Betrayed

"Don't kid yourself. We're not on the same side—not even close." Then, with a laugh that was more like a snarl, she stalked off.

I watched her leave and just before she went out the front door she glanced back at me, met my eyes, and winked.

What was that about? She'd looked almost playful, like we were friends and just kidding around. But that wasn't possible. Was it? "She gives me the creeps," Stevie Rae said.

"Aphrodite has issues," I said, and the three of them looked at me like I'd just said Hitler really hadn't been that bad. "You guys, I really want the new Dark Daughters to be a group that brings people together, not one that's stuck-up and so exclusive that only a few from a chosen clique can join." They just stared at me. "It was her warning that saved my grandma and several other people today."

"She only told you because she wants something from you. She's hateful, Zoey. Don't ever think she's not," Erin said.

"Please do not tell me that you're thinking of letting her back into the Dark Daughters," Stevie Rae said.

I shook my head. "No. And even if I wanted to, which I don't," I added quickly, "according to my own new rules she doesn't qualify for membership. A Dark Daughter or Son has to uphold our ideals by her or his behavior."

Shaunee snorted. "No damn way that hag knows how to be authentic, faithful, wise, earnest, and sincere about anything ex­cept her own hateful plans."

"For world dominance," Erin added.

"And don't think they're exaggerating," Stevie Rae told me.

"Stevie Rae, she is not my friend. I just … I du

"Sorry, Zoey, but that's bullshit," Shaunee said. "She's way too old to be acting a fool because she has a screwed-up mommy."

"Please. Just please with the blame-my-mommy-'cause-I'm-a-bitch crap," Erin said.

"Not to be mean or anything, but you have a screwed-up mama, too, Zoey, and you didn't let her, or your step-loser of a dad, mess you up," Stevie Rae said. "And Damien has a mama who doesn't like him anymore because he's gay."

"Yeah, and he didn't turn into a hateful slut hag," Shaunee said. "Actually, he's the opposite. He's like ... he's like ..." She paused, looking to Erin for help. "Twin, what's the Julie Andrews charac­ter's name in The Sound of Music?"

"Maria. And you're right, Twin. Damien is like that goody-goody nun. He needs to loosen up some or he's never go

"I ca

We all jumped guiltily and muttered, "Sorry."

He shook his head while Stevie Rae and I scooted over so he could sit beside us. "And I'll have you know I don't just want to 'get some' as you guys so nastily put it. I want a lasting relation­ship with someone I really care about, and I'm willing to wait for that."

"Ja, fräulein," Shaunee whispered.

"Maria," Erin muttered.

Stevie Rae tried to hide her giggle in a cough.

Damien narrowed his eyes at the three of them. I decided that was my cue to talk.

"It worked." I said quietly. "They closed the bridge." I pulled his cell phone out of my pocket and gave it back to him. He checked to make sure it was off and nodded.

"I know, I saw the news and came right over." Damien glanced at the digital clock on the DVD player that sat in the entertain­ment center with the TV, then he gri

The five of us smiled at each other. It's true; I was relieved, but I still had a nagging worried feeling I couldn't seem to get rid of that was more than just the stress about Heath. Maybe I needed a fourth brown pop.

"Okay, well, that's taken care of. So why are we sitting around here talking about my love life?" Damien said.

"Or lack thereof," Shaunee whispered to Erin, who tried un­successfully (with Stevie Rae) not to laugh.

Ignoring them, Damien stood up and looked at me. "Well, let's go.

"Huh?"

He rolled his eyes heavenward and shook his head. "Must I do everything? You have a ritual to perform tomorrow, which means we have a rec hall to transform. Did you think Aphrodite was go­ing to volunteer to get things set up for you?"

"I guess I hadn't thought about it." Like I'd had time?

"Well, think about it now." He yanked on my hand and pulled me to my feet. "We have work to do."

I grabbed my brown pop and we all followed the Damien whirlwind out into a very cold, cloudy Saturday afternoon. The rain had stopped, but the clouds were even darker.

"Looks like snow," I said, squinting up at the slate-colored sky.

"Oh, man, I wish. I'd love some snow!" Stevie Rae twirled around with her arms outstretched, looking like a little girl.

"Move to Co

"I don't care what you say. You can't ruin it for me. Snow is magic. I think it makes the earth look like it has a fluffy white blanket pulled over it." She spread her arms wide and yelled, "I want it to snow!"

"Yeah, well, I want those four-hundred-fifty-dollar embroi­dered vintage jeans I saw in the new Victoria's Secret catalog," Erin said. "Which proves we can't always have what we want, snow or cool jeans."

"Oooh, Twin, maybe they'll go on sale. Those jeans are just too damn cute to give up on."

"So why don't you just take your favorite pair of jeans and see if you can reproduce the pattern yourself? I can't be that hard, you know," Damien said logically (and very gayly).

I was opening my mouth to agree with Damien when the first snowflake plopped on my forehead. "Hey, Stevie Rae, your wish came true. It's snowing."

Stevie Rae squealed happily. "Yeah! Snow harder and harder!"

And she definitely got her wish. By the time we made it to the rec hall, fat, quarter-sized flakes of snow were covering every­thing. I had to admit that Stevie Rae was right. The snow was like a magic blanket on the earth. It turned everything soft and white, and even Shaunee (from grumpy, snowbound Co

We were all giggling when we went into the rec hall. There were several kids inside. Some were playing pool, others were playing video games on the old-fashioned-looking arcade ma­chines. Our laughing and brushing off snow made several of them stop what they were doing and pull back the thick black curtains that shielded the big room from daylight.

"Yep!" Stevie Rae yelled the obvious. "It's snowing!"

I just smiled and made my way toward the little kitchen area in the back of the building, with Damien, the Twins, and snow-crazed Stevie Rae following me. I knew there was a storage room off the kitchen, and inside was the stuff the Dark Daughters kept there for their rituals. Might as well get started setting things up, and I might as well pretend like I knew what the hell I was doing.

I heard the door open and then close behind me, and then was surprised by Neferet's voice.

"The snow is quite beautiful, isn't it?"

The kids standing around the windows answered Neferet with respectful yeses. I was surprised to feel a hint of a

"Zoey, good. I'm glad I found you here." Neferet spoke with such obvious affection for me that the a