Chapter 2

"Oh, oh no. No, no, no," I shook my head as I tried to get up. Had I seriously just been Marked? I mean, the tracker had seemed completely real, but me? Simple Eliza McIntosh with simple parents and a simple life... No way. There was just no way.

I looked down frantically, hoping for a puddle that I could see my reflection in. I was kind of expecting to see a sapphire crescent moon smack dab in the middle of my forehead, but most of me was in denial. I scanned the concrete sidewalk for any trace of water, but then realized something: It was pitch black outside, so even if I found a puddle, I wouldn't be able to see myself all that clearly in it. Well, crap. My purse, which contained my mini-mirror, was at home (I had just slipped the money for the paper in my pocket, not wanting to carry my bulky bag), and I wasn't going to go look in a store window at myself- I mean, come on! People in the stores would freak if they saw a girl with a Mark standing a few feet away from them with only a glass window in between them and her.

"Oh, please, Eliza, this isn't the end of the world. Just run home and look in your mirror. Dang, it's not that hard," I said to myself, and stared jogging home.

My jogging turned into running like a maniac, dodging stray animals as if I were running an obstacle course. People who walked by or rode past me stared, but I didn't care. I wanted to get home and see if I'd really been Marked, if I was really going to have to move to the House of NIght.

What was funny is that when I thought about moving to the House of Night, I turned to my left and saw the school that would be my home- if I was right about being Marked and hadn't imagined the whole thing. The school's gates loomed over me like prison bars guarding a cell, only, behind these bars was a huge campus that looked like something straight out of a fairytale. The buildings were like castles, and the greenery was like a mystical garden. The school's wall blocked out a lot of it, though, so I could only see the top of the school and a bit of the landscaping without going up to the gate and peeking in. Being curious and wanting to see more the amazing fairytale-come-true, I slowly made my way to the gate.

As soon as I got there, I gasped. Someone was standing right there opposite me, looking me straight in the eyes. She was beautiful, and power radiated from her. Her long dark brown hair hung over her shoulders like a blanket, and her beautiful Marks stood out against the pretty pale of her skin. Her outfit was as amazing as her beauty; she wore a long black satin dress with silver outlining the gossamer sleeves and the V-neck.

She noticed me staring in awe and smiled. "Hi. It seems as if you've been Marked, but I'm guessing your family doesn't know about it yet. Would you like a ride to your old home to get your things? Oh, and I'm High Priestess of the Oklahoma House of Night, Zoey Redbird Stark." The High Priestess's voice rang out like bells, and I was surprised at how nice and kind such an astonishingly beautiful person could be. But, then again, nice or not, all vampyres were beautiful.

Then reality hit me. I was standing outside of a school's gates staring wide-eyed at Zoey Redbird, the most extraordinary vampyre of the race. I tried to smile and- surprisingly- managed to say something that sounded half-decent and almost calm.

"I- I'm Eliza... McIntosh. I was just M-Marked. I'd love a ride. Thank you."

Oh, gosh, Eliza, I mentally scolded myself, How will you manage a thirty minute ride with such a powerful and famous person? You can barely manage talking to teachers...

Zo- I mean High Priestess Redbird- grinned and opened the iron gates that blocked me from her. "Then come on in," she laughed, "And don't be so nervous; I don't bite." I laughed nervously. Was that supposed to be a joke? Vampyres bite people to feed, don't they? Anywho, I was a new fledgling, and I honestly didn't want to hear any biting jokes. I was nervous enough as it was, despite having a vampyre uncle and knowing the ins and outs of this world.

She led me onto the campus of the school and into the parking lot that was filled to it's capacity with vehicles. She led me gracefully to a hummer and hopped in, opening the door for me before she got in, though.

"Thank you. Um, aren't high priestesses supposed to have a chauffeur and like, a guard or something," I asked. I was pretty sure a... What did they call it? A Son of Erebus? Yeah, that's it. I was pretty sure a Son of Erebus was supposed to protect them.

She glance over at me in the passenger seat while she was pulling out of the parking lot and grinned. "You know a lot about vampyres, huh?" I nodded. "Well, technically, I do have a Son of Erebus and a chauffer, but I prefre driving myself. I'm like a principal, and I don't necessarily like people considering me as royalty or something. I don't need a chauferr if nobody else does."

That made me grin. A humble priestess. Who would've thought?

"That's really great, High Priestess Redbird," I said.

"Call me Priestess Zoey. And, my last name isn't Redbird anymore. It hasn't been for a few years now. It's Stark."

I stared out my window, confused. Hmm... She got married. That's cool, I thought as we rode past a park and a drug store, Women in power usually consider themselves too independent to get married. Then I gasped. Again.

"Stark! James Stark! The red vampyre! My uncle told me a story about you and him once! He was, like, bad, but you saved him!" I got another smile from Priestess Zoey.

"Yes, I did." She became thoughtful, probably recalling a memory from that day.

I looked out the window again and wondered about how she knew where my house was, but then I remembered that vamps could read minds. She was probably going through my mind right now, looking up my address. Before I knew what had happened, she jerked the car over to the left in a ditch and stared at me, eyes wide and mouth half-open. I was holding on to the door for dear life and breahing hard as I took in the seriousness of her expression. What was going on? Had she found out anything bad about me while reading my mind? I don't think I had anything to hide, well, except for that one time I stole one hundred dollars from my dad to pay for a speeding ticket...

"I... I was thinking you reminded me someone, and then, and then when I was going through your mind to find out where you live... Your dreams. Neferet's in them." I knew who she meant by Neferet; and I also knew that something must be wrong with her for Priestess Zoey to become shocked when seeing her in my mind.

"I... I defeated her." I almost fainted in shock.