Witch Hunts

Chapter 6

Sin barged through the library door very frustrated and angry. Danger sat in one of the recliners by the fire, not even bothering to get up and greet Sin. He knew what kind of mood his Prince was in and knew it wouldn’t do any good. He took another long drink of the blood Margret had heated up for him. Sin kicked out the footstool in front of the chair across from Danger and sank into it.
Danger cocked his head to the side and studied Sin for a long moment. He knew his Prince had something going on because he didn’t come barging through the door yelling profanities at Danger. What could possible have gotten Sin so flustered if it wasn’t… A slow knowing smile spread across Danger’s lips.
“So how is Faith doing tonight?”
“I don’t want to talk about her.” His Prince barked at him. His smile broadening as he leaned forward.
“What’s got you so defensive? Aren’t you suppose to be yelling at me for allowing her to give you blood?” Sin glared at him with fierce blue eyes.
“Yes. What were you thinking? We don’t even know if her blood could be a poison to us.”
“Not likely.” Wulf’s voice filled the air. “If anything, the blood probably made you more powerful and fully rejuvenated you.”
“How do you know?” Sin asked suspiciously.
“Think about it. Drinking from something more powerful would certainly make you powerful. If a human was to drink from us, they become a vampire. Vampires are more powerful. So logically drinking from a witch would give you some of her untapped energy.” Sin considered what he was saying for a long moment then nodded slowly in understanding.
“So you just think that it helped me heal faster?”
“Yes.”
“What else do you think could have happened?”
“That we will have to wait and see. It’s hard to tell until it gets put to the test.” Wulf sat down behind the desk and placed the pads of his fingers against the other set of fingers to form a triangle.
“Great. Waiting is something I have time for.” Sin put a hand to his forehead as he dropped his head back to rest against the chair. “So how are the posts doing?”
“All the covens are warned of the terror running loose through New Orleans, but we can’t seem to get a hold of Jeremy and his gang. I don’t know if they took a little vacation or what, but they are nowhere to be found.”
“Wonderful, now we’re missing vampires. That’s what I always like to hear.”
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed tonight. What crawled up your ass and died?” Danger growled in annoyance.
“Be kind to our Prince Danger, he just needs to get laid and he will be fine.” Wulf flashed Sin a big grin. Sin glared at both of them and rose to his feet.
“You are both dismissed.” Wulf and Danger looked at each other then shrugged their shoulders. They made their way out not bothering to say anymore to Sin for it was not worth it in the kind of mood he was having. Sin waited for the sound of the door closing before he slumped back down into the chair in exhaustion. There was only so much a man could take before he felt like the world was caving in on him and this was Sin’s caving in point.
He closed his eyes trying to sort through the chaos in his mind. He had to worry about so many different things that he couldn’t figure out what to start with first. Why had he taken on the responsibility of saving the Hunter clan anyway? What was so important about them that he had to put his only family on the line for them?


~*~*~Flashback~*~*~

He ran down the road in the little village near the Highlands in search for the woman that had just saved his life. He couldn’t figure out how she had done it. She had been standing a good five feet away from the bandit that had him on the ground and underneath his sword, but she had most definitely attack him. She was the only one that had been around.
When the bandit had hit the ground next to him, he had been too busy trying to find his sword that he hadn’t even bothered to see which way the woman had gone too. Now, he was kicking himself in the butt for it, because he owed her a thank you and he wouldn’t be able to repay her.
Being the King’s son, he was raised on being well mannered and always thanking the people that needed to be appreciated. His father had a good way of beating that into him. He stopped in the middle of the town turning this way and that way, trying to catch sight of her, but it was no good she was gone.
It wasn’t until he was seventeen years old that he finally met the woman that had saved him that earlier spring morning. It was at the King’s ball that he had spotted her across the room. She was stunning just as he remembered when he was ten years old. She had long wavy hair that was so black it had a bluish tint to it from the lighting in the room.
She wore a lavender gown that set her apart from the other woman in the room. She was pale in complexion with high cheekbones. Her rich chocolate eyes dancing with excitement and happen to be looking straight at him. He tilted his head at an angle to let her know he was acknowledging her. She tilted hers back in greeting.
He made his way threw the crowded room toward the lovely woman. She noticed and excused herself from the group she had been chatting with and made her way to the doors leading into the warm night. He sped up his pace telling himself he was not going to lose her again. She disappeared out the doors about a minute before he got out of them.
He searched for her and saw no sign. She had out run him again and he found himself getting extremely pissed off about it. He wasn’t attracted to the girl sexually, so he couldn’t understand why he was so drawn to her.
“Because you know I’m different from anyone you know.” Came a soft melodic voice. He looked behind him to the shadows of the labyrinth. There stood the dark angel. He slowly walked over to her in awed silence. She smiled at him sweetly and curs tied for him. “I’m Cinthia Hunter. It’s a pleasure to finally meet ye my laird.”
“What happened to ye that day?” He asked confused.
“I have no clue what ye are talking about.” She looked clueless. It made him stop and wonder if maybe he was wrong, but he was positive that it had been her. Nobody had hair like hers in the Highlands.
“When I was but a wee lad on the road heading into thee village. Ye saved me from thee bandit.” He sounded almost desperate.
“I have no idea what ye are talking about my laird. Maybe ye have mistaken me for somebody else.” She started to move away from him to head back inside but he stopped her by placing a hand on her arm.
“Please, I’m begging ye. Was it ye?” He looked at her pleadingly. She regarded him for a long moment. Then signed softly and turned to him. She leaned forward and whispered softly in his ear. He nodded his understanding and she left him there making her way back into the party.
The next evening he was walking the halls of the halls of the McKalter castle when he heard the voice of an angel floating to him along the wind. He made his way to a window and appeared out into the summer night. He saw nothing out of the ordinary but he knew she was there. He hurried into the courtyard and out into the woods. He followed the voice until he came across a lagoon.
He used to come here all the time when he was a young boy, but now that he had become a man his father had laid a lot of responsibility onto him and her hadn’t had time to come here. It was still as beautiful as he remembered. The pool was still except for the waterfall that poured into it. The vines and heather bushes surrounding pool. It was his sanctuary, a place of peace for him.
In the water, he saw movement and he came to the edge of the pool to peer into the depths. Suddenly right under his nose Cinthia broke through the water with a smile on her lips. He scrambled back in surprise and stared at her in awe. She brought her nightgown-clothed body out of the water and sat on the edge.
“Good evening, my laird.”
“Good evening.”
“I’m glad ye decided to join me tonight I have much to talk to ye about.” He nodded slowly. She came to stand next to him and he noticed she was completely dry. He looked at her confused.
“How…what… I…”
“I’m a witch.” She stated as clear as day. He gave a laugh.
“Ye are no witch. Witches do not exist.”
“They do too, my laird and I am one of them.” He looked at her skeptically.
“Prove it.” He demanded of her. She thought for a long moment. He studied her as she walked over to a rose bush and plucked off a rose bud. She cupped her hands over it and walked back over to him. She leaned down so she was face to face with him. She placed her cupped hands in front of both of their faces and slowly pulled them a part. A monarch butterfly set on the palm of her hand, were the rose bud had been. He looked at her confused and she cupped her hands back together. He looked at them and she pulled them apart to once again expose the rose bud she had pulled off the bush.
He scrambled away from her until he was backed up against a tree. She was seriously a witch. She had performed magic right out in front of him as if it was an everyday occurrence. She smiled sadly at him and sat down with her legs cross.
“Just because ye don’t believe in it, does not mean it is not there.” She whispered softly.
“So that’s how you saved me that day, isn’t it? Ye stunned my attacker with some kind of witchery so I could get my sword.” She nodded but said nothing. “Why didn’t ye confess to me last night?”
“Because ye wouldn’t believe me and ye would have made too big of a scene. Neither one of us needed that.” He nodded his understanding. He watched her for a long moment as she watched him in return.
“Well, thank ye. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for ye intervening.”
“Ye are very welcome my fine laird.”
“How old are ye?”
“This is my twenty fifth summer.”
“And ye are not married yet?” She shook her head sadly.
“I was married once. My husband died before I was able to give birth to my child.”
“Ye have a child?” He asked surprised.
“Yes, but I gave her up to a really nice family.”
“Why?” She grew quiet for a long time. Then she answered so softly he barely heard her.
“I’m cursed.”
“Why do ye say that?”
“Because things of the dark chase me. They are out to kill me and all the Hunter bloodline.”
“What ‘things of the dark’ chase ye, Cinthia?”
“Changelings. Werewolves.” He looked startled then disbelieving. She shook her head slowly. “When ye are ready to accept the truth, please come and find me. Promise me.” He stared at her intently for a long moment and then nodded slowly.
“I will, Cinthia. I promise.”
“Ye must go now.” He did as she said. When he looked back over his shoulder to say good bye to her she was already gone.
It took him four more years before he found her again. This was the fall he became a vampire. Nobody had bothered to tell him that his father had conceived him with a vampiress. Therefore, Sin was technically half vampire by birth. When his twenty-first birthday hit, that’s when the transition hit.
He had just been pronounced King because his father just passed away. He was starting his day like any normal day. He was heading down to the courtyard to saddle his horse for his morning ride. As soon as he stepped out in the sunlight, his whole body felt like it was on fire and he scurried back into the shadows. He leaned against the stonewall panting from the pain. He lifted his hand back out into the sun and once again his hand felt like it was in a boiling pot of water.
He raced back into the shelter of the castle and decided that going outside would be a very bad idea. He went to the breakfast table later that morning and the servants brought in the meal. He found that nothing he was eating, settled well with his stomach, so he made his way back up to his chamber to sleep it off. He woke up around eight that night and made his way into the kitchen. He opened the pantry and made a face.
He decided that he needed to go out to the meat locker. Thank god, the cooks had thawed some of the beef. It was sitting in a bowl of blood and he found himself draining the blood from that bowl. He found that after time he would sleep all day and be up all night. His canines had grown in his mouth leaving him with sharp pointed teeth. He found himself killing livestock by drinking them dry of their blood.
One night he had taken a servant girl out to the stables and they had been embracing in a series of heated kisses. He had pushed her against the wall and rolled her dress up to her waist as he pushed his kilt to the side and buried himself deep inside her. He was taking her with hard steady thrusts and all he could hear was the sound of her blood thrumming through her veins.
He had sank his teeth into her throat and drank from her as the pleasure coursed through his body. He spent himself as the last drop of blood left her lifeless body. He watched her fall to the ground in horror and that’s when he realized he couldn’t stay here anymore.
He decided that the best thing he could do was leave the Highlands and start a life somewhere far from here. He told his brother he was stepping down from being King and the McKalter castle now belonged to him. He hunted down Cinthia to find her in a little cottage outside of New England. She welcomed him warmly and helped him adapt to his new powers. He understood now that there were other things out there in the world that were unexplainable. She taught him about the fairies and the vampires. She explained all about the Changelings in great detail telling him why they were so feared.
He became very fond of Cinthia and she held a special place in his heart. Almost like a mentor to him, she was his savior. However, the night that he came across her under the rubble of her cottage scarred him for life.
He had been out looking for his dinner when he felt that something was not quite right. He took flight and hurried toward the direction of Cinthia’s cottage. As he approached, he saw a pack of dogs running off the other direction and he was torn to go after them or run to the aide of Cinthia. She was lying under a beam, body broken and battered. Blood spilling out of the corner of her lips as labored breaths erupted from her chest. He decided he was needed more by her side then to go for revenge. He could kill the Changelings later. She needed to be helped now.
He threw the beam off her and took her broken body into his arms as blood tears streamed down his cheeks. He held her tightly as the hatred grew inside him until all he could think about was revenge on the unholy dogs. He felt Cinthia move slightly in his arms and he snapped his eyes up to stare in her dark brown eyes.
“Protect my bloodline.” She whispered softly. Then the light died from her brown eyes, leaving them dull and lifeless. She was gone from him forever.


~*~*~End Flashback~*~*~

Sin rose from the chair and placed a hand of each side of the fireplace as he stared into the fire. That woman had taught him to believe in the unbelievable and then she was torn away from him like a slab of meat. That was exactly how she was to the Changelings. The vampires had always been at war with the Changelings for their own reasons, but not only did Sin have the reason of his clan he also had the reason of the witches because he had taken that responsibilities on with the death of Cinthia.
He heard the door open behind him and close softly. He glanced over his shoulder to see Faith leaning against it. He turned fully around crossing his arms across his broad chest. She had a hard time keeping eye contact with him and he found it charming. It meant he had struck a cord in her this evening.
“What is it, Kitten?” She swallowed audibly and it took all his self-control not to throw his control out the window.
“I wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. I am a lady not a wanton whore and I shouldn’t have responded to you that way. It gives you the wrong idea about me.” She saw how his back stiffened at the words she spoke and she knew she hurt him. She couldn’t afford to have him push here to that point again. She wasn’t here to find a lover or even to make friends. She was here to save her bloodline and move on with her life, without these people.”
“I forgive you. I will also try my best not to touch you again. I’m sorry I stepped out of line.” He answered in a loud clear voice as if he was making some kind of declaration. Which in turn, hurt her, but she sucked up her pride and nodded. She slowly exited the room before the tears took over her. She didn’t want to hurt anymore, but it seemed everywhere she turned it was waiting for her.
Sin watched her leave and he could have sworn he saw her crying. He didn’t understand this woman at all. He knew that she was fragile, but one moment he thought her knew her and the next he was confused by her. He needed to keep his distance from her. When she’s occupying his every thought that he couldn’t think of anything else he knew he was in trouble. The damn girl had bewitched him without even realizing it. He cursed and headed for the door. He needed to get out into the night and clear his head.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Angel was furious. She was used to seeing Sin every night in the club, but it had been at least three nights since he had been by. She was starting to wonder if he had fallen for the little human bitch he had brought in the other night. She hoped not, because she had plans for Sin and it didn’t involve any human. She had been trying for at least two decades now to seduce Sin in to a coven marriage with her. She had gotten him to take her to bed on many occasions, but he refused to take it any further then that.
Of course, she wasn’t the type of girl to push it when she already had one foot in the door, so she settled for what she had. Now that she hadn’t had any contact with him, she was starting to worry that she was going to have to get more forceful. She sat at the bar watching the club. It was more of a calmer night tonight. It was probably because it was the week and not many people came out to play.
She ran her finger along her lip seductively as a human man being towed along by a younger vamp, stopped and stared at her. Suddenly the club door swung open and in came her knight in shining armor, but he didn’t look too happy at all. Oh, human bitch must have shot him down. She thought with a wicked smile. Time to pick up the pieces.
She made her way through the crowd trying to get to Sin’s side, but it seemed that everyone was trying to prevent her from get there. She cursed to herself, as Aiden got to him first. She melted into the shadows inching closer so that she could hear what was being said, but not be noticed by them.
“You look like you had a hell of a night.”
“I’ve had quite a few nights of hell. The Changelings were waiting for us at Faith’s apartment. They ganged up on Rage, Danger, and I.”
“Yeah, Rage was saying there was a good amount of them.”
“More then I had been anticipating.” Sin brushed his hair back from his face and placed it in a leather band.
“Was Faith hurt?” Aiden asked curious.
“She wasn’t with us. It’s a good thing too.”
“Is she still at your place?”
“Yeah, I needed to get out and away from her for a bit.”
“Starting to get to you, isn’t she?”
“What is this Aiden? Fifty questions?” Aiden laughed at that and patted his Prince on the back.
“Sorry man. I’ll lay off a little bit. Have you eaten yet? I’ve got a hot little number waiting for me and I’m willing to share.” Sin thought about it and then shook his head no.
“I’ll go out later.”
“Okay man. Suit yourself. I’ll see you later.” Sin nodded and Aiden worked his way to his girl he had escorted to the club. Angel emerged through the shadows and sauntered up to Sin’s side. He glanced at her and then turned away from her starting to head to the back room. She caught his arm to stop him. He looked down at her annoyed.
“Sin, I haven’t seen you for a while. How about one dance?” He rolled his eyes at her whining and pulled his arm free.
“I don’t feel like it.” He stated blandly. She brought her body closer to his side until they were practically touching.
“I need some alone time with you. I’ve been aching for you my Prince.”
“I really don’t care Angel. You have all the guys in this club up your skirt, you really don’t need me.” The tone of his voice was really starting to piss her off. She grabbed the side of his head and yanked it down so she could hiss in his ear.
“Have you fucked your human yet, is that why you are throwing me into to the dogs? I will not be ignored Sin.” He forced her to remove her hand and pushed her away from him.
“I will not be forced Angel. So back off before I decided that you are more of a pest then a woman and teach you a lesson.” She looked offended but he didn’t care. He left her standing by herself. She really hated that human and if she every got her hands on that wretched being, she would kill her.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Faith looked out the window at the storm that was brewing outside. Rain pelted down on the glass adding to her foul mood. She could hear Margret moving around behind her in the den, but Margret knew better then to talk to her right now. Faith was positive that negative energy was rolling off her in waves.
She had been focusing a lot of her time into connecting with her powers and shielding her thoughts. She was growing weary of the same exercises over and over again. She needed to expand her mind and broaden her horizon. She moved away from the window getting sick of looking at the rainfall. She sat down in the big pillow chair and saw that Margret had made her a cup of tea.
She sipped on it as she thought about everything that had happened to her in the last couple of weeks. Who would have thought that she would be sitting in a vampire’s den, drink tea and learning magic? She couldn’t help but smile to herself. She was a hopeless romantic and found herself quite excited that her life had taken a turn for adventurous.
She closed her eyes and listened to the rain for a long period of time. She heard the front door open and close and she vaguely wondered if it could be Sin. She drained her tea and set it down on the coffee table. She stood up and stretched. She made her way into the hall and heard Margret talking to some man in the entryway.
She made her way down the hall to see the man Talon from the club. She watched them silently for a few moments and then crept quietly back down the hall so not to disturb them. She slipped into the kitchen and washed her cup, putting it back on the dry rack. That’s when something outside caught her eye. When she looked out the window there was nothing there.
That was very odd though. She was almost positive she had seen a dog. She wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her, but she decided not to take that chance. With her heart pounding in her chest, she ran out of the kitchen and back down the hall toward the entrance. Talon was just getting ready to walk out the door.
“What!” She walked up to him.
“Good evening Faith. You look slightly pale, are you okay?” He seemed worried.
“I was just in the kitchen and I could have swore I saw a dog run across the window outside, but he wasn’t there when I looked.”
“I’ll do a sweep of the premises. You ladies stay inside and lock the doors. I’ll go to the club after and inform Sin.” Faith nodded and backed up slowly. Margret wrapped her old strong arms around Faith’s shoulders for support. Talon closed the door and took flight. He circled Sin’s place three times and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but he decided to perch on the roof and wait just to be safe.
He stayed for a half an hour and nothing disturbed the forest so he took flight again heading toward the club. He found his Prince outside by the docks. Sin had a young man in his arms and he was sucking him dry. When Talon approached, Sin let the lifeless body fall into the calm water. The body slowly started to sink to the ground. Sin smiled at Talon, licking his lips clean of the blood left by his victim.
“Rocks.” Talon came to stand next to his Prince.
“I stopped by your place tonight looking for you.”
“Why did you need to find me?”
“The scouts I put together have come up with nothing. The Changelings have got themselves well hidden or well disguised. There is no trace of them anywhere.” Sin nodded gravely. He really didn’t want to hear that. “When I was a your place though, Faith stated that she was sure she had seen a dog outside your kitchen window. I circled the place and even perched on the roof for a while and I saw nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Interesting.”
“Do you think she saw them?” Sin was quite for a long period of time, both him and Talon standing in compatible silence. Finally he spoke.
“I’m sure she did see something. If it was what we were looking for that’s a different story.” He gave a heavy sign of someone who had a lot to carry on one shoulders. “I will head home for the rest of the night just to keep an eye out. If anything comes up contact me.”
“Yes, my laird.”