Forgotten

by P. C. Cast

  “I know all of that, but it doesn’t stop me from worrying about him.”

  “Yeah, me either. I—”

  “All swimmers line up for the four-by-one-hundred-meter freestyle relay!” the announcer interrupted me.

  “Hey, look! There’s our team!” Stevie Rae pointed and clapped enthusiastically.

  The pool had cleared while Aphrodite and I had been talking. Teams were lined up behind their swim platforms—four kids deep. Coach Jack was standing beside our four kids clapping them on their backs and looking very coach-like and encouraging.

  I shot Aphrodite a let’s talk about this later look and then said, “I don’t know anything about competitive swimming. How many laps do each of them have to swim?”

  “Two,” said Aphrodite.

  “You know swimmin’?” asked Stevie Rae.

  “Um, take a look at those tiny speedos and all that gorgeous naked male muscle. Of course I know swimming,” said Aphrodite. “Four kids will each swim two laps. The first and the last kid are usually the fastest.”

  “Oh, look! Kacie’s last in line. She is superfast! This is gonna be a great race!” Stevie Rae stood up and cheered. “Go House of Night Ravens! Woo-hoo!”

  When the gawkers turned to gawk at Stevie Rae, I stood beside her and joined her cheer.

  “Go Ravens! Swim fast! You can do it!” I yelled.

  I heard Aphrodite sigh and say, “Okay, novices. Watch how it’s done.” She stood, cupped her hands around her mouth and expertly cheered, “go in hard! come out wet! r-a-v-e-n-s! ravens! ravens! ravens!”

  Stevie Rae and I—as well as everyone around us—stared at her.

  “What?” she said. “It’s a legit cheer. And my personal fave from my human high school years.”

  I looked at Stevie Rae. She looked at me. I shrugged and grinned, and then the three of us shouted, “go in hard! come out wet! r-a-v-e-n-s! ravens! ravens! ravens!”

  The starting pistol went off and the line of kids dove into the pool as the crowd cheered them on.

  I’d never been to a swim meet before. I hate to admit it, but Heath’s football obsession pretty much dictated my involvement in watching high school sports. In Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, football is a serious sport. Swimming—not so much. But as I watched our relay team cut through the water I decided that I’d been missing out.

  “This is cool!” I yelled to Aphrodite over the cheering crowd.

  “And it’s climate-controlled,” Aphrodite said. “Even though this humidity is terrible for my hair.”

  “Ooooh! Look! We’re leading and Kacie’s next on the platform! go kacie! go ravens!” Stevie Rae shouted.

  Maybe it was because I’m a swim meet novice, but I wasn’t watching the kids who were swimming laps. I was watching Kacie—our anchor—as she stood on the platform. The other anchors were cheering their teammates on as the swimmers turned to start their return lap, but Kacie was just standing there. As I watched, she wiped her face, and I could see even from our seats that her hand trembled and she looked pale and was sweating like crazy.

  “Hey, does Kacie get nervous at swim meets?” I asked Stevie Rae.

  “Not in Chicago, she didn’t. She was captain of the team, even though she was only a first-year fledgling.” Stevie Rae’s gaze went to Kacie on the platform and she frowned. “That’s weird. She doesn’t look good. Maybe she is nervous ’cause it’s a human meet.”

  Aphrodite touched my leg, drawing my attention. Her blue eyes were somber and she kept her voice low for my ears alone. “I don’t think that’s it. Get ready to move.”

  “Huh?” I said, a terrible clenching beginning in my stomach. “What do you mean by move.”

  “If I’m right we’re going to have to get down there to that pool. Fast. And then get outta here. Faster.”

  “What’s Aphrodite sayin’?” asked Stevie Rae.

  I met my bestie’s gaze as Kacie half dove, half belly-flopped into the pool. “We think your kid’s in trouble.”

  Stevie Rae’s eyes got huge as her gaze went to the pool. “Oh, no …”

  The first lap went okay. Kacie had been given the lead, thanks to a House of Night kid named Grayson who seemed to swim like the seal Jack wanted to name the team for, but she quickly fell back to second and then third. She was still in third place when she touched the far side of the pool and did that cool flippy turn thing swimmers do.

  But she didn’t push off from the pool like everyone else. Instead her head suddenly surfaced just a couple yards from the wall.

  Kacie was coughing.

  At first it seemed like she’d just messed up and swallowed a bunch of water, but the third time she coughed, scarlet burst from her lips, spraying the water around her. Kacie was treading water, but when she saw the blood I watched shock and fear collide across her face and she went under.

  I was on my feet and running down the bleacher stairs two at a time. Stevie Rae and Aphrodite were on my heels.

  That’s when the human kids started screaming.

  “Ah, hell. Ah, hell. Ah, hell.” I said over and over as I raced to the pool.

  “I’ll get her,” Stevie Rae said. Then she dove into the blushing pool.

  “What do you want me to do?” asked Aphrodite.

  “Help Jack get the swimmers out of the pool and our team to the bus. I’ll take care of the crowd,” I said.

  “Got it.” Aphrodite hurried to the side of the pool that had the swimmers’ platforms. All the competitors were milling around there—many were hysterical as they scrambled to get out of the pool while the blushing water turned a darker and darker tint of red. Jack was there with the rest of the coaches trying to calm the kids and help them from the water. “Everyone out of the pool! Find your team or your parent,” Aphrodite shouted.

  “And everyone else stay back and let the High Priestesses handle this!” Jack said.

  I could hear Aphrodite and Jack directing people away from the pool, but my main attention was on Stevie Rae and Kacie as they surfaced. One look told me what I already knew, even though I was really hoping Kacie had been playing a practical joke of very poor taste on us.

  Blood gushed from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Kacie was gagging and retching. Her face had completely blanched of color and her beautiful brown eyes were pink-tinged and wide with fear as Stevie Rae pulled her to me at the side of the pool.

  An attractive woman rushed up to me. Her calm gaze took in the pool and the dying fledgling. “May I help? My name is Sharon Griffin. I’m a doctor.”

  “Thank you, but there’s nothing you can do for our fledgling. Take care of the humans. Some of them are pretty hysterical.”

  Doctor Griffin touched my shoulder gently. “I will. I am very sorry this happened here today.” Then she hurried to the far side of the pool.

  I drew a deep breath and quickly centered myself, reaching out to touch the element that filled the room.

  “Water, I call you to me. Come, water!” The scent of chlorine was suddenly replaced with the comforting smell of salt and sea and sand.

  “Fire, I call you to me. Come, fire!” I wasn’t as good at this as Shaunee, but I do have an affinity for all five elements, so even though flames didn’t burst to life around me I felt the air warm with the presence of fire. I continued. “Fire and water—mix here and now. Shield this fledgling—gawking human eyes do not allow!”

  There was a great hissing sound as fire joined water in the pool and a wall of concealing mist lifted between the panicked crowd and us. Hidden from the watching humans, I went to my knees at the side of the pool and gently took Kacie from Stevie Rae’s arms.

  Kacie was choking and sobbing. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” I told the dying fledgling over and over. I was glad my voice was calm—it was the only thing about me that was. My heart was beating so hard that it hurt my chest, and
my stomach was so sick I was worried I might puke.

  Stevie Rae slithered from the pool, shedding bloody water everywhere. Immediately she pulled Kacie onto her lap and wrapped her arms around the trembling girl.

  “I’m here, Kacie. I’m right here. I’m not goin’ anywhere,” Stevie Rae spoke through the tears that cascaded down her smooth cheeks.

  “I-I-I’m s-scared,” Kacie managed to say before she coughed up a flood of blood and water.

  I sat beside Stevie Rae and wrapped my arms around them both. “Spirit, please come to me. Fill this precious fledgling. Ease her pain. Ease her fear. Let her know Nyx is here. Surround her with love … always love.”

  Instantly I felt the familiar shiver of spirit as it manifested—and then the element I’m closest to left me and poured into Kacie Lockwood.

  Her body stopped shaking.

  Stevie Rae met my gaze and mouthed thank you before she continued to speak soothingly to her fledgling. “There’s nothin’ to be afraid of. I know Nyx. You’re gonna love her—just like she already loves you.”

  Kacie looked up at her mentor.

  “P-promise?”

  “Absolutely, sweetie. Absolutely. And there’s no school up there.”

  “Good …” Kacie spoke the word as her last breath left her. She turned her head into Stevie Rae’s shoulder—sighed—and died.

  Aphrodite rushed through the wall of mist—then stopped short and crouched beside us.

  “Oh, crap. Well, I can’t say that I’m surprised by this,” she said.

  I frowned at Aphrodite. “Hey, that’s a shitty thing to say. This poor kid just died and Stevie Rae is super upset.”

  “Sorry. It’ll help if you know why I’m not surprised.”

  “Nothin’ will help. Kacie’s dead and almost every damn human here is totally hysterical,” said Stevie Rae, sniffing but keeping a tight hold on Kacie’s slack body.

  “You’re upset, so I won’t tell you that you’re wrong. Again. I’ll just tell you why. Remember before we got on the bus Kacie dropped Z’s papers and was all embarrassed?” She didn’t pause for an answer but continued while Stevie Rae and I stared at her like she was a crazy person. “Well, I made some offhand comment about her deserving a second chance, and when I said it I felt my forehead tingle.”

  “Aphrodite, have you lost your rabbit-ass mind? This fledgling is dead,” Stevie Rae spoke through her sobs. “And you’re talkin’ about yourself?”

  “Oh, for shit’s sake! Not because I’m being selfish. When I felt my forehead tingle it meant a part of my tattoo disappeared.”

  I blinked. “You mean this kid—”

  “Gets a second chance?” Stevie Rae blurted.

  “Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.”

  “Ohmygoodness! I’m so glad!” Stevie Rae hugged Kacie’s still body close to her heart.

  “So, let’s get this soon-to-be red fledgling back to the House of Night—and then Z can deal with this publicity nightmare,” said Aphrodite.

  I nodded in agreement and thought, publicity nightmare is an understatement—ah, hell.

  15

  Zoey

  Stark stood and opened his arms as Aphrodite and I joined him and Darius at our usual dinner booth. I stepped into his embrace, glad for the strength and comfort that always radiated from him.

  “Hard day, huh?” he whispered into my ear.

  I nodded, my head resting against his chest. “It sucked.”

  He kissed me thoroughly but quickly before we slid side by side into the booth across from Darius and Aphrodite.

  “May I get you some brown pop to go with the spaghetti Stark already ordered for you?” asked the server who seemed to materialize beside our booth.

  “Yes, absolutely,” I said. “Only lace it with blood, please. And add an order of garlic bread—a really big order.”

  “Yes, High Priestess.”

  “Ditto for me,” said Aphrodite. “Only make my spaghetti a giant Cobb salad and my brown pop champagne with a side carafe of blood.”

  “One bottle of Veuve Clicquot—rosé, correct?” the server asked as she wrote down the order.

  “No, one glass of champagne is plenty. I’m a whole new me,” said Aphrodite with only the slightest amount of sarcasm.

  “Excellent. I’ll be right back with your drinks. Gentlemen, would you like a refill?” The server glanced at Stark and Darius, who both nodded. “Beer and blood for Stark and red wine and blood for you, Darius?”

  “That’s it,” said Stark, draining the last of his blood beer.

  “Yes, and thank you,” said Darius.

  She smiled and hurried away.

  “Hey, thanks for the psaghetti order,” I said.

  “Hey, you know I have your back,” he said.

  “So, how bad was it?” Darius asked.

  “Awful,” I said. “That poor kid. It’s terrifying enough to reject the Change, but to do it in front of a crowd of humans in the middle of a public pool that turned into blood and chlorine soup.” I shuddered. “Just effing awful.”

  “And of course every kid who is old enough to count has a damn phone, so the internet is currently flooded with images of that blood and chlorine soup. The parental hysteria is off the charts,” said Aphrodite.

  I shook my head. “I should’ve called fire and water and put that barrier up sooner.”

  Aphrodite touched my hand gently. “Z, don’t do that to yourself. You did all you could. Your number one priority was to comfort that dying kid, which Stevie Rae and you did. I’m amazed you managed more than that. I wouldn’t have thought to put up the barrier at all.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate you saying that. It’s hard not to feel like a failure right now, though. The school phones are still clogged. Professor P and Lenobia are trying to handle them. Our House of Night servers crashed because they were flooded—mostly with ‘righteous citizens defending the common decency of keeping demonic, Satan-worshipping vampyres segregated from our good Christian children.’” I air quoted. “And those are the nicer and less insane people. I feel like I just managed to turn vampyre-human relations back a century.”

  “It’s crazy they don’t ever see the irony of spewing hate while they talk about what good Christians they are,” said Aphrodite.

  “Seriously,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “You’ve done nothing wrong, Zoey,” Darius said. “The difficult truth is there is always a chance a fledgling is going to reject the Change. It cannot be predicted or stopped, and with fledglings and humans mingling, logic dictates that eventually humans are going to be witness to the death of a fledgling. We live with that truth and I do not believe it is a bad thing for humans to understand the reality of it.”

  “Yep, that’s what I was saying before you guys showed up,” said Stark. “What happened today was part of our natural world. We aren’t ashamed of it. We shouldn’t have to hide it from humans. Everyone knows not all fledglings Change into adult vampyres, but because tradition and prejudice have segregated us from humans they have been able to ignore it for generations—even though it has been their brothers and sisters who have died. It’s past time humans pulled their entitled heads out of the sands.”

  “Or their asses,” Aphrodite said.

  “Yeah, I agree with both of you on that, but what about our fledglings?” I asked the question that had been on my mind since Kacie first coughed blood. “What is best for them? To die surrounded by adult vampyres who understand exactly what is happening and can help them transition to Nyx in a peaceful, loving manner, or to be made a spectacle of by clueless, hysterical humans?”

  “Well, as a vampyre who did reject the Change and die—and come back in a really crappy way—I vote to educate humanity. We are who we are,” said Stark. “And we shouldn’t apologize for it or hide from it. If that’s uncomfortable for humans
, then I can say that I have zero fucks to give about their issues.”

  “Yeah, humans are oh-so-quick to embrace vamps like Erik Night and a ton of other celebrities and artists, but they need to get some understanding of us beyond just ‘ohmygod they are soooooo hawt!’ Ugh. Just fucking ugh.” Aphrodite scrunched up her face like something smelled bad.

  Our conversation paused while the server brought our drinks, and then Stark asked, “What was the end result? Is the House of Night banned from all intramural sports with humans forever now?”

  “They’re undecided. I did mention that we’re putting in an Olympic-size competition pool and that we would very much like to host big meets here on the House of Night campus—which totally stopped their arrogant tirade about pool safety,” I said.

  “Pool safety?” Aphrodite snorted. “Like anyone was in the least bit harmed except our fledgling who died?”

  “Yeah, I started by pointing that out, but didn’t get anywhere until I brought up the new facility.”

  “Humans are such greedy assholes,” said Aphrodite.

  “I wanted to tell them, ‘Hey, I have a world I could send you to where vampyres have zero morals and they use all their powers to subjugate humans. How’d you like them apples?’” Stark, Aphrodite, and Darius were all staring at me like I’d soddenly kicked Nala. “Uh, I didn’t say that to them.”

  “I kinda wish you had,” said Stark.

  “I more than kinda wish it,” said Aphrodite.

  “Well, I didn’t have to say much of anything more after I mentioned the new pool we’re building.”

  “We’re seriously building an Olympic-size pool?” Stark asked.

  I shrugged. “We have the money and the land. It’s super hot here for, like, at least seven of the twelve months—so a pool sounds like a good idea. Plus, I realized something while we were sitting in those stands waiting for the meet to start. Well, before Kacie started coughing blood anyway. Our fledglings are missing out on their high school experience.” I turned to Stark. “Think about Heath. What if he’d been Marked his sophomore year? His whole world was football. Sure, he could’ve funneled that into fencing or archery or hand-to-hand combat.”