Zoey's P.O.V
"Stark don't do this!" I yell at him as he walks out of the room, ready to rip Heath to shreds.
"Stark get back here right now." Stark stops dead in his tracks and turns on his heal to face me.
"Is that an order your majesty?" He says in a bitter tone. When I'm finally to see his face, I see that there's a fire burning in his eyes and his jaw is clenched tight.
"No, but if I have to, I'll make it one. Now come back over here and sit with me."
"You know what Zoey? I don't give a shit anymore." Then he storms out of the room and into the living room area.
We're still living underground with Stevie Rae, ever since she coughed up blood and died, then was recreated in a way, to become a Red fledging; we've lived underground with her. And besides, it's not like the school is safe.
I hop off of my bed and push past the curtain that serves as a door. Stark is practically growling in rage and demanding to know where Heath is.
'Where is that bastard?" He grabs Damien by the collar and shakes him a little bit. Poor Damien shakes and his eyes grow bigger than ever before. He, like everyone else, has never seen Stark this mad before.
"Please let him go." Jack says quietly, walking up to Stark and trying to look tough.
"I thought I heard my name." Heath says, walking straight into the danger zone.
"Heath no!" Stark throws Damien to the side and he hits the wall hard and cripples over.
"Damien!" Jack runs over to him and starts to help him up; I'm more focused on Heath. He notices Stark charging for him and gets into a defensive position, as if he's on he football field again.
We all know that Stark is stronger though and Heath is quickly tackled to the ground and getting punches rained down on him.
Heath manages to get a single punch, just strong enough to give him time to slide out from underneath Stark.
"What the hell is your problem?" He kicks Stark in the ribs and he turns around, grabs Heath's ankle, and yanks him onto the ground.
"Stevie Rae, Aphrodite, Damien, help me here please."
Steve Rae and Aphrodite, obvious until now, walk out of Aphrodite's room and gasp when they see the fight happening. I look over to Damien who, with Jack's help, is getting up and walking over to us.
"What is going on?" Aphrodite sneers.
"I-I don't know. Stark and I were talking and I- I must have said something about Heath that he didn't like because he charged out here, demanding to know where Heath was and threw Damien in rage when he didn't know. "
"I got ya' Zo." Stevie Rae walks off into the spare room and comes back with a thick rope. She lets out a long "Yeeeehawwww!" Before swinging the rope over her head and easily sliding the rope over Stark's neck, under his arms, and tightens it around his midsection. She gives a fierce yank and he falls backward. Giving Heath just enough time to get free and pounce on Stark.
"No Heath, get outta there you dumb cow." Stevie Rae shouts.
I know what I have to do. I run in and push Heath off of Stark and stand between them.
Stark pulls a knife out of his pocket and slashes the rope, then turns to me as my friends scramble to find something to help me.
"Stevie Rae use your element." So Stevie Rae closes her eyes and concentrates and conjures up her Earth-bound element.
Damien also concentrates and I can feel wind whip around me. Damien's wind knocks Stark off of his feet and Stevie Rae has a branch rip out of the ground and hold Stark down while another holds Heath to the wall.
"Where are the twins when you need them?"
"I think they're still sleeping." Jack says.
"Those girls could sleep through a freakin' tornado." Aphrodite sneers.
"I'll get um." Jack runs off to wake the twins and I turn back to the situation at hand.
"Stark you have to stop this. And Heath, if you stop fighting back, maybe we can resolve this."
"Resolve my ass." Stark wiggles out, just enough to get his hand free and throw the knife at Stevie Rae. He has a prefect throw and the knife lands directly in Stevie Rae's stomach and she sinks to her knees. The branches holding Stark and Heath down retreats back into the ground and Stark jumps up, pushing me out of the way. Heath ignores it though and runs over to Stevie Rae, who is bleeding around the knife and wheezing.
"No, please Stevie Rae, don't leave us, don't leave me." Aphrodite sobs. Ever since they've imprinted Aphrodite admitted, unwillingly, her true feelings for Stevie Rae and they've been a couple ever since. Stevie Rae even managed the rare skill of making Aphrodite less bitchy.
"Please, someone help. We have to get this knife out of her." Aphrodite is falling to pieces in front of us, something I've never seen before.
"Oh my…"
"Gosh! What…"
"Happened?"
I hear the twins say, struggling to finish each other's sentences. Jack also gasps and runs over to help.
Everyone forgetting about Stark and his rampage. Heath scoops Stevie Rae up in his arms and whispers something to Aphrodite. "St-stay with me baby." Stevie Rae says weakly.
"I'd never leave you Stevie Rae." She takes her hand and Heath makes his way to the couch. I turn back to Stark, who's standing there, smiling like a maniac. Clearly glad about what he just did.
"You monster." Damien yells and picks up a near-by rock and throws it at Stark. Stark is unable to deflect it quickly enough and it hits him in the forehead. While he's recovering Damien charges and hits him with a powerful gust of air that throws him against the wall. I look over to see the twins helping Heath and Aphrodite who is sobbing her heart out.
Heath sees me looking from him to the boys fighting and gives me a weak smile.
"Everything's going to be alright over here Zoey, help Damien." I nod and turn to the fight just in time to see Stark slide another knife, he draws from his pocket, across Damien's throat and shove him over. I know it's too late to save him and the pain rips through me.
Jack screams and runs over to Damien, not caring that he's running over to a lunatic with a waiting knife. Surprisingly Stark just stands there watching Jack sob over his dead lover, not even making a move to stab him.
"P-please, take me too. Let me be with Damien, let me be with my love." Jack sobs, giving Stark a weak shove.
"Do you really think I'm that nice?" He hits Jack with the back of the knife, then shoves him over. He's not planning on killing him, he wants him to suffer.
"You bastard." I roar. I summon fire and feel my hands tingling as I charge at Stark and place both of my hands on his chest. He screams in pain and tries to swing at me with the knife, which I dodge easily and grab his wrist. I watch as the skin on his wrist practically melts under my touch.
He kicks my ankle, catching me off guard, and has me tumbling to the ground.
As I fall I feel the sting of the blade as it grazes my cheek and the hot sticky wetness of blood as it gushes down my face.
He sends a rough kick to my ribs, then another to the head, then one last one to the stomach. With all the strength I have left, which isn't much, I conjure up earth and rip the ground open underneath him, then close it around his ankles.
Heath looks over, gives the girls a few commands to help Stevie Rae, then runs over to me. He pulls me back just enough so I'm out of Stark's stabbing range, and walks back over to him.
"Jack, please take Zoey. Get her over to the girls. I'm sorry, but Damien's gone."
"I know." Jack sniffs. He walks over to me and helps me stiffly get up.
"Let me go back over there Jack, I'll be fine."
"No, you need to let Heath deal with him, you're to hurt."
"Jack, he's almost as strong as Neferet. Heath can't take him alone." Jack thinks about it for a minute, but nods. "But I'm helping."
I try to think of a reason to tell him no, and I can think of any, but we need all the help that we can get.
"Fine. Just listen to me and wait for my go alright?" So we make our way over. Somehow Stark managed to re-rip open the ground and got his leg free. Heath has a sword that he drew from, who knows where, and Stark has a long machete and is dueling with Heath.
Jack runs around to the other side of Stark while he's preoccupied and gets him in a choke-hold. Stark struggles for only a second, and then flips Jack over his shoulder and kicks him out of the way.
It seems like the world is suddenly in slow motion. I charge at Heath, trying to move him out of the way but Stark is too fast and sinks the machete into Heath's chest. He pulls it out and stabs him again in the ribs, then one more time in the head. Heath falls to the ground in a bloody heap. I know there is no time for tears, even though all of my friends are falling around me.
Jack grabs Stark's ankle and, as he is about to stab his arm, I carefully pull the sword out of Heath's hand and let it stab into Stark's stomach.
"That's for Stevie Rae."
I pull it out and stab him again in the chest.
"And that one is for Heath."
He falls to the ground and raises his hand to stop me as I raise the sword above my head.
I see a flash of fear and sorrow in his eyes and I stop. I hear Jack wheeze next to me, "Do it Zoey."
So I fall to my knees and take Stark's head with one hand.
"I'm s-sorry but I can't let you live after all you've done.'
I look to Jack, who nods and gives a weak pained smile, then back to Stark.
"This is for Damien."
I push the blade of the sword into Stark's neck and slide it across his throat, letting the blood seep out and watch as he takes his last breath.
I stand up and walk past Heath's body, not even to look at the man I love, laying there bloody and lifeless.
I know exactly how Jack felt. There's nothing I can do to help the fact that two of my best friends and the man I love is dead, but I can keep another friend from dying.
I run over and sit on the floor next to Aphrodite, taking her free hand, the one that's not holding Stevie Rae's hand, in mine and giving it a tight squeeze without thinking about it. Normally Aphrodite would have pushed me away, but she accepts my friendly gesture and turns to lay her head on my shoulder, letting tears wash away the little make-up that's still in tact.
Shaunee and Erin are holding each other in their arms, sobbing also. I let go of Aphrodite and turn to Stevie Rae who is breathing, but her breath is labored and wheezy.
"Jack I need your help please." I turn to Jack after there's no answer and see him sitting next to Damien, the knife that Stark used to kill Damien pressed to his throat.
"I'm sorry, but I have to be with my Damien. I can't be without him."
I stand up and start to walk over to him. "Jack I know it's hard, but do this. Your friends need you."
"I'm sorry Zoey, take care of the girls, they need you."
With that Jack rakes the blade across his throat and falls over his lover, bleeding out Just like Damien did. To be with the love of his life, because love without him is too painful.
"Z-Zo? A-Aphrodite? T-twins?" Stevie Rae chokes out. "D-Damien. J-Jack? H-Heath?"
I run back over to Stevie Rae who is being held, carefully, by Aphrodite. "Stay with us baby." She mumbles into the shoulder.
"I was never gonna leave ya babe. I promised you I wouldn't."
The twins also hug her and welcome her back.
"I thought we lost you there for a minute Stevie Rae." The hole where the sword was is all patched up and Stevie Rae is bandaged.
"Where are they boys? What happened to S-Stark?"
"He's…gone." Stevie Rae can tell that I am struggling and attempts to extend her arm to me.
"Zoey, you're so brave. I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for ya. Thank you." Aphrodite nods her agreement and kisses Stevie Rae tenderly on the lips.
"Where's Heath though?"
"He's dead Stevie Rae." Shaunee says quietly, knowing that my voice may be too weak to say.
"They're all gone. Jack, Damien, Heath, and Stark." Erin sniffs.
We all take turns explaining to Stevie Rae what happened and catching her up while she was unconscious.
"I'm so glad you're here Stevie Rae. I don't know what we would have done if you didn't make it too. We sure would have had to deal with Aphrodite again." I say, trying to break the seriousness. Everyone snickers and Aphrodite punches me playfully.
"Don't get too comfortable now, doesn't mean I like you any more girl. But you did get rid of the monster that did this so…thank you." Aphrodite says the last part quietly.
"Well I didn't do it without lots of help." I gesture to the boys whose life were taken helping.
"They deserve a proper ceremony." Shaunee says.
"Defiantly." Erin agrees with her twin.
So for the next few days we make graves for Damien and Jack, Heath, and even Stark. We each put together speeches and light the color candle representing their elements or just a candle of their favorite color. Stark get a plain grave with a black candle.
"I hope Nxy takes good care of them." Erin says.
Shaunee hugs her twin and says: "Of course she will, she always does."
We each pay our respects and say a little bit about each, ending with a prayer to Nxy to protect them and give them a wonderful life in the otherworld.
Stevie Rae and Aphrodite make their way back inside after a while, hand in hand. Shaunee and Erin follow a few minutes later. That leaves me to say one last prayer to Nxy, to the man that I loved and will always love. My hero.
"I'll never forget you Heath." I say, ending the prayer. And right then and there I fall over his grave, letting out all the emotion that I held in for so long.
"Don't cry Zoey I'm in a better place now. But I'll never really leave you, I'm always here. All you have to do is ask for me." I hear Heath whisper, followed by the familiar, gentle touch that I loved so much.
"I love you Heath."
"I love you Zoey redbird. I always did, I always will."