The Shadow's Son (24 page)

"What do you think Regulus wants with the Original Witch?" he said, desperate not to think about the people he'd be leaving behind.

"No clue," Nye shook his head. "I've been a part of the Six for close to three hundred years and I don't even know a quarter of the things Regulus gets up to. It could be anything and that's what worries me the most."

"Why?"

"Why?" Nye raised an eyebrow. "Because that man is capable of anything."

"All the more reason for him to die."

"We need to do something about the others," Nye said, standing up. "They're going to want to know what I'm going to do with you."

"And about Coraline."

"Mate," Nye sighed. "Let's go get you an alibi."

Maddox shot to his feet when he laid eyes on the two vampires. The apartment was deathly quiet and the sound seemed to echo on forever.

"Sit down, Maddox," Nye rolled his eyes. "
Where's
Rix and Pyke?"

"Gone for take-out," the assassin said with a smirk. "What about him?"

"I'm taking
him
to help me fix his mess," he nodded at Zac.

"We should take his fucking head. If Regulus finds out, then we're all done," Maddox exclaimed.

"Mate, don't you trust me?" Nye was using his leverage over the assassin to get him to back down.

"Of course, but…"

"But nothing. The half-breed has gone into hiding and I have an idea where she might be holed up. If we're not back in twenty-four hours, then you tell Regulus."

"Why?"

"Because if we don't come back, then we're dead," Nye said like it was the obvious answer.
Probably because it was.
In twenty-four hours it would be over one way or another.

Maddox stood again and edged towards them, placing himself between the two vampires and the front door. "What are you playing at, Nye?"

"Don't try and stop me, Maddox," Nye said darkly. "Or do you want to end up on the floor again?"

Maddox grimaced, glaring at Zac, but he reluctantly stood aside and let them pass.

"I'm going to fix this mess, Maddox. If I find out you messed with this," he shoved the assassin in the shoulder, making him stumble back a step, "then you're ass is mine. Understand?"

"Understood," he said reluctantly, his jaw set.

Nye grabbed Zac's arm and shoved him out the door as much for show than anything. Neither of them
were
in a hurry to go and die.

"Where to now?" Zac said, once the door was closed behind them. Maddox could still hear them and he wondered what the spy would say.

Nye opened the door to the stairwell and turned back with a sly smile plastered on his face. "Door
number
three."

I
t had been two days since Aya had let Zac go and for two days she'd done nothing. 

Truth was, Zac had rattled her. He'd said that there was another way to end
Regulus, that
he was working towards finding and executing it. Whatever it was, she couldn't fathom it. So far, she'd been the one to kill the founders.
Five out of six.
Why should Regulus be any different? Except the fact that he knew she was more than capable, there wasn't any reason for it not to be.

After everything with Zac and the Coven, Aya had lost her nerve. Everything had gone to hell faster than usual and this time the stakes were about a billion times higher. Death, 
real death
, was a very real possibility.

"You need to make a decision, Arrow," Tristan said, pulling her thoughts back to the present.

"Soon enough," she murmured.

It had also been two days since she'd left the hotel, wandering the halls, swimming in the pool, compelling handsome young men in the bar to sate her hunger and not once had she thought about the Coven to make a decision. It seemed like an obvious choice, but it would need more thought before she did anything. Aya had said it to Tristan and to Zac, one day she wanted to truly die, but if she could get Zac back...

Tristan's cell phone began to ring and Aya shook her head at the sudden trill, thoroughly annoyed.

"Hello?" he asked cautiously. He listened for a moment, his expression falling into surprise.

Even with her enhanced hearing, Aya couldn't make out what was being said or who was on the other end.

"I'm listenin'," he said, annoyed. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

God, Aya was dying to know what was going on.

"She's safe? Understood... okay. The Ritz.... Don't be smart. Room 437."

When he put the cell back in his pocket, Aya asked, "Who was that?"

"Zac."

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was," he scoffed.

"What did he want?"

"He got Coraline out. He took her to Salisbury to Maximus," he paused, like he was going to say something else and thought the better of it.

"Tristan," Aya scolded. "What else is there?"

"He's comin' here. He wants to speak to you in person."

Aya collapsed back onto the bed and closed her eyes. She wondered what Zac had to say, especially since the last time she'd seen him,
she'd
tortured him into bringing his humanity back. He knew another way to end Regulus. That had to be why he was coming and she would get it out of him without letting her heart get in the way. And that would almost be impossible.

The bed dipped as Tristan sat beside her. "You're somethin' else, you know that?" He said it in a tone that she didn't like. Reverence.

"Tristan, I..." she began, trying to be diplomatic about turning him down.

"Look, Arrow," Tristan sighed, scratching the stubble on his chin. "I would be lyin' if I didn't say that I wasn't attracted to you. But I obviously don't have whatever it is you see in Zac. I get it."

"Love is a difficult thing," she sighed. "It's the one thing I want to control, but can't."

Tristan laughed, slapping his forehead.

"What?" she scowled at him.

"The control freak admits she can't control everythin'."

"Wipe that smile off your face Tristan, before I wipe it off for you."

 "Ahh, that's the Arrow I know and love."

Zac hung up his cell and stuffed it back into his pocket with a sigh.

Ever since he'd told Nye what he was going to do, he'd struggled with what he would tell Aya. He thought about telling her the truth, but she would know immediately what it would mean for him. After spending the better part of a week with her, he didn't doubt she'd try to lock him up again. This was, after all, Nye's idea. He wanted him to say goodbye. The spy just didn't count on it being this way.

"Are you sure you really want to do this?" Nye asked.

"Yes," he said, glaring at the spy. They were already half way across town on their way to the hotel and he was running out of time to figure out how he'd play this. Nye was driving and he liked to go fast.

"What about the Coven, mate? I don't think you've thought this through."

"All I've done is think it through," Zac grumbled. "Regulus will see her coming from a mile off. I will be able to walk right up to him unchallenged. She needs to be in the dark. The risk is worth it."

"The risk of her being the one hating you for a change?"

"She needs to be out of the way," he said. "She might be old as, but she's prone to bad decisions as much as any of us. She'll never let me do this and I can't risk her trying to stop me. You've never seen her lose it." He remembered the first time they had met back in Ashburton. He didn't know who she was at the time, but she saved him from a pack of werewolves, tearing them apart with her bare hands and mutilating their bodies beyond recognition. How she'd stopped and not moved onto him was beyond comprehension. Any normal vampire would have kept going until nothing was left alive.

"If that's what you believe, then I'm with you, Zac," Nye said, watching him out the corner of his eye.

When he'd told Gabby what he was planning that morning on the phone, she'd ripped him to shreds. There had been a lot of foul words said between them and she told him to wait until she could undo the link between him and Regulus. The witch didn't count on him moving so fast with her plan. That was the moment she told him that the Roman had forced her to cast the spell that could ultimately kill him. That went down a treat.
And to undo it?
She needed Regulus' blood. Like hell that was going to happen, she wasn't even in the country and by the time she got here? It'd already be too late.

Gabby vehemently wanted to save his life, but the fact was he didn't want it. Zac had already made his choice.

"We're here." Nye pulled the car into the long drive at the front of the Ritz and turned off the engine. "Here." He handed him an auto injector, a
spring loaded
syringe, filled with a strange green tinged substance. "Stick her with that and it'll knock her out long enough to get the job done."

Nodding, Zac took the injector and shoved it into the back pocket of his jeans. When they got out the car, the valet took the keys off Nye as they walked inside, the doorman ushering them through the gold and glass entrance way.

"Who's idea
was
this?" Nye whistled, looking up at the crystal chandelier that hung low in the foyer.

"I can't imagine it being hers."

"Tristan, the showy bastard."

Zac stiffened at the mention of the knight's name and said nothing. He better look after her or… He snorted at the irony. Nye would make sure.

They passed the front desk unchallenged and Zac pressed the button to the elevator a million times.

"Pushing it won't make it come any faster," the spy said with a chuckle. "You'll break the button."

"I don't…" he began, but stopped himself.

He placed a hand on Zac's shoulder. "Don't be in such a hurry to say goodbye, mate."

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

"What floor would you like, sir?" the attendant asked.

"Well, ain't this fancy," Nye proclaimed.

"Four," Zac said, pushing the spy into the elevator.

The attendant raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply, pushing the button for the fourth floor. As the numbers slid past, it felt like forever and his stomach churned. What would she say when she saw him? Hell, what would he say? He'd said some horrible things to her and deep down he knew that he'd meant most of them.

As soon as the door began to slide open, Zac pushed through and strode down the hall before he could lose his nerve. Nye was a heartbeat behind him as he scanned the doors for the right number, 437. Coming to a halt, Nye knocked him out of the way and rapped his knuckles on the door and it was wrenched open a second later.

"What are you doin' here?" Tristan spat as he laid eyes on Nye.

"Trying out the other side for a bit," he said, pushing past the knight. "Nice room, knight. The life of a traitor isn't half bad, huh?"

"If I'm a traitor, then what does that make you?"

Nye smirked, "To be a traitor, one has to first be loyal."

"God," Zac rolled his eyes, walking into the room. "Shut the hell up."

"Aye, Aye, Captain," Nye winked.

"Worst joke I've ever heard," he said and looked at Tristan. "Where is she?"

"Next door," Tristan eyed him with suspicion and nodded to the left.

"Take your time, Zac Attack," Nye called out, opening the minibar. "Tristan and I have some catching up to do."

Out in the hall, Zac lingered, unsure of how he was going to go about this. Would he talk to her first? Would she let him? Would she sense what he was about to do and stop him? If he had to stick her with the needle and run, he would regret it, but it had to be done. His mind had been made up a thousand times over before he had even gotten in the car to come here. Aya would sleep and he would die.
For her.

Regardless, his hand lingered on the handle a moment too long before he swung the door open and she was there, perched on the end of the bed, just as he remembered her. Aya stood, a hopeful look on her face as she laid eyes on him. Every time, every damn time he saw her she stole his breath. She was beautiful. Not just her looks,
but
her being. To him she was beautiful in every way he could imagine. Closing the door behind him, Zac looked to the floor, suddenly shy.

"Aya," he began, but she was already in front of him, her hand on his face.

The moment she touched him, it all came flooding back and whatever he was about to say died in his throat. God, he wanted her so much it was like a disease. What he was about to do to her, it was a sordid joke. She would be furious.

"It's always been you, Zac," she said. "Ever since the first day I saw you. I'm sorry.
For everything.
I only did it to protect you."

She was breaking his heart. Even when she wasn't trying, she still broke his fucking heart.

"I understand," he said. "But it doesn't make it hurt any less."

"I know."

"Aya, I...."

"Do you know how comforting it is to hear your blood again?" she interrupted.

"I'm still trying to figure that one out," he whispered, suddenly realizing he'd unconsciously leant towards her. His gaze flickered down to her lips and back up to her eyes that stared right into him and he wondered how she didn't know that this was goodbye.

"Zac," she whispered, pulling him close before he could turn away. "Kiss me."

He couldn't have said no, even had he wanted to. Thrusting his hands into her hair he pulled her flush against him, kissing her deeply, his body responding when she moaned into his mouth. Her hands ran up his chest and eased the coat from his shoulders and he dropped his hands away, letting it fall to the floor.

"I've missed you so much," she murmured.

Zac eased his hands under her blouse, caressing her soft skin. "Don't say it. Don't say it if you don't meant it."

"I mean it," she kissed the corner of his jaw. "A thousand times over."

Abruptly, he pulled off her blouse, black hair tumbling over her shoulders in waves. He pulled her hard against him, his lips finding hers as she coaxed him backwards towards the bed, forcing him down on top of her.

He tore his shirt over his head and began to kiss her navel softly, trailing his lips up towards her breasts, her body writhing under his touch. When she moaned in pleasure, he settled between her legs and she tightened them around his waist in response, almost driving him mad. Sinking his fangs into the crook of her neck, he ground his body into hers coaxing another moan from her lips. Her blood was even
more sweet
than he remembered. It was the most addictive thing he'd ever tasted.

Pulling away, she drew his face to hers, kissing her blood from his lips, her tongue running the length of his bared fangs. God, he wanted her so much. His hand found its way between her legs, his fingers pressing into her through her clothes as she moaned into his mouth. Starting to unzip her jeans, he stopped, letting his eyes search hers.