"Well, Bonnie can't turn as quick as a quarter horse. She can't run as fast and as long as a Thoroughbred. But she can tear up a trail with the best of

'em. Don't forget that she can carry me, a pile of armor and weapons, and pull down a house. All at the same time. Underestimating her would be a mistake." He shot another look at Lenobia and added, "But then underestimating females in general isn't a good idea, boy." I covered my laugh with a cough.

Lenobia looked at me. "Don't encourage him. He's been holding fledgling court all day. The girls want to date him. The boys want to be him. He's making my head hurt."

"So you like him a little?"

I was wincing from Lenobia's frosty stare when Travis raised his voice and called, "Well, you'd have to ask the professor over there about that, but I'd be all for a little field trip."

Huh? Field trip? My ears perked up. "We go on field trips?"

"Not since we've been battling evil we haven't," Lenobia said under her breath. Then she raised her voice and started toward Bonnie and her cowboy saying, "I'm sorry, Travis, I wasn't listening. What is it you're asking?"

"One of the kids wanted to see Bonnie in action on a trail ride. I'd be happy to take some of 'em out with me and a few horses on a clear night. I grew up outside Sapulpa and know the old oill paths on the ridges there like the back o' my hand." I saw Lenobia sucking in a breath and was sure she was getting ready to blast the cowboy into the stratosphere, when Ant, the littlest of the red fledgling kids, reached way up and, looking starstruck, patted Bonnie on her nose saying, "Wow! A trail ride? Like cowboys used to do? That'd be awesome." With obvious adoration in his eyes, he gazed at Lenobia. "Professor Lenobia, could we really?" I think it hit me at about the same time it hit Lenobia-Ant was just asking to do some normal school stuff-to take a field trip and be a kid-

versus being dead and undead and fighting immortals and the booger monsters they brought with them and worrying about saving the world.

"Perhaps. I'll have to see if I can work it into my lesson plan. There have already been several changes lately," Lenobia said in her teacher voice.

Johnny B sighed. "Changes. That'd be us undying and coming back here and messing up the schedule."

"Actually, the professor probably means me more than you," Rephaim said. "I'm the reason Stark and Darius had to start a new class here in the stables."

"Neither and both of you are right," Lenobia said crisply. "You've changed things at this House of Night, but that's not necessarily negative. I like to see change as a positive thing. It prevents stagnation. And I'm enjoying having the Warrior classes in my stables. As Travis has so aptly demonstrated today, Warriors and horses have a long, rich history together."

I saw Rephaim's surprised look and his tentative smile. Then the bell chimed and before everyone could sprint for the door Travis called out,

"Whoa there, guys! No one leaves the stable until everythin's in its right place. You boys there help Stark and Darius put the weapons and targets up." Then he pointed at Rephaim and Ant. "You and you-help me get this tack off Bonnie and wipe her down. She's worked hard today." Everyone snapped to. Lenobia hesitated, and then kinda nodded to herself, changed direction, and disappeared into her office.

Huh. So now with the approval of a tougher-than-tough vampyre professor a human cowboy was telling an ex-Raven Mocker, some undead guys, and a bunch of fledglings what to do. Huh.

* * *

By the time we rounded up all the kids, got on the short bus, and drove back to the depot it was just a little before six A.M. Even I was tired and unbelievably glad it was the weekend. I swear I didn't want to do anything but sleep, watch trash TV, and maybe do a little decorating of the tunnels. I was just thinking about my thick blue blanket (that I'd grabbed when I'd crammed my clothes and stuff from my dorm room into a cardboard box), and how nice it would feel to be curled up under it with Stark and Nala when Stevie Rae rained on my parade.

"Okay, we gotta hurry." She motioned to me, Rephaim, Stark, Darius, Aphrodite, the Twins, and Damien. "It's gonna be dawn in about an hour and a half. Rephaim and Zoey have Kalona stuff they need to tell us."

I sighed. "Okay. In the kitchen."

It took even longer for us to get the kitchen cleared of hungry fledglings and sent off to their rooms.

"This ain't gonna work good for long. We need us a place where we can have our own Council Meetings without morons all up in our business," Kramisha said, as she frowned at Johnny B who was trying to see how many Cheetos he could cram in his mouth at one time.