CHAPTER SIX
Zac watched Aya as she left, a little uneasy about her abrupt exit. Her clear blue eyes were haunting, almost otherworldly, but as the wolves had come in he was sure they had clouded over. Not like his own black vampire eyes. They were chillingly white. He was now sure she was not entirely human, but what exactly? He had absolutely no idea. They had called a vampire warrior of old. Was it Aya? He wasn't so sure about that; she didn't seem the type on first meeting.
Returning to their table he sunk down into his seat, frowning.
"You could have brought some drinks back, brother," Sam feigned exasperation then added, "She didn't give much away, did she?"
Zac shook his head, "I have to find out more about her. I don't think she's a vampire, but she's certainly not one hundred percent human."
"You have to find out more?" Gabby raised her eyebrows. "I think I should do some digging. After all, I can sense vampires and other things."
Sam shook his head, "Are you sure Gabby? Your powers are not developed. What if she is the Hunter and takes offense that we summoned her? She could rip you apart before you could react! And besides, we don't know if the vampire is male or female. There's no real way of telling."
Zac cocked his head to the side as if he were listening for something, "I can still feel her outside. I'm going to follow her."
Sam grabbed his arm as he made to stand up, "I know you're keen for some action mate, but I don't think you should push it. And the wolves are here."
Zac's face became dark with anger, "Let me be brother. You and I both know that I am made for this. I spent the last one hundred years stalking death and tormenting the living, and that's not a skill easily forgotten. And if you are thinking about stopping me, remember I am stronger than you. You still feed on squirrels."
Sam let him go, "I thought you were trying to change. Let this one go."
"You can't change a vampires basic nature, Sam. The sooner you realize that, the happier you will be." And he was already halfway across the bar before Sam could formulate a response.
Gabby frowned after him. "Don't worry, Sam. Zac knows how to handle himself in a bind, that I'll give him. But he is a massive arse. Don't beat yourself up over it."
"And he's done such a bang up job of it the past week," Sam smiled unconvincingly and frowned as the door closed behind his brother.
Aya knew he would follow. She stood on the sidewalk some distance away from the bar, the heavy night air clinging tightly around her. Pulling back into the shadows she watched as he stepped into the street and looked around, listening. As he turned her way, she sidled into the ally that ran the length of the heritage building that housed several shops; the town council buildings were on the opposite side. Typically, it was lined with a few dumpsters and fire escapes and darkness. Aya grinned at the cliché that hadn't changed. At least it wasn't a dead end, as if that would be an issue anyway.
She jumped lithely to the top of the fire escape two stories up, crouching back into the shadows, waiting. Zac had stopped at the mouth of the alleyway, silhouetted by the light of the street lamps. He was using all his strength in looking for her, that she could tell. Look all you want, vampire, you won't find me. She was an expert in stealth and evasion.
He took a few cautious steps into the darkness, listening. She was confident he couldn't sense her, but he continued into the alley, regardless. He looked around a moment and turned to leave, but halted when he saw what awaited him. The five werewolves from the bar stalked into the opening, blocking the way, their bulky forms silhouetted by the orange glow of the street lamps. Sniggering, they circled Zac, their breath vaporizing in the chilled night air.
Aya heard the faint growl of warning that came from deep inside Zac's throat as he looked at each of the wolves in turn, "Best you go back to your kennels boys before you do something you regret."
They all laughed at him like he had just told the most hilarious joke ever. "Five against one, blood sucker and the moon's full. When we kill you it will be a nice message to yer brother and his whore," spat the one he knew to be the pack master. "You kill one of ours and we kill one of you."
"Oh, but that wasn't us who ripped his head off," he sneered. "Honestly, I'm disappointed it wasn't me who got to do the honors."
"We don't give one shit about vamper business. We want you outta this town fer good," the pack master drawled, approaching him.
Before Zac could react, the two wolves behind him lunged forward stabbing him through both shins with wooden stakes they had concealed in their sleeves. He fell to the ground howling in pain, "Oh, you'll be sorry you did that dogs."
The wolves howled with laughter, circling him. "Man, you're the dumbest vamper we've ever had the pleasure of beatin' ta death. We will love takin' our time stakin' you."
Zac rolled over, pulling the stakes from his legs grimacing as each came free, "Like to see you try, Fido." His eyes misted black and he bared his fangs lunging for the leader, the pack master, but the others were on him and he was flung backwards, hitting the brick wall hard. Before he was on his feet, a wolf had staked him in the shoulder. Collapsing with a cry of rage, he kicked out and tripped his attacker. In one swift movement, he tore the stake from his shoulder and stabbed it through the wolf’s knee, hobbling him.
Enraged, the pack was on top of him, trying to hold him down while the pack master kicked and punched. There were audible snapping sounds as he broke Zac's arms, his jaw. Aya winced, could she hold herself back from this? He was a vampire and they were werewolves, hardly innocents. It wasn't what she fought against, not her right to interfere.
Zac was on his knees, blood pouring from dozens of wounds on his torso and legs, dripping from his mouth. The smell of it was overwhelming, intoxicating. The pack master punched him savagely in the ribs and the crack was audible as several broke under the impact. Zac doubled over crying out in pain as the wolves yelled, "Fucking die, vampire!"
Aya hissed. The filthy dogs were going to kill him. She wasn't wrapt with the idea of revealing herself so soon, but the emotions and the lure of blood radiating from Zac was too much. Before she realized, she had silently appeared behind the pack master, who had Zac's head in his hands clenched to snap his neck. Before the other wolves could react, Aya sunk her fingers into the pack master's back and rent him in two... Shoulder to groin he fell apart in a shower of hot sticky blood and insides.
Aya tasted the blood in her mouth and involuntarily, her eyes clouded over and her own blood quickened. Zac's eyes were wide with disbelief as he collapsed onto the pavement, spent. Aya turned her face towards the next closest wolf, who began to back away hastily, but in a flash she was on him tearing his head from his body. The three remaining wolves began to run, but never made it more than a few steps before they too were torn apart. Aya crouched over the last and sunk her teeth into his neck and drank her fill as he still twitched. The wolf’s blood was sour with the stench of torture and malice as it ran down her throat and the walls and guttering of the alleyway. It was Zac's moaning that brought her back from the frenzy.
Shaking her head to clear her eyes, she stood over him. Grimacing, he rolled onto his back and started as he saw her standing over him, trying to scramble backwards. She grabbed Zac by the neck and threw him against the wall, pressing herself against his broken body, her fingers digging into his neck, partially crushing his airway. He grabbed at her hands trying to free himself, gasping for air.
"Listen to me, vampire," she hissed into his ear. "I'm not here to make your life difficult. I am not here to hurt you. I could squeeze your pathetic head from your shoulders with no effort at all. I saved you tonight and delivered you control over this pitiful town. You'll do well to remember that and stay out of my way." She let him go and he fell to his knees, gasping for breath.
"What are you?" he rasped, clutching his broken ribs with one hand and rubbing his crushed neck with the other. He was beginning to heal. "Your eyes..."
Aya stared down at him wonde
ring how far she could go. She'd already crossed the line in revealing herself to him in such a violent way, but that couldn't be helped now. He stared up at her with his deep green eyes, half in fear and half in awe and suddenly she was uneasy. She crouched down so she was at his eye level. Tensely, she raised her hand to touch the marks on his neck she had left. Before her fingers could brush his skin, she pulled back. His blood was familiar somehow. Was he the one? Then she realized that she could hear the humming sound again at the edges of her hearing. She tasted the blood on her fingers, that was coated with a combination of werewolf and vampire blood. Her eyes widened slightly when for a split second she could feel the starlight on her shoulders. Something she hadn't felt for a very long time. And she knew it was Zac's blood that had been used to call her. The song she had heard at the cemetery was all around him.
Zac began to reach out to her and she jumped backward, standing to her full height. "Was it you?"
"What?" Zac grimaced as he dragged himself to his feet.
Aya didn't answer. There was something terrible about him, something different. Now that it was in front of her she became even more uncertain. His blood sang to her in a way she had never felt in all her long years. It wasn't lust or love, it was something else. And it frightened her.
"You're the Witch Hunter," he stated suddenly, stumbling backward into the wall in surprise. "I knew something was different about you, but..."
Aya darted forward and pinned Zac against the wall again. He didn't struggle this time, but his eyes gave away his fear. "When I've gone from this alley, you will wake up and forget that I was ever here. You will forget that it was I that killed the wolves. You'll wake up and forget." She prayed that she had had enough blood for the compulsion to work.
Dropping Zac abruptly so he fell to his knees again, she disappeared. Zac shook his head, looked up and gasped at the carnage that littered the alley about him. Severed limbs, guts and gore littered the dark alley. The reek of blood was overwhelming and he had no idea what had happened. Did he do this?
What. The. Hell.
When Sam, Liz and Gabby entered the alley they came to an abrupt halt. Gabby turned and heaved into the gutter, as she comprehended the fate of the werewolf pack.
"Fucking hell!" cursed Sam, hastily avoiding the gore, approaching his brother. Zac was almost healed, his clothing torn and mostly covered in his own blood. He looked as mystified as he did. They had left the bar a few minutes after the werewolves, but a few minutes was all it took. Turning back towards Liz, he noticed she was hovering at the mouth of the alley, agitated.
"I can't, Sam," she said, hugging her arms about her. "It's too much."
He knew straight away that she meant the blood and he beckoned to Gabby. "Can you take her home? We'll deal with this..." he gestured around him.
Gabby gladly took Liz's hand and led her away. Once he was certain they were gone, he turned back to Zac and grimaced, "What the hell did you do?"
"I don't know what the fuck happened, Sam!" he yelled throwing his hands in the air exasperated. There was blood and body parts everywhere. The last he knew his head was in the grasp of the pack master ready to be snapped. "They beat the crap out of me and were happy to keep on going until I was so out of it they were going to stake me. The pack master was about to rip my head off and then I woke up on the ground. That's all I remember."
Sam grabbed Zac's face, moving it side-to-side, looking into his eyes. "What the hell, Sam!" he pulled away, angry.
"I don’t think you were compelled. I can't sense anything." Sam frowned, not sure what to believe. They had to clean up this mess before anyone discovered it, or there would be trouble. The alley had to be pristine.
"We can't be compelled," Zac said angrily, his face betraying his doubt.
"We've not come across many vampires older than we are. Perhaps it is possible." Sam wondered, a little alarmed. "Do you think the spell worked?"
"You think the Witch Hunter did this?" Zac balked at the notion. "Why would they help me against werewolves?"
"I don’t know, but we need to be prepared for anything," Sam tried to keep his voice calm, level.
Snorting angrily, Zac turned to begin cleaning up the mess. "The only logical explanation is that I blacked out and..."
Sam's brow furrowed in concern, "A frenzy?"
Zac sighed, confused, "It wouldn't be unheard of. I never was a dog person."
Sam smiled wryly and bent to help his brother, already tired of thinking about the unexplainable, "Maybe you're right. They got you pretty good."
Grimacing, Zac popped his ribs back in place with a sharp jab with his fingers. "Yeah, my fucking jaws still broke."
"Sooner we get this swept under the rug, sooner we can get you something to eat, bro. Then you'll be shit talking again in no time."
It took them all night to dispose of the bodies and wash away the blood, alternating trash detail with keeping watch. They didn't speak, resigned to listening to their own thoughts. Zac didn't know what happened to the woman Aya, where she had disappeared to, but he couldn't stop thinking about her. Even as he collected werewolf guts. She had a smart mouth on her, but he was determined to find out what she was and what she wanted. If she was the Witch Hunter, she would help them whether she wanted to or not.
Once the night began to lighten into a murky grey pre-dawn, the scene was erased and the brothers headed home after yet another night of fighting, with more questions raised than answered. One problem solved and another problem gained.
CHAPTER SEVEN
With dawn came the sun. Monsters of the dark couldn't walk here, but for Aya it was never an issue. She could walk wherever she chose. She was strolling through the gardened square in the centre of Ashburton, marveling at the flowers and the manicured hedges lining the paths. It reminded her of a time long ago, another life where she was at peace. The winters day was crisp and clear, blue sky overhead, the humidity of the swamp non-existent. It was now the twenty-first century, she read on a discarded newspaper. She had slept for one hundred and fifty years, which was a lot longer than she had intended. If it wasn't for the summoning spell, she wasn't sure when she would have woken.
Aya already liked this time. Apart from the technological advances, telephones and cars and electricity, it was the social advances she liked the most. Women were so much more free and powerful. And the fashions were seductive. She had already found a liking for rock'n'roll music and the clothing the sales woman, name tagged Rachel, had picked out for her. What did she call it? Motorcycle jacket, dark jeans, singlet and combat boots... Rock chic. Aya liked the sound of that. When it came time for payment, Aya stared into Rachel's eyes and made her forget.
After her shopping trip, she ventured into some of the other stores along the main street. Her favorite was the large bookstore Barnes&Noble, where any question she had about this time was answered for her. Outside, it was the town square and adjoining gardens that captured her attention. It seemed most of Ashburton was out and about, enjoying the unseasonable clear day. It had never taken her so long to adjust to a new era after waking, but the world had become so different in such a short time.
All the while she was exploring, she couldn't get the vision of what she had done the previous night out of her head. Losing control like that was unforgivable. She had wanted to rip apart the wolves so badly, but not until they had cornered that annoying vampire, Zac. Then she ripped them apart, into a million tiny pieces. But if she hadn't, she wouldn't have found the blood that had called her.
She was so distracted she started when she realized someone was watching her. Without looking up from her newspaper she sent her mind out and felt the now familiar hum of blood. Zac was in the square. And in the daylight. She sensed another vampire with him, the younger sociable female from the bar and also the witch. Zac she was not sure about but the other one, she was new, how could she tolerate the sun? The witch didn't seem strong enough yet to spell a trinket for her to wear, let alone her body.
Casting her hearing out she could tell they were arguing about something. Approaching her, most likely. We don't know who she is Zac, Trust me Liz, Be careful, she heard amongst the buzzing of his blood. Rolling her eyes, she turned around and glared at them. Getting up, she wandered down the closest path through the gardens to escape their gaze. She needed time to think over her options. She needed a plan of attack after the previous evening, her loss of control, among other things. The taste of Zac's blood had awoken senses she hadn't felt since before she was turned and that could be dangerous for her. Not to mention that their motives might be malicious. Others hunted her as she hunted them.
Strolling down the path, her gaze wandered to the gardens around her. The plants here were really well looked after and placed out in intricate patterns. She marveled at a display of small grey ground cover grasses that had been grown and trimmed into a simple, yet effective, mandala.
"What do you think, miss?" she heard at her shoulder.
Turning, she found a young human man with short messy brown hair, and chestnut eyes smiling at her. From his dirt encrusted overalls and wheelbarrow full of cuttings, he must be the gardener. "Wonderful," she said. "Did you do this?"
"Yeah," he said, blushing. "At first the boss didn't like me spending so much time on them, but I used to do it on my days off. When we won first in the annual county comps, he didn't mind so much."
"Well," Aya said, turning back to the garden, ignoring the gardener’s blush. "The whole garden is wonderful."
"Thanks," he laughed nervously. "Oh, I'm Alex, by the way."
"Aya," she shook his outstretched hand, hoping he wasn't trying to come onto her.
"Very pleased to meet you," he smiled shyly. "So, do you work around here or are you a visitor?"
"Oh," she raised her eyebrows, not sure what to say. "I've got a little bit of work in the area for a while."
The Witch Hunter (The Witch Hunter Saga #1) Page 6