Witch (18 page)

He could smell the burning of Hanna's skin from passing
through the door.

"Jon?"

His mother came around the corner. She hadn’t aged at all.
She looked at Hanna and dropped Vampire fangs instantly. She hissed at Hanna,
who grabbed her by the throat and held her in the air.

"Mom?" Sam's voice cracked.

Her panicked dark eyes met his over Hanna's red head.

"Sam?" She spoke perfectly with the teeth, not
like Giselle who still sounded like a four year old.

"Hanna, drop her. Hanna that’s my mom."

Hanna looked back at him and growled. She dragged his
mother through the black doorway. She screamed the entire way, fighting to get
away from Hanna's savagery.

His mom's skin lit on fire as she passed through the
doorway. She screamed in pain. Hanna covered his mom's mouth with her hand.

In the hallway the beast lessened and Hanna struggled with
the pain.

Sam grabbed his mom from her and held the weeping vampire.
She gripped her son, "I knew you'd come."

She looked exactly the same. Her dark hair was long and shiny
with subtle curls. Her skin glowed except where it was blackened from the
magic. Her eyes sparkled but he could tell when he touched her she was a
vampire. She didn’t have the same life she used to. The life and magic of the
Siren.

"Why?" Sam asked staring at her teeth.

She shook her head, "He was afraid I would start
aging. He did it a couple years ago. His last Siren aged badly."

She looked at Hanna, "What are you?"

Hanna laughed, "A little of this and a little of
that."

"You're a Siren?"

Hanna nodded, "Part."

Her mouth trembled, "You're Hanna." She brought
her fingers up to her face, "You look just like him." She grabbed her
and hugged her tightly against her chest.

Hanna hugged back confused. She remembered nothing. Sam
hated that she didn’t have the memories he did.

"How is he?"

Hanna's eyes dropped, "He's in a better place."

His mother's lower lip trembled, "I'm sorry my love.
I loved your mother and father dearly. I see you never managed to escape the
family curses then?"

Hanna shook her head.

His mom looked at him and smiled again, "I'm so sorry
I left you Sam."

He shook his head, "We have to go."

His mother froze, "He will kill you both. Sam you
have to flash out of here."

He shook his head, "You have to come."

She shook her head, "I can't leave."

Sam frowned, "Why?"

She looked at him flatly, "I love him Sam."

Ophelia

She walked behind Oliver, who wouldn’t let go of her hand.
She had to scratch with her left hand.

They all followed him. She had a horrid feeling that he had
led them into a trap. They never saw anyone else.

Oliver snuck to a back door and pointed, "Half of us
need to go this way. Ophelia and I will go to with Lorri and Dorian and Aimee.
Lucas, Ari, Giselle, Lydia, and Brandon you go that way. It's where Ophelia and
Aimee's sisters are."

Ari shook her head, "We need someone who can flash us
out."

He looked at them and nodded, "Right. Uhm Aimee
you'll have to go with them and text Sam to head that way too. He should have
his mom by now."

Lorri looked at Aimee, "Don't let any old feelings
cloud your judgments."

She nodded and walked away.

Oliver pulled Ophelia out the door. The cold blast was
intense. She started to shiver immediately.

Oliver looked back at her, "Warm yourself."

She frowned, "How?"

He glanced at Lorri, "So she knows nothing?"

Lorri growled, "We found her two weeks ago. You've
had a lifetime with Trist."

He muttered under his breath, "Fuck."

Ophelia felt his disappointment. She pulled her hand from
his with a jerk. He looked back at her. She crossed her arms.

Dorian chuckled, "Alright kids let's focus before
Jonathan sends us to hell."

Lorri snickered. Ophelia felt like she was missing the
joke.

The snowy cold courtyard was long and surrounded by a
stonewall. At the end of it sat the tower. She recognized it all immediately.

She looked up to the second window to the top and pointed,
"That’s hers."

They ran across the courtyard and Oliver kicked open the
door. Ophelia ran up the stairs behind him. She felt Lorri at her heels. She
was wheezing by the second flight. Oliver laughed and grabbed her hand again
and flashed them to the top. Dorian and Lorri flashed behind them.

She reached out and touched the door. It sparked against
her fingers but she ignored the pain. She would finally meet her real mother.

It felt surreal, regardless of the fact she was standing
in a stone tower with angels and demons. It was easier to believe in them than
the existence of a mother she never knew about. Memories flooded her of her
mother back home. She couldn’t imagine the pain they were in.

She looked at Dorian. His eyes were set on the door.

Oliver tugged at her hand, "You have to open it
love."

She frowned, "How?"

"Use your magic and open the door."

She pointed a finger and spoke slowly, "Open
sesame."

Lorri sighed, "Stop fucking around and tell the door
to open."

Her face flushed, "Open."

The door didn’t even creak in a slight effort to open. She
looked back at Lorri who was pinching the bridge of her nose.

"What do I do?"

"Magic is imagery, want and need the door to open.
Like when you were mad and the magic filled you. Think about the fact he's
murdered all the others. Think about the fact she's spent a lifetime alone.
Want it."

Ophelia looked back at the door and thought about the fact
her mother had been alone. She imagined the cruelty of him forcing himself upon
her. She remembered the helpless feeling of Sam pressed against her. Her back
in the damp moss as he held her down and screamed at her. She looked at the
door and pushed on it. A loud burst shot through the silence as the door blew
apart. Tiny shards of wood and slivers filled the air. She blew hard making
them fly away from her. She looked into the cell to see the woman from the snow
globe but she wasn’t there. The cell was empty. She turned back to speak but
something hit her hard in the head.

xxxx

 
She woke to a
chuckle. She looked up to see her brother standing over her.

"You cannot be my sister. My sister would have known
better than to trust a stranger."

She swallowed tasting blood in her mouth. Oliver watched
her with his bright blue eyes. She felt her breath grow ragged, as the
desperation of the situation became reality.

She looked around. She didn’t recognize where she was. Her
hands were wrapped in a fabric and tied over her head. Her feet just touched
the floor with her tipi toes.

Her back was against a cold stonewall. She was frozen.

Tristan was taller than she assumed her would be. He
towered over her and looked angry and frightening. Not the same as when they'd
met in the forest. He was a different person.

He sneered and leaned in, "You smell like sex
Ophelia. It's hard to be around all these angels and Sirens."

She turned her face away from his warm breath.

She refused to look at him or Oliver.

She didn’t see Lorri or Dorian. She wondered if they'd
been apart of the plan from the beginning too?

She felt her toes cramping up and she struggled to stay
standing.

Tristan hovered over her like a predator.

She continued to look away from them. She felt her breath
getting out of control. She started to heave slightly.

"Wa-wa-wa-wa what's the baby going to do? Will she
cry? Are you going to cry for daddy, love?"

She looked at him.

He laughed, "You didn’t think I was your brother did
you?"

She started to cry. He leaned in and licked her cheek.

"Your tears taste like your mother's."

His body pressed her into the rock wall.

She looked exactly like Jonathan. She could see her own
traits and features on his face.

She looked at Oliver. He looked pained for a moment.

She spat at him, "How could you? He killed your
son."

Her father laughed, "I never killed him. Oliver has
him being, detained so to speak. It had to be believable. No one can resist
young Samuel's mother. No one."

Ophelia shook her head, "Why are you doing this?
Where is Tristan?"

He laughed, "You're brother is an idiot. You are my
heir Ophelia." He glanced back at Oliver and smirked, "We just need
to make sure you like my side better."

"Where are my sisters and Lillith?"

He laughed and turned and walked from the circular stone
room. She shivered from the cold.

Oliver watched her for a moment and then followed her
father from the room.

Sam

"Just pull her along."

Hanna looked nervous, "Sam I don’t feel
comfortable."

He clenched his jaw and leaned in looking down on her,
"I'm not leaving without her."

Hanna's skin rippled, "Don't be a shit. I just don't
want her to feel like we forced something on her. She said she loves him."

His eyes flashed at his mother's unconscious body. He felt
bad for knocking her out but he had no choice. She was compelled by Jonathan.

He felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it from his pocket to
find a picture of a room from Aimee. He grabbed Hanna and his mom's hand and
flashed them into the room.

Aimee had her back to a wall and was appearing around a
corner.

"They're in there."

She looked at his mom, "Is she hurt?"

Hanna rolled her eyes, "She wasn’t until Sam knocked
her out." She glanced at Sam and gulped, "She wanted to stay. She
loves Jonathan."

Aimee grimaced.

Giselle made a sickened face, "Eww I heard he looks a
lot like Ophelia."

Aimee's head snapped around, "I've had enough of the
return of shitty Giselle. Stop."

Giselle put her hands up, "Whatevs Aimes. Can we just
kill Blake and get Alise."

Aimee looked at Lydia. Sam noticed the vacant stare in her
eyes.

"Lydia?"

She looked at him in a panic, "Sam they have Ophelia.
Her magic just went out. They're going to be here any minute."

Sam felt his stomach sink. He still felt the bond to her. She
wasn’t dead.

Aimee's nostrils flared, "Fuck this shit." She
kicked the door open to the lab.

Sam looked at Hanna, "Don’t lose her."

Hanna smiled at him sarcastically, "Fuck off
Sam."

He grabbed her face and kissed her hard. He let go and
flashed into the room behind Aimee. A man fired a gun, which normally they
wouldn’t have bothered avoiding but with the hellfire being a possibility it
changed their reactions to bullets.

Aimee leapt across the room and flashed Ari behind the man
with the gun.

The lab was huge. Sam felt lost for a half a second. He
saw a pasty angry looking guy hunched over a microscope with headphones on. He
would bet his money it was Blake.

He watched as Brandon and Lucas phased mid air and began
attacking the other men and women in lab coats. Ari didn’t use her gift. They
all appeared human. Sam looked back at the door, he had a bad feeling.

Lydia was standing with Hanna above his mother who was
laid on the floor.

She made eye contact with him, "Minutes."

He looked back at Aimee who was holding the dark haired
guy in the air.

"Just fucking tell me where she is."

Sam looked at the way the incredibly tall guy didn’t
react.

He looked at Giselle draining the blood from a smaller guy
in the corner, "He's compelled Aimes. Giselle get him."

Giselle hissed at Sam.

"DO IT NOW!"

Lydia shrieked, "GISELLE STOP BEING A PAIN IN THE
ASS."

Giselle dropped the bleeding man and skulked over to
Aimee, "Okay nerd look into mommy's eyes."

Sam knew she hated him. He had been a part of her being
mauled in blood bars.

"Listen to me Blake. You don’t have any more glamour
on you. No compulsion. You are just you again."

"Ha you really believe one of Lorri's pet's can
remove my compulsion?"

Sam saw Daniel walk into the lab from the back. He held an
iPad.

Blake looked around. He frowned, "Aimes?"

Aimee leapt at him and wrapped her arms around his chest.

"Blake."

Giselle stepped toward Daniel, "Bow bitch."

His legs buckled slightly, "Impossible."

She growled, "BOW BEFORE YOUR QUEEN DOUCHE
CANOE!"

His knees dropped to the hard cement lab floor.

His face trembled, "You are of Marcus?"

She licked the blood stains from her face, "Yeah and
I'm pretty sure you remember me being your little party favor not so long ago
too, don’t you? Well asshole, now it's time to pay."

Sam put a hand out, "No. Lorri made a deal with the
wolves. They get to kill him and we get Aleks's dad."

Giselle wrinkled her nose. She thought for a moment and
nodded, "Fine but I take him now. No waiting around for Jonathan and the
other dicks to show."

Sam nodded.

Aimee looked at Sam, her eyes were filled with tears.

"Alise is in the backrooms. Where the vampires
feed."

Sam felt sick. He knew her sister would either be dead or
worse.

Lorri ran into the room, "They got Ophelia. We need
to get the fuck out of here and come back."

Sam clenched his jaw.

Lorri barked, "Fucking Oliver. I fucking knew
it."

Aimee shook her head, "We need Alise and Ophelia's
sister."

"WE NEED TO GO NOW."

Blake looked startled, "What is going on?" He
paled, "Are you guys like them?"

Lorri smiled, "Worse. Now move some asses."

Giselle looked at Lorri, "Look who we found."

Lorri leaned to the side to see around the tables and
computers. Her face dropped.

"Daniel."

He trembled, "Lorri. I didn’t mean to. You know I
always believed in your way."

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, "You son of a
bitch."

She looked crushed. Sam had never seen her vulnerable.

"Giselle can you hold him?"

She laughed, "Yup. I'm going to stick one of my heels
in his ass as soon as we get him home. Fucker."

Lorri nodded and looked around, "Okay I'm going to
take Giselle and Danny boy to Maine." She tilted her head, "You owe a
blood debt you piece of shit."

Ari looked at Lorri, "I could push Alise when we get
her."

Lorri shook her head, "Last resort Ari. You know what
happens when you mess with your own circle. Christ only knows what we'll end up
with. Aimee, take Brandon, Sam, Ari and Luke with you. Hanna bring Sam's
mom."

Hanna lifted her into the air.

Lorri smirked at Daniel, "Hanna here is going to rip
one of your rotten legs off and shove it up your ass if you try anything
funny."

Hanna smiled at Daniel.

She carried Sam's mom like she weighed nothing. Lorri
touched Giselle who gripped Daniel. Hanna put a hand on Lorri's shoulder.

Lorri looked worried, "Aimes you and Sam flash if you
have to. No matter what. Leave the sisters if you have to."

Sam felt the order in the words. It wasn’t a suggestion.

Lydia ran to Lorri, "I'll come with you. I've spelled
the room. They can't come in here. We need to get out of here now."

Lorri was gone as Lydia's hand touched her shoulder.

Aimee hugged Blake again.

He sobbed into her chest, "Oh god. Oh god Aimee. I've
done so many bad things."

He slumped on the floor at her feet and covered his face
in shame.

A loud bang on the door interrupted.

Sam gave Aimee a look. She nodded and pointed to the back
door Daniel had come through, "Does this lead to Alise?"

Blake blubbered into his hands speaking inaudible bits.

Aimee grabbed his arms, "Blake we can cry when we get
home. I need you to focus now."

He wiped his eyes and repositioned his glasses, "That
way." He pointed at the back door.

She shook him, "I need your help. Can you help
me?"

Aimee's face looked desperate.

Blake nodded, "I'm so sorry Aimes. I shoulda believed
you. It was real. It was all real."

Aimee sighed, "We can do this at home Blake. I need
to get my sister."

He sniffed and wiped his hands on his sleeve.

Ari had the door open and both wolves were in the hall.
She peeked back, "Hey Dorian is in the hall waiting for us."

Sam was last into the hallway. He couldn’t believe they
finally had Daniel. Lorri could finally cross it off her to do list.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Ophelia or the fact her
father had her.

Dorian looked pissed.

He hissed at Sam, "Your mom is in on it."

Sam nodded, "I think she's compelled."

Dorian shook his head, "Nope. It’s a match."

Sam felt sick, "What?"

Dorian nodded, "Fucking Sirens. Have you guys seen
Oliver?"

Sam shook his head.

Ari whispered, "We need to keep moving."

Dorian glared at her, "This was a set up. Notice how
they don’t have any security here?"

Sam nodded, "Jonathan was willing to trade it all for
Ophelia?"

They followed the huge wolves through a series of halls
and past a massive kitchen. Sam felt like his stomach was in his throat.

Dorian looked at Ari, "I'm going to find Ophelia. If
I don’t come back, I'm sorry."

Ari grinned, "Sorry you died on me?"

He shook his head solemnly, "That I never knew. I
would have tried if I'd known."

She shoved him, "Stop being a weirdo. You're like a
cockroach. Nothing can kill you." His eyes flashed at Ari for a moment. He
smiled and leaned into kiss her on the cheek. He glanced at Sam, "You get
her out."

Sam nodded and Dorian was gone.

Blake stopped outside of a door, "This one."

His thin pale fingers trembled. He looked sick seeing the
door.

Aimee shoved him to the side and kicked the door open.

Sam clutched his nose instantly. The smell was unbearable.
Aimee looked horrified as she stepped in. The dark room was a cell. It reminded
him of Marcus's dungeon.

There was a small cot, a shower, and a toilet. The dark
concrete room had no one in it but from the stink whoever had been in there was
dead when they were removed.

Old dark brown blood stains covered the mattress.

Aimee looked at Blake like she wanted to strangle him. He
shook his head, "She was here."

Aimee stormed from the room and started kicking in the
every door in the hallway.

"You have a very bad temper has anyone ever told you
that?"

Sam looked down the hall by the kitchen they passed.
Oliver stood there with a grin pasted on his face.

Sam flashed at him but he was already down the far side of
the other hall. Sam flashed there but he was in the ceiling looking down from
the grate, "We can play this all day or we can just trade."

Aimee scowled up at him, "What could you possibly
want from us?"

Oliver tilted his head, "You Aimee."

She walked under the grate where he sat, "Fine done.
Everyone else walks free."

Oliver flashed to the far side of the hall opposite Sam,
"Walk out the door behind you into the snow. There is a courtyard. Stay
there. We will meet you outside." He was gone.

Sam looked at Aimee, "No. No this is a bad idea. Why
do they want you so badly?"

She shrugged, "I don’t know." She looked
defeated, "At this point what does it matter? Aleks is dead. Shane is
heartbroken. My sister is most likely dead." She turned to Sam and smiled,
"You know where I want my body to go."

He nodded, "I don’t know what can kill you Aimes. They
may want you alive."

Ari put a hand on Aimee, "This is a bad idea. Let me
push him." She glanced at Blake. Blake looked nervous.

Aimee shook her head, "You know what Lydia
says."

Aimee turned and walked to the door. She put a hand up to
it and looked back at Blake. She rushed him and threw her arms around his neck.
Her held her tight.

They whispered into each other's necks. Aimee shook from
the sobbing. She pushed herself off of him and turned to face the door. She
looked at Sam and pushed as hard as she could.

The cold arctic air blasted them. It was miserably cold
for July. Sam looked at Blake who started to shiver.

"Stay in the hallway."

Blake nodded and stepped back in. Ari grabbed him by the
arm, "No. This is my insurance." She dragged him out into the cold.

He looked as white as the snow. Sam scanned the white
courtyard for movement.

Luke lowered and growled as Oliver walked toward them. In
each hand he had a thin girl. Sam knew they must be Alise and Abbey. He could
pick out Alise right away. She was sickly skinny and covered in sores. She wore
baggy jeans and a pale pink t-shirt. Her dark hair was around her like a filthy
cape and matted with things. Abbey too was covered in sores. He assumed they
were bite marks. Her blonde hair was pulled back in messy ponytail, like bed
head. Her jeans were ripped and torn and her light blue t-shirt was bloody.

Another man walked out into the courtyard with Oliver. He
looked almost identical to Ophelia. Instantly he knew it was her father.

He smiled and held his hands out, "Roses. It's
wonderful to meet you all. Sorry for being such a poor host. I'm sure you
understand the time constraints placed upon me, what with Ophelia and Tristan
turning eighteen and all."

Aimee stepped forward, "Look you want me to stay. I
want them all to go free. Cut the shit and niceties."

He nodded, "I like your style Aimee. It's a shame we
have to kill you."

He pulled a gun from behind his back and raised and fired
it before Sam could register what was happening.

Sam screamed, "No." He flashed at Aimee. She
stumbled forward in the snow. Blake screamed but Ari held him tight. Sam held
her arm.

Her sister screamed and pulled from Oliver's hands. He
held her tight to his side.

Sam looked down at the snow. Black blood dripped onto the
white snow. He rolled her on her back revealing something he never thought he
would see. Aimee's skin was singed where the bullet made a huge hole.

She cried out from the fiery wound spreading up her pale
stomach.

"You see Aimee, Dorian made you for one reason. Each
of us makes something different. I create vampires. Not cursed ones like Marcus
but real ones. We don’t know what Lorri creates, she has a rule about not
making things. Oliver here creates succubus and incubus, emotional vampires if
you will. Sam, your dad made what the natives called a Wendigo. Very horrid
creature. He only made a few. Terrible plague on the earth. He refused to make
any more. But Dorian makes something very special. He makes the cure. He made
the one that took Anthony." Jonathan smirked and pointed to the sky,
"He needed a backup plan, incase we decided to have fun instead of be
Lorri's lapdogs. Dorian makes the backup plan. You are it my dear and I can't
run the risk of you ruining any of my plans."