The Awakening (13 page)

"Probably the fact that you cannot be killed
by conventional means," the Roman drawled.

"He's the only one who can take down Aed for
good," Gabby countered.

"That much we gathered," Tristan said.

When everyone stopped and stared at Aya, she sighed
dramatically. "I tried to burn his heart to ash and it didn't work."

"You fought Aed?" Regulus snorted. "
You
."

"We voided each other out," she continued,
ignoring the Roman. "His power won't work on me and mine won't work on
him."

"So the all powerful Aeriaya can't save the
day anymore."

"Regulus," Gabby hissed.

"Don't you dare say my name, filth," Aya
said through gritted teeth. "I can still end you."

"And what would that solve?" The Roman
asked, walking around Gabby and picking up a bottle of alcohol off the table.

Gabby watched the vampires as they eyed each other
and she caught Zac's gaze. He frowned and shook his head slightly before
turning back to Aya. She respected the Celestine as a witch, but Zac…he was
different. His respect had been hard won and she was about to lose it if she
couldn't explain herself to him. He'd gone to kill Regulus believing he was
going to die and it was all her fault.

"How is it that only you can kill the mental
case?" Nye asked, breaking the silence. "Why not the Hunter?"

"I don't understand how it works,"
Regulus said, putting the bottle back. "I always assumed it had something
to do with the spell that created us. I'm not sure Katrin did, either."

"But that doesn't make sense," Gabby
exclaimed. "You said she created you for that reason."

"Yes, but who knows how these things
work." His eyes flickered to Aya.

"Don't look at me," she rolled her eyes.

"For a Celestine, you have quite the
attitude."

"Regulus," Gabby scolded. "Fighting
will get us nowhere."

"Perhaps not," he said, his eyes never
leaving Aya's. "But, I do love getting a reaction from the fearsome Witch
Hunter."

"Why do you care about the hybrid?" Aya
asked, her eyes borrowing further. "Why not leave us to him?"

"Because, dear star, I was made for this
purpose. Besides, Aed is a threat to all out kind, not just a lone remnant of a
long dead war."

"You were made for this?" she scoffed.
"Then why try and steal the Celestine's secrets?"

"I didn't say it was my only purpose," he
said with a smirk.

"Enough," Zac said, stepping between
them. "I doubt any of this matters right now. Not with a mental case on
the loose. Leave your fighting for after he's dead."

Gabby knew she was right in trusting Zac. He'd
changed and even though she was obviously on the outs with him now, he still
did what was needed to be done.

"I can track the hybrid and we can end him for
good," Regulus said. "Then all is fair in love and war."

"I'm counting on it," Aya muttered.

"Where are the Three?" Regulus asked.
"I assume they're still around here someplace."

"Downstairs," Zac replied, narrowing his
eyes.

"Oh, calm down, Zachary," the founder
snorted. "I'm not going to take away your playthings."

"I don't order them around. They're free to do
whatever they want."

"Regulus," Gabby murmured. "Leave
them be."

"You're not welcome here, Regulus," Aya
said. "The moment you step out of line, you'll have to deal with me. Got
it?"

"As clear as a starry night, precious."

"There's a spare room at the back," Nye
said, nodding to a hallway that led off the dining room.

The Roman narrowed his eyes at the spy.

"If you've got something to say, mate, say
it."

"Don't think I haven't forgotten your
betrayal, Nye." He looked the vampire up and down before walking down the
hall and pushing open the door to the bedroom. A slam echoed through the
apartment a moment later and Gabby glanced at Nye, who just shrugged.

"He's got a good memory," he said like it
didn't matter and went back to the table, picking up the drink he'd discarded
earlier.

The front door slammed as Zac left and Gabby looked
to Aya who just rolled her eyes and stalked off in the opposite direction. A
third and final slam signaled her final word on the matter.

"He's gone to the roof, I'd say," Tristan
said, joining Nye.

There was no putting it off, so Gabby went out the
door to the apartment and found the only set of stairs leading upwards. Zac was
still unpredictable and there was no telling which way this was going to go.
He'd changed so much in such a short amount of time it was alarming. Still, all
she had was the truth and hopefully he'd hear her out.

At the top of the stairs, Gabby eased the heavy
looking door open and cold air rushed inside, taking her breath away. She
instantly saw Zac sitting on the edge of the roof, feet dangling over the edge.
He knew she was there, but he didn't acknowledge her existence.

Letting the door close behind her, she gingerly
propped herself on the edge beside him, the wind whipping icicles around her
and she shrunk down into her coat.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You let me believe I was going to my
death," he said thinly.

"I'm sorry, Zac. It had to be believable to
everyone. Aed can read blood like an open book. If he'd gotten hold of any one
of you it would've been over. The element of surprise is the only thing we've
got going for us right now."

"You could've told me I wasn't linked with
him. You could've told me that at least."

"
I'm sorry,
" she exclaimed.
"I did what I had to."

"Did Regulus threaten your family? Liz? Alex?
Is that why you're with him? Is that why you did it?"

She sighed, looking at her hands. "In the
beginning, yes. He threatened my family if I didn't co-operate."

"But?"

"But, the Coven's spell worked and as a witch
I have a duty to see this to the end." The lie came so smoothly, she
surprised herself. But it wasn't a lie, not really. She'd just left out one
important little detail. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep you all from
harm."

"You can't. Not from Aed."

"I might not be able to, but I'll die trying
if I have to."

"You don't need to die for me. You're not
going to be a martyr. Not while I'm around."

His disappointment in her sliced deep. After
everything, Zac mattered the most. He was her only link to home, her only link
to what she'd left behind. She couldn't lose that and she couldn't lose his
hard won respect.

"We never started out as friends," she
said. "But, now we are. Please don't let this ruin it."

He snorted, wringing his hands together.

"This whole thing is bigger than us. It scares
the shit out of me and I don't think I can do it without you." She wound
her hand around his shin, pulling him against her. "I'll do whatever
I can to get you home to Sam and Liz. I promise."

Finally, Zac looked at her, his expression shifting
into something she didn't understand. Snaking an arm around her back, her
pulled her against his side. She took that as a white flag and rested her head
against his shoulder. The irony of their embrace didn't escape her, considering
how much they'd fought when they'd first met back in Louisiana. She'd been
trying to protect Liz from his bad boy ways long before her friend knew that
they were vampires. This was a one-eighty from that and it was hard to pinpoint
exactly when things had changed. That kind of nostalgia brought up all kinds of
memories.

"Remember that summoning spell?" she
asked.

"Do I remember?" Zac asked wryly.
"How could I forget."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Gabby's eyes opened slowly, taking in the living
room that was flooded with silvery grey morning light. Her entire body felt
sluggish from her night on the sofa and she rolled onto her back, stretching.

A pair of icy blue eyes were staring down at her
and she jumped, sitting upright.

"I have Alisandra's grimoire," Aya said
blandly, holding out the leather bound book to the witch.

Gabby took the grimoire gingerly, like it might zap
her with Celestine payback medicine. The hybrid still wasn't very happy and
would probably be difficult until this whole mess was over. One more thing she
had to deal with on top of everything else. Things seemed slightly better with
Zac and she hoped they would stay that way. Aya, on the other hand... Last
night was the first time she'd seen Aya since the day the hybrid had left Ashburton
and shouldn't she be just as angry with her? After she left Zac in such a
callous way and after leaving them all? She should be angry, right?

"You know I can sense your emotions?" Aya
said, cocking her head to the side.

Gabby nodded, clutching the grimoire tighter to her
chest.

"All I can sense is confusion," Aya said
suspiciously. "I hope it's not the kind of confusion I'm thinking it
is."

"Aya."

They both looked up at the sound of Zac's voice and
the hybrid frowned. Gabby smiled a little at him in relief and he nodded.
Things were bad enough without any of them finding out that she was falling for
Regulus. That was exactly why she slept on the couch and not in his bed where
she'd much rather be.

Zac held out his hand for Aya and she walked away
stiffly, probably annoyed that she was interrupted from her interrogation.

"Let us know if there's anything we can do to
help," he said. "We'll be waiting."

Gabby nodded. "I'll go over the grimoire this
morning. Regulus is going to teach me how to track Aed later on."

Aya sighed sharply, obviously wanting to put her
two cents in, but Regulus chose that moment to walk into the room, looking all
refined and collected, like nothing was wrong at all. She narrowed her eyes at
him and dragged Zac towards the front door. It slammed closed a moment later,
the boom echoing through the empty apartment.

Regulus sat next to Gabby, not in the least annoyed
at the abrupt exit of the two vampires.

"Should we go someplace else?" she asked,
glancing at the front door.

"No, they won't be able to hear from down
there. Too many walls and slabs of concrete in the way."

Nodding, she opened up Alisandra's grimoire. It was
the first time she'd had a chance to look it over. When Coraline had taken it
from the Matriarch, she'd given it to Aya the day after the hybrid had ripped
the witches to pieces. Now it sat in her lap and she wasn't sure she was going
to like what she found inside.

The Coven had been corrupt from day one. Not only by
blood, but by cause as well. The spells and incantations in here would be all
kinds of wrong. As she opened the cover, she felt the book resonating in her
hands, almost like it was trying to suck all the light from the room. On the
first page, there was an epigraph written in an elegant hand. It was a
manifesto of sorts for the Coven written in witch speak, talking about revenge
and birthright. She could taste a metallic bile rising in the back of her
throat and she quickly turned the page.

As she flipped through the grimoire, the things she
read became worse and worse. Spells for harm, curses on the soul, poisons to
leach power from another witch. Horrible, painful rituals that went against
everything that she stood for.

"This is all kinds of fucked up," Gabby
said, feeling sick. "There's spells and curses for all kinds of nasty
shit."

"Nasty shit?" Regulus asked, amusement in
his voice.

"Get with the times, old man."

He chuckled, running a hand over her thigh.
"The Coven were not known for their kindness to all creatures."

"You've been dealing with them for a long
time, what else aren't you telling me?" she asked a little too forcefully.

"The Coven, as you know, have been working
towards one goal for the last three thousand years. Awakening the Tuatha hybrids
so they can resurrect a dead race."

"But that'll never work. They'll never be as
they were."

"Try explaining that to a coven of mentally
unstable witches."

She frowned, turning back to the grimoire.
"But Katrin was a part of the Coven," she said, running her fingers
along the heavy parchment.

"Who was betrayed by her own kind. Used for
something against her will. She would have been cast out for having no power,
instead they used her as a tool against the Celestines."

"And to bring back the Tuatha."

"She was intelligent enough to understand that
it would be devastating if that ever happened. I've explained it to you before,
dear one. She created us for her own revenge."

"Against the Celestines and the Tuatha."

"And those which would claim her as family as
long as she did what she was bade to do."

Gabby stared at the grimoire, not trusting herself
to look up. Everything had been so black and white for so long, she was
confused at all the blurring lines. Katrin was on the bad side. She was
supposed to fight her, supposed to banish her to the other side. Turned out
that even the bad guys believed they were doing things for the greater
good. But Katrin was gone along with the Coven and the other five founders
and they were the only ones left. The lines had to blur a little more to end a
greater threat.

She flipped the page again, hoping that the next
one would have some kind of answer. Instantly, the ritual jumped out at her,
the witch speak word for awakening dominating everything else. The long spidery
handwriting looked like it had been scrawled there eons ago, the ink bleeding
deep into the brown parchment.

"There is the awakening ritual," Gabby
said, pointing to the page.

"Does it mention anything about the
binding?"

Scanning the page, she shook her head. "It's
talking about awakening lost brethren. Finding hope which was lost."

"Not our hope," the Roman said, looking
over her shoulder.

"There is nothing about a binding in the whole
thing. There are glyphs for weakening, those might help, but nothing about putting
a hybrid back in a stone box. Aoife bound them with Celestine magic, maybe
Aya..."

"If she knew, don't you think she would've
already told you?" Regulus interrupted.

"Yeah, she probably would've."

She must have sounded more morose than she intended,
because Regulus pulled her into his lap, a hand cupping her face. She instantly
stiffened and glanced at the door. If they found them like this...

"I know you didn't mention our relationship to
them," he murmured. "I understand."

"I told them you're only here because of
me."

"And I am."

"And you're not their master. We're
equals."

Regulus snorted. That obviously didn't sit well
with him.

"I've hurt them enough," she said.

Regulus breathed in her scent and pressed his lips
to her throat. "I thought this was between us, dear one. No one else and
especially not those imbeciles."

"Please be nice. No fighting."

The Roman's only response was to capture her in a
kiss. As he deepened it, he set her down on the sofa and pressed into her,
letting his hands wander. A master of manipulation indeed.

"Are you going to teach me how to track the
hybrid?" she asked breathlessly.

"Your wish is my command." When a smile
spread across her face he pressed a finger over her lips. "Don't take that
too literally." Standing, he took her hand and pulled her up from the
sofa. "You better put your coat on, dear one. We're going outside."

When she was ready, they trudged down the stairs
and stood outside the apartment block, beside the canal that ran through the
center of Camden. The entire world passed them by as if nothing was in the
least bit wrong.

"Do you think I will be able to do it?"
Gabby asked, putting the human world out of her mind. "Track him?"

"I don't see why it wouldn't work with
you," he said. "I was made by one of the Five for this and you are
descended from one of them, so it stands to reason."

"Then guide me through it and we can
try."

"When I sense him, I can feel his power,"
Regulus said taking her hand. "If I'm quiet enough, I can feel it against
my mind like a strange fizz."

"Fizz?" Gabby asked with a small laugh,
squeezing his hand.

"Yes. A strange fizzing sensation, much like
the white noise of a modern radio."

"How can you tell it's the Tuatha?"

"It's akin to tuning into the signal, like one
of your radio stations. You'll know when you've got him and you'll know which
way to go like a magnet. I was told that it's a similar feeling when a witch
scrys with a crystal."

"Except you become the crystal."

"Yes, that sounds about right. It tells me
where I need to go." He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. "Give
it a try, Gabrielle."

She stood next to him, fitting her small body
against his side, and closed her eyes. Tuning out all the noises from the city
around them, she cast her mind out, feeling for the white nose Regulus had
mentioned. Zac had said Aed was hanging around London, so there was a very high
chance they'd get a hit. It wasn't long before she felt it at the edges of her
thoughts. A strange fizzing sound, just as the founder had said, and the more
she focused on it, the more she felt a tug at her soul. It was leading her
towards the Tuatha.

"Can you feel that?" she asked, looking
up at him.

Regulus was staring off into nothingness and she
knew that he did. He took a few steps, pulling her with him.

"Regulus, no," she almost shrieked at
him. He meant to go after Aed
right now
. "We can't go alone."

"We can and we will. This could be our only
chance and I'm going to take it."

"He knows who you are. He knows from Coraline
and Max. When he sees you…"

"It will be too late."

"He's just…sitting there," Gabby said as
they peered through the wrought iron fence that surrounded a private garden.
London was littered with them for the old townhouses that stood in the West
End. Private, key only exclusivity for the rich residents and one hybrid, who
seemed to do whatever took his fancy.

"There is no reason for the insane,
Gabrielle," Regulus muttered.

Aed was sitting in the middle of the garden on the edge
of a fountain, trailing his fingers through the spray of water. He didn't look
like a insane supernatural creature. He actually looked handsome in a suave
looking suit, his hair styled just so. If she was just a regular human, he
wouldn't have looked out of place, but her witch sense told her a different
story. One that didn't feel very nice at all.

Now that Gabby had laid eyes on the Tuatha himself,
everything suddenly became real. A hundred percent more deadly and her entire
body began to shake.

"I will protect you," Regulus said.
"I won't let anything happen to you. Ever."

"I know, but…"

"The glyphs you mentioned in the Coven
grimoire, do you remember them?"

"The glyphs for weakening? Yes, they're simple
enough, but I'd need a lot of them. At least one at each corner of the garden
and one on his body."

"The moment you begin to cast, he'll notice. I
will distract him while you ward the corners."

"Regulus, this isn't right. We need the others
here." Gabby didn't like this at all. Something was about to happen and
all of her senses told her it wasn't going to be good.

"I have to take this chance. It may be the
only one we get."