Hunted

CHAPTER 22

“Zoey? Are you okay?”

I looked up to meet Damien’s soft brown eyes. Before I could answer him, Darius spoke up.

“She is not. Zoey must get sleep; she must rest to restore her strength.”

“How’s your nasty, ugly, gaping wound?” Erin asked.

“It doesn’t look like you’re bleeding through that charming hospital garb, so we assumed you were fixed right up,” Shaunee said.

“I’m better, but I’m having an issue with getting my strength back. It’s like I’m a cell phone with a messed-up charger.”

“You must rest,” Darius repeated. “Your wound was almost fatal. Recovery takes time.”

“We don’t have time!” I yelled in frustration. “We need to get the hell out of here and away from Kalona until we can figure out how we can beat him.”

“Getting out of here isn’t going to be as easy as it was last time,” Damien said.

Aphrodite snorted. “As if that was easy!”

“It will be compared to what we’re up against now,” Damien continued. “Raven Mockers are everywhere. Last night they were attacking people randomly. It was mass confusion then, and that helped us slip away. Today they’re well organized and stationed all over.”

“I saw them around the perimeter. They’ve more than doubled the guards we had before,” Darius said.

“But there aren’t any of them outside the dorm, like you used to be,” I said to him.

“It’s because they don’t care whether we’re safe. They just care that we don’t leave the school,” Damien said.

“Why?” I asked wearily, rubbing at my temple where a headache was starting to pound.

“Whatever they’re pla

“Doesn’t that point more to them just taking over this House of Night, versus trying anything with the High Council?” Aphrodite said.

She asked me, but when I couldn’t make myself give her the reassuring response she was obviously hoping for, Darius spoke up.

“Perhaps, but it is too early to really know.”

“Well, the ice storm’s helping with the isolation thing. Power is down everywhere. Cell phone service is sketchy. Except for little pockets being run by generators, Tulsa’s blacked out,” Damien said.

“I wonder if Nyx’s High Council even knows Shekinah is dead,” Darius said.

I looked at Damien. “What happens when the High Priestess of all Vampyres dies?”

Damien’s forehead scrunched up as he thought. “Well, if I remember correctly from Vamp Soc class, Nyx’s Council meets and elects a new High Priestess. That only happens about once every three to five hundred years. Once elected, a High Priestess reigns for her entire life. The election is a big deal, especially when it’s sudden like this one will have to be.”

I perked up. “Doesn’t it make sense that Nyx’s Council would be verrrry interested in how Shekinah suddenly dropped dead?”

Damien nodded. “I’d definitely say so.”

“So that might be a major reason for Kalona wanting to keep our House of Night isolated. He doesn’t want the attention of the High Council,” Aphrodite said.

“Or he does want their attention—as in presenting Neferet as the new vamp High Priestess, but they are gathering their power so they can be sure of the Council’s vote.”

There was a dead silence in the room as everyone stared in horror at me.

“We ca

“We won’t,” I said firmly, hoping we’d somehow be able to back up my statement. “Hey, is Kalona still saying he’s Erebus come to earth?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Erin said.

“And even though it sounds stupid, everyone believes him,” Shaunee said.

“Did you actually see Kalona today?” I asked Shaunee. “I mean, except for when we first got here?”

She shook her head, “Nope.”

I looked from her to Erin.

“Ditto. I didn’t see him either,” she said.

“Didn’t see him,” Damien said.

“Neither did I, and I say good riddance,” Aphrodite said.

“Yeah, but you might be the only one,” I said slowly. I looked from the Twins to Damien. “We’ve already said that Kalona has some kind of mojo crap he uses on everyone. It even works on us, or at least it does unless we don’t look him in the eye and fight it real hard—and we were ready for him. We knew he was evil. Hell, it took me seeing him almost choke Darius to death for me to stop panting over him.”

“That bastard choked you?” Aphrodite said. “Damn, that pisses me off! Oh, and abbreviated herd of nerd, in case you didn’t get it the first time, get this: I’m not in the least bit affected by the mojo the winged freak lays on you. I don’t like him. At all.”

“That’s right,” I said. “I noticed that earlier today. You really don’t feel drawn to him at all.”

“What’s to be drawn to? He’s a big old bully. And he’s never dressed properly. And I really don’t like birds. I mean, the bird flu is supposed to be a seriously unattractive way to die. So, no. He’s got nothing for me.”

“I wonder why his stuff doesn’t work on you?” I mused aloud.

“’Cause she’s abby-normal?” Shaunee said.

“A serious freak in a human skin suit?” Erin added.

“How about because I’m exceptionally intuitive, and I see through his bullshit? Oh, that also means I see through yours, too,” Aphrodite said.

“She might have something there,” Damien said, sounding excited. “We’ve all felt his draw, but we can resist him, unlike the other fledglings, right?”

We nodded.

“Well, we’re all into the elements—have been physically and intuitively touched by them, much more so than the other fledglings. Maybe our extrasensory abilities give us the power to resist Kalona’s allure.”

“The red fledglings said they weren’t drawn to him at all, just like Aphrodite,” I said. “And they all have psychic abilities.”

“That sounds logical, and it works for fledglings, but what about adult vampyres?” Darius said.

“Don’t your psychic abilities vary, just like ours do?” Aphrodite said. “Sure, fledglings say all vamps can do the mind thing, but it’s not really true, is it?”

“No, it isn’t really true, though many of us are highly intuitive,” Darius said.

“Are you?” I asked.

Darius smiled. “Only when it comes to protecting those I have sworn to defend.”

“But that means there is something especially intuitive about you,” Damien said, still sounding excited. “Okay, so what other vamps at this House of Night are the most psychic?”

“Neferet,” we all said together.

“We already know that. She’s made her decision for Kalona, so we’re not going to count her right now. Who else?”

“Damien! I think you are on to something!” I said. Everyone stared at me, but I was staring at the extra cats in the room.

And, as per usual, Damien got it right away. “Dragon, Professor Anastasia, and Professor Lenobia! They’re who I’d consider as the most intuitive after Neferet.”

“It’s no coincidence their cats are here with us,” Darius said.

“They’re a sign, sent to us to let us know we’re on the right track,” Damien said.

“Then that’s the second reason we can’t get out of here tonight,” I said.

“The second reason?” Aphrodite said.

“The first is that there’s no way I can control the elements long enough to keep all those Raven Mockers from seeing us; I’m just too tired. And the second is if Dragon and Professor Anastasia and Professor Lenobia can actually see through Kalona’s bullpoopie, then maybe they can help us get rid of him.”

“The world is falling apart. It’s really okay to cuss a little,” Aphrodite said.

“The world falling apart isn’t an excuse to take up bad habits,” I said, sounding weirdly like my grandma.

“So it is agreed: We stay here one more day. Zoey, you must sleep. Tomorrow you all attend classes as you normally would,” Darius said.

“Yeah, agreed,” I said. “Damien, can you get Dragon alone long enough to see if he might be on our side?”