The Scarlet Dagger (The Red Sector Chronicles, #1)

by Krystle Jones

  “I had hoped your blood would empower mine, making the virus even stronger than it already was,” Orion said. “But I was so, so wrong. I never could have imagined what it would do.”

  I waited. “What? What happened?”

  Something close to awe spread over Orion’s face. “Your blood has the power to destroy the virus. A cure, as it were.”

  “A cure?” I repeated.

  “Quite. My worst fear had been realized – a way for my intricately laid plan to fail. I knew if anyone knew what I was really up to – what you’re blood could do – I would lose an entire year’s worth of hard work. That’s why I sent the poisoned drink.”

  Then his glamour abilities must be as strong as my own.

  I thought of what Orion had said, about the first vampire and our unique attributes. What if the stories were true? What if we really were descended from the ancient vampire king?

  Aden remained perfectly still as Orion walked over to the window, gazing out over the city.

  A city he was about to destroy.

  “Midnight,” Orion sang. He removed a small device from his jacket pocket. “That’s when it will all come to an end. When I press this button, thousands of capsules will launch, filling the air with my perfect poison. And the vermin known as vampires will finally pay for what they did to me.”

  I couldn’t fully blame him for being bitter. His scholarship, his bright future… all of it was gone now. I felt the hatred and rage burning off of him.

  “It doesn’t have to be this way,” I said.

  “Oh, no, Sloane,” he said, turning to look at me. “There is no other way.”

  I shivered – it was the first time he had called me by my name. Something twitched from the corner of my eye. I looked at Angel, now so lifeless she might as well have been a corpse. Aden seemed undisturbed by this. Wasn’t he aware that once the virus was released, he would die, as well?

  I looked at the grandfather clock. It was thirty minutes until midnight.

  “Come, my trusted friend,” Orion said, beckoning Aden forward. “Together, we will watch the dawn of a new era.”

  Aden slowly moved toward Orion.

  I fought against my binds again, wanting to scream. How the hell could Aden just stand by and let this happen? His mother, everyone we knew and had fought for… they would all be dead within a few days if we didn’t stop the virus. And if it somehow reached the surface, then the human race would suffer, as well. I was literally about to the watch the beginning of the end of the world… again.

  Movement caught my eye as Aden reached inside his pocket, slowly removing a gun from his jacket and pointing it at Orion’s head.

  Hope and fear flooded me. While Nero was a monster that deserved to die, he was still my brother.

  Orion looked confused. “What are you doing?”

  The barrel was only a few inches from his forehead. I couldn’t see Aden’s face, though I could hear the malice in his words. “One of your boys dropped this, the night they tried to kill Sloane. I thought you might want it back.”

  Understanding unfolded on Orion’s face, and he smirked. “You’re in love with her.”

  My breath caught in my chest. Could it be true? Had Aden really been looking out for me all along?

  “It’s time I set things right,” Aden said. He cocked the gun, and I gasped.

  Orion. My twin.

  “Wait!” I cried, but it was too late. Aden had already pulled the trigger.

  Chapter 34

  The gunshot rang through the air, and time stopped as I watched the Scarlet Steel bullet sail toward my brother.

  Quicker than Death, Orion dodged, and the bullet shattered the window behind him. Aden swore as Orion flipped back his jacket and drew a Scarlet Steel sword. Orion’s eyes were wild and murderous. “You forget who you’re toying with. I am a god!”

  Aden barely had time to react as Orion swung down hard. Using the gun as a shield, Aden deflected blow after blow, staggering back under the weight of Orion’s fierce attacks.

  I fought to break free, feeling my skin burn against the rope, as Orion kicked out, sending Aden flying into the desk. Aden’s eyes rolled back in his head for a moment while he struggled to his feet, but by then Orion was already upon him. Aden rolled out of the way right as the sword came down, biting into the desk so hard splinters flew through the air.

  I was so focused on the fight that I nearly screamed when a clammy, ice-cold hand clamped down on my wrist.

  “Angel,” I gasped.

  Her cheeks were sunken in, as were her eyes, which were blood red and full of agony. Her skin was so pale it was translucent; I could see the network of blue veins running beneath the surface. Her other hand twitched at the corner of my vision, and my eyes widened. She was clutching a small knife.

  Gritting her teeth, she began sawing away at the binds around my feet. I looked up as Aden threw a punch, only to be blocked by my brother. Orion flung him back with a maniacal laugh.

  I felt the rope around my ankles loosen, and I pulled my legs apart, snapping the rope. Angel immediately began working on the binds around my wrists, though she had to grip hold of the chair to retain her balance. She looked awful.

  My eyes flickered back to the brawl. Aden was starting to look winded. His nose was bleeding and set at an odd angle.

  “Hurry, Angel!” The doors rattled behind us as the security guards tried to get in, but the doors wouldn’t budge.

  Aden must have locked them when he came in.

  At last, the rope fell away from my wrists, and I took the knife from Angel’s grasp right as she collapsed in a fit of coughing. I furiously hacked at the rope around my chest, breaking it within seconds. Free, I knelt next to Angel, cradling her head on my lap.

  “Hang on,” I said, brushing her bloodied bangs from her forehead. “Please, don’t die on me.”

  “Sloane,” she rasped. My heart sank. She sounded so weak. “I’m… so sorry.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t worry about that. I forgive you.”

  Aden cried out, and I heard something hit the floor and slide toward me. I glanced up to find the gun laying a few feet away.

  The light in Angel’s eyes dimmed. “Save… him.”

  My eyes narrowed. “Who?” I wanted to ask, but her head sagged and she was gone. I bowed my head briefly, saying a prayer for her, and fixed my eyes on the gun.

  At the same time, Orion knocked Aden’s feet out from under him. Aden’s head struck one of the windows hard, smearing a trail of blood on the glass as he slumped to the floor. Orion pointed the tip of his sword to Aden’s heart.

  Staggering to my feet, I grabbed the gun and raised it.

  “Orion!”

  He froze, rendered immobile by the sound of his true name. His eyes found mine in the window, and he smiled at my reflection, muscles coiled to deliver the final blow to Aden.

  Orion’s voice was icy. “Can you do it? Can you kill your own flesh and blood? I don’t think you have it in you.”

  I took a shaky breath, determined. “That may be true. But I’ll do anything to protect the ones I love.”

  I heard Aden gasp softly at the word “love.” Orion turned around and held open his arms, the sword dangling from his fingertips. “Do you not still love me? After all we’ve been through. After all you put me through.”

  Guilt stabbed at me as he referenced the night we entered the haunted house, the night I abandoned him.

  I shook my head. “It wasn’t my fault.”

  “It was your idea. And I paid the price.”

  “And I’m sorry for that.” My voice grew stronger. “But I’ve also learned to accept the things I can’t change, and to forgive myself for the past. Your fate was out of my hands.” I squeezed my eyes shut; when I opened them, my gaze was steely. “And you chose to let your rage devour your soul. No, Nero. You are no longer my brother.”

  Flames from the fireplace blazed in Orion’s eyes, throwing shadows over his scarred face. As h
is eyes turned red, he truly looked like a demon from hell. His lips twisted over his fangs in a vicious smile.

  “Then you shall die with your beloved.”

  The next series of events happened all at once, speeding by in the blink of an eye and yet still somehow in slow motion. Orion whirled, raising the sword in an arc that would sever Aden’s head. Aden’s eyes widened as the sword lowered and I called his name, squeezing the trigger. The bullet shot out and struck home, slicing all the way through Orion’s chest and creating a crater in the window. I raced forward and leaped, kicking Orion hard in the back and sending him flying. He dropped the sword, crashing through the window as I landed on top of Aden and shielded his body from the glass raining down around us.

  I heard Orion’s cry as he fell, mixed with the pounding of my heart and Aden’s heavy breathing. We laid that way for what felt like hours, before Aden finally stirred. I sat up, scanning his body for any more wounds. “Are you okay?”

  He groaned, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Trust me, it looks worse than it is.”

  I helped him stand, and we peered over the ledge. At first, I thought my eyes might be playing tricks with me, or maybe it was some side affect from all the adrenaline pumping through my body. But as my eyes scanned the ground, one thing became perfectly clear.

  My brother’s body was nowhere to be found.

  My eyes flew to the clock. It was only ten minutes until midnight now.

  “We have to get you out of here,” I said, pulling on Aden’s arm. “Before the capsules go off.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about that.”

  I looked around as he lifted the button device from his pocket. “I managed to wrench it away from Nero before he got one over on me.”

  I sighed hard, feeling marginally relieved. “We should still look for him. Do you really think he could survive a fall like that? Plus, he was shot with Scarlet Steel.”

  “I wouldn’t underestimate your brother,” Aden murmured darkly. He pulled out what appeared to be some sort of cell phone, and punched in a number. After a few seconds, I heard someone answer. “We got the controls,” Aden said, “but Nero got away. Have a crew search the lower end of the Capitol building and the surrounding area.”

  He ended the call, and I cocked my head to the side. “You changed me to protect me from my brother, to make me stronger, faster. And so you could test my blood,” I added quickly.

  Aden stared back at me, intense and silent.

  “What were you really doing in my house that night?” I asked.

  His eyes searched mine. “I was looking for clues to defeating Nero. Once I learned of his plan, I knew I couldn’t sit by and let it happen. He thought – hoped – your blood would prove equally lethal, but nothing could be further from the truth.”

  “But you didn’t tell my brother you had found me, at first.”

  Aden shook his head. “No. Paris knew what he intended to do, so she secretly tested your blood against an infected version of mine, trying to unlock its secret before he did. She had suspected it might counteract his blood, but we didn’t know for sure until we tested it.

  “Though she tried, she couldn’t get a direct sample of Nero – er – Orion’s blood. So we went with the next closest thing. Our theory was that because he had made me, my blood should have enough of his to properly test your blood against it.”

  It made perfect sense now. “All the times I thought you were giving blood… you were just helping her find the answer.”

  Which also means Paris is one of the good guys.

  Aden nodded, and he grimaced. “Unfortunately, we never discovered what your blood could do, until now, that is. For some reason, your blood wouldn’t counteract the virus if directly injected into my blood. Orion must have tampered with it to come up with a cure.”

  Aden’s phone chirped, and he quickly answered it. “We should evacuate the city,” Aden said. “In case Nero made another control to launch the virus.”

  Someone said something on the other end and he hung up. “They found your brother. They’re taking him in as we speak.” His expression was troubled, brooding. “We’ll have to keep this quiet. The people here practically worship him as a deity. To them, he’s the savior that brought them out of the darkness.”

  “I’m sorry, Aden,” I suddenly said. “For what Orion’s done to you.”

  Aden smiled, wistful. “I don’t regret it,” he said, caressing my cheek. “It led me to you.”

  I flushed right as his throat shuddered and he turned his head, coughing softly into his sleeve.

  I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah,” he said, though I noticed his face had gone a bit paler. “Just something in my throat, that’s all.”

  He smiled at me and I smiled back, though my eyes subconsciously wandered to his sleeve. I squinted.

  There, so small they were barely discernable, was a splattering of tiny red dots.

  Blood… Aden’s blood.

  END OF BOOK ONE

  Will Sloane be able to save Aden’s life?

  Find out in the second epic installment to The Red Sector Chronicles:

  DARK HORIZONS

  Coming January 2012

  Acknowledgements

  Writing a book really is a group effort, and I had a lot of wonderful people help me out along the way. Thank you to my awesome beta readers Marysa, Scarlet, and Tobias for helping me flesh out the story and giving me invaluable advice on how to make TSD a better read. Also, thank you to the ladies of my critique group, Julie, Renee, and Gina, for helping me figure things out in the earlier drafts. And last but certainly not least, I’d like to thank you, dear reader, for buying this book. Thank you for taking a chance on an unknown author, and helping make one of my dreams a reality.

  About the Author

  Krystle Jones was born and raised in the small, southern town of Tullahoma, Tennessee. Reading and writing have been lifelong passions of hers. In addition to being a novelist, she is also an award-winning flutist, and moonlights as a voice actress. Her voice can be heard in the popular online game, Alice is Dead 3.

  A Note from the Author

  Hello and thank you so much for reading, The Scarlet Dagger! I hope you enjoyed it. If you liked this story, then I invite you to check out some of my other titles, which are listed below. Also, please visit my site to sign up for my free email newsletter to stay up-to-date on new releases, contests, giveaways, and more! You can opt-out at any time, and it is completely spam-free. Frequency of notification is approximately 1 email every 1-2 months.

  More books by Krystle Jones:

  Veiled Innocence, Book One of The Soul Cycle (available now for only .99!)

  A White So Red, a gothic retelling of Snow White (available November 2011 for FREE!)

  Connect with Krystle online

  Website: www.kdjonesbooks.com

  Blog: krystlejones.blogspot.com/

  Twitter: twitter.com/kdjonesbooks

  Facebook: facebook.com/kdjonesbooks

  Goodreads: goodreads.com/kdjonesbooks

  The Scarlet Dagger, Book One of The Red Sector Chronicles

  Kindle Edition

  Pesante Press

  Copyright © 2011 Krystle Jones

  All rights reserved. The author has worked very hard to bring you this story. That being said, please do not redistribute this ebook without purchasing additional copies. Thank you for your understanding and support.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organizations, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Cover design by Krystle Jones

  Table of Contents

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