No, it is not a good thing.
So lets work together to see if we can get both of them back, and deal with what happens next when next actually happens.
I can agree to that, he said.
Good! She squeezed his arm before taking her hand from him. You said Kalonas wounded. What did you mean?
His body cant be killed, but if his spirit is damaged, he is physically weakened. That is how A-ya was used to entrap him. His spirit was clouded with emotions for her. It confused and weakened him, and his body became vulnerable.
And thats how Neferet was able to dump him in front of the High Council, Stevie Rae said. Zoey hurt his spirit, so his body is vulnerable.
There has to be more to it than that. Unless hes held captive, as A-ya had him within the earth, Father would begin to recover almost instantly. As long as hes free, he can heal his spirit.
Well, obviously Neferet grabbed him before he was healed. Shes so dang evil, she probably zapped the crap outta him with that scary darkness she carries around with her and then
Thats it! He stood in excitement, then grimaced from the pain in his wing. Rubbing his wounded arm, he sat back down, holding it close to him. She continued the attack on his spirit. Neferet is Tsi Sgili. It is through using the dark forces in the spirit realm that she gains power.
She killed Shekinah without even touching her, Stevie Rae remembered.
Neferet touched the High Priestess but not with her hands. She manipulated the threads from deaths she is responsible for, sacrifices shes made, and dark promises she means to keep. That power is what killed Shekinah, and that is the power she wielded against my fathers already weakened spirit.
But whats she doing with him?
Holding his body captive and using his spirit for her own means.
Which makes her look like one of the good guys to the High Council. Ill just bet shes bein all Oh, poor Zoey and I dont know what Kalona was thinking to their faces.
The Tsi Sgili is very powerful. Why would she put on that pretense to your Council?
Neferet doesnt want to let them know how evil she is cause she wants to rule the dang world. She might not be ready to take on the Vampyre High Council and the human world. Yet. So she cant let the Council know shes cool with Zoey being almost dead, even though shes glad.
Father doesnt want Zoey dead. He simply wants to possess her.
Stevie Rae gave him a hard look. Some of us think being possessed against our will is worse than death.
He snorted. You mean like being Imprinted by accident?
Stevie Rae frowned at him. No, thats not what I mean at all.
He snorted again and kept rubbing his arm.
Still frowning, she continued, But what youre sayin is that Kalona didnt mean for what he did to Heath to cause Zoeys soul to shatter?
No, because that would most likely lead to her death.
Most likely? Stevie Rae pounced on the words. Does that mean its not one hundred percent certain Zs gonna die. Cause thats what the vamps are sayin.
Vampyres arent thinking with the mind of an immortal. No death is ever as certain as mortals believe. Zoey will die if her spirit doesnt return to her body, but it is not impossible for her spirit to become whole again. It would be difficult, yes, and she would need a guide and a protector in the Otherworld, but His words broke off, and Stevie Rae saw shock in his eyes.
What?
Neferet is using my father to ensure Zoeys spirit doesnt return. She trapped his body while he was wounded and commanded his soul to do her bidding in the Otherworld.
But you said Kalona was kicked out of there by Nyx. How could he go back?
Rephaims eyes widened. His body was banished.
And his bodys still in this realm! Its his spirit thats returned, Stevie Rae finished for him.
Yes! Neferet has forced him to return. I know my father well. He would never skulk back to Nyxs Otherworld. He has too much pride. He would only return if the Goddess herself asked it of him.
How do you know that for sure? Maybe hes going after Zoey because he finally gets it that shell never be with him, and, like a scary, psycho stalker, hed rather see her dead than with someone else. That couldve pissed him off bad enough that his pride could handle a little skulkin.
Rephaim shook his head. Father will never believe Zoey wont eventually choose him. A-ya did, and part of the maiden still lives within Zoeys soul. He paused, and before Stevie Rae could ask her next question, added, But I know how you can be certain. If Neferet is using him, she will have Fathers body bound by Darkness.
Darkness? You mean like the opposite of light?
In a way that is what it is. Its hard to define because that type of pure evil is ever-changing, ever-evolving. The Darkness of which I speak is sentient. Find someone who can perceive beings from the spirit realm, and that person should be able to see the chains the Tsi Sgili formed to bind Father, if they are there at all.
Can you sense the spirit world?
I can, he said, meeting her gaze without faltering. Would you have me give myself up to your Vampyre High Council?
Stevie Rae chewed her bottom lip. Would she? It would be giving Rephaims life for Zoeys, and maybe even her own because shed have to go with him, and there was no way the mega-powerful vamps on the High Council wouldnt be able to tell they were Imprinted. She would die for Zoeyof course she would. But itd be nice if she didnt have to. Plus, its not like Zoey would want her to die. Well, it also wasnt like Zoey would want her to have saved and then Imprinted with a Raven Mocker. Heck, no one would want that. Goddess knows she didnt even want it. Well, not most of the time anyway.
Stevie Rae?
She jolted out of her inner argument to see Rephaim studying her. Would you have me give myself to your Vampyre High Council? he repeated solemnly.
Only as our last option, and if you go, that means I go, too. And, heck, the High Council probably wouldnt even believe anything you tell them. But you said all we need is someone who is good with the spirit realm, like good enough that they can sense the Darkness and spirit stuff, right?
Yes.
Well, theres a whole gaggle of powerful vamps on the High Council. One of them has to be able to do that.
He cocked his head to the side. It would be unusual for a vampyre to have the ability to sense the dark forces the Tsi Sgili is wielding. That is one reason Neferet has been able to keep up her charade for so long. Truly being able to identify hidden Darkness is a singular skill. Sensing such evil is difficult unless you are familiar with it.
Yeah, well, the High Council vamps are supposed to be all that. One of them has to be able to do it. She spoke with much more confidence than she felt. Everyone knew the High Council vamps were chosen because of their honor and integrity and basically their all-around goodness, which didnt so much go with being familiar with Darkness. She cleared her throat. Okay, well, I gotta go back to the House of Night and make a call to Venice, she said firmly. Then her gaze went to his arm and the wing held limp in stained bandages behind it. Youre hurting pretty bad, huh?
He gave a short nod.
Okay, well, are ya done eatin?
He nodded again.
She swallowed hard, remembering the shared pain of bandaging that broken wing before. I need to go find the medical supplies. Sadly, theyll probably be in that security office I sent the dorky guard to, which means Im gonna have to zap his little pea brain again.
You could sense his brain was small?
Did ya see how high-waisted his pants were? No one under the age of eighty with a big brain wears grandpa pants pulled all the way to their underarms. Pea brain, Im just sayin.
Then, surprising both of them, Rephaim laughed.
I like the sound of his laughter. And before her own brain could clue her mouth in to being quiet, she smiled, and said, You should laugh more. Its nice.
Rephaim didnt say anything, but Stevie Rae couldnt decipher the odd look he gave her. Feeling kinda uncomfortable, she hopped down from her kitchen stool, and said, Well, Im gonna go get the first-aid stuff, fix up your wing as best I can, get food and things together for you, and then go back and start making some super long-distance calls. Hang here. Ill be right back.
Id prefer to come with you, he said, standing carefully while he held his arm against his side.
Itd probably be easier on you if you just stayed here, she said.
Yes, but Id prefer to be with you, he said quietly.
Stevie Rae felt a weird little jolt deep inside her at his words, but she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, and said,Kay, suit yourself. But dont whine if it hurts you to walk around.
I do not whine! The look he gave her was so filled with guy pride that it was her turn to laugh as they left the kitchen, side by side.
Stevie Rae
Driving home, Stevie Rae should have been thinking about Zoey and devising her next plan of attack. But that was easy. Shed call Aphrodite. No matter what tragedies were going on in the world, Aphrodite would have her pointy little nose in the middle of everything, especially since it had to do with Zoey.
So Stevie Raes next step in her Save Z Plan was already figured out, leaving her mind wide open to think about Rephaim.
Resetting that dang wing had been awful. She still felt the phantom ache of it all through her right shoulder and her back. Even after shed found the jar of numbing lidocaine and spread that all down his wing and his messed-up arm, she could still feel the deep, sick pain of its brokenness. Rephaim hadnt said one word during the entire ordeal. Hed turned his head away from her, and right before she touched his wing, hed said, Would you do that talking thing you do while you bandage it?
Just exactly what talkin thing do you mean? shed asked.
Hed glanced over his shoulder, and she could have sworn there was a smile in his eyes. You talk. A lot. So go ahead and do it. Itll give me something more annoying to think about than the pain.
Shed harrumphed at him, but hed made her smile. And she did talk to him the entire time shed cleaned, bandaged, and reset his badly broken wing. Actually, shed babbled in big bursts of verbal diarrhea, saying nothing and everything as she rode the tide of pain with him. When she was finally done, hed followed her, slowly, silently, back to the abandoned mansion, and shed tried to make the closet more comfortable by stuffing in blankets shed grabbed from the museums staff lounge.
You need to go. Dont worry about this. Hed taken the last blanket from her and then practically collapsed into the closet.
Look, I put the sack of food right here. Its stuff that wont go bad. And remember to drink lots of the water and juice. Hydratings good, shed said, feeling suddenly worried about leaving him looking so weak and tired.
I will. Go.
Fine. Yeah. Im going. Ill try to get back here tomorrow, though.
Hed nodded wearily.
All right. Kay. Im outta here.
Shed turned to go when he said, You should talk to your mother.
Shed stopped like shed run into a John Deere. Why in the world would you say somethin bout my mama?
Hed blinked at her a couple times like shed confused him, paused, and finally answered with: You talked about her while you bandaged my wing. You dont remember?
No. Yes. I guess I wasnt really paying attention to the stuff I was sayin. Shed automatically rubbed her own right arm. I mostly just moved my mouth while I hurried to get the job done.
I listened to you instead of the pain.
Oh. Stevie Rae hadnt known what to say.
You said she believes you are dead. I just . . . He trailed off, seeming as confused as if he were trying to decipher an unfamiliar language. I just thought you should tell her you live. She would want to know, wouldnt she?
Yes.
Theyd stared at each other until shed finally made her mouth say, Bye, and dont forget to eat.
Then shed practically run out of the museum.
Why in the heck did it freak me out so bad that he mentioned my mama? Stevie Rae asked herself aloud.
She knew the answer, andnoshe didnt want to say it aloud. He cared about what shed said to him; he cared that she missed her mama. As she parked at the House of Night and got out of Zoeys car, she admitted to herself that it wasnt really his caring that had freaked her out. It was how his concern made her feel. Shed been glad he cared, and Stevie Rae knew it was dangerous to be glad that a monster cared about her.
There you are! Its about time you got back. Dallas practically popped out of the bushes at her.
Dallas! I swear to the Goddess herself that Im gonna knock the living crap right outta you if you dont stop scaring me.
Hit me later. Right now you need to get up to the Council Chamber cause Lenobia is not happy that you took off.
Stevie Rae sighed and followed Dallas upstairs to the room across from the library that the school used as their Council Chamber. She hurried in, and then hesitated at the doorway. The tension in the air was so thick it was almost visible. The table was big and round, so it should have brought people together. Not that day. That day the table seemed more like a middle-school cafeteria with its separate and very hateful cliques.
On one curved side sat Lenobia, Dragon, Erik, and Kramisha. On the other side were Professors Penthasilea, Garmy, and Vento. They were in the middle of what looked like a serious glare war when Dallas cleared his throat, and Lenobia looked up at them.
Stevie Rae! Finally. I realize these are unusual times, and that we are all under incredible stress, but I would appreciate it if you would restrain your next urge to take off to a park or wherever you went if a school Council meeting has been called. You are acting in the position of a High Priestess; you should remember to behave as such.
Lenobias voice was so harsh that Stevie Rae automatically bristled. She opened her mouth to snap back at her and tell the Horse Mistress that she wasnt the boss of her, and then leave the dang room and make her call to Venice. But she wasnt just some fledgling kid anymore, and stomping away from a group of vamps who cared about Zoeywell, at least a few of them didwasnt going to help their situation.