The Return (The Witch Hunter Saga)

  Drawing a deep breath, he began to tell his brother about the dreams Aya's blood had given him. The horrible insight to her painful beginnings. He told him about the creature she'd been before; silver haired and beautiful, at home in the forest. The day she'd been abducted by the Roman, Regulus, and delivered to Katrin. How Arturius manipulated and turned her into the thing she'd hated the most. Her escape from the prison the Romans had made for her and their subsequent murder of her entire family. Then the horrible ways she had tried to end her life.

  Sam remained silent throughout, allowing him to let it all out.

  "Things that should end a vampire for good... She came back from so many."

  "A heart?" Sam was suddenly panicked. "Do you think?"

  "How could she come back from a torn out heart? From what I saw she never tried that." He was tired from the massive info dump that the dreams had placed on him. Emotionally drained beyond belief. "Vampires still need a heart to move blood around. No moving blood means no healing. She's not a founder. She was turned."

  Sam looked doubtful, but nodded his agreement. "All the dreams were about her?"

  "Yes," he sighed, his head in his hands again. "They were like memories. Vivid memories."

  Sam was silent, not knowing what to say.

  "I don't even think most of them were real," Zac frowned.

  "What makes you say that?" Sam asked, confused. They sounded real enough to him.

  "After thousands of years, memories would twist. Even memories after a hundred years fade," Zac said wryly. "I can attest to that."

  "You do have a point, but this might be useful in dealing with Arturius," he said. "Do you remember anything that might help?"

  "No," Zac sighed. "She used her ability the same way she used it on Caius. There was nothing different."

  Zac had been a shadow of himself the past two weeks. After seeing her die over and over, something had changed in him. Brought him back. Even when he was on the edge, he never backed down from a fight. What the hell had he been thinking? He was a class A jerk, but what else was new?

  "We need to work together," Sam said, picking up on his internal turmoil. "All of us. It's the only way we can fend him off and end him for good."

  "I know, brother," he grimaced.

  "Can we count on you, Zac?" Sam asked.

  "Yeah," he looked up at his little brother. "You can."

  Her world was falling into pieces around her, but Gabby still went into work. It seemed to be the only thing in her life she had control over and right now, she needed it like she needed to breathe. She'd kept a tight reign over her magic, bottling it deep inside herself, too afraid to tap into it. Not even to meditate or light a measly candle. The moment she loosened her grip, was the moment it would all crumble down around her.

  "Have you thought about my offer, Gabrielle?"

  She jumped, her heart skipping a beat. Her hand came up to her chest and she scowled at Arturius, who had appeared beside her out of thin air. "What the hell."

  "Have you thought about my offer," he repeated, sitting on the chair opposite her.

  "Yes," she spat, not elaborating.

  "And?" He was going to make her say it.

  "My answer is no."

  "Don't be so hasty, Gabrielle," he played with the papers on her desk. "I'm sure you have some questions."

  "Oh, I have loads of them," she rolled her eyes, snatching a folder from his hands.

  He smirked at her sharp gesture. "What do you want to know?"

  She looked at him with contempt, throwing the folder into a drawer. "Like you'll tell me the truth anyway."

  "Complete transparency, dear. I'll tell you what you want to know." He leant forward, elbows on his knees and narrowed his eyes at her. "As long as it's something I want to tell you."

  Gabby snorted, "Figures."

  "Well," he chuckled. "Have at it."

  "Why are you such an asshole?"

  Arturius laughed, throwing his head back. "Oh, Gabrielle. That's the spirit."

  "You didn't answer my question."

  "Because I have no shame, dear. No shame at all." His chin came to rest in his hand and he stroked his scar with the tip of his finger. "That was an easy one. Ask something more interesting."

  Gabby hesitated, not knowing how far she could push the Roman. Her magic wouldn't stop him if he decided to kill her, but she took a gamble on it and pushed. "Why did you kill Aya?"

  He snorted, his eyes becoming dark. "I made a mistake and I fixed it."

  "What do you mean?"

  "One of her kind should never have been turned. You're lucky you only knew her now. When she was new, she was never good at controlling herself."

  "She was unstable." She understood now. She'd felt Aya's power when they'd confronted Katrin, or what was left of it. She had been powerful beyond anything Gabby could fathom and paired with the predatory instincts of a vampire, a creature that felt everything tenfold over a human, that was a disaster waiting to happen. But, Aya had learnt control. That much was certain when she'd saved Zac from the werewolf pack. When Sam had told her about that the other day, it was just another piece of the puzzle. Now it had all fallen into place.

  "We've done some terrible things in our time, but so did she."

  "At least she learnt to control herself. No thanks to you."

  "Control is only part of the equation, Gabrielle. She may have killed in the name of revenge, or whatever cause she chose to believe in, but she still killed. I know you know what I'm talking about."

  Gabby gritted her teeth and tried to stop herself from taking the bait.

  He let a smirk tug at his lips at her reaction. "How did it feel when you killed Caius' witches?"

  "Eat shit, Arturius."

  "Always with the shit eating," he laughed. "You modern witches are a colorful lot. That's what I like most about you."

  "Why won't you just leave me alone?" She tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to form in her eyes. Dammed if she would let Arturius see that.

  "Because you need to admit something to yourself, dear."

  She rolled her eyes, willing him to go away. "And what's that?"

  "That when you obliterated those three women, you liked it."

  "Fuck you," she spat, standing up sharply.

  Arturius grabbed her arm as she went to stalk away, pulling her back into his hard chest. He wrapped an arm around her waist and lowered his lips to her ear. "You need help, Gabrielle. Your power will consume you. Let me help you before you hurt someone else. Before you hurt Alex. Before you hurt Liz. Before you hurt your family."

  His mouth was at her ear, murmuring his poisonous words. Whispering to her like a lover. She felt sick as she wrenched herself away. "Stop trying to manipulate me, Arturius. You don't want to help me. You want to use me. Don't think for one second that I'm that naive. I will never come to you. Ever."

  He sneered at her, amusement sparkling in his chestnut eyes. Not wanting to stay a moment longer, Gabby turned on her heel and stormed away from him, pushing away the feeling of dread that had begin to sink into her bones. Arturius couldn't persuade her to come willingly, and the only other thing she knew he would try was to take her by force.

  And it scared the hell out of her.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Morgan had been wandering around Ashburton all morning looking for Zac. Last night she'd said a lot of things. Things that needed to be said, but the more she thought about it, she knew she'd gone about it the wrong way. She knew she had feelings for him all this time, but hadn't realized just how strong they were until she laid eyes on him again. When she saw him in the forest, much like she had found him all that time ago, she knew what was in her heart.

  It was impulsive and a little stupid, but she couldn't help herself. She kissed him and it felt good. When he'd kissed her back she knew that he must feel it too, but it was too soon. The woman he'd been in love with had just died. It would take time and time she had plenty of. But, she still had
to apologize.

  She snorted and shook her head. Morgan Knowles bowed to no man. Well, maybe only to Zachary Degaud.

  The overwhelming need to apologize for her curtness and her flippant regard for his mental state drove her to look for him this morning. Wandering through the gardens was a last resort; she'd been everywhere else. She had almost given up finding him when she saw Sam in the distance, digging up a flowerbed.

  He looked up at her as she approached and nodded curtly, "Morgan."

  "Hi Sam," she hesitated, knowing that he wasn't that trusting of her yet.

  "Did you want something?" He wiped his hands on his pants smearing them with dirt and waited.

  "I'm looking for Zac, but can't seem to find him anywhere." She tried to keep the tone in her voice light, but from the look on Sam's face, she wasn't doing a very good job of it.

  His eyebrow rose and he shrugged, sitting on the grass. "If he's not at the manor, he's either in the forest or at the bar."

  "At this hour?" she exclaimed, sitting next to him.

  "They know him, if you know what I mean."

  "Thanks." She went to stand again, but Sam grasped her arm, pulling her back down.

  "What do you want him for?" His tone was strained.

  "I wanted to apologize," she said. "I said some things I shouldn't have."

  "Like what?"

  "Like none of your business," she huffed, turning red.

  Sam ignored the blush in her cheeks. "I understand what you did for him Morgan, but this time it's different. He's not on a bender, he's got a broken heart. You and I both know how much it took for him to get one. If you care for him, don't push it. Okay?"

  "Of course I care for him," she hissed, turning away. "We were only together for little over a week, but that's all it takes with Zac. I don't think he's even aware of it. His effect on people."

  "Oh, he's aware alright," Sam scoffed.

  "Then perhaps that's to his detriment." She picked up on his tone, knowing that Zac must use it to his advantage in other ways.

  Sam cocked his head, waiting for her to explain.

  "In terms of this," she gestured between them. "Being a vampire."

  Sam seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, his expression softening. "Zac and I were as close as brothers could hope to be… before. When we were human he was…" he struggled to find the word, "good. He always did the right thing by me and for lack of a better word he was kind. Cocky as hell, but kind. I'll never understand what he went through in the beginning, but he hasn't been the same since. He's like a whole different person and sometimes I think that's the problem."

  She was suddenly apprehensive. Sam obviously cared a great deal for his brother and was trying to make a point. "And you think this Aya had something to do with making him remember?"

  "Yes. He was different around her. Better. She challenged him when he needed it the most."

  Morgan grimaced and looked away.

  Sam frowned at her reaction, choosing to dwell on that later. Instead he continued, "Sometimes I think he's trying to be the man he was before. Sometimes I think he doesn't want to be anything other than a vampire."

  "Sounds like he has a choice to make."

  "Look, Zac's in a bad place right now. There's things he doesn't even tell me and I don't even know how forthcoming he was with Aya. I don't know what he's going to do and that's the problem."

  "You mean with Arturius?"

  "Especially with Arturius," he sighed, resting his head on his knees. "It was only the other day Liz caught him with a stake. All I'm saying is to back off for a bit. The last thing he needs, or any of us for that matter, is for him to go off again."

  "Sam," Morgan grimaced. "I know there are a lot of things I don't know. But as you said, I care for him in my own way. I'm not going to abandon him just because things are a little tough. That means you and your friends, too. I'll be here if you need me. If Zac wants me to go, then I will go. I just need time to figure out what to do next."

  He just looked at her, his expression guarded. Sighing, she decided to listen to him. After all, he knew Zac the best and if he thought keeping clear for a while would be better for them all, then she would give him a day or two. Trust went both ways and she wanted Sam's if she was to win Zac's heart again.

  "He's one of a kind," she shrugged, breaking the silence.

  "Don't I know it," Sam said, the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

  Ever since Arturius had cornered her in the office, Gabby had been looking over her shoulder expecting him to make his play for her, as she knew he would. She remembered the covetous look he had given her when she stopped Zac from hitting him that day in Max's and it freaked her out. And when he appeared at her office twice; that was just too much. A two thousand year old vampire had to have some twisted card up his sleeve and she had to be ready when he went to play it.

  Problem was, Arturius could do anything and she wasn't sure she was ready for that.

  Since she lived a few blocks from the office, Gabby walked to and from. Driving would be ridiculous. Today she'd been stuck back late and the sun had just sunk below the horizon, the eerie remnants of twilight fading into the silver glow of the moon. She cast her mind about as she walked, trying to sense if anyone was hanging around. She was still terrified of using her power, but let a little of it trickle through the barriers she'd placed around it. So far, so good.

  The hairs on the back of her neck began to prickle and her heart began to thud in her chest. Someone was watching her, waiting. She could feel it. Walking faster, she had to get home and inside as soon as possible. Once she was there, no vampire other than Liz and the brothers were invited in. She'd be safe until she could call Sam. If she was jumped before then, she could use her powers to buy some time and make a run for it.

  Gabby let out a surprised yelp as she came around the corner and almost ran headlong into a man standing on the sidewalk directly in front of her. As she recognized the vampire, she stumbled back a few more steps in fear. Arturius.

  She eyeballed him, willing his brain to explode, giving him a million tiny little blood clots all at once. But, nothing happened. He just stood there smiling manically at her. She began to think it was the barriers she'd placed inside of her mind that stopped her power from effecting him, but from the satisfied look on his face she knew he was shielded from her power; it wouldn't help her now, controlled or not.

  Arturius laughed, "Something wrong?"

  Dumbfounded, she edged backwards and her voice waivered as she said, "Come closer and I'll scream. Do you really want an audience for this?"

  His eyebrow rose as she turned and ran.

  "You can scream as much as you want Gabrielle," Arturius yelled after her. "The whole neighborhood has been compelled. They won't lift a finger to help you."

  Gabby looked across the street where warm light filtered through the lounge room windows of the Johnson's place. Inside, they were gathered around the television watching some sitcom. They didn't notice her screams. She turned and saw old Mr. Price tinkering around in his garage. She yelled out to him for help, but he went about his task without the slimmest inkling she was there.

  "You can't run forever," Arturius appeared in front of her.

  She stumbled backwards and sobbed, trying to get away from him, but she only stumbled back into his solid chest, his arms circling her waist. She twisted around to face him and beat helplessly against his chest, her power useless.

  "Shhh," he soothed, stroking her hair. "You're too pretty to cry, Gabrielle."

  Suddenly, his eyes widened and the look of satisfaction fell away from his face. A wooden stake protruded from his chest, his blood splattering on her face. She sobbed in disbelief as his skin turned grey and he fell to the ground gasping for breath. Then, he was dead. Looking up she saw Alex staring down at her, her own look of shock plastered on his face.

  "Are you alright?" he managed to say after a moment.

  Gabby could only nod as he embraced
her and she began to cry into his chest.

  "Come inside," he murmured into her hair. "Get some things together and come to my place. He can't come into the house. You'll be safe there for now."

  She watched as Alex dragged Arturius' temporarily dead body from the road and dumped him in the neighbor’s bushes. Now that he was dead, the compulsion he'd placed on the neighborhood would have been broken. The last thing they could afford to happen was someone coming along and find a mummified vampire. That would be disastrous for all of them.

  Alex helped her into the apartment and she stumbled into the bathroom and washed the blood from her face. When the water ran clear, she shut off the faucet and went into the bedroom and began pulling things into a bag with shaking hands. Pulling out his cell phone, Alex dialed Sam's number as she fumbled through drawers.

  He answered after a few rings. "Alex, what's up?"

  "Sam, Arturius just attacked Gabby." He looked to her warily as she glanced up upon hearing his voice.

  Silence, then, "Are you both okay?"

  "Yeah, I staked him before he could grab her," his voice wavered a little, still in shock at what he'd done.

  "Holy shit."

  "Sam, he had compelled the entire neighborhood," he said concerned.

  There was silence from the other end of the phone for a moment, "Well, at least now we know what he is capable of."

  "If I hadn't of come along when I did, I don't know what would have happened to her," he said looking over his shoulder where Gabby had moved onto the bathroom, rifling through the drawers.

  "Where is Arturius now?"

  "I didn't know what to do with him, so I dragged him off the street into some bushes. He'll wake up pretty angry, I guess."

  "Where did you get a stake from?" Sam sounded a little impressed.

  "Well, with all the vampires running around this town lately, I thought I should have something to protect myself with. Even if I'm only a feeble human being."