Of Darkness & Light: Blood Descent Book 2

by T. L. McDonald

  Unwanted memories slam through my mind. Seth leading me to a private room where I find Ben and Liv on the sofa, his mouth to her throat, her blood running over it. Seth telling me I should have listened to his warning, and then attacking me, where I fight and I fight, but in the end, I lose.

  “Of course I haven’t forgotten.” I swallow hard and drop my hand from my throat, where phantom fangs dredged up from my worst nightmares had been gnashing and ripping into my flesh. “But it doesn’t change the fact that he’s human now, and you are not a murderer. Please, don’t become one, now.”

  The muscles of his jaw twitch, and he pierces me with a hard gaze. “I watched you die in my arms, Indi. Even if it was only for a few minutes, you were dead. This bastard needs to pay for it. Becoming human again shouldn’t give him a free pass on all the horrendous things he’s done.”

  “I know, and it won’t. I agree he should pay for his crimes. Just not like this.”

  “Then he better start talking.” Holding Seth up with one hand, Sebastian smacks him across the face. “I’m still waiting on your answer. How are you human?”

  Seth’s eyes open a crack, slivers of dark brown shifting in my direction. “Indi.”

  “Don’t look to her for help. Don’t look at her at all. After what you did, if I ever see you look at her again, I’ll rip your eyes out myself. You got that?” Sebastian jerks him up until their faces are so close it makes me cross-eyed. “You got that?” He shoves him back and Seth clenches his jaw at the sudden movements.

  “Indi is why I’m human,” Seth grinds out. “She’s a cure.”

  2

  I wrap my arms around the chains of the swing as I watch Sebastian walk the two men escorting Seth to a navy blue van parked along the curb. A third person slides open the side door from the inside, then helps Seth into a seat before examining his wound. She ties her hot pink hair back in a low ponytail and says something I can’t hear to Sebastian. He nods, and she pulls out a small vial with a dropper from a bag at her feet.

  One of the men cuts Seth’s shirt open, draping the pieces to the side and exposing the gaping hole under his shoulder. A stream of blood continues to run down over his chest, gathering at the waist of his jeans. The girl, who can’t be much older than me, leans forward, angling the dropper over his wound. Before I can see what happens next, Sebastian closes the door. He pounds the side of his fist against the van twice, then watches it pull away before turning back toward the park.

  He takes the swing beside mine. “Are you okay?” He examines every inch of me, taking in the dirt and grass stains covering my clothes and hands where I’d tripped and fell when Seth had been chasing me. Finding no major wounds, he takes my hand and holds it between his. “I’m sorry I didn’t think to ask earlier. Everything was happening so fast. I got your text, and I felt…” He rubs the center of his chest with the palm of his hand, a myriad of emotions playing over his face so fast it’s hard to distinguish one from another. “And when I got here, I saw you, and I saw Seth, and all I could think about was making sure he could never hurt you again.”

  “It’s okay. I’m okay. Or okay-ish, anyway. I’m just glad you got here when you did. If Seth had still been a vampire…” I shudder at the thought of what would have happened. I may be training to defend myself, but if Seth had still had fangs… “Actually, you know what? I’m not okay-ish. I’m freaking out. If what Seth says is true, if I am a cure, what’s to stop all the vampires from coming after me? My whole life will be spent on the run. There won’t be any place that’s safe. No matter what I do, I’ll always have some kind of target on my back. Unless maybe… Unless maybe I tell…”

  Gah. I can’t even bring myself to say it out loud. Just the thought of it has me biting my lip in the hopes the sting will be enough to hold back the tears bombarding my ducts.

  But things are getting out of hand. Seth a human, me a cure—it’s a lot to handle, and I don’t know if I can keep it all a secret anymore.

  I’m going to have to tell Uncle Caleb and Aunt Claudia what’s going on, and once I do, I know what’ll happen. They’ll do exactly what they’ve threatened. They’ll erase me, with or without my permission—because I’m sure they’ll find a way—and they’ll cast spells on me, and they’ll move me to some place they think is safe… and maybe they should. Maybe it’ll be for the best. Maybe this time I’ll really stay hidden and I won’t be putting everyone around me in danger.

  Filled to the brim, my tears finally fall, each one taking bits and pieces of all the hope I’d built up in thinking I could be strong enough to stand on my own with it. I watch them fall until they shatter on the ground at my feet. Life at seventeen isn’t supposed to be this hard. I’m supposed to be going to parties and hanging out with my friends on the weekends. Stressing over maintaining my 4.0 GPA or freaking out over taking the drivers exam for a fourth time. Not worrying about being some impossible cure to vampirism or wondering when the next bloodsucking fiend, dark witch, or the still yet-to-attack angelic bounty hunters are going to jump out from the shadows to strike me down.

  “I don’t want to say goodbye.” It comes out so softly I’m not sure if I really said it out loud or not, but the words hold true all the same. I don’t want to say goodbye to the life I have here, to my friends, or to knowing who I truly am—even if it’s scary as hell sometimes.

  I glance over at Sebastian, already feeling my lungs constrict at the thought of never seeing him again. I don’t want to say goodbye to him. I don’t want to forget him or the way I feel when he’s by my side. Whether those feelings are derived from the connection we share from my bringing him back from the brink of death or not—I don’t know. What I do know is he’s become important to me on a fundamental level, a part of me I never knew was missing. To have him erased from my memories would leave me hollow. My mind would be made to forget he existed, but I’ve no doubt my heart would always feel the loss.

  “Then don’t.” Grabbing hold of my knees, Sebastian twists me around so we’re face to face. “No one knows what you are yet—other than a few select people. None of which will talk. Trust me.”

  A heavy dose of yeah right fills my chest. There is no way something like this will stay a secret. How could it? I mean, hell, even Ludvikas already knew about it and sent his lackeys to kill me before I even discovered what I was. It’s like the whole world knows more about me than I do. How am I supposed to keep up? How am I supposed to stay ahead when I’m so far behind?

  Hooking a finger under my chin, Sebastian lifts my face until our eyes meet. “Don’t give up on me now, Indi. I promise those who know about you won’t say a thing and here’s why.” He holds up a hand, ticking off his reasons. “One, Ludvikas won’t utter a word of your secret because if he did, he would be giving up too much power and there is no way a megalomaniac like him would ever take that chance. Two, Seth won’t dare say a thing to anyone because if he even thinks about opening his mouth, I’ll rip his tongue out. Not to mention, he’s got just as much to lose now as you do if it ever got out he’s been turned back into a human again.

  “And then there’s three, you and me. And neither one of us has to say a thing if you don’t want to. We can keep quiet and go on like nothing has changed until we know for sure if it has. Then we can figure out what to do from there, even if it means telling your aunt and uncle. I know you’re afraid they’ll take away your memories and suppress your magic again, but you’re a strong, capable nephilim-witch hybrid, Indi. Your potential is astronomical. Don’t ever let anyone take away who you are or tell you you’re too weak to fight for what you want. Not your aunt and uncle, and especially not you.”

  There’s so much conviction held in his eyes, it lights a spark of hope I thought was lost amongst my tears. It blazes and swirls within my chest, feeding all my anger and determination until my whole body feels electrified by it because he’s right. I am strong and capable, and I don’t have to go down without a fight. So I won’t.

  As if mirrorin
g my own internal turmoil, the wind picks up speed. It whips through my hair, blowing strands all around my face, while the air becomes crisp and fresh the only way it does right before a storm.

  “You’re right,” I say. “Since my life got turned upside-down, I’ve wanted nothing more than to stand on my own two feet and defend myself against whatever comes after me. I can’t give up now just because of what Seth said. As hard as things will no doubt become, I won’t let myself be the weak, scared little girl who relies on everybody else to take care of her. With you training me, and my cousins teaching me to harness my magic, I’ll become a badass who can protect herself while my family stays safe. They’ve already sacrificed enough for me. My mom when she gave her life, and my aunt and uncle when they put their own security on the line to keep me hidden the past eleven years. It’s my turn to protect myself, and them.”

  Even if one day it’s from me, I think, unable to let go of my will I or won’t I one day develop bloodsucking vampire traits.

  A crack of thunder rolls across the sky just as a bolt of lightning illuminates the space behind Sebastian and me in a blinding, brilliant white light.

  “Sh—” The rest of his word drowns in the sound of a tree splitting in two. He flinches at the sight of it crashing down for all of a second before he’s yanking me to my feet and dragging me several feet away. He crushes me against him just as the ground trembles beneath our feet. His heart pounds so hard within his chest, I can feel it beating through the leather of his jacket. “Maybe we should work on your magic first.”

  Laughter bubbles up from deep within my belly until I’m laughing so hard it hurts. “I think you’re right,” I say when I finally catch my breath.

  A drop of rain splashes onto my cheek, startling me into looking upward at the clouds gathered above. Sebastian really does have a point. If I can’t keep my emotions in check and stop creating storms every time I get angry, frustrated, or overwhelmed, the city is going to be crawling with meteorologists trying to figure out why we’re having such weird weather patterns.

  The warmth of Sebastian’s touch has my gaze lowering back down as he wipes away the raindrop from my face with the edge of his thumb. “You’re scary-powerful sometimes, you know that?” His eyes lower a fraction. “It’s kind of hot.” He flashes a smile. “In a terrifying kind of way.”

  “And that’s with Aunt Claudia’s suppression spell still working its way through my system,” I say as a different set of emotions kick the butterflies swarming my gut into high gear with the way he’s gazing at me. Despite my insecurities behind his motives in the beginning, Sebastian has only ever looked at me with total acceptance of whom I am without trying to coddle or hide me away in some corner to protect me from the big bad world. He sees me for who I can be and not some weak girl who could never stand on her own. I love that about him.

  He tucks a lock of unruly auburn curls behind my ear, his fingertips softly grazing the sensitive skin along the side of my neck. Goose bumps race over every inch of me, and I move a little closer, the heat of his body mingling with mine as I stare up at him. I might question our connection, and I might fight against it sometimes, but it’s moments like this when he’s looking at me like I’m the only person in the world, that I know. I’ve got it bad for a hundred million reasons that have nothing to do with what initially drew us together.

  He traces the curve of my smile, his eyes flicking to mine. “What are you thinking about?”

  “You.” Stepping closer, I rise and bring my lips to his just as the rain breaks free from the clouds above. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me closer, his fingers tangling in my dampening hair until they come to rest at the back of my neck. I wish more than anything I could spend the rest of my Saturday wrapped up in his kisses without a care in the world. But my life isn’t that simple anymore. Not when I’ve got supernatural beings hunting me down, a cure for vampirism running through my veins to learn about, a reversal spell to get so Evan can have his rightful feelings back, and a convincing speech to come up with to keep Jack and Liv from going straight to Aunt Claudia and Uncle Caleb when I tell them about Seth.

  “We should go.” I pull away, resigned to face my complicated life.

  Sebastian tightens his hold, locking me within his arms. “Not yet.” His soft lips brush over mine once more, enticing me to stay right where I am. “I say we pretend we’re in a bubble and the rest of the world doesn’t exist for a few minutes longer.”

  “Fine by me.” Snuggling into his arms, I breathe him in. He smells like pine trees and cinnamon. An odd combination, maybe, but on him it’s perfect. Hoping for contentment, no matter how brief, I lock my arms around his lower back as the rain pours over us. If only it could wash all my problems away.

  “What’s going to happen to Seth?”

  “We’re in a bubble, remember? No outside world for the next three minutes.”

  I smile, wishing it were that easy to turn my brain off, but questions keep forming despite my efforts. It’s impossible to relax—even for three minutes—when the rug’s been yanked out from under my feet again with Seth’s revelations and all the possible fallouts it can bring.

  “If nobody else except me, you, Seth, and Ludvikas knows about me being a vampire cure, then what did you tell the chasers who picked Seth up? And what about the other chasers at the center? Aren’t they going to ask questions?” The thought of others finding out about me has tiny ants of insecurity crawling beneath my skin. What if they’ll want to experiment on me to find out what makes me a cure? What if they throw me in an all white room, and my days are spent staring at the colorless walls as faceless doctors take my blood, hook electrodes to my head, and study my every thought and move before deciding to cut me open to examine my insides?

  A shiver creeps down my back as I imagine being strapped to a table, my chest cracked open for all the world to see.

  Sebastian, apparently thinking my shiver has to do with the cold, hugs me tighter and tugs his jacket around my arms until I’m cocooned in his warmth. “I told them he’s a rapture junkie who tried to save his vampire consort from taking a stake to the heart. It isn’t the first time we’ve brought in junkies. No one will ask questions. No one will find out about you. Your secret is safe.”

  “What will they do with him once they bring him into the center?”

  “He’ll be thrown into an interrogation room, where he’ll wait until I get there to question him.”

  I nod, feeling a teeny, tiny bit better about the situation. At least no one else will be questioning him.

  Without letting go, Sebastian steps back just enough for our eyes to meet. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. No one needs to know your secret until you’re ready.” He stares at me like he’s waiting for an answer, so I nod. He returns the gesture, then takes my hand. “Come on, I’ll take you home to change into some dry clothes before we head to the center and have a talk with our former neighborhood vampire.”

  My stomach does a flip, stirring up whatever contents are in there into a nauseating slosh not only at the thought of facing Seth again, but also because I’m now a living, breathing vampire cure who will be walking into a facility full of hunters. I’d finally just gotten comfortable being there after Sebastian told Chester I wasn’t actually Ana Grace from London, like he had me pretend to be during my first venture there, since, technically, outsiders aren’t allowed. But because Sebastian broke protocol and is now training me, they’ve offered me the choice of becoming a chaser too. But now—now I don’t know if I’ll never feel comfortable going there again.

  Maybe I’m destined to always be an outsider, never truly fitting in anywhere.

  And maybe that’s okay. Maybe I don’t have to fit in anywhere. It’s probably safer I don’t anyhow, especially now that I know I’m a cure for vampirism, because if others knew—like the chasers—they’d probably go right to exploiting my abilities for their own purposes. What better way to take down hordes of the living de
ad than having a cure at your disposal? Once it’s discovered how exactly the cure is administered, that is.

  Thoughts of being experimented on and tortured fill my mind again without restraint, sending chills down my back. If TV shows and movies are to be believed, it never goes well for people like me who are different. There is always someone out there who wants to use whatever special ability we have for their own purposes—or they just want to wipe us out. And as far as I know, I am the only being in existence who’s part elemental witch and part angel of death with potential vampire traits thrown into the mix, who also happens to be a cure for vampirism. What if the chasers—providing they find this out about me—lock me up, take what they need to manufacture a cure, and then determine I need to be eliminated because, like the angels, they think I’m too powerful?

  Sebastian nudges me with his shoulder. “You okay? You’ve got this weird, fearful look on your face.”

  I know I can trust Sebastian wholeheartedly, but everyone else at the center… them, I don’t know about. I’m sure my fears are ridiculous, but they’re still my fears, and I don’t want to put any thoughts into Sebastian’s head to make him question the people he works with. “I’m fine.”

  He cocks his head, giving me a look that says uh-huh, sure you are. I’m going to have to give him something.

  “I guess I’m just worried about telling my cousins about Seth. Jack is going to hit the roof. I don’t know how I’m going to convince him not to rat me out to my aunt and uncle. I’d consider not telling him or Liv at all, but I swore there wouldn’t be any more secrets between us after I came clean the last time.” Except for the one I’m keeping about Evan, that is. But that secret is small potatoes compared to being a vampire cure, and one I can fix on my own without having to drag my cousins into it. Hopefully. “Besides, if I keep this one and Jack finds out about it, he’ll probably wipe my memory himself before Aunt Claudia and Uncle Caleb ever get the chance. You saw how he reacted the last time I kept him out of the loop.”