Tempted

Rae. Do it!”
    She followed his voice and the coolness of his dark wing and grabbed his hand. He couldn’t pull her up by himself. She was too heavy and he only had one arm. So she thrust out her other hand, took hold of the metal, and chinned herself up.
    “Come to me. I will shield you.” Rephaim opened his wing.
    Without any hesitation Stevie Rae stepped into his embrace, burying her head in the feathers of his chest, and wrapping her arms around him. He enfolded her with his wing and lifted her.
    “Get me to the tree!”
    Then he was running, lurching, and limping, but running across the rooft op. The backs of Stevie Rae’s arms were exposed, as was someof her neck and shoulders, and as he ran she burned. With a detached, out-of-body feeling she wondered what that terrible noise was that rang in her ears, and then she realized it was her voice. She was screaming her pain and terror and anger.
    At the edge of the roof he yelled, “Hold on. I’m jumping to the tree.” The Raven Mocker leaped. His body tumbled, spiraling because of his lack of balance, and they crashed into the tree.
    Adrenaline helped Stevie Rae keep her hold on him and, feeling thankful his body was so light, she lifted him, putting herself between Rephaim and the tree. With the bark to her back she told him, “Try to hold on to the tree while I slide us down.”
    Then they were falling again as the rough bark ripped Stevie Rae’s already blistered and bleeding back. She closed her eyes and felt for the earth, finding it serene and waiting below her.
    “Earth, come to me! Open and shield me!”
    There was a great ripping sound and the ground at the base of the tree broke open just in time for Stevie Rae and Rephaim to slip within a cool, dark pouch in the earth.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Zoey

    When Aphrodite started screaming, Zoey knew only one thing to do. “Spirit, come to me!” she commanded. Spirit instantly filled her with its serene presence. “Help Aphrodite calm down.” She felt the element leave her, and almost immediately Aphrodite’s shrieks quieted to gasps and sobs.
    “Darius, I need Lenobia’s cell number. Now!”
    Darius was holding Aphrodite in his arms, but he obeyed Zoey, pulling his phone from his jeans pocket and tossing it to her. “It’s in the contacts.”
    Willing her hands not to shake, Zoey pulled up the contact list and punched Lenobia’s name. She answered on the first ring.
    “Darius?”
    “It’s Zoey. We have an emergency. Where’s Stevie Rae?”
    “She went to the depot to try to reason with the other red fledglings. I expected her back by now, though, as it is almost dawn.”
    “She’s in trouble.”
    “Burning!” Aphrodite sobbed. “She’s burning!”
    “She’s outside somewhere. Aphrodite says she’s burning.”
    “Oh, Goddess! Can she tell anything else?”
    I could already hear by the change in Lenobia’s voice that she was on the move. “Aphrodite, can you tell where Stevie Rae is?”
    “N-no. Just outside.”
    “She doesn’t know where she is, only that she’s outside.”
    “I’ll find her,” Lenobia said. “Call me if Aphrodite can tell us anything else.”
    “You call me as soon as Stevie Rae’s safe,” I said, not able to consider any other outcome. Lenobia disconnected the line.
    “Let’s get Aphrodite inside where we can deal with this better,” Erce said. She led the way out of the boat and into an enclosed building, only this building wasn’t airport hangarlike. It was old and made of stone. I only had time to be relieved that Stark was shielded from the sun as Darius carried Aphrodite from the boat and we all hurried with Erce through an arched breezeway.
    Stark stayed at my side as we jogged to keep up with Erce. “Aphrodite is Imprinted with Stevie Rae—she’s the other red vampyre,” I explained.
    Erce nodded, holding open a huge wooden door and motioning for Darius to carry Aphrodite within. “Lenobia told me of their Imprint.”
    “What can you do to help her?”
    We entered a huge hallway. I got the impression of amazing opulence, unbelievably high ceilings, and chandeliers, chandeliers, chandeliers; then Erce hurried us through the hall and into a side parlor. “Put her on the chaise over there.”
    We crowded around the chaise, silently watching Aphrodite. Erce turned to me and in a low voice said, “There is nothing that can be done for a human if their Imprinted vampyre is suffering. She will feel Stevie Rae’s pain until the crisis