The Witch Hunter (11 page)

Aya smiled warmly, "It's okay, Alex. I can handle his kind, but thank you."

He blushed and picked up the hedge clippers from the turf, "Well, I better get back to it." As an after thought he said, "Hey, if you're staying a while you should come to Max's tonight. The bar across the way there. I usually meet Sam and some other friends there after work for a few drinks and a bit of pool. I dunno, could be something to do."

Aya smiled. It was a long time since anyone had invited her anywhere without an ulterior motive. She sensed she had to be careful she didn't lead Alex on. He seemed like one of the few genuine humans out there. Clueless, but genuine.

"Okay," she conceded after a moments thought to the contrary. "Perhaps."

CHAPTER EIGHT

A
ya was a little apprehensive about going to the bar that evening. Having spent the afternoon at the bookshop and the library, she was more than ready for a few drinks, but less inspired about the questions she would be asked by Alex and this Sam guy. They would want to know about her, where she was from, what she was doing here. There was no hiding her accent, she was undoubtedly British. She could speak many languages, but the accent was something she kept hold of unconsciously. After her research session at the library, she found England didn't seem to be the world power it once was. America and the sleeping giant of the east, China, were at the fore front. Politics were more cut throat, weapons and war more destructive. This time was more complicated than she thought possible.

The bar was busy, full of people winding down on a Friday afternoon, desperate to forget their working week. She pushed through the doorway and immediately felt the presence of two vampires over by the far right wall. Glancing in their direction her eyes found Alex sitting with them, laughing at some joke someone had just told. Walking towards them, she smiled as Alex raised his hand to wave her over.

"Hey," he said, getting up. "Glad you could make it. This is Sam and his girlfriend, Liz. This is Aya." He gestured to the two she knew to be the vampires from the previous night. Clearly, he didn't have a clue.

"Oh," she said, extending her hand. "Pleased to meet you. Sam, you work with Alex, right?"

He smiled warmly, shaking her hand. "I see he's been telling you a few things. Hopefully nice."

"Not much," Aya smiled, turning to Liz and shaking her hand, keeping her expression even. She was the annoying vampire from earlier that morning. Overprotective and unsure of herself, unwilling when it came to confrontation.

"I was just telling them that Zac was harassing you in the gardens today," Alex smiled apologetically.

She shrugged, "You call that harassing? Really, it was nothing I couldn't deal with."

Sam let out a laugh, "From what he said it sounded like you mortally wounded him! I've known him my entire life and whatever you've done, keep doing it. He needs to be taken down a peg or two." He winked wickedly at her.

"Ahh," Aya said. "So you're the brother." 
Okay, 
she thought
,
so this is getting complicated.
At least she might be able to find out a few things about them and what they wanted. It wasn't like they were going to come out and say, I'm a vampire, how about you? She knew they suspected something wasn't right about her, but they would be hard pressed in revealing anything unless she chose to.

"Unfortunately, yes," Sam smiled warmly and winked again. "Luckily, I'm the nice one. Zac likes to play the bad boy, but underneath it all, he's a decent guy. Just doesn't like showing it."

"Oh, I see. Like a defense mechanism, right?" Aya said a little sarcastically, she could hear Zac coming up behind her, betrayed by his blood.

"To protect myself from the big bad world..." Zac said darkly from behind her.

"I could use a defense mechanism myself right about now," Aya rolled her eyes and turned to face him.

Zac frowned and ran his hand through his hair, "Look, Aya. We've got off on the wrong foot. I'd like to start again."

Sam laughed behind her and Zac glared at him. Aya grinned lopsidedly, "I'll think about it, but you'll have your work cut out." The others laughed again. She could tell that he was having a hard time admitting that he was being an idiot, and that this was the best she was ever going to get in the way of an apology.

"Well, let me start by getting you a drink. Scotch?"

"Very observant of you Mr. Degaud," she smiled as he walked away.

"So," Liz began. "How long are you staying for, Aya? Alex mentioned you were only here temporarily."

"I'm not sure yet. It depends on my work." It wasn't a lie.

"What do you do?" asked Sam, casually.

"If she told you, she'd have to kill you," smiled Alex, remembering their conversation that morning.

Aya noticed the fleeting looks of panic on Sam and Liz's faces before they laughed, "Good one."

"What do you do for fun, Aya?" Liz asked.

What did she do in her spare time. She thought back to the 1860s. She'd come to Ashburton to find and punish a naughty witch. What she did for fun was play with people’s emotions and drink their blood. She could hardly tell them
that
. "I travel a lot, so I like to learn about the places I visit."

"A history buff, huh? You'd get along with Alex's sister. Too bad she's in England studying right now," said Liz. "Where is she again?"

"Oxford," said Alex with a sad note in his voice. He must miss her. "Where is your family from, Aya?"

"A small village in the Lake District," she said, which was mostly the truth. "Grasmere. It's quite a way from Oxford, in the Northwest."

There was an annoying buzzing sound that grew louder and crescendoed as Zac placed a glass of scotch in front of her. She gave him a half smile in thanks and took a large mouthful. Sam raised his eyebrow slightly at her thirst for alcohol, but she chose to ignore him.

"Why'd you come to the States, then?" Alex asked. England sounded exotic to him and Ashburton, boring. Safe, even.

"A job offer," Aya shrugged. "It was too good to refuse, if you know what I mean."

"What about your family?" 

Her eyes narrowed slightly, "I don't speak with them." That was true. The table became silent at this, Aya taking advantage of the break in the questioning to down the rest of her drink to help curb her annoyance.

"So, you two are gardeners," she changed the subject, when it became apparent that no one knew what to say next. "What do you two do?" She looked at Liz and Zac.

"Well," Liz began. "I work over at the coffee house for the moment. I'm thinking about college in the spring or next fall. And what do you do Zac?" The last part came out with a note of sarcasm.

"I do a lot of stuff," he said. 

"He does nothing but be a nuisance all day," Sam explained. 

"I don't need to work," he shrugged. "So, I don't see the point."

"Isn't it boring?" Aya asked.

"Nope. Not when there's so many people who rise to the occasion," he grinned at her, prodding for a reaction.

"I've never risen once," she laughed. 

"Not yet," his eyes narrowed.

Aya turned to Sam, ignoring Zac's last statement, "So, where do you live, exactly?"

"We own the old manor and plantation grounds on the east side of town," he said.

"Ahh, the Degaud Manor," she said knowingly. "Obviously."

"Do you know it?" Alex asked. Alex, and the human population of the town, knew the story from grade school and the various history projects they had to do. The Degaud Massacre was a dark piece of their town history that was only told in an offhand way, it wasn't something that was dwelt upon. It was said that back in the weeks after the Civil War had ended, a servant had become mad, completely insane. They had slaughtered everyone who lived in the house and plantation, mutilating their bodies beyond recognition. The few slaves that had escaped claimed it was the work of voodoo spirits and wouldn't set foot near the land again and soon after, they disappeared too. It had been abandoned since, only care takers going to check the property every so often. Most people kept away, spooked by the many ghost stories that had been made up about the place. As kids, they used to dare each other to run up to the front door and back on Halloween. Zac and Sam, he knew were distant relatives of the same family that had lived there and had bought the property and remodeled the interior. The brothers were rich, that much he knew.

Aya contemplated what she had read in the library's archives, "Yes. I've read the stories." She remembered the manor and its occupants from before. News of the massacre was a little unsettling, but she wasn't shocked by these things anymore. It was, undoubtedly, the work of vampires, not an insane servant. It had all the calling cards.

"And I can safely say, there are no ghosts or voodoo spirits lurking anywhere near the place," Sam laughed. "They're all just scary stories."

"Well, that's reassuring," she smiled, knowing that ghosts, or rather spirits, did exist. She'd assisted with a few exorcisms in her time. The ghosts associated with the manor, well, it was probably just the memory of what had supposedly happened there that gave an uncomfortable feeling.

Thankfully, after that, the subject changed to lighter topics. Gossip and stories about people and places she had no knowledge or interest in, so she let her mind wander a little. Keeping one ear on the conversation, she watched each vampire’s mannerisms as they spoke. 

Sam she picked to be the kinder of the brothers, he was rational and used his head more often than his heart. Liz was young, the way she spoke and held herself said that she was inexperienced at life in general and she was unsure of what she wanted in almost everything. Alex was undoubtedly human in that he followed his heart in almost everything, but he was naive in trusting that everyone around him had some good in them and that would one day be his downfall. And Zac, who said very little the whole evening, showed himself to be arrogant and impulsive by the way he held himself; more concerned with what he could get out of someone to use to his advantage. He was a typical vampire. 

But, all of them were holding onto the human parts of themselves, some more than others. Liz and Sam were holding the tightest, almost desperately wanting to be the immortal humans, capable of doing good. Zac, well, his hold was reluctant at best. It wouldn't take much to push him off the edge.

"I need to freshen up," proclaimed Liz, snapping her out of her reflection. "Aya, come with." 

"I'm fine thanks," she replied, raising her eyebrow. 

"Oh, Aya. C'mon. I want to talk to you without the boys listening in," she winked at them. 
Trust me
, she mouthed back at the brothers as she took Aya's arm and led her towards the ladies room.

Liz closed the bathroom door behind them and put her bag on the basin. The stalls behind them were empty and the dull roar of the busy bar was the only sound that filled the room. She took out a compact from her purse and began to dab it on her face. Aya leaned against the basin and eyed her in the mirror, feigning smoothing her hair down.

"What does your name mean?" Liz asked after a moment.

"It's just one of those strange names. My parents were free spirits," she shrugged.

"Right, I get it. Like the English equivalent of hippies? We had a girl at our school once who was named Rainbow Apple," she laughed at the insane notion.

"Well, that seems unfortunate," Aya said, reacting to the tone in Liz's voice. "How long have you and Sam been together?"

"Oh, about a year. He helped me through a rough patch and it kind of just happened, you know?" she smiled. 

"That's a pretty ring," Aya reached out and took Liz's hand so she could see. It was a small onyx stone set into an ornate silver band. She could feel the spell on it. It was the trinket that allowed her to walk in the sun and the magic was old. Their witch couldn't have spelled it for her, let alone have made one in the first place.

"Thanks. Sam gave it to me," she said, taking her hand back nervously, pretending to look it herself. "You don't wear any jewelry. How come?"

Aya shrugged, "I never really saw the point. Maybe if someone gave me something, I would."

"Like a handsome man," Liz giggled, winking at her.

Aya groaned inwardly. Girl talk grated on her insides, but it was a means to an end. "Maybe," she replied, playing along.

"Do you have anyone, back where you're from?"

"No. No handsome man waiting for me. My life is in America. For now, at least," she hadn't had to lie yet, but then again, she was good at this.

"Well, the guys around here are all falling over themselves over you," Liz winked.

"Really?" Aya frowned.

"Yes! Of course they are! Aya, you're hot. You could have any one of them you wanted," Liz offered her her lipstick.

She shook her head. "I never noticed."

Liz laughed, "I can tell Alex thinks you're beautiful. Zac, too."