The Witch Hunter (24 page)

The day she found the grimore in the attic was the day she was moving out and into her apartment across town a year and half ago. She'd gone through all her old boxes of childhood toys and stumbled across a box hidden in the back corner under her pile. When she'd opened it, she found the most curious things inside. 

On the very top was a white envelope with her name written on the front. Opening it, she read the brief note and suddenly understood everything. It read,
Gabrielle, when it is time, you will know what to do with this.

It was unsigned, but she knew it was from her grandmother. She recognized her handwriting from birthday and Christmas cards. Underneath was the grimore and what could only be witches tools. Wrapped up in a deep purple quilt was an ornate knife with a bone handle, a silver bowl and several jars of dried herbs. 

She managed to take the box without her parents finding out and began visiting the old cemetery, trying to understand what she was. It wasn’t long before she realized the strange things she'd been feeling all her life was the earth trying to speak to her.

It had been over a week since she'd been entrusted with finding what had kept Katrin's soul attached to the living and for the life of her she couldn't work it out. She'd spent hours pouring over the grimore, but she couldn't understand most of it, the languages many of the pages were written in were old and strange. The nights she spent communing with the earth to search it's energy for anything that seemed out of place, but came up empty time and time again. Truthfully, she didn't know enough to understand what she was looking at most of the time. 

Sighing, she put the grimore aside and climbed into bed, exhausted. Tomorrow was another day and she would try again. She had to, even though she knew she would come up empty handed.

Soon, she was fast asleep, her mind wandering into different dreams, of her grandmother, the story she'd read about Aya saving her ancestor from burning at the stake and her search through the grimore, the pages blending into one huge blur.

As her dream settled, she found herself in the old cemetery, sitting cross-legged in the middle of a circle of power, as if she had been in the midst of meditation. The night was dark around her, the wind wailing as if a storm was brewing. The only light that pierced the darkness was the flickering candles that surrounded her. 

Gabby jumped in surprise as she saw a woman emerge from the darkness. She approached calmly, her hands clasped in front of her, expression cold and unwavering. She wore a dress of long white folds of silk, low over her shoulders, draped to the ground, cinched at the hips by a low golden belt. Long auburn hair spilled over her shoulders that lay still, even as a strong breeze buffeted the cemetery.

How she knew that this woman was Katrin was beyond her. The witch stood at the edge of the circle, her expression closed, calmly assessing her before stepping harmlessly over the line that was meant to keep others out. Her eyes flickered to the grimore on the ground and her covetous look didn't escape Gabby.

"I'd hoped that you were one of mine," Katrin rested an ethereal hand on Gabby's shoulder. "But you're Ismena's. Not to worry."

Gabby was too surprised to say anything and when Katrin reached out and placed a hand over her eyes, she froze.

Katrin began to murmur under her breath, then said audibly, "You're eyes will be one with mine. What you see and hear, will be mine."

Gabby gasped as she woke with a start. Her mind was confused and she blinked hard a few times and realized she was at home, in bed and it was three am. The dream slipped from her mind just as quickly. An odd feeling told her to try and remember before it was gone, but nothing came to mind. The only thing that she could think about as she fell back to sleep was that she would be wrecked at work tomorrow.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

S
everal days had passed since Aya had returned to the manor with Zac in tow and for several days she had avoided him. Apart from walking in on him and that knife, she had managed to evade him and his annoying questions. Remembering his blood all over the table, she grimaced. The sound of it had pierced through her head, splitting it open. 

For two thousand years she had learnt to deal with people, read their emotions, decipher the meanings to their words, decode their motives, untangle their wicked webs of deceit. But she had no idea how to deal with the insinuated meaning in Zac's words, the words he spoke as they drove to the manor. 

I don't want you to leave.

It was the first time she had felt so protective of someone and it was an alien feeling. No one wanted her to stay once they knew even the smallest sliver of truth about her and she gladly compelled their memory of her away. These vampires knew nothing but the barest facts. Her greatest secrets would remain buried. They had to.

The impenetrable wall she had built around herself had always served her well. All that kept her going was the purpose she had set herself to last her eternity. Revenge. There was no room for anything else. So, to save Zac from her, she compelled the memory of their kiss away. It was for his own good. 

But, those words. Maybe compulsion wasn't enough this time. She shook her head and pushed those thoughts away. It would do her no good to dwell when there we bigger threats lingering.

Finally, she now had an opportunity to end Katrin for good. Her first and possibly only opportunity. But it all relied on Gabby. The young witch had access to powers that were immense, but were still beyond her reach. She needed to learn how to use them. If this happened, she was confident they had a chance of prevailing. The young witch just needed a push in the right direction.

Aya had invited Gabby to the manor where they could talk freely. The brothers were gone somewhere she didn't really care about. Brotherly bonding, pulling Zac back on the wagon. They needed a game plan, and soon. Enough time had passed in which Katrin could put together whatever grand scheme she had up her sleeve and they needed something to at least counter it. She'd been distracted by one particular brother far too much.

"I've dealt with spirits before but not the spirit of a witch," admitted Aya, pushing her thoughts away. "Just the living kind."

Gabby sighed, the stress obvious, "I'm so lost."

"Give me the grimore," Aya frowned. "I can have a read of the older stuff."

"You can read that?" Gabby was surprised. "I don't even know what language it is."

"I'm older than it is. I've been around long enough to learn a lot of different languages," she shrugged, flipping through the pages. Coming to rest on the spell that had summoned her, she groaned. "This one we can do without."

Gabby grabbed her arm as she went to tear the offending page out. "Don't," she pleaded. "It's all I have of my Grams. Don't destroy it."

"We need to get rid of it, Gabby. As it is now, it's just a call. With the right inflection, it could become a summoning," Aya warned. 

"You mean, physically summon you?" 

"Yes."

"No one will take the grimore," she was confident. "It's safe with me."

Aya shook her head, "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you." She continued to flick through pages, stopping to read when something caught her interest. 

"Nothing?" Gabby asked, when she was handed the grimore back.

"I don't know," she sighed dramatically. "There's no one in your family who you can talk to? Other witches?" 

"No," the young witch said, shrugging. "My parents have no power they admit to. There is my grandmother, but..."

"I would advise you think about contacting her," Aya said, giving her a little nudge with her words. 

"I'm not even sure where she's living," Gabby protested. 

"Well, you better get a clue," Aya raised an eyebrow at her. "She might be the only one who can help you find what's in there." She jabbed a finger at Gabby's heart. "Otherwise dying might be the best solution for all of us."

When the brothers finally came home, it was late afternoon and Aya was in the garden, sitting on the stone bench, staring at the sky. She assumed they had been doing some brotherly vampire bonding thing. Stay away from my girlfriend and stop eating people type exercises. Building bridges so they could get over it already.

"How was your AA meeting," she said seriously as she heard them come up behind her. She didn't have to turn to know that Zac was glaring at her. It was the first time they had spoken since the knife incident.

The brothers weren't fast enough to catch the movement to their left, but Aya was up from the bench and in front of Zac grasping a stake that had been thrown at him in a millisecond. And it was thrown back just as fast, a thud as it found its mark. She growled in annoyance as an unknown vampire came from the garden behind, stake in hand lunging for Sam. But she was there again, grabbing the male vampires wrist, stopping him dead in his tracks.

She sighed, exasperated, "You people never learn." She squeezed her hand harder around the assailant’s wrist and it cracked and the stake dropped to the ground.

The vampire grimaced, but kept coming, obviously on a kamikaze mission. There was no way he would survive her. 

Aya grabbed his hair before he could duck and drove his head into the ground so hard there was a loud crack as his skull broke. Aya held his head in place, as blood began to pool beneath them. If she moved it even slightly, the vampire’s brains would spill out of his broken skull and he would be good as dead. Her eyes were chillingly opalescent as the sent of blood filled the garden and she hissed deep in her throat. 

"When you get to the other side, tell that bitch Katrin that she'll have to try harder than that to best me," she let her grip slacken and the vampires eyes glazed over as his brains slid out of his broken skull. 

Turning to the brothers, they were still in the same spot, shock etched on their faces. Only a minute had passed, but it was more than enough to get the job done. Her eyes refusing to clear she sneered, "Do that peace of shit a favor and stake him." She was beautiful and terrible all at once.

"Your eyes..." Zac whispered. "What...?"

Aya grinned wickedly, "I'm a new kind of monster, vampire. One of a kind. Limited edition."

"But you are a vampire?" asked Sam, picking up the stake, warily.

"Unfortunately, yes," she rolled her eyes sarcastically, the color shifting back to their regular icy blue.

"Then why are your eyes white?"

"Consider me an albino. Cataracts from old age. Storm from X-men," she said sarcastically.

Zac raised his eyebrows, "You learn quick for someone who's been out of it for decades."

"Adapt and survive; or die. I don't know about
you
, but I'm a survivor," she pushed past him, going back inside. 

Sam ran after her, calling, "Aya, wait."

"Katrin is amping up her game finally," she said, not waiting to hear what he had to say. "Put your game face on, Samuel. Whatever she's going to try will happen
very soon
." 

"She's testing our defenses," Zac said, coming up behind his brother. 

"Aww, there's the Captain we all know and love," she said, mockingly.

"Give it a rest," he shook his head, not wanting to be reminded. "It could also be a diversion. Sam, I suggest you check in on Liz and Gabby. I will have a look around the grounds."

"I would be more worried about Gabby right now," Aya said. "Going after Liz would be pointless. And besides, there's no one else here."

"How do you know?"

"Why do you still have to ask?"

Sam grimaced, "I'm going to check on her."

"I'm coming with you," Zac said.

"No, stay here. It might be exactly what Katrin wants you to do," Sam held his hand up. "I won't be long. I'll call once I know more."

Zac looked to Aya, but she just shrugged and went inside.

"Fine," he said, reluctantly agreeing with his brother. "Call me the second you know anything."

"I will, brother," Sam reassured him and disappeared around the side of the house.