Nicole ignored him. “You understand me, birdboy?”
“I do.”
The knife pressure left his spine and Rephaim heard the shuffling noise of moving feet.
“Turn around.”
Rephaim did as he was told and found himself facing three fledglings. The red crescent moons on their foreheads identified them as part of the Red One’s flock. But he knew instantly that though they, too, were red, they were as different from Stevie Rae as was the moon from the sun. He gave Kurtis, a huge male fledgling, and Starr, an ordinary-looking, light-haired girl, cursory glances, though they were holding handguns up and pointed at him. It was Nicole on whom he focused his attention. She was obviously the leader. She was also the one who’d drawn his blood, something Rephaim would never forget.
She was a small fledgling with long dark hair and large eyes so brown they appeared black. Rephaim looked into those eyes and felt a moment of complete shock—Neferet was there! In this fledgling child’s eyes lurked the distinctive darkness and intelligence that Rephaim had seen so many times in the Tsi Sgili’s gaze. That recognition shocked the Raven Mocker so deeply that for a moment he could only stare, his single thought was Does Father know she has attained the ability to project herself?
“Damn! He looks like he seen a ghost,” Kurtis said, the gun bobbing up and down with his chuckles.
“I thought you said you didn’t know any of the Raven Mockers,” said Starr, her tone clearly suspicious.
Nicole blinked, and the familiar shade of Neferet was gone, leaving Rephaim to wonder if he’d imagined the presence.
No. Rephaim didn’t imagine things. Neferet had been present, even if only for an instant, within the fledgling.
“I’ve never seen one of these things before in my life.” Nicole turned to Starr, though she still kept her gaze trained on Rephaim. “Are you saying you think I’m a liar?”
Nicole hadn’t raised her voice, but Rephaim, who was accustomed to being in the presence of power and danger, recognized that this partic u lar fledgling seethed with an aggression that was barely controlled. Starr obviously recognized it, too, as she instantly backed down.
“No, no, no. I didn’t mean anything like that. It’s just weird that he freaked when he saw you.”
“That was weird,” Nicole said smoothly. “And maybe we should ask him why. So, birdboy, what’s with you being down here in our territory?”
Rephaim noted that Nicole hadn’t actually asked him the question she’d implied she was going to ask.
“Rephaim,” he said, willing strength into his voice. “My name is Rephaim.”
All three fledglings’ eyes widened, as if surprised he would actually have a name.
“He sounds almost normal,” Starr said.
“He’s anything but normal, and you better remember that,” Ni-cole snapped. “Answer my question, Rephaim.”
“I escaped into the tunnels after being wounded by a warrior from the House of Night,” he said truthfully. Rephaim’s instincts, which had served him well for centuries, told him to remain silent about Stevie Rae, that even though these must be the rogue red fledglings she had been protecting, they were not truly of her flock, nor did they follow her.
“The tunnel between here and the abbey collapsed,” said Nicole.
“It was open when I entered it.”
Nicole took a step toward him and sniffed the air. “You smell of Stevie Rae.”
Rephaim made a dismissive gesture with his good hand. “I reek of the bed I slept in.” He cocked his head to the side, as if confused by what she’d said. “You say I carry Stevie Rae’s scent. Is she not the Red One, your High Priestess?”
“Stevie Rae’s a red vampyre, but she isn’t our High Priestess!” Nicole snarled, and her eyes took on a red glow.
“Not your High Priestess?” Rephaim pushed. “But there was a red vampyre priestess called Stevie Rae who stood with a group of fledglings against my father and his queen. She had your markings. Is she not your High Priestess?”
“That was the battle where you were hurt?” Nicole ignored his question to ask her own.
“It was.”
“What happened? Where’s Neferet?”
“Gone.” Rephaim didn’t hide the bitterness in his voice. “She fled with my father and those of my brothers who still live.”
“Where’d they go?” Kurtis asked.
“If I knew that, I would not be hiding in the earth like a coward. I would be at my father’s side where I belong.”
“Rephaim.” Nicole gave him a long, considering look. “I’ve heard that name before.”
The Raven Mocker stayed silent, knowing it was better for her to come to the understanding of who he was without him having to brag about his position like a braying ass.
When her eyes widened, he knew she’d remembered where it was she’d heard his name.
“She said you were Kalona’s favorite—his most powerful son.”
“Yes, that is who I am. Who is this she who’s been talking about me?”
Again, Nicole ignored his question. “What covered the door to the room you slept in?”
“A checked blanket.”
“Stevie Rae’s room,” Starr said. “That’s why he smells like her.”
Nicole acted as if Starr hadn’t spoken. “Kalona took off without you, even though you’re his favorite.”
“Yesssss,” Rephaim drew out the hiss of anger that came with the acknowledgment.
Nicole spoke to Kurtis and Starr. “You know this has to mean that they’re coming back. This birdboy is Kalona’s favorite. No way is he going to leave him here forever. Just like we’re her favorites. He’ll come back for him; she’ll come back for us.”
“Do you speak of the Red One, Stevie Rae?”
In a motion so fast her body blurred, Nicole moved to Rephaim’s side, clamped her hands around his battered shoulders, and in one smooth motion lifted the huge Raven Mocker off the ground and slammed him against the side of the tunnel. Eyes blazing red, she breathed rancid breath into his face as she said, “Get this, birdboy. Stevie Rae, or the Red One as you keep calling her, isn’t our High Priestess. She isn’t our boss. She isn’t one of us. She’s tight with Zoey and that bunch, and that’s not cool. See, we don’t have a High Priestess, we have a queen, and her name is Neferet. Now, what’s with this obsession with Stevie Rae?”
Agony seared through Rephaim. His broken wing was on fire, lighting his body with white-hot agony. With everything inside him he wished he was whole again so that he could destroy this arrogant red fledgling with one slice of his beak.
But he wasn’t whole. He was weak and wounded and abandoned.
“My father wanted her captured. He said she was dangerous. Neferet didn’t trust her. I am not obsessed. I am only following my father’s will,” he choked out through the pain.
“How about we see if you’re really telling us the truth,” Nicole said. Then she tightened her already viselike grip on his arm, closed her eyes, and bowed her head.
Incredibly, Rephaim felt her palms begin to heat. The heat radiated through him, tracing his bloodstream, pounding in time with the frantic beating of his heart, and slamming into his body.
A shudder went through Nicole, then she opened her eyes and lifted her head. Her smile was sly. She continued to hold him against the wall for one very long minute more before she dropped him. Looking down at where he’d crumpled on the floor, she said, “She saved you.”
“What the fuck?” Kurtis shouted.
“Stevie Rae saved him?” Starr said.
Nicole and Rephaim acted as if neither had spoken.
“She did,” Rephaim gasped, fighting to get his breathing under control so he wouldn’t pass out. Then he said nothing more, only tried to figure out what had just happened while he breathed through the radiating pain in his wing. The red fledgling had done something to him when she’d touched him—something that had given her a glimpse into his mind, maybe even his soul. But he also knew that he was unlike any being she’d ever before touched; his thoughts would be difficult, if not nearly impossible for her to read, no matter her talents.