Betrayed

CHAPTER 28

I opened up my eyes and I was back in the stall with Persephone. I was breathing hard and sweating, and the mare was nuzzling me and making soft, worried, nickering noises. My hands were shak­ing as I caressed her head and rubbed her jaw, telling her that it was going to be okay, even though I was pretty sure it wasn't.

The old downtown depot was six or seven miles away in a dark, unused part of town under a big, scary bridge that linked one part of the city to the other. It used to be majorly busy, with freight and passenger trains coming and going almost nonstop. But in the past couple decades all of the passenger traffic had stopped (I knew because my grandma had wanted to take me on a train trip for my thirteenth birthday, and we'd had to drive to Oklahoma City to catch the train there) and the freight train business had definitely dwindled. Under normal circumstances, it would only take a few minutes to zip from the House of Night to the depot.

Tonight I was not dealing with normal circumstances.

The ten o'clock news had said the roads were impassable, and that had been—I checked my watch and blinked in surprise—a couple hours ago. I couldn't drive there. I suppose I could walk, but the urgency I felt was telling me that wasn't good enough.

"Take the horse."

Persephone and I both shied at the sound of Aphrodite's voice. She was leaning against the stall door looking pale and grim. "You look like crap," I said.

She almost smiled. "Visions suck."

"Did you see Heath?" My stomach clenched again. Aphrodite didn't have visions of happiness and light. She saw death and destruction. Always.

"Yeah."

"And?"

"And if you don't get on that horse and get your ass to wher­ever he is, Heath is going to die." She paused, meeting my eyes. "That is, unless you don't believe me."

"I believe you," I said without hesitation.

"Then get the hell out of here."

She came into the stall and handed me a bridle I hadn't no­ticed she'd been holding. While I put it on Persephone, Aphrodite disappeared to come back with a saddle and saddle blanket. Silently, we put the tack on Persephone, who seemed to sense our intensity because she held completely still. When she was ready I led her from the stall.

"Call your friends first," Aphrodite said.

"Huh?"

"You can't beat those things on your own."

"But how are they going to go with me?" My stomach hurt, I was so scared my hands were shaking, and I was having trouble understanding what the hell Aphrodite was saying.

"They can't go with you, but they can still help you."

"Aphrodite, I don't have time for riddles. What the hell do you mean?"

"Shit, I don't know!" She looked as frustrated as I felt. "I just know that they can help you."

I flipped open my cell phone and, following my gut and breathing a silent prayer for guidance from Nyx, punched Shaunee's number. She answered on the first ring.

"What's up, Zoey?"

"I need you and Erin and Damien to go somewhere together and call to your elements, like you did for Stevie Rae."

"No problem. Are you go

"No. I'm going to get Heath." To her credit, Shaunee hesitated for only a second or two, then said, "Okay. What can we do?"

"Just be together, manifest your elements, and think about me." I was getting really good at sounding calm even when I thought my head might explode.

"Zoey, be careful."

"I will. Don't worry." Yeah, I'd worry enough for both of us.

"Erik isn't going to like this."

"I know. Tell him ... tell him … that I'll, uh, talk to him when I get back." I had not a clue about what else to say.

"Okay, I'll tell him."

"Thanks, Shaunee. I'll see ya," I said and closed the phone. Then I faced Aphrodite. "What are those creatures?"

"I don't know."

"But you saw them in your vision?"

"Today was the second vision I had about them, though. The first time I saw the other two guys being killed by them." Aphrodite brushed a thick strand of blond hair from her face.

Instantly I was pissed. "And you didn't say anything about it because they're just human teenagers and not worth your time to save?"

Aphrodite's eyes blazed with anger. "I told Neferet. I told her everything—about the human kids—about those things—every­thing. That's when she started saying my visions were false."

I knew she was telling the truth, just as surely as I had begun to know that there was something dark about Neferet.

"Sorry," I said shortly. "I didn't know."

"Whatever," she said. "You need to get out of here or your boyfriend is going to die."

"Ex-boyfriend," I said.

"Again I say whatever. Here, I'll give you a leg up."

I let her hoist me into the saddle.

"Take this with you." Aphrodite handed me a thick, plaid horse blanket. Before I could protest she said, "It's not for you. He'll need it."

I wrapped the blanket around me, taking comfort in its earthy, horsey smell. I followed as Aphrodite went to the rear doors of the stable and slid them apart. Frigid air and snow swirled in little mini-tornadoes into the barn, making me shiver, although it was more from nerves and apprehension than from the cold.

"Stevie Rae's one of them," Aphrodite said.

I looked down at her, but she was staring out into the night. "I know," I said.

"She's not who she used to be."

"I know," I repeated, even though saying the words aloud hurt my heart. "Thanks for this, Aphrodite."

She did look up at me then and her expression was flat and un­readable. "Don't start acting like we're friends or anything," she said.

"Wouldn't think of it," I said.

"I mean, we're not friends."

"Nope, definitely not." I was pretty sure I saw her trying not to smile.

"As long as we have that straight," Aphrodite said. "Oh," she added. "Remember to pull silence and darkness around yourself so humans will have a hard time seeing you on the way there. You don't have time to be stopped."

"Will do. Thanks for reminding me," I said.

"Okay, well, good luck," Aphrodite said.

I gripped the reins, took a deep breath, and then squeezed my thighs together, clucking at Persephone to go.

I entered a world that was weirdly made of white darkness. Whiteout was definitely the right description of it. The snow had changed from big, friendly flakes to sharp little razorlike pieces of snow-ice. The wind was steady, making the snow slant sideways. I pulled the blanket over my head so that I was partially protected from the snow and leaned forward, kicking Persephone into a quick trot. Hurry! My mind was yelling at me. Heath needs you!

I cut across the parking lot and rear part of the school grounds. The few cars still at school were covered with snow, and the flick­ering gaslights that shined crazily off of their backs made them look like June bugs on a screen door. I pressed the inside button for the gate to open. It tried to swing wide, but a snowdrift caught it and Persephone and I had barely enough room to squeeze through. I turned her to the right and stood for a moment under the cover of the oaks that framed the school grounds.

"We're silent … ghosts ... no one can see us. No one can hear us." I murmured against the whining wind, and was shocked when the area around me stilled. With a sudden thought I contin­ued. "Wind, be calm near me. Fire, warm my way. Water, still the snow in my path. Earth, shelter me when you can. And spirit, help me not to give in to my fear." The words were barely out of my mouth when I saw a little flash of energy around me. Perse­phone snorted and she skittered a little to the side. And as she moved it was like a little bubble of serenity moved with her. Yes, it was still blizzarding and the night was still cold and frighten­ingly alien, but I was filled with calm and surrounded by the protection of the elements. I bowed my head and whispered, "Thank you, Nyx, for the great gifts you have given me." Silently I added that I hoped I deserved them.