The Shadow's Son (25 page)

"Yes," she said without hesitation. "I need you."

They peeled off their remaining clothes and explored each other with lips and hands, her touch burning him down to his soul.

As he took her, the sensation overwhelmed him and he was lost. He didn't want to be found.
Ever
.

He was a fucking asshole. And he knew it.

It had seemed like hours had passed as Zac lay next to Aya, his arms wound around her delicate frame. They lay against one another, skin on skin, like he'd wanted to so many times. He didn't want to move, but soon enough he had to. It was the only place he wanted to stay and the only place he couldn't. She'd finally given herself to him, finally trusted him and he was about to betray her and go and die.

She shifted against him, turning over so they were face to face. He gazed at her, taking in every detail and committing it to memory. The curve of her cheek, the arch of her eyebrows, the clear icy blue of her eyes, the way her hair fell about her face as her head lay against the pillow. Wherever he was going he wanted to remember it all.

Aya brushed her lips against his, and he caught her in a soft kiss, dragging his teeth against her bottom lip. "Where've you been since…
"

"Regulus'," he said with a sigh turning on his back. "I had to get Coraline out."

"How did you figure it out?"

"I had most of the pieces," he said, looking at the celling. "Gabby told me where Maximus was and I delivered her."

"Gabby?" she exclaimed, propping herself up on one elbow.

"Yeah. She's not impressed with you right now."

"I kind of expected that. Is she here?"

"No. She's still at…" He was about to say home, but he clamped his mouth shut.

Aya pressed herself closer, her hand splaying across his stomach.

"Your half-breed friend is safe," he shrugged it off. "That's all I can do for now." What a fucking lie.

Glancing at her, he saw she was frowning, her brow furrowed. Had she caught on that his mood was more than he'd let on?

"Can Nye really be trusted?" she asked. "He was one of the Six."

"He's one of us. And I think they call themselves the
Four
now."

"If he's defected like you say, then technically it's the Three."

He snorted, turning back to face her. "Can we talk about something else?" He didn't want their last conversation to be about plotting death and destruction. "We have some time to think about those things."

"Of course," she lent over, pressing her lips against his.

"This, I'd rather," he said with a smile and flipped her on her back, eliciting a sharp gasp from some unknown place inside of her. Before she could say anything, he kissed her again, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth and teasing her with the tip of his tongue.

"You've changed," Aya whispered, turning her head to the side, as he nipped at the tender spot just below her ear.

"How so?"

"You're..." she hesitated.

Zac faltered. Could she sense what Coraline had given him? If she found out, then his plan would fail. "I'm what?"

"Stronger. Sure."

"I have a path and I'm following it," he whispered, suddenly morose.

"What…" she began to ask, but he silenced her with another kiss, shifting his body on top of hers. Positioning his elbows either side of her, he cupped her face tightly as she plunged her tongue into his mouth and he let out a deep moan that shuddered right through him.

"I'll never be able to get enough of you," he said between kisses, grinding his pelvis against hers, making her squirm underneath him.

All Aya could manage was a tiny whimper as he made her come again and again.

When they could finally drag themselves from bed, Zac kissed Aya slow and hard one last time, before turning around and picking up his discarded clothes.

"What are you going to do now?" she asked and he looked up to find her eyes boring into him. She would expect him to stay now, wouldn't she?

"I have to go," he said quietly, dragging his jeans on. "There's something I need to do."

"And you have to go back to Regulus to do it?" She sounded angry. Disbelieving.

"Aya," he sighed. "Remember when you said you would trust me? I just need you to do it for a little while longer. Please?"

Shrugging, she turned her back to him and began to dress. When she pulled a tank top on, covering her beautiful skin, he stepped behind her, winding his arms around her waist, his fingers splaying out over her stomach. She fit against the length of his body perfectly and he knew he'd have trouble letting go.

"Zac," Aya murmured, trailing her hands down his arms.

He kissed the spot right underneath her ear, right on the corner of her jaw, the one he knew made her shiver. "I'm sorry I can't stay longer."

"After this is over… After I deal with the Coven, after I deal with Regulus… I will be 
free
. Then we will have all the time in the world."

He closed his eyes, holding back his grief. If he let it out, she would feel it too. Letting a hand drop, he pulled the auto injector Nye had given him from his back pocket. "God, I love you Aya. I love you so much it hurts."

"Don't go," she said, leaning her head back against his shoulder. "We can do this together. You don't have to go back to him."

He almost faltered, but he buried his face into her hair and breathed deeply for the last time. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I hope one day you'll understand."

Before she could pull away, he stabbed the needle into her neck, her cry of surprise forcing tears from his eyes. As her body became limp in his arms, he lowered her gently onto the bed as she tried to fight the drug.

"No," she said, her voice barely audible. She tried to push him away, but it was too much and her eyes fluttered closed, her hand dropping limply onto the bed beside her.

Brushing her hair aside, Zac kissed her lightly on the forehead, taking in her peaceful form one last time. He knew she'd be furious with him when she finally woke. He had to
keep believing
that this was the only way, otherwise he'd falter at the last minute and Regulus would kill him before he got the chance to even get close. And if he caught Aya… she was too important.
To him, to the witches.
She had a destiny far greater than loving him.

Pulling away, he strode across the room, closing the door behind him before he could change his mind.

Zac opened the door to the next room, eyes on the floor.

"Zac?" It was Nye.

"It's done."

"What's done?" Tristan was on his feet, seething with sudden anger. "What did you do to her?"

"He put her down, that's what," Nye scowled at the knight.

"You drugged her? What the hell? What for?"

"She needs to be safe while I do this," Zac murmured, looking up at Tristan. The knight was wild with fury and rightly so.

"Do what?"

"I'm going to kill Regulus once and for all."

"But," he sputtered. "The link…"

"Will kill me," he shrugged.

"You're just goin' to leave her here powerless and go off and die on her?" Tristan exclaimed. "It's the one thing she wanted to prevent by leavin' you behind."

"She's not powerless," Nye butted in. "You'll be here to guard her until she wakes up."

"You better do it, or…" Zac began.

"Or what? You'll be dead," he growled.

"I'm his fail safe, knight," Nye cocked an eyebrow. "You'll have to tangle with me."

"What did you give her? Where is she?" Tristan was wild and it was a wonder he hadn't tried to punch Zac in the face yet.

"Next door, safe and sound," Zac sighed, walking past the two vampires towards the minibar.

"It's a synthesized silver thing that Regulus had made up a few years ago," Nye explained. "It'd put a plain old regular vampire down for a week. In the Hunter's case, maybe a day or two tops."

Zac rattled through the empty bottles and hissed. There was no alcohol in sight and he might just break something before he found it in himself to calm down. With Coraline's power flowing through him, he didn't want to take any chances.

"Nothin' better happen to her because of it," Tristan was almost yelling at Nye.

Zac turned sharply, striding up to the knight a look of pure anger on his own face. "When this is done, can I trust you to help her take down the Coven?"

"I know I will," Nye said, glaring at the knight.

"Fine," Tristan spat, backing down.
"I'm doin' it for her, not you."

"I know you think I'm a selfish bastard, Tristan," Zac said. "But I have my reasons a million times over."

"She'll never forgive you."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. If one person understands sacrifice, it's Aya. In time she'll understand."

Nye clapped Zac on the shoulder, sensing his uneasiness. "C'mon mate. Lets get this show on the road."

Throwing one last glare towards Tristan, Zac strode from the room, Nye on his heels. There was no use stretching it out, no use buying time. The sooner it was done, then the sooner the threat would be eliminated.

Regulus was about to die and he wouldn't even see it coming. 

W
hen Nye pulled up in front of Regulus' house, Zac looked up at the building with a sudden sense of dread. He didn't remember the house being so imposing first time round.

"Keep it together mate," Nye said, opening the car door. "It's D-Day."

He conjured up an image of Aya, holding it in his mind for a moment and he could almost believe she was there with him. For her, he thought, for Sam, for Liz, for Gabby. So they can be safe. Getting out the car with a grimace, he slammed the door shut and followed Nye up the path.

The spy didn't knock on the door, pushing it open like he owned the place. The lights were on in the foyer and for a moment the house seemed empty, but in a blur of darkness, the Three were suddenly there, surrounding them with a snarl so ferocious they sounded like rabid animals.

"What the hell, Maddox," Nye spat, shoving the assassin, who had stopped directly in front of him.

"I went over your head," he said darkly, cocking his head to the side.

Nye stepped forward, coming an inch away from Maddox's face. He was eerily calm and in no way threatened by what he obviously considered his subordinate. "I don't remember you being such a pansy boy, Maddox. You sounded like a pathetic lap dog just then."

This seemed to piss the assassin off big time. "I can still rip your head off."

"I don't remember you being such a kiss-ass, either."

"It's over, Nye. Regulus knows about him," he pointed at Zac, who stood behind them, tense and ready to kill if it
cant
to that. "And he knows about you."

"About me?" the spy scoffed. "And what exactly does he know about me?"

"Traitor," Pyke glared.

"Traitor?"

"We can take you down, if that's what you really want," Rix said, the threat clear in his voice.

"Three against two isn't that bad," Maddox sneered.

Zac went to step forward, but Nye held up a hand to stop him. "Age has nothing to do with it, neither does strength. It doesn't matter one bit
who
we were before or after. It matters who we are now. You all know I could rip through you and come out the other side unscathed. Hell, Zac could with one arm tied behind his back."

"Then why don't you,
Nye
."

Nye pointed to each vampire in turn. "Her Majesty's assassin.
Her Majesty's executioner.
His Majesty's bodyguard.
What makes you think that you're any less disposable now then when you all served the Tudors? Kings and Queens seek to rule the world and Regulus sees himself to be King of the vampires. What a gaff. Have each and every one of you lost yourselves so much you can't see what he's planning?"

"We have our orders and we have our duty," Rix said.

Nye laughed, stepping away from Maddox. "He's going to be nothing but ash in the next ten minutes and if you don't want to end up in a neat little pile right beside him, I suggest you leave.
Now
."

"What the hell has happened to you?" Pyke exclaimed. "Four hundred years, mate. Four hundred years we've fought together and now you take his side after five seconds?"

The Three were staring Nye down like he was the most despicable thing they'd ever seen. To them he was every bit a traitor for helping Zac. They were in every way thugs under Regulus' control. They were vampires and relished in it.

Nye was frozen to the spot, not in fear or anger, but it was like he was standing in the center of a hurricane. Calm and still. Now Zac understood why they had been so afraid of him, why they defaulted to his say so. In this moment Nye was unpredictable and he would be capable of
anything
 and the Three knew it because they had
seen
it.

"Get out of here."
It was so quiet
,
Zac almost missed it
. How four words could be so full of anger and mercy at the same time, he had no idea, but he knew that he was glad Nye was on his side.

Maddox faltered, his expression falling slightly into something akin to fear. Rix grabbed his arm, pulling the assassin back. And just like that, the Three backed out the door and were gone.

"Remind me never to piss you off, " Zac murmured.

"Consider yourself reminded," he replied, inclining his head towards the stairs. "We've been made, so now or never."

Regulus had not come downstairs to confront them and Zac should have been worried, but there was nothing they could do about that now. He was upstairs waiting for an audience, just like the king he deigned himself to be. They would be walking into a trap, but the point of no return was long gone. Zac pushed open the door to the study with a violent jab, sending it inwards with bang.

"Zachary," Regulus said, the calm in his voice unnerving. He was in the chair he'd first saw the Roman in when he'd come to the house after killing Garrett. And now he
sat
as he was then, superior and callous, a glass filled with sickly brown spirits in his hand. A sneer crossed his face as he laid his dark eyes on the vampire behind him. "And Nye. How nice of you to pay me a visit."

Zac didn't hesitate. He strode into the room Nye on his heels. "Enough," he said. "Just enough."

"And why are you here? By that charming look on your face, Zachary, I can take a wild guess and say you're displeased with me."

"I'm not here to argue about why," Zac spat. "I'm here to end you."

Regulus rose from his chair, his eyes never leaving his. "And how do you suppose you're going to do that?"

Aya had told him that all it took was a touch. If Regulus made to kill him, then he would get a very nasty shock.

"You think you have it all tied up in a neat little package," the Roman sneered. "Beware the Coven, Zachary. They're not what they seem."

"And I guess you would know all about that," he replied. "You've never been able to get inside to get what you want."

"And what might that be?" Zac didn't reply to this, instead clenching his jaw. "Oh, come on," Regulus continued. "You must have some idea. Otherwise you wouldn't be so worked up about it."

"We know the Coven is trying to wake the Original Witch. It won't work. I'm here to stop you and Aya is going to stop them. It's over."

"You think they're trying to wake the Original Witch?" Regulus scoffed. "Are you
stupid
?"

Zac didn't understand. He couldn't help but come to the conclusion that the Roman was bluffing. Stalling. "Then what
are
they trying to wake?"

The Roman began to laugh, shaking his head. "
Something else
."

He almost hesitated in his desire for more information, but he took a step forward, refusing to believe his lies anymore.

"Do it, Zachary," Regulus goaded him on. "Rip my heart out. I dare you."

And that's exactly what he did. Zac flew across the room with alarming speed and plunged his hand deep into the Roman's chest, the power Coraline had given him shocking through his arm and into Regulus' heart.

He didn't know whether it was the fact that the Roman didn't defend himself or the peculiar feeling of his dose of Celestine power, but his eyes widened with shock. Regulus drew sharp breaths through his teeth, his eyes dark and threatening and for a moment he actually looked pleased, but Zac was in no way capable of noticing. In that moment he was not himself.

Was this how Aya felt when she dissolved a life in her hands? How she felt when a founder's heart turned to ash in her delicate hands? If it was, then he finally understood. The ash that was Regulus' heart ran through his fingers like the finest sand, the sand of a white beach, but this sand was black. Blackest death.

Pulling his hand away, he felt numb waiting for the inevitable. The Roman's dead body slumped to the ground, whatever life that had been lingering in him, finally seeped away. Zac looked down at his sickly grey corpse and couldn't comprehend why he wasn't
laying
on the ground next to him. Whatever
strength that
was keeping him upright dissipated and he felt his knees connect with the floor, and everything suddenly seemed so far away.

What was the point of life if it could be thrown away so heedlessly? Zac'd taken so many lives and he could say that it was because he couldn't control himself, that it wasn't his
fault, that
he didn't
know
. But that would be a lie. He was a killer and a murderer and no better than Regulus. He was glad to die. That was why he was so disappointed when he didn't.

"Zac, you're fucking alive," Nye pulled him to his feet. "Fucking smile or something. If I had confetti, I'd throw it over you."

But, Zac couldn't say anything. His throat had closed over in grief and disbelief and all he could think about was Aya. How he'd loved her and left her alone while he came here to die. And he was still alive.

"Aya," he managed to get out. "I have to go…"

"Mate," Nye laid a hand on his shoulder. "Tristan's got it. I don't like the guy much either, but he loves her, too. He's got it."

Zac could only manage a nod to that one. "The Three?"

"They'll keep," the spy said and looked back at Regulus' desiccated corpse. "We've gotta do something about that first." Nye reached into his pocket and handed Zac his cell. "It's not the plan anymore, but I guess this is a call you want to make." 

Underneath Highgate Cemetery there was a small network of catacombs, full of mass burials from the last few hundred years. A place like London, so full of people and life, it became necessary to begin storing their dead underground simply because there wasn't enough room above. There were tunnels like these underneath modern cities that had been built up over medieval fortresses all over Europe. Plague, sickness and overpopulation filled the halls of the dead more readily than anything else.

Where some catacombs Zac was aware of had walls upon walls of stacked human skulls, this one was said to have stacks of coffins. And those coffins wouldn't have stood the test of time very well. After talking to a surprised and relieved Gabby, they'd dumped Regulus' body into a simple pine coffin and brought it across town to South London to one of it's most notoriously haunted cemeteries. Stick him in the most obvious place and hopefully he would stay hidden until they could find a more permanent resting place.

The night was almost pitch black around them, the sky was clogged with clouds and little light reached them from the few security lights that were scattered around the cemetery. Nothing was moving inside the walls, making the looming feeling of death even more intense. Zac hesitated at the opening of the catacombs not liking the damp musty smell that seeped from below.

"Defying the National Trust, huh?" Nye quipped behind him. "This place is protected and somehow I think they don't take new burials down there."

"The perfect place to put him," he replied. "There are forgotten corners down there that even the historians are
loathe
to venture."

"Do you believe in ghosts?" the spy asked, gravel crunching underfoot as he shifted nervously.

"Really?" Zac's eyebrow rose, his breath vaporizing on the air.

"This place is creepy."

"Are you scared?"

"What's scarier than a vampire?" he winked. "Let's just dump him and get gone from this place."

Breaking open the lock with a twist and shoving open the door, Zac led Nye down into the catacombs and into the darkness. They hadn't gone far when Zac sensed her presence almost immediately. It was so familiar there was no mistaking it. He bade Nye to put the coffin down and walked forward into the darkness and embraced Gabby, who emerged from the shadows. 

"Well, this is an unexpected welcome," she laughed nervously.

"Did you have something to do with this?"

"With you being alive? I'd just stepped off a plane when I got your call. Whatever went down, I have no idea."

"Maybe it was the Celestine thing," Nye said.

"And who are you?" Gabby asked, frowning at the appearance of another vampire.

"Gabby, this is Nye. He's one of us," Zac gestured to the older vampire, who winked at the witch.