Zoey Redbird

Zoey Redbird

Zoey Redbird (originally Montgomery) is a teenage girl of Cherokee ancestry. She has hazel eyes, long straight black hair, high cheekbones, wide mouth, long, strong nose, and olive-toned skin. In Marked, she becomes a third former (or "freshman") vampyre fledgling at the Tulsa House of Night who is blessed by the Goddess of Night personified, Nyx, with whom she speaks directly in dreams and in person. Whereas fledgling vampyres only bear a sapphire tattoo in the outline of a crescent moon (referred to as the "Mark"), Zoey arrives at the House of Night with her Mark filled in, which normally does not happen until a fledgling's transition to vampyre (the "Change") is complete. As a result, this makes Zoey special because she is the only fledgling ever to have her Mark filled (and later on she gains additional tattoos on her face, neck, back, waist, hands, and chest, which has never happened with vamps). Zoey is the first ever to have an affinity for all five elements: Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit (Having an elemental affinity means she is able to draw strength and energy from the elements themselves). This has been proven noticeably throughout the series, being able to draw on enough energy to keep her emotions and the people around her in check. Throughout her new vampyre fledgling life, she has to deal with more than an average teenager generally does, which frequently makes her wish that she were just another ordinary fledgling or teenager. Through Nyx's blessing, Zoey's gut instincts often guide her in the right direction, and she can often hear Nyx speak to her directly through her mind. Zoey is best friends with her House of Night roommate, Stevie Rae Johnson. She is also chosen by a cat, who reminds her of a lioness, and whom she therefore names Nala after the Lion King character of the same name. Zoey first dreamed of Nala, before seeing the orange cat stuck in a tree and rescuing her.

In Marked, she defeats Aphrodite for leadership of the exclusive school club, the Dark Daughters.

In Betrayed, while she is dating Erik Night officially, she carries out secret relationships with Heath Luck (her human boyfriend from before she was Marked) and Loren Blake (a temporary professor at the House of Night).

Towards the end of Chosen, all of these relationships end: Erik discovers her cheating on him with Loren (Erik's Change also comes to completion, prompting his immediate departure from the House), her Imprint with Heath is broken when Loren takes her virginity and she Imprints on him, and Loren is subsequently murdered, who was,in fact, acting under Neferet's orders to seduce her. Her decision to keep numerous secrets from her friends Damien, Shaunee, Erin and Jack—some at Nyx's direction, some from her own questionable decision-making—causes her friends to turn against her in the beginning of Untamed.

In Untamed, these friendships are renewed; she also develops feelings towards James Stark, a new student recently transferred from the Chicago House of Night. When Stark rejects the change and "dies" in her arms she realizes she really liked him and questions the reality of "soul mates". Her relationship with Erik Night also resumes when he is installed as Professor Nolan's replacement. In the book, Aphrodite has visions of two possible deaths of Zoey. Zoey experiences one of the visions in the book, but Damien and Shaunee save her from the Raven Mockers' spirits. Toward the end of Untamed, Neferet manages to resurrect the fallen angel Kalona, but amid the chaos Zoey still manages to aid her allies in their escape.

In Hunted, she is haunted in her dreams by Kalona, who claims that Zoey is his lost lover A-ya. Despite no longer feeling safe to be with because of this, she nonetheless convinces the resurrected Stark to ignore his evil side and choose good; he pledges his Warrior's Oath to her as the future High Priestess. Towards the end of the book it is made clearer that she loves him. She resumes her relationship with Erik, but still she has feelings for Stark, and cares about Heath as well, causing Erik to grow very jealous of them. Erik thinks he should be the only one with Zoey, but Zoey remains indecisive. She is the first to suspect that Neferet can spy on her allies in the darkness, but she is shot by a Raven Mocker and forced to return to the House of Night for treatment. With Lenobia's help, she figures out how to banish Kalona, and subsequently performs the ritual to carry out that banishment.

In Tempted, Erik's boastful ego and possessiveness cause Zoey to get so annoyed that she dumps him. Erik then gets extremely angry and calls her a freak and a cheater. Learning that Neferet and Kalona have returned and gone before Nyx's Council in Venice, Zoey goes to challenge them, but is too late to save Heath from being killed by Kalona. As a result, Zoey's soul shatters, leaving her still breathing body behind. She loses all of her tattoos except the outline of the crescent moon all other fledglings have. At the end of Tempted, she is shocked to meet Heath in the 'Otherworld', saying that he doesn't belong there because he's dead. When Heath tells her that she is the one who does not belong, she falls into blackness.

In Burned, Zoey, along with the shattered fragments of her soul - Brighid, her strength; A-ya, the ancient Cherokee maiden; her joy and her young self, was stuck on the Otherworld. As the time in which she stayed there grew longer, she starts to fade, being incoherent at times and forgetful whenever she falls asleep. By the end of the book, she managed to pull back all of her fragments together within her. By the end of the book, she regained her tattoos back through the elements. She also accepted Stark's oath as her Guardian. By the end of the book, she finally awakens, whispering to Stark's ear to wake him up.