He had very few choices right now, and Gabriel hated every single one of them. He didn’t have enough time to think this through either, so he bit the bullet and went with the only thing that made sense. He wouldn’t risk snapping and hurting his friends, and neither did he trust them to deal with him when the time came. A little voice in his head told him he wouldn’t be able to beat Donovan, not without making a huge sacrifice, and Gabriel was relieved to know it wasn’t Donovan’s voice invading his mind. Just his own waning humanity.
The question was whether the extensive kit he kept in his trunk would be enough for this suicide mission, or would he need to add a few extra bottles of holy water and a spare crossbow just for good measure?
Gabriel decided to go ahead and grab a tote bag from the coat closet by his front door and load up what he could. It wouldn’t hurt. There was no such thing as being too prepared. He was halfway towards his weapons cabinet in the living room when the knock at the door took him by surprise.
Louise. He could smell her perfume.
“Yeah?” Gabriel shouted towards the door, rushing towards his cabinet and doing his best to open it as quietly as possible. He had to toss the tote aside and slam the cabinet door behind him when Louise decided she’d just let herself in anyway.
“Hey, I brought Chinese.” She smiled at him, holding up the little takeout boxes, “thought you might be hungry.”
“Chinese?” Gabriel spun about, clasping his hands behind his back and leaning against the cabinet, “right, yeah. Sounds good. Where’s Lee?”
“He went to go get gas, we were almost on empty.”
Gabriel took a few boxes from Louise and headed into his small kitchen to set them down, “left you here without any weapons?” He snarked, peering out at her through the kitchen doorway.
She stepped inside, “nah, I have my gun on me.” She held her coat open so he could see the small pistol underneath.
“So you think that’ll be good enough? Keep you safe?” He joked, stepping closer to her and taking the rest of the food from Louise’s hands, fingers brushing hers in the process. Beneath the scent of perfume and greasy chinese noodles, he noticed something far more appealing.
She scowled, “safe from what?”
Gabriel met her eyes with his own, visually tracing the trails of freckles on her cheeks, the curve of her jaw, and finally the faint, oh so faint hint of what he could almost see beneath her skin. Pulsing. Racing.
“Sh--I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He stepped back, pushing the food back into her hands and spinning away from her. “You should probably just stay outside.”
“Gabe? What’s wrong?” She took a step forward, “you can talk to me.”
“No,” he almost snarled, honestly surprised at himself how vicious the word sounded coming out of his mouth, “no. I can’t. I can’t talk to you, Louise. I can’t talk to anyone right now. Just leave me alone for awhile, alright?”
She took a step back, “alright, I’ll be outside if you need anything.” Her voice was soft, she sounded worried and it almost made him feel a little guilty.
“I’m sorry,” he said, one more time. Jesus Christ, he’d almost--he’d been thinking about--god, this was bad.
He took a deep breath, letting it out very slowly, “wait, don’t go.” Gabriel turned back to face her just as she was about to head towards the door, “I just need a smoke break. Get the plates ready, and maybe I’ll feel a little better in a few minutes. I didn’t mean to freak out. It’s the stress, you know?”
“Alright, but Gabe, we’re here for you.” She kept a bit of distance, heading into the kitchen, “don’t be gone long, food is going to get cold.”
“I’ll make it a quick one,” he promised, digging into his jeans pocket to make sure he still had his car keys. “Thanks for being here for me, Louise.”
She nodded, “anytime.”
Gabriel did not take a smoke break. Nor did he get the chance to grab his tote bag before he left, either. He didn’t have much time, whether it was because Lee would be back from the gas station any minute now, or Louise would get suspicious after his smoke break outside hit the half hour mark. He’d just have to use what he had in his car trunk, and hope it was enough.
If worse came to worse, his friends would be safe. Gabriel had been too young to save his parents, and too weak to save Lisa, but this time it would be different. It had to be.
----------------------------------------
Somehow, Gabriel had imagined he’d be dead by now. Whether by his own hands, or Donovan’s, because he couldn’t honestly believe any of that bullshit the vampire had been telling him about patience and bonds. A monster was a monster, he told himself, flipping through a book he’d chosen at random from one of the freshly-dusted shelves in Ruben’s, or Donovan’s library.
Nobody was home. So at this point in time, his ‘siege on the castle’ felt a little lackluster. Still, he could wait. Gabriel had all night. He also had a Greek book about flowers to keep him company. At least, that’s what it looked like. A few more pages in, though, the illustrations started to look a lot more human-like. Why did he honestly think there’d be any normal books here?
He shifted on his feet, using his free hand to re-adjust the strap of his canvas messenger bag. Not exactly intimidating, but functional. Everything he needed was inside, including several bottles of holy water, which had actually felt hot to the touch when he’d packed it. Gabriel had to actually force himself not to leave it in the trunk. Like he was physically compelled to stay as far from the holy water as physically possible. He’d even had to wrap a crucifix in rags before packing it too, though god only knew how he’d be able to wield the damn thing.
This was a bad idea. This whole thing. No, worse, it was a terrible idea. Gabriel quickly replaced the book on the shelf the very second it looked like one of the drawings was actually staring back at him with its beady, glassy little eyes. He should’ve waited in the cellar, or the dining room, or anywhere else with considerably less creepy shit than the library. There had to be one room in the house without signs of the Collector’s occult obsession and Donovan’s general--well, whatever it was about him that made Gabriel feel actual guilt about planning to stake him. The longer he was here, the less conviction he had about the whole plan, but he had to do it. Couldn’t back out now. Do or die.
It would be an understatement to say he was pissed off at himself for this new sense of cowardice he’d developed. It was a lot easier to call himself a coward than a bloodsucker’s plaything. At least he had control over the former.
Gentle fingers slid through the hair at the nape of his neck, “hello, Gabriel.” Donovan. How had he not felt him? Heard him?
Gabriel spun around, fists at the ready as he backed away several feet, eyes trained on the bastard responsible for the mess he was in, “when did you get here?” He demanded to know, feeling like an idiot for being caught off guard so easily. Even more astonishing, Donovan looked younger, by at least five years. He looked almost as young as Danny now. Like Dorian Gray, a living portrait of innocence, save for his cold, intelligent eyes.
Donovan smiled and although it was welcoming there was a vicious edge to it, “not long ago, I felt that you were here and thought a surprise was in order. How are you feeling?” He sat down in an elegant high-back chair, as though there wasn't a heavily armed hunter standing before him.
Gabriel kept his gaze trained on a spot just above Donovan’s right shoulder, determined not to make eye contact as one of his hands edged towards the opening of his canvas bag, “I’ve been better.”
“I'm sorry to hear that, please, sit, relax for at least a moment and we can have a civilized conversation without resorting to violence.” He motioned toward a comfortable looking wingback chair beside him.
“Okay, how about this,” Gabriel began, straightening up and forcing himself not to give in to Donovan’s deceptively pleasant invitation, “I sit down, you fall on one of my stakes, and we call it a night?” He made it a point to keep his own tone just as conversational.
Donovan laughed softly, “ahh, no, I'm afraid that just isn't on my agenda for the night. I was hoping we could have a conversation about the future. Our future.”
Gabriel had his hand in his bag now, gripping one of the stakes tightly, “it’s going to be a short one.”
Donovan snapped his fingers, eyes locked on Gabriel. In an instant Gabe felt a hand wrap around his wrist, but the vampire hadn't moved, eyes still locked on him.
“Please, Gabriel, sit, I insist.”
Not for the first time that evening, Gabriel’s heart plummeted into the pit of his stomach, and he slowly drew his gaze away from Donovan to see who was holding him.
“Lee? What the hell are you doing?!” The other hunter gripping Gabriel’s wrist had an empty look in his eyes, and didn’t so much as blink. He looked like he might as well be a brain-dead zombie.
“What did you do to him?” Gabriel looked towards Donovan, finally feeling the righteous anger he’d been trying to drum up against the vampire take center stage in his mind above the compulsion to actively submit to whatever the mother fucker asked for.
“I have him under thrall, he will obey me without question,” he paused, “now, sit, or perhaps you need a demonstration as to how far my control over him goes?”
Stolen novel; please report.
It then occurred to Gabriel, that maybe, just maybe, he didn’t have a chance in hell of winning this fight.
“Will you let him go if I do?” He asked, drawing his hand out of his bag once Lee finally released his wrist. He had a surprisingly strong grip for someone with little to no mental willpower right now.
“Perhaps after we enjoy a pleasant conversation I might be inclined to release him. We shall have to see. It is all contingent upon what you do.” He motioned to the chair again.
He couldn’t give up, and he wouldn’t, but right now Gabriel didn’t have any cards to bet with, so reluctantly he finally took a seat beside Donovan, making it a point to clutch his bag tightly in his lap, just in case. “He isn’t a part of this. How did you get to him?”
“By chance, he came to seek out information, read the book and I was there to show him the exact nature of blood and its effects on humans.” Donovan’s voice was conversational, as though everything was fine and normal.
So Todd wasn’t just trying to make Lee look bad when they’d come back from their visit here the other day. That was something of a relief, but getting Lee out of here and safe from Donovan’s influence would be a challenge.
“You force fed him?” Gabriel questioned, looking back over at his mesmerized friend.
“Yes, a mouthful of my blood and he gave in, just as everyone does in the end. Blood is a powerful thing, Gabriel. Would you like to know exactly how this happened?” His voice was soft, calm, “how my blood got into you.”
He cringed, “if we’re going to have a tea party, and I’m not slicing your head off tonight, you’re going to have to avoid phrases like that.”
He cocked his head slightly to the side, “like what? I would like to know what makes you uncomfortable.”
“You--seriously, man?” Gabriel got a little flustered, “how can you not realize how creepy it is to talk about your blood ‘getting into me’, like we were playing some sort of kinky sex game?”
“It's nothing to be ashamed of, my blood was in the bottle of wine you drank. You did me a great service when you consumed it,” he ran his fingers along the arm of his chair as he spoke, “I must thank you for that, the situation I was in was, unpleasant, to say the least.”
Gabriel didn’t even realize he was watching Donovan’s fingers, like a fly approaching a spider’s web, “situation?” He asked absent-mindedly, suddenly feeling much calmer now that he’d sat down.
“Yes, I was trapped in an endless sleep, the activation of your virus by my blood created a link between us that allowed me to regain consciousness. I have since been recovering from my long sleep,” he smiled, watching Gabriel watch his fingers, “I've finally been fully restored, it is quite an ordeal to come back from decades of starvation.”
Despite himself, Gabriel was curious, and he finally managed to tear his eyes away from Donovan’s fingers to look back up at him, still careful to avoid meeting his gaze, “you can do that? Sleep without drinking blood for years?” That was not something he’d learned from any of his hunting. It had always seemed to be a given that without blood, vampires just snapped, went crazy. He’d never heard of one taking a long nap instead.
“It was not willing, my sleep was forced by those who did not approve of how I was running my city. I put restrictions on feeding, on killing, and on creating others, I exiled those who went against those rules and they retaliated. Going without drinking blood makes one lose their senses, they become slaves to the beast inside them. I was fortunate to maintain my sanity while in my forced sleep.”
He’d take this story with a grain of salt, but for now, Gabriel didn’t really think Donovan was lying to him. Why would he? Clearly, the man had nothing to lose at the moment. They were in his home, Lee was at his mercy, and unless Gabriel could somehow catch him off guard (which was growing more and more unlikely), there was simply no point.
“So you don’t like killing people?” Gabriel asked, a little confused.
“I wouldn't go so far as to say that. I kill out of necessity, it isn't much different from killing a cow. I gain no pleasure from it although it can be enjoyable, much like how a good piece of meat is enjoyable to consume.”
“Of course,” Gabriel said, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, “so, how did your blood end up in the wine bottle I drank, and what’s it going to take to get you to let Lee go?”
“Blood in wine is an old practice, blood gives insight into a person. Sometimes it is given as a gift, I had one stored just in case I needed an appropriate gift. As for letting Lee go, well, it is a simple matter, you and I will share blood, willingly and without struggle, then I will let him go and you may take him home.”
Gabriel was disturbed at how appealing that idea seemed, given that the very last thing he should want was even more vampire blood to dig even deeper into the abyss he was already falling into. “Share? As in--you drink-”
“I drink from you and you from me.” He explained calmly.
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” Gabriel was sure he had to have gone several shades paler at this point. If he drank the vampire’s blood again, who knew what would happen? He’d already spent too much of his life being fed on and it was not an experience he wanted to relive.
“I am a man of my word, I swear to you that Lee will be released. Have I given you any reason not to trust me? Have I broken a promise to you?”
Gabriel shook his head, “maybe not, but you’re a vampire and we’re hunters. You’ve already gotten into my head. Fucked with it. For all I know, you’re the reason I almost attacked Louise tonight.”
He looked genuinely surprised, “oh? I had no idea. I was giving you some space, allowing you to think things through and come to terms with your situation. Had I known, I would have prevented you, however, it seems as though you were strong enough on your own to resist.”
The revelation that he himself was to blame for wanting to hurt Louise was far more upsetting than the idea that Donovan could have been controlling him, pushing Gabriel to kill. He felt tainted, like a monster who had only needed an excuse to harm Louise before giving in and ripping her throat out.
“If we do it, will I become more like you?” Gabriel asked, looking over at Lee. It was eery to watch him, devoid of thought, expressionless.
“It will make things easier, if that is the question,” came the reply, his fingers finally ceasing their movement on the arm of the chair, “but I'm not sure what you mean by more like me.”
“Less--” Gabriel hesitated to say the word, looking back at Donovan and actively forcing himself not to focus on Lee’s creepy, oblivious stare, “--human.”
“I suppose it will, however it is your choice what you hold on to. Now, do you agree?”
It was a Faustian bargain, cracking the door to Hell open even wider if he did this, but the price of refusing was too steep. Gabriel couldn’t trade Lee’s life for his own, especially knowing that pretty soon he’d be facing the business end of a stake if Chuck followed through on his responsibility when he finally snapped.
“Okay.” The hunter finally accepted, “I agree.”
Donovan smiled, getting smoothly to his feet and moving to stand in front of Gabriel, before offering him his wrist, “drink.”
Gabriel closed his eyes and took a deep breath to hopefully calm his own thrumming pulse. Just the promise of blood made him feel like his heart was going to leap out of his chest, “tell him to leave the room first. I don’t want him to see this.”
Donovan nodded, motioning to Lee who immediately turned and walked out of the library, “better?”
“Yeah,” Gabriel replied, opening his eyes and looking towards the doorway doubtfully, “how much of this is he going to remember?” He knew his friend well enough that Lee would kill himself with guilt about the whole mess. After all, Lee was Donovan’s biggest trump card right now.
“Nothing that I don't want him to. It will be nothing more than a dream, quickly forgotten.”
Gabriel could only wish he was that lucky.
Slowly, hesitantly, Gabriel reached towards Donovan’s proffered arm, “wouldn’t this be better if you put the blood in a glass first?” His gums were throbbing now, as a strange but unforgotten pressure began to build up in his mouth. When he was a kid, imprisoned by the monster who’d killed his parents, he had been starved for days. There had been a point when he’d spent hours fighting the urge to tear into Lisa, or one of the other few victims who hadn’t been blessed by the ‘gift’ of vampire blood. There was no other feeling in the world quite like the feeling of his teeth actually shifting in his mouth to make room for fangs. It was painful, but even more, it was exhilarating.
“No, this will be done properly, drink.” His wrist was warm in Gabriel’s grasp. It wouldn’t take much to tear open the skin. Just a simple nip. A bite. He wouldn’t drink much, just enough to curb the worst of his hunger right now. A swallow or two.
Donovan waited patiently, watching him intently, “drink.” the word came out as a whisper, barely audible. How could something so simple as one word carry so much power?
The half-realized monster inside Gabriel rejoiced when he tore into Donovan’s wrist, grew stronger as he drank, and fought him viciously when he tried to pull away. It was so much better to drink from the source. So much more satisfying. Donovan’s fingers ran fleetingly through his hair before he pulled away. Slowly, he drew the half-turned man to his feet, taking the moment while he was dazed and pliant from drinking to bring him closer. His lips lightly touched Gabriel’s throat before they parted and razor sharp fangs sat poised against his skin.
The sensation of Donovan’s teeth at his throat brought Gabriel back to a cold basement, surrounded by dirty, weeping children, and memories of thin nails digging into his shoulders, gaping wounds being opened again and again on his arms and legs--the thoughts were so stark, so real, that the temporary bliss of drinking Donovan’s blood was shattered, and Gabriel lashed out, swinging his fists. Astonishingly enough, Donovan wasn't surprised, the vampire acting quickly and pulling away, his hands wrapped around his wrists like iron, pulling them harmlessly down.
“Shh, it's alright,” he transferred Gabriel’s wrists to one hand, his now free one moving up and running through his hair, “this isn't like it was before, I promise.”
“Don’t,” Gabriel pleaded, “just don’t. I already drank from you, isn’t that enough?” He couldn’t do this. It was too much. Too much pain. He’d spent more than half of his life hunting vampires, he couldn’t handle being a chew toy again. He wouldn’t.
“It will only hurt for a moment, I promise,” his voice was soft as he slowly pulled him closer, moving carefully to press his lips against his throat again, “it’s alright.” He didn't wait a second longer, his fangs sliding smoothly into his flesh.
There was pain. Intense. Sharp. Yet it was nothing compared to how Gabriel remembered it. He didn’t feel his strength waning, or the deep burn through his muscles and bones like he’d expected. Instead, it seemed as if the pain was fading, washed away by something else. Almost--nice. The moment he relaxed, Donovan released his wrists, taking slow drinks from his throat. By the time all was said and done, Gabriel hardly realized he’d been digging his fingers into Donovan’s shoulders.
Everything around them seemed to slow down. Gabriel could even feel his heartbeat growing almost sluggish, and it was so tempting to just go to sleep. Slowly, Donovan pulled away, running his tongue over the wounds he left, catching the last drops of blood. If Gabriel had a mirror poised towards his throat, he’d have seen the bite marks clotting far quicker than they should have. Within hours, there would only be two small pink scars.
“Lee has been released.” Donovan’s voice was quiet, as though he didn’t want to break the spell they were under.
“Thanks,” Gabriel replied, not really sure what else to say. A death threat at the moment seemed a little out of place, given that his hands were still on Donovan’s shoulders, though he immediately pulled away when he realised that sobering fact.
“I will be here when you're ready and I promise I will keep a better eye on you should any problems arise.”
Gabriel tucked his hands into his jacket pockets, not sure what else to do with them, and wanting to give himself an easy way to distance himself from the vampire without calling attention to the weird intimacy they’d just exchanged.
“I’m…” he trailed off, helpless to come up with the right words, knowing now without a doubt he didn’t just have the option of sneaking up on Donovan, or staking him. “I’m not giving up on this.”
“I wouldn't expect you to, I look forward to the challenge.”
Briefly, Gabriel wondered exactly how he was going to explain to Lee why they were in the Collector’s house, especially given the fact that he’d left the book back on his kitchen table under the chinese food.