Hunted

But, remember, I already knew something was up with Neferet. If she was into him, I figured I didn’t want anything to do with him. So I just kept myself focused on other things.”
    Our eyes met and held. Of course Erik had known it wasn’t all good with Neferet, because he’d witnessed me confronting her. Plus, by then he’d realized I’d only cheated on him and been with the Vamp Poet Laureate, Loren Blake, because Neferet had set him up to seduce me and isolate me from my friends.
    “So the red fledglings aren’t affected by Kalona like regular fledglings are,” Darius was saying. “Although it seems regular fledglings can control the effect he has on them if they have to. And what Erik is describing, coupled with my reaction to him, tells me that perhaps vampyres are less susceptible to him than fledglings.” He paused and looked at Jack. “Did you want to stay and worship Kalona?”
    Jack shook his head. “Nope. But I didn’t really look at him that much. I mean, I was real worried about Stevie Rae, and then I was just thinking about staying with Damien. Plus, Duchess was upset about S-T-A-R-K.” He spelled the name while he petted Duchess. “And I had to take care of her.”
    “Why weren’t you affected by him?” I asked Darius.
    I saw his eyes flit to Aphrodite, who was tipsily nibbling on a sandwich.
    “I had other things on my mind.” He paused. “Although I did feel his draw. And remember I’m in a slightly different position than my brother warriors. None of them have been as intimate with your group. When a Son of Erebus takes on an assignment of protection, as I did when I began escorting you and Aphrodite, it becomes a strong bond.” He gave me a warm smile. “Often a High Priestess is protected by the same group of warriors for her entire life. It is no accident that we are named after our Goddess’s faithful consort, Erebus.”
    I smiled back at him and hoped that Aphrodite wouldn’t be a butt and break his honorable heart.
    “What do you think is happening up there right now?” Jack asked suddenly.
    Everyone looked at the curved ceiling of the little tunnel room, and I knew I wasn’t the only one glad of the thickness of the earth between us and “up there.”
    “I don’t know,” I said, using the truthful answer instead of something meaningless like I’m sure everything’s going to be okay. I thought hard, choosing my words carefully. “We know that an ancient immortal has broken free of the earth’s imprisonment. We know that he brings with him creatures that are like demons, and that the last time he walked the earth he raped women and made men his slaves. We know that our High Priestess and maybe even what’s left of the House of Night have, well, for lack of a better description, gone over to the Dark Side.”
    Into the silent pause that followed my words Erik said, “A Star Wars analogy always works.”
    I grinned at him, then sobered as I continued. “What we don’t know is how much damage Kalona and the Raven Mockers have done in the community. Erik said there was some kind of electrical storm going on along with the rain and ice, but that might not have been caused by supernatural means. This is Oklahoma, and the weather can be totally bizarre.”
    “ Ooooooo-klahoma! Home of dustnadoes and ice storms that kick ass,” Aphrodite said.
    I stifled a sigh and ignored Imprinted Drunk Vision Girl. “But then again, on the ‘what we do know’ side is the fact that we’re pretty safe down here. We have food and shelter and whatnot.” At least I hoped we were okay down here . I patted the bed I was sitting on, which really did have some cute light green linens on it. “Hey, speaking of the ‘and whatnot.’ How did you guys get this stuff down here?” I asked Stevie Rae. “Not that I’m trying to be mean, but this bed and your table and fridges and other things are a serious improvement over the dirty rags and other grossness I saw down here a month or so ago.”
    She gave me her cute Stevie Rae smile and said, “That’s mostly thanks to Aphrodite.”
    “Aphrodite?” I asked, lifting my brows and staring at her along with everyone else.
    “What can I say? I’ve become the poster child for do-gooders. Thank god I’m attractive,” Aphrodite said and then belched like a guy. “Oops, scusa, ” she slurred.
    “Scusa?” Jack said.
    “Italian, dork,” Aphrodite said. “Broaden your gay horizons.”
    “So what does Aphrodite have to do