Chosen

her arm. "But Nyx didn't turn from you. Those were just lies Neferet told so that no one would believe your visions. You know Neferet's behind what Stevie Rae's turned into, don't you?"
    "I've known since the vision, when I saw Heath dying." She forced a little laugh. "Good thing she can't read our minds. I don't know what she'd do to a fledgling who knows how awful she is."
    "She knows I know."
    "You've got to be kidding!"
    "Well, she knows I'm on to her." I hesitated, and then figured, what the hell. Weirdly enough, it was turning out that Aphrodite (a.k.a., the hag from hell) was the one person on this earth I could really talk to. "Neferet tried to erase my memory of the night I saved Heath from those undead dead kids. It worked for a while, but I knew right away something was wrong. I used the power of the elements to heal my memory, and, well, I kinda let Neferet know that I remembered what had happened."
    "You kinda let her know?"
    I fidgeted. "Well, she threatened me. Said no one would believe me if I said anything about her. And, uh, it made me mad. So I told her that it didn't matter if no vamp or fledgling believed me, because Nyx does."
    Aphrodite smiled. "I'll bet that pissed her off."
    "Yeah, I suppose it did." Actually it made me a little sick to think about just how pissed Neferet probably was. "But she left right after that for winter break. I haven't seen her since."
    "She'll be back soon."
    "I know."
    "Are you scared?" Aphrodite asked.
    "Totally," I said.
    "I don't blame you there. Okay, here's what I know for sure from my visions. We have to get Stevie Rae some place safe and away from the rest of those things. And we have to do it now. Before Neferet comes back. There's some connection between the two of them. I don't understand it, but I know it's there, and I know it's wrong." Aphrodite made a face like she'd just tasted something nasty. "Actually the whole undead-dead monster thing is all wrong. Talk about disgusting creatures."
    "Stevie Rae's different than the rest of them."
    Aphrodite gave me a look that said she definitely didn't believe me.
    "Think about it. Why would Nyx have given a fledgling such a powerful gift as an affinity for earth and then let her die. And then un-die." I paused, struggling with how to make her understand. "I think her connection to earth is the reason Stevie Rae has kept some of her humanity, and I really believe that if I—I mean we, if we can help her she'll find the rest of her humanity. Or maybe we'll find a way to heal her. To turn her back into a fledgling or maybe even a grown-up vamp. And maybe if Stevie Rae is fixed, that means there's a chance for the rest of them, too."
    "So do you have a clue how we're going to fix her?"
    "Nope. Not one clue." Then I grinned. "But now I have a powerful fledgling with visions and an earth affinity helping me."
    "Great. That makes me feel so much better."
    I didn't want to admit it to Aphrodite, but the truth was that being able to talk to her about Stevie Rae and having her help figuring out what we were supposed to do did make me feel better. Much better.
    "Anyway," Aphrodite was saying, "how are we going to find Stevie Rae?" She curled her lip. "Do not tell me you expect me to crawl around nasty tunnels with you."
    "Actually, Stevie Rae said she'd meet me at the Philbrook gazebo tonight at about three o'clock."
    "Is she going to show?"
    I chewed my lip. "I bribed her with country clothes, so I think so."
    Aphrodite shook her head. "So she dies, un-dies, and still has a shitty fashion sense."
    "Apparently."
    "Now that's really sad."
    "Yeah." I sighed. I loved Stevie Rae, but even I had to admit she liked to dress like a hick.
    "So, where are you taking her after you give her the clothes?"
    I didn't think I should mention that I'd like to take her straight to a bathtub. "I don't know. I haven't thought much past getting her clothes and, uh, blood."
    "Blood!"
    "She has to have it. Human blood. Or she goes crazy."
    "Isn't she already pretty much crazy?"
    "No! She's just dealing with issues."
    "Issues?"
    "Lots of issues," I said firmly.
    "Okay. Whatever. You've gotta decide where you're going to take her. She can't stay with the rest of those things. That won't help her," Aphrodite said.
    "I was going to try to talk her into coming back here. I figured I could hide her pretty easily while most the vamps are gone."
    "You can't bring her back here." Aphrodite had gone pale. "This is where I saw her die. Again."
    "Crap!