House of Night

House of Night

The first novel in the series
Marked Betrayed Chosen Untamed Hunted Tempted Burned Awakened
Author	P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Romance, fantasy, young-adult fiction
Publisher	St. Martin's Press, Atom/Little Brown(in U.K.)
Published	2007–
Media type	Print

House of Night is a series of vampire-based fantasy by American author P. C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast. It follows the adventures of Zoey Redbird, a sixteen-year-old girl who has just become a fledgling vampyre and is required to attend the House of Night boarding school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The series has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for 63 weeks and there are over seven million copies in print in North America alone. The sixth novel, Tempted, which went on sale on October 27, 2009 with a first printing of a million copies, entered the USA Today bestseller list that week at #1. In January, 2010, Gezeichnet, a German translation of Marked, reached the #1 spot on the Der Spiegel bestseller list. The series has so far sold more than ten million books worldwide.

The newest book in the series, Burned, was released on April 27, 2010. The series, which is published by St Martin's Press is planned to include twelve books. In 2008, plans for a film adaptation were also announced.

The Vampyre World

The fictional world of House of Night differs from our own in one important respect: In a small percentage of teenagers, adolescent hormones trigger a strand of what is otherwise junk DNA, eventually changing them into vampyres. The change from human to vampyre takes four years, during which time the adolescents, known as "fledglings", must attend one of the "House of Night" boarding schools. While there, they are required to take the Vampyre Sociology 101 course to learn the dangers they face. If a fledgling is not in constant proximity to adult vampyres, the fledgling will die, so the fledglings rarely leave the school. About one in ten fledglings die anyway, since their bodies cannot tolerate the change. For those that survive, there's a big reward: in the words of one of the authors, "Vampyres are like Superman. They’re super-gorgeous. They’re super-talented. They’re super-men."

The House of Night, Tulsa (In real life, Cascia Hall.)

Vampyres and fledglings are not dissolved by sunlight, as in many vampire novels, but it is painful to them, and so classes at the House of Night are held at night. Fledglings are marked by a sapphire blue crescent-shaped outline on their foreheads; when they become full-fledged vampyres, this mark becomes solid and they receive more 'tattoos' which extend over their cheeks (these usually represent some personality aspect; for instance, Zoey's equestrian teacher has tattoos which look like horses.) Zoey is the only fledgling to receive a filled-in mark and tattoos; as she defeats evil her tattoos extend over her shoulders, down to her lower back, around her waist, down her arms and palms, and across her chest. Older fledglings and adult vampyres need to drink small quantities of human blood, but House of Night vampires do not attack humans to get it; the taking of blood is pleasurable for both human and vampyre, and may lead to a strong bond, called "imprinting" between the two.

Some of the issues that Zoey and her friends face are not covered in Vampyre Sociology 101. They are issues faced by real-life human teenagers. Zoey keeps some secrets from her friends and gets in trouble with them, forcing her to consider the nature of friendship. Kristin Cast said that these moral dilemmas were included because "those are issues teenagers deal with." She continued, "We're not afraid to discuss things that are actually happening." As it happens, this kind of exploration of human nature and identity, its meaning, essence and boundaries, form a subtext to most contemporary vampire novels "The point we wanted to make," said author P.C. Cast, "is acceptance and tolerance and also that teenagers can make mistakes and recover from them." While these issues might not be discussed in the Vampyre Sociology class, they form a backdrop to the novel.

Religion in House of Night

The House of Night series is filled with religion. The House of Night religion is, in the words of P.C. Cast, "heavily pagan and Wiccan based, with a huge influx of Native American myth and legend". Within vampyre society, the primary goddess is a benevolent female named Nyx, who, at the beginning of the series, appears to Zoey and tells her that she will be Nyx's agent in the House of Night. Vampyres and fledglings cast a magic circle in order to communicate with Nyx or to harness the power of the elements: wind, fire, water, earth, and spirit. Some demons from Cherokee mythology also play an important part in later volumes, and the Raven Mockers, Kalona and Tsi Sgili are taken from real Cherokee legends..

Outside in the human world, the "People of Faith" is a fictional Protestant religion that is highly intolerant of anything else but their own beliefs. (In an interview, P.C. Cast said that she modeled the People of Faith on the worst fanatics of all religions, not just Protestantism.) Catholicism also plays an important role in the later novels, with the fledglings joining forces with Catholic nuns against Kalona.

The religious ambiance gives House of Night a strong moral perspective which may apply to the real world as well. "Help me know the right thing to do," Zoey prays to Nyx, "and then give me the courage to do it." Nyx gives vampyres and humans free will. "We all have bad things inside us,"says Zoey, and we all choose either to give in to those bad things or to fight them." In other words, people who have bad, even monstrous desires are not monsters; people who give in to those urges are. This theme of free choice takes special prominence in Tempted, where Zoey discovers that, although she is the reincarnation of a woman created to love Kalona, she has the power to choose whether she will follow her previous incarnation's path or reject it. One of the characters dies because Zoey makes the wrong choice. Also, in Burned, a Manichaen view of the Universe is presented, in which good battles evil: forces of Light combat forces of Darkness and characters must choose which side to be on.

The Benedictine Abbey, Tulsa (In real life, St. Joseph Monastery.)

The Setting

The series is set in Tulsa, in a small and reclusive part of Midtown. The House of Night campus is in the real life campus of Cascia Hall, and the climactic scene of the first book in the series takes place in the extensive gardens of the Philbrook Museum. Zoey sometimes sneaks off-campus to the elegant shops of nearby Utica Square, and several important confrontations take place in Utica Square's Starbucks coffee shop. Some of the novels' most dramatic scenes take place in a catacomb-like network of tunnels under downtown Tulsa built by bootleggers during Prohibition; though a few such tunnels do indeed exist, and can be visited, they are far less extensive than those described by Cast. The abandoned Art Deco train depot where the tunnels begin, however, is real and is slated to become a concert hall The location of Aphrodite's parents' mansion, South 27th Place, is a real street, though the mansion itself is fictional. Though Aphrodite's father, Mr. LaFont, the very rich mayor of Tulsa, has a name similar to the very rich former mayor of Tulsa Bill LaFortune, his character is very different, and the author has stressed that her fictional mayor is indeed fictional. The Benedictine convent to which Zoey and her friends flee is real; it is called St. Joseph Monastery. And the devastating ice storm through which they flee was based on a real ice storm that hit Tulsa in December 2007. The climactic scene in Tempted takes place far from Tulsa, on San Clemente Island near Venice, which in real life is the site of a luxury hotel. The church at which the Vampyre High Council meets was built in 1131.

Much of Burned takes place on the Inner Hebrides island of Skye, in the palace of Sgiach, the Vampyre queen. According to Scottish tradition, Sgiach (usually spelled Sgathach) was a princess many centuries ago who ran the best warrior training school in Scotland. Princess Sgathach lived in Dunscaith Castle, which is today a ruin.

The Books

• Marked, 1st Book
• Betrayed , 2nd Book
• Chosen, 3rd Book
• Untamed, 4th Book
• Hunted, 5th Book
• Tempted, 6th Book
• Burned, 7th Book
• Awakened, 8th Book due out in January of 2011
• The Fledgling Handbook (November 2010)

Books

Marked

Zoey Redbird, a normal 16-year-old girl has been Marked as a fledgling, a vampyre-in-training. However, it is instantly clear that she is not the average fledgling. She has markings that are the same as full-grown vampyres. Zoey is admitted to the House of Night, a vampyre finishing school and quickly finds a group of friends - Damien, an extremely nice and intelligent gay boy, Stevie Rae, the country girl who is her roommate and becomes her best friend, and Erin and Shaunee, best friends who are freakishly alike even though they are of different backgrounds (nicknamed "The Twins").

Zoey also meets a High Priestess in Training, Aphrodite, who is pretty, mean, and the queen of the social scene. Aphrodite invites Zoey to join the Dark Daughters, an 'invitation-only' group run by Aphrodite. Zoey is forced to go to their meeting and begins to experience blood-lust, something that is more common among older fledglings and vampyres. Zoey freaks out after this discovery and runs out of the Dark Daughters meeting, running into her human ex-boyfriend, Heath, whom she accidentally imprints on after drinking from him. Later, Zoey realizes that she can control the five elements (water, fire, air, earth and spirit), at a goddess ritual. This makes Zoey even more special as her goddess, Nyx, usually grants only one or two abilities to special individuals. Zoey also becomes acquainted with Aphrodite's ex-boyfriend Erik Night, further igniting the strife between Zoey and Aphrodite, who believes Zoey just wants to steal everything she has. At the book's conclusion, Aphrodite's bad intentions cause a Dark Daughters ritual to go awry before Zoey steps in to save the day. Neferet then strips Aphrodite of her title of the Leader of the Dark Daughters and High Priestess in Training and gives it to Zoey!

Betrayed

Several crucial scenes in Betrayed and other volumes take place at these outdoor tables (in rear of photo) outside the Starbucks in Utica Square, Tulsa

In the series' second novel, Zoey has managed to settle in at the House of Night. She has become the leader of the Dark Daughters, and she discovers that her friends each have an affinity for one of the elements (Damien-Air; Shaunee-Fire; Erin-Water; and Stevie Rae-Earth). She and Aphrodite continue their animosity towards one another, and Stevie Rae dies after rejecting the Change in Zoey's arms. When some football players are kidnapped and killed, Zoey discovers that Stevie Rae became another kind of vampyre, reflecting the change in Stevie Rae's soul. It is discovered that some of the other past fledglings that were thought to be dead are living in the underground tunnels of Tulsa. They too changed and they all must make a choice to take their humanity over the evil that has now pervaded their hearts. Jack- a new fledgling who becomes Damien's boyfriend- is introduced in this novel. When Zoey rescues Heath from Stevie Rae and the other ex-fledgings, Neferet puts a spell on Zoey and Heath, causing them to forget about what happened. Zoey then calls upon the elements to help her remember what happened, and they help her remember what Neferet really is. Heath however, does not remember the past nights events.

Chosen

Zoey and Stevie Rae join together in a struggle to keep Stevie Rae's humanity. In the meantime, Zoey's ominous feelings about Neferet prove to be founded and the two become enemies. Further complications arise in Zoey's love life. Though she is now dating Erik, the handsome Professor Loren Blake successfully seduces Zoey. Zoey has hot vampyre blood sex with Loren and imprints with him, effectively breaking her imprint with Heath, causing him great physical pain and causing her breakup with Erik, who has witnessed the event. As Zoey has gotten closer to Loren, she becomes more secretive and isolated from her friends, and eventually turns to Aphrodite, unexpectedly becoming allies. Aphrodite has terrifying visions of the future, and Professors Blake and Nolan are murdered. After the murders, Vampyre warriors,the Sons of Eribus, are called to the House of Night for protection Aphrodite loses her Mark and becomes human once more,but helped Stevie Rae become the first ever red vampyre. Aphrodite flees the school after her mark disappears, but she returns. When Damien, Jack, and the Twins discover that Zoey has been keeping secrets from them, they turn on her, leaving her at the end of the book with no friends but Aphrodite and Stevie Rae.

Untamed

Zoey tries to make up with her friends while simultaneously trying to figure out what exactly is going on at the House of Night. Formerly enemies, Zoey and Aphrodite start becoming friends, and Zoey reunites with her old friends by revealing her past secrets. Zoey and Aphrodite decide to connect House of Night with the outside world, and begin a relationship with Street Cats, a cat shelter/pet store run by nuns. Despite an uneasy start, Zoey soon develops a friendship with the sisters. Aphrodite has a vision where Zoey dies twice. Meanwhile, Zoey soon becomes overwhelmed by her burgeoning feelings for a new transfer student, Stark, and her unresolved feelings for ex-boyfriend and now new temporary professor, Erik. Zoey begins to bond with Stark only to be quickly crushed when he rejects the Change and dies in her arms. Zoey discovers that Stevie Rae is not what she used to be, and learns about the evilness of Neferet's newest ally, Kalona. Raven Mockers- Kalona's sons- cause Zoey's grandmother to get into a serious car accident. Aphrodite- who had temporarily been given Stevie Rae's earth affinity for safekeeping- loses the affinity, and when she and Zoey reveal this- along with her newfound humanity and the secret of the red fledglings- at the New Year's ritual, Neferet kills Shekinah (the High Priestess of all vampyres who was on Zoey's side), unleashes Kalona on the House of Night, and uses an undead Stark to seriously wound Stevie Rae. Startled by this unexpected turn of events, Zoey, her friends, Stevie Rae, Erik, and the red fledglings all escape the school and go into hiding underground. Zoey and her friends then prepare for a fight against evil with the help of their goddess, Nyx.

Hunted

The series' fifth novel. Neferet and Kalona become lovers in this novel, and Kalona starts getting into Zoey's dreams in his attempts to seduce her. Zoey, her friends, and the red fledglings hide in Tulsa's Prohibition tunnels while trying to save the school. Darius and Aphrodite fall in love, and Aphrodite becomes closer to Zoey. Zoey gets her friends back, but Stevie Rae denies the truth about the red fledglings saying nice things about them in addition to accidentally imprinting with Aphrodite while drinking her blood to save her life. When Zoey has a near brush with death, she is forced to go back to the House of Night, where Neferet reluctantly heals her upon Kalona's insistence. The friends are not happy, though- Kalona's presence has caused the fledglings and the vampyres to turn their backs on Nyx. Zoey successfully persuades Stark to turn back to the good side. He becomes the second red vampyre when he pledges his Warrior's Oath to Zoey. Later, with the help of the nuns from Street Cats, she sends Kalona and Neferet back to where they belong.

Tempted

The sixth novel in the series. Zoey continues to fight against her connection to Kalona while becoming closer to Heath and Stark. Stevie Rae finally confesses the existence of other red fledglings to Zoey, but unfortunately refrains from revealing her newest secret, that she is harboring a wounded Raven Mocker, Rephaim. This becomes problematic after she loses control of some of these fledglings and Stevie Rae's life is put in jeopardy. To save herself, she is forced to drink Rephaim's blood, creating a new imprint with him and breaking her imprint with Aphrodite. Zoey and her friends travel to Italy to fight against Kalona and Neferet, who are trying to sway the vampyre High Council into returning to old ways (essentially giving power to the two of them). During their stay, Heath, who Zoey is imprinted with, is killed by Kalona. This has disastrous results, as Zoey's grief is so great that her body becomes an empty vessel while her shattered soul wanders the Otherworld with Heath.

Burned

Much of Burned takes place on the Inner Hebrides island named Skye in an ancient castle like this one in northwest Skye, Dunvegan Castle.

Zoey`s soul has shattered and has gone to the Otherworld due to Kalona killing Zoey's human consort, Heath. In order for Zoey to get her shattered soul complete again Stark must find a way to travel to the Otherworld without dying and save his High Priestess. The narrative mode is told from multiple points of view in third-person limited and first-person narrative in Zoey's point of view. In other words, we see the world through Stark's eyes, and Zoey's, and Aphrodite's and Rephaim's, and Stevie Rae's; we share their thoughts and feelings and sometimes share their stream of consciousness.

Zoey is stuck in the Otherworld. Her friends are desperately trying to find a way to save her as she slowly starts fading away. Aphrodite is able to say that her soul isn't in her after praying to their godess, Nyx, for the sister she never had(Zoey), and discovering that her visions had something to do with the otherworld.After some research into ancient forgotten vampyre legends and religion, they find out about the eternal struggle between Light and Darkness personified by a Black bull and a white bull respectively. Stevie Rae and Rephaim together figure out that Neferet has imprisoned Kalona's body in this realm using Darkness and sent his spirit to the Otherworld to ensure that Zoey does not put the shattered pieces of her soul together and stays trapped in the otherworld.

Zoey's friends discovers from ancient scrolls that to travel to the Otherworld without dying they need to know more about forgotten ancient beleifs regarding the two bulls. Stevie Rae accidentally summons the white bull, which is basically Darkness personified, to find a way for Stark to enter the Otherworld. It tells her a poem about how its possible but almost kills her as payment for that knowledge. Rephaim saves her at the last minute by offering himself. Stevie Rae summons the black bull and saves them both at the price of always staying connected to Rephaim's humanity. Since she survives, Stevie Rae is able to pass on the poem with the way to the Otherworld to Aphrodite.

Stark is overjoyed to find a way to help Zoey, and according to the poem goes to the Isle of Women also known as the Isle of Skye to find Sgaich, an ancient Warrior who can help him enter the Otherworld. He undertakes a perilous journey to the Otherworld where he slays his Warrior self to become a Shaman and thus reach Zoey. Stark convinces Heath that Heath has to leave Zoey and move on so that she, in turn, can move on and save the world from Kalona and Neferet.

Meanwhile, Stevie Rae is having huge problems of her own. She is trying to hide the existence of Rephaim from the red fledglings, and at the same time she seems to be developing feelings for him. Stevie Rae struggles with being Bonded to Rephaim and tries to get Dallas to have sex with her to break the bond. However, Rephaim feels what is happening and tries to stop her from abandoning him. Finding out that Stevie Rae has been keeping Rephaim a secret infuriates Dallas, and he lets Darkness come into him and becomes the third red vampyre, though he is dark, not light like Stark and Stevie Rae. He nearly kills both Stevie Rae and Rephaim using his affinity for electricity, but they escape.

Meanwhile, in the Otherworld, Kalona and Stark engage in a dangerous fight. When Zoey sees this she realizes that she needs to pull herself together, and she pulls the pieces of her shattered soul back together. Before she can intervene, Kalona manages to kill Stark. Zoey attacks Kalona and manages to overpower him. She demands that he pay up the life debt he owes her for killing her consort by bringing Stark back to life. When Kalona refuses, Nyx intervenes causing Kalona to share a part of his immortality with Stark and bring him back to life.

Zoey fully accepts him as her Guardian and lets him drink from her so he could heal, the elements fill her again and all her tattoos come back. Both Stark and Zoey manage to get out of the Otherworld safely.

Rephaim and Stevie Rae are together and finally seem to be starting a relationship when they feel Kalona and Zoey come back into this realm. Rephaim says that his heart has never mattered enough, and Stevie Rae says that he should come back to her when his heart is important to him.

At the end of the story, Stark and Zoey are kissing to celebrate coming back from the Otherworld, and Zoey tells Stark that it's all over. She hears Nyx laugh and say that it's only just begun.

Awakened

Info source: PC Cast blog

Amazon has a release date for the audiobook as January 4, 2011. The same date is also the release date for the book PC Cast mentioned in her blog.

Major Characters

Fledglings

Zoey Redbird

Zoey is a 17-year-old girl from Broken Arrow who, when she becomes a fledgling, moves to the House of Night. Given special powers by the goddess Nyx, whom she encounters in a vision, her crescent moon is filled in and she has an affinity for all five elements (Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Spirit). The first five novels, and portions of the later ones, are written in the first person point of view with her as narrator, so her interior monologues assume center stage. Zoey is a lot like author Kristin Cast was at her age; this was done deliberately, to make it easier for Kristin to tell how Zoey would react in any given situation, and may have added depth and realism to Zoey's character, the most fully developed of the series. Like Kristin, Zoey has a love for brown pop. Zoey has hazel eyes, olive tone skin, and hair so dark it looks black. She is the reincarnate of A-ya, a woman created by ancient Cherokee women created only to love Kalona and to trap him under the earth, and has some of A-ya's memories. Zoey's soul is shattered when She witnessed Kalona snap Heath's neck. She needs to reform her soul and return to her body in 7 days or all hell will break loose. The white bull will kill the black and Neferet will rule even over Kalona. Darkness will rule as Neferet makes slaves of all beings. Some one stands between Zoey's soul and body though. Heath. Zoey cannot imagine life without him so she is willing to stay in the other world with him forever and let her body die. Will she make her way back to her body, or will Darkness rule as Zoey stays forever with Heath? at the end of burned she comes back into her body with the help of her warrior

Damien Maslin

Damien is very intelligent, warm-hearted and proudly gay. Damien likes to use very long words that usually confuse the group. He has been dating Jack Twist who has an affinity for "modern technology". Damien has an affinity for Air. He's described as well built for fencing. Damien has brown colored hair and deer-like brown eyes.

The Twins

Shaunee Cole and Erin Bates, though not related and in fact of different races, are psychologically so connected that everyone calls them the Twins. Their valley girl banter, though predictable, provides some comedic diversion. They are both rich and always wear designer clothes. Shaunee has an affinity for Fire and Erin has an affinity for Water. Erin Bates and Shaunee Cole are described to be freakishly alike despite the fact that Erin is Caucasian with blue eyes, cream colored skin and long, straight, blond hair from Tulsa, while Shaunee is of mixed Jamaican/American descent with long dark glossy waves, cappuccino colored skin, and dark eyes from Connecticut. They think of themselves as "Twins."

Jack Twist

Damien's young and very emotional boyfriend. He always around when the group is in need of an AV guy, or with a package of travel tissues from his 'man purse'. Jack is gifted with a vast knowledge about technology. He turns out to have an affinity for the modern world. He also shares ownership of James Stark's giant Labrador Duchess. He's described as young, handsome and beautiful. He's passionate and proud about being Gay and is very cute and cuddly. Jack has blond hair and hazel eyes.

Vampyres

Neferet

The High Priestess of the House of Night, Neferet appears to be a very beautiful vampyre with a thick long auburn hair and moss colored almond eyes. She was Zoey's mentor until she revealed her true nature. She can reanimate dead fledglings (Red Fledglings) when they die and make them obey her. When Zoey found out about her, Neferet made plans with Loren Blake (her lover) to pretend to fall in love with Zoey so that he could extract information from her. Later, Loren was eliminated by Neferet, following Professor Nolan. In the fourth book, she freed Kalona from the Earth after the Red Fledgling Stark injured Stevie Rae, whose blood caused Kalona's freedom. She calls herself Nyx's incarnate and in Burned, Kalona states that she is becoming something of an immortal herself. She also bound Kalona to her in Burned, promising to release him only if he managed to make Zoey stay to not return from the Otherworld.

Stevie Rae Johnson

A nice girl from Henryetta, Oklahoma, Stevie Rae is Zoey's roommate and immediate best friend. She has an affinity for Earth and is often depicted as straight forward and honest, but as the series continues the other sides of her began to show. Her affinity also grows stronger through the books' progression. She was a fledging who rejected the Change and was turned into one of Neferet's evil red fledgings. Once Zoey helps her find her humanity, she is Changed into the first red vampyre known. While drinking Aphrodite's blood, they accidentally Imprint with each other in Hunted but in Tempted she breaks their Imprint by forming one with Rephaim. Stevie Rae is the only one of the few fledglings with short hair, which is super curly, and the little country bumpkin is usually wearing cowboy boots and roper jeans. She is also the High Priestess of the Red Vampyres. In Burned, she and Rephaim finally begin to develop feelings for each other, but an obstacle is posed by Kalona's return at the end of the book. In the same book, she also managed to summon the manifestation of Darkness by mistake, thus putting her in danger. In order to banish the beast, she summoned the manifestation of Light, paying the cost it takes from her - tying her to the humanity in Rephaim.

James Stark

Stark appears briefly after being transferred from the House of Night in Chicago, then quickly dies in Zoey's arms as Zoey begins to develop feelings for him. Stark's gift from Nyx is that he never misses his target. Though he never misses his ability is as a double edged sword. He is capable of never missing his true target in his heart and mind not necessarily the object in his eye sight. After a terrible accident he gave up archery until Zoey spoke to him and helped him through his issues. He and Zoey almost have an instant connection with each other, and later on fall in love too. After he becomes a red fledgling, Zoey helps him choose the right path which causes him to Change, this happens when she accepts his Warrior Oath to her. He becomes the second red vampyre known and the first male one. He almost kills himself when Neferet tells him to shoot Zoey's heart, which he considers his. Luckily, the five elements that Zoey sent to protect him do their jobs and he is left with a terrible wound but alive. In the seventh book, Burned, Stark becomes Zoey's Guardian, in order to save her shattered soul in the Otherworld. P.C. Cast has said that Stark's evolution into a Guardian was a surprise even to her; she originally introduced Stark simply as a love interest for Stevie Rae.

Erik Night

Breathtakingly handsome, and a talented actor, Erik, once Aphrodite's boyfriend, falls in love with Zoey who loves him but is also bound by blood to Heath. He is excessively possessive and tends to get jealous quickly. He recently completed the Change and is a substitute Drama teacher at the House of Night. He breaks up with Zoey in Chosen when he finds her cheating on him with Loren Blake, but his left over feelings for her allows him to resist Kalona's charms and Erik soon gets back together with Zoey when they escape the House of Night. The relationship is ill-fated, however, as he continues to be possessive of Zoey and she quickly breaks off the relationship again.

The southeast side of House of Night, Tulsa

Loren Blake

The vampyre's poet laureate and a visiting teacher, Loren Blake has dark hair and eyes and looks like every woman's vision of the perfect man. Loren soon shows an interest in Zoey that exceeds the normal teacher-student bond. He and Zoey imprint on each other, breaking the imprint between Zoey and Heath. He is soon revealed to be in league with Neferet, as well as in love with her. He is killed by Neferet in Chosen, after he goes out to look for Zoey when he feels her sadness through the bond created by their imprint.

Darius

A vampyre warrior and member of the elite Sons of Erebus vampyre guard, Darius enters the story in Chosen and becomes Zoey's ally. He is also Aphrodite's first real love, eventually giving her his Warrior's Oath in Tempted. He is also the only Son of Erebus not to believe Kalona was Erebus.

Lenobia

Lenobia is the Tulsa House of Night Horse Mistress and the Professor of the Equestrian class. She has complete and utter faith in Zoey, and serves as a guide to her. She assists in Zoey's escape with her friends to the Benidictine abbey. Lenobia is a strict, but highly respected vampyre. She is wise and noble with vast connections, including the High Council of Nyx.

Dallas

Former boyfriend of Stevie Rae and a former red fledging. He discovered his affinity for electricity in Burned. This book also introduces him as a mature vampyre after his Change. He is the third known Red fledgeling that has managed to Change. But in doing so, he seems to have embraced the Darkness in an argument with Stevie Rae.

Humans

Aphrodite LaFont

Daughter of Tulsa's extremely rich mayor, Aphrodite enters the series as a conceited, selfish rich girl who tells Zoey, "Things go my way. You want to get along here, you'd best remember that." But Aphrodite, afflicted with painful prophetic visions and mentally abused by her domineering parents, soon is seen as a richer, more complex character, and in the end becomes Zoey's friend. She is described as gorgeous and having very blond, big hair. She is also described as statuesque and is referred to as looking like an angel.

Aphrodite is also introduced as the leader of a group known as the Dark Daughters in Marked until control is taken from her and given to Zoey once Zoey shows the power that was bestowed upon her by the goddess Nyx. She is a fledgling in the first couple of books, but then gets changed back into a human in the end of Chosen in order to give back Stevie Rae's humanity. Though she lost the state of being a vampyre fledgling, she is still considered to be more than just a normal human, given the fact that her goddess-given gifts still remain with her after she was changed back from being a vampyre. She softens up as the series progresses and becomes a part of Zoey's tight circle and feeling like she has found her sister in Zoey, also falling in love with Warrior Darius, still being a kind of bitch and temporaly 'nice' and she also gets in many fights with the Twins. After Stevie Rae's death, she took on her earth affinity, which was taken back by Nyx herself and returned to Stevie Rae after her rebirth as a Red Fledgling. In Hunted, an accidental imprint is formed between the two, as a result in Aphrodite saving Stevie Rae's life. In Tempted, Stevie Rae imprints with the Raven Mocker, Rephaim, causing their imprint to break. In the same book, Aphrodite had Darius' Oath sworn to her as her Warrior, proving that she was not just an average human for Warrior Oaths do not take effect on humans. In Burned, Aphrodite widens the scope of her powers, enabling her to see the future at her will and see within someone's soul.

Heath Luck

Quarterback of his high school football team and in love with Zoey since third grade, Heath was her boyfriend before she became a fledgling. Later, when Zoey accidentally tastes his blood, they become imprinted on each other. They stay imprinted on and off during all of the books and always have a good, romantic connection. He is willing to do anything for Zoey even if it means that he has to share her with others. He is killed by Kalona in Tempted, causing Zoey's soul to shatter due to their imprint. In Burned, Heath does a final act of sacrifice as he departs to the afterlife, helping Zoey recover her shattered soul with the aid of Stark.

Sylvia Redbird

A native Cherokee and a wise woman, Zoey's grandma provides comfort and advice to Zoey. She is by default the mother figure in Zoey's life. In touch with ancient Cherokee spirits, she helps Zoey deal with her new world of vampyres, spirits and demons. She also accepts Zoey for who she is and not what everyone wants her to be. She even helps Zoey save her own life in Untamed. In Hunted she personifies Earth and helps to banish Kalona.

Zoey's parents

Zoey's stepfather, John Heffer, is a narrow-minded control freak who dominates his wife Linda, a once loving mother to Zoey. Linda now rejects Zoey's nonconformity and Zoey has a strained relationship with her. John is an elder of the People of the Faith, a religious group which discriminates against vampyres. Linda is a weak-willed woman who prefers to have someone else make her decisions and this also ruins her relationship with her mother, Sylvia Redbird.

Raven Mockers

Rephaim

Rephaim is the first and favorite son of Kalona. He kills Professor Anastasia, then was shot by Darius while chasing Zoey and her friends. Stevie Rae found him injured and becoming sympathetic towards his apparent humanity, saved him. Later, Rephaim attempts to repay his debt to her by letting her drink from him to save her, forming an imprint between the two. Later on in Burned, Rephaim starts to have feeling for Stevie Rae

Immortals

Nyx

Nyx is the Goddess worshipped by all vampyres. She is also worshiped by other cultures, through various physical forms and names, possibly even as the Virgin Mary. Nyx appears to be Native American in Marked, but later on in the series she wears the body of "spirit personified". Zoey and her friends try to follow her wishes no matter how bad things get while Neferet goes against Nyx, as Nyx has granted all of her subject the free will to make their own choices. Nyx tells Zoey that she never takes back a gift that she has given. This is why she says she can't stop Neferet in Untamed. But in Burned, she intervene as Zoey confronted Kalona, forcing him to pay the debts Zoey ask him to return.

Kalona

Kalona is an evil fallen angel whom Neferet introduces to everyone as Erebus, Nyx's consort. Kalona goes into Zoey's dreams and tries to seduce her. He is thousands of years old, although he changes his appearance to people's preferences. He first appears in the series as Cherokee legend, which is revealed to be true when Neferet release him from where he was trapped in the Earth. In Tempted he is revealed to have been Nyx's warrior, but was banished because he grew jealous of her consort, Erebus. Kalona and Neferet are banished from the school never to return in Hunted, but reappear there in Tempted. He has a hypnotizing spell, which he used to on the House of Night. He loves A-ya, a woman created by ancient Cherokee women to love him and to trap him under the earth. He also believes Zoey Redbird is A-ya. In Burned he is sent after Zoey ,in spirit form, by Neferet's dark powers. He was also banished from Nyx's realm, both his body and soul.

Erebus

Erebus is Nyx's consort - an immortal with gold wings. Kalona pretends to be Erebus on Earth, despite his black wings, in order to gain the trust of vampyres. Erebus has had a very limited presence in the books so far, mostly only being mentioned in name.

Film adaptation

In 2008, Variety reported that a film adaptation of the series was in early planning stages. Film rights were optioned by Empire Pictures and a screenplay for Marked is being written by Kent Dalian, writer-director of Fish in a Barrel. The film adaption of the series is set to be released sometime in 2011.

External links

• Official Site
• PC Cast
• House of Night Fan site