13. The Growing Threat
I knew who this person was even though I really didn’t. I knew why he was here, too. He was a vampire hunter. I could see, hanging on his belt, a thick, sharpened stake. The other dead giveaway was that he was showered in vervain—that nasty herb whose odor made me want to choke.
My eyes widened, blue-green meeting black. This hunter looked young too; he had to be no older than twenty. He had that bad boy air about him, with the way his dark hair looked, and the way he dressed. Were all vampire hunters going with the bad boy cover? I swallowed, very uneasy right now.
“Don’t make a sound and I won’t make you suffer,” he crooned. His voice was husky but sounded attractive at the same time. Wow, what a lovely thing to think about when I’ve got a vampire hunter cornering me!
I did the first thing that came to mind—I socked him in the groin. I guess I learned a bit from the very few self-defense lessons I had taken. I heard the wind escape him, and he buckled to his knees. I shoved past him, heading straight for the door. I needed to get to the phone and call for help. If I couldn’t reach the phone, I’d run out of the house and try to find a safe place.
I couldn’t even get outside the door, because a heavy, unknown force slammed into my body, thrusting me into midair, causing me to land harshly on my back in the bedroom. I heard the hunter near me groaning as he was trying to recover from my blow to him. I tried to sit myself up, but the force knocked me onto my back again. I tried moving, but I couldn’t. It was like a boulder had fallen on me and I couldn’t wiggle my way out from under it. What was holding me down? I saw nothing.
I fretted, straining to give myself even a small break. The most I could move was my head. My legs were stuck, so were my body and arms. I felt paralyzed. The feeling scared me to death.
“Nice work, James, as usual,” a female voice crooned. Since when did girls become vampire hunters? It always seemed like an all-guy thing to me.
I couldn’t see who James was or who was the girl was—I wasn’t allowed to lift my head to look. I stared at the ceiling, my heart jumping each time feet crept closer to one side of me. I saw two sets of boots, one pair skinnier than the other. The skinny pair belonged to the girl, whose face I could now see.
She looked young, perhaps younger than the guy who—I could now tell—was slowly getting back on his feet. They didn’t look related. She had wavy brown hair that fell past her shoulders. Her brown eyes showed no soft side to her. She probably didn’t have one, being she was a hunter—a cold human being.
“Trevor was right after all,” she cooed. His name stung my heart, bringing back the memories of him: what he looked like, his false charade to get me to trust him, his last night in the world.
“Alec said we could trust him,” said a gruff voice. That had to belong to James, because it didn’t sound like the other hunter.
I decided to give up on my struggling against the invisible pressure on my body. I was grateful for being allowed to move my head from side to side. How is this possible? I pondered the idea long and hard until I came to the conclusion that Bonnie wasn’t the only witch here in Mystic Falls.
James was one, and he was working with the vampire hunters.
“I bet you’re the one who killed him,” the girl snarled at me. “Trevor talked a lot about you, Faith—is it?” She cackled.
“Can you just get on with it already? I can’t hold her down forever,” James grunted.
Ah, so magic did have its limits. I hoped the girl kept on babbling so that maybe James would wear out, and then I’d be freed, having some slim shot at escaping my captors.
“Let me do it,” panted the other hunter, whose face now was hovering over the opposite side. “She dealt me pain, I should return the favor.” My eyes fell to the thick stake he pulled out of his belt loop. I gulped. He chuckled. “This time you won’t be able to get away.”
“Wait!” James cried. “I bet you she knows where more are.”
“Hmm…” the girl thought out loud. “I say it’s worth a shot, Chase. Let’s see how many other vampires we can make this one squeal about.” She smirked down at me.
“All right,” Chase considered. I felt the stake’s point poke my side. “We know that you know where the others are. Tell us.”
“Do you think I’m that stupid?” I retorted bitterly, glaring into Chase’s dark eyes.
“You really don’t want to test my patience. Where are the others?” Chase pressed darkly.
“I’m not telling you anything. How many of you are there running around Mystic Falls?”
“That’s for us to know and for you to never find out.”
I felt the point of the stake breach skin. I bit my lip. Chase was going to slowly shove the stake in my side. I wondered how long it would take him, the girl, and James to realize that I wasn’t a vampire, nothing but a mere human who was simply brought into the world of vampires.
“Wait, Chase,” the girl said, putting a hand on his hand that held the stake. She pried my mouth open with her hands. I bit down on her fingers. She yowled, slapping my face in retaliation. I grinned, having gotten another score for me. But right now, it seemed the hunters were winning. “She’s not one of them, but she knows of other vampires! And I think she’s been their blood donor, too. I see marks on her neck.”
Well damn, somebody knew of Damon taking blood from me. Ah well, it wasn’t like they were going to get Damon’s name to come out of my mouth, or Elena’s, or Caroline’s, or Stefan’s.
“I guess Trevor either failed to recognize that she was human, or he did and he didn’t get to tell us,” James said grimly.
“Well, this changes things,” Chase sighed, sitting on the floor. My eyes flickered from Chase to the girl. “We can’t kill her.”
“You’re right, we can’t,” the girl agreed. “But…she could still be of some use to us.”
“How so?”
“What do you mean ‘how so’?” the girl scoffed. “You just agreed to not kill her because she has to know where other vampires are! We do have a witch with us…and I bet he can work some magic on her.”
“Just what kind of magic are you talking about, Brooke?”
Brooke leaned over my head to whisper into Chase’s ear. Chase looked like he was deep in thought. I strained to hear what Brooke was whispering to Chase, but I couldn’t. Sometimes I wished I had the ability of sharp hearing like a vampire.
“Hmm…that’s not a bad idea,” Chase mused. “Tell James. I’m sure he knows a spell like that.”
Brooke scooted away from my vision, telling James her plan.
“That’s some serious magic you’re thinking about, Brooke,” James scolded her. “But I guess if it’ll help, it’s worth a shot.”
“What is?” I squeaked.
“Oh. I almost forgot you were here,” Brooke snickered. Her face was hovering over mine again. “We’ve got a little…surprise in store for you, Faith. James, let her go. Chase and I will hold her still.”
The instant relief didn’t make me feel relieved, because Chase and Brooke hoisted me to stand on my knees, each holding an arm of mine. I struggled, trying to deal with the odor coming from Chase and Brooke. It was stronger than ever now, that vervain smell. My nose wrinkled. They didn’t seem perturbed by it—probably because they drowned in it so much that the smell didn’t bother them.
It sure as hell bothered me.
Now that I was upright, I could see James. He was a tall guy with a darker complexion than his partners in crime. His hair was black, shaggy, and tightly curled. I could see a whisker moustache growing on his lips. He looked lean too, not as muscular as Chase.
James tried to grab my face but I balked, trying to back away from him despite being held by Chase and Brooke. The hunters locked me into place.
James’s big hands held my face. It was awkward, staring into his dark eyes. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t look at anything other than James. He was probably using magic on me to force me to stare at him.
James uttered low words under his breath, and I felt a strange prickling in my head. It didn’t take too long to realize what he was trying to do. He was trying to probe my brain for the others’ locations. Immediately, I put up the invisible barriers in my mind, concentrating on everything else but what information these hunters wanted.
I focused on my childhood, my life in Maryland, high school, my parents’ deaths even though it pained me to think about them. I also brought up Trevor’s death but showed a slightly twisted version of the actual event.
James’s brows scrunched above his eyes. My thoughts were angering him. My lips cracked a smile. I was tricking the witch. Good. He wasn’t as powerful as I feared he was.
“Well?” Brooke demanded. “Where are they?”
“I can’t tell,” James grunted. His grip became firmer on my face. “She’s showing me everything but. I can’t get a face, not even a name.”
“Damn it! Well, what other magic can help us?”
“There is one piece, but it’s extremely dark.”
“Who cares? As long as we get the vampires here in Mystic Falls staked, use whatever dark magic you have to! You’ve already committed yourself to that kind of magic anyway, James! Embrace it and use it!”
James shot Brooke a severe look but slumped his shoulders. I trembled, afraid of what dark magic he was about to use on me. I really wished that Damon would make his appearance and help free me, just like he had done all those times with Trevor. Yet, at the same time, it was better that he was away. He wasn’t putting himself at risk. I knew he could take care of himself, but against two hunters and a witch that used dark magic, that was a different story.
James clamped his hands on the sides of my temples. I pleaded him with my eyes to not go through with whatever he was thinking about doing. His eyes didn’t show sympathy for me, they were hard in concentration. He closed his eyes, muttering words under his breath again that I couldn’t comprehend.
I started to feel drowsy. My eyes were drooping. My head started to hang, but I forced myself to keep awake. Why was James getting me to sleep? Was what he was going to do that required me to be knocked out?
I couldn’t fight the crushing drowsiness. I gave a valiant effort, but it was no use. James’s magic forced me into slumber against my will.
* * *
My head was throbbing painfully. It was like someone was using them as drums. Tenderly, I brushed my fingers along the side of my head. Wait. The hunters didn’t kill me.
Talk about being lucky.
The pounding in my head was too much to where it kept me from opening my eyes. James had put me in such a deep sleep that I had no idea what damage he did to me. Did he pick through my sleeping brain? That seemed like such a low thing to do—lower than trying to pick through my brain while I was still conscious.
“How is she doing?” a voice asked, concerned. I tried to focus on the source of the voice.
“I don’t know,” said another voice. “She’s been out for a while now.”
“Do you think they put her into a coma?”
“No, that’d be too nice for them. She’s lucky she’s even alive right now. I wonder why they spared her…”
I heard faint steps clomp towards me. A cool hand felt my forehead. I winced as my head throbbed again. Daring to open my eyes, I did. The first thing I saw was Stefan’s face. I was too in pain to really jump away from him in surprise. He was the owner of one of the two voices I had heard just now.
“Welcome back,” he teased lightly.
I looked past him to see a fireplace going. The room was wide, and I was lying on a rather fancy, leather couch. Not far from it was a leather chair. Behind Stefan was a small coffee table. I could see just over the top of the couch a taller, longer table was behind it. That was all I was willing to see for right now, the pain in my head was stopping me from discovering more.
Wherever I was, I definitely wasn’t in the Gilbert house anymore. Maybe I’m dreaming this, I considered. What if I am in a coma or…dead? If I was dead, then why would Stefan be with me?
“Where am I?” I croaked.
“At our house. It’s not safe for you at Elena’s anymore.”
“I guess not. Who found me?”
“Elena did. She had Jeremy drive you over here. She’s back at the house getting your things. Jeremy is with her bringing everything here, your car included.”
“Why?”
“You, Elena, and Jeremy are going to be staying here from now on. Since the hunters don’t know about Damon and me, our house is the safest place for you right now. How are you feeling?”
“I guess as good as I can be after vampire hunters broke into my house and tried to get information from me.” I shrugged.
“They didn’t hurt you?”
“No, but they weren’t working by themselves. They brought a witch, too.”
“They’re armed with a witch?” Stefan’s jaw clenched. “That’s unusual.”
“Lovely. As if we don’t have enough to deal with,” Damon ranted. I looked up at him. He lounged over the arm of the couch my head was next to. “All they’re missing is a werewolf.”
“Did the witch do anything to you?” Stefan prompted.
“I assume he tried to pick out your faces and names from my head,” I mused. “It didn’t work, thank God for that. Then the hunters had him try something different—but I don’t know what it was. He made me fall asleep before he did whatever they wanted him to do.”
“Hmm, we’ll have to get Bonnie down here sometime soon. She might be able to tell if the witch put a spell on you.”
“I think I emptied out the house,” Elena said. I heard two sets of feet, Jeremy was probably following her.
When Elena crossed my vision, I slowly sat up, a little drowsy and dizzy. She didn’t take her eyes off me, handing Jer the things she was carrying. She walked calmly to me, but I could see the anger and hurt in her eyes. I wondered if she felt guilty for letting me stay home alone.
“I’m glad you’re up. I almost thought you were dead,” she breathed, squatting next to Stefan. “You have no idea how scary it was for me, Faith.”
“You were scared? Please, I went through something scarier than you did hours ago. Anyway, did you guys find anything in the house to track the hunters by?” I asked, trying to sound hopeful.
“No.” She sighed.
“Faith knows the hunters are allied with a witch,” Damon said grimly. Elena’s eyes snapped to him. “They tried to use the witch on her. We’re not sure if they’ve done any damage.”
“Well, they won’t get near her anymore.”
“Nobody else is planning on moving in, right? I don’t think I can take any more guests.”
“You just don’t want to have to give up your bedroom,” I sang.
“Who said I was?”
“I thought when a host had guests over they were hospitable? You are being anything but right now.” I snorted.
“I can see somebody is going to get killed in this house,” Elena snickered. “My bet is on Faith staking you, Damon.”
“Please,” he retorted. “You’re going to bet on a human who lacks skill rather than a vampire who could kill her in so many ways in such little time?”
“Okay, already,” I whined. “Enough. Can we focus on the situation?”
“Do you remember what they look like?” Stefan probed. At least he was willing to stay on topic.
“There were only three. Two were guys, one was a girl. I remember their names, too. There was Chase, Brooke, and James. James was the witch, Chase and Brooke the vampire hunters.”
“We need more, Faith. Names aren’t enough.”
I racked my brain. I tried to remember back to a few hours ago. As hard as I could, I tried to picture their faces. Nothing came to mind. No eyes, no hair, not even a skin color or body stature came to mind. I pursed my lips in annoyance. They clearly did something to my memory, because I swore I saw each of their faces not too long ago.
“I don’t remember anything else,” I said, defeated.
“What do you mean you don’t?” Elena whimpered.
“The witch probably got to her memory while he had her asleep,” Stefan mused. I got the feeling we all knew he was right.
“Well, lucky for us, we got something about them.”
“Names aren’t enough,” Damon snorted. “How can we put names to faces?”
“We’ll just have to do some more digging and try to jog Faith’s memory,” Stefan suggested. “It’s the only options we have.”
“We can just go hunting for them.”
“Yeah, okay, you go do that,” I retorted bluntly. “They’re armed with a witch, Damon. Unless you possess magical properties within you, you stand no chance against them. And besides, you said it yourself—we don’t have faces to put to their names. What makes you think you could find them anyway if the only things you know about them are their names?”
“I’d find a way to track them down.”
“You’d probably take out innocent lives before actually getting to them.” My jaw clenched at the thought.
“I can take my chances. I’ve taken down quite a few hunters in my time. I’m sure I’ve seen enough to know what I’m looking for.”
Damon sounded so cocky that it made me irritated. Sometimes I wondered how he and I were a…a…whatever we had between us.
“You’ve only taken down one hunter.” I couldn’t dare bring up his name, though I didn’t see what the point was in trying to keep his name locked away when I hadn’t really before. I was trying my hardest to keep him out of my mind. Of course, his hunter buddies weren’t really helping me with that issue.
“That you know of,” Damon scoffed.
“Don’t ask him about his other kills,” Jer warned me, adding another number to the living room. He eyed Damon sternly. “I bet he’d love to give you the gory details.”
“I wasn’t going to in the first place,” I assured him. I yawned.
“I think we better leave her be,” Stefan said.
“So who’s sleeping where? I get the feeling I’ve taken the couch.”
“Leave that to us to deal with, Fay,” Elena said. “For now, you just get comfortable here.”
I moved around to lie back on the couch while everyone dispersed. Damon stayed behind.
“If you’re thinking about a midnight snack, forget it,” I snapped lowly.
“I wasn’t going to, but now you’ve got it stuck in my head,” he retorted. He squatted near my head, arms resting on the arm of the couch. I twisted half of myself to see him better. “You do realize I’m serious about going after them, right?”
“I wish you weren’t,” I huffed. “You shouldn’t go through with it. It’s not like they hurt me, Damon. I get that you’re angry because they invaded the house—”
“You don’t know if they didn’t do any damage,” he cut me off. “They better not have. They’ll regret it quickly.”
“You won’t go after them. You don’t even know where they are in Mystic Falls. Hell, they could be gone about now!”
“Oh, I doubt it. They know that you know where vampires are. They won’t leave here until they get faces and stake us all.”
“But that won’t happen,” I declared.
“You’re right, it won’t. We’ll get to them before they get to us.”
“You have to make sure you get them before they call in for more backup.”
“I swear to you, Faith, if any of them get to you like that again…”
“They won’t, not if they don’t know where I am now. I think I’m safe.”
“You won’t be until they’re gone for good.”
“Promise me you won’t go looking for them.”
“What?” His eyes widened.
“Please, Damon.” I touched his arm. “It’s bad enough I saw you take on a hunter a while ago. Next time, you might not have the advantage of the dark to cover you. You could face them in broad daylight. They could be stronger, faster, and more skilled than you. I don’t want you to get killed because of me.”
“Faith, you need to stop worrying so much.” He stroked my hair. “I’m a vampire, and I’m more than capable of taking care of myself. I’m not exactly a vulnerable being. Besides, nobody will die, because we’ll get to them first.” His fingers tickled my neck. “Are they healing decently?”
“For the most part, yeah.” I lowered my voice. “If you want to feed off me, you’re going to have to do it somewhere else. It’s too risky with everybody around now.”
“We’ll find a way, because I know just how much you love that feeling.” He chuckled.
“Get out of here and let me sleep, please.” I sucked in a breath. “You know, sometimes I wonder how we get along so well.”
“I bet a lot of people would wonder too, if they found out.”
“Damon, what are we exactly?” I blurted out.
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Why not?” I yawned.
“You should sleep.”
“Damon—”
He kissed my temple before abandoning me. I frowned. So Damon knew what he and I were considered, and yet he wouldn’t tell me. Well, that was going to bother me until he told me the answer, or if I figured it out for myself.
With my mind trying to stop thinking and sleep, I tried to get comfortable on the couch. I knew I would be safe tonight. The vampire hunters didn’t know where I was now. As long as they didn’t know where I was, they couldn’t come looking for me so they could try and pick out the faces of the vampires that I came to know.
**Hmm, so what did James do to Faith? What's the situation with Faith and Damon?**