Hunted Chapter 11

What was the point of Heath coming to visit Zoey again? Was it to remind us that, no matter what, no one escapes Zoey’s claws? Or was it just that PCK felt like having the entire cast of characters make an appearance in every novel? Do we get to suffer through everyone poking their head in before there’s even a hint of a plot?

We’re still with Zoey watching Heath and Erik playing alpha male with each other. I know I asked this last post, but why do they have to be at each other’s throats? I get that they’re supposed to be dumb teens who don’t know any better but that has to be handled with a little finesse. And as PCK has none of that, it’s just two guys vaguely threatening to punch each other over a girl who’s not worth it. Zoey, being no better, gets in between them both.

I moved quickly, putting myself between the two of them. “Stop it!” I shouted. “I have way too much to worry about right now to also have to pull you two off each other. Jeesh, talk about immature.” Both guys kept glaring at each other over my head. “I said, stop it!” And I smacked their chests. That made them blink and shift their attention to me. Now it was my turn to do the glaring. “You know, you two are ridiculous with your puffing up and your testosterone and crap. I mean, I could summon the elements and kick both of your butts.”

Mind you, that’s the first paragraph of the chapter. Heath and Erik did nothing to indicate that they’d actually fight or anything. And for all Zoey’s talk about “testosterone” she’s being quite the bitch. Threatening them with magic which they’re defenseless against is totally fair and reasonable towards guys who are merely posturing.They apologize and smirk at each other indicating that it’s not over. Zoey says that Heath is one hundred percent more vulnerable if they get attacked and that he belongs in her past. I’m curious how she has numbers on how vulnerable he is, exactly. It’s probably a wild assed guess but I would like to know roughly how much stronger vampires are than humans, if at all.

Heath says that, before he goes, he wants to talk to Zoey in private. Heath wants to talk with her out side but Erik grabs her and says she’s not going anywhere with him. This reminds Zoey of Stepdad and PCK hints finally at some of what make him a bad guy. Zoey says he’s a bully, which is vague but better than simply hating him because he’s religious. Again, this is more of PCK trying to turn the audience against Erik so we’ll be glad when he gets his comeuppance. She says that they may be back together but he can’t tell her what to do and Erik asks if that means she won’t cheat on him with her human boyfriend.

I gasped and took a step back from him like he’d slapped me. “Why the hell do you think you can talk to me like that?” My stomach clenched up so hard I thought I was going to be sick, but I ignored it, meeting Erik’s angry glare with a steely stare of my own. “As your girlfriend, you’ve just pissed me off. As your High Priestess, you’ve just insulted me. And as someone with a working brain, you’ve made me wonder if you’ve lost every bit of your sense. What do you think I’m going to do in the minute or so I’d be alone with Heath standing outside in the parking lot during an ice storm? Lie down and let him do me right there on the cement? Is that really the kind of girl you think I am?”

No, Zoey. He knows that you won’t fuck Heath but you might drink form him and make him your bloodslave again. And why do you have to start pulling rank on him in an argument? That’s beyond unfair because it means you don’t view Erik as an equal. He should really save himself some personal hell and break up with you right now.

Heath and Zoey go outside and Zoey describes the weather. She says she thought it was raining and then realized that it was spitting little pieces of ice. That’s called “snow”, Zoey. Though there is a term to refer to frozen rain called sleet. But that’s a big word and far too complicated for Zoey. They go over to his truck and Zoey start going on about how she’s known him forever and blah blah blah. They ere friends before dating, which still contradicts what Zoey told us back in book one, and they can’t go back to being friends.

Once in Heath’s truck, he says that he doesn’t like her being there. While he can’t remember everything that happened because of the memory charm, he knows it wasn’t good. Zoey says not to worry because everything has changed and the undeadlings are really a whole lot nicer once you’ve killed one of them. It’s like being in prison, Zoey just had to put one of them in the infirmary and they’re all cool. He asks if she shouldn’t go back to the school and that Kalona might not be so bad. Zoey says that he’s bad and more powerful than Neferet. To be fair, Zoey, a hand blender is more powerful than Neferet.

Heath just stares at her hands and starts talking about how amazing it is that she has such a huge marking. If you think that’s impressive, Heath, it might be time to introduce you to the ink scene. People with large tattoos are actually impressive because they had to sit through hours of needles jabbing their skin then the next few weeks making sure it heals properly. Zoey’s mark is boring because it’s constantly growing, takes no effort on her part and is meaningless.

Heath starts tempting her with his blood and Zoey says they can’t, they mustn’t. heath says they can and that they’ve had a lot of practice being together. Zoey, being a completely passive character, watches as Heath takes her fingernail and cuts his neck. She starts to drink from him but stops just before, remembering how she’s not supposed to be screwing around with Heath. But Erik is just a big jerk for entertaining the idea that Heath and Zoey would screw around.

Heath gets upset when she pulls away and he asks why. Zoey says that she can’t because they’re just not right for each other and it’s not a good time for her. I say it’s because PCK wanted Zoey to have the last word in their relationship. They couldn’t leave it with Heath telling her off in public. Zoey tells him that they can never be and start walking away.

PCK seems to have realized that the story has been a little slow. As Zoey is walking back inside, she spots a shadowy figure, the bane of all fantasy protagonists everywhere. It’s Neferet, but not. The image of Neferet shimmers and is replaced by one of the ravens. It talks to Zoey, saying they’ve been looking for her and that it’s father will be glad when it brings her back. The cliffhanger comes in the form of Heath yelling “hell no” at the raven.