Sebastian’s feet hit the tarmac, his long legs and strength carrying him across with supernatural speed.
Luckily Sebastian did not tire, but he had a long distance to cover between the airport and the forest, even at his breath-taking speed. Sebastian’s main enemy was the sun and the passage of night happened all too quickly. He needed to find Jackson before the morning came.
He crossed through downtown Los Angeles and then through the city’s boroughs. The houses came to an end and Sebastian entered the forest. All at once, calm settled over him. Something about being with nature spoke to him. Twigs cracked beneath his feet. All around, animals rustled in the bushes for their meals. They froze as soon as they caught Sebastian’s scent, or dived and scurried away. He heard ferns curling, like the fingers of the dead, and the leaves on the trees opening, catching carbon dioxide in their pores. Beneath the putrid scent of Jackson’s blood, the earth released its musty, damp odor.
The moon hung high above his head, embedded in the inky black of the sky. Somewhere in the distance came the sharp screech of an owl.
Jackson’s scent was growing fainter. Jackson had probably started healing by this point, stopping the blood loss.
Sebastian pushed through shrubs and undergrowth. Branches whipped back at him, lashing at his face and legs.
He froze.
The scent suddenly powered over him in a tidal wave, almost knocking him backward. To his ears came the sounds of an animal feeding; slurping, chewing, gnawing.
With an extra burst of speed, he broke through another line of brush.
Jackson stood over his dirt grave. A young girl dangled by the throat, clamped in his jaws like a hyena having just scavenged its prey. The scent of blood made every sense in Sebastian’s body scream. The girl would have barely been out of her teens—a young life cut short by this animal. Blood matted her long blonde hair and it hung down, almost brushing the ground. Her head lolled back, her eyes staring blankly at the night’s sky.
A rush of hatred and revulsion toward Jackson washed over Sebastian. Yet his loathing went unfounded. He was a killer too. Just because he didn’t prey on pretty young girls, didn’t make him any less of a monster.
Jackson lifted his mouth from the girl’s throat, using his hands to support her body. The blood coating the lower half of his face appeared black in the moonlight.
“Have you come to join me for supper?” he grinned.
Sebastian snarled, “I will never feed with you.”
Jackson’s head cocked to one side. “You’re one of them, aren’t you? You’re like the one who made me?”
“I’m here to kill you, not converse with you.”
Jackson let go of the girl and she hit the floor with a wet crunch. His eyes narrowed, a faint frown on his hideous face.
“Kill me? Why would you want to kill me?”
“I won’t let any harm come to Serenity.”
Jackson laughed; barking like a fox in the still night. “So the bitch has taken up with a vampire!”
Sebastian had done enough talking. With a growl, he leapt at Jackson, his fangs lengthened, arms outstretched. But Jackson was faster than Sebastian gave him credit for. Jackson’s fingers wrapped around Sebastian’s forearm and he threw him.
Sebastian hit the ground with force and the impact jarred his whole body. The move had taken him by surprise, but it was the last time he intended for Jackson to have the upper hand.
Leaping back to his feet, Sebastian rushed him again. This time Sebastian was ready for Jackson. The monster counter-attacked, the two beings colliding in mid-air. But Sebastian managed to wrap his hands around Jackson’s putrid throat and they landed, Sebastian on top of Jackson.
Beneath him, Jackson snarled, snapped like an animal and Sebastian growled in return. Jackson’s hands grabbed Sebastian’s shoulders but he couldn’t budge the robust vampire.
The sound of fighting filled the forest, silencing all other creatures around them. Roosting birds burst from the tops of trees, rabbit scurried back to their burrows, deer ran for cover.
Sebastian’s hand tightened around Jackson’s neck. He would have to tear the beast’s head off with his bare hands; he couldn’t stand the thought of sinking his teeth into that abhorrent flesh.
But Sebastian felt something within him, the internal warning telling him morning was coming. He glanced towards the east and saw the faint lightening of the sky—the back turning to a deep indigo blue as the sun began its daily climb.
A low growl emitted from deep in his chest and automatically his hands loosened from around Jackson’s neck. No longer in control, he rose to his feet and Jackson too, looked up at the sky.
Jackson jumped to his feet, crowing with laughter. “Run away! You are weak—pathetic. You will never beat me. See, not even the sun will kill me. I’m a higher form of life than you, more evolved. I am everything you are only better.”
Sebastian’s legs were already stepping away. He walked backward, his body on auto drive to get to his sleeping place before the sun rose. He was programmed to do this. Only in the most dire of circumstances—where his own life was under immediate threat—would his body not take him home.
Jackson jumped up and down, punching the air, whooping with laughter like a hideously overgrown and deformed schoolboy.
Furious, Sebastian could only watch as his body took him home.
Chapter Nineteen
After Sebastian left, Serenity made Elizabeth some French toast with berries and plenty of syrup. Elizabeth’s eyes dropped as the little girl chewed her food. Once finished, Serenity dumped the dishes in the sink and they both went back up to bed.
Serenity tucked Elizabeth into the big bed and climbed in beside her. She snuggled behind her daughter, trying not to think the bad thoughts threatening to run rampage through her brain. She was worried about Sebastian and terrified that Jackson would somehow find them. Convinced she wouldn’t be sleeping that night, she only closed her eyes to rest them. Within minutes, she was dead to the world.
Serenity woke, wondering what time it was. Blackout shutters had been fitted in the windows so no daylight poured through.
She sat up and glanced over at Elizabeth. Her daughter slept soundly, her mouth wide open. Serenity smiled. It wasn’t the most fetching expression.
Sitting still, she tried to get a sense of Sebastian’s presence in the house. She hoped desperately he was here. Where would he be sleeping?
Four years ago, she’d never figured out if he slept in one of the bedrooms, on a bed like a normal person, or in a coffin in the basement. The blackout shutters made her think he slept in a bedroom—he didn’t seem like the type of person who would ever sleep in the dirt.
Should I go and check the other rooms? She wondered.
She paused awkwardly. She didn’t want to disturb him but needed confirmation of his safety. Had he even found Jackson? Dear God, she hoped Sebastian had killed him. She wanted him to finally be out of their lives forever.
Carefully, Serenity slipped off the bed, not wanting to wake Elizabeth. After making a quick trip to the bathroom, she cracked open the door and peered out. As she had expected, everything was quiet.
Serenity padded along the hallway, her feet silent on the plush cream carpet. She reached the first door and paused outside. There was no indication of anyone inside. Nerves buzzed through her. How would he look? She had seen Madeline—Sebastian’s maker—in a type of sleep, but she’d appeared to be in more of a trance and had woken every time Serenity moved.
She peered into the dark and waited for her eyes to adjust. No body lay lumped up beneath the sheets on the king-sized bed, so she backed away and closed the door. Serenity worked her way along the corridor, checking each of the rooms. Two of them were bathrooms and the other three were more bedrooms; all were fruitless. Maybe Sebastian slept underground after all? Maybe he rested in some special room designed with no chance of daylight getting in while he slept?
Light filtered up from the g
round floor and a tall window on the staircase. None of these windows had been fitted with blinds; at least they hadn’t been pulled down.
She headed down the staircase.
Something wasn’t right. Serenity screwed up her nose. A smell wafted up to her, like trash left out in the sun too long.
She rounded the curve of the staircase. At the kitchen island, where she and Elizabeth had eaten their midnight breakfast not so many hours ago, sat a man. He stared at the ground, his too-long, greasy dark hair hanging in his face.
Her heart clambered into her throat. Tears of fear pricked the backs her eyes. All of the strength rushed out of her arms and legs.
Very slowly she turned back around, intending to run, but as soon as she moved, so did he.
The man lifted his face.
Serenity felt as though she’d been plunged right into the middle of a nightmare.
Jackson sat before her, but not at she remembered him. The creature in front of her looked as though it had ripped off Jackson’s face and now wore it as a mask. The white skin was dull and she could make out every scar on his face. His dark eyes embedded deep in his skull, hollow rings served to deepen them. When he looked up, milky clouds fogged his irises, she couldn’t tell if he stared directly at her or if he was blind and watched her from the afterlife.
“Hello, Serenity,” he rasped, as though he had to force the voice out of dead lungs.
A strange choked sound came from her throat. Her head swam, the world blurred at the edges. She grabbed hold of the staircase banister and dragged herself back to reality.
He grinned at her. Instead of the lethally sharp, yet somehow graceful fangs she’d seen before on Sebastian and Madeline, all of Jackson’s teeth seemed to have been filed down to points, as though part of a tribe from the Amazon.
“Aren’t you going to come and give your husband a kiss?” His lips pulled back in a snarl that might have been a smile. A fat, black tongue darted out, past those small, sharp teeth, and lapped at his lips.
“Come give Daddy a kiss!”
There were stains of something around his mouth and on his chin. The stains appeared black against his pale, pale skin. His tongue flicked out again, smearing the black with saliva, and the stains turned red. With horror, Serenity realized the marks were dried blood.
She shook her head back and forth, over and over. Her foot reached backward, colliding with the rise of the stair. She stumbled, clutching at the banister.
In an instant, Jackson was in front of her on the staircase, his horrific face only inches from her own. His putrid breath washed over her, the force of it knocking her head back. He hissed and flecks of stinking spit hit her face, revealing those freakish teeth and black tongue. His body loomed over hers, oppressive, and she cringed back into the staircase, hoping to disappear.
Help Sebastian, she screamed in her head. He’s here! Help me!
She hoped desperately he would hear her, but daylight streamed in through the windows and she knew even if he did, his helping would be impossible.
A terrifying thought occurred to her, one that hurt her even more than the abomination leering over her:
What if he never made it back? What if Jackson killed him?
Elizabeth’s presence still sleeping upstairs worried her more. Did Jackson even know about her? Serenity would gladly let Jackson kill her if it meant he would leave before learning of Elizabeth’s existence. Her heart broke at the thought of never seeing her daughter again, never kissing her skin or stroking her hair, but she would gladly give up her life for Elizabeth. She just hoped Jackson would take her body with him.
Her eyes filled with tears at how scared and alone Elizabeth would be, how she wouldn’t know what to do or where her mommy had gone. But surely that would be better than her coming down to find her mother’s body?
Jackson lowered his head and sniffed his way down the side of her face, her throat and down to her breasts. He licked his lips again.
“You got fat,” he sneered. “Let yourself go a bit, didn’t you, Serenity?” The way he said her name was like spitting a curse.
A tear ran from her left eye and down her cheek.
Years of abuse and torture flooded back to her. Though now he looked like a monster, even when he’d been human he’d had the heart of one.
“What do you want from me?”
He laughed. “What do you think, Serenity? Let me see…” He pretended to think for a minute, tapping one filthy nailed finger on the dead flesh of his lips. “Now could it be something to do with the last memory I have? Possibly the memory of you stabbing me with a fucking knife?” He shouted the words in her face and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get her face away from him.
She whined in fear. “Please…” she said, not knowing what she was going to say. “Please…”
“Please, please, please,” he mimicked her in a high-pitched voice. “What are you asking me for, huh? Are you begging for me to take my conjugal rights as your husband?”
He grabbed both of her thighs and pulled her down toward him. She dropped two steps, and a small cry escaped her throat, the breath thumping out of her on each step. She ended up with Jackson between her legs.
“Well, look at that,” he leered. “You can’t keep away. I bet I can fuck you better than your pretty-boy who is scared of the light.”
Her heart leapt at the mention of Sebastian.
“Where is he?” she said. She wanted to sound brave and defiant, despite her dominated position, but her voice came out whiny and begging. “What did you do to him?”
A horrible sick sensation tightened at the back of her throat and her stomach balled and coiled like a pit of worms.
Jackson leaned down, his face only inches from hers.
“He was damn easy to kill,” he grinned. “I just held him down until the sun came up, and then—poof! He went up like a puff of smoke. Well, a puff of smoke that screams in agony of course.”
Serenity moaned, her head falling to one side. How could this happen? She had only just found Sebastian and now she’d lost him again. The pain in her heart was too great for her to deal with right now. She couldn’t let it overwhelm her. If she gave in, she was as good as dead.
“Is that the best you could do after you killed me?” Jackson sneered. “Some freaking vampire? Don’t tell me you were screwing him? That’s just gross.”
“You don’t know anything about him”.
“You do realize you’re still married, Serenity. You’re a fucking adulteress. I think that’s grounds for divorce.”
“You’re dead.”
He bent down and his mouth closed hard over hers. Serenity screamed, the sound muffled as his revolting tongue pushed into her mouth like a cold, hard slug.
He broke away, laughing, and she burst up as though he’d been holding her underwater, gagging and gasping for breath. That moment would haunt her nightmares for years to come, should she survive this. She gagged at his rancid breath, the taste of him on her tongue like she’d swallowed sewage.
Jackson grinned down at her, exposing his pointed teeth. “Do I feel fucking dead, sweetheart?”
“Fuck you!” she spat.
His vacant, strange eyes went hard. All of the sarcastic humor left him and his face turned to stone. Jackson pulled his arm back and slapped her.
Serenity’s head slammed backward, her ear ringing. Her eyes rolled. Her world started to close in and she fought against the darkness, struggling to stay conscious.
A large part of her wanted to give in. She just wanted this all to be over. She had been fighting her entire life and she was tired. If she gave in and let Jackson kill her, at least she would finally be at peace.
Yet she couldn’t do it.
Perhaps if she were alone, then yes, she would simply give in and let Jackson do what he liked. But she was a mother and she had a daughter who needed her.
Serenity clutched to the last vestiges of light, mentally pulling her conscience toward them. Sh
e blinked hard, though her vision blurred and her ear still rang from the blow.
Jackson’s face—hazy and distorted, but no less horrific—still hung only inches from hers.
“You can kill me if you want,” she managed to say. “But you’ll always be a monster.”
Jackson opened his mouth to laugh at her but something stopped him. He glanced up the stairs behind her.
“Mommy?”
The sound of Elizabeth’s voice calling down the stairs terrified her more than when she had first seen Jackson. Tears filled her eyes and she thought her heart would break in fear. Desperately, she’d hoped Jackson would leave Elizabeth unharmed, if he never found out about her, her life would be safe.
She’d been foolish to think such a thing possible. When had life ever been kind to her?
“Mommy?” Elizabeth’s voice came again. From the pitch Serenity could tell she had descended the first couple of stairs and stopped, knowing something wasn’t quite right.
“Go back upstairs, Elizabeth.” Serenity called back up to her. Her own voice sounded surprisingly even.
“Someone’s here, Mommy.” Elizabeth’s voice was so small, as though she was a long way away.
Serenity glanced back at Jackson. He stared back at Serenity, his eyes narrowed in concentration, a small frown of confusion creating lines between his already ragged eyes.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about. Now do as I tell you and go back to bed.”
“I can’t, Mommy. I’m scared. Someone bad is here. I can smell him.”
Serenity looked back at Jackson, waiting for him to leap off her and race up the stairs in triumph, to take the person Serenity loved most in the world. Yet Jackson still hadn’t moved. Instead, he put one gnarled, filthy hand to his temple, and shook his head as though trying to clear water out of his ears.
“What is that?” he growled.
Serenity froze, not answering him. She heard the sound of small, bare feet padding in her two-footed steps, thu-thunk, as Elizabeth started to make her way further down the stairs.
The Serenity Series: Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 38