Of Darkness & Light: Blood Descent Book 2

by T. L. McDonald

  Maybe he’s still in the shower? I bite my lip as my mind conjures up an image of him standing beneath the spray, the water dripping from the edges of his hair onto his muscled chest, where it then trails down over his toned abs, and...

  Heat flares beneath my skin, and I shake my head free of fantasies. If he were to walk out right now, there’s no way I’d be able to explain my fire engine red cheeks.

  I take a seat on the floor in front of the closed bleachers outside the girls’ locker room and pull out my phone, resigned to scroll through Instagram while I wait. After five minutes pass I start to worry. Sebastian never takes this long. More often than not, he’s the one waiting for me.

  Jogging across the floor, I stop just outside the boys’ locker room. Rapping my knuckles against the door, I pull it open a fraction. Silence greets me. “Sebastian?” I wait a beat. “Are you in there?”

  No answer.

  “I’m coming in. Hope you’re decent.” Opening the door further, I slip inside and poke my head around the corner. Steam hangs in the air, giving everything a hazy, humid feel. How hot does he like his showers? It’s like a sauna in here. Turning to the left, I approach the first section of lockers and find the row empty. I check the next row and then the next, but he’s not here.

  A heavy dose of unease sets up shop in the pit of my stomach. Even more so when I leave the locker room to find all the lights in the gymnasium have been turned off. The illumination of outside streetlamps filter in through the windows, casting everything in harsh shadows.

  I pull my phone from the front pocket of my backpack with a trembling hand.

  ~Where are you? I text.

  ~If this is some kind of test, I swear I’m going to murder you.

  Three little dots pop up on my screen.

  BANG!

  I jump back so fast I trip over my own feet and land on my rear hard enough to put another crack in it, just as my phone hits the floor facedown and skitters out of my hand. Coming to a stop several feet away, the screen lights up against the floor, followed by the chime of an incoming text message.

  I brace a hand on the floor, wincing when I stand. I rub over my tailbone and head for my phone when I spot a shadow racing toward me from the corner of my eye. I throw out a sidekick, hitting my attacker square in the chest. They hit the ground with a loud thud, and I take the opportunity to move as far away as I can.

  The shadow twitches, then disappears too quickly to be human. Claps ring out just as the metal halide fixtures above pop back on. I whip my head toward the switches and find a boy leaning against the wall.

  “Impressive kick. A few days ago it would have hurt a lot more.”

  Wait.

  I know this guy. His locker is beside mine.

  “Peter?”

  His grin splits, showing a row of white teeth accentuated by a set of elongated fangs. Flicking my gaze from his teeth to his eyes, I watch the dark brown of his irises light from within.

  “You’re a vampire?” I whisper.

  “I am now. No thanks to you,” he spits.

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you. I’m only here like this,” he waves a hand to encompass his body, “because He wants you dead.”

  Sebastian crashes through the gymnasium doors on the other side of the bleachers. He takes one look at Peter and drops the breakfast paraphernalia he must have procured from the cafeteria vending machines onto the floor. He’s in front of me, jerking me behind him with a firm grip over my wrist before the two bottles of chocolate milk have a chance to come to a rest in front of the bleachers.

  The smile on Peter’s face grows while his cold gaze roams over Sebastian. “Chaser. He wants you dead, too.”

  I fist my hand around the back of Sebastian’s shirt as conflicting emotions that aren’t my own slam into my chest—fear, anticipation and an overabundance of confidence. Dropping the fabric clutched in my hand, I find myself smirking.

  “Is that so?” Sebastian asks in an amused tone. His fingers tighten over my wrist when I make to move out from behind him, and just like that, the weird emotions—which I now know were his—are gone, and I’m left to my own feelings.

  “It is. But lucky for you both, I’m not here to kill you.” The glowing rings of Peter’s irises shift from Sebastian to me. “I’m just a friendly face sent to deliver a message. You are to come to Night Life in three days’ time and turn yourself over to Him. If you don’t, other friendly faces like me will kill everyone you love until you do.” He pulls out a phone from his front pocket. He taps over the screen, a sadistic smirk tugging at his mouth. “Starting with this one.”

  He tosses the phone, and Sebastian catches it with ease. With my wrist still locked in his grip, I angle myself to get a better look. A body slouched over and tied to a chair fills the screen. Head lolled to the side, his short blonde hair shimmers red at the edge of his forehead beneath a single light bulb hanging from a string above him. Thick trails of crimson cover the side of his face all the way down to his chin, where it runs over the edge and down his neck onto his white shirt.

  “Evan,” I choke out. Tearing my eyes from the screen, I settle my gaze back onto the vampire across the gymnasium. He watches me with cool malice. My hand fists tighter around Sebastian’s shirt until I’m gripping it so hard I’m probably choking him with it. It was one thing when vampires were attacking me on the street, but to invade my school and kidnap my friends—friends who know nothing of this world? What if they take Taylor or Paige next? What if they kill Evan before I can get to him? What if they kill me before I can even try?

  Peter sniffs the air with closed eyes, then licks his lips. His eyelids open halfway, the glow behind his irises more intense. “You smell so good. I’m sure a little taste wouldn’t hurt.”

  “If you think you’re getting anywhere near her, you’re stupider than you look,” Sebastian growls.

  The gymnasium doors burst open and two more vampires walk in. I know them too. Brian and Tyrone. Peter’s friends.

  The three vampires surround us.

  Sebastian squeezes my wrist. “Use your magic to defend yourself,” he whispers, even though all three vampires likely heard him too.

  Magic. Right. I can use magic.

  But what if I go too far? What if my eyes turn black like they did at the diner? What if I hurt Sebastian?

  “Indi. You can do this,” Sebastian assures me. “Don’t get hung up on fear.”

  “Oh, but do,” Peter chimes in. “Fear makes everything taste so much better.” His tongue slithers out to glide over his bottom lip.

  Peter and Tyrone inch closer, and Sebastian’s fingers dig into my skin. My heart jumps into my throat, my eyes darting everywhere for an escape.

  Sebastian shifts his hold on my wrist and flattens my hand over his backside. He then slides my hand around his hip and coaxes into his front pocket. My eyes widen until I realize what he’s doing and wrap my fingers around the butterfly knife hidden inside. “You can do this, Indi. I have faith in you. Take everything you’re feeling right now and channel it.”

  I barely formulate a response when Sebastian’s hand suddenly rips away from my wrist and another hits me square in the chest with the force of a speeding train. I hold on to the knife for dear life as my butt hits the ground, and I skid halfway across the floor. Rolling onto my side, I cough and gasp, each inhale lodging somewhere in my throat without ever making it to my lungs. I claw at my shirt, every brush of my fingers against my sternum pure agony.

  And then I hear bone snap and pop back into place. Whatever freaky healing powers I have going to work. I suck in a lungful of air and push myself up just in time to see Sebastian body slam into a section of closed bleachers.

  The crack of the wood beneath his back reverberates through the open space of the gymnasium. He crumples to the floor, then staggers to his feet much faster than I ever could. Bracing a hand on the bleachers, he shakes his head.

  Brian and Tyrone approach him with all the confidence i
n the world evident in their swagger, while Peter watches with amusement.

  “Leave him alone!” I scream. All three vampires turn glowing eyes in my direction. Detaching from the other two, Peter saunters my way. I scoot across the floor while Sebastian takes the few precious seconds he’s been awarded to slip a stake out from the inside of his jacket.

  Without hesitation Sebastian charges at the closest vamp, Brian, and shoves the stake straight through his back and out the front. Brian’s eyes widen, his jaw dropping with a gurgled gasp. Sebastian yanks the stake from his body, and with nothing left to hold him up, Brian hits the floor. A pool of blood spreads out beneath him, bright red against shiny yellow.

  I swing my foot out, hooking the toe of my Chucks around the back of Peter’s foot while he’s distracted. His leg flies out from beneath him. He twists in the air with graceful speed, and lands in a crouch. His lip pulls back in a sneer, and before I know what’s happening, he’s jerking me up by my ponytail. He locks an arm around my torso, pinning my arms to my sides, then wrenches my head back to expose my neck. His breath rolls over my skin as he brings his lips to my ear. “Now it’s time for you to watch your friend die.” Releasing my hair, he shoves my head forward.

  Cool relief spreads over my strained muscles only for them to tense right back up as I watch Tyrone’s fangs lengthen. He struts around Sebastian, a sick smile on his face, and deadly intent held in his glowing brown eyes. He splays his fingers out, his nails morphing into sharpened claws.

  Sebastian grins and flexes his fingers in invitation. Without hesitation, Tyrone swipes his clawed hand at Sebastian’s chest. Leaning out of reach, Sebastian twists and hits Tyrone in the side with a spinning hook kick, moving almost as fast as the vampire. Tyrone stumbles a few feet and growls. Lowering his head, he charges like a bull. Sebastian springs into the air and flips over Tyrone’s head. Landing behind him, he kicks back, smashing his foot into the back of Tyrone’s knee, bringing him down.

  In a blur, Tyrone grabs hold of Sebastian’s ankle and pulls his leg out from beneath him. Sebastian hits the floor and Tyrone pounces, his fist slamming into the floor as Sebastian rolls out of the way. Scrambling back to their feet, they dance around each other, Tyrone throwing out attacks and Sebastian anticipating every one he makes. Deflecting another blow, Sebastian dunks and twists under Tyrone’s arm as he sweeps his leg outward. Tyrone hits the floor, and the bloodstained stake in Sebastian’s hand comes down fast. Tyrone rolls at the last second, and the stake smashes into the hard floor, snapping in half.

  Tyrone grabs the back of Sebastian’s leather jacket and yanks him to his feet. Spinning around, he tosses Sebastian back into the bleachers. An audible crack fills the room, and my lungs seize up. Bouncing off the wood, Sebastian lands in a heap and doesn’t move.

  No. No. No.

  This can’t be happening.

  Laughter crawls over my skin as Peter’s lips find their way back to my ear. “Now for the good part.”

  “Not for you.” I swing the butterfly knife open and jam it into Peter’s thigh as magic ignites within me, raw and untamed… and different. The darkness is still there, whispering in the background, but not in seductive overwhelming urges like before. I’m no longer on a cliff with my feet so far over the edge I can’t step back from the darkness below. I can choose to stay in the light.

  Liv’s words whisper over my mind. We all live with this darkness hanging over our heads, but it doesn’t have to define us. We can choose who we are. You are stronger than the darkness. For the first time, I believe it.

  I glance over at Sebastian, hearing his words too. There are two sides to everything. Good and bad, darkness and light. It’s what side you decide to nurture that counts.

  I don’t have to embrace the darkness to save the ones I love. I never had to. I only thought I did, and I suspect now that line of reasoning had more to do with the evil soul-killing spell I was under than me.

  I twist the knife in Peter’s leg, then stomp down on his foot. He screams out, and I grab hold of his arm, still locked around my torso. With a slight turn, I flip him over my hip and onto the floor.

  Peter is back on his feet in an instant. His upper lip pulls back to bare his teeth. He yanks the knife out and tosses it to the floor. “You shouldn’t have done that.” His fangs lengthen, his fingernails sharpening.

  A fireball ignites in my hand, just like it did in Gavin’s secret lair. For half a second, I’m as shocked as he is.

  And then I smile.

  Peter cocks his head, his eyes darting between my face and the fire blazing over my hand. Time seems to slow, and I become hyperaware of every minuscule movement he makes. The twitch of his eye, the curl of his lip, the moment his foot lifts from the ground.

  I throw the fireball at his chest. He swerves so fast it’s like he never moved at all. The fireball hits the door to the girls’ locker room and dies out. I conjure another just as his body slams into mine, and we both hit the floor. Every bit of breath expels from my lungs in one giant huff. He jerks my head to the side and rears back, his fangs on full display. I shove against his chest, but it does little to slow his descent. Fire spreads out from beneath my hands just as the tips of his fangs press into the side of my neck. An earsplitting howl bellows out of his mouth, and he flings himself to the side. As he rolls over the floor to smother the flames, I scoot back and twist around, a second fireball materializing.

  I throw it as hard as I can, hoping it’ll make it to the other side of the gymnasium. It hits Tyrone in the middle of the back, setting his jacket on fire. He slips it off like it’s nothing more than a mere inconvenience and tosses it to the ground, smothering the fire in its folds. Undeterred, he lifts a semi-conscious Sebastian to his feet. I throw two more, hitting Tyrone in the back of the head and behind the knees.

  Fire spreads over the entire back side of his body. An agonizing scream, so loud I have to cover my ears, fills the gymnasium.

  Tyrone shoves Sebastian away and into the bleachers with full force once more before he drops to his knees. The flames eat away at his clothes and flesh, filling the air with a sickening scent. In a flash of blurring colors, Peter comes to Tyrone’s rescue. He beats at the flames covering Tyrone’s form with his hands until there is nothing but smoke wafting off his charred flesh.

  I dry heave at the sight of Tyrone’s burnt body as an odd mix of justification and guilt at what I did fills my insides. Tyrone might be a bloodsucking vampire who was two seconds away from killing Sebastian, but three days ago he was my ping-pong partner in P.E. Now he’s lying on the floor burnt and one of the living dead, all because of me. Because Ludvikas wanted to send someone I know to deliver a message. It’s not fair. Tyrone didn’t deserve to have this happen to him. And neither did Peter. My eyes shift to the body on the floor, surrounded in a pool of crimson. Neither did Brian.

  Peter’s icy glare penetrates straight through me, bringing my attention back to him. The deep-seated hatred contained within his glowing irises promises retribution. Without a word, he throws Brian’s body over his shoulder, grabs hold of Tyrone, and vanishes out the door.

  I rush to Sebastian’s side. Falling to my knees, I reach for him and hesitate afraid I’ll hurt him if I so much as touch him. “Sebastian,” I choke out around the rising panic clawing through my insides. His eyes flutter and a pain-filled grunt escapes his mouth. It takes everything in me to keep from pulling him into my arms. “Are you okay?” Stupid question. Of course he’s not okay.

  Cradling his arm to his chest, he clenches his jaw around an anguished cry as he pushes himself up into a sitting position one handed and leans against the bleachers. He takes a few deep breaths, then attempts to flex the fingers of the arm he’s favoring. His face pinches in agony. “I think it’s broken,” he grinds between his teeth. He probes at a gash on the side of his head, his fingers coming back covered in blood. “There’s a good chance I have a concussion, too.” He drops his hand in his lap, then reaches for me. “I’m sorry
I wasn’t here. I wasn’t thinking. Are you okay?”

  “I’m okay, but we need to get you to the hospital.”

  He shakes his head and nearly tips over. “No hospital. The healers at the center can fix me up good as new. Damn new vamps. They’re always so much faster and stronger.” He scans over the empty gymnasium. “Where did they go? Did you—”

  “Bleed them dry from every orifice? Send them out of this world in a fiery blaze of hellfire until only smoldering ash remained?” I finish for him, taking it to the darkest place possible because until now, that’s what I would have done. “No. I stabbed Peter in the leg and hit them both with a few fireballs. Tyrone got the worst of it, and Peter scooped him and Brian’s body up and sped away.”

  He nods, and I lean against the bleachers beside him.

  “What do we do about that?” I tip my chin toward the large pool of blood shimmering over the hardwood. “Teachers and students will be arriving soon. I think they’re going to notice.”

  He lifts his gaze to the morning sunlight streaking across the floor. “There’s not enough time for a cleanup crew to get here before school starts, so magic?” He looks at me expectantly.

  “Sorry to burst your bubble, but I haven’t gotten to the disappearing of blood puddles in Magic 101 yet. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.” My shoulders slump. Looks like I’ll get to add the local P.D. to my list of adversaries once I’m thrown into an interrogation room and can’t explain where all the blood came from.

  My first thought is to call my cousins, but I dismiss it before it can even fully form. If I told Jack I was attacked at school…

  “Maybe I can burn it away? I did it before at the diner.” Of course, I was out of my mind with fear and anger and have no idea what exactly I did, but it’s worth a shot, right? It beats spending the rest of the day in a room with a two-way mirror being asked questions I have no answers for.