Chapter Four
Zoey
I blinked a couple of times trying to get my mind to process what Aphrodite had just said. Kalona's back in his body. The thought frightened me. But him being back in his body was just one step closer to ridding him from the world as Aphrodite had foreseen.
Stark's face hardened with anger, obviously remembering their 'little' fight back in the Otherworld as well as his part in my soul's shattering. Thanatos tried to hide the visable shock on her face.
"He's back?" I heard myself murmur but I didn't seem connected to my body. It was like I was someone else watching this scene from a distance.
"Uh, hello that's what I just said." Her ice blue eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. "But what I don't understand is how."
"How?" I was completely lost by now. Why shouldn't he be able to return to his body?
"Goddess, yes. Are you impaired or something?"
I was just about to reply about her needing a serious and thorough lesson on how to be nice when I noticed the familiar blood red tinge in the whites of her eyes. Exactly how her eyes looked after having a vison. It was fading so I figured it must've been from a few hour ago.
"You had a vison."
Aphrodite had been 'gifted' [even thought she saw it as the exact opposite most times] with the ability to foresee future disasters, and up until about 2 months ago had been hiding her visons because of her insane & powerful parents. She'd helped me save my Grandma [who I'd yet to call] & Heath from their death and after finding out Neferet was behind Stevie Rae's dying and undying we had to team up [as lame & dorky as that sounds] to help save her and the other red fledglings humanity [And losing her Mark in the process].
So basically she'd become part of- what she liked to call- the nerd herd. Something that if you'd told me about a month earlier would have made me laugh and suggest mental help.
She raised a perfect blonde brow and gave a wry laugh. "No shit? I just figured it was a nightmare- which now that I think about it just about describes the whole thing to a T."
Her face softened. "I'd had it while you were- away. Nyx, she allowed me to see what it would be like if you'd have stayed with Heath."
"What did you see?" I inquired, shakily lifting my hand to push back a lock of my hair. Remembering Heath was dead hurt. I'd grown up with him and he'd been my first love. We'd been bound together through a strong Imprint, so strong that my soul shattered when Kalona snapped his neck, killing him instantly. And by the sternness on Aphrodite's face I knew that it wouldn't have been good.
"Hell on earth." she answered seriously. I waited inpatiently for a moment and in a rushed voice she continued. "Neferet as-per usual took over the world and nastily got it on with Kalona infront of the whole fucking world, and the white bull defeated the black bull."
And I swear right after she finished I saw guilt flash through her clear eyes, but in a blink of an eye it was gone without a trace. But I'd probably imagined it, I mean I'd been through enough bullpoopie in the past week that it was starting to get to my head. That's it, the second I get home I'm going to get myself some Tylenol and pray to Nyx it works.
"For the whole world to see? Eesh," Erin said. A look of disgust took over her face and she shuddered a bit.
"And as usual we're in agreement Twin. That is just plain nasty." Shaunee added shaking her head and looking equally disgusted.
But I barely heard them passed the thoughts that suddenly poured into my head like a faucet. I couldn't stop them.
This was it. I'd have to take down Kalona & Neferet or else the whole world would go into complete chaos. I looked around at my group of friends who were all staring and expecting me to tell them I had a plan that would save us all. But unfortunately, I didn't. I groaned inwardly. Why did they have to be so dependent on me?
Because you are the only thing that can save them. The voice of my goddess whispered. And she was right, Aphrodite's vison had proved that. I'd said something that destroyed the powerful immortal. An idea started to take shape in my mind and I took a deep breath.
"I might have a plan." I breathed out finally when the peices started to fit together to form something that could actually be seen as a plan. "But-" I looked around at my friends, my family. "I'll need your help. All of you."
"Sure, anything you need us to do." Damien said. Jack nodded in agreement.
"Easy," Shaunee said.
"Peasy." Erin added.
Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "I'm in, but I'm not doing one of those totally lame all for one and one for all chants. Talk about an over-used football movie cliche."
Darius wrapped an arm around her thin frame and grinned like he didn't even notice her bitchy remark. "Me too."
"And you know I'm in." Stark said with a grin which I happily returned.
"And I can garantee the bumpkin will help since 'You know I love ya'll more than white bread.'" Aphrodite twanged in a mockery of Stevie Rae's Okie twang.
Okay so I'd have to face down an ancient immortal, but if my friends had my back I knew everything would turn out fine.
Stevie Rae
Stevie Rae couldn't bring herself to give into the tiredness that always seemed to take over her mind when the sun rose. She was just too nervous, too worried to hear what Zoey would say when she came clean about Rephaim. Would she second guess the choice she'd made for Light? Or maybe she'd do worse, like want Rephaim dead. He did after all kill Dragon's wife, Anastasia. No, she told herself. He's different now.
"Girl you look like you about ready to drop dead or something." she heard a voice from behind say. Stevie Rae jumped a bit in suprise before turning to face one of her favorite of the red fledglings, Kramisha.
Suddenly with a jolt she remembered it was daylight. Why the heck was Kramisha up? "Shouldn't you be asleep?" she asked.
"Shouldn't you?" Kramisha countered.
"I'm just stressed is all. I mean between Z's soul shattering, then unshattering and everything else going on around here..." Stevie Rae sighed bringing her hands to her forehead and beginning to massage her temples. "Was there something you needed?"
Kramisha nodded and leaned against the doorway of Zoey & Stevie Rae's dorm. They'd decided that for the time being it was best to stay at the school, so Stevie Rae moved back into the room she'd shared with Zoey. Kramisha and the other red fledglings were dorming in Aphrodite, the Twins, Damian & Jack's rooms temporarily until they'd found room for them elsewhere.
"We got new meat." she replied.
Stevie Rae's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Huh?"
Kramisha rolled her dark eyes as if what Stevie Rae had said was the dumbest thing she'd ever heard. Which actually it might've been.
"A new red fledgling."
She blinked. A new red fledgling? She thought they were done. As if Kramisha could read her mind she replied. "Yeah I know. I thought we was done too."
Stevie Rae stood up from her bed and ran her hand through her short curls- something that was uncommon at the House of Night because vampyres usually had long hair [even their cats & the guys]- to comb out any and all tangles.
"So um, I guess I should go down and meet them now?"
Kramisha nodded again, leading her down the stairs and out of the dorm. "She in the infirmery." Her eyes moved over to look at Stevie Rae. "Figured it be best to keep her there until she was full and ofcourse, you met her and explained her future."
Stevie Rae just nodded as Kramisha openned the door to the imfirmery for her. It was small and hosptial-like, having that dizzy anti-bacterial smell to it. Suprisingly Lenobia was leaned right up against the wall and watching a figure shift around on one of the beds.
"There you are." Lenobia greeted them without taking her eyes off of the figure. "She's right over there. Amery's a new forth former that transfered about a week ago from the Houston House of Night. Amery De Luca."
"Amery?" The girl turned herself over and sat up slowly. She had curly dark brown hair that cut off a few inches below her shoulders and blue eyes that reminded her of the sky on a bright summer day. Her skin was a creamy tan color and nearly flawless. The scarlett outline of the crescent moon set between her perfect dark brows only added to her intense looks.
She didn't say anything so Stevie Rae decided she would have to be the one to speak first.
"So um, Amery-"
Amery interupted when her eyes caught sight of Stevie Rae's mark. It was made up a series of knots entwined down her face and around her cheekbones in the form of vines & flowers. But unlike the other vampyres [aside from Stark] her Mark was a scarlet red, the color of new blood.
"Your Mark-" her voice trailed off and she reached a shakey hand up to touch the center of her forehead where her scarlet outline of a crescent moon lay. "No," she whispered, looking up to meet Stevie Rae's gentle and understanding eyes. "I'm supposed to be fucking dead- how the hell am I here?"
"I think we should explain Amery. You see, this House of Night is-" Stevie Rae hesitated to find the right word to describe her school. "special."
The dark haired girl raised a dark perfectly waxed brow but didn't say anything. She just listened with a mixture of curiousity and fear visable on her face.
"When the fledglings here reject the Change into an adult vampyre, they don't stay dead." She paused watching as shocked flashed on Amery's face. "They come back to us as a new kind of fledgling, red fledglings. I had rejected the Change but woke up afew days later and was taken down to the tunnels with the others." Stevie Rae look a deep breath. "But I was different, I was undead. And I almost completely lost my humanity but our High Priestess in training and my bestfriend, Zoey Redbird healed me, healed us all. I was the first red vampyre in existance. My name is Stevie Rae."
Kramisha's dark eyes narrowed at the new girl, as if she was trying really hard to figure something out. An expression she had seen many times on Erin, & Shaunee's faces whenever Damien used big words. "Kramisha."
"Well you already know who I am." Amery replied, her crystal eyes met Kramisha dark ones's and after a moment answered to the un-spoken, something that completely shocked her.
"Yeah, I'm the Amery De Luca. My gift is Empathy, the ability to sense the needs, wants or thoughts of another person. Human, vampyre or fledgling."
"That's why you so familiar! The school's been trying to get you here since after you was Marked."
"Oh right, I've heard about you before. Apparently your pretty powerful. I mean you can basically bust anyone for anything." Stevie Rae added. Like Neferet.
"I guess." Amery shrugged like her gift was no big deal. "I hear the High Priestess in training here has an affinity for all 5 of the elements. Is it true?" she asked, looking genuinely interested.
"It's true. Zoey also has a filled in & extended Mark on her face, shoulder, neck, back, waist and hands." Stevie Rae said. "Which reminds me," she turned to Kramisha. "I'm gonna call and check up on Z. Be sure everythings alright, I mean she did just almost die- again." she gulped remembering how many times her bestfriend had come close to getting herself killed.
Kramisha must've sensed her nerves because she gave her a sympathetic smile. "Could you take Amery down to the cafeteria? She's probably hungry and you can explain the rest to her." Stevie Rae asked.
"Um, I don't have any real clothes to wear." Amery said. Stevie Rae looked at what she was wearing and realized she was right. She was wearing a pair of the typical mint green hospital scrubs and pair of beaten up black converse. Not exactly runway apparel.
"I have some clothes you can borrow back in my room. Come on, it just across campus." After a minute of hesitation Amery followed, leaving Stevie Rae alone to make her call.
She sat down on the previously occupied bed pulling out her iPhone and punching in the familar number. She bit down on her bottom lip thinking of how when Zoey returned she'd have to tell her all about Rephaim. Rephaim. The name still gave her nervous chills even if he was chosing his evil father over her, someone who actually cared for him.
Anger began to fill her as she remembered walking away from him. She'd wanted with everything in her for him to turn around and stop her. But he never did. Before she could boil over Zoey picked up the phone.
"Hello?" Zoey said. Stevie Rae realized she sounded strained and tired, but almost dying could do that to you. She'd not only dyed for real but she'd also been shish-cabobbed in the chest by Z's warrior before he'd Changed into the 2nd red vampyre in existance.
Stevie Rae took a deep breath. "I need to talk to you the second you get back. It's serious."
Ohh, I see some major drama on the horizen, but I'm just trying to set up the plot right now. I promise you'll get some serious drama-filled-cliff-hanger-chapters soon, this one it's just mostly just an introduction to Amery(: I know she seems sorta bitchy but wouldn't you be too if you were just thrown into a new and unfamiliar world? She'll warm up soon but I can't promise the sarcasm will go away. Sorry if the chapters boring but again it's an introduction.