by P. C. Cast
“You aren’t interrupting, Stevie Rae,” Lenobia said, still smiling. “Come, join us. We were just talking about aging gracefully.”
“My mama always said eight hours of sleep, drinking lots of water, and not havin’ any kids was a better anti-aging recipe than anything a doctor or L’Oréal could ever cook up.” She grinned at Lenobia and then gave Persephone a worried glance. “And thanks for askin’ me to come in, but I’ll stay out here. I don’t like horses much. No offense; they’re real big.”
“No offense taken,” Lenobia said. “Do the Warriors need something?”
“Uh-uh. The arena is great for classes. They’re havin’ a bunch of guy fun, which means they’re hittin’ each other with wooden swords and shootin’ arrows at things while they yell a lot.” The three of us rolled our eyes. “But your cowboy is here, so I came to get ya.”
“My cowboy?” Lenobia looked totally confused. “I don’t have a cowboy.”
“Well, he has to be yours ’cause he just showed up outside the corral entrance with a giant horse trailer sayin’ he’s reportin’ for work and askin’ where he can unload his stuff,” Stevie Rae said.
Lenobia blew out a long sigh. Obviously annoyed she said, “Neferet. This is her doing. He’s the first of the local humans she’s hired.”
“I do not get what Neferet’s up to,” Stevie Rae said. “I know dang well she hates humans and doesn’t give a rat’s ass about whether the local folks like us bein’ here or not.”
“Neferet’s up to causing problems,” I said.
“And she started with me because she knows I’ve sided with you,” Lenobia said.
“Chaos.” As I said the word I felt the truth of it. “Neferet wants to cause chaos in our lives.”
“Then let’s give this cowboy a warm welcome, make him feel at home, and show him how unchaotic and downright boring working at my stables can be. If we do that, maybe, just maybe, he’ll decide to move on to more exciting pastures and Neferet will turn her attention elsewhere.”
Like she was on a mission, Lenobia marched out of Persephone’s stall. Stevie Rae and I shared a look.
“No way am I gonna miss this.” I gave Persephone’s warm flank a parting pat and tossed the curry brush into the tack bin.
Stevie Rae linked her arm through mine as we followed Lenobia. “What I didn’t tell Lenobia is how dang cute her cowboy is,” she whispered to me.
“Seriously?”
“Just you wait and see.”
Now I was super curious, and I picked up the pace, hurrying through the arena sand and barely waving at Stark, who was handing a bow to Rephaim. Stevie Rae tried to blow him a kiss, but I kept her moving so basically all she did was giggle and wave. I tried to ignore Stark’s scowl and focused on not leaking any of the curious, excited, and downright confused feelings I was having.
I didn’t exactly know why, but I absolutely did not want Stark asking me questions about Aurox.
“There, that’s him. The tall, non-vampyre in a cowboy hat over there by the door.” Stevie Rae pointed to the wide side doors to the arena. They’d been rolled open. Just outside was a big horse trailer and one of those massive trucks Oklahoma guys liked to buy and drive and practically live in so much. Standing in front of the trailer was a super tall man. And Stevie Rae had definitely been right. He was seriously cute, even for an older guy.
“He looks like someone who should be on the Western Channel,” I said. “Playing one of those olden-day cowboy heroes.”
“Sam Elliott, that’s who he looks like.”
“Huh?” I gave her a question mark look.
She sighed. “He was in a bunch of cowboy movies. You know, like Tombstone.”
“You watch cowboy movies?”
“I used to, with my momma and daddy, especially on Saturday night before bedtime. So?”
“So nothing.”
“Do not tell Aphrodite,” she said.
“Do not tell Aphrodite what?” Aphrodite asked.
Stevie Rae and I jumped as she seemed to materialize out of the air behind us.
“Don’t be creepy and lurky,” I said.
“I’m not. I’m just naturally graceful. It’s because I’m delicate boned,” she said. Then she turned her icy blue gaze on Stevie Rae. “Again—do not tell Aphrodite what?”
“That Lenobia’s cowboy is super hot,” Stevie Rae said.
Aphrodite gave her a look that said she was a crappy liar, which she was, but her gaze was already snagged by the man’s broad-shouldered silhouette.
“Ooooh! That’s Lenobia’s…”
“Employee.” I provided the word, even though Aphrodite was paying no attention to me. “He’s supposed to be working for Lenobia.”
“He’s hot,” Aphrodite said. “Not like Darius hot, but still. H.O.T.”
“I told y’all. And he’s so tall he makes Lenobia look even teenier than she is.”
As Stevie Rae, Aphrodite, and I wandered into hearing distance and tried (unsuccessfully) not to be too obvious in our group gawk, the cowboy tipped his hat to Lenobia and in a perfect Oklahoma twang said, “Howdy, ma’am. I’m the new stable manager. I’d ’preciate it if you could point me to the man in charge.”
I couldn’t see Lenobia’s face but I watched her back straighten.
“Uh-oh,” Stevie Rae whispered.
“So much for the whole warm welcome thing,” I said low enough that only Aphrodite and Stevie Rae could hear me.
“John Wayne just totally fucked up,” Aphrodite said.
“I am Lenobia.” Her voice carried easily to us. I didn’t think she sounded pissed. I thought she sounded like an ice storm. “I am the woman in charge of these stables and your new boss.” There was a kind of uncomfortable silence when Lenobia didn’t offer a hand for him to shake.
“Brrr,” Aphrodite whispered. “She just reminded me of my mom, and for John Wayne that’s not a good thing.”
“Sam Elliott,” Stevie Rae whispered.
Aphrodite furrowed her brow at my BFF. I suppressed a sigh of hopelessness.
“He doesn’t look anything like John Wayne.” She continued her stage whisper. “But he looks just like Sam Elliott.”
“You watched too much regular TV when you were a kid, probably after you had dinner as a family on Saturday nights. Pathetic.” Aphrodite gave Stevie Rae a dismissive shake of her head. I was thinking about how bizarre it was that Aphrodite knew about Stevie Rae’s family stuff when the three of us turned our attention back to The Cowboy Show.
The man tipped his hat to Lenobia again, this time he smiled and even standing as far away as we were I could see that his eyes were sparkling. “Well, ma’am, seems I got me some misinformation. Glad that was cleared up quick. My name is Travis Foster, and I’m pleased to meet ya, boss lady.”
“And you don’t mind finding out your boss is a lady?”
“No, ma’am. My momma was a lady and I never worked harder or happier than when I worked for her.”
“Mr. Foster, do I remind you of your mother?”
I thought Lenobia’s voice could have frozen water, but Travis didn’t seem to notice. Actually, he looked like he was enjoying himself. He cocked his hat back on his head and looked down at Lenobia, like the question had been serious instead of sarcastic. “No, ma’am, not yet you don’t.” Lenobia didn’t say anything else and I was just getting that squirmy, embarrassed feeling that awkward conversations with adults can bring about when Travis kinda shrugged, hooked a finger in the belt tab of his Wranglers, and said, “So, Lenobia, could you show me where my mare and I are gonna bunk?”
“Mare? Bunk?” Lenobia said.
“This is some great shit. I wish I had popcorn,” Aphrodite said.
“She’s gonna burn him with her laser vision,” I said.
“Lenobia has laser vision?” Stevie Rae asked.
Aphrodite and I looked at Stevie Rae like she’d just asked if we thought Lindsay Lohan was really rehabbed.
“How ’bout I wa
tch and not talk,” Stevie Rae said.
“Thank you,” Aphrodite and I said together, which made her glare at me before the three of us returned to gawking and eavesdropping.
“Well, ma’am,” Travis drawled. “I told y’all’s High Priestess when she hired me that my mare and I come as a package deal, and I’d need to stable her here. Since I just wrapped up a season managing the stables at Durant Springs, I’d need a place to lodge, too.” He paused, and when Lenobia didn’t speak he added, “Durant Springs is in Colorado, ma’am.”
“I know where it is,” Lenobia snapped. “What makes you think you can stay here on campus? We have no accommodations for humans.”
“Yes, ma’am, that’s what the High Priestess said. Since the job needed to be filled right away, I told her I’d get along just fine bunking with Bonnie until I could find a place nearby.”
“Bonnie?”
Travis rearranged his hat, the first sign he might possibly be uncomfortable. “Yes, ma’am. My mare’s name is Bonnie.” As if on cue, there came a giant thud! from inside the horse trailer. He moved to the rear doors while he continued to explain to Lenobia. “I’d ’preciate it if ya let me unload her. It’s a long way from Colorado for a big girl.”
“Do you think his horse is fat?” Stevie Rae asked quietly.
“Bumpkin, I thought you weren’t going to talk,” Aphrodite said.
“I think he just got his foot in the door,” I said. No way was Lenobia gonna let a tired horse be hauled away to goddess only knew where.
“Unload your mare. You and I will discuss your accommodations after she’s comfortable,” Lenobia said.
I noticed that Travis had already been undoing the series of levers and chains that held the horse trailer’s door shut, so we only had to wait a few seconds for the ramp to open.
“Come on, big girl. Baaack,” Travis said in a voice that had gone from polite and at times slightly amused, to warm and gentle and sweet.
Then his horse backed out of the trailer and gasps of shock and awe came from all around us. I took my eyes from the horse long enough to see that Stevie Rae and I weren’t the only gawkers. Darius, Stark, Rephaim, and most of the fledglings had somehow meandered their way over to us.
“That can’t be a horse,” Stevie Rae said, and even though we were several yards away from the animal, she actually took a step back.
“Holy shit. It’s a dinosaur,” Aphrodite said.
“I’m pretty sure it’s a horse,” I said, studying her. “But it’s a really, really big one.”
“Oh, a Percheron! She’s exquisite!” Lenobia said.
Everyone stared as petite Lenobia walked up to the huge mare with no hesitation whatsoever. Totally dwarfed by the hulking equine, the Horse Mistress lifted her hand, just slightly. The mare watched her for an instant and then dropped her nose, blowing against Lenobia’s palm. Lenobia, grinning like a girl, caressed the mare’s gigantic muzzle and crooned to her, “Oh, you are indeed a bonnie, bonnie girl.” She looked from the horse to the cowboy. The ice in her voice had totally thawed and I thought she was practically gushing. “I have not seen a Percheron since my voyage from France when I was a girl, and that’s more years ago than I care to admit. There was a matched pair of the big beauties on the ship with me. I’ve remembered them fondly and since have been intrigued by draft horses. She’s a lovely dappled gray. I imagine she’ll continue to lighten as she gets older. I can tell that she’s just turned five a month…” Lenobia paused, cocked her head, and stared into the horse’s eye before continuing. “No, she turned five two months ago. She’s belonged to you for her entire life, hasn’t she?”
I saw Travis blink in surprise. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. He cleared his throat. “Well, yes, ma’am.” He paused and reached up to pat Bonnie’s ginormically thick neck like he needed to anchor himself to something to get his sense back. I knew why he was suddenly so messed up. Everyone who had ever watched Lenobia around horses knew why. When she communed with horses Lenobia changed from really pretty to utterly, totally gorgeous, and she was doing some serious communing with the big mare, so she’d turned the full wattage of her horse adoration onto the cowboy. It wasn’t that he was the intended recipient of her super attractiveness, he was just getting the fallout. But it was some serious fallout.
Travis cleared his throat again, moved his hat around, and then said, “Her momma died right after Bonnie was born—freak lightning strike in the middle of a pasture. I bottle-raised her.”
Lenobia turned her gray eyes on the cowboy. She looked surprised, like she’d forgotten he was there. Her horsey adoration blinked off like she’d thrown a switch. “You did a good job. She’s big, easily over eighteen hands. Well muscled. In excellent condition.” Even though what she said was complimentary, her tone sounded more annoyed than nice. It was only when she glanced up and smiled at the mare that her voice and expression shifted back to adoration and true pleasure. “You are a clever girl, aren’t you?” Lenobia said to Bonnie, who was standing without fidgeting, ears flicking all around, gawking at all of us about as much as we were gawking at her. “And you’re confident enough to be well behaved, even in a curious, new environment.” Lenobia looked from the mare to the cowboy and her expression froze over to cool cordiality. She gave one short, decisive nod. “Well then, that is that. You and Bonnie may follow me. I’ll show you where you’ll be stabling—the both of you.”
Lenobia turned and began striding back across the arena. When she reached the halfway point she stopped and addressed all of us. “Fledglings and vampyres, this is Travis Foster. He’ll be working for me. His mare’s name is Bonnie. Show her the respect she deserves as a fine example of the majestic Percheron breed. Warriors, please note her size and the way she carries herself. Her ancestors were warhorses of old.”
I looked at the cowboy and saw him smile and nod at Lenobia’s comment and pat the big mare affectionately before he threw an equally affectionate look the Horse Mistress’s way. Lenobia didn’t look at him at all. Instead she narrowed her eyes and included the entire group of us in her glare. “And now you can all stop staring and get back to work.” Then Lenobia marched from the arena and into the stables without so much as a glance back at Bonnie and Travis, who followed her like they were moths and she was a super shiny light.
“That has interesting possibilities,” Aphrodite said.
“No kidding, that mare is totally cool looking. I mean, big, but still totally cool,” I said.
Aphrodite rolled her eyes. “I’m not talking about the horse, Z.”
I was frowning at Aphrodite when Damien hurried up to us. “Zoey, good, there you are. You need to come back to the main building.”
“You mean after sixth hour? It’s almost over,” I said.
“No, honey. I mean now. Your grandma’s here, and I’m pretty sure she’s been crying.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Zoey
My stomach clenched and I felt like I was gonna puke. “Okay, I’m coming,” I told Damien. “But I’d appreciate it if you would come with me.” When he nodded somberly I looked at Stevie Rae and Aphrodite. “You guys, too. ’Kay?”
“’Course we’ll come with you,” Stevie Rae said.
For once Aphrodite didn’t gripe about Stevie Rae answering for her. She just nodded and said, “I’m in.”
I was turning to look for Stark when he was suddenly there beside me. His hand trailed down my arm until our fingers met and threaded together. “Is it about your mom?”
I didn’t trust my voice, so I just nodded.
“Your momma? I thought Damien said your grandma’s here,” Stevie Rae said.
“He did.” Aphrodite spoke before Damien could. She was studying me with a look that made her appear older (and nicer) than she was. “Is it about your mom?” she asked.
Stark glanced at me and I gave another little nod. Then he said, “Zoey’s mom’s dead.”
“Oh, no!” Damien said, tears instantly coming
to his eyes.
“Don’t, okay?” I said quickly. “Let’s not do this here. I don’t want everyone watching me.”
Damien pressed his lips together, blinked hard, and nodded.
“Come on, Z. Let’s all go see your grandmomma.” Stevie Rae went to my other side and put her arm through mine. Aphrodite grabbed Damien’s hand, and they followed us from the arena.
All the way there I tried to get myself ready for what Grandma would tell me. I suppose I’d been trying to get myself ready to hear what Grandma would tell me ever since I woke up from my dream visit to the Otherworld where I witnessed Nyx welcoming my mom’s spirit there. The truth that I realized as I entered the main school building and approached the front lounge was that I’d never be ready to hear this news.
Just before we walked through the final set of doors Stark squeezed my hand. “I’m right here, and I love you.”
“I love you, too, Z,” Stevie Rae said.
“Me, too,” Damien said and then he sobbed just a little.
“You can borrow my two-carat diamond stud earrings,” Aphrodite said.
I stopped and looked back at her. “Huh?”
She shrugged. “That’s as close to a declaration of love as you’re gonna get from me.”
I heard Stevie Rae expel a huge sigh and Damien’s forehead squidged as he looked disbelievingly at her.
But I simply said, “Thanks. I’ll take you up on it,” which made Aphrodite frown and mumble, “Goddess, I hate being nice.”
I untangled myself from Stevie Rae and Stark and pushed open the double doors. Grandma was alone in the room and sitting in a wide leather chair. Damien had been right; Grandma had been crying. She looked old and very, very sad. As soon as she saw me she stood up. We met in the middle of the room and clung to each other. When she finally stopped hugging me, Grandma stepped back just far enough to look into my face. She kept her hands on my shoulders. They felt warm and solid and familiar, and somehow that touch made the knot in my stomach bearable.
“Mom’s dead.” I had to say it before she did.
Grandma didn’t look surprised that I’d known. She just nodded and said, “Yes, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya. Your mother is dead. Did her spirit come to you?”