Abbey's POV
"Hello again, Abigayle," Stern greets me.
I'm too shocked to speak. I look over at my mom and she's sitting very still, not moving. She looks up at me and I catch a flash of fear in her eyes that vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
I take a deep breath.
"What're you doing here?" I demand.
"That's no way to greet your uncle," he admonishes.
"You were never family," I spat. "To me, or to my mom."
"It's not my fault your mother had a conflict of interest," Stern remarks.
He was talking about my father, and I was starting to get pissed.
"But it seems as though you're following in her footsteps," he continues. "Marrying a vampire? Your great-great grandfather Galen Sinistero would be so ashamed."
"If you hadn't noticed, I don't care what you or anyone else thinks," I retort.
"Oh, but you do," Stern insists. "Otherwise you wouldn't be rethinking your engagement to that bloodsucker who killed your ancestor."
I was stunned.
"How did you know that?"
He smirks.
"When I was coming back from the oblivion that your mother sent me into, I had access to your unconscious mind. You worry about your feelings for Benny and wonder if you should break off your engagement to the vampire and pick Benny instead."
"So you're the one who sent me that dream," I don't say it like a question.
"Of course," Stern smirks again.
I stand there, trying to think of a way that I could warn my friends that Stern had come back. There was no way I could escape from the house without him stopping me.
Then something clicked in my brain. Luckily, my sweats had pockets in them and I had slipped my phone into my right pocket before I had come downstairs. I could access my phone through the worn out material of my sweats. I steal a glance up at Stern, and he's looking over at my mother, disapproval written all over his face. I had maybe five seconds tops before he looked at me again. I knew my phone by heart, so I hit the call button and then quickly hit a number on my speed dial.
Benny's POV
Benny was jarred awake by the insistent buzzing of his phone. He reaches over to the bedside table and picks it up. The caller I.D. said it was Abbey. He steals a quick glance at the clock on the table. Why was Abbey calling him at 6:45 on a Saturday morning?
"This better be good," he mutters to himself, then answers the phone. "Abbey, this better be pretty important if you're calling me this early on a Saturday."
"Why did you come back?" Abbey's voice was grave.
"Abbey?" he asks confused. "What're-"
He was cut off by another voice.
"I came back to finish what I started," the voice was shockingly familiar. "To rid this town of vampires once and for all. Starting with your little Seer friend, Ethan."
"Ethan has nothing to do with this," Abbey defends.
"Oh, but he does," the voice says. "He tried to stop me."
"So did I, but I don't see you trying to kill me," Abbey says.
Then something clicked in Benny's sleep deprived mind. The familiar voice was Stern. He'd finally come back, just like Abbey had warned them he would.
He puts his ear back to the phone, but the line had gone dead. He had to warn the others. Now.
He threw the covers off of him and literally jumped out of bed. He grabbed the first thing his hands touched in his dresser drawer and threw them on, he didn't care if his outfit matched. Before running out of the door, he yanked on one of his many stripped jackets and his shoes, not bothering to tie them.
He ran down the stairs as quickly and quietly as he could, trying not to disturb anybody. He went into the kitchen to grab his spell book that he left on the counter, when he ran into his grandma.
"You're up early," she says suspiciously, staring the spell book he had in his hands.
"We have a problem," Benny says.
"What's wrong?" Grandma Weir asks.
"Stern is back," he explains. "And I think he has Abbey and her mom held captive at their house. She just called me while she was talking to him. He plans on finishing what he started. Starting with going after Ethan. I was just going to warn the others."
"Oh dear," she sighs. "This isn't good."
"What can we do to help her?" Benny asks, concerned.
"Well, nothing in there is going to help you," Benny's grandma says, looking pointedly at the book Benny was holding.
Benny's POV
"Black Magic?" Benny asks incredulously. "I thought you said you didn't practice it."
"Not anymore," Grandma Weir replies.
"Grandma!" he says out of shock.
"It was only once," she explains. "I was young and naïve. Didn't realize what it would do to me in the long term."
They were standing in Benny's grandma's magic library. He had been shocked when Grandma had handed him a book on Black Magic.
"The only way to defeat Stern is by using his magic against him," Grandma explains. "There's a vanquishing spell in that book that's quite effective. It's stronger than the oblivion spell Abbey's mom used."
"But I can't even…" Benny trails off. "Grandma, you know my magic isn't that good. What makes you think I could perform Black Magic?"
"I have faith in you," she answers, smiling at him.
Abbey's POV
This was just great. Stern had guessed what I was doing and took my phone from me, smashing it on the kitchen floor. I was pissed because that was a four hundred dollar phone that I had spent most of my allowance on. Grr.
I was relieved that he had smashed it after Benny heard what was going on. Hopefully he would be here soon with backup. Until then, I was being held prisoner in my own house.
Unlike my mother, I was being watched like a hawk. Stern knew I had the guts to defy him and wanted to make sure that I didn't do anything 'risky.' Right now, I was wishing that I had my powers. Not that they would've done anything to help much, but it probably would've stalled Stern.
"Don't look so glum, Abbey," Stern says from behind me. I was sitting on the couch in the living room, pretending to watch Saturday morning cartoons. Instead, I was staring at the TV screen, watching the unfocused, blurry images move across it.
"Only my friends and family call me Abbey," I say, no emotion in my voice. "You're sure as hell not a friend or family."
My mom was sitting in the recliner to my left, still staying very still, the only thing moving was her eyes looking between me and her brother.
"Gabriele," he turns his attention to my mother. "I'm sick and tired of your daughter disrespecting me."
"You deserve it," I say curtly.
"Abigayle, do you need a time out?" Stern asks mockingly.
"I'm not five-years-old," I say, getting pissed.
"You sure are acting like it," he remarks.
A red haze started to take over my vision, I could feel myself starting to vamp-out. I could feel my fangs protruding from my lips.
"That's it!" I get up and turn around, facing Stern, in full-on vamp mode now.
"Ooh, very scary Abigayle," he says sardonically.
I couldn't help myself, so I lunged for his throat.
I was met by a breathtaking blow. I hit the ground hard, struggling to breathe. It felt like he had taken the air out of my lungs and all of the oxygen out of the room, making it impossible for me to take a breath.
I start to see black spots around my vision and everything starts to go black in a matter of seconds.
Abbey's POV
When I wake up, my mom is leaning over me, a worried look on her face.
"Abbey," she sighs. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault," I reply. "You didn't try to attack Stern."
I felt really lightheaded and sluggish.
"Ugh," I groan. "I should've thought that through instead of acting on impulse."
"I'm sorry, baby," my mom tries to comfort me.
"Stop saying that," I snap. "Where's Stern?"
"He left," she answers. "He said he was coming back later and not to bother trying to leave the house. He has it spelled so we can't leave."
"Great," I sigh.
"I knew I should've been better prepared," she says more to herself than to me.
"It's not your fault," I repeat. "Besides, I think I have backup coming."
She looks at me confused.
I then proceeded to tell her about what I had done with my phone before Stern had smashed it.
"They'll come," my mom says, smiling.
"How can you be so sure?" I ask.
"Because if I know one thing," she explains. "Is that Benny would do anything for you."