Betrayed Chapter 31

I guess the big question now is how long will PCK will try to stretch out Neferet as the main villain? Also, why is Neferet being evil? What’s her motivation? It just seems like a lot of work to make those undead students and all they’ve done so far is kill a couple of random guys who forgot they had access to the internet and were determined to see a “hot” girl. It’s probably going to boil down to Neferet resents humans because they’re too mean and Zoey will say they have to be better than them.

Anywho, we rejoin Zoey and she tells us that she’s in a “beautiful meadow that was in the middle of what looked like a dense forest”. I love it when hacks write about a “dense forest” to evoke a scenic, natural background. They seem to forget that older forests aren’t as dense because the larger trees tend to cast a large shadow which doesn’t leave a lot of room for other plants. Wherever Zoey is must get clear cut regularly and being as this is Nyx’s place, she probably does it to build yet another addition to her cabin.

Yes, Zoey is visiting with god once again. By the time this series is over, Zoey will have run through six frequent visitor cards. She asks Nyx if this means she’s dead and Nyx just laughs and asks if Zoey will ask that every time she’s there. Because Nyx plans on having a lot of personal chats with Zoey whenever the opportunity arises. She’s just that special.

Zoey apologizes and Nyx tells her not to do that. Apologies are for the weak who can’t or won’t crush their enemies completely. She let’s Zoey know she’s pleased with her and that she’s just there to remind her that the elements can “restore” as well as destroy. Fire is especially good at rebuilding things, that’s why I lit that bar on fire. It wasn’t for the insurance money like the investigator suggested.

Zoey is about to thank Nyx when she wakes up outside in the snow. One of the detectives is standing over her and she immediately asks him about Heath. He points her towards the ambulance that Heath is getting loaded into. He says Heath was pretty banged up and they’ve already given him something for the pain. Not only is he a detective but he’s also the paramedic lead for the evening. The detective, Marx, tells a passing paramedic that she’ll be fine and he just needs to get her back to the “house of night”.

I saw the paramedic give me a look that clearly said freak, but Detective Marx’s strong hands were helping me sit up and his tall body blocked my view of the muttering EMT.

Yeah, I bet vampires are a real rarity in a city that hosts a school of them. It’s like the mythical housecat, a sight many have claimed to lay eyes on but never produced any photographic evidence which holds up to scrutiny. Or maybe he’s wondering why the vampire is being let go in a case where a human was being bled to death. So Marx asks if she can make it to his car and suddenly Zoey remembers she brought a horse. She asks if Persephone is okay.

Marx looked confused for just a second, then he smiled. “The mare?”

I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t stop to check a horse’s gender in the middle of a crisis. ‘Quick, we have to get inside and rescue the victim! Hernandez, Collins, you take the side entrances. I’ll go in with Marx…Marx? What the hell are you doing?’ ‘Sorry, I’ve just got to know the gender of that horse!’ ‘Damn it Marx! Does your obsession know no bounds?’ ‘Oh come on, I’m sure he won’t be any more dead in the time it takes for me to look.’

Hmm, what hasn’t eaten in a while? That’s right, Zoey’s ego! Marx says that the officer is walking her back rather than riding her which makes Zoey braver than the police. Right, because it’s cowardly to not ride a horse in the snow for no reason. Then he says they’ll trailer her back to the school when the roads improve. Good to know, PCK. I wouldn’t have accepted it if Persephone had just appeared back at the school stables.

Marx asks Zoey what really happened because there’s no laws about questioning minors alone or anything. Zoey says she doesn’t know and her memory is messed up. Zoey says she just knew where Heath was, Marx asks if they imprinted and Zoey is shocked that Marx knows about it. He hastily explains that his twin sister talks to him about it being as she’s a vampire. Because author forbid someone learn anything because they’re curious, especially a human. Zoey doesn’t tell him about Neferet and then starts to have a headache when she focuses on Neferet.

“Deep, calming breaths,” Marx said, shooting me worried looks whenever he could take his eyes from the treacherous road. “I said whatever was easy for you to remember.”

Please, don’t strain yourself by engaging your brain, Zoey. You have to save it for plagiarizing rituals and thinking up ways to manipulate Heath. Also, why the hell is Marx so damn nonchalant about Heath being her blood slave? Pretty it up with whatever stupid name you want, PCK, but Heath is a slave to her. Just because he enjoys it, doesn’t mean he’s not enslaved.

Zoey realizes that someone has messed with her mind and it’s made her angry. She forces herself but still can’t remember and begins crying. She shows about the same level of emotion at having her head tampered with as she did for Stevie dying. Then Marx says that pieces of her memories are gone and Zoey notes how it didn’t sound like a question, what with it lacking the question mark and everything. He says his sister told him how a high priestess could mess you up with memory erasement if you pissed her off. Again, how convenient that she’s told him everything pertinent to the story.

Zoey tries thinking again and realizes she needs her servants for that. Then she sees the “east wall” and tells Marx to stop the truck because she’s going to be sick. Then she starts thinking about how Nyx told her the elements can restore as well as destroy. She says she needs a minute alone because there’s something she has to do. And if it involves raising Stevie back from the dead I will personally drive a monster truck through the vampire school and crush Zoey.

Luckily for us, that doesn’t happen. Yet. Instead, Zoey wanders over to some trees and calls out to all the elements in a huge bloated paragraph. ‘Hey, elements! Fix my brain yo!’ ‘We tried but there’s not fixing what isn’t broken.’ ‘What do you mean?’ ‘We’d explain but you’re too stupid to understand. Here, have a ball.’ Or the elements make her remember.

The effort of healing her memory has caused her to fall to the ground. In spite of her request to leave her alone for a minute, Marx has rushed over to her to help her up. I guess he’s joined the ranks of her psychic servants and knows exactly when she needs a shoulder to lean on. That is, all the time.

“I’m more than okay. I remember everything.”

Oh good, because you’re math teacher just called and you’ve got a pop quiz on calculus. Wait, you mean you only remember the things that Neferet erased. Because author forbid there be any tension between the audience and Zoey by having us know things she doesn’t. It would only make for a better reveal later down the line when Zoey suddenly remembers and then decides to confront Neferet. This way she can threaten Neferet and depose her in the last chapter and become queen of the idiots.