The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

Jack walked from the great hall and all the corridors were littered with the bodies of dead vampires, all of whom had bite marks in their necks, by the time Jack made it out of the castle there must have been a hundred dead vampires, if not more, Jack was now like her, he could smell her scent, he started to follow it, it was not easy because the stench of death also filled the air, he was going to head to Chloe’s anyway because he was sure that Leanna would go there and attack her, forcing Chloe to kill her, all the way there he was walking past body after body, it seemed that any vampire who had fled the castle was now dead, hunted by Leanna

It took Jack two days to reach the cave that Chloe lived in, he stood at the entrance he could no longer just walk in, he was one of them now and the magic stopped him from entering

“Chloe” he shouted and waited as Chloe walked to the entrance

“hi Jack” Chloe said

“it is over, can I come in?” he asked

“why are you asking Jack?” Chloe asked

“I cannot enter” Jack replied

“you are one of them, if you are one of them it means that we lost then Jack” Chloe said

“no, we won, I am like Leanna” Jack said

“you know who she really is then?” Chloe asked

“I do, that is why I am here, I need your help” Jack replied

“you had better come in then” Chloe said

“thanks” Jack said and walked in the cave because of her invitation he could now enter, Jack went and sat down by the fire and waited until Chloe came and joined him

“what can I do?” Chloe asked

“she is coming here to force you to kill her” Jack replied

“why?” Chloe asked

“something has happened to her and she is different now” Jack replied

“what do you mean?” Chloe asked

“she drank blood” Jack replied

“she is stronger then, why would I kill her?” Chloe asked “she still will not hurt me” she added

“Chloe you need to understand that how you thought blood would work for her, it does not, it made her into a monster, it made her into a killing machine and she will kill anything that moves, if she had too much the human part of her will disappear and only the monster will remain” Jack replied

“the we must kill her” Chloe said

“no, I can bring her back” Jack said

“how?” asked Chloe

“that does not matter but I need to do it soon, she has already had far too much” Jack said

“what do you need me for?” Chloe asked

“I may need to hold her” Jack replied

“again, why do you need me?” Chloe asked

“you have read all the books and know more than me, I need something that can hold her, most normal stuff will not, i also need nightshade” Jack replied

“I see” said Chloe

“can you help?” asked Jack

“I can, I know what to carve into handcuffs that will hold her, I also know of a spell that will help” Chloe replied

“let is prepare, she will be here soon, if you can get what we need ready, I will go and wait for her” Jack said and walked from the cave, he sat on a boulder outside the cave and waited for her, he hoped that he could save her this time and that he was not already too late

Chloe started to prepare what Jack had asked for, it didn’t take her long to prepare the handcuffs, once she was finished, she attached them to a chain on the cave wall, she then prepared the nightshade for Jack, she not what it would do to Leanna if he could make her drink it, she was just reading the spell that she had told Jack about to make sure that she knew the words, when she heard a commotion outside, she went and stood by the cave entrance and saw Leanna standing in front of Jack

“Leanna, you don’t need to do this” Jack said

“you are not of this world and you will leave it tonight” Leanna replied

“Chloe, drop the shield, I need to get her in” Jack said “as soon as I get her in put it back up again, I want her trapped in there” he added

“scoateti-vajas” Chloe said and watched as Jack tried to get Leanna inside the cave, it took Jack a while but he was as strong as she was now, he could fight her better, Chloe watched as Jack got behind her and pushed her through the entrance to the cave “now” he shouted

“Acoperiti-va” Chloe said neither of them sure whether it had actually worked but Jack pushed her up against it and it had worked Leanna could not get out, they continued to fight with Jack trying to get the better of her, eventually he managed to get her to the floor and sat across her as he had done only once before

“nightshade” he shouted holding out his hand and Chloe threw it at him, once he had caught the bottle, he poured the entire contents into her mouth and its effects were instant

“you should not have used all of it” Chloe said helping Jack get her to the wall and into handcuffs

“I had to, I had to contain her” Jack replied

“why are her eyes black?” Chloe asked

“that is the blood” Jack replied

“why?” asked Chloe

“I have no idea, I just hope that I am not too late to save her” he said “Chloe go and get some food, this may take a while, I will call if I need your help” Jack added and waited until Chloe was out of earshot, before turning and looking at Leanna

“i know why it is that you came here and I will not let you die” Jack said to her but she did not answer “I do not care if it is what you want” he added

“I came here to kill you” Leanna said

“I do not believe that you would kill me, the man that you loved, you came here to die, this who you are now is not who you are on the inside” Jack replied but she did not answer “I am like you know, I love you and I will sit here for eternity with you, until you come back to me” he said and heard Chloe coming up behind him

“is it working?” Chloe asked

“not yet” replied Jack

“how will it?” asked Chloe

“I have saved her from being this once before and I can do it again, I just need the part of her that is still human to hear me, to hear me when I say that I love her” Jack replied

“you love her?” asked Chloe, who was upset by what she had just been told, she had hoped that when Jack returned that they could be together

“I do” replied Jack

“that is why you are the way you are then, for her?” Chloe asked

“it is” Jack replied

Chloe did not say anything else, just walked away and went and sat down by the fire, she had hoped he would come back to her not Leanna, Jack spent all night sat in front of Leanna trying to get her to return but it seemed that nothing he said this time was working, it seemed that she was lost to him, he went and sat by the fire there must be something that he could do, when Chloe woke up she went and sat next to Jack

“can you hold her for a day I need to go?” Jack asked

“why do you need to go?” Chloe asked

“it is not working, there is someone that I need to go and see, someone that might have answers for me” Jack replied and left the cave, he was going to go and see Ashir

Chloe went nowhere near Leanna after all she was only human what could she do against her, she was pottering around the cave when she heard Leanna muttering something, she moved closer so that she could hear

“sparge lanturilesi sparge vrayg” Leanna was saying, Chloe stood for a moment trying to figure out what she had said

“you are in there then” Chloe said but Leanna did not answer “if you were gone and only the thing remained, I do not think that you would be doing magic” Chloe said

“what difference does it make to you?” Leanna said looking up at her

“is he right, did you come here to die?” Chloe asked

“I did” Leanna replied

“how are you not listening to Jack, he really does love you?” Chloe asked

“I know that he does, I came back the moment he told me that he loved me but all Jack will ever see is the monster and he will not change that, he thinks that I have had too much but he is wrong, I had more than he knew the last time I was this way, the king wanted me as his pet, he was forcing me to drink every day, I want Jack to believe that I have lost the human side of me and you will tell him no different” Leanna said

“but why?” Chloe asked

“you have no idea what I done whilst I was in that castle, I did things only a monster would do and a monster does not deserve to live, do it now before he comes back” Leanna said

“no” Chloe said who had an idea

“why?” Leanna asked

“because he will and I will help him through the pain” Chloe smiled

“you love him?” Leanna asked

“I do” Chloe replied

“he will never want to be with you in that way, he told me that you were like a sister to him” Leanna said

“not now he won’t, he only wants you but when you are not here, he will” Chloe said, Leanna did not say another word, she could smell Jack was coming back and she did not want him to know that she was already back to her, Jack walked into the cave with Simon next to him, why was Simon here she thought

“jack, your back” Chloe said

“I am, I want you to do something for me” Jack said

“what?” asked Chloe

“I want you to trap me and end this. It is time, Leanna was right when she said that nothing immortal should live” Jack said

“don’t do it” Leanna shouted, she could not help it, Jack’s plan was to die and she would not let that happen

“pastrali-I linisteasi mon strul” Chloe said as soon as she heard Leanna start to speak, she would not ruin her plan “sparge laruturille” she added

“Leanna” Jack said turning around but nothing her eyes were still black, he turned back to Chloe “what did you say?” he asked

Chloe did not get the chance to answer, she had released Leanna, who stepped forward and picked up her sword, Jack and the others turned to fight her, not sure how she had gotten free from the chains, Leanna did not go for Jack she knew that he would try and stop her, she went for Simon, making sure not to hurt him, hoping that he would end this

“Leanna” Jack shouted and she turned to face him “stop this now, this is not you” but she did not answer just attacked him, she threw him at the wall opposite, Chloe stepped forward with a sword in her hand

“nice spell, I guess you did not want me to say anything to him, end this now Chloe, his plan is to die” she said into Chloe’s head

Jack got up and turned back to Leanna, to see her lower her sword and stand still, he watched as Chloe raised the sword she was holding and went to move forward, Jack ran and caught Chloe’s sword in his hand, blood running down his hand as the blade cut into him

“you will not kill her,” Jack shouted at Chloe

“Jack, she is gone” said Chloe, “you need to end this now before she kills us all” Chloe added

“lies” Jack shouted as he pulled the sword from Chloe’s hands and threw it on the floor, he turned around to face Leanna “you think that I am that stupid, you think that i do not know that you are still in there, the monster would not have lowered the sword, only you would have done that, why do you want to die? You have done nothing wrong” he shouted

“Simon” she said in his head

“what?” replied Simon

“end it now, whilst he is distracted” she replied

“is this what you want?” Simon asked

“you told me once that you were here to serve me, now serve me and end this” she replied

“why won’t you answer me” Jack shouted at her and caught sight of Simon standing behind Leanna raise his sword, he saw some step forward and thrust his sword, Jack spun Leanna around so that the sword went through his back and not hers, being taller luckily it went nowhere near his heart

“lasa-ma sa vorbesc” Leanna saidin her head to break Chloe’s spell “Jack, no” she shouted as Jack dropped to the floor “arunca I luzis” she added and dropped to her knees next to Jack, her eyes back to the purple that they should been

“I knew you were there, when did you come back” Jack asked “I really thought that you had, had too much, I only knew you had not when you lowered the sword” Jack said

“the second that you said you loved me Jack, I have been using magic to keep my eyes black so that you would not now and I had not had anywhere near what the king made me drink” Leanna replied

“then why did you hide?” Jack asked

“because I told you what I wanted and as that thing you would have killed me” Leanna replied

“you do not love me then, if you wanted to die and leave me” Jack said

“more than you will ever know, Jack, but I am not innocent, I have done horrible things and for what I have done I do not deserve to live and now I will have to live and to watch you die” Leanna said crying

“you seem to have forgotten that you made me the same as you” Jack said “I will not die, I can love you for eternity, nobody ever expected you to be perfect Leanna, people know what war does to people and you are no exception, war is a horrible thing and we all do things that we don’t want to” Jack said holding her face and wiping away the tears

Leanna looked down at Jack and realised that although she thought that she did not deserve to live, Jack was right, war did make people do terrible things and beside she really could not leave Jack alone, to suffer like she had when Charlie had left her

“let is leave this god forsaken lands” Leanna said to Jack

“but there are still many vampires here to kill” Jack said

“I am sure that Simon and his men can deal with those that are left in this country” Leanna said looking at Simon “beside I need a new start, I need to get away from here for a while” she added looking back at Jack

“we can” Simon replied

“let us go then” said Jack standing up

“goodbye my friends” Simon said holding out his hand

“this is not goodbye, this is see you soon, we will be back” Leanna said taking Simon’s hand “Chloe know a lot about hunting and magic, she can help you” Leanna added looking over at Chloe

“even after what I have done?” Chloe asked

“we all do stupid things for love Chloe, I know I have done plenty in my time” Leanna replied, Leanna and Jack picked up their swords and walked from the cave, they walked to the nearest port and got on the first boat that they could find, it did not matter where it went as long as they were together and they were away from here