Chapter 2: Zoey
I was standing in darkness, wait no how do I even know if there is a bottom to this darkness, let's just say I was floating in darkness. I was floating in darkness as the memories crashed over me and then the darkness took over. I hadn't wanted to leave Heath I wanted to stay and make sure he was going to be okay but then I was flooded with memories of what had happened then the darkness took over and here I am. I had so many emotions filling and then leaving me only to replace them with even more confusing emotions. I felt three main emotions wash over me and those were: awareness; confusion and guilt. I felt awareness because I had a feeling where my body was it had been outside in the courtyard in the cool night air and was there for awhile after I had been swallowed by the darkness but then it had been moved and I felt a warm rush go over my body and I knew I must have been inside then I was on something soft and comforting so I guessed I was in a room lying down on a bed. The confusion came from what had happened after I saw Heath in the Otherworld and then into the darkness. I hadn't a clue where I was when I the darkness covered me. The lastly the guilt came after I remembered what had happened. I was feeling guilty because I hadn't reached Heath in time to save him from.... I couldn't bring myself to saw what had happened to Heath. I just didn't want to face the reality that he was gone.
Heath had been a major impact on my life ever since I was in the second grade and he was in the third grade. From there my mind went over the memories I had of Heath like at a movie theatre and the trailers that show before the movie comes on that everyone hates because they just want to see the movie. I saw when I first saw him and how he was such a gentleman always holding doors open for me and carrying my books. Then the screen flickered and changed to the high school period when we were boyfriend and girlfriend and how he would bring me flowers and ridiculous teddy bears. Then the most recent memories came onto the movie like screen. How he reacted when he saw that I had been marked. The time when we were sitting on the East wall and we had Imprinted to when I saved him from Stevie Rae and the red fledglings before they got their humanity back to how he saved me after being attacked by the Raven Mocker. Then when he stood by me while stating our case at the Vamp High Court. I only really saw the happy memories I never saw the bad ones.
Then my mind went to my friends that I had made since being marked. They way me and Stevie Rae just instantly clicked and became BFF's and how I discovered my affinities. To me going out with Erik and becoming leader of the Dark Daughters and Sons. How my friends stood by me through Stevie Rae's death. My crappy but good birthday. When I first met Stark and how I felt the instant connection between us. Images from the not too distant past flickered around my mind of Grandma's accident, to Kalona rising and all of us fleeing to the tunnels for safety. Then my mind forgot all of those things and now only started to focus on Stark. The time we met and instantly connected to him dying in my arms then un-dying and shooting Stevie Rae. The first time he slept with me to keep me safe from my nightmare with Kalona. When he pledged himself to me to protect me and be my warrior. As I was thinking all these things I felt the stinging of tears form in my eyes and had to blink to keep them back but I was unsuccessful and they started pouring over and flowing down my cheeks and dripping off and into the nothingness. I just wanted to find a way to get back to my friends and my warrior.
A thought ran across my mind and I knew it was Nyx. She was saying: "Be patient my u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya" The use of the Cherokee word for daughter made me fill with love and peace. "Your soul shall return only when you are ready." The words floated through my mind and I knew that my Goddess hadn't left me and that I would be returning to my body and my warrior soon. A thought was swirling around my mind so I decided to voice it to get it off of my chest because I knew deep down in my heart that it was true. "I love you James Stark." And almost as instantly as I had voiced my thought I heard a reply but I still wasn't back in my body. I knew the voice all too well and that it was the voice of the one and only Stark. He was saying "I love you Zoey Redbird." He said it as if he had heard what I had said not long ago just before I heard his voice. I tried to contact him again by screaming: "Stark! It's me Zoey can you hear me. I'm okay I just need to find my way back." Even though I had screamed it I had no reply. I was beginning to feel things and get my consciousness back because I felt a pair of strong arms going around my waist even though I was completely alone in the darkness with nothing for company.
I felt myself fully return to my body and just to check I made the smallest movement of my arm just to check. I was instantly pulled from pure joy of being back in my body, when I felt something shoot up beside me. I opened my eyes and looked up to see the beautiful eyes of my warrior James Stark staring back into my own eyes. A slow smile spread across his face and it was a mixture of his normal cocky smile which I loved so much and a smile of pure amazement and joy. I mirrored his smile and slowly started to sit up and it was then that I was pulled into his arms and he held onto me tightly as if he thought that I would disappear if he let go of me. Then he slowly bent down and placed a gentle kiss on my lips and I immediately responded putting in as much passion as he was. When we parted we were both breathing quite hard from the intensity of the kiss which was when Stark said sweetly "Well good morning Sleeping Beauty" I giggled and then replied with.
"Good morning handsome" I noticed that he was so happy that I was back.
He finally broke the small silence that had grown between us by saying quite breathlessly "Oh Goddess, your marks are back!"
"Well of course they're back Stark," I said. I knew it wasn't a question but I answered it anyway. "Nyx marked my soul not my body. My body is just a shell that protects my soul, when my soul left my body my marks and affinities went with it." He looked so cute how he was just sitting there staring at my marks which I knew he found breathtaking and for once I didn't mind someone staring at my marks. Normally I would hate for people to be staring at my marks but this time it felt different. It didn't feel as though he thought I was a freak. It felt nice to be sitting in the arms of my warrior.
"We should call the others and tell them that you are back," He said with my favourite cocky grin. "But on the other hand we could just wait till tomorrow to tell them and just stay here like this." He finishes and hugged me pulling me closer to him and I rested my head on his chest and was listening to his heartbeat. I swear mine was beating in time with his.
"I agree with you on the second part, to just stay here like this." I started "but I really think the other should know I'm back to put their minds at ease. How about this when we want them to leave you hold my hand and I'll yawn."
"Deal." He said whipping out his phone to call Damien. I went into the bathroom and I barley heard him talking to Damien explaining that I was now awake. I walked out of the bathroom to be bombarded with hugs and shouts and cries.
First to hug tackle me were the Twins who were talking simultaneously (Damien will be proud of my vocabulary). I was barley listening to what the twins were saying and only caught snippets of what they were saying. I finally tuned back in to what was going on around me and broke free from the hugs to make my way back over to the bed and sat down next to Stark.
"Ohmygoddess Z we are so glad your back" Erin said and with Shaunee finishing the sentence.
"We don't know what we would of down without you." She finished explaining.
"Yeah what happened to you anyway?" Damien asked. I answered his question by going right into how one minute I was running to get to Heath and then throwing Spirit at Kalona. Then collapsing and turning up in the Otherworld and how Heath was there. I almost started crying at the mention of his name but fought back the tears saving them for when I was alone. I explained how after I saw Heath I was only in darkness and how I slowly was starting to return and then I mentioned how I had heard something, someone saying something to me and how it was Starks voice. I didn't mention what it was I had heard him say, I didn't want to embarrass him. Then how I gained full consciousness and woke up. After a while of taking and planning and wondering where Kalona could be I yawned (which wasn't a fake) and then Stark held my hand so I asked
"Guys can we maybe talk more tomorrow I'm really tired right now so can I maybe rest?" They all just looked at each other then gave a chorus of "Yeah sure" and "No problem Z" and with that they left and I was alone with my warrior again. We were silent for a bit and then Stark spoke.
"So what was it you heard me say?" he asked curiously.
"Oh, just something about you loving me." He blushed when I said this. Then I continued. "By any chance did you hear me say anything to you? I mean did you hear my voice in your head."
He just looked at me then said "Yeah, kinda. I mean I heard something right at the back of my mind and it sounded a lot like your voice. Why did you say something to me when you were in the darkness?"
I blushed and then answered with "Yeah I had a thought pass through my mind and I decided to say it out loud in case I didn't get back to my body. I said that I love you James Stark."
He replied to me by kissing me sweetly on the lips and then hugging me tightly before we lay down to go to sleep. The last thing I heard before I drifted off into the land of dreams was the soft voice that was Stark's whispering into my ear "I love you too Zoey Redbird." Then at that I fell asleep in the safety of my warriors arms.
I woke up to find Stark still lying sleeping next to me so I carefully untangled myself from him and got up to go get a shower. When I walked out of the bathroom warm and clean I saw Stark sitting up rubbing at his eyes. I guessed that he had just woken up. I walked over to his and sat down on the bed next to him and he pulled me into his strong but gentle arms and hugged me I rested my semi-wet head against his chest and at that moment it was just me and Stark. That was until he got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower himself. When he got out and we were both dressed we walked hand in hand down to the dining area to have breakfast. We walked up to the table that was occupied by our little group and I slid into the booth with Stark next to me. "Morning guys!" I said still tired but stifling a yawn. I was replied with a chorus of "Morning". Stark had gotten up to go get us some food so I took this opportunity to ask something that was lingering at the back of my mind.
"Guys what happened after I collapsed?" I looked up from the table to be greeted with blank expressions at my remark as if what I had said would change their lives forever. As usual Damien what the one to break the tense silence.
"Well not really much. We saw you fall and then Kalona flying up into the sky, we were too busy trying to get you to wake up we didn't take any notice of him really then I looked up from where you were lying and I found Heath's body on the ground not too far from you. Darius called Erce to get some Vamp healers to take him back to the palace and then we just stayed with you for about an hour and we went back to our dorms." I hadn't said anything I was trying to let it all sink in that Kalona was still out there and that he could be back any second. Stark came back to the table with our breakfast and asked what we were talking about. He gave me a concerned look as he could tell I was anxious and scared. We ate in silence and then Aphrodite spoke up.
"So when are we going back, I asked Darius to speak with the High Council and they agreed to let us go back to Tulsa and they would set up arrangements to continue the hearing so you wouldn't have to stay here." She said it with such sincerity that I had a weird feeling that the old Aphrodite whom I had met and hated months ago had gone and now left a nice loving Aphrodite in her place. I would have to ask her later what had changed her but I thought now was the wrong time to bring that up, what with the hearing still going on and Heath's death.
"Well we could see if the jet was ready and leave today. I really want to get out of here" I replied. "Why don't we get Darius to let the council know and we all meet up in the lobby packed and ready to leave in an hour." With that I stood up and started to walk out the room with Stark walking fast to catch up with me.