The Return (16 page)

Zac nodded, understanding completely. "When you pulled Caius' life force from his body... that was..."

"A gift from my Celestine side," she shook her head. "If there is another way to kill a founder, then I don't know it. As far as it is known, I am the only one who has a chance. Zac, they mustn’t know I'm alive. Until I can kill Arturius, no one must know."

"I can speak to the others. I can explain everything to them. As I said before, you can trust us." He knew it pained her to talk about her past like this. He didn't want her to dwell on it for longer than was necessary. They needed a course of action and fast. The remaining founders would die and he would follow her into the bowels of hell if
that's
what it took.

"A
ya is alive?" Gabby exclaimed when Alex came home.

He'd been rather late to work the day before and spent a lot of time apologizing profusely to Mrs. Greene. Thankfully, she had understood, when he said a friend had taken ill that morning. It had pushed their schedule slightly behind. He'd planned to put all the finishing touches on today and had to stay late to compensate and work all the following day to make up for it.

"Yeah," he was still shocked by it as well. "I was driving into town and she was on the side of the road. I almost didn't recognize her until she turned around. Her heart had just grown back."

"Oh my god," Gabby's hand flew to her mouth. Of course it had, she'd seen Arturius tear it from her.

"You know we have to keep this a secret, right?" he fidgeted.

"Yes, of course," she reassured him. "Is she okay? I mean
,
that's kind of…"

"Full on," Alex finished for her. "Sam seemed to think so. She'll probably need to rest a few days, but I don't even think they know how it all works."

Gabby seemed to contemplate this for a while, then she said, "Maybe now we can get rid of Arturius."

"Here's hoping," Alex grinned uncertainly.

"Would you ever take it back?' Gabby asked, her voice quiet.

"What?" He was confused.

"Knowing all of this. What we all are?"

He laughed, "It's not exactly a picnic having a two thousand year old vampire messing with your friends, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I used to be normal. Now I feel part of something, you know?"

Gabby curled her legs beneath her on the sofa and smiled. "You really like Aya, don't you?"

Alex shook his head and grinned. "She might be all scary and tough, but she's a good person. She knows what's right."

"You're very similar in that way." Alex frowned at this and she quickly added, "Knowing what's right. You're the least scary person I know."

There was a sharp knock at the door before he could reply. Naturally, he went to stand and go answer it, but hesitated at the last second, looking at Gabby. She placed a finger to her lips to silence him. When he mouthed 
Arturius
, she nodded her eyes betraying her fear.

Shit. He worked fast.

"I know you're there," came his gruff voice through the door. "I can hear your hearts beating."

Shit. Alex had no idea how he had found them. They had almost two days of peace and he supposed that was generous. Sam had said he'd spent thousands of years hunting Aya, so maybe it shouldn't be such a surprise. Arturius was good at this kind of thing.

"Don't make it harder for yourself, Gabrielle," the Roman called out through the door. "Do you want your human friend to die? Because it can be arranged quite easily."

Alex held back Gabby as he walked to the door, wrenching it open. Coming face to face with Arturius for the first time scared the hell out of him. He couldn't show any fear or he'd be done.

"Go away, Arturius," he spat, eyeballing the two thousand year old vampire.

The Roman raised his hand to grab Alex around the throat, but couldn't pass through the door. It was like his hand had hit a pane of glass. Arturius' face contorted into anger and he punched the air in front of him. Alex took a step back, even though he had no hope of touching him while he was still inside.

"You're not welcome here," he sneered, not backing down.

"I don't want your welcome," the Roman growled at him. "I want your witch."

"Well, you can't have her," he slammed the door closed in the vampire's face.

"It's only fair that I kill you, human," the Roman banged a fist against the door. "After all, you staked me in cold blood. Eye for an eye."

Alex looked at Gabby, who was standing inside the lounge room, peering around the corner into the hall. What the hell were they going to do? They couldn't stay inside for the rest of their lives. A vampire had all the time in the world to wait them out.

But, apparently Arturius had a short attention span. When the front window blew in, Gabby screamed, the tinkling of glass raining about the lounge room. Alex pulled her into the hallway not a moment too soon.

"That was a warning," came his voice from outside. "You would do well to heed it."

Alex stared in shock at the large rock that lay in the middle of his lounge. What the hell had he gotten himself into? Was he suddenly in some kind of movie or TV show? He scoffed, running his hands over his face. 
Keep your head screwed on, Alex
, he thought to himself. Gabby's life was on the line. It wasn't an appropriate time to loose it.

"He's gone," Gabby whispered, breaking his shocked perusal of his front windows. "But he'll be back."

Alex walked into the lounge and surveyed the damage with a groan. The window had shattered with so much force, shards of glass had embedded themselves into the far wall and much of the furniture was shredded.

"Zac was right," he said, wrenching a piece of glass from the sofa, trying not to slice his hand open in the process. "He's an arrogant bastard. And showy, too."

"What are we going to do?" Gabby said quietly. "My power won't work on him."

"I'll call Sam. Maybe you know who might be able to help," he said, wary that someone might still be listening. Aya supposedly being dead was their one weapon against the founders. If Arturius found out then it was all over before it even began.

Aya sat cross-legged in the middle of the garden, the overgrown grass rustling in the cool breeze of twilight. Zac was beside her, their knees touching. He hadn't said anything for a long time, seemingly content to wait for her, playing with a long blade of grass. It had been a hell of a long day, but the load she'd been carrying around on her shoulders all of this time, it felt lighter and strangely, it was relieving.

She remembered seeing a blonde-haired woman at the manor when Sam carried her inside. She'd never seen her before. "Who is she?" she asked. When Zac looked at her confused, she said, "The blonde woman."

"Morgan," he sighed. He seemed conflicted.

"So, I didn't hallucinate her, then."

"No."

"Who is she to you?" 

He was silent for a moment, frowning. "I met Morgan about seventy years ago. It was 1944 and I was in France as part of the British army.
World War II.
She had been turned a few years before and was there for much the same reason I was. We became friends of a sort and when I could no longer tell friend from foe, she helped me back on the wagon. After the war ended, we lost contact and I never saw her again. Not until a week ago."

"She just turned up?" That sounded suspicious.

"She came looking for me."

"And?"

"Aya," he sighed. "She's not working with anyone. I believe her when she said she only came to see me."

She frowned, unable to let go of her suspicion. This was game she was all too familiar with and randomly showing up when so much was going on, that was a glaring red flag. It would take a lot more than Zac vouching for the vampire for her to believe any of it. She would get the real reason for Morgan's miraculous appearance out of her any way she could. 

"Did you tell Sam about her?" she asked, fishing for clues.

"No," he looked away. "Not at first."

"Why?"

Zac ran his hands over his face and grimaced. "Because that part of my life was horrible. I didn't want him to know anything about it. He trusted me when I left him alone and I betrayed him. I didn't want him to know."

She placed a hand over his before letting it drop away. "Is she staying?"

"I don't know," he shook his head. "As far as I'm concerned she's welcome for now."

Aya exhaled, not trying to hide her annoyance. "How much does she know?"

"She knows about Arturius. I owed her that much. She walked into a shit storm, Aya. I had to."

"And she knows about me," Aya mused.

"Not everything. Only that you were dead and now you're not."

"Only?" She was annoyed. Their whole existence balanced on the fact that Arturius believed her dead.

"She doesn't know the circumstances, Aya. As far as she knows, you could be a founder yourself."

"I'm still not comfortable with it."

"Don't compel her. At least, not yet," he reasoned.

She didn't like his tone of voice. "What was she to you?"

"A companion, nothing more."

She snorted and looked back across the garden to the forest. The day was almost gone and the stars were beginning to shine. Felling their song on her shoulders, she sighed deeply, closing her eyes. In her wildest dreams she never thought she'd see the day she would hear the stars sing to her again.

"What about Arturius? What was he to you?" Her head snapped up at Zac's question.

"I never loved Arturius," she said, knowing he meant the time when the Roman had spoken of his love for her. "I didn't know the meaning of the word then, not 
really.
"

She felt Zac's gaze on her face. "And now?"

"Two thousand years is a lot of time to garner understanding," she said, wryly. "I'm still learning."

She was sure Zac wouldn't complain about that. He would understand all too well dealing with emotions he couldn't control. It was much more difficult as a vampire. He obviously still had trouble with it, that much was obvious after he disappeared after that fight with Sam a few weeks ago.

When she closed her eyes, trying to hear the sounds that were coming back to her, he asked, "What does it sound like?"

She gave him a sidelong glace, her gaze curious.

"My blood," he prodded.

"I don't know if I can find the right words," she said, trying to think. It was the strangest sensation.
To 
hear
 someone.
"It sounds like starlight." He was looking at her curiously. There was much that he wouldn't understand fully, but at least he wanted to try. She laughed nervously, "But you wouldn't know what that sounds like, either."

"Can you hear it all the time?" He dropped the piece of grass.

"Yes," she sighed. "But, I can block it out if I want to." But not when your blood is pooling all over coffee tables, she declined to add. "I need to find Arturius," she said seriously, changing the subject. "This needs to end."

"What do you propose?"

"We are equally matched, apart from one thing. He doesn't know how I managed to kill the others. Only that I can. Once I have him, that's it." That much was evident from the memories Zac would have seen through his dreams. Once she touched a founder with her power, there was no going back.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Zac asked, concerned.

"I have to be," she said. "There is no other option. I owe it to Gabby, you, Sam, Liz, Alex.
And my family.
I can't go back." She felt his gaze as she stared across the garden.

"Whatever you decide, we'll be behind you."

"Would you let me drink your blood?" she asked quietly. "I don't think I could summon enough power without it."

He smiled wickedly at her, "Of course. It kinda turns me on."

Laughing, Aya slapped him playfully. It was hard for her to ask, never having relied on anyone so much before. Usually, she would have just taken it and gone. The whole notion of this mismatched family that she now found herself a part of was strange to her. How was she meant to act? How was she to move forward?

"What do you think it is about me that helps you?" he asked, interrupting her train of thought.

"I have no idea. But, if we get through this, we ought to find out."

He pressed his forehead against hers, his hand caressing the small of her back. She pulled herself away, turning her face from him, unsure.

Placing a hand on her arm, he said, "Why do you keep fighting me, Aya?"

"I don't know how to do this," she frowned, coming out with it.

"Do what?"

"This.
Together, with you.
Be a part of a family," she shook her head. "I don't know. I understand what it means to other people. I've helped enough.
But, me?
The last family I knew was murdered and it was my fault. I've spent two thousand years keeping people away. Keeping them from the truth."