Dark Descent (Vampire Hunter Book 5) (10 page)

Magnus was still
talking. I struggled to process this information and focus on his words at the
same time. “I’ll have to give you the exact coordinates, of course, but yes,
you’ve been living by the Gates of Hell for your whole life, Aurora. Fitting,
no, that the girl fated to become
the
most powerful hunter in the world
is merely a hop, skip and a jump away from the Gates of Hell?”

“What about Leon?”
Lucas asked. “We haven’t discussed how to dispose of him. Obviously, Aurora
isn’t going into Hell to kill him. Do you have a plan to get him to earth?”

“But of course.”
Magnus flashed a triumphant grin. “That soothsayer he’s so fond of –
she’s the one who told him that Aurora had to be killed or that she would
eliminate all demons – is the key to luring Leon to earth. I’ll send a
message to him, pretending to be the soothsayer, ask him to come to earth for
some very important news.”

“Good.” Lucas
stood up to leave.

“My, you’re in a
hurry to go. I didn’t think I was
that
scary,” Magnus commented. “I
trust you’ll call me, Lucas, after Aurora meets with Tobias?”

“Yes. I’ll let you
know the time and day. Before we leave, give me the coordinates for the gates,”
Lucas said.

Magnus told him
the location, which Lucas recorded in his phone. Then, he walked Lucas and me
to the door. “It was so nice to see you again,” he said politely. “Have a
lovely evening.”

Back in the car, I
couldn’t help but start laughing. “What’s so funny?” Lucas asked.

“He’s just such
a…character. Over-the-top polite, sophisticated, refined. He acts the complete
opposite of what he really is. If someone were to meet Magnus, they would think
he was the most charming guy!” I said.

“I know. It’s much
worse than people who show you their true colors. Magnus would smile to your
face, then stab you in the back the second you turned around. And that’s one
more reason why this plan had better work,” he said grimly.

“I wonder how
Emmett and Henry are coming along with all those items they need for the spell?
I really hope the worst of it is the hellhound hair,” I commented.

“Don’t think about
them right now. Focus on Tobias. I won’t be there to help. Trust your instinct.
You’ll know the right thing to say to him. I believe you can do this, Rory.”

“Where’s his
house? Are we close?”

“About a mile. But
I need to park around the corner. I don’t want him to know you didn’t come
alone,” Lucas said.

I glanced at the
clock. We had only been an hour so far. My parents wouldn’t start bugging me
for at least another hour.

“What if Henry’s
dad is there?” I asked.

“Nicholas checked
his schedule. There was nothing set up,” Lucas assured me.

“But still….”

“Ask Tobias when
he answers the door if anyone is there. If on the off chance he’s not alone,
tell him to either get rid of his guest or you’re leaving. That no one can see
you,” Lucas instructed. “He’ll want to know why you’re there; he won’t turn you
away.”

“Okay,” I said. Up
until now, my nerves hadn’t been that bad – I’d known what to expect this
time with Magnus, and Lucas was there with me.

“Today is
Thursday.” Lucas paused. “Magnus wants this done as soon as possible –
and I agree completely – but we have to be realistic about the amount of
time it could take for Henry to get everything for the spell. And he hasn’t
even seen the spell to
open
the gates yet because we’ve all been so
fixated on closing them. There may be some other crazy ingredients to get. We
need at least a week, so tell him Saturday, next weekend. I’ll help Nic and
Henry get everything together.”

“Sounds like we’re
still cutting it close,” I said.

“I don’t think we
have another choice. If we drag our heels too long, Magnus will become
suspicious,” Lucas argued.

He stopped the car
at the end of the road in a residential area. “Tobias lives in the house on the
end on the west side of the street.”

I nodded, too
nervous to speak.

“If he tries
anything
at all, you either call me or get out of that house,” Lucas said.

“Wish me luck.” I
got out of the car before Lucas could say anything. I was afraid if I stopped
to think about it any longer I would chicken out.

I walked
purposefully down the road, eyeing my surroundings. By now the sun had set and
no one was outside.

When I reached
Tobias’ house, I glanced at the driveway. No cars. That was a good indication
that he was alone. I forced myself to raise my clenched fist and pound
confidently on the front door.

“Who’s there?”
came a muffled voice on the other side.

He’s probably
too short to see through the peephole.

“Aurora Stone,” I
answered. “I’m alone.”

I could hear him
unlocking the door. I stood there, arms crossed, expecting him to pull it open
at any second.
What is taking so long? He must have about ten locks on the
door.

Finally, Tobias
swung the door open. “Did anyone see you come here?” he demanded.

“No, I swear,” I
replied. “Are you alone?”

“Yes. Well don’t
just stand there. Come in already!”

I stepped into the
entranceway and he slammed the door behind me. “What are
you
doing here?
How did you find me? How do you even
know
who I am?”

Before I could
answer, Tobias grabbed my arm and pulled me into the main sitting room. It
looked like a little old lady had decorated it. Knitted Afghans were draped
over the couch and the reclining chair in front of the television.

Tobias sat down in
the chair. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of me once, and judging by his
expression he was clearly not happy to see me.

“I know you
because you’re just like me,” I said. “I found out about you in a case file
that was in one of the hunting agencies.”

“All that was
supposed to be destroyed years ago!” Tobias said, his gray beady eyes flashing
in anger.

“Part of it was
missing; it didn’t tell much,” I replied. “Look, I’m not here to cause any
trouble. I want to work with you.”

“You’d better
start at the beginning,” Tobias said. “Because a reference to me in a case file
does even start to explain how you turned up on my doorstep.” He paused. “And
if I don’t like your explanation, I will kill you.”

“But you can’t
kill me,” I blurted out. “No one knows how to put us back in our graves.
Tobias, please listen to me, I’m trying to help you.”

“I’m all ears. And
for the record, I know how to kill you. What? Did you really think you were
untouchable? Even the living dead girl has an Achilles heal.” Tobias grinned.
He looked like a dog, baring his teeth at his pray.

“How?” I asked
him. I knew I needed to get to the point, but I was too curious not to ask.

He shook his head.
“Why would I tell
you
that? So you can turn around and kill me before I
kill you? Please, I’m not an idiot. Start talking. My patience is wearing
thin.”

It was then that I
realized I had vastly underestimated Tobias’ intelligence. But I had to believe
that I was smarter. And more convincing.

“Someone came to
hunt me when I returned,” I started.

“Who?” Tobias
demanded.

“She’s dead now,”
I lied. “When she trapped me to kill me, I turned the tables and killed her
instead. Then I took her identity, went to the headquarters of the agency she
worked for. I had all of her key cards so I could access the records room.”
I
hope Tobias knows as little about what a hunting headquarters looks like as I
do, or I’m in deep shit.

To my relief,
Tobias nodded. “Go on.”

“As soon as I
heard there was someone else like me, I became obsessed with you,” I said,
trying to stroke his ego a bit.

Tobias ran his
hand through his thin brown hair. “Yes, yes, I can see that. But don’t get any
ideas! I’m not looking for love. I already have to crush the hopes of my many
female suitors on a daily basis. Besides, I’m only interested in women who are
a solid ten.” He eyed me up and down. “You’re more like a seven, maybe an eight
in the right lighting.”

I resisted the
urge to get up, walk over to Tobias, and beat him senseless.

“That’s a shame,”
I said, giving him a demure smile and batting my eyelashes. “Because I was so
obsessed, so
enamored
, I’ve been desperate to find you. Unfortunately, a
lot of, um, creatures, have been desperate to find me as well. Leon visited me.
He wants my help.” That couldn’t be farther from the truth.
With any luck,
Tobias doesn’t know that Leon’s tried to kill me. Twice.

“Why?” Tobias said
suspiciously.

“He told me I was
going to be able to kill demons. He has a bone to pick with some of them in
Hell. Wants them gone for good.”

“Why are you
telling me all of this?” Tobias asked.

“Because I want to
work with
you,
not him,” I said earnestly. “You’re like me. Together we
will be extremely powerful – unbeatable. These demons that Leon wants
killed, he’s opening the gates and sending them through. I have to be there
next Saturday so I can kill them. I thought you would want to come along and
watch, so I could prove my ability to you.”

I paused but
Tobias didn’t say anything. He was deep in thought. “You see,” I tried again,
“I have no one I can talk to about this.
You’re
the only person who
understands me.”

“This is true. And
it’s not a bad idea for you to align yourself with the smartest person in the
world. I’m sure you’ve heard a war is coming?”

“Yes, there are
whispers about it,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t ask me to elaborate.

He didn’t.
I’m
starting to gain his trust.

“Also….in the
beginning I was having blackouts; losing chunks of time. It’s stopped now, but
do you know what could have caused them? Did you have blackouts, after you were
resurrected?” I asked.

Tobias hesitated.

“People are saying
you’re building an army,” I added. “I want to be part of that army, to win this
war for you, but you must tell me the truth.”

Tobias was finally
relaxing around me. He told me about the underground meetings, explained that
he only had me under mind control because he didn’t think I’d willingly
participate.

“Now that I know you
want to help me, I’ll continue conditioning the rest of the army without you
there.” Tobias rubbed his hands together excitedly. “We also need to deal with
Senara. She’s crazy, delusional, trying to take over the world. She has no idea
that she’s met her match.” Tobias cackled.

Crazy,
delusional. Tobias just described himself.

“There is one other
thing. I don’t want David Matthews to know about this,” I said.

“Why’s that? Oh,
because you’re dating his son?”

I nodded, not
bothering to correct him.

“That could pose a
problem. Matthews is my right hand man,” Tobias said.

“Look, I’m just
giving you a demo of my powers. He doesn’t need to be there for that. I’d like
to put off him knowing what side I’m on until I can’t hide it any longer. I
don’t need an even bigger target on my back.” That last sentence was true.

“Yes, I don’t see
how Matthews knowing right now is going to help. Once we’re in an all-out war,
the truth will be revealed.” Tobias cackled again.

I tried not to
cringe.

“You know I’m
going to kill all humans?” Tobias asked me.

“That’s the
rumor,” I confirmed.

“And there’s no
one you want me to save? Friends, family?”

It’s not going
to come to that.
But instead I snapped my fingers. “Tobias, you think of
everything,” I said giving him a flirty grin. “Naturally, my parents, sister
and Henry need to be protected.”
And Emmett.
If all went well,
no one
would need protecting. And if it didn’t…well, we’d all be dead anyway.
Magnus would kill my family and friends for my betrayal and Tobias would kill
me – assuming he really knew how.

“I have to go, but
I’m so glad you’re going to let me help you,” I gushed. Never mind that
he
was
actually the one who needed
me
.

I stood up and
walked towards the door, anxious to get the hell out of there.

“Do you know what
time next Saturday Leon is sending you some demons to kill?” Tobias asked.

“Yes, eight o’clock
at night,” I said. That should be a good time. It would be dark, less likely
for Lucas or Henry to be seen by Tobias. Easier to push them all in before
anyone realized what was happening.

“I will see you at
the Gates of Hell right on time,” Tobias replied, as though that were a
completely normal rendezvous to plan.

I hurried out of
his house and ran full speed towards Lucas’ car. I felt like my skin was
crawling, having to endure sitting in a room with Tobias for so long.

“Are you okay?”
Lucas asked as soon as I got into the car. “I thought it would be a quick
conversation. That Tobias would jump at the chance for you to willingly help
him.”

“I’m fine, but
he’s a lot scarier than I gave him credit for. I had to think on my feet more
than I anticipated. I hope I did well,” I said worriedly.

“Tell me what
happened.” Lucas started the car and pulled out onto a main road.

I recapped the
conversation with Tobias.

“What you said to
him was perfect, Rory. You did great.”

“Thanks, I just
hope it was enough. Oh, want to hear something that will give you a good
laugh?”

“I could use a
laugh,” Lucas said, smiling at me.

“Tobias announced
that he only dates girls who are a perfect ten, and unfortunately I’m only a
seven, possibly an eight in the right lighting.” It had made me mad when he
said it, but now I just had to laugh.