Jonathan spent the next few seconds silently wondering what he should do next after the reddish hue retreated from the room. He had seen his fair share of gruesome deaths, but witnessing a murder play out in front of his eyes was a new kind of disturbing.

Still, it did not add up. If Morevia Wright was the Ghost Of Glasgow, why would she kill her own sister? Why vary her methods of killing so many times? When did she turn from a witch into a vampire?

More questions turned up the harder Jonathan thought about it, but it was undeniable that he saw her murdering the old woman with his own eyes.

“So what now? Do you recognise that vampire?” Lucy asked. “Because I don’t.”

“Yes, but it does not matter,” Jonathan said grimly. “Baba Yaga is definitely involved somehow. I just know she is. We need to summon her.”

“If you wish…” Lucy muttered. “Fortunately, my dark magic lets us bypass the majority of the ritual, so we won’t have to do any of that ‘face four corners’ nonsense. Did you at least bring the bottle of vodka?”

Jonathan nodded and snapped his fingers. Sparks burst from his fingertips, conjuring a completely filled bottle of vodka in his palm.

“Are you ready?” the vampire asked with closed eyes as dark magic swirled turbulently around her. Jonathan quickly stood beside her, setting the bottle in between them.

“Baba Yaga, Mother Of Death!” Lucy roared in a distorted voice. “Round to us-”

“-We enter the hut of Baba Yaga willingly!” both of them announced in unison.

Jonathan opened his glowing eyes as a huge reservoir of magic poured in from another dimension. The room trembled as though an earthquake had suddenly decided to tear through London. Grey soaked the walls as reality seemed to melt before his eyes. The vibration intensified as the vodka drained itself from the bottle.

And then they were no longer in the asylum.

~ ~ ~

“Greetings, at last, Immortal Stonekeeper. I have been awaiting your arrival.”

The first thing Jonathan noticed was how dark and messy his surroundings were. The second was how much he wanted to punch this old hag for hurting Anya.

“How the fuck do you know me?” He stomped up to the one-eyed witch sitting behind a rotting wooden table. The old woman simply pointed at him.

Jonathan growled aggressively as he felt something clamp onto his legs. He looked down. They were tied down by a cluster of vines that the wooden ground had somehow sprouted.

“Have care,” Baba Yaga warned. “This glass jar is the only thing keeping your partner’s soul from dispersing. I can’t help her if you drop it onto the floor.”

Jonathan ceased his struggle.

“Well, well. You certainly have seen better days, Baba.” Lucy walked into the light. Her dark cloak was draped over her shoulders again, barely concealing the two trusty pistols hanging on her sides.

“Lucy Westenra, or do you no longer go by that name?” Baba Yaga’s eye flitted to the vampire. “My apologies for taking away your memories; it was a mistake I sought to correct too late.”

“Carpenter. Lucy Carpenter,” Lucy stated sharply. “You took my memories so that I wouldn’t recognise your disciple, didn’t you?”

Baba Yaga kept her head hung low.

“My poor Natasha… My sweet, sweet Natasha…” Her voice shook with emotion. “After everything you had to go through, I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you. Rest in peace, my dear child…”

Wood scraped against wood as Baba Yaga stood up.

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“This has gone on long enough,” she said. “I have brought you here to resolve what I could not back then. I am placing my trust in you, Jonathan Warner. All shall be revealed.”

“You know who the Ghost of Glasgow is?” Jonathan asked cautiously.

“No, but you have been having strange dreams lately, haven’t you? Dreams that seem like memories of a distant past. Dreams that feel like you were there, even if that is impossible.”

The man narrowed his eyes.

“The Ghost of Glasgow is no more than a mere woman, driven to obsession by jealousy and longing for her dead husband. You, stonekeeper, are his present incarnation,” Baba Yaga continued. “I took the soul of your lover, Anya, to keep her safe. I took the life essence of your friend, Cornelia, to shelter her. But for Carpenter… I will admit that I was only driven by my selfishness.”

She took a deep breath.

“That woman disfigured me because I couldn’t help her reunite with her husband. It was only with the help of Natasha that we managed to drive her out of my house,” she said. “Unfortunately, that foolish girl was too brave for her own good. After catching wind of the murder sprees, Natasha struck out on her own to confront that hunter without my knowledge. By the time I found out, Natasha had already been badly injured. And to make things worse, her mind was permanently scarred.”

“You didn’t want me to find out about Natasha’s involvement, because you knew I’d recognise vampire hypnosis…” Lucy breathed.

“Yes, I divined that she would meet you soon after. So I recklessly took action to prevent you from recognising her. Natasha had suffered enough, and I did not want her to be dragged back into this problem any longer,” Baba Yaga admitted. “But I see now that I was a fool and a coward to have removed myself from the world. Running and hiding cannot be a solution to everything, neither is denying destiny.”

The witch picked up the jar on her table and passed it to Jonathan.

“It is time I returned your companions’ souls to you,” she said. “I pray you would forgive me for all the wrong I have done. When you return to the living world, your companions will be returned to their bodies. Your lover has opened my eyes to the folly of my cowardly ways. She will tell you all that has transpired.”

Jonathan opened his mouth, but his surroundings were already beginning to blur before his eyes. He clutched the jar tightly, feeling the turbulent magic tug on his body once more.

“Farewell, Stonekeeper. And Godspeed.”

~ ~ ~

A few hours later, Jonathan was on the verge of zoning out as Anya continued yammering in his ear. Although her soul had only just been returned to her body, she certainly wasn’t lacking in energy. He, on the other hand, only wanted to do one thing right now.

“Anya…” he interrupted her. “I… I’m sorry for everything. You were right, every word of it. I screwed up. Hell, I screwed up my whole life. I could’ve- I should’ve been better, but I’m always running away from everything. I kept pushing you away. I-”

Anya cut him off with a tight hug.

“It is I who should apologise. I was unnecessarily harsh on you, and I hurt you with my words.” Her body was trembling. “But you saved me anyway. You went through so much to get my soul back. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and I only saw your imperfections…”

“I love you, Anya.” Jonathan embraced her tightly.

“I love you too. I’ll never take you for granted again…”

The memories came back to him one by one. Every fight, every time he forced up a wall between them, every hurt look in Anya’s eyes as he turned away from her. If he could just go back and punch his past self for being such a foolish coward, he would. Anya didn’t need his protection. It was he who wanted to protect himself from heartbreak.

“Uh… not to break up a tender moment, but what just happened?”

Jonathan let go of Anya slowly and turned to the teenager walking into the medical bay.

“I’ve found the Ghost Of Glasgow, and I’m going to confront her,” he said behind gritted teeth. “She’s going to pay for all her crimes.”

“Really?” Angus raised an eyebrow sceptically. “Who is she?”

“Morevia Wright, a vampire. I know where she lives.”

Anya tugged at his hand. “Are you sure? I really can’t fathom why she would kill her own sister and bury the body in her own backyard.”

“What proof do you have?” Angus folded his arms.

“We saw her kill Natasha, Baba Yaga’s disciple,” Lucy answered for him. “With our own eyes, might I add. Morevia Wright has been using her hypnosis on her every day so that she doesn’t spill any secrets. She killed her to silence her permanently when she found out about our visit.”

“There was enough residual dark magic in the air to recreate the crime scene,” Jonathan added. “If nothing else, Morevia is responsible for the death of at least one person. I trust I don’t need your permission to apprehend her?”

Angus shrugged. “Just try not to kill her. We still have questions for her.”

Jonathan nodded and turned towards the door. He felt a soft hand hold his arm gently.

“Be careful, will you?” Anya whispered, sounding almost like she was pleading with him. The man gave her a gentle smile.

“I will. I promise.”