Burned: A House of Night Novel by P. C. Cast; Kristin Cast

Author:P. C. Cast; Kristin Cast
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Social Issues, Love & Romance, Girls & Women, Vampires, Fantasy fiction, Horror, Fantasy & Magic, General, Fantasy, Supernatural, Occult fiction, Fiction, Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780312606169
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2010-04-27T10:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Rephaim

When Rephaim opened his eyes, he saw Stevie Rae squatting in front of his closet nest, studying him so intently that there was a deep furrow on her brow between her eyes, making her red crescent tattoo look oddly wavy. Her blond curls spilled around her face, and she seemed so girl-like that he was suddenly taken aback by remembering how young she really was. And, no matter the vastness of her elemental powers, how vulnerable her youth made her. The thought of her vulnerability had fear knifing his heart.

“Hey there. You awake?” she said.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” he asked in a purposefully gruff voice, annoyed that just the sight of her could make him worry about her safety.

“Well, I’m tryin’ to figure out how close you’ve come to dyin’ this time.”

“My father’s an immortal. I’m hard to kill.” He made himself sit up without grimacing.

“Yeah, I know about your daddy and your immortal blood and all, but Darkness fed from you. A lot. That can’t be good. Plus, to be honest, you look really bad.”

“You don’t,” he said. “And Darkness fed from you, too.”

“I’m not as hurt as you because you swooped in like Batman and saved the day before that dang nasty bull could mess me up too much. Then I got a shot in the arm from Light, which was totally cool, by the way. And that immortal blood of yours is like the Energizer Bunny inside me.”

“I am not a bat,” was all he could think to say, as that was the only thing she’d said he vaguely understood.

“I didn’t compare you to a bat, I said you were like Batman. He’s a superhero.”

“I’m not a hero, either.”

“Well, you’ve been my hero. Twice.”

Rephaim didn’t know what to say to that. All he knew was that Stevie Rae calling him her hero made something twist deep inside him, and that something suddenly made the pain in his body and his worry for her easier to bear.

“So, come on. Let’s see if I can return the favor. Again.” She stood and held her hand out to him.

“I don’t think I could eat right now. Some water would be good, though. I drank all that we’d brought up here before.”

“I’m not takin’ you to the kitchen. At least not this second. I’m takin’ you outside. To the trees. Well, okay, to that really big tree by the old gazebo in the front yard to be specific.”

“Why?”

“I already told you. You helped me. I think I can help you, but I gotta be closer to the earth than we are up here, and I’ve been thinkin’ ’bout it, and I know trees have major power in them. I’ve kinda used it before. Actually, that may have been part of the reason I was able to call up that thing.” She shuddered, clearly remembering her invocation of Darkness, which Rephaim completely understood. Had his body not ached so badly, he would have shuddered, too.

But his body did ache.

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