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had scurried out of the abbeyafter the nighthad gone from battle chaos to aftermath chaos. Darius hurried after the nun, with Aphrodite following him. The warrior glanced overhisshoulder at me. Aren`t you coming with us, Zoey?As soon as I can. Before I could deal with Erik and Heath, from behind me afamiliar twangsaved the day. Go on with Darius and Aphrodite, Z. I`ll take care of Dumb and Dumber and besure there`s nobooger monsters left out here. Stevie Rae, you are the Best Friend of All Best Friends. I turned and hugged herquickly, loving how reassuringly solid and normal she felt. Actually, she seemed so normalthat I got aweird twinge when she stepped back and grinned at me and I saw, as if for the firsttime, thescarlet tattoos that spread out from the filled-in crescent in the middle of herforehead and downeither side of her face. A sliver of unease threaded through me. Misunderstanding my hesitation, she said, Don`t worry about these two dorks. I`mgettin` usedto jerking them apart. When I just stood there staring at her, the bright smile she`dbeen wearingdimmed. Hey, you know your grandma`s okay, right? Kramisha got her back insideright afterKalona was banished and Sister Mary Angela just told me she was goin` inside tocheck on her. Yeah, I remember Kramisha helping her into the wheelchair. I`m just . . . My voicetrailed off. I was just what? How could I put into words that I was haunted by a feeling thateverythingwasn`t right with my best friend and the group of kids she`d allied herself with, andhow do I saythat to my best friend?You`re just tired and worried `bout a bunch of stuff, Stevie Rae said softly. Was that understanding I saw flicker through her eyes? Or was it something else, somethingdarker?I get it, Z, and I`ll take care of things out here. You just be sure Stark`s okay. Shehugged meagain, and then gave me a little push in the direction of the abbey. `Kay. Thanks, I said lamely, starting toward the abbey and totally ignoring the twodorks whowere standing there staring at me. Stevie Rae called after me, Hey, remind Darius or someone to keep an eye on thetime. It`s onlyabout an hour until sunrise, and you know me and all the red fledglings gotta beinside out of thesun by then. Yeah, no problem. I`ll remember, I said. The problem was it was getting harder and harder for me to forget Stevie Raewasn`t what sheused to be. CHAPTER TWOStevie RaeAll right, you two, listen up. I`m only gonna say this once--act right. Standingbetween thetwo guys, Stevie Rae put her hands on her hips and glared at Erik and Heath. Without taking hereyes from them she yelled, Dallas!Almost instantly the kid jogged up to her. What`s up, Stevie Rae?Get Johnny B. Tell him to take Heath and search around the front part of theabbey over byLewis Street and make sure the Raven Mockers are really gone. You and Erik takethe south sideof the building. I`ll go down along the tree row by Twenty-first and check it out. All by yourself? Erik said. Yes, all by myself, Stevie Rae snapped. Are you forgettin` I could stomp my footright nowand make the ground under you shake? I could also pick you up and toss you onyour sillyjealous butt. I think I can handle checkin` out those trees by myself. Beside her, Dallas laughed. And I`m thinking red vamp with an earth elementaffinity trumpsblue drama vamp. That made Heath snort and laugh; and, predictably, Erik started to bow up again. No! Stevie Rae said before the stupid boys started throwing punches. If y`allcan`t sayanything nice, then just shut the heck up. Did you want me, Stevie Rae? Johnny B said, coming up to stand beside her. Isaw Dariuscarrying that arrow kid into the abbey. He said I should find you. Yeah, she said with relief. I want you and Heath to check out the front part of theabbey overby Lewis. Make sure those Raven Mockers really are gone. I`m on it! Johnny B said, giving Heath a pretend punch on the shoulder. Comeon, quarterback, let`s see what you got. Just pay attention to the dang trees and shadowy stuff, Stevie Rae said, shakingher head asHeath ducked and dodged and struck Johnny B`s shoulder with a few quickpunches. No problem, Dallas said, starting to move off with a silent Erik. Make it quick, Stevie Rae called to both sets of guys. The sun`ll be up soon. Y`allmeet me infront of Mary`s Grotto in half an hour or so. Holler loud if you find anything and we`llall comerunnin`. She watched the four guys to be sure they were really going where she`d sentthem, and thenStevie Rae turned and, with a sigh, started on her own mission. Dang, talk aboutannoying! Sheloved Z