I realized that I was going to have to take my position in the center of the circle, which meant I was going to have to stand by Dallas’s decapitated body in the middle of blood-soaked ash and burned earth, and I decided I didn’t care how close Shaylin was watching me or what an ass Stark was acting like. I just kinda froze at the edge of the blood, hating that the smell of it made my mouth water, but the sight made my stomach clench.

“Don’t look at him.” Aurox’s voice had me lifting my gaze from the horrible headless body. He smiled at me from the northernmost part of the circle. “Go to Damien and call air. By the time you have to move to the center you will be strengthened by the elements. You can do it, Zo.”