Destined for Darkness

by Cassie Pierce

  It’s him. The man from my nightmares. I know it is. A black mask covers his face, but it has a slit for his eyes. I recognize those eyes. He stalks toward Tristan’s limp form, and I know, God help me I know what’s coming. “Please…. Stop. Please. I’ll do anything, just please don’t…..” His fist connects with Tristan’s face, spraying the air with his blood. I scream, but it’s no use. No one can hear me over the gag, and even if they could no one is coming. He hits Tristan over and over again, and not once does he beg him to stop. Not once does he give any indication of the pain that he has to feel. Not once. Each time his fist connects, snapping bone or spraying blood, my soul grows a little darker. My heart breaks a little more.

  “Tell her and it will stop.” He yells as his fist rams into his already broken nose. I cringe. Tristan says nothing. I try to reach him through our connection, but it is blocked somehow. I beat my hands against the ground and kick like a crazy woman. I need to get him to look at me. Then, he does. His head slowly turns in my direction. He shakes it slowly from side to side. Guess he knows me well enough to know that I am about to do something stupid. I look into his eyes, sending him a silent plea to just tell me whatever it is so that his pain can end. “Tell me,” I mouth at him. He shakes his head no again. Uhhhh! He is so stubborn. He needs to just fuc….”

  My internal rant is cut short when the man pulls a knife from his belt, and grabs me by the hair. Boy is he fast. I never even saw him move. He yanks my hair so hard that I feel it rip from my scalp. Not good. He slices the blade across my cheek. His tongue darts out and runs the length of my open wound. Tristan struggles in his chains. His voice drips venom. “If you hurt her, I will kill you Derek. Do you understand? I will rip your heart out and eat it, you sorry piece of sh….”. The man laughs, cutting off his words.

  “Don’t worry Tristan. I like to play with my food first.” Oh no. I so do not want to be Mr. Evil’s play thing. Nope. Not interested. If he wants to play he can get a puppy. “So, if you don’t care about your own pain, do you care about hers? What would you do to spare her from what we both know I am capable of? Death is not always the worst fate.” Tristan’s eyes flood with panic at the threat behind the man’s words.

  “Anything.” The word is so quite that I almost miss it. “I will do anything to keep her safe. So please, leave her alone.”

  The man pretends to consider it. “Nah! I am just getting started.” He grabs my shirt, ripping it open. I try to fight him, but I am pretty useless without the use of my arms and legs. He pushes me down on my back like I weigh nothing, using his weight to keep me in place. The blade rips up my legs, tearing my pants away. Surprisingly, the cold steel does not cut me. Fear swallows me as I realize what this monster has in mind for me. He is right. Some things are worse than death. I go crazy. I flail and squirm beneath him. The damn gag is choking me, or maybe it’s my fear, but either way I can’t breathe. “Please….. Tristan, help me….”

  “No! No! Please don’t!” I cry as the rancid gag finally slips out of place. Tristan’s face is filled with pain. He is fighting like hell to get to me, but we both know that he isn’t going to; not in time.

  “I’ll say it damnit! Just please…please don’t touch her!” he begs with a desperation that I have never heard from him before.

  The man straddling me leans down and bites my bare breast. I close my eyes. Sometimes the only way to survive is to go to your happy place, that’s where I’m headed. After this, I probably won’t have a happy place, but for now I close my eyes and focus on Tristan. Tristan cursing grows louder, and his voice tells me without seeing that tears shine in his blue eyes. I close my eyes tight as foreign lips meet mine, the taste of him making me nauseous. Then thankfully, his weight is gone.

  “Yum! I can see what you see in her. She taste divine.” He says with an evil grin. Tristan pulls harder on his chains.

  “If you touch her again –I- will- kill- you- Derek! You know what it will do to her if I tell her but I will. Just don’t hurt her anymore alright!”

  The man called Derek smiles. “Alright.”

  Tristan looks at me with such love before speaking, his eyes contradicting his words. “I don’t love you Ridley. I never did.”

  I know that he doesn’t mean his words, but our bond responds to them all the same. I scream in pain as the fire roars to life, burning a path through my heart. Tristan’s eyes, so full of pain and regret find mine as Derek laughs. The next instant Derek is on top of me, pinning me to the ground. Tristan screams, and actually succeeds in breaking one arm free.

  “We had a deal Derek! Get- off –of- her!” His voice breaks with each word. Without touching Tristan, Derek pins him to the wall. The chain that Tristan escaped moments before re-locks around his wrist. Derek’s laugh chills my blood.

  “I lied.”

  I go to my happy place, or try to, as Derek takes from me something that was never his. My body, my spirit, my soul. Again and again he takes, as Tristan screams and cries my name. The anguish in his voice shattering me. When he is finished I want to die, practically beg to, but unfortunately I am still very much alive. My heart still beats, but I am broken now. I force myself to look into the eyes of the man I love, tears falling freely at his expression. He is crying. I turn my head quickly, trying to hide my shame. Tristan looks so broken, so shattered. Derek walks over to him, taking his face in his hands.

  “Look at her. Look at the fear, the pain in her eyes. What you just witnessed she will feel every day. She is mine. Take a good look. It will be your last.” A different kind of fear squeezes my heart. His last?

  “Nooooo!!!!!,” I scream, but it comes too late.

  “I love you my sweet kohtalo,” Tristan whispers the moment before Derek snaps his neck. I watch in raw agony as the life leaves his eyes. As they glass over and stare into empty space. The pain of his loss incapacitates me, the weight of it settling on my chest like a four ton boulder. Breathing becomes impossible. My life, my love, is gone from a simple flick of the wrist. I close my eyes and pray for death. My world tilts again and darkness swallows me.

  I come to on the living room floor, Tristan attempting to hold me while I kick and scream. Ali, Tyler, and Aiden are all at my side. I don’t see them. All I can see, all I can feel is him, and what he did to me. I fight and claw at Tristan until my fingers start to bleed.

  “D-don’t. D-don’t. P-please d-don’t t-t-touch me.” My voice doesn’t sound right. It is high pitched and small. Since when do I stutter?

  Tristan’s face appears in front of me. I must be dead, because he is dead. Wait? Why is he crying? Isn’t Heaven supposed to be a happy place? His tears are falling freely; each one landing on my own tear soaked face. My fear turns to contentment at the sound of his voice.

  “I’m here. I’m here baby. It’s over. It wasn’t real. You are safe. You were always safe. I would never let that happen to you. Do you hear me? Never.” Even though my body still shakes with fear, I am slowly starting to remember. My punishment….my worst fears. It wasn’t real. It was never real. Safe. I am safe. Tristan is here. He’s-he’s here. I climb into his lap like a scared child, holding onto him like a security blanket. Afraid that if I let go, even for a second, he will disappear. I bury my face into the curve of his neck, and that’s when the tears start. My sobs are so powerful they rattle us both. Tristan’s arms form a protective cage around me, providing both security and strength. Ali’s worried voice fills my ears.

  “What did he do to her? What did she see?”

  Tristan must give them all some silent signal, because their footsteps drift away from us. Ali’s question left without an answer. Tristan keeps his arms around me, cradling me like a child as I weep. Hours pass, and still I cry. How could someone do that to people? What purpose does it serve? I now understood why Sarah died, because it is over and I still want to. My tears eventually dry up, and in their place comes numbness that leaves me hollow. I am limp in his arms as he picks me up and carries me to our room.

/>   He sits with me on the bed, still holding me protectively to his chest. Did he see what I saw? Does he know the hell that Samuel showed me? “Shhh, love. It’s ok. I’m here,” he whispers into my hair. No more words pass between us as he rocks me back and forth. I finally give up, my eyes falling shut.

  I wake in the middle of the night kicking and screaming, this nightmare a million times worse than my usual one. I can still feel it, and even though my mind knows that it’s not real, my body never got the memo.

  “Get- off- of- me! Stop! Please stop! Don’t make him watch! Just kill me! Please..”

  “Ridley, baby I am here. It is just a nightmare. I am here.” I turn in his arms, and whimper. Without thinking, I close the small distance between our bodies, sealing his lips to mine. I need to feel his love for me, to make sure that it’s still there. This is so much more than a kiss, it’s a way to purge the hurt from my heart. His lips are gentle, showing me with each touch that his love for me is still real. He places feather light pecks over my eyes, my nose, along my jaw; each one mending the cracks in my heart. “Baby” he whispers as he pulls away. He presses his forehead to mine, and uses his thumb to wipe the tears from my eyes.

  “I love you, so damn much.”

  I reach up and capture a tear as it leaves his eye. “I love you too. I’m sorry. So sorry. I tried to be brave Tristan-I did, but the things…the things that I saw…”

  “Oh baby. You are brave. It should not have been that way. I am going to kill Samuel! What he did to you was cruel, even for him. He could have just picked one fear, but instead he used them all.” How does he know…

  “You saw? I thought that the punishment was only for me. How did you see?” I ask in panic. I never wanted him to know. Not all of it anyway.

  The anger that flashes across his face answers my question. It takes him a minute, but he eventually says, “I chose to see through our connection. I tapped into your mind. I wanted to know your pain so that I could help you deal with it. He went too far. What he made you live through is unforgivable. I am so sorry Rid,” he says as he cups my face in his strong hands. “I will never let that happen to you. Ever. You know that right?”

  I nod. I know that he would die before he let anything happen to me, but I don’t know if he can stop it. Some things cannot be changed.

  “I would find a way my love. I promise.” My fear calms at his promise. Tristan never makes promises that he can’t keep.

  “I know. I am so sorry that you had to see what he d-did to me. Tristan, who is Derek? I heard Tyler say that his men attacked Ali. You said his name in my punishment. I have seen his eyes in my dreams. He wants me, doesn’t he?”

  Tristan becomes very still at the mention of Derek’s name. A displeased look flashes across his face.

  “Ridley, how often have you seen his face in your dreams?”

  “Since my eighteenth birthday, but recently the dreams have changed. After I healed Ali I was surrounded by darkness. He was there. He was calling me to him, but I don’t know why. He keeps saying that I am his. He’s not like he was in Samuel’s image though. In my dreams, he looks almost sad every time that he has to hurt me. It feels like he only does it for show. In my regular dream he chokes me, and wants me to choose. He always wants me to choose, but I have no idea what my choices are. He never tells me. Then the light comes for me, and he looks sad; like he’s heartbroken. I don’t think that he is really a….. ” Tristan is up off of the bed, and pulling me toward the door before I can finish my sentence. His sudden freak out is well, freaking me out.

  “What’s wrong? Tristan? Where are we going?” He never misses a beat as he hurries me down the stairs.

  “To see Aiden and Tyler. This is bad. This is really bad. Worse than I thought.” I follow him without another word. If Tristan is afraid than I have no doubt that my world is about to get a lot more dangerous. We enter the living room and everyone jumps to their feet. Ali comes running to me, wrapping me in a fierce hug.

  “Thank God! I was so worried about you. Are you okay Rid?”

  I want to tell her no, that I will never get the image of tonight out of my head, but I don’t. I was punished because I saved her, and I don’t want her living with the guilt that I know she will feel. Sometimes lies are better than the truth. Just sometimes.

  “I’ll be fine Ali. I just need some time.”

  She nods, but her eyes say that she knows I am lying for her benefit. Frantic whispers from the corner divert my attention away from Ali. The guys are all arguing quietly, for my benefit I am sure. They are keeping something from me, and that just pisses me off. I snap.

  “Whatever it is just- say- it. I have been through hell tonight so I doubt that it can get any worse. JUST-TELL-ME!” I scream in frustration. Ali walks to my side and places her hand on my arm. She has totally got my back. All three guys give me a defeated look before Aiden surprisingly man’s up.

  “Sit down Ridley. We have much to discuss.”

  Tristan looks like he wants to strangle Aiden, but for once I don’t care. I want the truth, and right now I don’t care who gives it to me.

  Tristan sits beside me and grips my hand. Aiden opens his mouth, but Tristan interrupts him. “Derek Knight is the Vampire Prince. He is said to be the most ruthless and wicked being ever made, next to his father of course. His father Nicholas is ruler of the third realm of the underworld. The Lamont have tried to destroy him since our creation, but all who have tried lost their lives. Nicholas thrives off of fear, and his most powerful weapon is his son. It is hard to fight a faceless enemy. Hell, Derek was probably a spy in his past life. He has been a vampire for nearly a century, and no one has ever even seen his face. Derek and his father are the ones who killed your parent’s Ridley. They hid you at that church to protect you from them. You said that Derek has been appearing in your dreams regularly. That you have seen his face. If he has shown his self to you, then whatever he has planned for you cannot be good love. Despite all reason, he has formed a link to you somehow. The question is how?”

  My head is throbbing from all of this new information. I turn to the man that I love, silently searching his face for answers that I know he doesn’t have.

  “How could we have a connection? I have never even met him outside of my dreams. It’s not possible.”

  Tristan sighs, running his fingers through his soft black waves. “It is usually a blood connection. Is it possible that he could have bitten you without you knowing it?”

  “I think I would remember being bitten by a vampire Tristan!” I say with agitation evident on my voice.

  “Not if he didn’t want you to remember Ridley. Vampires are excellent at mind control. It would explain your connection to him, but it doesn’t make sense. Why would he even want a connection? Why not just kill you when he had the chance? Derek is not known for his kindness.” He has a look of frustration on his face. Frustration and, is that fear? Aiden jumps from his seat, surprise and apprehension showing on his normally carefree face.

  “He didn’t kill her because he needs her. He would only tolerate her survival if he benefited from it somehow. In his mind Ridley belongs to him. The question is why does he think that? It’s true he could have bitten her, but what if it goes deeper than that? What if it’s a true blood connection?”

  “That is not possible.” Tristan interjects as he starts to pace the floor.

  Aiden gives him an apologetic glance before speaking. “Not really man. Think about it. Ridley has dark blood. It’s safe to assume that she didn’t get that from her dad. What if Miles Lamont is not her father? What if she was truly conceived of darkness and light, just like the prophecy says? After all, don’t you think it’s strange that hers has been the only successful birth since creation? ”

  Wow! This just keeps getting better and better. Part of me is angry at them all for filling my head with all this non-sense, but only a small part. If I am just being honest, what Aiden says makes perfect sense. Why would I have dark blood if b
oth of my parents were made of light? The answer is… that I wouldn’t. The bigger question is how does Derek Knight factor in to all of this? What could he possibly want from me?

  My mind flashes back to the nightmare that Samuel had caused and I shiver against my will. Whatever he wants, he is not going to get it.

  “What if he wants her power? She can not only turn people good but evil too right? What if he wants to use her for that?” Ali ask. Tristan and Tyler share a worried glance. The look that passes between them lets me know that this is a possibility that they have already considered.

  “I think that you may be right Ali. Nicholas wants an army, and he needs Ridley to create it. He is using Derek to get to her.” Tyler says as he takes a seat next to my friend. That’s it! Nicholas wants me to create his evil army! Well, he can go back to hell and take Prince Derek with him. Nothing they can do to me will ever make me help them.

  “I don’t care if they kill me. I won’t do it. I will never do it. The world is full of enough evil. I refuse to help them make more.” I say as tears threaten to surface. I push them back, now is not the time for weakness. I will not let Nicholas or Derek get to me. I would rather die. My mind flashes back to the dark room in my nightmare, and his words echo in my ears.

  “There are some things worse than death.”

  I start to shiver, and Tristan is quickly by my side. He pulls me to him, and I snuggle into his chest. I have a bad feeling that my troubles are just getting started. Who else that I love is he going to attack to get to me? My thoughts quickly go to my mom. She is the only person left that I love within his reach. I have to protect her, to warn her. Damn the council and there stupid rules. I am not going to stand back and watch her die.