"If Neferet loses her mind, they can handle her."

"Zoey, I don't want you to use this as an excuse to openly take on Neferet," Stevie Rae said, looking suddenly kinda pale.

Her words gave me a little jolt of shock. "I'm not!" I said much too loud, and then continued in a lowered voice. "I wouldn't use you like that."

"I don't mean that you set this up on purpose to get at Neferet. I just mean that I don't think it's smart for you, or any of us, to come out against her so publicly, and I don't think it matters all that much that the Sons of Erebus and Shekinah are here. There's something more going on with Neferet than just her normal craziness. I know it deep inside me. I can't remember what I know, but she's dangerous. Really, really dangerous. Something basic has changed about her, and that change is not a good thing."

"I wish you could remember what all happened to you."

Stevie Rae grimaced. "I do, too, sometimes. And then sometimes I'm really, really glad I can't. What happened to me wasn't good, Zoey."

"I know," I said solemnly.

We counted cat toys silently for a while, both lost in thoughts of death and darkness. I couldn't help thinking about how awful it had been when Stevie Rae had died in my arms-and then how nightmarish the aftermath of that had been when she was un-dead and struggling not to let her humanity slip completely away. I looked at her and saw she was chewing her lip nervously as she searched for more purple feathered toys in the box. She looked scared and young and, despite her new powers and responsibilities, way too vulnerable.

"Hey," I said softly. "It's gonna be okay. I promise. Nyx has to be all in the middle of this."

"Which means the G.o.ddess is on our side?"

"Exactly. So tomorrow at midnight we perform the cleansing ritual over by the east wall." I didn't need to add that it was a place of power as well as a place of death. "Think you can get on campus and hide nearby until I call earth to the circle?"

"Yeah," she said reluctantly, clearly not one hundred percent in agreement with me yet. "So if I do come, do you think I should bring the other kids with me?"

"You decide about that. If you think bringing them is best, then I'm all for it."

"I'll have to think about it. I'll have to talk to them."

"Okay, no problem. I trust your judgment on whether you decide to come and if you decide to bring the fledglings."

She grinned at me. "It's really good to hear you say that, Z."

"I mean it, too." Then-because even though she'd grinned at me, she still looked so worried and undecided about what to do-I temporarily changed the subject while she thought about it. "Hey, want to know some more of my new-and-improved stress?"

"Definitely."

"When we're done here, I have to go back to cla.s.s, and since my schedule is changed around this semester, I get still get to go to drama cla.s.s today, which will be taught by the ever-popular, ever-hating-my-guts, newest professor at the House of Night: Erik Night."

"Uh-oh," Stevie Rae said.

"Yeah, I'm not exactly expecting an A."

"There's one way he might give you an A, though," she said, grinning mischievously.

"Don't even start. I'm done with s.e.x. Finished. Through. I've totally learned my lesson. Plus, it's really nasty of you to say I'd trade s.e.x for an A."

"No, Z. I wasn't talkin' 'bout Erik givin' you an A for s.e.x. I was talkin' 'bout him givin' you a big ol' embroidered scarlet A for your shirt."

"Huh?" I said, clueless as usual.

She sighed. "As in The Scarlet Letter. The heroine had to wear it on her shirt 'cause she messed up and slept around. You really need to read more, Zoey."

"Oh, yeah. And thanks for that lovely a.n.a.logy. Makes me feel oh-so-better."

"Don't get mad." She threw a feathery cat toy at me. "I was just kiddin'."

I was still frowning at her when her cell phone rang. Stevie Rae looked at the number and sighed. She glanced quickly over at Sister Mary Angela, whose head was squarely in front of her computer, and then answered. "Hey there, Venus, what's up?" She sounded purposefully perky. There was a pause while she listened, during which her perkiness faded. "No! I told you I'd be back soon and then we'd all get somethin' to eat." Another pause-more frowning-and she said, half turning away from me and lowering her voice, "No! I said we'd get something to eat and not someone to eat. Y'all just be good. I'm gonna head back in a little while. Bye-bye."

Stevie Rae turned back to me with a fake smile plastered on her worried face. "So, what were we sayin'?"

"Stevie Rae, please tell me those kids are not eating people."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"Of course they aren't eatin' people!" Stevie Rae put an appropriate amount of shock in her voice-so much so that we saw Sister Mary Angela's wimple lift from the computer and she turned a frown in our direction.

We waved and smiled and held up cat toys. She gave us a long look, but pretty soon her face softened into her warm smile, and she turned her attention back to the computer screen.

"Stevie Rae, what is really going on with those kids?" I whispered as I zapped more purple-feathered monstrosities into the inventory.

She shrugged way too nonchalantly. "They're just kinda hungry. That's all. You know kids-they're always hungry."

"Which means they're getting dinner from where?"

"Pizza delivery guys mostly," she said.

"They're eating pizza delivery guys?" I whispered frantically.

"No! We call on a cell and give the address of one of the downtown buildings close to the depot and the entrance to our tunnels. Mostly we say we're workin' overtime at the PAC or that we live in the Tribune Lofts, and then we wait for the pizza guy to deliver." She hesitated.

"And?" I prompted impatiently.

"And then we meet the delivery guy on his way into the building and take the pizzas and I make him forget he saw us and then he goes on about his business and we eat the pizza not the guy," she said all in one long rush.

"You're stealing pizzas?"

"Well, yeah, but it's better than eating the delivery guys, isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, rolling my eyes at her. "And you're also stealing blood from the downtown blood bank?"

"Again, better than eating the delivery guys," she said.

"See, these are just more reasons why we have to out you."

" 'Cause we're stealing pizzas and blood? Do we really have to tell the vamps? I mean, I think we'll have enough issues to deal with without bringing up those little minor indiscretions."

"No, not 'cause you're stealing, 'cause you guys don't have money or any way to legally," I said, giving her a hard look, "take care of yourselves."

"Makes me wish Aphrodite would come back with me. She has major money and more than one gold card," Stevie Rae muttered.

"Then you'd have to put up with her," I said.

Stevie Rae frowned. "I really wish I could mess with the inside of her head like I do the pizza guys. I'd give her a big dose of 'be nice,' and we'd all live happily ever after."

"Stevie Rae, you really can't keep living in those tunnels."

"I like the tunnels," she said stubbornly.

"They're nasty and damp and dirty," I said.

"They're better now than they were last time you saw them, and they'd be lots better if they were fixed up a little more."

I stared at her.

"Okay, maybe more than a little."

"Whatever. My point is, you need the money and the power and the protection of the school behind you."

Stevie Rae met my eyes steadily, and all of a sudden she looked way older and more mature than I'd ever seen her look before. "The money and the power and the protection of the school didn't help Professor Nolan or Loren Blake or even that Stark kid."

I didn't know what to say. She was right, but I still felt deep in my gut that people-specifically vampyre people-needed to know she and the red fledglings existed. I sighed. "Okay, I know it's not a one hundred percent good plan, but I honestly believe everyone needs to know about you guys."

"Honestly, as in Nyx is giving you one of those you need to do it feelings?"

"Yep," I said.

Her sigh was much deeper and filled with more worry and stress than mine. (Jeesh, who knew that could happen?) "All right, then. I'll be there tomorrow. I'm countin' on you to make this all turn out okay, Zoey."

"I will." Silently I sent a short prayer up to Nyx: I'm counting on you like she's counting on me . . .

Stevie Rae and I had finished the seemingly unending cat-toy inventory about the time I glanced up at the clock and realized we were going to be late getting back to school if we didn't hurry like crazy. And of course, Stevie Rae had to get back to her group of fledglings before they committed more than petty pizza theft. So we said a quick bye, and I repeated that I'd see her the next day for her outing. She looked a little pale, but gave me a hug and promised to be there. Then I stuck my head in Sister Mary Angela's office.

"Excuse me, ma'am." I wasn't sure exactly what to call a nun when one was being ultra-respectful and needed to get her attention while she was definitely engrossed in what looked like instant messaging on her laptop.

The ma'am seemed to work just fine, because she looked up at me with her warm smile. "All done with the inventory, Zoey?"

"Yes, and we have to get back to school."

Sister Mary Angela glanced up at the clock, and her eyes widened in surprise. "My goodness! I had no idea it was so late.

And I forget that your days are rather upside down."

I nodded. "It must seem like we keep weird hours to you."

"I'll just think of you as nocturnal-much like our lovely felines. You know they prefer the night, too. Which reminds me, how would you like it if we extend our hours on Sat.u.r.day nights so that can be your volunteer day?"

"That sounds great. I'll run it by our priestess to make sure, though, and call you. Oh, and do you want me to go ahead with the flea market idea?"

"Yes. I put in a call to our Board of Church Directors, and after a slight discussion, they agreed the idea was a good one."

I noticed the hardening in her voice and the way her already straight spine seemed to grow even straighter. "Not everyone is okay with fledglings, huh?" I said.

Her hard look warmed. "That is not for you to worry about, Zoey. I've often forged my own path and am used to taking a machete to weeds and other bothersome barriers."

I felt my eyes get big and didn't doubt for a minute that this tough nun's meaning might not be only figurative. And then part of what she'd said made me ask, "When you said that you had to check with your Board of Church Directors, did you mean they were from your church, or others?"

"They aren't from our abbey, which isn't exactly a church, because our only congregation is made of Benedictine sisters.

The Church Board of which I was speaking is made of several of the leaders of local churches."

"Like the People of Faith?"

She frowned. "Yes. The People of Faith have a rather large representation on the Board, which reflects their congregation size."

"Bet they were the weeds you had to chop down," I muttered.

"Pardon me, Zoey. I didn't quite catch that," she said, eyes squinting impishly with the smile she was trying (unsuccessfully) to hide.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking out loud."

"A terrible habit, and one that can get you in much trouble if you're not careful," she said, smiling fully.

"Don't I know it," I said. "So you're sure the flea market will be okay? You know, if it's too much ha.s.sle, we can figure out some other way to-"

Sister Mary Angela's raised hand shut me right up. She simply said, "Get with your High Priestess and see what day next month would be good for your school for the flea market. We shall accommodate ourselves to your schedule."

"Okay, good," I said, feeling proud of myself for how well my community service idea was working out. "I better get Aphrodite and go now, though. We were excused from only the first part of our cla.s.ses today, and we gotta get back."

"I believe your friends have been finished for a while now, but they have been rather-" She paused, eyes twinkling again.

"-distracted."

"Huh?" I was feeling kinda shocked. It was cool that Sister Mary Angela wasn't freaked about fledglings and vampyres in general, but to have her be oh-so-amused by Aphrodite's gross flirtation with Darius was totally too liberal-even for me.

Obviously the nun must have been able to guess what I was thinking by the look on my face, because she laughed, turned me around by my shoulders, and gave me a gentle push out of her office and toward the cat kennel. "Go on-you'll see what I mean," she said.

Totally confused, I walked down the short hallway to the room that held cats available for adoption. There were no nuns around, but (sure enough) Aphrodite and Darius were sitting over in the "playground for cats" corner, snuggled together like lovers with their backs turned to me. They were doing something (ugh) with their hands. Actually, it looked like they were doing a lot of something with their hands (double ugh). I cleared my throat dramatically. Instead of jumping apart guiltily as they should have, Darius glanced over his shoulder at me and grinned-Aphrodite (the ho) didn't even turn to look to see who had just walked in on them. Jeesh, I could have been a nun or someone's mom.

"Uh, I really hate to interrupt this cozy little scene, but we gotta go," I said sarcastically.