Loved

by P. C. Cast

  “What’s going on?” I asked Stark.

  “Three vampyres just climbed the Utica-side gate and entered campus,” Stark said.

  “Red?” Darius asked.

  “Yes,” said the Warrior.

  Flanked by my Warriors, I went to the front door, trying to see through the darkness and the large, lazy snowflakes that didn’t seem to ever want to end. I could make out three figures. They were moving slowly but deliberately, trudging their way through knee-deep snow, following the currently invisible drive that led directly to us in the rear of the building.

  “They know where they’re going,” Stark said.

  “They have to be from the other world. None of our Warriors are on foot,” Darius said.

  “Well, let’s see what they want.” Stark unslung the bow from his back and put his hand on the door.

  Grandma’s voice stopped him. “Just a moment, tsi-ta-ga-a-s-ha-ya. I do not believe you will have need for that bow.”

  “What do you know, Grandma?” I asked, still staring out at the approaching vampyres.

  “I have a feeling, Zoeybird. And my feelings are rarely wrong.”

  I could hear more Warriors filing in behind us, but I didn’t take my gaze from the vampyres. Silently, I cursed the snow, wishing for a bright, shining full moon—or at least a pair of binoculars. I was just opening my mouth to ask a Warrior to go find me some, when the leader of the group—the kid who was walking in the middle of the other two and kept helping them when they stumbled—did something that was so simple and so familiar that I knew beyond any doubt who he was.

  Kevin cracked his knuckles. It was a thing he’s done since he was a little kid. I remember Mom used to tell him to stop and that he’d make his knuckles big, but he always laughed and made a joke. And back then—back before our mom married John Heffer, the step-loser, and completely lost herself in being his perfect wife—Kevin could make her laugh at the silliest little kid jokes in the world. Barbie and I used to make fun of him—call him “mommy’s boy” and force him to steal chocolate chips and ice cream from the kitchen because it was true. He was definitely Mom’s favorite. If he was caught, he’d just make Mom laugh and we’d all eat chocolate chips and ice cream.

  Now all I could see was that little boy—the one whose bangs had been cut too short by Mom’s money-saving home haircut. I rushed out the door. Stark grabbed my arm, but I shook him off. “That’s my brother. I know it is.”

  “Then wait here. Let him come to you where you’ll be safe,” Stark said.

  “No, I—” Then I looked at my Warrior. His gaze was filled with love and worry.

  “I don’t want to keep you from your brother. I just want to keep you safe, Zoey.”

  I nodded and stepped back inside. And waited.

  It seemed to take forever, but the three vampyres were finally close enough that I could make out their faces. I’d been right. Other Kevin was the one in the middle. He had his arm around the waist of the vampyre on his right, and his hand under the elbow of the one on his left. Both looked older than him, and both looked in worse shape than my brother.

  As they approached the door, I saw Other Kevin’s eyes scanning the crowd, and knew the moment he saw me.

  He stopped. He said something to the men with him, and then he walked on while they stood where they were, heads tucked down against the cold and the snow, arms wrapped around themselves.

  Other Kevin got to the door and I opened it.

  We stared at each other. I felt happy and sad and I didn’t know what to do. My little brother spoke first.

  “Zo! You’re alive!”

  His face broke into a huge smile and he started toward me. I moved to him. We met just in front of the open door, and I hugged him so hard I heard the breath whump out of him. But Kevin didn’t let me go. He didn’t move back. He just stood there, hugging me, saying, “You’re alive … you’re alive … you’re alive …” over and over.

  Then Grandma was there, too, and Other Kevin exclaimed in happiness, pulling her into his arms with me. He pressed his cheek against the top of Grandma’s head and burst into big, snotting man-tears.

  Zoey

  We took care of Kev’s men first. He introduced them as Marc and Dave, soldiers in Neferet’s Red Army. Darius took them to the basement rooms where Other Jack and Damien brought them a change of clothes and food. They spoke very little and moved slowly, startling at small sounds and shadows.

  I knew they’d been part of the group that had killed humans and our fledglings. But as I watched them, I felt nothing but pity. They hadn’t asked to have their humanity taken away. I was seeing them as they truly were, or rather had been before they’d been Marked red and Changed. It was clear that they were traumatized and barely holding on to what was left of their sanity. They were living a hell—and that was more punishment than the TPD or I could ever give them.

  Kevin was different. He seemed less in shock and more in control. Grandma, Stark, and I waited outside the basement room we’d assigned to him. When he finally emerged, hair wet and sticking up crazily, face freshly scrubbed, wearing a pair of Stark’s old jeans and a T-shirt that said oklahoma is ok in bold letters across it, I could hardly breathe. I could still see the cute, kinda annoying little brother I used to torment, but he was so grown up.

  “You look better,” Grandma said, reaching up to pat his cheek.

  He grinned at her. “You didn’t bring any of your lavender and chocolate chip cookies, did you?”

  I spoke without thinking, my big-sister-ness taking over automatically. “Jeesh, you’re such a garbage can.”

  “So you’ve always said, Zo.”

  My heart hurt when he called me that. In my world, Heath Luck, my grade school and high school sweetheart, had been the only person to ever call me Zo. Heath was dead and no one had called me that for almost a year.

  “Of course I brought cookies. There might even be some left. I’ll get them.”

  “We’ll be in the dining hall. I imagine you’d like to eat more than just cookies, right?” said Stark.

  “Right you are,” Other Kevin said.

  “I shall meet you there. With my cookies.” And like he did it every day, Other Kevin bent down so Grandma could kiss his cheek before she hurried away, humming happily to herself.

  “You got really tall,” I managed to say with a smile.

  “Thanks. Our tattoos look a lot alike.”

  “Right? It’s weird,” I said.

  “And you have a bunch more of them than I do. Did an artist do that, or did Nyx?”

  “Nyx did it,” I said as Stark and I led Other Kevin from the basement up through our House of Night. “There was a time when a new tattoo from Nyx was the only way I knew I wasn’t totally messing everything up.”

  “I can understand that. Wish she’d give me some tattoos when I did something right.”

  “Dude, be careful what you wish for,” Stark said.

  It was Saturday, so I didn’t have to call classes, and fledglings swarmed the corridors, nodding respectfully at Stark and me and sending Other Kevin curious looks. They were also outside in the courtyard. A big group of the art students, humans and fledglings, were in the process of building an elaborate snow castle. I saw the shock pass over Other Kevin’s face when he realized that, yes, there really were human kids out there playing with fledglings.

  “Things are very different here,” he said.

  “So we’ve heard,” I said.

  “You’re a priestess.”

  “Kev, she’s our High Priestess, and the Leader of the North American Vampyre High Council,” Stark corrected him. “And she has affinities for all five elements.”

  “Jeesh, Zo, that’s freaking cool.” He grinned cheekily at me. “Good thing there’s no math test to qualify for that job, huh?”

  Stark frowned like he�
��d insulted me, but I laughed. “Right? Or a parallel-parking test.”

  “That would’ve been a major fail,” he said.

  “The dining hall’s through here,” I pointed to the stairway that led up.

  “Yeah, I know. Some things are the same in both worlds. Uh, are you sure it’s okay for me to go up there? It’s mostly off-limits to everyone but Neferet’s elite.” Other Kevin paused when we reached the polished wooden door.

  “Stark’s telling you the truth. I really am the High Priestess here. If I say it’s okay—it’s okay.”

  “Oh, I didn’t think he was lying. I just thought, you know, that I might be completely insane and my break with reality transported me into a video game and if I open that door there will be a Balrog behind it who will eat me.”

  “So, there’s Lord of the Rings in your world?” I asked.

  Other Kevin looked at me like I was the crazy person. “Of course.”

  “Oh, yeah, of course.” Stark muttered.

  When Kev still hesitated I gave him a question-mark look.

  “Marc and Dave—are they getting something to eat, too?” he asked.

  “Absolutely,” I said. “You don’t need to worry about them. They’re totally being taken care of. So are the red fledglings that came from your world.”

  “Pinky swear?” he looked at me with ten-year-old Kevin’s eyes.

  I held up my pinky for him to hook with his own. “Pinky swear.”

  “Okay, then. I am starving.” We headed up the stairs and to our booth while Other Kevin’s gaze never stayed still. “This place is cool. Is there a menu? Or a buffet or something?” he asked.

  “Not tonight. But just tell them what you want and they’ll make it,” I said.

  “Anything?”

  “Well, yeah, within reason,” I said.

  The priestess appeared at our table and Other Kevin said, “I’d like macaroni, cheese, and sleaze, please.”

  I burst out laughing at the waitress’ expression.

  Between rolls of giggles I managed, “Tell the chef to do the special mac and cheese he does for me. The one with cream of mushroom soup, peas, and tuna added to it. And he’ll also take a brown pop. Not diet.”

  “Whoa, the cheese and sleaze is perfect, but not your crazy brown pop, Zo. That stuff’ll kill you. Could I get a big glass of blood? I like O neg best.”

  “Of course,” said the unshakable priestess before she headed back to the kitchen. I made a mental note to give her some extra time off and speak to whoever is her mentor to let them know how calm she is under weirdness pressure.

  “So. You’re alive and High Priestess.” Other Kevin abruptly brought my attention back to him. “And Neferet is, what, dead in your world?”

  “That’s more complicated than it seems.” I glanced at Stark. “I think he needs to know.”

  “I can’t see that it’d hurt. He’s here, and his Neferet is in another world,” Stark said.

  “Hang on there—she’s not my Neferet.”

  “Okay, here’s the short version.” I tried to order my thoughts, and finally decided—what the hell—and just threw it out there at him. “Neferet tried to start a war against humans here, too. My friends and I stopped her.” His brows went up to his hairline, but he didn’t interrupt. “It wasn’t easy. Mostly because at first I was the only one who believed she was evil. Then because she was so powerful. And evil. And manipulative. A lot of people died. Human, fledgling, vampyre, and, um, other.” That thought had me asking, “Hey, does Neferet have a mate or a consort in your world?”

  Kevin snorted. “Yeah. A bunch of them.”

  “Sounds about right,” Stark said.

  Kevin folded his hands and sent Stark an appraising look. “You’re one of them.”

  “What. The. Hell?” I said.

  Kevin’s lips quirked up. “Yeah. Everyone knows General Stark and Neferet have an on-and-off thing.”

  “Goddess, I may puke,” Stark said.

  “Ditto,” I said. “And now I’m going to forget I ever heard that. Where was I? Oh, um, also Neferet was hard to defeat because she managed to become immortal.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Heart attack–like,” I said. “We did finally beat her, but she’s not dead. She can’t die. Right now she’s entombed in that grotto in Woodward Park. You know, where you came through the disgusting blood fountain into this world.”

  “Did Neferet bring us here?”

  I shook my head. “As far as we can tell, she can’t influence anything outside the grotto. But her BFF, for lack of a better way to describe him, is the White Bull. Do you know about him?”

  “No clue,” Other Kevin said.

  “That could be good,” Stark spoke up. “Maybe good and evil are in balance in his world.”

  The priestess had brought Other Kevin his blood drink and he almost snorted it out of his nose. He swallowed, coughed, and finally said, “Um, no. Definitely no. Evil is out of control in my world.”

  I sighed. “Well, the White Bull is the physical incarnation of evil. His twin is a Black Bull—the physical incarnation of good. The White Bull and Neferet worked together in this world and almost tipped the balance to evil. We think it’s the White Bull who started the whole crazy chain of events that led to you being here.”

  “And when you entombed Neferet, you took her place?”

  “Yeah, basically. My circle, my prophetesses, my Warriors, and me. It was Aphrodite, one of my prophetesses, who’s responsible for you and your people getting your humanity back.”

  “So, that’s what happened. Red fledglings and red vampyres lose their humanity. Makes sense. I’d like to thank her, if that’s possible.”

  “It’s possible. I’ll introduce the two of you,” I said. “Okay, your turn. Tell me how you were Marked and how you ended up here.”

  “Wait, first, am I here? At this House of Night in this world? I’d like to know before I run into myself. Man, that’d be freaky, huh?”

  “You’re here, but you’re not Marked. You’re a human kid going to BA.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep.”

  “Are we close?”

  I hesitated. Tell him the truth. “No. Not anymore. Not since Mom married the step-loser and our family basically fell apart.”

  “The step-loser sucks. I wish Mom would wake the hell up and get rid of that asshat.”

  I felt the blood drain from my face. “Mom’s alive in your world.”

  “Of course she’s alive. Not that she has anything to do with me. She was all, ‘As if your sister didn’t cause me enough grief, now you had to go and get Marked, too.’ You know how she is now—blah, blah, God. Blah, blah, John. Blah, blah, church.” Then Kevin shook his head and said, “Wait. Mom’s not alive here?”

  “No.”

  His expression sobered. “What happened?”

  Stark told him when I couldn’t make my mouth work. “Neferet killed her.”

  Other Kevin stared down at the table, obviously trying to compose himself. “Did—did she suffer?”

  In my mind I replayed the scene. Neferet coming to Grandma’s door, looking for the perfect sacrifice to make her Vessel of evil. Mom answering the door. Neferet slitting her throat. It had been quick, but there were some things Kevin didn’t need to know. There were some things, many things, I wish I didn’t know.

  “No. Mom didn’t suffer,” I said firmly. “And she’d left the step-loser.”

  Other Kevin’s eyes lifted to mine. “She was going to be Mom again?”

  I nodded, not trusting my voice.

  “Zo, what about Barbie?”

  “She’s at OSU,” I said.

  “Majoring in beer, cheerleading, and hot guys?” he asked.

  That had me almost smiling. “Yep.”

 
“Glad some things don’t change. Okay, so, where was I? Marked. Well, I was Marked the day you died.”

  “This makes me very uncomfortable,” Stark said.

  “Join the crowd,” I said. “But go on. I want to know how I died.”

  My brother hesitated. “I’ll tell you, Zo, but it’s pretty gross. Are you sure you want to know?”

  “Kev, I’m here. I’m alive. That me isn’t this me. It’s fine. And I do want to know.”

  “All right, here goes. The official word from the House of Night was that you were the last in a string of murders. First two other professors, then you, were found decapitated, disemboweled, and nailed to our front gate with some stupid scripture bullshit hung around your neck. The cops never found the killers of the first two professors, and they didn’t have a chance to bumble your case, either. Neferet held the People of Faith responsible. Zo, your death was what started the human-vampyre war.”

  27

  Zoey

  “I’d be worried about interrupting, but with the way Z looks I’m thinking she might need to be saved,” Aphrodite said.

  I felt dizzy and everything suddenly looked blurry. I’d told Kev it wouldn’t bother me to hear how I’d died, but that was before I’d realized how absolutely violent and awful it had been. I blinked my eyes fast to clear my vision, and looked up to see Aphrodite and Darius standing beside our table. Her hands were on her hips and she was giving Other Kevin the stank eye.

  “You’re not interrupting. Sit down,” Stark said. “Other Kevin just told Zoey how she was killed in his world. It—er—wasn’t good.”

  “Well, of course it wasn’t good, boy genius. She died.” Aphrodite continued to glare at Other Kevin as he stood up and switched seats so that she and Darius could join us.

  “Aphrodite, Darius, this is my brother, Kevin. Or Other Kevin.” I glanced at my brother and he shrugged.

  “I’m cool with being Other Kevin.”

  I nodded and continued, finding that a simple thing, like an introduction, was better to focus on than my decapitation and disembowelment at Neferet’s hands. “Kev, this is Aphrodite, the prophetess who returned the humanity to you and your guys.”