The Awakening (14 page)

"Be careful."

Regulus pressed his lips to hers and was gone. Not
wasting any time, she circled her fingers around the fence at the corner,
calling on her power. She began to weave the glyph as she'd seen it that
morning in Alisandra's grimoire, imbedding it in the iron. As she worked,
she sensed the hybrid's attention had shifted into her and hoped that Regulus
was there.

"You…" She heard Aed say. He was
hesitating which meant... "You're supposed to be dead. I saw it in the
blood."

"Sorry to disappoint you," came Regulus'
voice. Calm and clear as ever.

"I won't let you stop me before I've even
begun. I won't let you deny me my revenge."

As the glyph finally seeped into place, Gabby
jogged to the next corner and started weaving the next. She had to be quick
about it. There was only so much time before Aed would focus on her instead of
the Roman.

"You won't get a chance, Aed. There's no one
left to exact your revenge on. No one who cares."

"You lie, you filthy human half-breed. You are
nothing compared to me."

The second glyph was in place and this time she ran
to the next corner.

"You are the last. There's nothing for you in
this world. Not anymore."

"Stop with your lies," the hybrid roared.
"I will find my sisters and together we will destroy you all. I will tear
everything you care about into pieces in front of your eyes. Then you can see
how it feels."

"You won't be finding anything."

The third glyph was in place and Gabby sprinted to
the final corner, but she wasn't quick enough. She slammed into something hard
and fell backwards onto the sidewalk. She looked up and her heart almost
stopped beating. Aed stared down at her with blazing red eyes. The same eyes
that had stared at her through Coraline's vision and she froze.

"Celestine witch," he hissed taking a
step forward, but Regulus was there, grasping the hybrid around the neck and
flinging him back over the fence into the privacy of the garden.

"Quickly, Gabrielle," he said and was
gone again.

She scrambled to her feet and with shaking hands,
cast the fourth glyph into the fence. All there was to do now was cast the
final onto the hybrid himself. She scaled the fence and landed in a flower bed
with a dull thud, approaching the fountain where the two vampires were facing
off.

"Your flimsy wards will do nothing,
witch," Aed spat as his eyes fixed on her. "You think you can weaken
me with your pathetic magic?"

"Don't listen to him," Regulus said.

"You will listen to me, vampire, and you will
listen and do well to heed every single word. This world is mine. These humans
are mine. And your witch," he glanced at Gabby, "is
mine
."

Aed launched himself at her and she stumbled back with
a surprised cry, falling onto the ground. Regulus wasn't fast enough and the
hybrid straddled her, his hands circling her neck. "What does your blood
taste like, pretty one? What stories does it have to tell?"

Regulus let out an agonized roar of fury and pulled
the hybrid off her.

"The glyph," she gasped, catching her
breath.

The Roman ignored her as he went in for the kill,
but it was if Aed could sense every move before the founder made it. Every blow
was parried and every time he dodged to the side, the hybrid was there, sinking
his fists into flesh.

Aed had the Roman from behind and before Gabby
could cry out, he sunk his fangs into Regulus' neck and blood began to pour
down his skin and stain his shirt.

"No," she cried, taking a step forward,
but the Roman held out a hand to stop her.

Aed's eyes widened and he shoved Regulus away so
hard the vampire's knees left cracks in the ground. "No," he
cried, clawing at his face, blood dripping down his chin. "You killed
them. My sisters..."

"Gabrielle," Regulus wheezed, on his feet
in an instant. "
Run
."

Before she could turn, he had her in his arms,
Aed's tortured cries following them down the street and into the darkening
city. Her ran for what seemed like miles and miles until he finally slowed to a
fast walk in a back street somewhere she didn't recognize.

"He's not following," she said, casting
her senses behind them.

Regulus dropped her to her feet roughly, a hand on
the wall. He hung his head, seemingly out of breath, and she noticed he'd
broken out into a cold sweat. Vampires like him didn't need to rest.

"Regulus?" she asked quietly.

Standing to his full height he grunted, wiping his
face. "We need to go back to the house. I need to keep you safe."

His shirt was still wet with his blood and that
could have been because it hadn't dried yet, or he was still bleeding. He
noticed her eyes on his shoulder and with a frown, he took her arm and began to
lead her.

"Regulus, your shoulder," she protested.

"It's fine."

His response was clipped and she knew he wasn't
saying something. When his hand came up to his forehead, he stopped suddenly,
letting go of her arm. Before she could reach out to him, his eyes unfocused
and he fell to his knees, breathing hard. With a cry, she was beside him, her
hands on his clammy face.

"Regulus," she murmured. "What's
wrong?"

He seemed to look at her, some kind of recognition
flashing through his dark eyes. "Katrin?"

"No." She shook her head, beginning to
panic. "It's Gabby. Gabrielle."

He frowned. "That's what I meant."

Trying not to let her concern show, Gabby wrapped
an arm around his waist and helped him to his feet. "We've got to get off
the street. Let's go home."

"Home?" he asked in a childlike voice.

"Yes, home."

There was only one explanation for Regulus' odd
behavior. Aed's bite had somehow poisoned him. She hoped to hell that the
Roman's body would heal itself, because she had no idea how to do it. No matter
her feelings, they needed him. Regulus was the only way they could kill
Aed for good. He was their last hope.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Gabby tried to mask her worry as she helped Regulus
back to the apartment. He seemed to have lost his strength all at once and
hauling him up the stairs to the top floor was no picnic. He hadn't said a word
since he'd called her Katrin and she knew his pride had been hurt more than
anything. The Roman didn't seem concerned that his wound wasn't healing,
but he probably should be.

Zac shot to his feet when they came in the door and
Regulus stormed off into the bedroom without making eye contact.

"Gabby?"

"Not now," she said, shaking her head.

"Yes, now," he said. "Where have you
been? I thought…"

"He was teaching me how to track Aed."

"You obviously found him. I can smell the
blood, Gabby."

"He made me go confront him, but it didn't
work…it…" She hesitated, glancing at the bedroom door. She wanted Regulus.
She couldn't leave him. Not like that.

"It obviously didn't go well," Zac said
thinly. "And I thought all we had was the element of surprise?"

"Please, Zac. Can we talk about this
later?"

He narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Later."

Without looking back, she followed Regulus into the
bedroom, closing the door softly behind her. He had his back to her, looking
out the window at the dark city. She didn't have to ask if something was wrong,
she could feel it crackling in the air.

Without acknowledging her presence, he took off his
shirt and inspected the bite mark in the reflection. Even in the dark room, she
could see that it was red and angry looking. Blood still seeped from it, but it
wasn't that that made her look twice. It had been maybe an hour since Aed had
bitten him, but it looked infected, the Roman's skin marred with black veins
that seemed to be spreading the longer she looked.

"I was never going to be a match for him on my
own," he said, his voice stretched thin.

"You didn't know that," she said, her
voice barely a whisper.

"There was a reason there was six of us."

Gabby shook her head. "Fail safes."

"And in the event one of them woke...
strength."

"You knew and you still went after him?"

"I believed I could stop him on my own.
Obviously, I was wrong." He poked at the wound in his neck and hissed.

"Regulus," she said, tugging his hands
away.

He shrugged her off, pulling his shirt back on.

"It's not healing."

"No," he said gruffly, not looking at
her.

"How…"

He turned on her, eyes blazing. "The only way
I'm going to be cured is by Aed's blood. Can you see that happening, because I
can't."

"There has to be another way."

"I'm dying and that's that."

No, she couldn't believe it. But he was right,
wasn't he? The hybrids hadn't seen the light of day since they were turned.
Anyone who might've known about them were long dead and their secrets lost to
the ages. Even if there was a cure, she wouldn't be able to find it in time.

"Did you know?" she asked. When he turned
away again and didn't answer, she grabbed his arm and forced him to look at
her. "Did you know this would happen if he bit you?"

His jaw tightened and he shook his head.
"There was no way to know."

"But you suspected."

"Yes."

"I can't believe…" she started to say,
but cast her eyes away. She was going to say, she couldn't believe he didn't
tell her, but she knew why he didn't. He was just trying to protect her from
the aftermath.

"It'll be fast or it'll be slow."

"No. I won't let it happen."

"I can already feel my mind slipping."

"No, you can't be..."

"I called you
Katrin
." He cupped
her face in trembling hands. "I called you Katrin and you're my
Gabrielle."

She stiffened.
His
Gabrielle.

"It's only going to get worse."

"Do you want…"

"No," he said, pre-empting what she was
going to say. "I don't want
her
to touch me. I don't want her to
see me like this."

She nodded. Damn him and his stubborn pride.

"Only if I try to hurt anyone. If I try to
hurt you. Only then."

She could feel it through the skin of his hands,
the poison that was running in his veins, spreading further and further through
his system. But, Aed had bitten Zac and his wound had healed…why wasn't
Regulus'? The answer was obvious really. He'd been created to counter the
Tuatha hybrids and nature had still found a way as it had with his other
purpose, the Celestines. Even the immortal had a way to end it all. What use
was the word when he could be taken away from her with one little bite?

For once she didn't want to believe Regulus wasn't
as indestructible as she'd come to think he was.

After leaving Regulus to his stubborn melancholy,
Gabby went back out in the living room. Zac was slouched in the oversized
couch, Aya at his side. There was no sign of Nye, Tristan or the Three and she
guessed they might've escaped to the pub when she returned with Regulus.

"Gabby?" Zac asked, sitting up straight.

She sunk into a chair across from them and rubbed
her tired eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked, when she didn't
acknowledge him.

"Aed bit him," she sighed. "He went
for me and…he bit him."

"It's not healing," Aya said blandly,
earning herself a glare from Zac.

"No," Gabby snapped, narrowing her eyes
at the hybrid.

"What do we need to do?" Zac asked.
"Is there a way to heal him?" He got it even if Aya didn't and that
was a role reversal if she ever saw one.

"He says the only way to heal it would be with
Aed's blood."

"Well, we're screwed. Try getting within five
feet of the guy," Aya said, splitting the wound further.

Biting her tongue, Gabby glanced away. Fighting
between themselves wouldn't solve anything. Regulus was dying and there was
nothing she could do. Going after Aed was a suicide mission. Anyone who decided
to try would be dead the moment the Tuatha laid eyes on them. She knew she
needed to ask, regardless of Aya's reaction.

Glancing at the Celestine she asked, "If it
comes to it, would you?" She didn't need to elaborate any further than
that.

"No," Aya snarled. Her entire body seemed
to glow with the force of her voice.

"Aya," Gabby sighed, trying to keep her
emotions in check. "I'm asking you as a witch. As a sister. As a friend.
If it comes to it, will you end his suffering?"

"
No
."

"Please…"

"You're forgetting it was Regulus who snatched
me from my forest. His actions sealed my fate and that of my family. I will not
help you."

"He was ordered to do it," she cried, her
control beginning to crack. "Katrin ordered him and he was compelled to do
it."

"He may have been ordered, but he wanted it do
it regardless."

"It was two thousand years ago," she
exclaimed, rising to her feet. "Two thousand years, Aya. Learn a little
forgiveness. Aren't you supposed to be the embodiment of nurturing and care?
How about you care a little for once in your fucked up life?"

"Gabby..." Zac began, but she didn't want
to hear it.

"I'll never forget this, Aya. Never. Don't
even think to ask me for anything ever again, because you already know my
answer."

Aya rose to her feet, her pale hands clenched into
tight fists. "You have no idea what you're dealing with, Gabby."

Gabby felt her power tingle in her stomach, aching
for release and before she could lose it and turn on the hybrid, she stalked
from the room, tears threatening.

"Let her go," she heard Zac say, but she
didn't stop to listen to more.

Easing open the door to Regulus' room, she frowned
at how sick he looked. He'd collapsed back onto the bed fully clothed, too
tired to even pull the covers back. Sitting beside him, she tugged his
boots off and set them on the floor. Placing a hand on his forehead, he
stirred, his eyes fixing on hers.

"I heard you arguing," he wheezed.
"Your devotion warms my cold dead heart, Gabrielle."

"Oh, shut up."

"It appears it's going to be slow. Which is
probably what I deserve. Just let me die in peace."

"Never," she said. "You annoyed the
crap out of me since the day I met you. I'm not about to let you stop
now." Kicking her own boots off she curled up next to him, winding
and arm around his waist.

"You don't have to stay, dear one. I don't
want to hurt you."

"You won't." She stroked his cheek,
trying to hold back tears. "Where do you want to be?"

He frowned, like he didn't understand her question,
but then he said, "Home."

"Think of it and I'll take you there."

She let her power meld with his thoughts and the
air around them began to shimmer. If this was the last thing she could do for
him, then it wouldn't be enough. Nothing would ever be enough.

Closing her eyes, she felt a few stray tears slip between
her lashes and down her cheek. When she opened them again it was to blue sky as
far as the eye could see and golden fields broken up with a square patch of
green…an olive grove. And just beyond, a white washed house with a terracotta
roof.

She sat on the rise of a hill, Regulus at her side,
a slight breeze fluttering her hair. There was the slight tang of salt, which
meant the ocean mustn't be far from the villa and it's fields. He wound his arm
across her back and squinted in the sunshine.

"It's so real," he said with a sigh.

"Where are we?"

"This was where I was born. Italy, as it was
when it was part of the Roman Empire."

"It's beautiful."

"See that field just below the rise?" He
pointed to the left. "That's where my father taught me to ride."

"What was he like?"

"He was a hard man. He loved my mother and I,
but he was a Centaur. Most of his life was spent fighting. He was absent most
of my childhood, such were the Legion's campaigns back then. It would be years
at a time before he came home and most of that time my mother spent worrying
that he wouldn't at all. Every time he came back, he was a little less…himself.
Ultimately, it was his wish that I follow him into the Legion and so it
was."

"Did you want to? Join the Legion, I
mean."

He shrugged. "If there was another option, it
never occurred to me. I wanted to be like my father. He seemed a hero to a
young boy. I never understood it all at that age, not until I was living it. I
soon grew up and the truth of life was revealed to me in the most horrific way.
Conquering, war. Death. Killing comes natural for a vampire. One could argue it
comes easily for a human, but," he tapped his temple, "it doesn't
come easy in here."

"Did you have any joy in your life?" she
asked, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Joy?" he asked in surprise. "I
suppose I've been happy at times."

"That's not what I meant."

He let out a long sigh. "No."

Gabby didn't know what to say to that, so she just
linked her fingers with his.

"I hoped that after this was done, then things
might've been different," he said. "That I had a reason to go on for
myself, and not for others. No more orders to follow but my own."

"What would you have done?"

"It's no use dwelling on things that will
never happen." He looked down at her, his eyes full of sadness.

"Regulus..."

"I'm over two thousand years old. No one
should live that long."

She clutched his arm, not wanting to let go. It was
strange how she found herself here, falling for the one man who made life a
living hell for so many of her friends. A witch and a vampire. "But...I've
only just found you."