Then she took a small silver knife from her pocket.
"Give me your hand."
Ethan held out his left palm. Zeydana made a quick, almost merciless cut across his wrist.
"Tell me," she ordered, not looking at them.
"How did this start?"
"Who are you?"
"And why have you come to me? I want to hear it in your own words."
Flash spoke first.
"We want to take down Gérard and the rest…" He paused, then continued.
"We're not professional hunters, but… we killed Roy and Morwen."
"Ethan managed to trap their souls inside this stake. Then we went after Laurent."
"We came because no one else can help."
Zeydana nodded, never taking her eyes off the blood in the basin. The blood slowly changed color, turning from dark red to almost black.
Gideon added:
"We kill them and try to clean up the city…"
Bruno nodded, though his voice was weak:
"If we lose Ethan, it'll be hard on all of us…"
Ethan remained silent the longest.
"I'm afraid I'll stop being myself soon. I don't want to become what they want me to be."
"I just… want to stop this."
Zeydana was silent for a long time. The blood in the basin began to boil without fire. Runes raced across its surface.
The witch finally raised her head. Her eyes had grown harder.
"I see the truth in your words."
"But I still don't trust you completely."
She dipped a finger into the basin, took a drop of Ethan's blood, and drew it across his forehead, over his heart, and along the black stake.
The air in the room grew heavier. The symbols on the walls flared brighter. The black stake in Ethan's hands trembled, then began to glow from within with a silvery-black light.
The voices inside it howled, but the witch only smirked at the corner of her mouth.
"Quiet," she whispered to the stake, and the voices fell silent at once, as if strangled.
Ethan felt a wave of icy heat run through his body. For a moment it seemed as though all the souls inside the stake were trying to break free, but an invisible force held them in place.
Elizabeth stepped back and wiped her hands on her cardigan.
She looked at Flash.
Zeydana fell silent, staring into the fire in the fireplace. The flames crackled, casting long, trembling shadows on the walls.
The protective symbols on the ceiling and walls glowed faintly, reacting to the black stake in Ethan's hands.
The witch had opened her mouth to continue when a door at the far end of the hall creaked softly behind her.
Click!
Everyone tensed at once. Flash and Gideon grabbed their weapons. Ethan gripped the stake tighter.
Only Zeydana remained calm.
A girl entered the room.
She was very young, no more than twenty. Small and slender, with long light-brown hair braided in a simple plait.
She wore an oversized gray sweater and worn jeans. In her hands she carried a tray with mugs of herbal tea.
She moved quietly, almost soundlessly, as if afraid to disturb her grandmother.
Zeydana turned to her and, for the first time, smiled.
"Susie," she said.
"Put the tea on the table."
"And don't be afraid. These are the guests I told you about."
Suzi lifted her gaze. She was clearly nervous. Her hands trembled slightly on the tray.
She quickly set the tray on the low table and stepped back, hiding her hands behind her back.
"Hello…" she said softly.
"I'm… Susie Grave."
She nodded awkwardly to each of them, but her eyes lingered longest on Ethan. Her gaze slid over the black lines on his neck.
A look of fear mixed with curiosity crossed her face.
"Are you a witch too?" Flash asked with interest.
"I… I'm not very good at magic yet," she added shyly.
"Just simple spells. Protection, lighting… sometimes I can see people's auras."
"Grandma says I have talent, but I'm… still learning."
Zeydana placed a hand on her granddaughter's shoulder. The gesture seemed both strict and protective.
"Susie helps me around the house and with small rituals."
"She's a good girl."
Susie blushed and lowered her eyes, fiddling with the hem of her sweater.
Flash nodded at her, trying to ease the tension:
"Nice to meet you, Susie. We don't mean you any harm."
Ethan simply stared at the girl. For a second the voices in his head fell quiet, as if even they sensed something pure in the room.
But the calm didn't last.
Suddenly all the protective symbols on the walls flared bright blue. Zeidana snapped her head toward the window.
"Oh God, so Ethan is still alive," she said harshly.
The door at the far end of the hall exploded into splinters with a deafening crash. Three vampires burst into the room.
They wore suits like the Men in Black, and in their hands they held long daggers and short submachine guns.
"They're here!" the largest one roared, pointing at Ethan.
"Take the boy alive!"
Zeydana thrust her hand forward.
"Protect Suzi!" she shouted.
"Don't let them get near me!"
Gideon fired first. The bullet struck the nearest vampire in the shoulder, but the creature only jerked and snarled.
"You really thought that would stop us, hunter?!" the vampire growled, lunging forward.
"Well, if you don't mind the wisteria in the bullets, then yeah, it will stop you…" Gideon smiled mockingly.
The vampire immediately collapsed to the floor in convulsions and began turning to dust.
Flash was already moving. He fired twice, aiming for the head of the second attacker.
"Ethan, left flank!" he barked.
"Bruno, cover the witch and the girl!"
Bruno, despite his weakness, stepped forward, shielding Susie. The girl pressed herself against the wall, her eyes wide with terror.