Erik started to walk away the moment that Maurelle left. I ran to catch up with him, "Hey!" I yelled after him. "Wait up"
"What's the point Zoey?" He turned around, an angry look on his face.
"What's wrong?" I took a step back and creased my forehead. I wasn't aware I had done anything to Erik to warrant such a reaction.
"What's wrong? Really, you don't know?" he asked shaking his head.
"I have no idea what you're talking about" I said rolling my eyes at him. "Can we talk?"
"I think we've done enough talking." He turned away from me.
"I can't stop talking to you Erik, I'm the High Priestess now, and you're the Drama Professor. We have to be able to talk" I said.
"Then we can talk professionally. Personally, I don't think it's a good idea anymore" he bit the inside of his lip.
"What do you mean? You don't want to be my friend anymore?" I felt hurt, like he stabbed me in the heart. He said he would have been with me no matter what, and now he's turning back on what he said. I didn't want to lose him, at least not as a friend. I still wanted Erik in my life, even if my life was a mess at the moment.
"I think it's better if we weren't" he said solemnly.
"Why would it be better? I don't think it would be. I would think it would be awkward" I concluded trying to plead to him with my eyes that were starting to feel moist.
"Don't do that" he said.
"Do what" I sniffed.
"That!" he yelled, "Crying! Stop it!" he turned away, "I hate to see you cry, especially when I'm the one making you cry" he said softly, if I wasn't paying attention, I would have never heard him.
I walked over and put my hand on his shoulder and he shrugged me off, "No, we can't be friends Z. Not any more. I can't just be your friend"
"Why? What did I do?" I asked as the first tear of crimson came down my cheeks. Geesh, I've been crying an awful lot lately. I was never like this at home.
"I just can't sit back and watch you be with someone else. I care about you too much" he turned and touched my face. "I've always cared about you Z. No matter how jealous I got, possessive or demanding, I only ever wanted you and I wanted you to want me."
I saw how sad his eyes got right then. As if remembering everything we went through in just a matter of seconds. He searched my eyes before he spoke again, "I love you too much to see you be with someone else. I have to separate myself from you. You're harmful to my soul and to my heart."
I felt like choking, I was harmful to him! Of all the nerve, he said I was harmful to him. I felt my tears swell up in my eyes as I felt the rage in my soul beginning to burn. "I'm harmful to YOU!" I yelled at him. "How about when you raped my best friend! Or all the times you were pressuring ME about having sex with you. Do you think that maybe you might have been harmful to ME!?" I screamed. I noticed that Erik was slowly backing away from me and had almost a frightened look on his face and his hands out as if surrendering.
"Zoey, I'm sorry, sorry, sorry" he squealed as his hands reached up to his face and he looked away, as if looking at something horrifying.
I looked down to see that I was floating in the air, my hair was flying up all around me and that my body was lit aflame all over. I looked like a giant fireball floating in the sky. I took a deep calming breath, closed my eyes and asked the elements to release and set my down. I was glad that I was extinguished and on the ground again so I could look at Erik with calmer eyes. "I'm sorry, maybe I was rash with you. Can we start over?" I asked.
"Look, I get that you're interested in Maurelle. She's beautiful. I don't blame you for wanting to move on, but don't treat me like I'm a pest that you can't stand. We have a history together Erik, good and bad. Just like I have with Heath, and you don't see me disowning him."
Erik gave me a look with his eyebrow raised. "Ok, so maybe I did disown him, but it was for his own good, and you know he NEVER listens, so what does it matter. I'm not mean to him because we had a shady past. He's always been my friend, and he always will be, until the day he dies" I continued.
Erik just stood there and shook his head, "I get what you're saying."
"No, I don't think you do, I'm willing to let you go to be with someone who will appreciate you for you. Who won't do all the terrible things…." I paused and took a big gulp, "that I've done to you. I'm sorry, for everything"
"Apology accepted" he half smiled but continued to look at the ground.
"Friends?" I held my hand out.
"We can try, but I can't promise anything" he said as he took my wrist in his hand, the typical Vampire handshake, wrist to wrist.
"Good, at least that's a step up from where we were just a second ago." I said.
"So" Erik said trying to start again, "How long do you think they will be gone?" he asked.
"I don't know, but if I know Damien, he's going to want to stay to be with Jack" I smiled.
"Jack?" Erik asked.
"Yes, he's with Nyx in the Divine Realm. Don't you think that maybe that's the reason I sent Damien after Stark and not myself?" I asked him.
Erik chuckled, "Well, I guess Damien has a lot of stuff to thank you for when he gets back"
"IF he gets back" I laughed, "let's hope he does"
"Come on, let's get something to eat" Erik nodded towards the dinning hall.
"Actually, I need to go back to my apartment to look up some more stuff about these creatures. I have some blood in my fridge. Your welcome to come and join me" I asked him, hoping that maybe he would take me up on the offer.
He just looked kind of unsure and then it was as if his mind had cleared, "What the hell, two heads are better than one anyways"
"Exactly" I said as we walked the opposite direction from the dining hall to the Professor's Apartments, which were above the infirmary. I would stop to see Grandma on my way in.
I visited with Grandma for a few minutes, she was up and stretching like she normally did when she woke. She said she was doing much better and that all her pain had left. I was astounded by her recovery and even asked her to join Erik and I upstairs in my apartment. She hadn't even seen it yet. She just smiled at me and said she would later, it seemed as though I had a lot on my mind she told me. She was right, I did.
When Erik and I made it up stairs to my apartment, he was wide eyed in amazement. "Wow!" he said. "This is your place?"
"Yep, I have the whole floor…it used to belong to…" and that's when I stopped.
"I know who it belonged too" Erik said as if something dark had overcome him. "But they did a good job covering it all up" he smiled. "I love the smell of lavender, it's so relaxing"
"I know, it just makes you want to take a nap right?" I said as I placed my keys in the glass dish next to the door. "Would you like something to drink? Eat?" I asked walking into the kitchen on the left.
"Sure" Erik said as he looked around the room. "These paintings are neat. They move"
"Yeah, I know." I grabbed two packets of blood and a fruit bowl and carried them into the living room where I had the stacks of books that Anastasia had brought over.
Erik sat down on the white sofa and picked up one of the old, dusty books laying on the floor, "Rituals and Spells for the Experienced" his eyebrow arched. "Are you sure you could call yourself….experienced?"
"Very funny" I bit into my blood bag, not even bothering to use the straw. Erik laughed at my primitiveness and neatly poked a hole in the pouch and slid in the straw which he began to suck. "Actually, Anastasia brought it over and was showing Aphrodite and I a few spells. Since we weren't sure what we might be up against, she showed us some pretty powerful spells."
"So you know what it is hurting fledglings and attacked your Grandma?" Erik asked.
"And me." I added.
Erik sat up on the couch and furrowed his browns, "You were attacked?"
"Well, almost, Maurelle helped me. You know, she's an exceptional rider. You should come watch her at the stables one day"
"I'll make a note of that. Now, tell me more of these creatures" he continued our discussion.
"Well, they're called Drekavac's. Vlad, or, Dracula, told me after my initiation that Drekavac's were Death Eaters. He said they were nasty and vile creatures. Unbaptised children that had died whose souls are angry. Or something like that" I carried on. "Either way, he made it sound ubber freaky!"
"Death Eater's huh?" Erik said. "What does that mean?"
"They thrive on death and blood, even more than we do. We can survive without having to harm someone or something. They, not so much. Think of the Red Fledglings before they found humanity, and quadruple it."
"Eww, really? That bad huh?" he asked.
"That bad" I shook my head. "I just don't know how to defeat them. I know, or at least, I think I know where they are coming from. If we stop the source, we may be able to stop them all"
"And what is the source?" Erik asked.
"The Dark Queen" I answered as I flipped open on of the books of myths right to the page of Fairies. "You know" I sat looking at the picture, "That people thought Fairies were evil by nature"
"Maurelle's a fairy" Erik said. "I don't think she's evil"
"That's just the thing, she's not." I looked up to see his blue eyes, which reminded me so much of all the times we spent together, looking deep into his eyes. I could get lost in them again. I shook my head out of it. "There are no recordings of what Fairies were like before the Dark Queen, so no one would have known"
"Except Maurelle" Erik concluded.
"Except Maurelle" I sighed. "She seems to be the only one with any clue as to what life was like in Fairy before the Dark Queen."
"I have an idea…" Erik said talking to himself. "Like most, excuse my pun, Fairy Tales, children are told, we just have to get rid of the Queen and all should return back to happy faces and pretty flowers." He smiled.
I laughed, a good hard laugh. Happy Faces and Pretty Flowers. Was that all he thought about. "I agree with getting rid of the Dark Queen, but we don't know if that will get rid of the Drekavac's. I think we just have to be on our guard at all times"
"Or have Stark take care of it for you"
"Stark?" I suddenly felt alert. "I forgot! We should head back to the East Wall, they should be back soon" I stood up and closed the book I had sitting on my lap. Erik stood up as I walked towards the door and he grabbed my hand, turning me around.
"Z?"
"Yeah" I looked up at him.
"I'm sorry" he said.
"For what?" my brows furrowed and my forehead creased, unknown to what he was going to say next.
"Being an ass. I'm sorry." He squeezed my hand.
I pulled myself away from him and smiled, "it's ok, don't worry so much about it" That's when I turned and headed towards the door again, Erik was not far behind.
We weren't more than a few steps from the door when it swung open and Stark boomed into the apartment. He saw me and his big cocky smile grew wider as he ran right for me and picked me up, swooping me in his arms and around the room hugging my tightly. "Oh Zoey! I've missed you!"
I hugged him back, "I've miss you too, but you haven't been gone all that long" I said, but then noticed when he put me down how he had grown. It was just as Erebus said; it's as if time stood still while he was gone. James grew, had to have been a good three to five inches, so he was easily as tall as Darius, if not taller. His dark hair now hung in waves down to his shoulders. He reminded me of Prince Caspian. His chocolate eyes were piercing, not to mention the ripples of muscles that flowed from his shoulders and arms. I couldn't help but to place my hand on his stomach, as I guessed, rock hard. I smiled at him again, "You've changed"
"Have I?" he said looking down at himself, "I guess I have"
I even noticed that his voice was different. Deeper, more mature. The scruff on his face from just shaving, he didn't look like a boy anymore, he looked like a man. His beautiful markings that framed his face, I couldn't take my eyes off him. Zoey, Stop! I told himself. No boys, none. Not even Stark, no matter how hot he was right now, and boy was he hot, no, no, no. No boys! Keep focused.
I cleared my throat, "We need your help" I said.
He bowed and placed his fist over his heart, "I am at your service my lady" He distinctively looked up at me and winked. Ugh, what was I going to do with him.
Damien and Maurelle came next through the door. Maurelle almost out of breath, "My goodness, he's quick!" she breathed to Damien.
"I know, I had to call air to me just to allow my lungs to breath a bit more" Damien laughed.
"Hey, just because you all are slow doesn't mean I can't rush to see the most beautiful woman I've ever see" Stark turned and winked at me again. I just rolled my eyes.
"Erik!" Maurelle screeched and threw herself in to his arms. I couldn't help but to smile, they did look cute together. She was sweet and loving and only had room for one man in her life, Erik. And that's exactly what Erik wanted, to be wanted. And there he got it. He kissed her softly and stroked her hair as they smiled at each other.
Damien walked up to me next and gave me a huge hug. "I can't thank you enough Z for what you did for me"
"What are you talking about Damien" I said, knowing full well what he was talking about.
"Jack. You sent me because you knew he was there. Thank you" Damien smiled. It was the first time I actually saw light in his face in a while since Jack had died. I was glad I could do this for him. He deserved it, as loyal as he was. I actually saw little crimson tears begin to form in his eyes. I just smiled at him and wiped them away with my thumb.
"No need for tears, I'm sure Jack was ecstatic to see you and I'm glad that I convinced you to go."
"I can't thank you enough Z" Damien said one last time as he hugged me again.
"Ok!" Stark interrupted. "I didn't think you played for her team D"
"Oh, I don't, but I'm still allowed to show affection is that not correct?" Damien asked arching his eyebrow at Stark.
"Just as long as we're clear on that" Stark winked.
I sighed and rolled my eyes at them both. "Ok, well, now that your back, we need to get busy."
That's when Neferet burst in through the door, "Zoey! Did you forget about the parents night!"
"Parent's night? It's next week?" I asked confused.
"No, it's tonight!" Neferet said as she took my hand.
Oh hell!
