Chapter 6.

I didn't remember the walk back to my room but before I knew it I was sitting on my bed staring at the photo of my family. For one thing, I was right that a vampire was killing families I just didn't expect it to be Neferet. I don't know how long I was sitting on my bed but the sound of the door open and close brought be back into contentiousness, I shoved the photo under my pillow and looked up at Erik his face was still cold and hard.

"Erik," I greeted him

"You son of a bitch!" he dived from the door and landed on top of me. Swing punches into my face and stomach. I was still so empty that I could not feel the pain he was causing me but I had to fight back; survival instinct. We rumbled for what seem like hours, we fell to the floor knocking down the bedside lamp; the bulb shattered and shrapnel flew into the side of my face and eye; I felt the blood run from my face but Erik kept punching.
Suddenly the door flung open and Zoey and the gang was standing in the doorway.

"Wind come to me; pull these two idiots off each other and keep them apart!" Zoey said; the authority of a High Priestess rung through her voice. A huge gust of wind came through the door and whipped me and Erik up off the ground and kept us in a mini tornado on opposite sides of the room. While in the air I spotted the photo of my family; it fell to the floor during the fight, I prayed that no one would see it.

"What the hell is going on here?" Zoey's anger was obvious because the wind got stronger around us.

"Like you don't know!" Erik spat at Zoey, "I saw and heard you and him making out in the hall!"

The wind came to a sudden stop and we fell to the floor, I kicked the photo under my bed to make sure that it could not be seen.

I looked over at Stevie Rae; her face went as white as a ghost, I think mine was not far off.

"What! You are seriously accusing me of cheating on you?"

"Well what do you think?"

"I think that you have gone insane. Anyway, how do you know it was me and Heath?"

Everyone turned and faced me.
Stevie Rae told me once that she could talk to other using her affinity and that is what she did to me then

I felt Earth come to me with her voice "Tell them, it's time"

She may have been ready but I was so not.

"Heath! Tell them. Please" Stevie Rae's voice rang in my head, I had this strange feeling that this was not going to go well. Everybody was still staring at me; Erik looked as if he was going to murder me in my sleep, Zoey looked as if she could kill me if I didn't say the right thing and Stevie Rae looked as if she was going to faint.

I took a big breath to steady my nerves, "It was me in the hall but I wasn't with Zoey. I was with Stevie Rae." Very auditable gasps spread throughout the room.

"HA! You owe me $20 bucks! Hand it over Erin!" Shaunee said.

"Are you serious? Wait, was that a onetime thing or is this for real?" Erin queried as she got the money out of her Gucci purse and handed it to her Twin

"It is serious; we have been going out for over a month." I said as Stevie Rae came to stand next to me.

"I think you owe Zoey an apology, Erik." Damian said standing up for Zoey.

We all faced Erik now. To my surprise, no one was shocked about me and Stevie Rae; much to my relief.

Erik didn't say anything he just stormed out of the room muttering something about me being a liar. I didn't care, me and Stevie Rae were 'outed' and it was the best thing that happened to me that day and probably that week.

"Heath Luck will report to the High Priestess's office IMMEDIENTLY!" The overhead speaker announced during 6th period, Stevie Rae and I were partners now, I had to bribe our partners to swap for the rest of our time at the House of Night. I excused myself from class and made my way to Neferets' office; I had a bad feeling about what she was going to say.

I reached her office and before I could raise my hand to knock she called me in.

"Sit down Heath. Now tell me, how is everything going? Is there anything you wish to tell me?" she was giving me that look which says 'I know what you did but I'm hoping I'm wrong'

"Umm, well, everything is going just fine. How is my family?" beads of sweat ran down my face. I loved my family and I would do anything I could to save them but in the end, I would have my friends longer than I would have my family. Neferet reached in her draw and pulled out another photo and passed it over the table to me. OH Nyx, they were worse than last time I don't know how that is possible but they were. They all seemed to have either a broken arm or leg.

"You said you would keep them safe!" I yelled louder than I thought was possible

"Did I? I don't remember making that promise. Anyway this is your fault; you were not keeping me up to date."

"Up to date? It's only been three days!"

"That was plenty of time to find at least one weakness that each person has. Now tell me what you know." I could not tell her, seconds ticked by and I still hadn't said anything. Neferet picked up her phone and dialled a number, she spoke too quietly for me to hear, and she set the phone down with speaker on.

"Heath?" the voice was weak, horse and frightened

"MUM!" shock ran through me but at the same time so did joy, they were alive, but barely.

"Heath, tell her. Please, just tell her everything you know. They have done terrible things to us, many of the things I cannot begin to mention. It would give you nightmares for the rest of your life. Trust me on that. So please, just tell her what she wants to know so we can be released. She said that if you tell her what she wants and help her she would let us go and take us to hospital." Mum was just above a whisper but I could still hear the hope in her voice.

"How is dad and Lilly?" the thought of my little sister Lilly beaten like that made me sick

"They ar-" Neferet hung the phone up. "So are you ready to talk?"

Everything and nothing was running through my head, "okay. First of all one major weakness for everyone is each other, they would do anything for the group and if they saw someone in trouble, they would help them out. For the Twins their major weakness is each other, hot guys and expensive clothing and accessories. Damian's weakness is Jack. Zoey's is Nyx; she devoting her life to live by Nyx's side. Stevie Rae's is most likely me and her family; oh wait, you already took that away from her." I was so angry that I had to tell Neferet all that so I had a bit of attitude stored up inside, which is a really bad thing when speaking to Neferet because she stood up and back handed me across the face.

"How dare you speak to me like that!" she stood up and I saw that she was about to give me another back hand. I stood up as well and just as her hand came across my hand caught her hand. Tai Kown Do classes have taught me a thing to two. Her eyes were as big as the moon she stared at me with death in her eyes.

"You should be a little more respectful Neferet," l through her hand back to her, "the only reason I'm doing this is to...um keep my family alive..."

"Why did you hesitate? You want to keep your family alive, that is why you are doing this for me!"

"Wait a minute. As much as I love my family, they are not going to live. Lilly is the only one who has a chance of living...as a vampyre, if she lives through the Change, though I doubt that I will cause of how weak she would be after you had her bashed to a bloody pulp." I remember those words coming out of my mouth like they were said by another person, I love my family but I was thinking long term. Stevie Rae, Zoey, the Twins, Damian and Jack were going to by my family for the rest of my life. A much longer vampyre life than a short human's life.

"Neferet, I have an idea for ya. How about you go die in a deep hole where no one would miss you and you leave Zoey, me and the gang alone. Forever! I am not doing this anymore. I walked out the door, slamming it as I went. Saying that was the best feeling in the world. So much weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I could stand tall; knowing that I have done the right thing. At least, I thought it was the right thing.