Page 122 of Lost

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Zoey

“When is he going to get here? Should we meet him halfway? Why can’t we call him?” I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin as I stood just inside the mouth of the cave and watched night descend on the ridge.

“The note Tatsuwa carried from your brother said he would leave the House of Night at sundown. That should put him here at any moment,” said Anastasia.

“If he didn’t run into any trouble,” Dragon added.

“Do not fret, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya. Your brother is a capable young man. He will be here soon,” said Grandma Redbird.

“What did we miss? Is Kev here yet?” Stevie Rae rushed up with Rephaim, they were both holding mugs of steaming coffee and looking a lot happier and better rested than me. I tried not to be envious. It had, after all, been my choice to leave Stark behind.

“Not yet,” I said, trying not to sound as stressed and bitchy as I felt. “I wish he’d hurry.”

“I’m sure he is doing his best. Just be a little patient and—” Grandma began.

There was a series of owl hoots that carried from somewhere in the distance, answered by another series of similar hoots, closer.

“There,” Anastasia smiled. “That must be him now. That is the Warriors’ call for an incoming friend.”

She was right. It was only a few more (unbelievably long) minutes, and then Kevin rounded the corner that led to the cave.

“Ohmygoodness!Is he carrying—”

“Aphrodite!” I cried and rushed out to meet my brother and the woman he carried in his arms.

“Zo! It’s really good to see you!”

“Are we there yet?” Aphrodite said weakly.

“Kevin, what do you mean bringing her here?” Dragon pushed his way in front of me, reminding me of what a judgmental ass he’d become after Anastasia had died.

So I shoved right back. Hard. I moved around him and got a good look at Aphrodite. My brother cradled her in his arms and moved slowly and carefully. She had a folded T-shirt covering her eyes and I could see dark splotches on it, as well as bloody tear tracks on her pale cheeks.

“She’s had a vision,” I told Dragon with a hard look. I touched her arm gently. “How are you feeling, Aphrodite?”

“Worse than I look. Assuming I still look as gorgeous as usual. Who are you?”

“That’s my sister, Zoey,” Kevin said, grinning at me.

“Hi. I hear we’re friends in another world,” she said.

“We are. Good thing too, because I know exactly what to do to make you feel better.”

“Booze and pills?” she asked hopefully.

I easily recognized her attempt to hide the fact that she had a debilitating migraine and was probably still blind.

“She sounds like our Aphrodite, that’s for sure,” Stevie Rae said.

“I don’t know who that is but I know where she’s from,” said Aphrodite. “Nowhere, Oklahoma—right?”

“Different world—same person,” mumbled Rephaim.

“This isn’t a family reunion—it’s a Resistance,” Dragon grumped. “Kevin, you understand that as she has now been here, to our headquarters, she cannot leave.”

“I thought about that, Dragon. And you need to understand that first, thisisa reunion. Being part of a Resistance doesn’t mean we also can’t be part of a family. Second, Aphrodite is blind. She hasn’t been able to see anything since we left the House of Night. There is no way she could find her way here again. Now, do I need to go down to the ranch house and have Aphrodite cared for there, or are you going to let us into the cavethat was built because of my connection to Old Magick?”