Chapter 83
While Danny walked ahead of them, Reese and Riley drug Hotch along. "I thought hunters killed their prey. Why are you all doing all of this?" Hotch asked them.
Danny turned back to him with a smile. "You'll see soon enough, vamp," and they all laughed as Hotch mentally groaned. Great!
After a couple of short hallways, they ended up in a long room and abruptly dropped him. "Get up!" Reese demanded as he kicked Hotch.
With the cursed cowl still draped over his shoulders, it took all of his strength, but he eventually got standing and he stood up as far as he could. Once he was upright, he looked around. The room was empty except for a large, ornate chair directly in front of him. What the hell? Have they brought me to their king or something and that's his throne?
No sooner had he thought it, a door opened to the left. Hotch summoned up even more strength and prepared to face whoever it was as if they were an unsub, and that included donning the Hotch stare.
In walked a decently built black man with long dreads, and Hotch mentally took stock of him and thought the man must be of some importance with the way his kidnappers had straightened. He looked Hotch over and then looked to the man on Hotch's left. "Take the cowl off."
Danny nodded and pulled the wool material off with one swift motion, and Hotch almost collapsed in relief but he finally took a full breath as he straightened himself out to his full height. Knowing he could use his abilities again, his mind raced to decide what to do.
Before he could figure it out, though, another man walked in. That man, who Hotch thought looked Middle Eastern with his olive skin, dark hair, and dark eyes, also had long hair, but it was pulled back away from his forehead. Following close behind him and the last one through the door was a petite, dark haired woman, and Hotch immediately knew it was the woman whom he had held the convenience store door open for, and he mentally growled. Ok, maybe this isn't connected to those hunters in Hawaii.
The new man walked over to the chair, sat down, and casually crossed his legs as he studied Hotch. He was obviously in charge, and Hotch met his gaze without waver which made the man smile. "My, aren't we a proud one?"
Hotch huffed and he couldn't help it, his sarcasm crept towards the surface. "What? I am supposed to kneel?"
The man raised his right hand up off the arm rest and then bent his last two fingers and Hotch's knees slammed down onto the ground of their own volition. The cold smile that crept onto the man's face as he tilted his head emphasized exactly how evil he was. "If I want you to kneel, I'll make you," he said simply.
Hotch tried everything he could, but he couldn't move. What the hell is he doing to me?
The man laughed and relaxed his hand back down onto the armrest and Hotch fell forward. After a deep breath, he forced himself back into a standing position and breathed heavily as he stared at the man.
The man in the chair looked at the woman. "This is my elder? Are you sure your powers aren't slipping, Lilly?"
She frowned as she looked at Hotch. "No! I swear, Alucious! His aura is too bright not to be an elder. He may even be an ancient with the way it wavers between colors."
Hotch frowned as he looked at her. What the hell are you? Her heart beat like a human's, so he wasn't sure.
Alucious studied Hotch some more. "We shall see," he stated plainly, got up, and approached Hotch. "What's your name, Bloodsucker?"
Hotch's eyes squinted in defiance. "Why should I tell you?" He wasn't sure why the man was even asking; he knew the men who had grabbed him had searched him and found his ID, but they had thrown it away. Maybe they aren't smart enough to remember.
Alucious smirked and twitched his fingers.
"Aaron Hotchner," Hotch suddenly blurted out and then clamped his mouth shut. How the hell is he doing that?
Alucious laughed. "You have no idea what's even going on, do you?"
Hotch swallowed. "No," he admitted. I might as well answer before he makes me.
Alucious looked at the woman again. "There is no way he's old enough to be an elder when he doesn't even know a warlock when he sees one!"
"But. . . But he is too powerful not to be!" she insisted.
Hotch would have sworn she actually looked afraid, but he couldn't blame her because he was starting to feel the same way. His mind raced. Warlock? What the hell is a warlock? He mentally cringed. I really wish I would have paid more attention to all those damn movies Kahlan's always watching or got Sebastian or someone to tell me a little more.
The man with dreads laughed. "I don't think he even knows what a warlock is, Lou."
Alucious' brows furrowed as he slowly walked around Hotch. "Do you know what a warlock is, Aaron?"
Hotch licked his lips as he turned to keep the man in front of him. "No."
Surprise made the man's brows rise. "Do you know what a witch is?" he asked slowly as if talking to someone who may not have full mental capabilities.
Hotch glanced at the people around him. "In general," he admitted. He can't seriously be talking about spells and shit, can he? Is that what he's doing to me?
Alucious nodded as he continued to circle Hotch. "A warlock, Aaron, is a male witch."
Oh, well that clears that up, he thought sarcastically. "And what would a warlock want with me?" Hotch asked him.
That made all of the men laugh. Alucious shook his head slowly as he studied Hotch for a few more moments, but then he turned his attention to the woman and she backed up a step. "Alucious, I swear! He's the most powerful vampire I have ever seen with my own eyes!"
He huffed and turned to the black man. "Maybe he's just stupid. What do you think, Ty?"
The black man studied Hotch, but Danny laughed again. "He's got to be stupid, Tyrese. He thought we were hunters."
Tyrese looked at the man for a moment and then looked at Hotch again. "But that's an understandable mistake." He sighed. "But he's intelligent. You can see it in his eyes." He gestured to Hotch with a hand. "Just look at him. He's silently taking everything in and trying to figure a way out of this." He looked at Alucious. "But he clearly has no clue what you can do, and he's scared."
Hotch mentally winced. Damn, is he a profiler?
Alucious considered Tyrese's words as he studied Hotch some more. "Exactly how old are you, Aaron?"
Hotch went to speak but hesitated. He wasn't sure if he was asking him how old he was or how long he had been a vampire. His hesitation apparently pissed Alucious off, though, and as his hand tightened into a fist, and Hotch screamed and dropped to his knees as his insides felt like they had caught fire.
After several agonizing seconds, Alucious finally relaxed his hand and Hotch fell to the floor as he panted.
Alucious stepped over to him and leaned down by his head. "How long have you been a vampire, Aaron?"
"A little. . . over a month," Hotch uttered as he tried to regain his composure.
Alucious snapped up and looked at the people who had brought Hotch in. "You brought me an infant?!" he roared and all of them cringed back.
"But Lil said he. . ." Reese started and then dropped to the floor beside Hotch, and Hotch could tell by his eyes that he was dead.
"Any other excuses?" Alucious wanted to know, and the others held up their hands hoping to stave off his anger.
Hotch groaned as he pushed himself back up off the floor, and Lilly's eyes went wide as she watched him. Alucious saw her face and turned to see Hotch standing, and he was shocked, too.
"See! He's lying, Alucious! His aura has deepened to dark blue!" Lilly yelled.
Alucious gestured with his hand and Hotch lifted about four feet into the air, and when Alucious spread his fingers, Hotch's arms went out to his sides as if being crucified and he screamed.
After a few moments, Alucious relaxed his hand a little and Hotch sucked in a breath. Alucious shook his head. "It's not very smart to lie to a warlock, Aaron. I will get the truth eventually."
"It's. . . not a. . . lie," Hotch got out through pants.
The warlock studied him. "Who is your master?"
Hotch wasn't sure what he was asking him. Does he want me to say him?
The warlock sighed; the confusion in Hotch's eyes was obvious. "Who changed you, Aaron?" he asked as he brought him back down to where he was almost touching the floor.
Oh shit! Why does he want to know that? "I don't know!" he blurted out. I can't tell him about Sebastian. He might go after him!
"You don't know?"
Hotch shook his head as his body turned to follow Alucious as the warlock circled him. "I didn't even know what had happened to me until it was all said and done." Having no control over his own body bothered him even more than the cowl had. Now I know what a puppet feels like, and it sucks!
Alucious looked at Tyrese, and Tyrese nodded. "That's the truth."
Alucious shook his head. "You poor bastard. Attacked and then left to fend for yourself and not taught anything." He shook his head some more. "Had your master only known how powerful you'd be. . ." He paused and then smirked. "Although, maybe he did, and maybe that's why he left you. Maybe he was afraid of you."
"How can he be so powerful and yet be so young?" Lilly asked.
"Maybe he's not. Maybe he's just really good at pretending," he offered and then squeezed his hand.
Hotch yelled out again; all he could feel was pain, horrible, all-encompassing pain.
After several, very long moments, the warlock relaxed his hand and studied a sweat covered Hotch. "That would have knocked you unconscious had you been anything less than an ancient."
Hotch swallowed and looked him in the eyes. "Let me go."
Alucious' brows shot up. "Did you just try to compel me?"
Hotch sighed. "You can't blame a guy for trying."
That made Alucious laugh. "A vampire can't compel a warlock, Aaron." He shook his head. "You have so much to learn."
"How is he doing it?" Tyrese wanted to know.
Alucious looked at him, looked at Hotch, and then looked back at Tyrese. "He's an alpha."
Tyrese's eyes went wide as he looked at Hotch. "But isn't that just a myth?"
Alucious laughed again. "All myths are based in truth, my friend. You should know that." He studied Hotch some more and then smiled at Lilly and them. "An alpha is a rare and amazing catch. You will be rewarded greatly."
The warlock released Hotch and he fell to the floor still weak from man's powerful attack, so he grabbed Hotch's hair and yanked on it so he could look Hotch in the eyes.
"What do you want from me?" Hotch asked him and the desperation in his own voice made him mentally cringe.
Alucious smiled a wicked smile. "Only everything, Aaron, everything." He let him go and stepped back. "Hold him," he told Tyrese and the man grabbed Hotch's head, held it against his thigh, and positioned him so Hotch was looking up at the warlock. Alucious then removed something from his pocket. "But I don't want you compelling any of my people, so. . ." He took the stopper out of the little glass bottle and Tyrese grabbed Hotch's chin and forced his mouth open. "This will stop you from saying anything until we make better arrangements," the warlock told him simply and poured the clear liquid into Hotch's mouth. Hotch screamed as the liquid burned and bubbled in his mouth, but his cries were quickly cut off as the liquid worked its way down his throat.
Once he was done, Tyrese let Hotch go and he fell to the floor completely, and the warlock chuckled. "Take him to the bottling room," he ordered and then started for the door.
Tyrese bowed his head. "As you wish." He looked to Danny. "Get some others in here and get him ready." The man nodded and took off running. Tyrese saw Hotch struggling to breathe and he squatted down in front of him. "Do you know what that was?"
Hotch tried to swallow but couldn't so he shook his head as much as he could instead.
Tyrese sighed. "Wow, a vamp who doesn't even know holy water when he feels it. You really are clueless, aren't you?"
Hotch just closed his eyes and dropped his head down onto the floor again. Holy water? I would have sworn it was acid. He had no idea what they were going to do to him, and as much as he hated to admit it, that scared the hell out of him. He brought the image of Kahlan and his team to his mind. I know you all are looking, but I really think you better hurry and find me, or there might not be anything left for you to find.
Danny came back with two other men and they picked Hotch up and took him out of the room. Hotch stayed limp in their arms because he was still feeling the residual effects of the warlock's attack but his eyes took in everything.
As they took him through several long hallways, Hotch's heart sank. In several of the rooms they passed, he saw what could only be considered massive cages and most of them were occupied. He had no clue what most of the beings were but some of them looked human. Is this some sort of monster zoo? What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Hotchner?
