Nevermore, the Complete Series (77 page)

The Vanatori hideout was in shambles when we arrived. The door was off the hinges, torn in half and strewn across the parking lot. Hannah rushed in ahead of me, kicking off her high heels and running barefoot across the floor. Glass, the broken table, and knocked over shelves littered the ground. There was no evidence of anyone upstairs, so the two of us quickly ran down to the basement.

“Stay back, Alex,” Hannah warned quietly as she peeked around the corner.

Voices met my ears, only a few of which I recognized. There were sounds of fear, panic, anger and pain lingering behind the voices. I wanted a closer look—I had to know that Salem and Ezra were safe.

“Traian—you’ve gone far enough,” Nicolai gasped. I flinched at the sound of his strained voice. Hannah looked back at me and her complexion was paler than usual—I knew at once that something was terribly wrong.

I tried to push by her but she wouldn’t let me through. “You don’t want to go in there, Alex. It isn’t safe for you or the baby. Salem is fine, stay put.”

She leapt into the room and I heard a grunt and a loud crashing sound.

My nerves were erratic as I peered around the corner and spotted Hannah pinning someone to the ground. The full view of the room came to me all at once—Salem was sprawled across the floor in the far corner, his weapon idly lying in his limp hand—but his chest was steadily rising and falling. Ezra was holding an unfamiliar vampire in a headlock. Mikael was in mid-shot when my eyes crossed over him, about to slay one of the other attackers. My eyes began to water when I spotted Camellia lying amidst a pile of at least three undead. Remus was cowering in a corner, his crossbow shaking in one hand and his rosary in the other.

“Sebastian, get her!” Nicolai called over to the narrow, blonde-haired hunter as he sprung on top of the nearest attacker, striking her in the chest with a sharp dagger.

“Consider it done, mate!” Sebastian called back slyly and eyed Camellia, his mouth falling agape at the site. “NO!”

“There’s no time right now!” Mikael shouted. “Focus!”

“Watch out!” I shrieked as a familiar vampire adorning a black fedora launched himself onto Sebastian.

There wasn’t enough time. Before my fellow hunter could turn and stop the attacker, I heard a sickening crack as Ion twisted Sebastian’s head to the side and snapped his neck. My stomach threatened an upheaval when I watched his body hit the floor. Salem was stirring and I ignored Hannah’s prior warning and ran to my husband’s side as the rest of the battle raged on. Traian was still struggling with Hannah, but he was no match for her strength.

“Salem?” I whispered, trying to avoid attention. My only hope was that the other vampires would recognize me as the Queen and assume I was helping them.

“You need to get out of here Alex,” he replied, sitting up and wincing. I nearly cried out when I spotted the large gash across his abdomen. “I-I’m fine, but you need to leave. If they tell Malik you were here…”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Why must you be so damn stubborn?”

“There’s no time for arguing! Alex, use your gift!” Mikael directed his voice toward me as he shot down another vampire—I could see why the hunters chose him to be their leader.

Focusing solely on changing, I tried to block out the sudden shrieks of pain that surrounded me. My eyes were shut tightly and I clenched my fists at my side. There were at least eight vampires still attacking, one of which I knew to be Nicolai’s brother. He had to be the cause of the attack, and I was positive he was the one Hannah had pounced. I felt my body quiver and heard the familiar sounds as my form contorted.

“Damn it!” Hannah bellowed and I heard footsteps racing upstairs.

My mouth fell open and a loud caw filled the room. I felt bad for Ezra who had to hear the unbearable sound, but he managed to keep hold of the vampire in his grasp. He drove a knife into the beast’s heart and let him fall before covering his ears to block out the sound. He smiled up at me despite the clear discomfort I was causing him. Then he sped out of the room after Hannah. Traian had escaped…

As the sound continued to fill the room, more and more vampires were slain. Remus finally gathered the courage and steadied his bow, aimed for one of the ‘demons’ as he called them, but missed his target. It reminded me of Paul, who hadn’t been the best marksman in the hunting community, but he still had the desire to kill. Remus prepared the bow again and shot once more, this time hitting the vampire’s heart. Salem had shot three down in the time that it took Remus to kill just one. Nicolai was nowhere to be seen, and I could only assume that he had followed Hannah and Ezra after his brother.

Scanning the room now that the vampires were dead—including Ion, his fedora stained in blood and lying beside his lifeless corpse—I realized Luca was missing. Mikael seemed to be on the same page as me. He did a quick count of people in the room as well as the three upstairs. My body shifted back to human form and I eyed the stairway.

“Luca is missing,” Mikael stated worriedly.
“Upstairs, now!”

Salem and I followed him upward, only to find the room empty. Something caught my attention this time that I completely missed on the first walkthrough.

“Oh, God…” I sputtered and gagged. Mikael and Salem quickly followed my gaze. Salem’s hand fell across his mouth and his eyes widened in horror. Hanging from the left side wall of the small room was Luca with a table leg piercing through his stomach. Salem tore me away from the sight, shielding me with his body as he pulled me against him.

“Come, there is no time for grievances right now,” Mikael instructed. I could see that he was struggling to leave, but he was right—we had to find the others and stop Traian before he made it back to Malik and
outed me as a trader.

They hadn’t gotten very far—the horses were in a state of panic and I quickly loosened their restraints, hoping they’d find their way back home. Hannah was at Nicolai’s back, prepared to assist him if Traian made a move. The brothers were similar in appearance—they both shared the same jet black hair, but Traian wore his slightly longer than his spikey-haired sibling. Nic was more than prepared to put an end to Traian’s life, and it would have been over in seconds had it not been for Mikael’s command to stop.

“Stop at once!” the leader of the hunters shouted as we approached. He was observing the two brothers closely. “You mustn’t kill him, Nicolai—he has answers that must be delivered before his death.”

Nicolai huffed in frustration and loosened his grip on his crossbow’s trigger.

“Thank you. Now, if you would be so kind as to give us an explanation, Trai?”

The vampire grinned mockingly at Mikael and bared his fangs threateningly. “I have nothing to tell any of you.”

“Admit it, Traian, you killed Octavian,” Nicolai demanded and put his finger tightly on the trigger again.

Traian gritted his teeth and let out a growl of frustration. “The bastard had it coming. He was making a game out of my affection for Camellia! He tricked me! I have become this because of him.”

“Enough,” Mikael said soothingly. “While I am grieving the loss of both Octavian and Camellia-“

“Camellia is dead…?” Traian asked in shock, his shoulders slumping and his eyes growing dim. “No! I will kill you all for this!”

“She was killed during the attack,” Mikael confirmed. “The attack you were a part of.”

“No! I…we…I couldn’t have been a part of that!” He seemed genuinely confused, as if he had been in one of Malik’s hypnotic trances. But that was impossible, Malik was nowhere near here.

“You are trying to say you remember nothing?” I said, and everyone turned in my direction.

“Q-Queen Alexis?” He recognized me. This was bad. Now, one way or another, we had to make absolutely sure he didn’t get away. “I…no, I remember me and ten or so others were summoned to a room with Malik and Ion. My next memory is of coming out that door.” He pointed at the headquarters.

“You expect us to believe all this?” Mikael asked. “What is it this meeting was about? Think, boy.”

He closed his eyes, trying to remember. “Malik told us…he had growing suspicions of that vampire chick,” he gestured toward Hannah, “After she showed up claiming to be the Queen’s sister. Malik had someone follow her. She unknowingly led them here and they overheard you all discussing plans to overthrow the king. He even knows you were present, my Queen…but he is ignorant, and his love for you is blinding him against what you truly are! He has us believing you are working against them, not for them. But I know the truth, especially now.”

“But you do not remember the attack you were just a part of? Nic, kill the lying bastard.”

“No, wait!” Traian pleaded. “I know more…the ball was a trap—a distraction—we were to infiltrate the hideout, slay everyone present, and destroy all evidence of the building’s existence. But I don’t remember coming here…or the fight. I would never have been involved if I knew Camellia was here. Even as a monster I could not have done that.”

“I knew there was something weird going on with that stupid ball,” Hannah growled.

“It was Ion!” he said finally. “He has the same power as Malik, albeit not as strong. He…he manipulated me!”

“Had the same power.
He’s dead now,” Hannah corrected, then turned toward Mikael. “We have our answers, now may I please have the pleasure of killing this little shit?”

Nicolai glared in her direction. “If anyone is going to kill him…” he looked at his brother and sighed. “It’s going to be me.”

“You can’t be serious,” I said in awe. “He’s your brother!”

“And I want to be the one to spare him from eternal misery over the loss of his former life, the loss of his family, and the loss of his love—Mikael, may I make a request?”

“Go on.”

“I would like to take him down to see Camellia one final time, before…” his voice trailed off.

The lead hunter nodded and we accompanied Nicolai back into the building. Ezra and Hannah restrained Traian to prevent him from escaping or causing any further damage.

Remus was blessing the lost lives in the basement, muttering a prayer for each of them—even the ones he deemed to be demons. He felt that once a vampire died, its soul had time to repent…if it was truly sorry for what it had done. His hazel eyes were cold and empty, locked on me as soon as I entered the basement.

“Remus,” Mikael acknowledged him. “Please help me remove any items of importance from this room while Traian says his final goodbyes.”

The overly-religious vampire hunter nodded slowly, eying me every now and then as he helped take weapons upstairs. Nicolai escorted his brother over to where Camellia
lay and I could feel the moisture in my eyes once more. Strands of cherry red hair fell across her pallid face and she looked somehow at peace. I imagined her reuniting with Octavian and felt that she may have welcomed the idea of dying.

Traian fell to his knees beside the woman who held a special place in his still-heart. He took her lifeless hand in his and rested his lips against it.
“My beloved Camellia…” he whispered in anguish and rested his head on her chest. “Your heart was never mine, yet mine was always yours—I only wish that I had been given the chance to tell you how I truly feel. It is my final wish that you are back in the arms of your lover, despite him being my enemy. He will never be forgiven for what he did to me…” he sighed and gently kissed her lips. “I love you, Camellia.”

Nicolai turned away from his brother and watched the two men carry out the rest of the gear from the basement. “May we have a moment alone?”

“Of course,” Salem replied uneasily and led the rest of us out.

“I would advise going quite a ways away from the building, if I were you,” Nic added and we quickly understood why. “I should have listened to your suggestion in the beginning, Salem.”

“Don’t dwell on what cannot be undone,” Salem said with a remorseful smile and led me out of the room.

Salem and I stood several feet away from the burning building, watching the flames grow higher. Nicolai made it out safely, completely unscathed aside from the emotional damage of killing his own brother. The rest of the Vanatori joined us, sharing the same solemn expression.

“This is awful,” I said softly, wiping away a sudden tear.

“I’m sure they told you to say that,” Remus fumed, pushing me back.

Salem coiled his arms around the pudgy hunter and held him firmly. “What in the bloody hell are you talking about?!”

All eyes were on us now.

“You are just as blind as the rest of them!” he shouted. “Is it not clear to you that your precious bride here is a traitor?!”

Nicolai laughed sharply. “Have you lost your mind, Remus?”

“No! She’s the one that led the hunters to us! Can’t you see it? Malik is a manipulator…she has been under his control, using our information against us!”

I shook my head in disbelief. “You have this all wrong and backwards—I have been helping you! After everything I have done, risking my own life to get closer to Malik in order to provide information to you…you dare to accuse me of betraying you? Besides…Malik’s manipulation has its limits in distance. He can’t control me here.”

Remus tugged away from Salem and glared up at me. “For all we know, you are leading us straight into a trap. You all heard what Traian said, about Malik believing she is working alongside him.”

“Don’t be daft, Remus,” Mikael sighed and approached his fellow hunter. “Alexis has been nothing but helpful to us, clearly you must realize this.”

“No. She’s yet to do anything helpful since she showed up! We’ve been attacked twice; near half our group lies dead…she let a vampire she found out on her own go. Can’t you see she is their ally, not ours? Just look at her friends for the lord’s sake! Are not two of them vampires themselves?”

“Alex has had nothing to do with the attacks, it was all Traian and Malik’s doing!”

“Either way,” Remus said and lowered his head. “Until she is out of the picture, you can consider yourself short another hunter.”

“Remus, wait!” I called and reached out to touch his shoulder as he turned to walk away.

Mikael jumped between us before Remus had the opportunity to make a swing at me. We all watched the hunter walk off into the distance, not once looking back at us. Excluding the unofficial group members, we were down from the seven original hunters to a mere two. These numbers gave me an uneasy feeling about the upcoming attack on Malik.

“Come, we must find a new location,” Mikael stated. “There is an old abandoned warehouse that I worked in prior to Delilah’s death, we can establish base there.”

“Wait, I have a question.” I said bluntly.

“Yes?” Mikael answered.

“Why did you all decide to kill him? I mean…if it didn’t matter if he told Malik about me or not…and one of your goals was to free him…why did you decide to kill him?”

I wasn’t surprised that Nicolai was the one to answer. “I wanted to save my brother. I know my brother, and that man was not him. As far as I am concerned my brother died long ago.”

“But what if he could have been saved!?”

“He killed Octavian, Alex. He admitted it. Hell, he could have been the one that killed Camellia for all we know. I could not let whoever that monster inhabiting my brother’s body was live after such a thing.”

“I…I understand.”

And with that everyone began systematically doing their part for the move. Nicolai, Ezra, Hannah and Salem all helped stuff what they could of the Vanatori’s equipment into the back of Mikael’s truck while I situated myself in the IQ. Watching their bodies move from one area to the other, I found myself dwelling on all of the casualties I had come to experience since discovering who and what I truly was. What ever became of my semi-peaceful lifestyle of attending high school, seeing my friends on a day-to-day basis, and only having to worry about getting my homework done on time? I had witnessed the death of so many people that I loved and even people that I hardly knew…and now I was bringing an innocent child into this world, knowing all the evil and cruelty it held.

The warehouse was, by all means, unimpressive. It was dark, cluttered and smelled strongly of mildew. Mikael must have been fairly familiar with the layout judging by the fact that he quickly discovered the location of a light switch. Although the lighting was dim, it was enough to give us an idea of where we were without us bumping into something. There were boxes all over the place, and I was almost positive there had to be a rodent infestation—what rat wouldn’t find this place to be the perfect home? 

“What was this place formerly used for?” Salem asked as he shuffled around a stack of boxes.

“It was an antiques shop,” Mikael answered, looking somewhat withdrawn. “You can hardly tell by looking at it now, however. Delilah’s father owned the building, which had been in his family for years. Once he passed away, business began dwindling and soon after the place shut down. This is what has become of it—there’s no telling what’s in all these boxes. I wouldn’t be surprised if half have already been raided and stolen.”

Cautiously, I lifted the flaps on one of the boxes. Unsurprisingly, it was empty save for a few shards of glass and some packing peanuts. It was unbelievable to think that once, not too long
ago, this place had been a store. Now, it was nothing more than a huge mess.

Nicolai rummaged through some of the boxes but also came out empty-handed. He did, however, discover where the cashier’s counter had been. The wood was stained and rotting from water damage—no doubt caused by rain from the various holes in the roof. There was a glass casing for jewelry but it, too, was empty.

“So much for making a fortune off of some lost, priceless antique,” Nic laughed and sat on top of the counter.

Mikael shook his head and pried Nicolai off. “I wouldn’t advise sitting on there unless you want an ass full of glass.” We all laughed, which felt good after the blur of events which had just taken place. “Let’s start fixing this place up a little and then we can carry in some equipment.”

I lifted what boxes I could, feeling somewhat useless with the limited weight I could carry. No one complained, but that didn’t make me feel any better.

Soon, there were enough boxes out of the way that I could see the floorboards and walk through the building without bumping into something. The men got to work bringing in the equipment—protective gear, weapons, and even some of the mats had been salvaged before Nicolai burned down the former hideout. Hannah accompanied me in finishing up with the boxes until we were both satisfied with the roominess. We layered the floorboards with some old sheets and blankets that were discovered in a few boxes—these would become our temporary makeshift beds.

My phone suddenly went off and I told everyone to be quiet when I saw that it was Cassius calling.

“Hello?” I spoke as steadily as I could
considering I was rattled with nerves.

“Alexis, darling!
I have been worried sick! What became of you and your sister?”

“I’m sorry…really. She had an emergency, a personal one, I can’t really talk about it, but we’re both fine. I’ll be back to work in the morning, I promise. I really hope I didn’t mess anything up for Malik and that his party was successful even with my absence.”

Cassius chuckled into the receiver. “Malik was rather furious at first, but soon said he understood why you needed to leave. He has already forgiven you, I believe.”

Gulping, I responded with strained laughter. “I hope so…look, I’m going to get some sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Stay well, and sweet dreams.”

I hung up the phone, relayed the message. No one else seemed to think the last bit was cryptic at all, but I was unconvinced. I had a bad feeling that Malik knew all along where I had been. I hoped he still at least believed I was his spy, not theirs.

After the brief conversation about the phone call, everyone resumed their previous task of preparing the new headquarters. Before long everything that could be done with what we had was completed and I left into a small restroom. It was obvious it had not been used in ages and I wondered just how long the store had been shut down for, but it still functioned enough for a quick usage. Once my business was done I proceeded to change into a more comfortable pair of clothing to prepare for bed. Despite our efforts, the makeshift sleeping area was nearly unbearable and the night was filled with tossing, turning, grunts of discomfort, and the occasional verbal complaint.

The following morning I found myself alone in the warehouse, but I was comforted by the voices I heard outside. Slowly rising to my feet, I made my way outdoors to discover Mikael and Nicolai planting markers into the dirt as symbols of their lost friends. Salem, Ezra and Hannah were absent from the scene.

“Where are the others?” I asked groggily.

“They are training for the attack,” Mikael answered as he situated the last stone into the soil. “Salem wants to ensure that he is fully capable of assisting during the battle.”

I nodded and knelt down beside Nicolai. “This one is for Traian, isn’t it?” I asked, pointing to the fifth marker, knowing we had only lost four hunters including Octavian.

“I feel that although he made some mistakes along the way, he deserves to be remembered for the good that once resided within him.”

Smiling, I pulled Nicolai close into an unexpected hug on both our behalves. “I’m sorry you lost him, but I do agree that he deserves to be among the rest of them. I wish I could have known him before he became undead.”

“He was a bit of a rascal, but I think you’d have gotten along,” he smiled at me. “Do you have any siblings, aside from Hannah?”

“No,” I replied thoughtfully and shrugged. “I never really considered what it might be like to have a sibling. My best friend was the closest I ever came to having a sister.”

“Was?”

“She passed away,” my voice came out in a whisper, and I blinked away a tear. “A drunk driver caused it…there’s still a part of me that wishes I could tear that boy apart and make him regret what he did.”

Mikael’s hand was suddenly on my shoulder and I turned to look up at him. “We all seek vengeance in some form or another, but you must also reflect on what is at stake. This boy made a mistake, and in the end, you lost someone you loved. Would you be willing to do the same to his family by hurting him?”

“Of course not…”

“Then it is best that you keep those wishes solely to yourself, and never act upon them.”

“This coming from the leader of a group of hunters all seeking revenge on a vampire lord,” Nic scoffed.

“Aye, but Malik has nothing and no one to miss him when he is gone. Every one of his damned followers would see him dead and take his place if they could.”

For the first time in a long time, I kept my thoughts to myself—my opinion wouldn’t change their minds, anyway. Malik may not have someone out there that would miss him or be hurt to know he was dead, but what of the younger, more recent
vampires that we would have to kill to get to him? They had families, friends, lovers…all-in-all, I admitted to myself that Mikael was right. These vampires would not be missed as what they were now, and there was little hope to save most of them. Besides, those that lost them had already grieved their absences and convinced themselves that they were gone and would never know that they still existed…and if they did find out, what chances were there that they would accept them for what they had become?

Once Salem and the others returned from training, he summoned a meal in honor of our lost members—it was difficult to enjoy the delicious roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and rolls under the grim circumstances but we all tried our best. Mikael insisted that despite our losses we had to focus on the present as well as the future—we all needed our strength in preparation for what was coming. Nicolai was quiet and reserved throughout the meal, no doubt dwelling on Traian’s misfortune. What Octavian did to his brother was cruel and unlike the man I briefly knew, but it wasn’t surprising. People would do extreme things for the one they loved, even at the expense of others. I wondered momentarily what Salem would have done in the same situation if it was between Jason, himself and me. Knowing him, he would have lived in misery alone and let us be.

It took a lot of strength to hold back the pain I felt at the absence of Jason and Mitchell. The only thing that comforted me was that as soon as Malik was gone, I’d be on a plane back to Willowshire to be reunited with my friends, and all of this would at last be behind us. At least I hoped that Jason would still accept me as a friend…despite what had happened.