"Cedar needles. Tell Stark to make whoever watches over his body while he's in the trance state to burn them the entire time."

"You just lost me, Grandma."

"Cedar needles are powerful medicine. They repel asgina, which are considered the most malevolent of spirits. Cedar is only used during times of dire need."

"Well, this is some seriously dire need," Stevie Rae said, relieved that the color was starting to come back into Grandma's cheeks.

"Tell Stark to breathe the smoke deeply, and to think about carrying it with him to the Otherworld-to believe it will follow his spirit there. The mind can be a powerful ally of the spirit. Sometimes our minds can even alter the very fabric of our souls. If Stark believes the cedar smoke can accompany his spirit, it might just do so and add an extra layer of protection to him on his quest."

"I'll tell him."

Grandma squeezed her hand even tighter. "Sometimes things that seem small or insignificant can aid us, even in our most difficult hour. Don't discount anything, and don't let Stark, either."

"I won't, Grandma. None of us will. I'll be sure of it."

"Sylvia, I just spoke with Kramisha outside," Sister Mary Angela hurried into the room. She came to a halt when she saw Stevie Rae holding the old woman's hand. "Oh, Mother Mary! It is true then." The nun bowed her head, obviously fighting tears, but when she lifted her chin, her eyes were dry, and her face was set in strong, resolute lines. "Well, then, we shall go on from here." Abruptly, she turned and began to leave the room.

"Sister, where are you going?" Grandma Redbird asked.

"To call the abbey to the chapel. We will pray. We all will pray."

"To Mary?" Stevie Rae asked, unable to keep the skepticism out of her voice.

The nun nodded, and in her firm, wise voice said, "Yes, Stevie Rae, to Mary-to the Lady we consider to be mother in spirit of us all. Perhaps she isn't the same deity as your Nyx; perhaps she is. But is that question really important right now? Tell me, High Priestess of the Red Fledglings, do you truly believe asking for help in the name of love to be a mistake, no matter what face that help is wearing?"

Stevie Rae had a flash of Rephaim's face with his human eyes as he stood up to Darkness and took on the debt she owed it, and her mouth suddenly went dry.

"I'm sorry, Sister. I was wrong. Ask for your Mary's help 'cause sometimes love does come from places that we don't expect."

Sister Mary Angela looked into Stevie Rae's eyes for what seemed like a very long time before saying, "You may join us in prayer, child."

Stevie Rae smiled at her. "Thanks, but I have my own kind of pray-in' to do."

Stevie Rae "h.e.l.l no I ain't gonna lie for you!" Kramisha said.

"I'm not askin' you to lie," Stevie Rae said.

"Yah you is. You want me to say you're all involved in checking out the tunnel with Sister Mary Angela. Everbody already knows you totally sealed it up last time you was here."

"Not everyone knows that," Stevie Rae said.

"Yeah, they do. Plus, the nuns is all prayin' for Zoey, and it don't seem right at all to use a prayin' nun in your lie."

"Fine. I'll go down to the tunnel and check it out if it makes you feel better." Stevie Rae couldn't believe Kramisha was making such an issue out of telling a little white lie for her that she was costing her time-time away from Rephaim when G.o.ddess only knew how hurt he was from that disgusting white cow. She remembered the agony she'd felt when Darkness had fed from her and knew it had been doubly bad for Rephaim. This time she was gonna have to figure out more to do than just bandaging him and feeding him to make him better. How badly had he been hurt? In her mind's eye, she could still see that creature looming over him, tongue red with his blood while- With a jolt, Stevie Rae realized Kramisha had just been standing there, staring at her without saying anything.

Stevie Rae mentally shook herself and said the first excuse that came to her mind. "Look, I just don't want to deal with the s.h.i.tstorm that'll happen if everyone in the House of Night knows I spent like 1.2 seconds alone. That's all."

"You a lie."

"I'm your High Priestess!"

"Then you should act like one," Kramisha told her. "Tell me the truth 'bout what you up to."

"I'm gonna go see the guy, and I don't want anyone to know about it!" Stevie Rae blurted.

Kramisha c.o.c.ked her head to the side. "That's more like it. He ain't a fledgling or a vamp, is he?"

"No," Stevie Rae said with absolute honesty. "He's someone no one would like."

"He ain't abusing you, is he? 'Cause that's some wrong s.h.i.t, and I know some females who been caught up in it and can't get their way out."

"Kramisha, I can make earth rise up and kick someone's a.s.s. No guy would ever hit me. Ever."

"So that means he a human and he married."

"I promise he's not married," Stevie Rae evaded.

"Huh," Kramisha snorted through her nose. "Is he an a.s.shole?"

"I don't think he is."

"Love sucks."

"Yep," Stevie Rae said. "But I'm not sayin' I'm in love with him," she added hastily. "All I'm sayin' is that-"

"He's messin' with your head, and you do not need that right now." Kramisha pursed her lips up, thinking. "Okay, how 'bout this: I get one of the nuns to take me back to the House of Night, and when everbody stresses 'bout you bein' out here all alone, I just tell them you needed to visit a human, so you ain't technically alone-and I ain't lying, either."

Stevie Rae thought about it. "Do you have to tell them it's a human guy?"

"I'll just say human and say they need to mind they own business. I'll only say guy if someone asks me specifically."

"Deal," Stevie Rae said.

"You know you gonna have to come clean about him sooner or later. And if he ain't married, there's really no issue. You're a High Priestess. You can have a human mate and a vamp consort at the same time."

It was Stevie Rae's turn to snort. "And you think Dallas is gonna be okay with that?"

"He will be if he wants to be with a High Priestess. All vampyres know that."

"Well, Dallas isn't a vampyre yet, so it might be a little much to ask of him. And here's the truth-I know it'll hurt his feelings, and I don't want to do that."

Kramisha nodded. "I can tell you don't, but I think you makin' too much of this. Dallas will have to learn to deal. What you need to figure out is if this human guy is worth it."

"I know that, Kramisha. That's what I'm tryin' to do. So, bye. I'll see you at the House of Night in a little while." Stevie Rae started to walk quickly toward the Bug.

"Hey!" Kramisha called after her. "He ain't black, is he?"

Thinking of Rephaim's night-colored wings Stevie Rae paused and looked over her shoulder at Kramisha. "What difference does his color make?"

"It make a lot of difference if you're ashamed of him," she shot back.

"Kramisha, that's just silly. No. He's not black. And, no, I wouldn't be ashamed of him if he was. Jeeze. Bye. Again."

"Just checkin'."

"Just soundin' crazy," Stevie Rae muttered as she turned back to the parking lot.

"I heard that," Kramisha said.

"Good!" Stevie Rae yelled. She got into Zoey's Bug and headed toward the Gilcrease Museum, talking to herself out loud. "No, Kramisha, he's not black. He's a killer bird with evil for his daddy, and it's not just white folks and black folks who would be p.i.s.sed at me bein' with him-it's all all folks!" And then, completely surprising herself, Stevie Rae started to laugh. folks!" And then, completely surprising herself, Stevie Rae started to laugh.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

Rephaim When Rephaim opened his eyes, he saw Stevie Rae squatting in front of his closet nest, studying him so intently that there was a deep furrow on her brow between her eyes, making her red crescent tattoo look oddly wavy. Her blond curls spilled around her face, and she seemed so girl-like that he was suddenly taken aback by remembering how young she really was. And, no matter the vastness of her elemental powers, how vulnerable her youth made her. The thought of her vulnerability had fear knifing his heart.

"Hey there. You awake?" she said.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" he asked in a purposefully gruff voice, annoyed that just the sight of her could make him worry about her safety.

"Well, I'm tryin' to figure out how close you've come to dyin' this time."

"My father's an immortal. I'm hard to kill." He made himself sit up without grimacing.

"Yeah, I know about your daddy and your immortal blood and all, but Darkness fed from you. A lot. That can't be good. Plus, to be honest, you look really bad."

"You don't," he said. "And Darkness fed from you, too."

"I'm not as hurt as you because you swooped in like Batman and saved the day before that dang nasty bull could mess me up too much. Then I got a shot in the arm from Light, which was totally cool, by the way. And And that immortal blood of yours is like the Energizer Bunny inside me." that immortal blood of yours is like the Energizer Bunny inside me."

"I am not a bat," was all he could think to say, as that was the only thing she'd said he vaguely understood.

"I didn't compare you to a bat, I said you were like Batman. He's a superhero."

"I'm not a hero, either."

"Well, you've been my hero. Twice."

Rephaim didn't know what to say to that. All he knew was that Stevie Rae calling him her hero made something twist deep inside him, and that something suddenly made the pain in his body and his worry for her easier to bear.

"So, come on. Let's see if I can return the favor. Again." She stood and held her hand out to him.

"I don't think I could eat right now. Some water would be good, though. I drank all that we'd brought up here before."

"I'm not takin' you to the kitchen. At least not this second. I'm takin' you outside. To the trees. Well, okay, to that really big tree by the old gazebo in the front yard to be specific."

"Why?"

"I already told you. You helped me. I think I can help you, but I gotta be closer to the earth than we are up here, and I've been thinkin' 'bout it, and I know trees have major power in them. I've kinda used it before. Actually, that may have been part of the reason I was able to call up that thing thing." She shuddered, clearly remembering her invocation of Darkness, which Rephaim completely understood. Had his body not ached so badly, he would have shuddered, too.

But his body did ache. More than that. His blood felt too hot. With every beat of his heart, searing pain pumped through him, and at the spot where his wings met his spine, where the bull of Darkness had fed from him, violated him, his back was blazing agony.

And she thought a tree would fix what Darkness had wrought?

"I think I'll stay here. Rest will help. So will water. If you want to do something for me, get the water I asked for."

"Nope." Stevie Rae reached down and, with that strength that always surprised him, grabbed both of his hands and pulled him to his feet. She kept her supporting hold on him while the room pitched and rolled around him, and he thought, for one terrible moment, that he was going to collapse like a fainting girl.

Thankfully, the moment pa.s.sed, and he was able to open his eyes without fear of making an even bigger fool of himself. He looked down at Stevie Rae. She was still holding his hands. She doesn't shrink away from me in disgust. She hasn't from the first day. She doesn't shrink away from me in disgust. She hasn't from the first day.

"Why do you touch me with no fear?" he heard himself asking before he could stop the words.

She gave a little laugh. "Rephaim, I don't think you could swat a fly right now. Besides that-you've saved my life twice, and we're Imprinted. I'm definitely not scared of you."

"Perhaps the question should have been why do you touch me with no repulsion?" Again, the words came almost without his permission. Almost.

Her brow furrowed like before, and he decided he liked to watch her think.

Finally, she shrugged, and said, "I don't imagine it's possible for a vampyre to be repulsed by someone they're Imprinted with. I mean, I was Imprinted with Aphrodite before I drank your blood, and there was a time when she seriously grossed me out-she just wasn't very nice. At all. Actually, she's still not very nice. But she kinda grew on me after we Imprinted. Not in a s.e.xual way, but I wasn't grossed out by her anymore."

Then Stevie Rae's eyes widened like she realized all of what she'd said, and the word "s.e.xual" seemed to be a tangible presence in the room.

She let loose of his hands as if they burned her.

"Can you walk downstairs by yourself?" Her voice sounded strange and abrupt.

"Yes. I'll follow you. If you really think a tree can help."

"Well, it won't be long before we find out if what I think means anything." Stevie Rae turned her back on him and headed for the stairs. "Oh," she said, without looking at him, "thank you for saving me. Again. You-you didn't have to this time." Her words were hesitant, like she was having trouble picking exactly what she wanted to say to him. "He said he wasn't going to kill me."

"There are things worse than death," Rephaim said. "What Darkness can take from someone who walks with Light can change your soul."

"And what about you? What did Darkness take from you?" she asked, still not looking at him, as they reached the bottom floor of the old mansion, but she slowed down so that he could keep up with her more easily.

"He didn't take anything from me. He just filled me with pain and then fed on that pain mixed with my blood."

They'd reached the front door, and Stevie Rae paused, looking up at him. "Because Darkness feeds on pain and Light feeds on love."

Her words tripped a mental switch inside him, and he studied her more closely. Yes, Yes, he decided, he decided, she is keeping something from me. she is keeping something from me. "What price did Light demand from you for saving me?" "What price did Light demand from you for saving me?"

Stevie Rae was unable to meet his eyes again, which gave him an odd, panicky feeling. He thought she wasn't going to answer him at all, but finally, in a voice that sounded almost angry, "Do you want to tell me about everything that bull demanded from you when he was feeding from you, and standing over you, and basically molesting you?"

"No," Rephaim answered without hesitated. "But the other bull-"