"Makes me wish Aphrodite would come back with me. She has major money and more than one gold card," Stevie Rae muttered.

"Then you'd have to put up with her," I said.

Stevie Rae frowned. "I really wish I could mess with the inside of her head like I do the pizza guys. I'd give her a big dose of 'be nice,' and we'd all live happily ever after." "Stevie Rae, you really can't keep living in those tunnels."

"I like the tunnels," she said stubbornly.

"They're nasty and damp and dirty," I said.

"They're better now than they were last time you saw them, and they'd be lots better if they were fixed up a little more."

I stared at her.

"Okay, maybe more than a little."

"Whatever. My point is, you need the money and the power and the protection of the school behind you."

Stevie Rae met my eyes steadily, and all of a sudden she looked way older and more mature than I'd ever seen her look before. "The money and the power and the protection of the school didn't help Professor Nolan or Loren Blake or even that Stark kid."

I didn't know what to say. She was right, but I still felt deep in my gut that people --specifically vampyre people--needed to know she and the red fledglings existed. I sighed. "Okay, I know it's not a one hundred percent good plan, but I honestly believe everyone needs to know about you guys."

"Honestly, as in Nyx is giving you one of those you need to do it feelings?"

"Yep," I said.

Her sigh was much deeper and filled with more worry and stress than mine. (Jeesh, who knew that could happen?) "All right, then. I'll be there tomorrow. I'm countin' on you to make this all turn out okay, Zoey."

"I will." Silently I sent a short prayer up to Nyx: I'm counting on you like she's counting on me . . .

Stevie Rae and I had finished the seemingly unending cat-toy inventory about the time I glanced up at the clock and realized we were going to be late getting back to school if we didn't hurry like crazy. And of course, Stevie Rae had to get back to her group of fledglings before they committed more than petty pizza theft. So we said a quick bye, and I repeated that I'd see her the next day for her outing. She looked a little pale, but gave me a hug and promised to be there. Then I stuck my head in Sister Mary Angela's office.

"Excuse me, ma'am." I wasn't sure exactly what to call a nun when one was being ultra-respectful and needed to get her attention while she was definitely engrossed in what looked like instant messaging on her laptop.

The ma'am seemed to work just fine, because she looked up at me with her warm smile. "All done with the inventory, Zoey?"

"Yes, and we have to get back to school."

Sister Mary Angela glanced up at the clock, and her eyes widened in surprise. "My goodness! I had no idea it was so late. And I forget that your days are rather upside down."

I nodded. "It must seem like we keep weird hours to you."

"I'll just think of you as nocturnal--much like our lovely felines. You know they prefer the night, too. Which reminds me, how would you like it if we extend our hours on Saturday nights so that can be your volunteer day?"

"That sounds great. I'll run it by our priestess to make sure, though, and call you. Oh, and do you want me to go ahead with the flea market idea?" "Yes. I put in a call to our Board of Church Directors, and after a slight discussion, they agreed the idea was a good one."

I noticed the hardening in her voice and the way her already straight spine seemed to grow even straighter. "Not everyone is okay with fledglings, huh?" I said.

Her hard look warmed. "That is not for you to worry about, Zoey. I've often forged my own path and am used to taking a machete to weeds and other bothersome barriers."

I felt my eyes get big and didn't doubt for a minute that this tough nun's meaning might not be only figurative. And then part of what she'd said made me ask, "When you said that you had to check with your Board of Church Directors, did you mean they were from your church, or others?"

"They aren't from our abbey, which isn't exactly a church, because our only congregation is made of Benedictine sisters. The Church Board of which I was speaking is made of several of the leaders of local churches."

"Like the People of Faith?"

She frowned. "Yes. The People of Faith have a rather large representation on the Board, which reflects their congregation size."

"Bet they were the weeds you had to chop down," I muttered.