Tempted (House of Night #6)(59)

Someone with your intelligence should enjoy it. Aphrodite gave him a sweet smile. I'd like it if you read some to me, but then again, I'd like anything you read to me. Disgusting, Shaunee said, going over to sit by Erin. Totally, Erin agreed, grinning at her twin. Good, we didn't miss the poem part, Stevie Rae said, plopping down next to me and petting Nala. I was wonderin' what Kramisha had come up with. Okay, well, I'll just read it out loud, I said, and began,

A double-edged sword One side destroys One releases I am your Gordian knot Will you release or destroy me? Follow truth and you shall: Find me on water Purify me through fire Trapped by earth nevermore Air will whisper to you What spirit already knows: That even shattered anything is possible If you believe Then we shall both be free.

I hate to say it, but even I can tell that's from Kalona to you, Aphrodite spoke into the thick silence that followed my reading. Yep, sounds like it to me, too, said Stevie Rae. Ah, hell, I muttered.

Chapter Twenty-eight

I don't like it, Stark said. You already said that, Aphrodite said. And none of us like it, but that doesn't make the stupid poem go away. Prophecy, Damien corrected her. Kramisha's poems are prophetic in nature. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, Darius said. If we have a prophecy that also means we have forewarning. So these poems plus Aphrodite's visions combine to create a powerful tool for us, Lenobia said. If we can figure them out, I said. We figured out the last one, Lenobia reminded me. We'll decipher this one, too. No matter what, I think all of us agree that Zoey has to follow Kalona, Darius said. It's what I was created for, I said, which definitely got everyone's attention. I hate it. I don't know what to do about it. Most of the time I feel like I'm a giant snowball rolling down a mountain in the middle of winter, but I can't ignore the truth.

I remembered Nyx's whispers and added, There's power in the truth, just like there's power in making the right choice. The truth is that I'm connected to Kalona. I remember the connection, and remembering it makes Kalona hard for me to deal with, but something inside me defeated him once. I think I have to find that something and make the choice to defeat him all over again. This time maybe for good? Stevie Rae said. I seriously hope so, I said. Well, this time you won't be alone, Stark said. That's right, said Damien. Absolutely, Shaunee said. Yep, Erin added. All for one and one for Zoey! Stevie Rae said. I looked at Aphrodite. She sighed dramatically. Fine. Where the nerd of herd goes, I'll go, too. Darius put his arm around her. You won't be alone, either, my beauty. It was only later that I realized Stevie Rae hadn't said anything about joining us. All of this solidarity is good, but we can't act because we don't know where Kalona is, said Lenobia. Well, in my dream I found him on an island. Actually, on top of a castle on an island, I specified.

Did anything look familiar about it? Damien asked. No. It was really pretty, though. The water was incredibly blue, and there were orange trees everywhere. That doesn't exactly narrow it down, Aphrodite said. Oranges are all over--Florida, California, the Mediterranean. All those places have islands. He's not in America. My response was automatic. I don't know how I know that, but I do. Then we'll take it as truth, Lenobia said. Her confidence in me made me feel good, but nervous, and kinda sick all at the same time. Okay, well, Stevie Rae said. Maybe you know more stuff about where he is, but you just need to not think about it for a while so you can think about it. Bumpkin, you make no damn sense, Aphrodite said. Here, I'll translate from countrified Okie to English. Aphrodite turned to me. Without thinking about it you knew he wasn't in America. Maybe you're trying too hard to figure this out. Maybe you just need to relax and it'll come to you. That's exactly what I said, Stevie Rae muttered. They're Twin-like, Shaunee said. Hilarious, Erin agreed.

Shut up! Aphrodite and Stevie Rae said together, which made the Twins convulse into laughter. Hey, what's so funny? asked Jack as he came into the room. I noticed that he still had tear tracks on his cheeks and his eyes looked haunted. He went to Damien and sat close beside him. Nothing's funny. The Twins are just being the Twins, he told Jack. All right, enough of this. It's nonproductive and absolutely not helping us figure out where Kalona might be, Lenobia said. I know where Kalona is, Jack said, matter-of-factly. What do you mean, you know where Kalona is? Damien said while we all gawked at Jack. Well, him and Neferet, that is. Easy. He held up his iPhone. Internet's back up, and my Vamp Twitter has been going crazy. It's all over the Net about Shekinah dying all sudden and mysterious, and Neferet showing up in Venice at the High Council saying that she's Nyx Incarnate and Kalona's Erebus come to earth, so she should be the next Vampyre High Priestess. We stared at him. I know my mouth was definitely flopped open. Jack frowned at us.

I'm not making it up. Promise. You can see it all right here. He offered up his iPhone again, which Darius took. While he poked at the screen, Damien put his arms around Jack and kissed him smack on the mouth. You are brilliant! he told his boyfriend. Jack smiled and everyone started talking at once. Everyone except Stark and me. In the middle of the chaos Heath came into the room. He hesitated for only a second, and then he walked around the bed and flopped down next to me on the side Stevie Rae wasn't taking up. So, what's happening, Zo? Jack found Kalona and Neferet, Stevie Rae told him. That's good, Heath said. His gaze met mine and he added, Hang on, maybe it's not good. Why wouldn't it be good? Stevie Rae asked. Ask Zoey, Heath said. What's wrong, Zoey? Damien asked, shutting everyone up. It wasn't Venice, I said. I'm sure about that.