Welcome to the Darkness (Darkness Trilogy)

by L. M. Justus

  “We should head out soon,” Reed said, coming up behind her and curving an arm around her waist. “Not that I’m anxious to get back to that damn place, but the sun’s already setting.”

  “You’re right, we should go,” she agreed. “We’ll meet you back here tomorrow around noon?” she said to the other members arranged around the room.

  “Sure thing,” Pickle said. “Good luck tonight. Don’t forget that UV ball in your pocket in case of emergency.”

  “I won’t,” Sarah replied. Reed waved goodbye and she followed him out of the warehouse into the dim light of dusk.

  He turned to wait and took her hand when she came up beside him.

  “I’m sorry, I never got the chance to warn you about the whole ‘super strength’ thing,” Sarah apologized. “I didn’t mean to catch you off guard like that.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Reed shrugged. “I was surprised at first, but I figured you knew what you were doing. You always think fast on your feet and know what to do. I think you would have been an awesome cop, I mean . . . if all this hadn’t happened.”

  Sarah stopped walking. “Thank you so much. That means a lot to me.” Tears sprang into her eyes. “You know, the reason I made up the ‘super strength’ thing was that I could hear what Liz was thinking, and she needed something good right away or all hell was about to break loose. That’s all.”

  “Yeah, I get it. It’s okay. Really.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

  She glanced around at the deserted labyrinth of warehouses and the sky grew darker by the second. “We should hurry up and get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”

  “Luckily, I have ‘super strength’ so I can protect you,” Reed said with a grin.

  “Sure, from your run-of-the-mill human mugger, but what about from other vampires? A pair of brothers, for example, that we met outside of Vegas and told you they’d rip you limb from limb when you were least expecting it?”

  Reed’s face fell and his shoulders slumped. “Oh, yeah. Well, hang onto your hat then,” he said and scooped her up into his arms.

  “I’m not wearing a . . . whoa!” she yelped as he zoomed off with her into the night.

  They arrived back at the vampire lair without fanfare. No one seemed to have noticed or cared that they’d gone out. Nobody intercepted them when they entered the manor, and they both breathed a sigh of relief when they arrived at their bedroom safe and sound. The room was still in complete disarray from Reed’s bout of anger earlier that morning.

  “Serves them right for pissing me off,” Reed said.

  “I hope I never piss you off then,” Sarah replied.

  “Not possible,” he assured her. At least the bed was still intact. He sat down on the edge of it and kicked off his shoes. Sarah walked over and sat next to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, enjoying the moment.

  “Everything seems to have gotten so complicated,” she said.

  “Yeah.” He combed his fingers through her hair.

  “Should we tell them about . . . you? I mean, that you’re not human.”

  “I dunno. What do you think?” He pulled back to look her in the eyes. Sarah felt like she could drown in the deep blue depth of his gaze.

  “I’m not sure. You say I always know what to do, but I really don’t. I’m worried they might figure it out on their own and that might be worse than if we just tell them. And anyway, what about Nathaniel?”

  He rolled his eyes and fell back onto the bed with a sigh. “Man, I don’t know. We have to warn him at least. I mean, we can’t let the vampire hunters smoke his ass . . . or mine. I was upset with Nathaniel earlier, but you’re right, he couldn’t have done anything. I kind of want to pretend that none of this is happening and that I’ve never heard of vampires except in the movies.”

  “That sounds like the best plan I’ve heard all night,” she said, biting her lower lip. Sarah wanted nothing more than to lose herself in his arms, but she didn’t want to be too pushy.

  His eyes widened and a goofy smile lit up his face. “Well then,” he said, reaching up to cup her face in his hands.

  She leaned over and brushed her lips against his. Reed closed his eyes and relaxed into the kiss. Then he rolled over her and started unbuttoning her shirt.

  “This is the part where someone knocks on our door and interrupts us,” he said. Reed’s fangs started to emerge.

  “Not this time,” Sarah vowed. “We’re not answering that door or getting out of this bed for anything.”

  And they didn’t.

  Reed

  For the first time in many days, I woke up feeling happy. I crossed my arms behind my head and relaxed, enjoying my moment of satisfaction.

  And then I remembered that I never ‘woke up’ these days because I never slept. The only time I lost consciousness was when I died after a feeding. The wide smile on my face dissolved.

  I turned to look at Sarah, who lay sleeping in the bed beside me. Had I bitten her? Brushing her hair away from her neck, I checked for puncture wounds. I didn’t see any, but then I realized that even if I had bitten her, the wounds would have healed from my saliva.

  She looked so peaceful, draped in the white bed sheets and breathing deeply. I slipped out of the bed and padded over to the bathroom, guilt poking me in the gut. I closed the door as quietly as I could and started up the shower.

  When I finished drying off, I wrapped a towel around my waist and opened the bathroom door a fraction of an inch. Sarah was awake, so I relaxed knowing I could stop creeping around. She spotted me and broke into a smile. God, she was sexy. She didn’t look upset or anything and my guilt melted away.

  Her smile faltered ever so slightly. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Me? Oh, sure. I’m good–great! I was . . . uh . . . wasn’t sure if–”

  Her eyebrows lifted and she waited for me to continue.

  “Maybe, I might have . . . bitten you . . . while we were, you know . . .”

  “You mean you don’t remember?” she asked, biting her bottom lip; a habit that made her look extra cute.

  “It’s kind of a blur,” I admitted.

  “Well, it felt good,” she purred. “I can’t even describe it, but it was nothing like the first time you bit me. That hurt.”

  “Oh. Right,” I said, feeling guilty all over again for attacking Sarah in her apartment. “I didn’t mean to bite you either time though.” My face grew hot. “Why don’t we get dressed and go find Nathaniel,” I suggested, desperate to change the subject. “Hopefully he can arrange for us to see the King so you can use your telepathic mojo to figure out what the King’s up to.”

  “Aye aye, captain,” she said playfully and threw off the sheets to climb out of bed. She gathered her clothes from the floor and started getting dressed. I tried not to stare at her, but she was so sweet on the eyes. And she’d liked it when I’d bitten her? Holy hell.

  I knocked on Nathaniel’s door, feeling a little nervous. I hadn’t talked to him since the disastrous blood-stealing incident. He called for us to enter, so we let ourselves in.

  He was sitting in an armchair nestled in the corner of his room, a fat book open across his lap.

  “A little light reading?” I asked.

  “Mmm . . . a tome I have been meaning to read for some time. War and Peace. I borrowed it from an acquaintance. You may read it when I am done, if you like.”

  Was Nathaniel trying to be extra nice to me? That made me think he felt bad about what had happened. “I think I’ll pass, but thanks,” I said. Even if I was immortal and lived for five hundred years, I’d still never finish reading a book even half that size.

  Sarah and I stood in an uncomfortable silence for a minute until Nathaniel spoke again.

  “I . . . would like to apologize to you, Reed,” he began.

  I stood straighter, but didn’t say anything, waiting for him to continue.

  He closed his book and set it on the side table next
to his chair. “I was not aware that the King would be so aggressive in taking your blood so soon after meeting you. I confess to a feeling of utter helplessness while they extracted your blood without your consent. I learned long ago that affection for another could be a very dangerous thing. It can be a great weakness used against you, as a method for ensuring compliance, thus I have attempted to remain distant from everything and everyone. However, I fear that despite my best efforts, I have become fond of you both. I sometimes wonder if my son would have grown into a young man such as you, Reed. Brave, intelligent, kind. I realize now, that I would be willing to sacrifice much to help you, but no sacrifice would have affected the outcome when they took your blood. There was simply nothing I could have done, and for that, I am sorry.”

  Wow. What had I done to deserve that kind of praise? “I don’t even know what to say to that, Nathaniel,” I said.

  “Say you will forgive me.”

  I sighed. “You know, I was pretty pissed off with you at first, but I know I was angry at the wrong person. Because you’re totally right, there wasn’t anything you could have done. Which means . . . there’s nothing to forgive. We’re good,” I said, holding my hand out for a fist bump.

  He raised one eyebrow.

  “You’re supposed to–” I held out my other fist for Sarah and she demonstrated a fist bump. I turned back to Nathaniel and waited until he awkwardly gave me a fist bump back.

  “I know you feel responsible for the death of that human male,” Nathaniel said, “but it is the King who is at fault.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I keep telling myself too,” I replied.

  “I worry about your future, for it is likely that you will be involved in other deaths, some more directly, as the years pass. The vampire world is a violent one,” Nathaniel added.

  “That’s an encouraging thought.”

  “I am merely being realistic. To prepare you.”

  “How many people have you killed?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t pushing too far.

  “I have not kept a tally.”

  “You mean it’s been so many you don’t even know?”

  “They have been mostly vampires, if that is any consolation,” he replied.

  Sarah cleared her throat. “Not to interrupt, but . . .” she paused. “We were wondering, Nathaniel, if you might be able to help us arrange a meeting with the King.”

  He frowned. “Why would you desire such a thing?”

  “We need to talk to him for a few minutes,” Sarah replied.

  Nathaniel hesitated for a moment. “What is it that you are not telling me?”

  Sarah looked at me and my heart sped up. Was she going to tell him about the vampire hunters?

  “I’d like to offer him a sample of my blood,” she said.

  “What?” I shouted. “I mean, what the hell?” I said more quietly. “We didn’t talk about this.”

  She held her chin up. “After what happened with you, I thought it might be better if we did things on our own terms. Instead of waiting around for them to grab me and take my blood by force, why don’t we give them what they want? They’ll have no reason to treat us with aggression or violence.”

  It would also give Sarah the chance we were looking for to delve into the King’s mind, but she didn’t say that part out loud. “It’s too risky,” I said.

  “I tend to agree with Reed,” Nathaniel said.

  “Do we need to meet with the King face-to-face?” I asked. “Can’t you read his mind from the room next door to him or something?”

  Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you want to read the King’s mind?”

  “I can pick up surface thoughts from a room nearby, but to pick out particular bits of information, I need direct eye contact,” Sarah answered, ignoring Nathaniel.

  “What ‘particular bits of information?’” Nathaniel echoed.

  “Can you help us, or not?” Sarah said. “You have to trust us. We know what we’re doing.”

  “We do?” I said.

  “Yes, we do,” Sarah stated. “We can go right now to make our proposal to the King.”

  She seemed so eager to meet every problem head-on, like when she’d waltzed into the San Jose vampire lair to make a similar proposal to the Queen. That hadn’t turned out very well because we’d ended up destroying the place, but maybe this time things would work out. In any case, apparently Nathaniel did trust us, and he took us to speak with the King.

  Ten minutes later, we were back in our badly trashed bedroom, and Nathaniel had gone back to his room to read his book. I kicked a piece of the broken dresser aside and made my way to one of the armchairs near the window. I plopped down into the seat and Sarah came to sit in the chair next to me.

  “That wasn’t too different from making an appointment to give blood at a clinic,” Sarah said.

  “Yeah, except instead of making an appointment with a nurse, you made it with the vampire King of New York City,” I replied.

  “Eight o’clock tomorrow night, well after the sun has set and I’ve had a chance to eat some dinner.”

  “And . . . ?” my voice trailed off. “Did you get the info we were looking for?”

  “I did,” she said with a smile. “It was harder than I thought it would be though. His mind is a jumble of thoughts that don’t make sense. I think he’s losing his mind and I’m pretty sure he knows it. He seems to be doing a good job of hiding it.”

  “Nathaniel made it sound so cut and dried, but I bet it’s hard for the older vamps when they realize they’re losing their minds,” I said. “Are they supposed to get out of bed one day and say, ‘Goodbye cruel world’ and walk out into the sun? Probably not.”

  “From what I can tell after reading the King’s mind, he knows he’s reached the point where his mind is slipping and he wants to go out with a bang. But, what he doesn’t seem to realize, is that his plan to turn everyone into vampires is completely ass-backwards.”

  “Huh. So the vampire hunters were right? He’s not trying to come up with ways to fix vampire weaknesses?”

  “I don’t know how they figured it out, but yeah, the hunters were right. The King doesn’t think he’ll be around long enough to bother making any enhancements. Even if he figured out a way to have vampires walk in daylight for example, if he’s not around to appreciate it, then what’s the point? Leaving behind a legacy of a world populated only with vampires, even if they’re more like zombies than vampires, well . . . I’m not saying that makes much more sense, but to the King it does.”

  “That’s seriously screwed up,” I said, shaking my head. “So do we tell Nathaniel what’s going on? I mean, how could any human or vampire want this to happen? Maybe they’ve got a vampire organization like the police that could come in and get rid of the King.” I drew my finger across my throat in a cutting motion.

  Sarah leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. Then she sat up straight again. “I think we should meet with the vampire hunters today, like we planned. Share our latest information with them and find out what their plan is. I agree with them that we need to take action soon, because the King can’t afford to wait. He’s going to release the virus soon, whether it’s ready or not.”

  “And Nathaniel?” I asked.

  “When we get back here tonight, we should confide in him. I think it’s time. And I think it’s also time for us to confide in the hunters. We should tell them about him . . . and about you.” Her eyes searched mine.

  “You think that’s a good idea?”

  “I do. There’s been ample opportunity for you to hurt them or their cause by now, and you haven’t. Obviously, we’re all on the same page, and that should be clear to them. At least, I hope so.”

  “You hope so? Christ.”

  “If things go badly, although they probably won’t,” she added, “you could always zip out of there super-fast.”

  I hung my head and looked at the floor. “I have a bad feeling about this. It doesn’t feel right.”
>
  “It’s up to you of course. It’s your secret to tell,” Sarah said.

  “I agree we should go meet with them, but let’s play the rest by ear,” I suggested.

  “Done,” she said, holding her hand up for a fist bump. I couldn’t help laughing and I humored her with a fist bump back.

  Sarah

  Sarah and Reed walked hand-in-hand, brushing through the silver bead curtain into the vampire hunters’ headquarters. They stood just inside the entrance, looking to see who was around. Liz and Trudy were decked out in protective wear, sparring in the far corner of the room, but the rest of the group were absent.

  Liz turned to the side–she was the first to notice they were there–and received a punch in the ear from Trudy. Even though Liz was wearing a padded helmet and mouth guard, the angry scowl that clouded her face was noticeable. A bop in the side of the head was just what Liz needed to put her in an even fouler mood than usual.

  Trudy pulled off her own helmet, and spit out her mouth guard. “Hey, guys! Come on in.”

  “I’ll get the rest of the group,” Liz grumped, ripping open the Velcro fastenings of her sparring gear and tossing the pads to the side. She stormed out of the room.

  Trudy removed the rest of her gear and approached them at the doorway. “Have a seat, guys. The rest of us will join you in a sec. We’re excited to hear how things went. Did you get a chance to see the King?”

  “We did,” Sarah said, nodding.

  “Okay, I won’t make you say everything twice. I’ll hold the questions until everyone else gets here,” Trudy said.

  They chose a folding chair and sat to wait for the others. Pickle came out right away and gave Sarah a wink. “Hey, man,” he said, clapping Reed’s shoulder. “You look seriously down in the dumps. Did everything go okay?”