Erik flicked listlessly through his tome of complete works by Shakespeare. He had pop-quizzes to mark, he had projects to assign, but somehow he just couldn't bring himself to do any of them. What was he doing here? He had one of the most prestigious Acting Academies in all of Europe waiting for him. So why did he feel as though he couldn't leave? That he had unfinished business to attend to? Was he just deluding himself? It was well and truly over between Zoey and him. He wanted a fresh start, away from all this. Maybe that was it. Erik knew that if he left now, left the House of Night in this state of chaos and disarray, it would be cowardice of the most unforgivable kind. Also from what Lenobia had told him, Stevie Rae could use all the help she could get. Lenobia had told him about the battle at the tunnels and the state they were currently in, Erik would talk to Stevie Rae about offering his services. He might not have elemental powers, but he could still be useful. Erik smiled for the first time in weeks as a sense purpose surged through him. He turned at the sound of knocking on his door, and was completely caught off guard by the radiant expression upon Lenobia's normally Stoic face.
"Stevie Rae has just informed me that Zoey's soul is complete and both Stark and Zoey's souls have been returned to their bodies," Erik was completely taken aback by the hug Lenobia felt the urge to express and gingerly returned it. Lenobia released him and clasped a hand to his shoulder. "Would you be able to pick up Stevie Rae, while preparations are being made here? A celebratory feast is most certainly in order," Erik nodded.
"Anything to help," he said automatically. To be honest he had no idea what to feel. Lenobia's cheerful disposition suddenly turned serious.
"Stevie Rae has been through a lot these past few days; your sensitivity would be most appreciated. It would seem as though there must always be a state of balance," Lenobia said cryptically. She clapped him on the shoulder and then left the room. Lenobia's sudden appearance had left a wake of numb confusion, which annoyed Erik to no end. He's just been had been feeling energised; now he felt as though Lenobia's words had drained him completely. Was he doomed to forever gain things, only for them to stolen away from him? To have everything he wanted just outside his grasp? Erik grabbed his wallet and keys, locking the door behind him. Before his transformation, Erik would never have done such a thing, but now... He no longer felt the safety this cradle of youth had once provided. Perhaps that is what it meant to be a man, to venture forth out into the unknown battlefield of life. For Erik knew in his bones, War was what Neferet wanted, one so gory and pointless even Charles Manson would blanch. Was the former High Priestess of Nyx's lust for power as insatiable as that? And as Erik remembered the dismembered bodies of Professor Nolan and Loren Blake staked to the front lawn, he knew he had his answer. Not that he had shared his theory with anyone, what with the abundance of evidence to support it, but it wasn't like he had anyone to share it with either. It just seemed far too much of a coincidence that Loren Blake had served his purpose of separating Zoey from her allies, then for him to "mysteriously" die moments later, the crime scene quickly cleared of any evidence. But in Erik's mind, the last link in the Chain of Evidence required was Neferet's possessive shriek before she and her consort were banished. The look in her eyes had been the colour of madness, and eyes of that shade were capable of anything.
Erik couldn't help but smile as he stopped by the Acolyte's desk to grab a set of keys to a House of Night car. He was surprised he was still able to use one, considering what happened last time he had gone to retrieve Stevie Rae. He hoped she wasn't as badly injured as she had been last time, Erik didn't think Lenobia's barn could take another hit. As Erik walked out to the car-park, he called Stevie Rae on her mobile; she answered after a couple of rings.
"Hey Stevie Rae, Lenobia requested that I collect you, but failed to mention your location. What address are you currently at?" Due to Stevie Rae's independent nature, Erik expected some kind of protest, that she was more than capable of looking after herself, that she needed time alone. But to Erik's surprise, Stevie Rae quickly told him where she was and thanked him for his efforts. Erik was quick to note she was only a street or so over from the Gilcrease Museum, which confused him a little. What was she doing all the way over there?
Erik drove carefully, mindful of the debris that littered the roads. He'd be glad when all this terrible winter weather was over, but somehow Erik didn't think its absence would remove the icy numbness that had seemed to seep into his very soul. He turned the heaters on, trying not to think about it. He found her standing by a tall barren tree, her expression pained. She looked as cheerful as he felt. It seemed as though he was not the only one who wasn't ecstatic as the news of Zoey's return. As Stevie Rae entered the car, Erik had planned to ask her about it, when her phone started ringing, shrill and obnoxious. Stevie Rae acted as though the thing didn't exist.
"You going to answer that?" he asked as he pulled into a random driveway in order to turn around.
"Nope, I got enough on my plate without Aphrodite adding to it," she said, giving him a pointed look to drop the matter.
"How do you know it's Aphrodite?" he asked, because he could never tell when to leave things alone.
"Cos she's been calling me every half hour, ever since she had a vision of me and... Someone else. Look, I really don't to talk about it, ok?" Stevie Rae then leaned forward and turned on the radio.
"But I don't care what they say; I'm in love with you. They try to pull me away, but they don't know the truth. My heart's crippled by the vein that I keep on closing. You cut me open and I-" with a beep, Stevie Rae had switched to another radio station.
"You're in the arms of the angels, may you find some comfort here," Stevie Rae pressed another button on the radio consol.
"A chair is still a chair, even when there's no one sittin' there. But a chair is not a house and a house is not a home-" Stevie Rae pressed another button, looking a little desperate. Erik knew that feeling, just after he had found out that Zoey had cheated on him with Blake, he had wanted to drown in the sound of angry music, only for the radio to conspire against him.
"This bipolar love affair, it just ain't where it's at for me anymore. So don't let the door hit you when you leave-" Another button pressed. With difficulty Erik suppressed a sigh. Stevie Rae had to realise that sooner or later, she was going to run out of escape options.
"And I'd give up forever to touch you.'Cause I know that you feel me somehow. You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be. And I don't want to go home right now," Stevie Rae let out a small sob, trying and failing to keep her emotions in check. Her hands were clenched so tightly into fists, her knuckles were white. Erik pulled over on the side of the highway and turned the radio off.
"You can try to run from your problems all you like Stevie Rae, but eventually you're going to have to face the music," said Erik, pulling a clean handkerchief from his pocket and giving it to her. Stevie Rae dabbed at her eyes and tried to blink back most of her tears, it wasn't working very well. "I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but that doesn't make it go away,"
"I know that," said Stevie Rae with a sigh. "But talking about it isn't going to fix it either. I know if I start talking about it, it'll all just explode outta me, I'll be a complete mess, and I can't afford that right now, I've go too much to do, people are counting on me. Zoey might be back in her body, but Kalona is too," Erik nodded. He knew exactly what she meant. There wasn't any point falling to pieces over something if there wasn't any benefit to it. Sometimes it just left you with another mess to clean up.
"Well it's obviously bugging you, so how about I just ask simple yes/no questions, maybe that'll help you feel better," said Erik with a shrug. He honestly had no idea how to deal with a crying female, but somehow everyone came to the conclusion that was the go-to-guy for these kinds of situations. Stevie Rae nodded slowly.
"I think I can handle that," her smile was more like a grimace though.
"This isn't about breaking up with Dallas, is it?" Erik asked his gaze shrewd upon her. Stevie Rae shrugged.
"It's a combination of stuff," She sighed, her shoulders slumping like they held the weight of the world upon them. But her radio freak out wasn't due to Dallas-Drama. From what he'd been able to get out of Kramisha the evening before, she and Dallas had argued so much, Dallas had kicked her out of a still moving car, and to do something like required a lot of anger. But surprisingly, Stevie Rae didn't seem angry, or she was but it wasn't the strongest of her emotions at the moment. All Erik could see was sadness and pain. It seemed like her emotional injuries were all soul deep. Soul deep...
"Stevie Rae," Erik asked cautiously. "Are you like this because of the person you've imprinted with?" Stevie Rae turned to look at him, surprise and alarm written all over her face.
"How did you-" but Erik cut her off.
"You have the same look on your face that Zoey did. Like it was agony for her to be with Heath, but just as painful, if not more so, to be without him," He grimaced at the memories of when Zoey had been heading off to break her Imprint with Heath and her face when she came back. Erik had known in his gut Zoey would never have the strength to break the bond that was between her and Heath, and he had tried to ignore it best he could, but he wouldn't anymore. Zoey had used all the guys in her life as escape routes. It was understandable to Erik for Zoey to initially think that she couldn't live without Heath. What had pissed him off was that Zoey didn't want to live without Heath, and thus her soul had shattered. Like the battle of Good Versus Evil was just going to sort itself out, without her. Perhaps that was why Erik considered Stevie Rae to be more like a High Priestess then Zoey was, and respected her more. Even if Stevie Rae was a mess and her world was continuously falling apart on her, she was still doing the right thing, even if it was only by her. It didn't matter that her boyfriend had broken up with her, that less then twenty-four hours ago she was burying the bodies of Fledglings she had been trying to save, hell even rejecting the change hadn't seemed to have stopped Stevie Rae. Not that she was perfect, far from it. She was too far too reckless, kept too much to herself, and took on far too many of other people's problems. Prying the truth out her was akin to pulling teeth and sometimes, the ends did not justify the means. But Stevie Rae wasn't weak, which had most likely caused the current problem. Stevie Rae had most likely come to the conclusion that she was the only one strong enough to shoulder her burdens and had to do so alone, least she burden someone else. Perhaps this was what Erik was supposed to do, his unfinished task before he left the House of Night, to be the shoulder that Stevie Rae so obviously needed. Erik felt the surge purpose fill him once more. If his suspicions were correct, only he could help her with her problem. After all, it wasn't like Stevie Rae a lot of people who had been involved in a Mate-High Priestess-Consort love-triangle.
"So, let me guess," said Erik, after a while when it looked like Stevie Rae wasn't going to volunteer anymore information. "The reason for your big break up with Dallas was because he found out you're imprinted to this other guy,"
"Yeah," said Stevie Rae with a sigh.
"And that you've been lying about being Imprinted to this other guy the whole time and whenever you were 'going off to commune with the Earth' you were really going off to see your consort,"
"Pretty much. Though that one time I brought Dallas with me I really did do some Earth-communing," said Stevie Rae with a small smile. Erik raised an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah, the one time you do go and do it, you almost get yourself killed," Stevie Rae snorted at this.
"If Aphrodite had bothered to give me all the right information, I would have been fine," She looked pensive at this. "I don't expect you to believe me, but I didn't," Erik blinked at Stevie Rae in surprise. What on Earth was she talking about? "I didn't, I didn't cheat on Dallas with my Imprint. I mean if you'd met him, you know how impossible that is, but-" Erik held his hand up in a stop motion; he decided it would be best if he cut her babbling off at a head.
"I believe you, but Dallas obviously didn't and that's why he freaked out and threw you out of the car?" Stevie Rae looked down at her lap and picked at her nails.
"Yeah, he freaked out alright," she said with a snort. Erik frowned, things still weren't adding up.
"So where is he?" asked Erik. Stevie Rae shrugged.
"I dunno where Dallas went, he just took the bug and high tailed it," she said. Erik shook he head.
"No I mean your consort? Where is he? Why isn't he with you?" he asked. Erik saw pain ripple across Stevie Rae's face.
"He told me we could never be together the way I want us to be," she said softly. Erik frowned.
"What makes him think that?" he asked, utterly confused. Stevie Rae was a powerful Vampyre and a High Priestess to boot. From what the Red Fledglings had told him of Stevie Rae's abilities, it wasn't like she couldn't keep what was hers from harm. She could have a Consort, a Mate and a Warrior if really she wanted to. Stevie Rae sighed.
"Let's just say his family wouldn't be too crash hot on him shacking up with the Queen of the Damned," Erik nodded in understanding. He guessed there was nothing for it. So why wouldn't that niggling feeling in his gut go away? The one that kept telling him there was more to this. "Besides, he probably only cares about me because of our Imprint," her voice choked slightly. Erik knew that kind of pain, of being in love with someone who couldn't give you what you needed. Nor could you give them what they needed either.
"Do you know how he feels about you?" he asked. Stevie Rae sniffed and shook her head.
"It's funny, I can never tell what he's thinking, he always keeps everything locked up inside, but I'd give anything to be able to," Erik smiled softly.
"It's probably for the best, knowing how much he cares about you would just make it harder for you," he said. He wasn't going to tell her to fight, to not give up. That was Stevie Rae's choice to make, and she knew the situation better than he did. Sometimes it was better to leave the broken pieces where they were, rather than get cut even deeper when you tried to force the pieces back together. Erik knew that better than anyone.
"Yeah, but not knowing, that's even worse," replied Stevie Rae. Erik restarted the car, flicked the indicator, and resumed driving.
"Well either way, I'm betting that by the time we get back to the House of Night, Kramisha will be waiting for you. She seems the considerate type, she's probably already got a bucket of cookies and crème ice-cream and Thelma and Louise ready for you," Stevie Rae chuckled.
"Oh I know Kramisha will be waiting for me," Erik couldn't help but notice Stevie Rae didn't sound too enthused by the idea. But she seemed a little better. Erik sighed, he may just be about to ruin all the good he had just done, but it needed to be done.
"Look Stevie Rae, I knew we don't always get along," Stevie Rae smirked at this statement, but Erik continued. "But I want you to know that I know you have a lot to deal with so if you need an outsider's perspective or just someone to talk to, my door is open," Erik could feel Stevie Rae's intensive gaze upon him. It felt as though she was looking right through him, to the very core of him.
"Thank you Erik, I appreciate that. You should know something too, you're not an outsider either," Erik was about to object but Stevie Rae overrode him. "You're a part of this; you have been since the beginning and just because you and Zoey aren't together any more, don't mean you should be left out of the loop. I'm sorry about that," Erik shrugged, trying to hide his happiness. This was what he'd been missing, being a part of something bigger. He always assumed that his bond with Zoey had solidified his importance to the Goddess and that he still had a significant role to play. Perhaps he had been correct, but with the wrong Priestess, and in the wrong way.
"I'm sure you passed on everything you could, most of time it seemed like no one had any idea what the hell they were doing. Besides, I know personally how forthcoming Aphrodite is with information," Stevie Rae giggled at that.
Just as Erik had predicted, Kramisha was waiting in the parking lot, tapping her foot on the pavement with obvious impatiens and glaring at both Stevie Rae and Erik for taking so long.
"Bout time you guys got back," growled Kramisha as Erik and Stevie Rae exited the car and walked over to her. Kramisha gave Stevie Rae the once over, then what she did next surprised both Stevie Rae and Erik. The Poet Laureate stepped forward and hugged her High Priestess tightly. Stevie Rae gingerly returned it. Stevie Rae sniffed lightly.
"Thanks," she said shyly when they broke away. Then Kramisha glared at Stevie Rae and smacked her hard upside the head. "Ow Kramisha! What the hell?"
"Don't you what the hell me! You outta your damn mind? You had me worried sick. When Aphrodite couldn't get hold of you, who do yah think she called? Why didn't you just answer yah damn phone?" "Cos I didn't want to talk to her," said Stevie Rae, giving Kramisha a pointed look, even Erik could have figured out the answer that self-explanatory question. Kramisha seemed to concede as well. "What did she tell you?" asked Stevie Rae, looking surprisingly grim and serious. Kramisha's eyes flickered over towards Erik.
"The same thing she told you," she said. "You gotta whole lotta explaining to do Priestess," said Kramisha, looking just as serious and grim. Stevie Rae smiled guiltily.
"Yeah I know," said Stevie Rae, while Kramisha crossed her arms against her chest.
"I want to know everything, from the beginning, and don't you even think of lying," said Kramisha. Stevie Rae raised her right fist and placed it over her heart.
"I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me Goddess," she stated with mock severity. Kramisha snorted.
"You gonna need the Goddess's help, what with the fine mess you've got yourself into. I knew you were up to something crazy," Stevie Rae shrugged.
"Love makes you do crazy things," she said, while Kramisha raised an eyebrow at her and looked like Stevie Rae had announced she was expecting twins via Immaculate Conception.
"Yeah, that's gonna need the most explaining," Kramisha muttered, while Stevie Rae simply shrugged and placed her hands in the pockets of her hoodie. Erik recognised a cue when he saw it; they were obviously not going to talk about Stevie Rae's problematic consort in front of him, which Erik supposed was justifiable. Trust had to be earned and that was a very hard thing to do with Red Vampires and Fledglings. That was going to happen when your High Priestess who was supposed to be fighting against evil was the one creating it, and then blaming her creations for how they turned out.
"Well I'll leave you to it, and Stevie Rae, if you need any help with anything, do not hesitate to ask," he said, nodding at her. Stevie Rae smiled brightly at him.
"Thanks Erik, and while I'm not as good as ShannonCompton with Drama stuff, if you need help planning classes, I'd be happy help yah out," Erik nodded and walked away, realising he was genuinely smiling for the first time in what felt like years.