Erik
The House of Night was too quiet upon our return. Apollo strung his bow, amber eyes darkening. I gripped tight to the hilt of the Claymore strapped to my waist, my heart pounding. If the school was no longer teeming with life, someone must have warned Lenobia and the Council about us.
Stark burst out of nowhere. "Little help here, Z!" he shouted, running from a shadowy monster.
Zoey shot a gust of wind at the thing, knocking it over. When it regained its footing, it turned with a snarl to the Fledgling High Priestess. Shaunee sent a bolt of fire through its eye, effectively killing it.
"What, no army?" I asked sharply. Stark circled back around, walking toward me. His dark gaze was full of things better left unseen. I swallowed hard. "Is she okay?"
"She's coming," he informed in a low voice. "And you might need this."
Darkness descended on us, cloaking the night in total blackness. Stark shoved a jar into my hands before moving toward Zoey. The rest of our friends spread out, ready for the attack. Apollo flashed a hollow grin and disappeared into the gloom. I felt the rune on the back of my neck burn. The lid of the jar began to glow faintly; the jar shattered altogether.
Her subconscious rushed into my own mind, settling under my thoughts. I unsheathed my sword when I heard a howl rip through the air. Shadow wolves and other creatures plunged through the darkness, trying to tear at us. The elements flowed around me.
A burst of harmless sunlight pushed back the gloom. Apollo shone brightly in the sudden rays, amber irises glowing. With the veil pulled back from our eyes, I could tell we were fighting better.
But we had no hope of winning unless I got to Starr.
"Do you see her anywhere?" I called to Stark, parrying a blow from a troll-like knight.
He shook his head and pushed away his own opponent. "She followed me, though. I know she did."
"Duck!" I heard Zoey shout. A throwing knife sailed over my head. If I hadn't been warned, it probably would have landed in my shoulder blade. I whipped around. "Erik, wait…!"
My spark of anger flared, roaring to an inferno. Neferet stood on a bench, it looked like, and her wicked beauty was not lost on me. I understood why she had so much compulsion around the weak-minded. Or the enslaved, I told myself bitterly, beginning to advance on her.
Many bodies fell to ash and dust at my feet. They were not wholly tangible, which pissed me off even more. I would at least have been able to take my anger out on flesh and bones, which would be harder to dig into than this crap.
Steering my thoughts away from bloody, hellish violence, I stopped dead in front of Neferet. There should have been guards challenging me for getting so close to her. She should not have been smiling like she was.
"Aren't you worried about your pet, Erik?" she crooned. "Oh, wait. She's mine now."
I swiped at one of the shadow wolves that lunged for me first. "She will never belong to you!" I snapped. Throwing back my shoulders in hopes of appearing taller, stronger, I glared into her green eyes. They gleamed with the worst kind of madness.
"Are you sure?" she continued. "Who do you think is supplying all my lovely wraiths?"
Fear twisted a knot into my stomach. I turned in the direction her eyes flicked to, and I was frozen for a moment at what I saw. Her dark hair was disheveled, black eyes reflecting the very havoc she was wreaking. I whirled on my heel, ready to tear into Neferet, but she was gone.
Aurox materialized from the fray. "She has to be in some kind of trance. Try calling to her," he suggested, ramming something that attempted to blindside me. I returned the favor by killing his next possible ambusher. "She can't not remember who you are."
"Yes, she can," I grumbled. I had her brain melded with my own currently. It was worth a try, though.
"Starr!" we yelled at the same time. She froze, and hope sparked inside of me. "Go," Aurox advised. "She might need to see you in order to remember. And she'll need a Guardian if she does remember, with Neferet hanging around."
With that, he plunged once more into battle. I wove through the fighting mass, cutting down anybody or anything that got in my way. The Master Rune burned against my skin, growing hotter the closer I got to Starr. As I continued across the yard, I willed her memories into her own head. Starr began to slow down.
You belong with us! I wanted to scream. The problem was that I had to deal with this rationally.
The ex-High Priestess appeared on another side of the battle. "Why can't you just fucking die already?" I grumbled to myself, my words directed toward her. It would make everything so much easier.
"Attack them!" Neferet ordered of Starr.
Since I had cut through the battle to her side, it seemed like more and more of the outer turmoil turned inward against her. I wrapped my arms protectively around her. Love drew a tight cord around my chest, making it hard to breathe. "Are we really the monsters?"
"James Stark is not a monster," she stated, voice tentative. I saw a ripple of change as she slowly but surely became ours again. "Heath Aurox Luck is not a monster." She raised her black, fathomless eyes to meet mine. "Erik Night is not a monster."
The back of my neck was scorched by the heat coming from the rune. Neferet looked pissed and shocked and even scared when Starr wrenched away from me, whirling on her former commander. Her eyes blazed a furious, depthless silver-gold, and her Marks, tainted black from Darkness, now glowed brilliantly, almost a blinding golden color. The heat radiating off her was enough to rival Apollo's, Helios', Erebus', and any other deity in contact with the sun. A cold wind swept by, strengthening into a gusty vortex, as the moon's representatives – Artemis, Selene, Hecate, Kalona, even Nyx (and of course the others) – were also challenged for their own reign over the sky. I could see why the Sacred Runes had chosen Starr for so long, why they only ventured to one of us if she was wounded or in need. She was damn powerful.
"Retreat," Starr growled.
Over the clashes of the fray, Neferet's voice echoed loudly: "Retreat!"
I pulled her to me when the invaders had fled. Drained, she attempted a small smile. "Welcome home, my Starr," I murmured, kissing her softly.
She pulled away after a few seconds and rested her head on my chest. "Thanks for not giving up on me, my Night," she sighed.