I shrieked as he gasped, staring at the hole in his chest with disbelief. His shocked gaze lifted to our mother’s pitiless face. “Why?”
There was no warmth to her voice. “Because you’re in the way.”
The hole started to smoke; she had used a Scarlet Steel bullet. He fell to his knees, then his side, gasping and coughing as the acid ate him from the inside out.
I stared at him, speechless and numb. This was what I wanted right? The whole reason I came. Orion was a cruel monster who needed to atone for his actions. But as I watched the life drain out of him, all I could think was “that’s my twin.”
I pushed past her and dropped to the floor beside him. “Orion,” I said, unable to bring myself to touch him. I didn’t know what else to say. So much had passed between us that I wasn’t sure if I was sad for his death or relieved to be rid of the monster he had become. And yet I could feel my heart breaking right down the middle.
He looked at me, trembling. Unintelligible words sputtered from his lips. I leaned closer. He gripped my arm.
“Find… Genesis.”
Heaving his last breath, the life in his eyes faded and his head lolled to the side.
A tear raced down my cheek as I stared at him. First Father, now Orion, and maybe Aden. Was I destined to end up alone in this world?
A gun cocked behind me. I slowly turned to find the barrel aimed a few inches from my forehead.
“Don’t worry, Sloane,” my mother said, her voice devoid of emotion. “This will only hurt for a second.”
Her finger moved for the trigger.
CHAPTER 25
I started to move, but I knew the moment I saw her finger start to pull the trigger, I wouldn’t be fast enough.
I was about to be killed by my own mother.
Pushing my weight to the balls of my feet, I started to duck out of the way when a gunshot rang through the air. I tensed up, squeezing my eyes shut, waiting for my world to end, to feel nothing.
My shoulders were still scrunched up by my ears a few seconds later when I finally opened my eyes, shaking all over.
My mother’s mouth was open in shock. She stood there for a moment without blinking. Something moved along her chest. Blood was dribbling out of a small hole, staining her dress a deeper scarlet.
“So this is how it ends,” she murmured with a wistful smile.
I watched as she collapsed, the gun clacking along the hardwood floor as her eyes became vacant.
A figure stood behind her, the gun clutched in his hand still smoking.
“Leo,” I breathed.
His face was grim. I couldn’t place the look in his eyes as he stared at my mother. When he blinked, as if finally coming to his senses, he turned his attention to me. “Are you all right?” he asked, kneeling beside me. “When you didn’t come back, I knew something was up and came looking for you. That’s when I heard the first gunshot.”
I couldn’t stop shaking. Sitting there, surrounded by my dead family and the smell of blood, I felt like I had fallen into a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.
“Hey,” Leo said softly, shaking me. “Look at me.”
I didn’t. Only when he pried my gaze off my mother did I truly see him. “You’re alive. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t let –”
I kissed him before he could finish. It wasn’t a gentle kiss; it wasn’t even exactly passionate. It was “thank you,” rough and sloppy.
Leo gasped for air when I released him. He blinked several times and exhaled a long breath. “Okay. Now that that’s done, we need to bail. Rook and Dezyre are trying to hold them off downstairs, but they won’t last long.”
My eyes narrowed as my hunter instincts kicked in. “What do you mean ‘hold them off?’”
“You’ll see,” he said, his face paling.
Grabbing my hand, he pulled me to my feet and we started toward the door. I wanted to ask him more when I smacked my forehead. “Wait a minute,” I said.
I let go of his hand and reached into my bra, pulling forth the glass syringe. It had a tiny crack, but thankfully it didn’t look deep enough to leak.
I knelt beside what remained of my brother, spotting the ring. It was covered in blood. Biting my lip, I warred with my decision, then finally reached over and pulled it off his finger, tucking it in my bra before removing the plastic cap around the syringe needle. A flickering of nervous dread at seeing the long silver needle flitted through me, but I pushed my fear aside and plunged it into my brother’s neck. The case filled with his blood as I pulled back on the end, sucking his life – Aden’s only hope – into the bottle.
The whole house shook as something exploded downstairs. “Hurry, Sloane!” Leo said by the door, nervously glancing down the hall.
Once the syringe was full, I pulled it out and placed the cap back over it before tucking it back into my bra cup. It was warm, which made me a little sick, but I pushed those feelings aside as I started to stand. My hand brushed against something metal. I looked behind me.
It was my mother’s gun.
Grabbing it, I stood up and rejoined Leo at the door.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded. “Ready.”
He darted into the hall, with me right behind him. As we raced down the stairs, the moaning I’d heard earlier was giving way to snarls and unnatural guttural sounds I’d never heard before.
“What the –” I started to say as we cleared the staircase and rounded the corner, but Rook barreled into me, nearly running me over as he and Dezyre fired back at something crawling toward them.
All my breath left me.
At first, I didn’t know what they were. They had the general shape of humans, but their skin was nothing more than rotting blue and purple flesh covering oversized skeletal structures. Their legs were malformed, gooey strands of skin trailing blood behind them. Their eyes were red, looking brighter against the deep, dark sockets. Most of them had on shredded evening attire.
I wanted to throw up.
It was my mother’s guests, all mutated from drinking the spiked punch.
Screams and strangled pleas for help filled the ballroom ahead. Those few who hadn’t had the punch were literally being eaten alive by the monsters, their fangs lengthening as fresh human blood turned them more into vampires.
Somewhere above, a man was calling for help.
“Stay here,” I said, gathering my dress in my fist and charging up the staircase. Leo shouted my name, but I kept going, racing toward the direction of the man’s cries.
When I rounded the corner, I saw him. It was the guest of honor, Dr. Ivan Johansen. He was standing on top of a decorative table, frantically kicking at a cluster of vampires as they clawed and grabbed for him from the floor, moans coming out of their gaping, fang-filled mouths.
I didn’t hesitate. Walking purposefully toward them, I opened fire. Scarlet Steel bullets cut through the air, lodging themselves in the monsters.
They turned and hissed at me, but the Steel was rapidly disintegrating them. I watched, mesmerized, as it literally decimated them within a few seconds. Whatever chemical had been used to create the vamps must have been extra sensitive to the steel.
Ivan looked at the piles of ash in awe. “I didn’t know Scarlet Steel would have this effect on them,” he said in wonder.
Anger flaring, I grabbed a handful of his jacket collar and yanked him off the table so fast he didn’t have a chance to stand up. Scrambling for his footing, his eyes widened in surprise. “Did you know what this would do?” I growled, jerking his face close to mine. “Did you know what my mother was up to?”
“Your mother…?” I didn’t think his eyes could get any wider, but they did. “So you’re the infamous Sloane McAllister.”
“I don’t know about infamous, but I’m definitely pissed.”
My head jerked around as Rook screamed my name. They must be running out of bullets.
I eyed Ivan. “You’re coming with me, Doctor, whether you like it or not. You
and I are due for a long chat.”
Without waiting for his answer, I grabbed his arm and hauled him down the hall and downstairs. Rook, Dezyre, and Leo were standing in the doorway, beyond a mess of bodies scattered across the foyer. Leo appeared to be the only one who still had bullets. He was a pretty good shot, but some of his bullets didn’t quit hit home. They grazed the shoulders and chests of the deformed Rogues, which jerked as they were hit, but they kept coming.
I gave Ivan a warning look. “Try not to slow me down. If you trip, I’m leaving you behind. Got it?”
He gulped and nodded.
I proceeded to dash across the foyer, dragging Ivan along behind me. I emptied the remaining bullets into the Rogues, hitting them directly in the heads as I darted past. Ivan and I burst through the exit, the others stepping aside to make room for us.
“Let’s go!” Rook shouted. We took off running, as hard and as fast as we could as helicopter lights came into view behind us.
“It’s the Guard!” Dezyre shouted. “Sovereign McAllister must have had them on standby in case things got ugly. We have to get out of here now!”
I vaguely wondered why my mom hadn’t had guards around, but then it hit me. The Guard always elicited ill feelings in humans. If the Guard had been around, the guests would have been on the lookout for something to go wrong. Mom had tucked away her super-warriors to keep her guests calm so they wouldn’t suspect anything was up.
We cleared the lawn and barreled through the field, yanking off our masks as we did. The ground was slick with mud, making it harder to run – especially in heels – but I gritted my teeth and kept going.
“Did you find Orion?” Rook shouted.
“Yeah,” I shouted back. “I got what we’ve been looking for.”
His face washed with relief. “Good. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Arika tucked something away as we drew near. Leo claimed shotgun. “Gun it!” he shouted after we’d all climbed in.
I sat in the back, gripping Ivan by the wrist in case he decided to bolt for it. The engine revved as Arika twisted the key and the jeep jerked to life.
My shoulder slammed into the door as Arika swerved, making the tires squeal before she slammed on the gas. We shot down the gravel drive, fishtailing when she took the curb too fast and swung us onto the highway.
I’d never been so scared to ride in the car with someone in my life. I had thought Rook’s driving was bad, but Arika’s took the cake. You’d think she’d been a stunt driver for The Fast and the Furious franchise.
As we snaked through the downtown part of the city and merged onto the interstate, a growing number of black vehicles followed us.
“Is this thing going to make it?” I shouted when the jeep sputtered and Arika switched gears.
“We’re fine!” Arika shouted back over the groan of the engine, her attention totally focused on the road, for which I was grateful. Wrapping the jeep around a light pole was the last thing I needed to happen tonight.
As we drove, I was all too aware of the vial tucked close to my chest. Hold on, Aden. Please don’t die on me. I’m coming.
Once we hit the interstate, Arika didn’t hold anything back. We had to be going over a hundred miles per hour.
Rook shouted directions to her, and before long, the wall of the Red Sector came into view. A wide, electronic sliding door of interlocking metal wiring barred the entrance. It looked like the main gate, considering it was wider than the others scattered along the wall.
Arika didn’t need any instruction to know what to do. Bracing myself, the jeep rattled as we plowed through the door, knocking it clean off its hinges. It bounced off the top of the jeep and tumbled onto the ground behind us. A few of the black cars following us swerved, trying to miss it, but only ended up wrecking into one another.
“Where are we going?” Leo shouted at me.
“To the base,” I replied. “I have to get this to someone.” I thumped the vial tucked inside my bra.
Leo grabbed my arm, his expression fierce. “Don’t tell me you’re going to save that monster’s life. He doesn’t deserve it, not after what he did to you.”
I rolled my eyes, exasperated. “Leo, please don’t start now, okay? You might see him like that, but don’t forget, you’re one of us now.”
“I didn’t ask to be,” he said darkly.
That stung and suddenly made it difficult to swallow. “None of us did.”
I looked away, indicating I was done with this discussion. Leo crossed his arms, silently fuming as we drove.
Rook guided Arika as we snaked through the dusty streets of the Red Sector, the blood moon shining down on us. We drove for maybe five or ten more minutes before Arika squealed us to a stop right in front of an old gas station.
I looked around in confusion as we got out. “What are we doing here?” I asked, tugging Ivan along. He looked scared more than anything; I swore his teeth were chattering as he gawked at the unused pumps and sagging BP sign.
Rook was already running toward the street. Kneeling, he swept away some dirt, revealing a manhole. He tugged the cover off and stood. “Getting us back to the base.”
I could have kissed him. “How many hidden entrances do vampires have over here?” I asked, walking toward him and peering into the hole.
“Too many to count.” He ushered me forward.
I shoved Ivan toward the hole. “Don’t get any ideas,” I said, my voice low. He cast me a fearful glance, then started to climb. The hum of engines in the distance was quickly growing closer.
“Move!” Rook shouted. “We don’t have much time!”
Dezyre went down next. Beside us, Leo and Arika were arguing.
I caught bits and pieces of it – and was surprised by what I heard.
Leo’s going with me? After what he had said, I thought he was too angry to come along. Why the change of heart? I listened in to their conversation once more.
“I can’t risk your safety,” Leo said, gripping Arika by the shoulders. “You’ll be the only human. You should take the jeep and find shelter until things settle down, then head back into the city and hide.”
“I’m not letting you go down there alone,” Arika shouted back. “You don’t know anything about these vampires.”
Leo looked her over with a pleading gaze. “Arika, please? You’re my prodigy, my sidekick. If anything happens to you –”
Arika wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging him down as she kissed him.
Leo’s eyes went wide with surprise, but he never moved to kiss her back.
I watched, stunned.
So many emotions were rolling off Leo, magnified thank to our connection; affection, friendship, shock.
I was surprised by one; it was darker than the others were and left a bitter taste in my mouth. Then I blinked, realizing it wasn’t Leo’s emotion.
It was mine.
Jealousy.
I’d been jealous before, but this felt different. It was more like a dog baring its teeth at another dog that had intruded on its territory.
I frowned, uneasy. Since when had I started thinking of Leo as my property?
In my mind, the vampire version of me smiled knowingly. “Since you drank his blood and claimed him as your own the night you made him a vampire,” she said in a dark, sinewy voice.
I blinked, brushing the feeling aside, though it still troubled me deep in my heart.
The kiss only lasted a few seconds. They parted, Arika gazing into his eyes, not seeming affronted in the least that he didn’t respond. “I’m going with you,” she said.
Rook ruined the moment. “Well then, come on!” he shouted.
I shook my head. I’d worry about this later, when we weren’t, well, running for our lives.
Rushing forward, I climbed down the ladder, followed by Arika and Leo, and finally Rook, who pulled the cover shut. Tunnels stretched out to either side, marked with the street names they coincided with.
The ground rumbl
ed above us as the Guard pulled up.
“This way!” Dezyre shouted and took off running.
We thundered through the tunnels, following her path as the Guard tried to pry the lid off the manhole behind us. It must have had some kind of safety lock on the inside, in case this situation ever happened. Still, I never slowed my pace. I knew better than to think a measly lock would keep the Scarlet Guard at bay for long.
As we ran, Rook stopped every now and then, pressing buttons along the wall that lit up with a one-minute clock counting down.
“What are you doing?” I asked, waiting for him.
He grabbed my arm as he ran past, taking me with him. “Ensuring we’re not followed.”
I recognized the dirt-floored room as soon as we barreled into it. As we climbed the small ladder up to the exit, I knew exactly what we would find on the other side.
Fire erupted from the tunnel behind us as a boom racked the air, and I nearly lost my grip on the ladder. “What was that?” I asked.
“The tunnels caving in,” Rook said, climbing up after me. “We weren’t so stupid to think this could never happen, that the Guard would never be able to find us. We didn’t plant the explosives in the walls until after the hunters infiltrated our academy the first time. After that, Frost wasn’t taking any chances.”
He was referring to when a group of hunters had been turned and captured. Convincing Frost of their innocence and goodwill, they enrolled as soldiers in the training academy. What no one knew was that they were biding their time while they came up with a plan to wipe out the base. They attacked without warning, managing to take out several vampires – including Frost’s daughter – before they were killed. Ever since, Frost had been wary of hunters, and I honesty couldn’t blame her.
Rook’s revelation should have relaxed me, but all I could think about was Aden. Please don’t let me be too late.
We climbed out into a morgue. When Rook was at last out, he slid the lid of the tomb we’d crawled out of back into place. The lid had a picture of an angel rising out of the ground, its arms stretched for Heaven. Above the angel, the epitaph read, “We walk in darkness so we may dance in the light.”
Dark Horizons (The Red Sector Chronicles) Page 27