The Witch Hunter (8 page)

Aya dared not move any faster than need be, so it took her some time to reach the outskirts of the village, now town of Ashburton. Even in the muted darkness she remembered how this place was, a small sleepy village, growing more prosperous as time went by. Now, it was a very different place. Much larger, full of strange technology, but more alive and colorful than she had expected. The streets were hard, no longer packed dirt and there were no horses to be seen. Shiny metal vehicles were lined along the street instead and an artificial orange light washed over her surroundings from the street lamps. A little overwhelmed and intrigued at the changed world, she pulled her stolen jacket closer around herself. Compared to other women that were around the streets, she passed as ordinary enough. She was a little surprised at how promiscuous some looked in short skirts above the knee and low-cropped blouses. It seemed acceptable. Normal, even.

Across the street she spied a restaurant and bar that seemed to be where most people were gathered. The clock on the town hall a few doors down stated it was seven thirty pm. The bar was her first and best option to gather information. People talked more freely with a bit of alcohol. She crossed the gardened square and moved through the people gathered on the sidewalks. A few men glanced at her as she passed and their female partners cast her glares that were meant as a warning, which she disregarded without so much as a glance in their direction.

Aya opened the door and stopped just inside the doorway. In a split second she had surveyed the room. Three vampires, a witch 
and
 a werewolf. What a small town supernatural hub, Ashburton had really come up in the underworld. Perhaps her rude awakening wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all. This would be very interesting, but she had to be mindful of who these creatures were. The town would be claimed by one of the groups and by the intensity in the bar, she guessed it was up for contention.

She strode towards the bar at the far side of the large open room, aware that eyes were following her progress; human and vampire. The place was not that busy yet, still early evening, but enough that she brushed past her fair share of alcohol fueled young men. Young, human men. She pulled herself up internally. This was reconnaissance only. Fresh, warm human blood straight from the source was an indulgence that too often turned her into something darker than she ever wanted to be.

At the bar she ordered a triple scotch, straight up. The bartender eyed her with a little awe; she didn't have to read his emotions to know that he was a little turned on by the thought. On the house, he had said with a little compulsion. Strange enough, the alcohol helped with her control, but it took a lot of the stuff to make her drunk. 

As the scotch slowly disappeared from the glass, her inner compass took note of the lay of the bar behind her as she sat on a stool, seemingly studying the remaining contents. She listened to the conversations around her, trying to hear anything that would be of use. Assimilating into this slightly insane new era, or locating the source of the singing blood.

Two vampires were seated with the witch at the rear of the bar and were throwing out all kinds of emotions. Mostly she caught apprehension and anger. She couldn't help but notice the fact that they were staring at her and not making any effort to hide it, even if her back was turned. The third vampire seemed to be with them but was flitting around talking to many young humans. She felt young herself; almost newly made. The werewolf, a young testosterone fueled male, was standing to her left ordering drinks. He was unconsciously fidgeting and leaning towards her as if he could sense she was something else. And he reeked of sweat and blood.

To her annoyance, one of the vampires from the table at the rear was approaching in her blind spot. He leant against the bar with the pretence of ordering drinks, but she could feel the curiosity dripping from him. Tall, dark and handsome was such a cliché, but an apt description. He feigned a casual glance in her direction and caught her gaze. Green eyes assessed her from under his messy dark hair. Suddenly, she wondered how old he was. Certainly nowhere near her real age. No vampire in this country was, at least before she went to sleep. It was a new age and a lot more things seemed accessible even for the undead.

"Hi," he smiled at her.

She glanced at him nonchalantly and looked away, not wanting to encourage him.

He held his hand out, flashing a warm smile, ignoring her brush off, "I'm Zachary Degaud and you are?"

She turned her head slightly and looked him up and down, "And what am I going to do with a Zachary Degaud?" She could never help being a little smart.

The faint trace of a smile touched his lips, "Just rolling out the welcome wagon."

"Zachary is such an old fashioned name, is it not?" she prodded at the age card.

"What can I say? Old fashioned parents," he leant closer flashing a wicked smile. She could tell he was one for playing games. Asking casual questions to gain morsels of information. She grinned inwardly not giving herself away to him. In other circumstances she would have had a lot of fun with this one. "But you can just call me Zac. And your name is?" he continued, the smile never leaving his lips.

She pointedly looked him up and down, "You can call me Aya."

"Aya," he tried her name out, seemingly pleased that she had taken the time to assess him. "Aya, what?"

She smirked, "Just, Aya."

"I haven't seen you here before, Just Aya. Are you new to town?" he winked. "And your accent. Do I detect a hint of British there?"

She narrowed her eyes slightly, "Just passing through." Not new to town, I can remember being here long ago, she thought to herself. What a different place it was. She wondered if he knew how dark Ashburton's past really was. "I was born in Britain," she added before she cold stop herself. Well, her accent was unmistakable.

"Only passing? Sounds like you'll be gone soon. Do you mind if I join you for a drink? I'd hate to miss the opportunity to get to know such a beautiful exotic lady."

Aya unsuccessfully stifled a laugh at this. He obviously suspected she was more than human, but trying to glean information from her under duress of flattery? It was a manipulation she was well acquainted with and at least a little fond of. She was also aware that his vampire and witch friend had not stopped watching them, obviously listening in on every word.

"I don't think so, Zachary. I'm not one for falling for cheap flattery from strange men in bars," the lack of emotion in her voice was chilling as she shot him down.

His eyes widened ever so slightly, "Please, call me Zac." He wasn't used to being turned down. He was rather handsome in the dangerous kind of way; seduction was a weapon for him. Before he could retort, the door opened with a crash and a group of rowdy men burst in, laughing and seeming very pleased with themselves. Aya cursed under her breath. She couldn't help but breathe in their scent as the wind blew in around them. They stunk of human blood and sweat and violence.
Werewolves
. Werewolves that had obviously been on the hunt in their human form. Zac visibly stiffened.

Aya raised her eyebrow at him, "Friends of yours?"

"Not in the slightest," he glanced back to his friends, who were looking a little unsettled, but both groups kept their distance at opposite ends of the bar, giving away that they were currently on edge with each other. These were the groups fighting over the town, now she was sure about it.

Repulsed by the emotions emanating from the wolves, she scowled. Hunting was one thing, but killing innocent humans for sport went against all that she had worked for. She seethed inwardly; it would be so easy to tear them apart, to strew their body parts through the forest. It wouldn't take long. She felt her eyes clouding at the thought, blinking she cleared her mind and turned back to Zac. She had to be careful. There was still the issue of finding the one who had called her without revealing herself in the process.

"Well," she declared. "This town is flavorsome."

Zac laughed uneasily, "True story."

"Your friends look worried, perhaps you should go and reassure them. Your adversaries look like they have already had their fun for the evening," she said to cover the awkward silence that had emerged between them.

"That's very observant of you," he said knowingly.

"I'm a very observant person. It goes without saying. A young woman on her own in a small town in a bar full of macho bravado... one has to look out for oneself."

"Well said, Miss Aya. Are you sure I can't join you?" his wicked grin had returned.

Perhaps he was the one who called her, that's why he was sniffing around. He had a witch friend hovering in the wings who could have cast the spell, but perhaps he was just trying to figure out if she was a vampire. Someone whom he could enlist in the war over territory. She glanced over towards the witch for the first time meeting her gaze. She was a young woman with pale olive toned skin, long dark hair and a warm radiance of muted power. A power that was very familiar, one to watch.

"No," she said, answering his question. "I was just leaving."

"Will I see you again Miss Aya?"

She looked at him with a note of amusement. "Maybe," she shrugged. It was time to withdraw from this supernatural hotbed; all the underlying vendettas that were beginning to emerge in this place were beginning to overwhelm her still groggy senses. She'd only been awake a few hours and had obviously slept a lot longer than she had planned.

Her eyes met the dark brown of the young witches over his shoulder and she said, "Good night Mr. Zachary." And promptly stalked across the room and slunk through the door, the three watching her smooth exit.

CHAPTER SIX

Z
ac 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.