The Return (The Witch Hunter Saga)

by Nicole R. Taylor

  "I've got to stay," she whispered.

  "Gabby, no. These guys are sick, sadistic bastards. I don't know why you're here, but we've gotta go. Like now."

  "They have my friends locked in the basement," she shook her head. "I've got to get them out."

  "Then let me help you."

  "No. I'm the only one who can do this, Hunter."

  He looked at her, panic stricken. "No, I can't let you do it on your own."

  "Please…" She almost begged. He had to save himself. He already knew too much.

  "I've gotta call the cops or somethin'," he hissed at her.

  "No. The police won't be able to stop them." Gabby knew what she had to do. He would say something to the wrong person when he was only trying to help. He would unknowingly endanger others trying to do the right thing.

  Hunter jumped when she placed a hand on his face. "Run," she whispered. "Run and don't look back."

  She watched as he bolted across the yard and disappeared into the night. Hunter would run until he was at a safe distance, then he would forget. He would go home and be perfectly fine. He wouldn't remember seeing her here tonight, or whatever had happened when he'd run into Arturius. Hunter would be okay.

  Gabby was to terrified to go back into the house with the vampires in the other room. It would be so easy to let the darkness take them, but it would take her under as well. Until she found Aya and Zac, she couldn't risk it.

  Venturing out into the yard, she surveyed the house, looking for another way into the basement. A window or a door. Old houses like this one had to have another entry. Out here the house looked massive. From the street it looked small, mostly due to the unkempt garden and huge trees that filled the yard, but from out the back it was unreal. And falling down. Gabby looked to her left and then to her right. The back porch was so large it took up almost the entire stretch of the house. There was no way in here.

  Around the side of the house she found old fashioned doors that lead down into the basement, covered in weeds and leaf litter. Scraping it aside, she cursed as she saw an old rusted lock. Unsure of what to do, she focused on the annoying piece of metal and willed it open. The lock shattered with a crack and her head snapped up, listening to see if she'd given herself away. When silence greeted her, she hauled one side of the hatch open, dirt and leaves showering into the opening.

  Descending warily into the darkness, Gabby came into a hallway that was lit from the murky moonlight outside. At some point the large basement had been divided into separate rooms. The walls looked new, so the renovations had to have been done in the last few years. One room, she supposed, for the boiler, others for storage or work rooms. Mr. Forester had been a bit of a shut in, so who knew what was hidden down here? He could have a secret laboratory for all she knew.

  Trying the first door, it opened without resistance. As the minimal light from the hallway spilled into the room, she came to an abrupt halt, her heart clenching in her chest. There was a dead body in the middle of the room. Looking closer, she felt an overwhelming sadness. It was Morgan.

  She was lying on her back, eyes wide and empty, blond hair splayed out across the concrete floor. The greyness of her skin was odd, veins bulging from her skin like tiny road maps to nowhere.

  Gabby looked down at the vampire's body and sighed. She may have made the wrong decisions, but all Morgan was guilty of was being in love. It was the most human emotion of all that had lead to her death. For a vampire to feel anything to begin with was nothing short of a miracle, but to love? That was something else.

  She knew what it had taken for Zac to get to the point where he loved Aya. Well over a hundred years, if her suspicions were correct. She couldn't imagine what Morgan felt when she realized her mistake. That her feelings were unrequited and she'd betrayed the one person she cared about most.

  Was it love or desperation that had driven her? Or the promise of an eternity alone?

  Gabby hung her head and frowned. Kneeling down beside her, she ran her hand over Morgan's eyes, closing them to the world. All she could hope for now was that the vampire could rest and find what she was looking for in the next life. She was sure she would find her soul again, her afterlife had been dedicated to helping others. She would be forgiven.

  Gabby went back out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. There was no sound coming from above and none around her. Stopping at the next door on the opposite side of the hall, she paused, listening. This was the one.

  Placing a hand lightly against the door, Gabby closed her eyes. Trailing her fingers across the door, she felt the spell webbed over it. Rhian hadn't cast this. There was another witch somewhere. Disregarding that realization, she pressed her palm flat to the door. Instinct took over and her power trickled forth like an inky black smoke and the web that lay over the door dissolved and crumbled. The mechanism clicked as the lock was forced open and she grasped the knob, pushing her way into the room.

  A gust of wind was all the warning Gabby had as Aya appeared in front of her, the blue of her irises so pale her eyes were almost completely white.

  "Gabby?" The shock jolted the vampire's eyes back to their usual iridescent blue and her hands came down on her shoulders. As soon as Aya's skin came into contact with hers, she pulled back as if she had been burnt.

  "Aya," she whispered, hardly believing she had found her and barely aware that Zac was standing in the shadows with a curious look on his face. "Aya," she said again. "I'm… I… I couldn't fight it anymore."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  When Aya touched Gabby, she recoiled as the shock of the witches power jolted through her. The darkness had surfaced and from the panicked look on Gabby's face it had already started to take it's toll.

  "Have you..." she began.

  "I had to get away."

  She nodded, understanding. Surrendering must have been the only way she could free herself.

  "I'm afraid, Aya."

  "I know," she frowned.

  "We need to get out of here." Zac's voice was quiet in the dark.

  "There's others upstairs," Gabby said. "The human is gone. Anyone can come in now."

  "What do you mean? Did they kill him?"

  "No," she shook her head, numbly. "I broke the compulsion. When he left, so did his hold on the house."

  Aya was impressed. Gabby's power ran deeper than she had thought. It had been a long time since she had heard of a witch breaking a vampire's compulsion, let alone their hold over a dwelling.

  The young witch seemed to drift away for a moment before saying, "They're outside. Sam and Liz are outside."

  "How did they know?" Zac sounded confused.

  "I linked with Alex. I had to warn them."

  Aya frowned at Gabby's lack of emotion. It was unlike her, but she knew from experience that she was trying to hold on to herself lest the darkness overwhelm her. She had to get her out before Arturius caught on that she'd escaped. Once they got away from here, then she could bring her back. "Let's get out of here," she said, looking towards the door.

  Zac held Gabby's arm. "Stay with me." She nodded and hung back behind him as he followed Aya out into the hallway.

  Moonlight flooded into the hatch Gabby had left open, but at the other end a staircase ascended into the house.

  Aya placed an index finger over her lips to silence them. "Take Gabby outside to the others," she gestured towards the opening, then pointed upstairs with a sly grin. "I'll make short work of them."

  Thankfully, Zac didn't try and argue with her and led Gabby down the hall and up into the night. Once they had disappeared from view, she turned and took the stairs, opening the door on the landing as silently as she could. Stepping out into the hallway, she listened for a moment and snorted when she heard the television in the room to her left. The stupidity of Arturius and his choice in thugs was something she couldn't fathom. For someone as old as the founder was, it was laughable. He had been a primes pilus. A centaur. Commander and soldier. What had happened to him
over the years? It wasn't the best time to contemplate these things.

  Anxious to get back to Gabby, Aya sauntered into the den and folded her arms across her chest. When they didn't stir, she coughed loudly.

  When they realized who was standing behind them, all three vampires stood with a hiss and were across the room in a flash, but Aya was faster. The first man she pushed with her palms and he went flying backwards into the second. Turning sharply, her hand plunged into the chest of the third. He fell to the ground with hardly a sound and she tossed the useless organ to the side, her hand and forearm coated with hot sticky blood.

  Vaulting over the sofa, she pounced on the vampire who'd fallen to the floor, snapping his neck in one fluid motion. Ripping the leg from the coffee table she plunged it upwards, directly into the heart of the last vampire who'd barely had time to turn around, let alone try and attack. Pushing him away, the stake came free with a sucking sound and she slammed it directly into the vampire below, obliterating his heart.

  Standing with a sigh, Aya pulled a throw off the sofa and wiped the blood from her hand and arm, tossing it onto the pile of desiccated vampires.

  That was that, then.

  When she emerged from the house into the backyard, Sam was in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Aya," he said. "Thank god you're okay."

  "Thanks go to Gabby," Aya said, glancing at the young witch. "Not god."

  Gabby was standing with Liz, her face ashen. If she was going to save her, now was the time.

  "Arturius isn't here," Aya said. "But it won't be long before he comes back. And when he does he will be one angry vampire. We need to do this now."

  "It's almost…" Gabby began to say. It was almost too late.

  "Not if I have anything to do with it," Aya hissed in reaction to her defeated tone. "Hold her." She gestured to the brothers, who came forward, grasping Gabby round the upper arms, and glancing at her uncertainly.

  Her eyes widened with fear as she looked up at Aya. "What are you going to do?"

  "Gabby, I won't lie to you," she said. "This will hurt, but it will be so much better afterwards. You'll understand and it won't be so hard anymore."

  "Do you promise?"

  "I promise."

  Placing her palm over Gabby's heart she drew a sharp breath. Closing her eyes she felt it. The same thing she'd felt in Violet and countless other witches before her. The thick darkness of corruption that came from the one thing that the Celestines hadn't counted on. Human emotion. If she had lived to fulfill her destiny, then it would never have gotten to this point. She would have been there to guide the witches in their true purpose. But, it hadn't worked out that way. Now their emotions ruled much of their magic.

  Gabby's heart was thumping in her chest, the beat so strong against her palm, it echoed around her mind, reverberating in her bones. Reaching deep inside herself, she sought out her power and readied herself. She would only need a small amount. A trickle. A drop. She drew a deep breath through her nose and looked into Gabby's eyes, dipping her head into a slight nod.

  Aya let her power come forth and it pooled into her palm like a shock of electricity and she forced it into the witch. There was no way to be gentle about this.

  As the shock splintered into her, Gabby's back arched as the darkness sputtered and died inside of her. She flung her head backwards, letting out a strangled cry as the blue light poured from her eyes and mouth. As soon as it had hit her, it was over. She fell forward, her knees crumbling and hair concealing her face. The sound of her ragged breaths was the only sound that penetrated the air. The only thing that kept her from hitting the ground was the brother's grip around her upper arms.

  "Gabby?" Aya pulled the hair from her face, revealing her tear streaked skin.

  "You were right," she whispered hoarsely. "That hurt like hell."

  "It will pass soon enough."

  The witch shook her head as if she was trying to clear it and stood up straight, both Zac and Sam loosening their grips on her arms. Pulling away, she said, "I'm okay. It's gone."

  Aya desperately wanted to ask her what Arturius had chosen to divulge to her, but she'd basically just restarted her heart. Perhaps that could wait a moment.

  "Aya," Gabby said. "Arturius is up to something. There was another witch there who told me things."

  "What witch? What things?" She daren't not contemplate what he was trying to do. It was never anything good.

  "Rhian. She was one of Katrin's witches. She was the one trying to turn me."

  "Rhian…" she said, trying to see if that name was familiar. She had been asleep for a hundred and fifty years, but some witches had an annoying way of extending their lives. Especially where Katrin had been concerned. "Did she or Arturius say what they wanted with you?"

  "Rhian kept going on about how they wanted me to turn to darkness. How I was from the ether. I think they wanted me because I can draw power from life and death." Aya's head cocked to the side. She already knew this. All Ismena's witches had the ability, but not all of them discovered it. Gabby was still speaking to her, "Arturius said his brother was looking for something or someone. And they must have needed my ability to find it or use it or something."

  "Regulus?"

  "Yes. He wants to find it first."

  "Damn it," Aya cursed.

  "Do you know what they were talking about?"

  "No idea," she shrugged. "But knowing them, it can't be good."

  "Then Regulus is next on the hit list," Zac said. "After Arturius bites the dust."

  Aya gave him a look. "We can discuss that once this is done."

  He stared at her for a moment, his expression unreadable, before he looked at his feet.

  "What?" she asked as Gabby went off with Liz and Sam, their voices low in the silent yard.

  Zac looked back towards the house with a frown. He was struggling with something, but she didn't ask. She knew that he was thinking about Morgan. She supposed her body was still in the house. It had only been a few hours since…

  "I can't leave her," he said after a moment.

  Aya looked up at him, concern in her pale features.

  "This place wasn't her home," he said. "I can't take her to Britain, but I can give her this."

  "Where?" Aya asked, slipping her arm through his, understanding exactly what he meant.

  "When she came here, she told me that she thought the forest was magical," he said quietly, looking across the yard to where a stream passed by the limit of the property, a willow tree growing by the bank.

  "By the stream," she said, eyes closed.

  "Yes."

  "Go," Aya whispered. "I'll keep watch for Arturius." She watched him disappear into the house and sighed. He'd been through so much in the past few weeks. Ever since she'd come into his life, it seemed, there had been nothing but trouble. All she wanted was time with him. Time where they weren't watching people they cared about die. Time where they didn't have to look over their shoulders. Maybe one day.

  "This is what he was like before," Sam said, coming up behind her. "When he was human."

  Aya looked back over her shoulder at him and frowned.

  He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "His humanity is coming back."

  "We seem to keep having these conversations."

  "I don't know what you were like before, but you're different too."

  "How?"

  "Compassionate."

  "Don't get smart with me, Sam." She turned and picked up a shovel that had been discarded in the overgrown garden. She felt uncomfortable talking about these things.

  "What are you doing?" Liz asked, like it wasn't obvious.

  "I don't want him to dig this grave," she said curtly and walked over to the stream, surveying the shoreline. A short way from the edge of the water, was an ancient willow, it's roots spread out under the ground like skeletal fingers searching for life to consume. Closing her eyes she felt out it's pattern and settled on a space under it's branches, the shower
of leaves thankfully hiding her from the others. Aya didn't want to have an audience for this. Digging a grave for the woman who had betrayed them all for a dream. One upon a time, she would have left her to rot. Sinking the shovel into the dirt she began to dig up the hard earth with little effort. It was important to Zac, so she would do it. Sam was right about her. She had changed, too.

  It wasn't long before she was standing waist deep in the ground, a pile of dark and damp earth to one side. Without looking up, she knew Zac was looking down at her. Even if she couldn't hear his blood, she would have known it was him. He had that presence about him.

  "Thank you," she heard him say and she grunted, vaulting herself out of the grave.

  He was standing there with Morgan's body in his arms. He'd wrapped her in a dark colored rug, not an inch of her was showing. Aya smiled sadly and caressed his arm. Without a word, he jumped down into the grave she'd dug and placed her body into it's final resting place, arranging her just so.

  Sam, Liz and Gabby pushed their way through the willow fronds and congregated around the open grave, waiting for Zac to take the lead, but he just stood there looking down into the hole.

  "Do you want to say something?" Aya asked, conscious of the mixed feelings in the air. She could sense the tangled emotions from the others and guessed that they hadn't entirely trusted Morgan. Rightly so, but that didn't make her a bad person. Aya knew enough about lies, deceit and evil to know that that was the case. She had just been blinded by her heart. She'd seen it many times.

  Zac sighed and said, "Morgan gave me hope at a time when I had none. I'm sorry this had to happen to her."

  Aya looked up at the others and Sam shook his head. They didn't want to contribute. They hadn't known her, after all, so what could they say? Zac was the only one who did. She didn't exactly like her, but she was sorry that her life had to end this way. That's all she had to say, but she didn't dare utter the words.