The Return (24 page)

"Trust me," she said. "We need to bide our time."

"What if something happens to you?"

"I won't let it," she said firmly.

"I can't lose you again."

She sighed and leant towards him, her lips on the edge of his jaw. "I know," she kissed him lightly, the stubble on his face rasping against her lips. "I know."

Rhian was angry when she finally woke. When Arturius had left her the previous night, or was it day, Gabby had been locked in the study with the unconscious witch until she came to. There had been sounds throughout the house that had signaled that something was happening, but no one had come upstairs. At first she hoped it was Aya come to rescue her, but she soon let that hope slide.

Gabby regarded Rhian without remorse as the witch picked herself up from the ground, clutching her head.

"That was incredibly stupid, Gabrielle," the witch scolded her. "You could have killed me. You do know that I'm only trying to help you?"

"I don't want your help," she replied sullenly.

"The darkness will claim you in one way or another. It will be much less painful if you accept it and stop fighting."

"I'll never stop fighting, Rhian. I never want to be like
you
."

Rhian sighed and bit her bottom lip, surveying Gabby with her strange feline eyes. She looked so much like Katrin it made her sick to the stomach. After all she had learnt about the founding witch and now Rhian, she never wanted to meet another of her descendants. They would be fortunate not to meet
her
.

The witch suddenly sat forward in her chair, placing a palm against Gabby's forehead before she could turn her head away. Her eyes widened as she felt a burning sensation begin to spread across her skin where Rhian's palm was in contact. Alarmed, she tried to shake her off, but she was caught in her power. Her hand was stuck to her forehead and wouldn't move.

"You've left me no choice, Gabrielle," she said. "It's for your own good."

The burning sensation began to prickle into Gabby's skull, worming its way inside her mind. Rhian was trying to take her by force. Her power was burning it's way through the walls she'd placed in her mind when she'd sensed the darkness awaken inside of her weeks before. She struggled to remain focused, fighting with everything she had to keep Rhian out. But, the truth of it was, she didn't understand enough to keep it up forever. Even with the amount of power she possessed, it would still end the same way. It was only a matter of time before everything would crumble down around her.

Gabby was terrified to think about what she would become when Rhian succeeded. She wouldn't be the same person anymore. The Gabby she was would disappear and she wondered if she would beg Aya to take her power or try and destroy her with it. Grimacing, Gabby tried to hold on, but the burning was becoming unbearable. She had to do something.

Suddenly, Gabby understood. There was only one thing she could do to get away. It was her only option.

Praying she was strong enough to hold on until she got to Aya, Gabby let the walls she'd placed in her mind crumble. Instantly, she felt the darkness swirl alive, obliterating almost everything inside of her. It was a like a feral monster, salivating for blood and destruction and she gasped with the force of it, her heart beating so erratically in her chest, it felt like she was having a heart attack.

The satisfied smirk that crossed Rhian's face made her
more angry
than she'd ever felt in her entire life. Her hand fell away and she grinned. "Welcome, sister."

Gabby cocked her head to the side, her jaw set as she felt the thing inside of her that she was terrified of take over. Standing abruptly, she slammed her hand down onto Rhian's forehead, the heel of her palm resting against the bridge of her nose, her fingers splayed across the top of her skull.
The witches eyes widened in fear as she beheld her fate.
She would not escape her.

The darkness swirled out of Gabby and slammed into Rhian, her
spine arching
forwards as she let out a blood curdling scream of agony. Blood began to run from her nose, leaving a crimson trail over her lips and down her chin, dripping onto her shirt. Gabby looked down at her with a chilling expression as she watched the life bleed from the witch who had tried to ruin her. Perhaps she had already succeeded. But perhaps they hadn't realized just how dark she was inside. How dark the Cohen witches
were
really capable of being.

She let her hand drop and Rhian slumped to the floor, her eyes wide and unseeing. This time she wouldn't be coming back. This time, Gabby had taken her life. This time it had been easier than the last. Is this what they wanted her for? Death, destruction… malice…

She had to laugh to herself, remembering when she had obliterated Caius' witches all those weeks ago. Even though she hated him with the fire of a thousand suns, Arturius was right. She did like it.

G
abby's head snapped up as the door to the study opened and a male vampire strode in. Once his eyes locked onto Rhian's lifeless and broken body, he looked up at her, lips curling back into a snarl. The fleeting look of fear that passed through his eyes didn't escape her notice as she turned her body to face him. The vampire took a few steps forward, obviously unaware that whatever spell Rhian had placed over him for protection had vanished. Even if she
was
still alive, her pathetic charm would be useless.

Glaring up at him through her
eye lashes
, she let out a terrifying snarl, her eyes piercing into his. The vampire stopped dead in his tracks, seemingly transfixed. She felt the darkness swell again, but this time she didn't have to raise a finger. A satisfied smirk pulled at her lips as he fell to his knees, eyes bulging and bloodshot. His mouth fell open in a silent scream as he clawed at his hair, trying to get her out of his head. Blood began to fall from his eyes like tears, staining his cheeks and dripping onto the carpet, all the while Gabby looking on with a sick sense of fascination. How easy it was to bring this monster to his knees before her. How easy it was to choke the life from him.

Absently, she flicked her wrist and he fell face forward onto the floor, eyes wide and vacant. His undead heart was abruptly silent as blood pooled beneath him, the cream carpet now resembling something from a horror movie.

As she looked down on the chaos she had wrought, Gabby suddenly drew in a sharp breath. What…? The darkness lulled inside of her and she felt herself coming back as the hunger from the beast within was sated. Falling to her knees, she rocked back and forth trying to clear her mind. She needed help. She had to call someone. She needed Aya, but she knew she couldn't link her mind with another vampire. It was impossible. Even if Aya was half Celestine, she still couldn't.

Alex.

He was the only human who knew. She didn't know if this would work over distance, she'd only ever linked with her grams this way and she'd
been  right
next to her. There was no other choice. She had to try.

Taking a few deep breaths, she covered her face with her hands and tried to focus. "Alex…"

It felt like her head was filled with static, like she was trying to tune in a radio, but couldn't quite find the station. Voices faded in and out, blending into the white noise. Trying to focus on an image of Alex, she remembered one of the most vivid memories she had of him. The first week at a new school, all alone, she'd walked the halls and Stacey Howard, captain of the cheerleading squad tripped her up on purpose and she had fallen face forward in front of everyone. Mortifying for a girl of thirteen, in a place where she knew no one. It was then that her rivalry had begun with the vapid cheerleader, but it was also when she'd met Alex. He was the one who helped her up, when everyone stood and laughed. He'd offered her his hand and she remembered his awkward smile and chestnut hair that was tinted with red, his trademark hoodie pulled over his head. She'd met Liz later that day and they'd become inseparable. Alex was the first friend she'd made in Ashburton.

Fixing that image of him in her minds eye, Gabby tried again, willing her message to get through. "Alex…"

There was silence for a moment, the static dissipating and she knew she had heard. His hesitant voice echoed in her mind. "Gabby?"

"Oh, god, Alex. It's me."

"Gabby, is it really you? Where are you?"

"It's me," she almost sobbed. "I'm in a lot of trouble. I need Aya… Arturius has me at old Mr. Forester's."

"Aya and Zac were taken," he said haltingly. "Morgan betrayed us."

"What? No!" Her desperation was overwhelming. If anything had happened to Aya...

"Are they there with you?"

"No… I don't know. Wait a minute..." Tentatively, she let her earth sense prickle through and let it wander the house, brushing past a few others, obviously other vampires and a human, before settling on two minds far below. One curious mind that she couldn't comprehend and one she recognized as vampire. That had to be Aya and someone else… She hoped to god it was Zac. "I think so, but I can't be sure."

There was silence for a moment and she almost panicked, thinking she had lost her link with Alex, but his voice came back through. "Hold on, Gabby. We're coming."

"I'm going to find them," she said before he was gone. "I will contact you again. Don't do anything until you hear from me, okay?"

"Okay," he said. "Be careful, Gabby."

As the link faded, she let out a shaky breath. Her head was beginning to feel fuzzy, like someone had stuffed it full of cotton wool and her nose was itchy. Wiping the back of her hand across her nose, her heart skipped a beat when it came back wet with blood. Was this how it was going to happen? The more she fought the darkness, the more her body would break down?

She needed to find Aya before it was too late.

Edging her way around the doorframe, she was relieved when the hallway was empty. No one had come to investigate further, probably jumping to the conclusion that
their
friend would have taken care of it.
Except he was now dead.
Moving down the hall to the top of the stairs, she set her feet down as quietly as she could. She could sense the human in the kitchen and three vampires in what she supposed was the lounge room. The sounds of some television program echoed through the otherwise still house.

Gabby couldn't sense Arturius at all and was thankful. If he were here then she wouldn't have even come this far. He would have stopped her the moment he heard Rhian's screaming.

Setting her foot lightly on the top step, she descended the staircase, her hand clutching the bannister so hard, her knuckles were becoming pale against her olive skin. When she was almost at the bottom, one of the steps let out a groan as the old wood buckled under her weight. Freezing, her heart thudded momentarily before she tried to calm herself. There was no way
of
telling what the vampires could hear, even if they were distracted by the television.

When nothing happened, Gabby let out a shaky breath and took the last few steps to the bottom. Once in the entry hall, she peered around the corner into the lounge, where three male vampires were sitting around drinking beer and watching what looked like to be an episode of
True Blood
. Gabby had no time to ponder the irony of that one.

Crossing the hall, she came to a small dining room that adjoined an old fashioned kitchen.
Hardwood floors and 1970s era mustard wallpaper.
She stifled a gasp when she saw a familiar person sitting at the table. It was Hunter Cross. She'd gone to high school with him. Now, he worked at the auto shop on Grant Street, but then he had been a linebacker on the football team. He was a good guy and obviously had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Gabby had to get him out.

Hunter looked up at her when she stepped into the room, his face plastered with a look of absolute terror as he released who she was. "Gabby?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I'm gonna get you out, okay?"

"I can't leave," he said, his voice bland and unfeeling.

"I know. They made you. I can make it go away." How she knew that was beyond her.

She looked back over her shoulder towards the lounge room, but thankfully the vampires were still distracted. She crossed the kitchen and stood in front of Hunter, his expression lax as he watched her progress. Before he could protest, she grabbed his hand and led him across the kitchen, all the while looking back over her shoulder. Pulling him out onto the back porch, she pushed the door closed, turning the knob as gently as she could manage. She placed her palms on his temples, all the while Hunter looking at her like she was some kind of crazy person. Gabby fought to separate the dark from the light. If she used the darkness then she would kill him without meaning to. It was too much to use on a human being Finally, it separated like oil in water and she tapped into the light, using it to clear the compulsion over him.

Hunter hissed as something inside of him snapped and he pulled away from her. He reached up and grabbed her wrist, his eyes wide with fear. "We've got to get out of here." He sounded more like himself, more like a human in control. If he was back to himself, it was entirely possible his hold over the house was gone. If that was true, then any vampire could walk inside. That meant Sam and Liz...

"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.