48 | Silhouettes

New York City April 22, 2013

Scott

WE didn't get our first break in the search till eight this evening. Cynthia and Laura had gotten in late last night. We were now holed up in their hotel room, mapping out our next course of action.

We had a map of the city, I had circled all of the places I believed Seana could be. They all turned up empty.

Celesta had called us and said the coven was just about to New York now, so our time was slipping. We had one more day now before they could escape on a flight out of New York. Laura had some contacts that could let us know if they saw Seana and Elle board any flights.

They were all canceled due to a freak storm appearing out of nowhere. Laura was convinced it had been created by the coven to temporarily disable Seana from escaping. Nearly the entire area of New England was under severe weather alerts.

Just as we were about to give up, a notification appeared on Cynthia's phone. Apparently, it had detected a phone location was back up. It was from Elle's phone.

"She's here!" Cynthia exclaimed happily.

We all gathered around her as she clicked on the notification. It opened a map and pinpointed all the way to the other end of the city. It was located in one of the older neighborhoods of the Bronx. We were at the eastern edge of Queens.

And just as the location popped up it immediately shut back off. But it was long enough, we got their location.

We all piled up in Laura's SUV and quickly made our way across the boroughs. Traffic was horrible, I was just about ready to start running on foot. But Zach convinced me to stay, saying I would just get my ass kicked.

I was about to just throw him out of the car after he said that.

Little shit.

"Is this the right location?" Laura inquired and glanced at Cynthia.

We were in a bad-looking neighborhood. Some cars had several bullet holes in them, and most of the windshields cracked. A group of about five men were walking along the sidewalk with guns on their hips. Was some gang war about to go on?

"This place is fucking scary," Zach mumbled under his breath, we had the window halfway open so he could catch their scent.

"Anything yet Zach?" Cynthia asked, her voice strained with worry.

We passed a boarded-up house now, and just as I felt for sure this was the house, Zach put his head back in the car.

"I got a scent!" Zach shouted, causing Laura to slam on the breaks abruptly.

Zach and Cynthia were already out of the car before Laura cut the engine.

"Go with them, I'll stay here and be on the lookout for them or other things," she chuckled.

There was an old Buick from the 90s parked in front of the house. I hopped out and watched as Zach started walking around the car.

"They were definitely here in the past hour," Zach informed and followed Cynthia up the stairs to the front door.

I stood there and started to listen to any signs of them being in the house. I could hear people in the other homes next door, but I heard nothing as Zach opened the door slowly, it creaked loudly.

I winced, knowing if they were here Seana would've taken off already.

"I'll check the first floor, you check upstairs," Cynthia whispered, she flicked her flashlight on and went down a hallway.

I stood at the doorway still hearing nothing but our footsteps.

Zach should've been able to hear if they were here too, he let his drive to kill Seana cloud his judgment. We needed to be precise and get the two of them alone.

There was no fighting needed, we just needed to subdue Seana and grab Elle. The Hathaway coven would be descending upon this place sooner than later. Celesta had a plan to inform them of our discovery after we got Elle safely out.

The coven would block every exit out of this damn city. They even sought help from vampire hunters and lord knows how many other covens they had assisting them.

"Clear!" I heard Zach shout from upstairs, Cynthia came back to the foyer looking defeated.

"Where the fuck did that bitch take my child?" Cynthia cried.

I was about to try and console her before Zach came racing down the stairs, he held Elle's phone in his hand.

"I found her phone!" Zach cheered.

Cynthia's eyes widened. "Turn it back on and put it in their car. I want you two to go search around the area and see if you can find them. Laura and I will stay here if they come back."

"Why leave the phone on?" Zach questioned. "We are gonna get them tonight. They won't be able to take all four of us."

"Seana is an escape artist, she isn't stupid," I put in. "Besides, how much battery does that phone have? If it dies it is useless."

"Hide my phone in it then," Cynthia suggested and took it out of her pocket. "Laura can track it."

"You all sound ridiculous!" I heard Laura shout as she walked over to us. "Cyn we have tracking gadgets you know."

Laura had a circular device in her hand, she bent down and attached it somewhere under the car.

"Oh," Cynthia said glumly. "My mind is so haywire right now I can't think straight."

Laura just grinned at her. "Put the phone back where you found it Zach, we don't want them to know we were here."

"Okay, then we just sit around and hope they come back by?" Zach shot back. "I will go find Seana myself."

Laura frowned at his outburst.

Zach immediately looked apologetic. "Sorry, I just want all of this to end. I want Elle back safe and Seana dead."

"That is what we all want Zachary, but we need to think coherently and not go storming in. You could get injured or even killed if you went after her alone," Laura sighed.

"Which is why he and I will go search around places nearby, I don't think Seana wandered off too far from here," I guessed.

"Sounds like a plan," Laura beamed. "Cyn let's go sit in the SUV, I think you need to try and relax."

"I can't relax Laura!" Cynthia snapped and just walked back into the house without another word to anyone.

Laura glanced at Zach and me. "You two go, she and I need to have a talk."

Then the two of us were walking down the sidewalk, Zach trying to catch a scent of them but to no avail.

"I can't catch a straight scent of anyone," Zach hissed. "This city is so overrun by people that everything smells the same!"

I just silently walked next to him as he continued getting pissed off.

Just as we got down to the edge of the neighborhood, Zach started getting giddy.

I just looked at him like he was a reject. "Can you stop acting like a damn child? You've had like 10 tantrums in the past five minutes!" I spat.

"Dude I got Elle's scent!" Zach cheered and started sprinting.

"Dammit, Zach!" I shouted and sped after him.

He kept running as fast as he could, even jumping out in front of traffic as we ran down several blocks. He nearly got run over until I grabbed him and sped us safely to the other side of the street.

He tried getting out of my grip but I tighten my hold on him.

"Scott let me go before I rip your arms off," Zach threatened.

"Stop running before I rip your legs off!" I retorted back and released him.

"The scent is getting fresher the further I go!" Zach yelled. "Why are you trying to stop me?"

"I'm not trying to stop you, you need to pay attention to what is going on around you!" I remarked. "You almost became roadkill just now!"

"Whatever, let's go," Zach huffed.

I could hear the sound of a club somewhere nearby, it was already making my ears bleed. I followed Zach as he finally paid attention when we crossed another busy intersection.

Then right before us were a line of people standing to get into an underground bar.

"Shit," Zach panicked under his breath. "The scent leads into there. I can't get in! Do I look like I could pass for 21?"

I just gaped at him as he kept panicking.

"Ah shit that line is full of bloodsuckers," Zach whispered and glanced at me, his eyes flickering between brown and blue. "I really am going to die aren't I?"

"No, you won't," I assured. "Just stick close to me. They will probably think you are my pet or something."

"The fuck?" Zach gawked. "Do I look like a pet dog to you?"

"No! Now shut up! They will think you are human if you don't wolf out," I explained. "We can't sense what someone is."

"You sure?" Zach asked.

I just glared at him. That finally shut him up.

We got to the back of the line, some people were already glancing at us with curiosity. Zach just kept glancing at them to me nervously.

And I just realized something.

God, I was stupid. I literally blew our cover the moment we got here.

The two women in front of us both turned and glanced at Zach, both of them grinning.

"Well, would you look at that, a wolf for a pet!" the woman on the right giggled.

"He looks so tame!" the other exclaimed.

"Look, vamp lady, I'll have you know—" Zach started until I cut him off.

"Can you just shut the hell up for five minutes?" I groaned.

"Can you stop telling me to shut up?" Zach hissed in annoyance at me.

"Maybe not tamed," the woman lamented.

"Yet," the second added then looked to me. "We can help you if you don't mind sharing."

"Uh, I think we're good," Zach chuckled and linked his arm with mine. "Right, darling?"

If we weren't in this situation right now I would've beaten the shit out of him. I tried pulling my arm away but he just clamped on tighter.

"Yes, dearest," I choked out, wanting to die.

I couldn't imagine what Lily would say if she saw us right now. She probably would've just died of laughter.

The two women sighed and faced forward once more. More people joined the line behind us, though at least this time they were human. I doubted they would survive if they went into this place.

We finally got up to the bouncer, he was the size of both me and Zach combined.

Who by the way still had his fucking arm hooked around mine.

"IDs?" the bouncer mumbled, his face glued to the paper on his clipboard.

"Um," Zach started to say. I just shot him a dark look.

I dug out my wallet and got my ID out, it was the fake one Markus made me. My old one had to be in here too, right?

Nope.

According to this ID, I was only 18. So much for getting in a legal way. Now we will just have to rush in.

The bouncer looked up at us finally, his eyes snapping right to Zach.

"You okay kid? You look like you're about to piss yourself," the bouncer chuckled.

"I'm fine!" Zach insisted. Then his eyes flashed for just half of a second.

I just closed my eyes and sighed.

"A wolf and a vampire together," the bouncer snickered. "That's something you don't see every day."

"Yeah pretty strange right?" Zach chuckled nervously.

I opened my eyes and gave him the most withering look I could manage. This whole plan was fucked now.

"I can't let you in kid, you are clearly underage. And no wolves are permitted in the bar," the bouncer informed.

"Seriously?" Zach groaned. "Shit, alright then."

"Sorry kid," the bouncer muttered.

He sounded sincere. What an odd vampire.

Zach just started pulling me along as he walked across the street away from the club.

"Okay, what is the next course of action?" Zach whispered, his eyes locked on the entrance.

"Well it won't be in that way," I whispered back. "There's got to be somewhere around the other side of the building.

"One way to find out," Zach commented.

We were about to sneak around back until some woman with blonde hair strode up and passed everyone standing in line and went right in front of the bouncer.

"Miss you need to go to the back you can't just skip all these people!" I heard the bouncer holler at her.

She gave him the finger. "Out of my way filth if you know what is good for you."

She walked right by him and went right on in.

"The hell? Who does she think she is?" Zach snorted.

The bouncer immediately pulled out a radio that he had hooked to his back pocket.

"Ma'am we got an issue, one of them just showed up," the bouncer notified.

The person on the other end was now yelling something back, their words hard to make out. But the voice sounded oddly familiar.

"Something isn't right, I think we should just head back to Laura and Cynthia," I suggested.

"Say what?" Zach gawked. "We are not fucking leaving!"

Then the sound of people screaming came from within the building. The bouncer started dispersing the line, yelling at them to leave as people poured out of the entrance, smoke pooling out behind them.

Most of them were screaming and terrified, a group just collapsed onto each other.

That woman must've been one of the hunters tracking them. How the hell she found them here was beyond me.

"Zach let's go," I warned. "We need to get back to that house."

"No, you need to chill the fuck out," Zach fumed. "I'm not a damn child, I can handle her myself!"

"You can't even overpower me most of the time Zach! How the fuck do you think you could take on Seana?" I snarled. "It is suicide!"

My patience was gone now. I grabbed his arm roughly and started hauling him away from the chaos around us. He just took his free arm and pulled his arm free.

Then his fist went right towards my face. I ducked and came back behind him and swung my leg behind his, knocking him right to the ground.

He got back up, ready to come at me again.

I just gave him a warning glare, daring him to try anything again.

He just looked at me with contempt.

"We need to go check in there!" Zach yelled and pointed angrily at the building.

"No, we need to get the hell out of here. This shit is getting insane, I'm not letting you risk your life!" I shouted back.

What would it take to get this kid to just listen for once? I had to knock him the hell out.

I glanced back at the building, only to smell it burning within now. And caught someone gawking at us. I just took another half second till I realized it was Elle.

"Dude what the hell are you staring at!?" Zach thundered.

"Elle?" I breathed, not believing what I was seeing.

Then I noticed Seana now beside her, pulling out something from her purse.

"I've had enough company tonight, wouldn't you agree?" I heard Seana say to Elle.

Elle just looked back at her in bewilderment.

Zach was already charging toward Seana. I intercepted him, I had to use all my strength to keep him back, he was struggling with all he had to get free of me.

"Now this is interesting," Seana giggled dementedly as she took a step toward us.

Hearing her voice just pissed Zach off even more.

"Zach, can you please fucking stop for one minute?" I remarked angrily. "Let's talk civilized and not escalate shit anymore than it already has!"

"Fuck you!" Zach spat and elbowed me right into the chest as hard as he could and bucked me off of him.

It was too late to stop Zach, Seana met him in the middle and jammed something into his neck. He fell to the ground instantly, just as my mind snapped.

There was no thought anymore, just the monster craving for a fight now.

Seana just started to chuckle. "He wasn't going to talk in a civilized manner, he is a dog after all. A little silver won't harm him," Seana chuckled.

None of this was going to be civilized now. I just wanted to tear her damn throat out now.

Then her face became blank. "Now you have five seconds to tell me why you are here before I kill you."

"Let Elle go, then maybe I won't let the entire Hathaway coven know you are here," I threatened.

And enjoy as they cut her down like nothing.

"Hmm, how about no?" Seana grinned. "Your five seconds are up."

"Seana that hunter," I heard Elle press anxiously.

Fuck the hunter. All I saw now was red.

Then Seana and I were violent blurs of motion, kicking and punching each other, neither of us getting the upper hand. Until a hand yanked me away from the bitch and slammed me into a wall.

Elle glared at me, her whole body trembling as she stood before me. I couldn't comprehend why she would protect the person who took her life from her.

"Stop looking for me," Elle pleaded. "You two have no business being here. Just go home."

I just glanced at her in disbelief. Has she willingly done everything Seana forced her into? It was apparent she had no humanity. Despite her pleading voice, her eyes held nothing in them.

"Elle we are not leaving you here with her!" I protested. "She has you fucking brainwashed!"

"No she doesn't, I want to be here," Elle replied, her eyes giving the truth away.

"Elle we need to go!" Seana yelled.

Elle took her hands off me and backed away, going right back toward Seana.

We were getting her out of this situation. Willingly or unwillingly. My last sense of rationality faded.

I just gripped Elle by the arm and flung her behind me, she fell into a heap on the ground as I faced now a feral-looking Seana.

Just as we started to resume beating the shit out of each other, I felt a pair of cold hands at my neck. Just as I heard it begin to crack, everything went dark.

THE number of times I've had my neck broken in the last year was getting ridiculous. I've never had my neck snapped until I moved back here. Maybe it was a sign I should just sell the house and move off the face of the planet.

The first thing that came back was my hearing, I was still paralyzed as my neck was taking its sweet fucking time to heal.

"You were lucky there wasn't any more silver in that," a voice chuckled.

I could hear Zach grumble something under his breath.

"How long before it gets out of my system?" he questioned.

"I'd say a few days, but during that time you should be able to start getting some of your strength back," they murmured.

It was a woman. Why couldn't I figure out who she was?

My eyes flashed open, just as my neck snapped back into place. I sat up, realizing I was on top of a long table. It looked like we were in some basement.

"Welcome back to the world of the living Scott," she greeted.

"Hazel?" I gasped. "I thought Seana—"

"Well, she did kill me then left me to die," Hazel put in. "I also figured you wouldn't be far behind her, since she knew you were chasing her."

"How the hell would you know that?" Zach yelped.

"I can read all of your little minds," Hazel grinned. "It is how I ran my shop in the 90s before it was destroyed."

She gave me an impish look. I just looked away from her with shame.

A door burst open, revealing the bouncer guy from earlier.

"What is it Billy?" she asked as she finished up cleaning Zach's neck.

Seana had done more than just shove a needle in, she tore right into his muscle. Hazel had it bandaged up now.

"The club is a total loss, the bitch set some of the wires on fire too," Billy muttered.

"Of course," Hazel sighed and walked over to me now. "I swear every time you or Seana show up something gets destroyed. But no worries, we have insurance this time."

Zach started to laugh but then started coughing loudly, trying to conceal it.

I didn't find any of this funny.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Under my house," Hazel replied. "Billy found both of you knocked out and took you here. After that hunter set the place on fire people were literally walking over your bodies."

"So that's why we look like shit," Zach wondered.

I hated that the people closest to me were so scatterbrained.

"Alright, enough with the chit-chatter," I snapped and got off the table. "Did you get any other information from Seana's mind? We are trying to save our friend from her."

"She knew I could read thoughts, she knew she slipped when she thought of you," Hazel remarked. "Then she blocked me out."

How convenient.

I noticed Billy had gone to the other side of the room and flipped an old television on, a local news channel was flashing across the screen. The images were of buildings on fire.

"Looks like that bitch set more buildings on fire," Hazel hissed at the television.

Zach got up and stared at the television wide-eyed.

"Scott," Zach began, his voice trembling. "We need to get back to Laura and Cynthia."

Now he wants to go back.

I raised an eyebrow at saw it. The buildings on fire were right where Seana and Elle holed up at.

"You two better get over there," Hazel agreed. "Here, I'll lead you all out."

Hazel opened the door that Billy came in, it was stairs leading to the main floor.

Just as she opened the front door and let us out, I stopped and glanced at her.

"Thanks for helping Zach," I murmured. "You didn't have to do anything to help us."

"Eh, when Billy found me near death on the streets I swore I would always help someone who needed it," Hazel smiled sadly. "I wasn't a good person back then. But I guess both of us became better once we were free of her."

I just gave her a smile in return, then Zach and I were rushed back to the house. I could smell the fire, Zach could barely keep up with me at just a normal pace. I finally just picked him up and we were at the neighborhood within minutes.

Fire trucks and ambulances were everywhere. Seana's house was engulfed in a complete blaze. I looked for Laura's SUV, only to see that it was gone.

"Do you think they're in the house?!" Zach freaked.

I ran up in front of the house, a flurry of firefighters now yelling at me to get away. I just ignored them and listened for any heartbeats in the house, there was none.

"Scott I found her!" Zach screamed at me, he was bent down next to Laura. He was holding her limp form in his arms.

I sped over to them and started checking her for any signs of trauma, but she was breathing steadily, her heart beating normally. Zach was just staring at me, waiting for an answer.

I set her back down on the ground gently. "She's fine, something just knocked her out."

"Can you heal her just to make sure?" Zach urged.

Laura's body jerked suddenly, her eyes opening wide.

"Are you okay?" I asked quickly.

"I'm fine," Laura rasped as she started to breathe in and out heavily. We both helped her sit up on the sidewalk, an inferno in front of us.

"What happened? Where is Cynthia?" Zach inquired.

"After our long discussion, we came back to the SUV," Laura went on. "Then before we even knew it, Seana and Elle came back by, grabbed their shit, and set the house on fire. I didn't have time to start my engine before they were gone."

She started coughing as the smoke around us got worse. Zach and I helped her up to her feet and started walking away from the burning houses.

"Anyway," Laura continued. "I wasn't going to just leave you two behind. Cyn wanted to go immediately. I told her we had their location and I was just about to call you guys. Then she knocked me out and left me here."

"That is a nice cousin you got there," Zach muttered sarcastically.

"Now is not the time for jokes Zachary," Laura told him sternly. "That woman would kill all of us if she could have her daughter back."

"Okay, so what is plan B? Team up with the Hathaway coven?" Zach quipped.

"No you idiot, they would kill all of us if they found out we were trying to save Elle," I remarked.

"Not nessecarily," Laura chimed in. "They have no clue that we are here. I could track Cyn if I had my phone. Literally, everything was in the SUV."

I looked back at the blaze, it had spread to other houses now. Residents were all over the street now. I overheard someone say that everyone made it out of the houses.

"Zach, call Celesta and have her make that phone call, they won't be able to leave the city," Laura instructed.

As he was doing that I saw a silhouette of someone walking toward us through the smoke. It was a woman with a trail of blonde hair flowing behind her. Laura walked up beside me, staring at the woman in disbelief.

I felt a pang of unease hit me suddenly. It was that hunter from the club. Except this time her face was uncovered and the cloak she had over herself was gone. Blood marred most of the skin that wasn't covered with daggers or some sort of weapon.

"Alright she's calling her mother now, hopefully, that will cause Seana to go hide somewhere else, " Zach proclaimed.

We just continued staring ahead.

"What are we looking at guys?" Zach laughed and stopped just as soon as he looked at the woman.

"Mila?" Laura said in disbelief.

"Fancy seeing you here Laura," the woman smiled. "I see you are still conversing with wolves and vamps."

Zach and I just glanced at each other in disbelief. Laura was friends with this psycho?

"Yep. It's been almost 15 years since I've seen you," Laura smiled back. "Miranda called you didn't she?"

"Yes, she told me to just find Seana Kane and kill her," Mila informed. "Of course, even when I find her she always escapes."

"Uh, how are you finding her exactly?" Zach questioned. "Because it would be awesome if you could tell us where she is going."

Mila took out some ancient-looking compass thing, it was pointed directly west.

"This old ass thing will always lead me to the direction of anyone's blood that is placed in it," Mila said proudly. "It's the only thing on this earth that can track vampires. I was able to get a good bit of that bitch's blood in Indiana."

I was just in shock at seeing such a thing.

"What mess did you get yourself into?" Laura murmured as Mila looked down at her blood-soaked skin.

"Oh you know, set some shit on fire and was led here," Mila said sardonically. "I'm all healed up though. So do any of you have a car? We should probably get going."

Why the fuck were we teaming up with a vampire hunter now?

"We got a rental car! We can use it," Zach told her excitedly.

"I like your spirit kid," Mila put forth. "Where is it?"

"All the way in Queens, so we better start walking," I remarked.

Mila eyed me curiously. "I think it would be quicker to just steal one, I saw a nice Tahoe on the way over here."

What the hell were we getting ourselves into now?

Absolute fucking insanity.