Interlude: Gathering of the Five

There was an explosion and there was a brief intermission in which there was darkness. Galen didn't know how long but time had passed between the explosion and his waking up. He groggily got to his feet. The world shaking as he climbed to his feet. He got to his feet and looked around.

Light streamed in from in front of him. Half of the house was gone and Galen was honestly gobsmacked. He had seen witches before, he knew of their power and had scuffled with a few, but he had not seen this. A witch with the power to take down a house. A witch with the power to take on an Original and win.

Galen tried not to think about it too much.

But he was forced to as he saw the man sauntering up the stairs. Galen had been a Hunter long enough that his ability had stretched. Being in the presence of a vampire was like an irritation on his skin. Connor had explain that Harry could sense magic and Galen was sure the same could be said for him, but in the vein of vampires. The man sauntering from the basement was a vampire and from the larger amount of irritation it was clear that he was an Original.

Galen grabbed quickly at his daggers, but the man was in front of him before he could do so. The man lay on him a piercing look, then he smirked. He was smoking but he didn't seem to notice this small fact.

"A hunter," he said in a deep voice with an English accent. Why were all the powerful people English, Galen couldn't help but wonder, he felt a little insulted of that fact. "Harry seems to like your kind. I won't kill you. But if you tell anyone that I'm alive, I will kill you."

He disappeared in motions that Galen could follow but could not clearly see. Galen shuddered. He was by no means a coward, fighting vampires whenever he had the chance forced to throw away such notions, but Originals rubbed him the wrong way. He knew he couldn't take them, even when the odds were perfectly in his favour he knew he couldn't win.

He took in the house. There wasn't much damage in the living room, but the kitchen was entirely gone, so was the room he knew Stefan should have been in. He pulled his daggers from their holsters preparing for a fight, and it wasn't too soon. A blur hurtled for him. He threw his dagger and it landed in the man's chest. His legs gave out and he fell to his knees. Galen pulled out a stake and stabbed the man through the heart and stepped back. He hissed, fangs bared and blood spilling out before he went a grey colour and fell to his death. Galen looked around still a little confused but after a beat the man was back, he looked out of touch with the world—and Galen didn't understand how he could tell.

"Fuck," the man said. "Fuck, Fuck, Fuck."

"You're dead," said Galen. He didn't know how this was possible, but he could see ghosts much as Connor had said Harry could. He hadn't believed it at first. What were the chances that something so preposterous could exist even in the world of magic? But here, now. He truly believed it.

The man looked at him and glared. "Fuck you," he said in a snarl and stepped forward only to go through Connor. It was mildly disconcerting, but the disconcertion was a figment of his imagination. "A chance at life and you take it away from me."

"You shouldn't have attacked me then, should you?" Galen said with a mild sign of annoyance in his voice. He scaled the stairs and looked out of the large missing chunk of house. He could see at least three people heading out of the property, walking, not running. One, a dark-skinned woman in ancient looking clothes, stopped a looked back at Galen. She smiled, waved a little and went on without a care. Another was a young girl, she too had outdated clothes. The last was a pale woman with dark hair, she was shaking her head for some reason.

"Brother," said a voice and Galen turned, prepared to fight. It was a man, pale of skin and with long hair that hadn't seen a wash in a good while.

"Who are you?" asked Galen.

"Alexander," the man said. "We have to leave before the others wake. The wizard will be indisposed for a while. Our Mistress has told me as such. We have to gather those of us that live. We have to find the abomination, Silas and kill him."

There was some sort of weight when Alexander spoke. As though Galen's body wanted to follow the order even if he didn't want to. But he did, didn't he? He wanted to kill Silas. He wanted to fulfil his destiny.

"What about Connor?" Galen asked. He had taken quite the liking to the Hunter, then again this was the first time he had run across any of his kind.

"The wizard, Harry Potter has sullied him too much," said Alexander with an amount of contempt. "I thought he would help, but he has not. He sympathises with the abominations and he has forced this same school of thought of Connor Jordan."

Galen thought on it for a few seconds, but the conclusion was forgone. "I need to get a few things."

Galen wasn't entirely sure where he was, but he knew his was on the right track. The radio had stopped a few days ago an yet again there was awkward silence that hung through the car as he followed the compass. Already he had run across five vampires because of it. The compass still worked even as Galen feared that one of these days Harry would just appear and kill him for running.

The Hunter didn't delude himself. He had run. Alexander might have called it following destiny. But Galen knew he had run. He had abandoned people who had helped him with. Before the battle had taken place Galen had lied to himself, rationalised that Harry and his small army would lose. There was no use in him dying to protect one man. But since then he had heard that they had won. Even with the odds so against them.

"Do not worry about the wizard," said Alexander as he chipped effortlessly at a piece of wood. He was crafting stakes, a lot of them, in preparation of a coming fight. Galen couldn't help feel the same way. There was a coming tide. When all the plans Harry had speaking about came to an intersection. Galen could almost feel that there would be an all-out fight. He just hoped he would survive it.

"He can find us," said Galen. "I think that's something to worry about."

"We're Cloaked," said Alexander.

Galen couldn't help but raise a brow. "How'd you manage that?" Galen asked.

"Our Mistress, Qetsiyah," Alexander simply said.

"Qetsiyah," said Galen in a musing voice. "Isn't she the one that created Silas in the first place?"

Alexander nodded. "You've heard the tale. She was manipulated."

Galen couldn't help thinking that which Harry had said. They were just pawns to the machinations of Qetsiyah and those that followed her.

"If she's alive. Why doesn't she just take over? Why not just kill Silas herself?" Galen asked. It would save him the chance of being killed.

"That," said Alexander, "only she knows."

They spent a few days driving and killing vampires. Alexander didn't participate much, he wanted the tattoo to move faster along and that meant Galen doing all the killing. They stopped in a pub, the compass had pointed to it.

Galen wasn't looking at the patrons as he entered, only at the point of the compass. It spun then pointed towards two people, one a large man with skin so pale it almost had an amount of light coming from it and another who thin and spindly. The spindly one tensed as Galen started walking towards the pair and the larger man noticed this, blue eyes met Galen and he could almost feel the hate coming from them.

The man quickly got to his feet, a stake in his hand. He threw it but Galen was already dodging. He landed in a roll and had only a second to notice that none of the patrons had noticed the throw. Galen grabbed a dagger, but Alexander stopped him.

"Stop," he told the large man and the man did as he had been told. "We mean you no harm."

The spindly man had too risen to his feet and was behind his much larger friend, using him as a shield. He stepped away from him and his hand shot out. Galen knew what was coming. Both he and Alexander dropped to their knees as a massive weigh settled on their shoulders. Galen tried to move but found he couldn't do so.

"Who are you?" asked the spindly man.

"Friends," Alexander answered. Galen was glad the man had spoken, because he was feeling pissed. He wanted to lash out and kill the man who had him under his spell. "Hunters."

"You're hunters?" asked the large man. "Where are your tattoos?"

"Unfortunately mine has been lost," said Alexander. "But if you release my friend, he would be more than happy to show you his."

The large man looked at his friend. "Babe?"

"I don't trust them?" said the spindly man. "Hunters aren't witches and yet I could feel a Tracking Spell settle when they came in."

"Explain," the large man ordered.

"An artefact from a wizard friend," said Galen. Was the word even true anymore? Would Harry still consider him a friend? "It's enchanted to track what the holder most wants." Interest sparked in the witch's eyes, but the spell still held, not wavering in the slightest. There was a beat, then two, then the spell disappeared.

"Show your tattoo."

Galen stood and did as ordered. He pulled up the sleeve of is jacket to reveal the tattoo stretching up to his elbow. The spell on Alexander dissipated and he stood. The large man had a grin plastered across his face.

"Another Hunter," the man said with childlike excitement. "Didn't think I'd live to see the day."

"You have a spell cast on the room?" asked Alexander as he looked at the patrons of the pub. They still hadn't shown any sign that they had noticed anything of their fight.

The spindly man nodded. "My coven makes it a point to protect the innocent," he said and there was a smile to him, a smile that stood was on the large man's face. Galen knew the two were sharing something of an inside joke.

"It must be tiring," said Alexander. "Which is why I say we choose a place in which to speak in private. There is much we need to discuss."

They chose a seat that could seat them all. The spindly man, Stanley, put an enchantment that would ensure no one paid them any mind—the place was chosen as neutral territory so both would be at a disadvantage should a fight ensue. The next hour or so was spent purely in exposition. Alexander and Galen explained all they could about being a hunter, their destiny, Silas and all else. Alexander persuaded Mark, though the man didn't need to be persuaded much, into going on the quest of finding the rest of their brethren, completing the tattoos and going after Silas.

"I'm all for it," said Mark but then he looked at Stanley.

The man was long in thought. "Why would you want all the hunter together first?" he asked. "Why can't you continue killing vampires as usual and when the tattoo is done go after Silas yourselves."

"The tattoo grows when Hunters are together," said Galen. "A sum of both their kills. But when they separate again the tattoo returns to the place it had been before they had met. The wizard who gave me the compass had the idea that whoever made us this way wanted all five hunters to go after Silas."

Stanley sighed. "I don't like this," he said. "The five of you together will be a beacon." Alexander and Galen shared a confused look. "Where being chased through the country by people who call themselves the Cult of Silas."

Galen frowned in distaste. "Not my favourite cult," the man muttered. "How bad is this faction?"

Mark turned serious. "We've been asking around. Rumour is they're an extremely powerful coven of three. They seem to have an interest in Hunters."

"We haven't figured out why yet, though," said Stanley.

"The tattoo on your arm is a map," said Galen. "If they want to free Silas then they would need a hunter with a complete mark."

"That explains it," said Mark.

Alexander smiled. "It was fortunate for you to have found a witch, then," he said to Mark. "One who can Cloak you."

"I'm not too good with Cloaking Spells," said Stanley. "But I do have a penchant for sensing spells in my vicinity."

"And constant moving helps," said Mark his chest puffed out as though he had offered the most helpful advice.

"Even if it does send up a flare though," Galen shared. "We should no less stick together. Especially since Alexander and I are Cloaked."

Stanley frowned. "You have a witch with you?"

"No," said Galen.

"But we have one as an ally and she is keeping the spell on us while we move," added Alexander.

Stanley let out a long breath. "This witch of yours must be powerful. Is it the same one who did the compass?"

"No, different one."

"You have quite the allies," said Stanley. He thought then nodded. "We'll join you." Mark grinned and gave the man a kiss to the cheek—something that baffled Alexander a little.

"Love you, babe," the man said and it was lucky that Stanley had dark skin or he would have been a vivid red.

The days passed and Galen found that going on a road trip with a couple was one of the most annoying things ever. Especially if one of the partners was Mark who wanted to stop at every second motel they passed for the night. But he liked the pair, especially the ease it meant in battle. They hadn't been fighting two days before Galen and Mark found they could fight in perfect synchronicity, as though they had been practising all their lives together. A week had passed an already the mark had climbed over Galen's shoulder and stopped halfway up his upper-arm.

Fortunately they didn't run into any trouble with the Cult of Silas. Stanley guessed that since they were Cloaked the Cult would have chosen different targets, which meant three other hunters out there were in danger, which was why Galen, Alexander and Mark wanted to find them with the utmost urgency.

They found the next hunter in the process of a raid, a raid of course they joined; with the addition of Ezekiel the mark climbed well past the shoulder, but it still wasn't enough, there was still a small space they thought would be completed when the found the two remaining hunters. They found the fourth, a man whose name was Tao and the mark grew, but there was still some of it missing and it was growing persistently slow even as they continued to kill vampires.

A month had passed when the question was asked with an amount of irritation. "Why don't we just find the final hunter?" asked Ezekiel. "It's obvious the mark does not want to be finished until all of us are together."

Galen shuddered and looked at Alexander with an amount of dread. "We have to go back, don't we?"

"It seems so," the man said.