Chapter Eight

I am so sorry guys. You don't deserve me practically never updating but it's the end of the year (Figures now I'd be inspired to write) and we had a formal dance, my friends had birthdays, state testing, finals coming up in a few weeks and right after that I graduate and start High School. So please don't think it's because I don't love writing for you guys. That isn't it. It's just that it's the end of my final year of Junior High and I want to make the best of it and live it up while I can because High School will be here and gone in a flash and I'll find myself graduating and moving on to college, as scary as that is to think about. But anyways, please enjoy the chapter(: I hope you like it. Hopefully Nine will be out soon (though I'd better not jinx it).

Zoey

It felt weird to be home again, back in the place that had become my home over the months since I'd arrived, scared and uncertain of my destiny. But of course that was to be expected after I'd been shattered and floating broken and restless in Nyx's realm. It was also awkward. The students were acting normal; if there is a such thing anymore. But before I could even start to enjoy the relief of being home at last Becca, aka, the bitch who is angry that Stark is my Warrior er- Guardian because of the jackass he used to be bit her and made her believe she enjoyed it.

"Well, well, well, look whose back. You know, I was really hoping that nice little soul-shattering would've finally gotten rid of you." she said with a sneer and a flirty smile towards Stark who just rolled his eyes. "Welcome back Stark." She told him, obviously not having seen his lack of interest in her.

"Becca, I'm Zoey's Warrior and we've Imprinted. Do you not understand the meaning of those two things?" He asked but didn't wait for her reply. "It means that she and I are bound together through things that you could not even attempt to make yourself equal. I'm sorry, but you need to get over me."

"Imprinted?" Becca said, raising an eyebrow. She turned to look at me with a sly look on her face. "I thought you were Imprinted to that human. What, got tired of him?"

I took a step forward feeling anger pulse through my veins. "How dare you! And not that it's any of your buisness but Heath is dead, okay? Dead. And it's all because fucking Kalona killed him!" I went to take another step but I felt Stark's arms wrap tightly around my waist so I couldn't move any closer, wrap my hands around her throat and squeeze until she was no longer even a threat to a fly.

Becca glared at me. "Ever thought that maybe it was your fault that he was dead? If you hadn't run off to Venice he would be just fine, but you didn't think about that did you? You never think of anyone but yourself!"

"Hey!" Stark yelled, letting go of my waist and stepping forward. "None of this is her fault! She had no way of knowing he'd die. Kalona killed Heath because he's jealous, power crazed and evil and only cares about pleasing himself and his own desires."

Aphrodite chose then to make her grand enterence looking powerful and proud, showing of her Mark-less forhead. Her expensive 3-inch black stillitos clicked on the wooden floor of the suddenly silent room and Darius followed close behind her watching her carefully and quickly, ready to grab her if she made a move. Aphrodite's bright blue eyes flashed dangerously.

"Listen Becca." she said in her coldest voice. "You need to fuck off. Stark doesn't want you and if I have to explain this to you again we are going to have a problem here. Are we clear?"

Becca's eyes narrowed and she scoffed. "I'm not afraid of some weak human."

"You should be because it just so happens your messing with Nyx's Prophetess as well as Zoey who if you haven't noticed, is Nyx's Chosen One. So I'd back the fuck off right now before I get really pissed." Aphrodite said.

Becca coward back and her eyes widened with fear. I felt power radiate through my body and felt the seductive warmth of fire fill my veins, the caress of a gentle breeze, the lapping of waves on my legs, the sweet scent of my Grandmother's lavander farm and the lifting of my spirit.

"Kalona is a blood thirsty creature and he will never return to my school again. Do you understand me?" I turned to face the other students staring at us with such interest that this might as well have been the midnight premire of the new Harry Potter. "And this Friday we will be having a ritual focused on cleansing our school of his tainting presense here. Be at the East Wall at 3 am."

"And what if we don't want to remove his influence?" Becca said with a sneer.

I still felt the elements manifesting powerfully around me and her 'deer-in-the-headlights' look returned when my eyes found her again. "Then I guess your no longer following Nyx's path. Is he worth losing sight of Nyx?"

Not waiting for a response or even caring if I even got one, I turned and hurried up the stairs of the dorm with my Gaurdian and my friends following close behind me. The familarity of this place, my home, was a comfort to my newly returned soul but at the same time it brought pain. I opened the nicely painted lavender door to the room I shared with Stevie Rae to reveal our room, Stevie Rae's old cowboy boot lamp, her Kenny Chesney poster, my purple Victoria Secret bedspread, and even my super annoying alarm clock.

"When did they bring back her stuff?" I asked.

"Stevie Rae just have taken it all out of storage while we were in Scotland." He told me and I felt a silent and the Otherworld at the end of that but didn't say anything. A loud yawn escaped my mouth and I tried to cover it up but Stark of course knew better.

"Are you tired?" Stark asked looking concerned.

I laughed but it didn't sound like my usual laugh, it sounded tired. "Shouldn't I be the one worrying about you? I mean goddess, Seoras basically turned you into a human hamburger."

"Firstly, I'm not technically a human, And secondly, it kept me in the Otherworld, didn't it?" Stark said sitting down on my bed and patting the spot next to him. "Come on, we're both in serious need of recharging."

I hesitated, thinking of how Stevie Rae had just gotten up and left the abbey without telling anyone where she was going or when she'd be back. What if something happened?

Stark's expression softened. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Stevie Rae's a big earth-affinity-possessing girl, she can handle herself."

"Okay," I said slowly, not really sure if he was right. Yes, Stevie Rae was a big girl and I believed she could protect herself under normal circumstances but things lately life seemed to be anything but normal. "but what if something happens? What if she gets trapped outside during the day again. What if-"

"Lenobia or Aphrodite will take care of it." Stark assured me. "If something serious happens they'll come tell us. You don't need to worry. Stevie Rae'll probably be back by the time we wake up."

I glanced nervously towards the window and to the slowly brightening sky. What if she was caught outside again and no one was able to help her? Maybe this time she wouldn't be lucky enough to make it out alive and she burned up completely. I tried shushing the constant babbling in my brain but whenever I pushed the idea away, a worse scenario surfaced.

Stark could obviously feel my worry and stood up from my bed, taking me into his arms. "She'll be okay. Stevie Rae took care of herself last time, and if she has to, she'll do it again."

I began to hesitate but another loud yawn escaped my mouth. I sighed and leaned my head on his shoulder. "I guess your right."

My Guardian smiled, placing a soft kiss on my forehead. "Of course I am."

"Concieted." I said with a laugh, smacking him on the shoulder before heading to my dresser. I pulled out a pair of boxer shorts and an old Broken Arrow t-shirt, heading for the bathroom.

"Hey," Stark said in a gentle voice from my bed. I stopped but didn't turn to face him. "I told you already, your scar doesn't bother me. If anything it just makes you look more like a powerful warrior queen."

I turned around and met his warm brown eyes. "Your just saying that."

Stark shook his head and moved to stand right in front of me. "Zoey, I wouldn't change a thing about you. Your perfect."

I choked out a laugh. "No I'm not."

Stark smiled and leaned in to kiss me, whispering against my lips. "To me you are."

I pressed my lips to his and let the kiss vanish all thoughts of Stevie Rae, Neferet, Kalona, Amery, Becca and even Heath from my mind. I pulled him closer and began tugging at his shirt, murmering against his lips. "Take it off."

He did as I said and pulled the band tee over his head before bringing his lips back to mine. The kiss intensified and I felt myself wanting more of him, all of him. After a moment or so I made my decision. Now. This was it. I pulled away slowly, breathing heavily and looking into his eyes which were suddenly filled with confusion and a touch of hurt. He stepped back and ran a hand through his blonde-brown hair, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry. I got a little carried away." He said.

"No, no, no. That isn't it." I reassured him. "I..."

"No it's fine. Your not ready, I understand. I love you Zoey and I'm not going to pressure you into something you aren't ready for." He said the words like they were no big deal but I could see the pain of rejection in his gentle eyes.

"I want you." I said bluntly, getting it over with and immediately blushing.

"You want me?" He asked with his cocky smile. I nodded, still blushing beet red. Stark chuckled a little and I suddenly felt stupid, why did I just do that?

"I'm sorry, I'm messing this up and making an ass out of myself..." I said with a sigh, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. I remembered the first time I'd had sex. Loren Blake had used and tried to seduce me to fullfill Neferet's wish to isolate me from my friends. He'd never loved me, he didn't even want to use me for sex. I'd been an inconvinience to him. But before I knew about any of that he'd made me feel like a real confident woman. Now I was a nervous wreck.

Stark instantly silented his laughter but his smile didn't go away. "Zoey, that's not why I'm laughing." He said taking me back into his embrace.

"It isn't?" I asked.

"No, and I'm sorry. It's just that it's a relief to know that your as nervous as I am." He murmered to me softly.

This confused me. "Wait, but I thought you weren't a virgin?" I asked.

Stark's smile faded. "I'm not, and those other girls were mistakes that I have to live with for the rest of my life. But Zoey even if I'm not a virgin, your still more experienced than I am."

"I am?" I said, feeling like a total genius with my amazing talking skills.

"You are." He said with a nod. "Even if I'm not a virgin, I've never been in love before this. You have."

I smiled through my tears. "I love you too, Stark."

He placed his hand on my cheek and brough my lips back to his in a slow, steady kiss automatically making me melt, only moving my lips from his to pull off my shirt. Soon we were down to nothing but my panties and bra and him in his boxers but those quickly ended up on the floor with the rest of our clothing. I backed us up so we were standing by the bed and tugged him onto the mattress. He quickly recovered from the movement and began to make a trial of kisses down my neck, stopping at the marks left by his last bite. He hesitated for a moment.

"Do it." I told him a little breathlessly. His body was hovering above me and I could feel how much he wanted to, but I knew he wouldn't if I didn't want to.

He gently pricked his tooth against my flesh, drawing a tiny bead of blood. It stung but as soon as Stark's tounge touched the cut pleasure took over and drowned out the pain. He made a small moan and shifted himself so he had a better access to my neck and the cut where blood was flowing steadily now into his waiting mouth, all the while being very gentle with me.

How could someone whose basically sucking my blood be so gentle and in control? I thought as Stark, being very slow and careful at first made love to me as we gave ourselves, heart and body to one another until both of us were left breathing fast and smiling in eachothers arms.

"I love you, Zoey Redbird." Stark whispered as he planted a soft kiss on my now overheated forehead.

"I love you too, James Stark." I replied in a small voice. But I knew he'd heard me and was smiling big as we fell asleep together, completely filled with peace and joy. Then we weren't worrying about the whole world possibly exploding again upon our return. We'd only felt eachothers body, the heat that seemed to sear us both; having only the other to extinguish to the flames, and love. Always love.

Amery

Amery made her way hurridly down the cold damp streets of Tulsa. The cold wind felt good on her overheated skin and it seemed to somehow be cooling off her anger. She let out a deep breath and watched as her visable breath was blown away by the wind. Now that she'd had some time to cool down she replayed the night's happenings. Amery knew she was too hard on Stevie Rae. Stevie Rae had only wanted to help and she'd just taken her anger out her. It wasn't fair.

But it also wasn't fair that they were making assumptions about her right off the bat. Amery thought of how Zoey's Gaurdian had pulled her away- as if Amery would actually hurt her. She had no reason to want to. And like she even could. Zoey was a High and Mighty Chosen One of Nyx and she could control the elements. All of them, even Spirit.

The wind picked up a little and made it hard to keep her eyes open without them watering and mixing with her tears, freezing on her cheeks. Her vision blurred and she moved closer to where she guessed there were buildings, feeling through the air and finally finding cold brick under her fingers. She sighed in relief and moved carefully forward all the while keeping the brick building in hands reach.

But after a few moments she found that the building ended, opening into an alley where the snowy wind seemed unable to reach. Amery stepped forward into the small alley and let her eyes ajust to the lack of ice cold wind. She glanced back trying to see the road, but she couldn't. Damn, she thought as she searched through her bag for her phone. guess I'll have to call Stevie Rae.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in." A sarcastic voice said from behind her, in the dark alley she'd thought was deserted. "One of Stevie Rae's goody-goody fledglings."

Amery turned around fast and found herself face to face with a girl around her own height with shoulder length brown hair and big eyes that glowed a rusty scarlet color, the exact color of the blood that ran in a little trail from her lips. Amery would have asked if she were okay but her glowing eyes and the the mean smirk on her face she decided against it. The girl looked like she was probably the cause of the trouble and not a victim of it.

Amery narrowed her eyes and used her calmest voice, adding a hint of coldness to it. "Stevie Rae's my High Priestess though she doesn't own me and goody-goody?" She let her eyes sweep over her shabby bloody appearence, curling her lip in disgust. "Better than looking like some nasty street-living serial killer."

The girl shrugged giving Amery a feral smile that showed off her blood stained teeth. "It has it's perks."

Amery scoffed. What perks could being complete scum possibly have? "And you are who?"

"Nicole. The leader of Neferet's red fledglings." She answered and scrunched up her forehead in confusion, making her look almost normal. As if that were possible. "But I've never seen you before."

Should I tell her? She doesn't exactly seem like the type who can be trusted. "I'm new."

Nicole raised an eyebrow. "No shit? I could've gussed that much, I'm not stupid."

Maybe not stupid but deffinately bad news. "Wait, Neferet? That crazy bitch that's trying to kill us all?"

Nicole's scarlet eyes narrowed, glowing an even brighter red than before. "If our queen is trying to kill someone it's because it needs to be done."

"Oh?" Amery replied, repeating Nicole's earlier raising of her eyebrows. "Is that why Professer Anastasia is dead and Dragon is back at the House of Night suffering because of it?"

"No, that was Kalona's favorite son Rephaim's fault. He killed her." Nicole shot back in a deffensive voice. "Just ask Stevie Rae. He's her consort after all."

Her eyes widened in shock. No, that wasn't possible. "Impossible."

"It's true." Another voice said from behind her. Amery once again spun around to find a boy only a little taller than her with messy blonde hair and the same glowing red eyes as Nicole.

She didn't really like having her back turned to Nicole, who seemed like a bomb just waiting to go off. The boy must have realized this because the red in his eyes faded some and he moved so she could see both Nicole and him at once. "Stevie Rae and Rephaim," He said with digust and pain in his voice. "are Imprinted."

Amery shook her head, making her dark waves bounce. "Stevie Rae doesn't seem like the type."

The boy looked away but not before Amery saw the pain in his eyes. "She didn't seem like the type to me either, but she'd been cheating on me with that thing all along. She's nothing but a no-good slut."

"Um, not to be insensitive or anything but it's only an our to sunrise and I really need to be getting back to the House of Night... but it was nice talking to you's." Amery said as she eased her way backwards, away from the alley and the rogue red fledglings. Just when she thought they were letting her leave- letting her go Nicole caught he rwrist in a tight hold, digging her long ragged nails into Amery's flesh and drawing blood.

"Now where do you think you're going? Did I say you could leave?" Nicole said in a dangerous tone.

"N-no," Nicole answered in a small voice. Nicole jerked her arm, forcing her to look into those savage eyes. "you didn't."

"Nicole let her go." Dallas called from behind her and Nicole.

Nicole smiled cruelly and replied in fake innocence. "Now why ever would you want me to do that? She's Stevie Rae's fledgling and the less she has, the better."

I said let her go." He said again in a louder, more commanding voice, causing even Nicole to cringe.

"Why?" Nicole shouted back, letting go of her vise-like grip on Amery's wrist. Instead od looking at Nicole, Amery was suprised to find him looking at her. He moved his eyes towards the exit to the alley and through his eyes, told her to go, run away and escape. And suddenly she knew with a sickening thud of her heart that if she didn't leave soon, Nicole was going to kill her.

Well at least then no one could keep accusing me of embracing Darkness. One part of her mind whispered. But if you do, Stevie Rae will blame herself for letting you leave the abbey. The other whispered.

"Because I'm in charge here." Dallas told her, taking a step forward. "Do you not see this?" He made a gesture towards the crimson tattoos of what looked to Amery like whips and the air suddenly became warmer and her long dark hair lifted in a strange electric current. She saw Nicole's eyes widen as she began a hasty retreat back towards the exit to the alley. "It means I'm a vampyre now and therefore stronger and more powerful than you."

Nicole's dark eyes narrowed into slits of anger and she screamed her frustration back to Dallas. "Oh yeah? Than why is it that Neferet chose me and not you?"

"Chose you?" Dallas asked with a laugh. "You act like Neferet is some kind of goddess and your her chosen one. News flash. She isn't. Neferet isn't anything but an evil, crazy bitch who's somehow gotten ahold of power."

Amery slid back slowly from the alley, taking her time and being very cautious in her movements. I am silent, no one can hear me, no one can see me, I am mist, spirit, shadows, night. Amery thought to herself, remembering the spell that she was taught back in Dallas, back when her life was somewhat normal- or as normal as the life of a blue fledgling could be.

I am silent, no one can hear me, no one can see me, I am mist, spirit, shadows, night. She repeated the chant as she backed out of the alley and even as she dashed down the empty, icy streets of Tulsa, not caring if she made if back to the House of Night, only that she were away from Nicole and her avoided death. For now, She thought to herself. for now I'm safe.