Zoey's P.O.V

Maya didn't appear exactly thrilled.

She gasped as soon as she saw her green Mark. What it meant, I have no idea. Only Nyx knew the answer to that question. But what was the answer? Nyx and her mysterious ways...

"What...why's it different?" she said slowly, lowering the mirror.

"We don't know," I replied.

"Wait, why are your Marks all different?" she asked.

"Not filled in Blue means a normal fledging. Filled in Blue means Vampyre...although I'm the only fledging to have a filled in Mark. A not filled in Red Mark means that fledging died and came back to life. A filled in Red Mark means an undead Vampyre," I explained, and then introduced everybody.

I was really thankful Aphrodite wasn't here. She'd be thrilled – a green Mark.

Oh, crap. Neferet would be dying to get her hands on Maya.

"Oh," Maya said, as if this was all normal. "They don't teach you that at school."

She was very clearly scared out of her wits. I'd been scared when I was the only fledging to have a filled in Mark, so I sort of understood what she was thinking. She was also trying to gain control of the situation through humour. I understood that, too.

"Z," Damien said slowly, "hate to say it, but she technically has to go to Neferet."

"Who's that?" Maya asked instantly.

I sighed, but then I gave Maya the breakdown on life at the House of Night – everything. Nyx had chosen her for something. That meant she was part of this.

When I finished, Maya looked very annoyed. "So Neferet is this super evil chick and you want me to meet her?"

"You have to," I explained. "You can't get around it."

"And she tried to kill you?" she asked, directing this question at Jack.

Jack looked uncomfortable, but said, "Ya. She did. But Damien stopped her." Damien and Jack looked at each other affectionately.

"'Kay," Maya said after exhaling the largest amount of air I have ever seen someone hold in their lungs that long. "I'll go."

"I'll come with you," I said immediately.

"Good," Maya said, "'cause I have no idea where anything is in this place."

I laughed. "Neither did I, at first," I said. "Come on."

We got up and left the room. Maya stayed close behind me.

Quickly, we found Neferet in the hallways. It seemed as though she was looking for us. When she saw Maya's Mark, she gasped in surprise but then began her routine. "What has Nyx done now?"

"Given us another fledging," I said. "See? Her Mark may be green, but it's not filled in yet."

"That is no fledging," she said with fake drama. Maya looked surprised by her performance, as if this wasn't as bad as she was expecting.

"Yes, it is," I insisted. "Nyx has seen fit to Mark her. She is a fledging, regardless of colour."

Neferet curled her lips into a cold sneer. I think she realized she was trapped. If she didn't accept Maya, the High Council might shun her for rejecting a potentially dangerous fledging. She had to accept her to keep her "innocent" front going.

"Fine," Neferet said, putting on a fake smile. "Welcome, Maya. Please wait here for one second."

Neferet spun out of the hallway. I could practically see the tendrils of Darkness clinging to her as she left. How could the High Council not see that? How did they let her remain here?

"Wow," Maya said. She looked mildly impressed. "At my old school I had some impressive snobs, but wow, she tops the list."

"Tell me about it," I scoffed. "She used to be my mentor here, when I first showed up. Then she raised dead fledgings."

"The red ones."

"Yeah. I figured out what she'd done and then she attacked me, but I used the elements to recover. Now she's taken Darkness as her consort," I explained. "She's truly evil."

"Why is she still here?" Maya asked the question I'd been wondering about for a long time.

"The High Council needs 'sufficient' evidence to shun her," I said. "Why they haven't found that, I don't know."

We heard the click-clack of heels marching back up the hall, and we both shut up. Neferet re-emerged, her smile looking false. "Here, Maya," she said, handing her a piece of paper, "your schedule. You start tomorrow. You can also take the class offered by Thanatos, our High Council leader for...different fledgings."

Maya nodded, taking the schedule from her with clear tension.

I sighed. "Let's go, Maya," I said, leading her away.

"No," she said, pulling away. She marched right up to Neferet and stopped her from leaving the hallway. I admired this girl's bravery. "You can't do that," she told Neferet sternly. "I've taken enough crap in my life and I don't need this. I don't know why I'm Marked differently but I am, so get used to it. Nyx deemed fit to Mark me like this and you respect Nyx's decisions."

"I know perfectly well what you are," Neferet replied icily. "You're a mistake. You're wrong. Your body is too weak to handle the Change. You're going to die soon, believe me."

Maya just stood there with her mouth open. Neferet gave her a little smile and then departed.

I walked over to Maya. "That was gutsy," I said.

She didn't reply. Her eyes widened and she kept staring at a point behind me. "What is it?" I asked. When she still didn't reply, I turned around.

There was nothing there.

I turned back to her just in time to see her wobble and to catch her as she fell. Her eyes were closed and she was totally out of it.

I narrowed my eyes. Did Neferet do something? I opened one of her eyes and gasped. I even dropped her on the floor and backed away in shock.

Her eye wasn't an eye.

It was just a black orb.

And something only she could see had made that happen.