Forty-Seven…

Forty-Seven: The Chosen One

More drama commenced as Aubrey spoke her mind to Hunter…

“If you want the talisman, you and Jakub can go get it!”

“I’m not your freakin’ doormat!”

“Okay, that’s fine. Jakub and I will go get the talisman. You don’t have to worry about it.” His tone was a mixture of anger and hurt.

But why should he be the one hurting?

Aubrey glanced at Jakub. “And you…”

“You stay the fuck away from me.”

“Not to worry.”

Aubrey glared at him; then stormed from the room.

Pressing her back to the wall, she clutched her chest and fought off tears.

Deep inside the underground tunnels, Hunter watched Jakub dig for the amulet.

“Fuck! I can’t find it!”

Jakub dug deeper. He frantically slung dirt behind him, hitting Hunter’s jeans.

Hunter scowled. “You better find it, ’cause if I’m going down, you are too.”

“Got it,” he said rising.

All was well in the universe once more.

Hunter stayed far away from Jakub as he carried the talisman. In the caves standing just a few feet away, the amulet exuded a heat onto his skin, similar to the sun’s searing rays.

Meanwhile, Aubrey tried taking a nap.

She couldn’t sleep. Her mind was too focused on Vaclav.

Should she tell Lucius that Jakub was alive, in order to get her husband released? Was she ready to forgive Vaclav now?

More importantly… would Vaclav forgive her for throwing her affair with Hunter in his face?

Maybe his getting out of prison wasn’t such a good idea… at least not yet.

Kat softly padded into the room, stood by the bed.

“Mo–mom.”

Reznik soon followed.

Aubrey sat up and gazed at her children. Then she stood.

“Mommy, I want Daddy.”

Yeah. I think I do too…

Shortly thereafter, Hunter and Jakub returned. Jakub gave Aubrey the talisman; then left before Lucius got there.

Thusly, Lucius never saw Jakub.

 

Two hours later, Lucius and two troops arrived at the Shadows’ sanctuary.

The amulet rested in his pocket.

For the second time in two days, the new leader stood at the side awaiting the Haas Clan’s demise.

This time it wouldn’t happen.

Lucius started toward the witch. She looked very proud, as though she were the leader.

“So the Haas Angels are back for more action?”

“I’m afraid you’ve made a mistake in doing so.” She rose her arms in preparation to cast a spell.

Smugly, he glowered at her. Then he pulled an object from his pocket.

She gasped.

Scarlet light radiated from the amulet. Lucius pointed it at the witch.

“No! Stop!”

Her skin burned and peeled off.

“Shit!”

Lucius stared at the leader. Then he thrust the amulet forward, killing him in seconds.

Easy-peasy.

They headed into the cave and finished off the remaining Shadows.  

The War was nearly over, with only two Shadows left…

 

Aubrey dozed off in the music room. The front door slammed, awakening her.

She got up and walked into the foyer.

Lucius and Hunter spoke about an impending resolution to the war. The only Shadows left were Hunter and Shawn.

Aubrey glimpsed the talisman upon the bureau.

Questions burned in Aubrey’s mind. She interrupted their conversation.

“Jakub’s alive…”

“He is? Are you sure?”

“Yes, he is.” She looked over at Hunter. “Tell Lucius Jakub’s alive.”

Lucius glanced at Hunter. Hunter returned his icy gaze, but said nothing.

“Tell him,” Aubrey demanded. “Tell him so Vaclav can get out of prison.” 

“Is it true, Hunter? Is Jakub alive or not?”

Hunter shook his head ‘no’.

Aubrey thought she was going to throw up.

“Why are you lying? Tell him,” she cried.

Is it too late? Is Jakub already heading back to France?!

“I’m sorry but I have to have proof that Jakub is alive before Vaclav is allowed out of prison.”

Then his face broke into a grin. “And… to be honest, being leader has its perks and I’m not so sure I’m ready to give that up. I deserve it after destroying almost all the Shadows.”

Lucius turned and left, a perpetual smile etched to his face.

Aubrey couldn’t breathe.

“Why did you lie? Why didn’t you tell him about Jakub?”

“Because I love you. I don’t want you and Vaclav to get back together.”

“That’s your reason? Hunter, I’m sorry… I love you too… but I also love Vaclav. I miss him, my children miss him. I want to see him without iron bars in the way.”

“Is Jakub on his way back to France?”

He nodded.

“Did you know Jakub was going back to France, instead of leaving just to hide from Lucius?”

“Yes.”

“If you don’t give a shit about me, don’t you at least care about Reznik and Kat? Do you have any clue how much they miss their father?”

“You know damn well I care about Kat and Reznik.”

“Then why not help get their father out of prison? It doesn’t make any sense! If you really cared about any of us—”

“I don’t want to lose you!”

“I don’t want to lose you either. But I still love Vaclav.”

“Then you need to choose. Me or Vaclav.” He paused. “But first, let me just say that Vaclav doesn’t know how to treat you. He never has, and he never will!”

“There’s no contest,” she said.

“Because he’s my first love. He’s the one who took my virginity. He’s the one who fathered my kids. I can’t live without him.”

Her heart twisted inside her chest.

“He’s also the one who lured you into the dangers of Shadowvale for his own selfish reasons.”

“He lured me here because he loved me.”

“Vaclav’s idea of love defies the true meaning of love! And I know what real, true love is!”

“And so does Vaclav. He’s learned from his mistakes. No one’s perfect, and what more could I expect from a blood-sucking monster?”

“Okay.” Hunter nodded, as if to reinforce the acceptance of Aubrey’s decision.

“Okay,” he repeated.

He hurried from the house.

It would be twenty-one more months before Vaclav’s release.

Moreover, Hunter became a dark, distant memory.

During the past few years, a thousand pieces of her heart had slowly been chipped away. Maybe someday the damage would be reversed. 

                                                          ****

The next chapter will begin with Vaclav’s release from prison. Hunter will return to the story at a later time. 🙂 

Then chapter 49 or 50 will begin at about 11 years into the future, when Kat and Reznik are teenagers (similar to a legacy, but not a legacy). There will be a whole new plot line. Hope you guys don’t mind, because it was time the story underwent a massive change. Also, Reznik will be older and his powers stronger, and that will make for an interesting storyline too. Plus there’ll be a storyline wrapped around Katerina, hehe.