Chapter Two

"Wait, what? Neferet killed you?! I thought the humans from the church group killed you and Professor Nolan" Zoey was shocked but not surprised at this revelation, this made her hate, no loathe, Neferet even more, poor poor Loren…

"No it was Neferet", replied Loren, pulling Zoey out of day dream mode, "I came in between you and her plan to bring you down, she manipulates everyone around her, I wouldn't be surprised if she's got Kalona wrapped around her little finger…" Loren Blake told her, thoughtful, "she is not to be trusted"

Zoey chewed on that, although she already knew Neferet was a manipulative bitch, that wasn't news at all, the thought of her controlling Kalona like a marionette was hilarious.

"That's what I wanted to tell you Zo!" Heath exclaimed suddenly, popping Zoey's thought bubble once again.

"Before I died, I overheard Neferet and Kalona talking, Neferet wants to kill you and Kalona said 'why don't you just behead and impale her just like you did with the two professors?'" Heath imitated Kalona with a mock deep voice, "but she didn't want to, she said she wants to make your death look like an accident"

"Oh My Goddess! Maybe that's what Aphrodite saw in her visions! I have to go back!" then a sharp thought came to the surface, "Oh My Goddess! Stark!"

Just the thought of Stark not coping without her, he being her Warrior and all, made her want to pass out.

"Yeah Stark's soul is probably just as shattered as yours, I wouldn't be surprised if he turns up here" Heath stated.

Oh great! That's exactly what Zoey needed; more boyfriend issues. Not that she wouldn't mind Stark being here with her, she wouldn't, but then that would mean he'd have to die first, and she couldn't have that, having Heath die was bad enough.

"No! He cannot turn up here! Loren you have to go, please? This is too much! First I had Erik issues and Heath issues…" she glanced at Heath and he made an innocent face.

"Sorry Heath, but its true. Then you happened" she spoke to Loren, who had stepped back one step in defence of Zoey's rant, Heath stepped back too, they both knew that Zoey was much more powerful now as a Fledgling High-Priestess who had an affinity for all five of the elements. Zoey continued.

"Of course it didn't help when Erik walked in on us… Then Stark came along… and now there's Kalona in the equation… and now there's the fact that Heath just died in front of me… and now I'm here in… in Purgatory!"

Loren and Heath just stood silently waiting for Zoey to finish her infamous Zoey-rant. When she stopped she noticed them staring at her and at each other.

"Sorry guys, this is all too much for a girl to deal with in a short space of time" she took deep breathes to try and calm herself and sat down on the grass near the water.

"But Zoey you are not just an ordinary girl", Loren Blake told her, he always did know how to tug on a girl's heart strings, Zoey thought. "you are a fledgling High Priestess with remarkable…" he stopped short as he noticed that her fledgling tattoos were missing.

Zoey noticed that he was staring at her body, she suddenly felt exposed, she wrapped her arms around herself.

"What?" she asked him, offended.

"You're tattoos Zoey, they are gone!"

She stood and looked down at her body, he was right, her skin was bare, a blank canvas. Her beautiful, one-of-a-kind Sapphire fledgling markings, were in fact gone.

"Oh My Goddess!" was all she could say at that moment.

"where'd they go Zo? I liked your ink, they were awesome, and sexy" stated a disappointed Heath.

"Maybe I'm not a fledgling anymore like Aphrodite!" Zoey exclaimed out loud, hyperventilating.

"Zoey calm down" Loren placed his hands on both of her shoulders and tried to hold her still, "that is not the case, you still have your Sapphire blue crescent moon mark" he told her.

"Really?" she glanced up at him, her immediate response was to reach up and touch the spot where it was to feel it, but that was useless, you couldn't feel a fledgling mark.

Zoey ran over to the water's edge and looked at her reflection, and sure enough, there it was, her mark was still boldly showing on her forehead. But there were no longer sapphire spirals spreading across her face from it, how could this have happened? She thought, Zoey was stumped for words.