I am so, so sorry about it taking me so long to update. If you'll look at the reviews page for this story, you will see why I haven't been able to update for a while. I will try to update frequently from now on. It may be a little hard because of school, but I will try my best. Here is the next chapter!

Aphrodite

Aphrodite couldn't believe that Stark had just run off. How could he abandon them, let alone Zoey, at their darkest hour? It just didn't make any sense. One minute he's saying he loves Zoey more than anything in the world, the next he's leaving her behind to fend for herself? The list of people Aphrodite could count on was becoming smaller and smaller the more Zoey's stomach grew.

And that was another problem: Zoey had been with Kalona for four straight days and no one knew where they were. Spells couldn't even locate them! But the worst part was that they had calculated that Zoey was now 36 weeks along in her pregnancy. In another 3 days, Zoey would be giving birth. They needed to find her soon or there could be some complications with the birth; she could even die.

Aphrodite also had a personal problem that was troubling her: she'd had a strong feeling that something really bad was about to happen the past two days. Sure, almost everything had been bad since they found out Z was preggers, but this feeling blew every other thing out of the water. She'd spoken to Darius and the others about her feeling, but they all said the same thing about it. They all told her that she was just feeling bad because of the situation they were in.

"This isn't about the fact that Zoey is missing." Aphrodite told Darius as they sat down on their bed. She'd been trying to pipe down about her feeling because no one was taking her seriously, but she couldn't hold it in anymore. Something was definitely wrong. She felt tears prickle her eyes. "This…this is something bad. Really bad, Darius. I-I…just know that something absolutely awful is about to happen. I just can't pinpoint what it is."

Darius's face softened as he put an arm around her. "I believe you, love. I just think that everyone doesn't want to believe it because of all the other bad things that have been happening. We don't know what to do right now and having another problem on top of everything else is…unsettling at best. Is there any way you could just…hold off on this feeling until we get everything else settled?"

Aphrodite looked at him as if his head just turned into a frog. "Are you seriously asking me to ignore my feeling until it's convenient?" she asked.

Darius lightly stroked Aphrodite's cheek, his eyebrows furrowing as he did. He knew he was in trouble. "I – "

"Forget it." Aphrodite declared, slapping away his hand. She stood up, straightening her top as she did. "If none of you will back me up and take me seriously, I'll just go to someone who will."

"Aphrodite, wait!" Darius yelled as she stormed out of their room, but nothing he could say now would make her turn back.

Half an hour later – after pacing back and forth a bit, trying to figure out if she was taking the right approach to this – Aphrodite arrived at the House of Night. Every time she took a step on her old school's grounds, she felt a wisp of sadness go through her. She was human now. No matter what anyone said, no matter if Nyx still loved her or not, she would never really feel like she belonged there anymore.

She quickly got over this feeling as another wave of the desperately horrible sensation came back to her. This one slammed right into her gut, making her feel as if she was on a rollercoaster. It was a strange feeling, mixed with sadness, grief, fear, and just a touch of anger. Most of the time her feelings only consisted of one emotion, occasionally consisting of two. With every new emotion mixed into this bad feeling, Aphrodite became more and more overwhelmed.

As she stopped, took a deep breath, and fought the feeling, about twenty Sons of Erebus gathered around her.

"It's okay." she whispered. "I'm alright."

But as Aphrodite looked around, she realized that they were not there to check on her. They were there to hurt her. Each one had some sort of weapon with them: swords, guns, mace, daggers, even spears. She slowly raised her hands next to head, showing them that she was unarmed.

"Why are you here, human?" one of them asked.

Aphrodite took a deep breath to calm herself before answering, "I am a Prophetess of Nyx. I've come to speak to Thanatos. I will wait wherever you deem fit while you tell her I am here." This was nowhere near the answer she would've given had they not had weapons with them.

"Move aside." someone said from behind the group of men. As they moved over, Aphrodite saw Thanatos moving toward her. "Hello, Prophetess. Have you come to bring me news on Zoey?"

Aphrodite nodded. "At least, I think it's about Zoey. Can we go somewhere more private?"

"Yes. Follow me."

Thanatos walked with her hand on the small of Aphrodite's back the whole way to the professor's dormitory. Every now and then she would move her hand in a little circle, as if to comfort Aphrodite.

As soon as the door to Thanatos's room was shut, Aphrodite poured everything out to her. "I have been feeling something strange. Something bad is about to happen, but I haven't had any visions about it. Usually I'll get at least a flicker of something when I get a feeling, but there's nothing this time. I'm afraid I may be losing my gift. What if I'm not doing what it is Nyx intended for me to do?"

Thanatos didn't reply for a moment. She pursed her lips before replying, "Aphrodite, I do not think that you are losing your gift. I believe that what you are feeling is something that is going to happen, whether or not you know about it beforehand. I have been feeling something, too, although I cannot say that I know exactly what it is. I do know that death will visit the House of Night soon. Perhaps you are just feeling the same thing."

Aphrodite gasped. "Do you think someone I care about is going to die?"

Again, silence for a moment. "It could very well be that that is the case, but I do not believe so. There may be one or two students who do not make it through the transition from human to vampyre, but I do not believe it will happen to someone close to you. I have been feeling this same thing ever since I arrived here. Do not dread on it, but do not take it lightly either. If you need any more help, come and see me."

Aphrodite slowly nodded. She agreed with Thanatos; she'd felt what upcoming death felt like, and this wasn't that same feeling. She quickly thanked Thanatos for her help, mumbled that she was likely right and then stumbled out of the room.

Her hands shook as she took out her cell phone and dialed Darius's number. She had no idea if she would reach him or not because of the signal in the tunnels, but she had to try. He answered almost immediately.

"Oh, darling, are you okay? I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you." he said in greeting.

Aphrodite smiled a little as she shook her head. "It's okay. I'm sorry for storming out like that without talking to you. You might be right; I may just be stressed out. But I'm not taking this lightly. I would rather us take precautions and be wrong than do nothing and not be prepared when something happens. I want everyone out tonight looking for Zoey and Kalona. We need to keep an eye out for Stark, too."

"Taking charge, are we?" he asked. Aphrodite could tell by the tone of his voice that he liked that she was ordering him around.

A seductive smile formed on her lips. "When do I not?" With that, she hung up, took a deep breath, and prepared herself for whatever battle was about to go down.

[BREAK; NEFERET]

Neferet had been watching Zoey and Kalona constantly since she'd located them with a dark spell. It had been so easy to find them that she couldn't even contemplate how Thanatos hadn't yet. The two hadn't been doing much. Mostly, they went from place to place, keeping a low profile and resting. They'd been collecting items here and there, baby things. The main thing she saw them collecting were baby books.

The White Bull had given Neferet specific instructions that she was not to let the couple out of her sights until the baby came. Sure, she needed sleep, but it was easy enough to let Darkness wake her when the couple decided to head for another "secret" location. And the same went for nutrition: Darkness would go out and find a victim for Neferet and bring it back to her. She often wondered why she hadn't used Darkness earlier for such things.

As she watched Zoey and Kalona go over breathing techniques for the birth, she went over the spell that would turn Zoey's precious child into her own destruction once again. Neferet wanted to get it right. She couldn't afford any mistakes in the execution of the spell. Everything was in place: they'd collected all the items they needed for the spell, including the sacrifice.

Sister Mary Angela was tied to a stretcher in a basement at the moment. Neferet had easily charmed the man who owned the house with the basement into letting her use it. He hadn't even cared why she wanted it. The man was now a slave to Neferet's powers, attending to the nun's basic needs while Neferet was away. Mary Angela would die, of course, but not before Zoey went into labor. That was the most important part of the ritual.

A cold, whipping wind gathered around Neferet, bringing her back to the present. At first she though that Kalona and Zoey were fleeing to yet another hideout, but, when looking up, found them exactly where they had been before, this time laughing about something Neferet hadn't heard. The White Bull was making his grand entrance! It had been two days since she'd seen him and her whole body vibrated with excitement at the prospect of his praise.

Ah, you are looking lovely this evening, my dark one. the White Bull whispered in her mind by way of greeting.

"As do you, my love." Neferet whispered. She didn't want to attract the attention of Zoey or Kalona. The White Bull might have been able to disappear in an instant if caught, but Neferet hadn't yet mastered that trick. "Everything is running smoothly here. They have been preparing for the birth."

You have been doing your job very well. When this is over, you shall be my queen and we shall rule the world. Neferet smiled at the thought. I must be going. There are other things I must attend to if we wish for this spell to work.

Neferet's smile vanished. "So soon, my lord? I'd hoped to spend some time with you. Alone." she purred.

The White Bull smiled. All in due time, dearest. When we rule the earth, we shall have all the time in the world together.

Neferet knew that this was true, but she was growing impatient. She hated hiding everywhere she went, watching her old consort drooling over that little girl. Neferet plastered a smile on her face. "Of course, my love. I will keep watch on Zoey while you are away."

With a small sound of contentment, the White Bull vanished, leaving Neferet all to herself yet again.

[BREAK; STEVIE RAE]

"Nyx, I love you, but why do we have to go through all this just to defeat Neferet?" Stevie Rae mumbled to herself as she walked along the rocky terrain. She'd been out four hours already looking for Zoey but coming up with nothing. She hadn't even found a clue as to where they might be. That was why everyone was split up, each looking in a different area for Z.

She kicked a rock as she came over a tiny hill, blowing out a breath as she did. As she looked up, though, that breath skidded to a halt.

There they were. Zoey and Kalona were cuddling, watching something roast over a fire and talking. There was a huge tent behind them and Stevie Rae thought she saw a mattress inside of it. Anger flooded through Stevie Rae, hot and all-consuming. She stormed toward them, satisfied with the thought that she was about to ruin their good time.

"What the hell, Z?!" she shrieked as she made it up to them.

Both Zoey and Kalona jumped at the sound of her voice. When Zoey looked at her, Stevie Rae felt a pang of hurt as she saw the disappointment in Z's eyes. Tears threatened to well up but Stevie Rae pushed them right back.

"How could you just leave us like that? You had us all hopin' that you were in a coma or somethin', that way we'd all know that you didn't contact us because you couldn't! Now I find you here, all cozied up by a warm fire, lookin' like you don't have a care in the world?"

"I… I thought this would be better. For everyone. I've decided that I want to spend the days I have before my baby is born with her father." she replied.

Stevie Rae stuck her hands on her hips just like her mama used to when she was angry and disappointed in her. "So you've definitely decided that you're gonna be with him?"

"No!" she automatically replied. "I mean…" Zoey looked over at Kalona and apologized with a look. He smiled back at her and shook his head. "Look, I've already explained to Kalona that I haven't chosen to be with anyone. As far as I'm concerned, I'm single. I don't want to be with anyone right now, but I also don't think it's fair to shut Kalona out because he is the father of my baby." Zoey looked down at the ground as she rubbed her stomach. She didn't look back up as she explained, "I didn't want to tell anyone because I thought they'd take it the wrong way, just like you are."

Stevie Rae scoffed. "I'm not takin' anything the wrong way. Zoey, you've been nothin' but selfish this entire time! You decide you're gonna be with Stark and then change your mind. Then you change your mind again and decide you wanna be with Stark again. You run off, not even botherin' to tell anyone or caring! You haven't been seein' a doctor throughout your pregnancy and you haven't been doing the appropriate things to take care of your baby while she's still in you. I don't see – "

Kalona stood up then, towering over Stevie Rae. "Do not yell at her! You have no idea what she's been through, what she's going through. Zoey is trying her best. You're not helping by yelling at her. Did you know that stress – such as you yelling at her – could make her go into labor early?"

Stevie Rae swallowed. Kalona, just standing there, was incredibly intimidating. When he was yelling at her, though, she wanted to curl up into a small a ball as possible. But she managed to stand her ground. Instead of defending herself, she spoke directly to Zoey: "If you wanna make this better, you'll stay here while I get the others. They're worried sick about you, Z. I promise that if you still decide you wanna be alone with Kalona after you see everyone, we'll leave without a fight. We just love you and want to make sure you're okay."

Zoey looked up at Kalona, as if looking for the answer in his face. "I am perfectly fine with whatever you choose, Zoeybird." he reassured her.

She nodded. "Okay." she said, sounding tired. "I promise that we'll stay here while you get the others. I'm sorry."

Stevie Rae felt like a big ole' bully when she heard the sadness in Zoey's voice, but she wouldn't even try to take what she said back. She'd meant what she said. "Okay. I'm sorry I had to be so blunt with you, Z. I just had to let you know what I think. I'll be back soon."

Zoey nodded as Kalona sat back down next to her. Stevie Rae saw him take Zoey's hand as she began to walk away. She'd taken three steps away from them, pulling out her phone as she did so that she could call the others, when she heard it. A sickening, wet-sounding grunt. Her entire body froze at the sound. She knew that sound from somewhere, but didn't want to acknowledge that she'd heard it. Stevie Rae's heart started racing as she turned back to face Zoey and Kalona.

It was just as she thought: Zoey still sat in the same place, but she was now staring at her balled-up fist. Kalona was reaching for a tissue out of the tissue box that Stevie Rae hadn't even realized was there. A flash of a memory danced before Stevie Rae's eyes for a moment. She was in Zoey's arms, feeling helpless. Fear was coursing through her body as if it were her life's blood, the very same blood that covered her hands and various other parts of her body. Zoey even had a little on her.

As she snapped back to reality, she felt the tears start rolling down her cheeks of their own accord. She threw herself down to sit next to Zoey, shaking her head back and forth over and over again. "Tell me it's not what I think it is. Tell me I'm not right!" she shrieked.

But Zoey didn't have to say a word. The fear and desperation in her eyes said it all: her body was rejecting the change from human to vampyre.

Zoey was going to die.

… Any thoughts? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think…