The Hunters Saga #3: The Hawthorn Pearl

Chapter 24: A Change in Leadership

A/N: Heyyyyy, everybody! :D Hope your weekend was great (mine sure was :3 ) Anyway, here's CHAPTER 24! Holy crap, we're that close to the end?! I don't think I'm ready to say goodbye >.< This chapter changes everything. Be prepared for plot twists ;) Enjoy <3

Chapter 24: A Change in Leadership

    A heartbeat filled my ears. It was the first and only sound I heard as I awoke. My body felt like a puddle of mud, my bones made of liquid. I could barely move, but something told me to inhale.

   Breathe.

   I gasped in a breath, which ended in a garbled cough, and the noise caused my eyes to finally open. Soft moonlight illuminated my surroundings, and nothing else registered at first. The pounding I'd heard was coming from me.

   Oh, God.

   "W-what did y-you...?" I pressed a hand to my neck, feeling for the pulse point out of habit. I was alive.

   I was a human.

   Drusilla Radcliffe gave me a kind smile, genuine in all aspects. "Use your mortality well, Ms. Drake." Her voice was her own this time around, but she spoke like Viviana Garland nonetheless. The shield that surrounded us cracked suddenly, and Dru straightened her shoulders. She glanced at Tom, blue eyes glowing like crystal. "Midnight has passed. We're done."

   Tom nodded, dropping his open hands. The shield crumbled into sparks and flashes before my eyes, and I caught a glimpse of Henri through the haze of the deconstructed circle.

   Henri...

   I touched my forehead and looked over at my uncle. He still seemed to be unconscious. But... wait. How was that right? Robert had the cure; he'd broken it... right?

   Dru's last words in Latin broke through my thoughts, and it hit me all at once. The hybrid had tricked my uncle. The last line of the spell had been altered in his case, while mine had been true and correct.

   I remembered Dru's eyes glowing with power and experience. The eyes of the original witch... she'd planned this?

   "I... " I began unsteadily. "I don't understand." My eyes remained on my uncle, but I threw my words at Dru. "Viviana, she... she possessed you, right?" When I received no verbal response, I continued. "You changed the spell."

   "My Mother did, actually," Tom put in matter-of-factly. He poured the remaining contents of the goblet on the stage floor. "She and Dru came up with the plan. I want to take credit, but I had no part in this, at first."

   I bit my lip, finally looking away from my uncle. "Did you kill him?"

   "No," Dru's voice came out harsh and booming. I didn't have to meet her eyes to know who was back.

   The witch.

   "Drusilla used the full moon to connect with me, her own ancestor," Viviana explained through the young hybrid. "She knew the risk of trying to contain my essence, and it's slowly slipping even now." As she spoke, her hands shook, and I saw a trail of red as her nose began to bleed from the pressure of the stronger force.

   "With my knowledge, Dru was able to tap into my ability to prevent the curse from lifting," She turned her head at the master vampire. "Robert Drake isn't fit to be human. No, his heart is too twisted. His motive has been impure from the start."