Dark Descent (Vampire Hunter Book 5)

by S. C. Reynolds

  Lucas glanced back at Henry, who was still sleeping soundly, and stepped outside his apartment, motioning for me to follow. He shut the door behind us.

  “Remember when you asked me turn Henry?” he said quietly.

  I nodded.

  “I don’t know if it would have killed him, but I was considering trying it if the antidote didn’t work.”

  “Really?” I was taken aback. Lucas was adamant about not turning humans.

  “Yes, really. I asked Nicholas if he thought it was a terrible idea. He confirmed that it was.” Lucas laughed. “But then he said to do what I had to do.”

  “You could have told me,” I said.

  “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do,” Lucas admitted. “I was on the fence. Part of me was dead set against it, but another part felt like I couldn’t let Henry die.”

  “I’m glad it didn’t come to that,” I said.

  “Me, too. It was touch and go for a while there. It’s been one hell of a night.”

  “And it’s all because of my stupidity. You warned me over and over.”

  “It is what it is,” Lucas said lightly. “Anyway, you should get going. I promise I will pick you up and bring you here later, when I feel okay about leaving Henry home alone.” Lucas gave me a playful push. “Now go.”

  I smiled. “Thanks for everything, Lucas.” I leaned forward and hugged him.

  “Anytime.”

  Lucas stepped back into his apartment and I turned to leave. I glanced at my phone. I’d been gone an hour. I really hope my parents haven’t noticed, or I will be in deep shit.

  Chapter 12

  Not only did my parents notice that I was MIA for an hour, they were waiting for me, arms folded, side-by-side on the couch, when I arrived home.

  “You guys are up early,” I said, linking my hands behind my back in an attempt to hide my mom’s keys.

  “We were thinking the same thing about you,” my mom said. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard a car – which I soon realized was my car – start at five o’clock this morning.”

  “I didn’t want to worry you,” I said innocently. “I had to go meet a friend.”

  “First you disappear yesterday morning and are gone for half the day without telling us anything; now you’re up at five on a Sunday to visit a friend?” my dad asked. “Aurora, it doesn’t make sense. I’ve tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. Hell, I’ve even defended your behavior, but this is the last straw.”

  Uh-oh.

  “And what friend is this?” Mom demanded.

  “If you must know,” I said, my mind racing, “I had to pick up Kelly from a party. She drank too much. You wouldn’t want me to let one of my best friends drink and drive, now would you?!”

  “Who is Kelly?” Mom asked suspiciously.

  The first name that popped into my head.

  “New friend at school,” I said nonchalantly. “I know you guys are worried about me, but I’m flourishing. Seriously.” Yeah, right.

  My dad’s expression had softened. I was at least starting to win him over.

  But Mom wasn’t buying it. “Why is it that the only friends I ever see you with are Henry and Lucas? And what do you really know about Lucas? If you’re that close to him, I’d like to meet his parents. Especially if he’s your boyfriend now.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend! And I’m not that close to him, as you put it,” I replied. “Besides, I’ve met his parents loads of times! They’re all normal. No dead bodies in the basement. I checked.” I laughed at my own dumb joke, hoping to crack my mom’s icy exterior.

  But Mom just sighed. “I don’t feel like I know you anymore, Aurora,” she said sadly.

  “I’ve just been really busy with school,” I tried again.

  “I didn’t know you before school started back,” she countered. “Ever since you came home, you’ve been different. And don’t try to deny it. I’m not crazy.”

  I stood there, looking at my parents in silence. What was there to say? I could never tell them the truth.

  Finally, my dad spoke. “We’re not going to ground you, not this time. But you’ll have to earn our trust back. And we need to know your friends. Bring them around occasionally!”

  “And,” my mom added, “I don’t care if a friend is in danger. You wake me up to go get her! You don’t go out on your own, without a license. Do you understand?”

  I nodded solemnly. “Yes, I absolutely promise that I won’t do something like this ever again.”

  “Okay,” my mom said. “We’ll give you one more chance. But there is a condition.”

  Great. They want to send me to a shrink.

  “We want you to go to therapy,” Dad said, confirming my fear.

  “That’s really not necessary,” I argued.

  “Yes, it is necessary,” he said firmly.

  “You can’t make me go.” My voice was shrill.

  “Aurora, if you don’t want to talk about your troubles with us, that’s fine. But you need to talk to someone,” Mom said.

  “Yeah, ‘cause it’s worked out so well with Kayla,” I said sarcastically.

  “She’s much better now,” Dad insisted.

  More like she’s figured out how to keep you two off her back. Kayla was probably doing the bare minimum it took for them to leave her alone.

  Well, I’d just have to follow suit. If my mom wanted to shoot the breeze every evening I’d act super interested.

  “Okay,” I said, looking down at my hands as though I was embarrassed about what I was going to say next. “I’ll admit it, I’ve been a little depressed lately.”

  My mom’s face registered surprise. She can’t believe I’m opening up about something.

  “That’s why I spend so much time in my room,” I continued. “Sometimes it’s hard...watching all of you act like a normal family. I can’t sit down and enjoy dinner, do normal things, have normal interaction. And I’m acutely aware that I’m not physically growing any older. It’s just depressing, that’s all. I feel like a freak,” I added, for good measure.

  “Oh, sweetheart,” Mom said, getting up off the couch and coming over to hug me. “We had no idea you felt that way. Of course you’re not a freak. You’re our daughter, and we love you very much. You should never feel like an outsider in our family.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” I feigned relief. It was actually true – I did feel like an outsider – but that wasn’t what was making me depressed.

  “And I really don’t want to go to a therapist,” I said. “I couldn’t talk about this stuff with one. They’d think I was mental and start doing medical tests on me. They’d probably take me away from home, donate me to science or something, once they realized I was telling the truth.”

  This was perfect. If my parents believed the sole cause of how distant I’d been lately was because I felt like a freak, they could never send me to therapy to work through it.

  I could see my parents exchanging glances. “I guess,” my mom said slowly. “You’re right, of course, that you can’t talk to a therapist about your unique situation.”

  “But I feel so much better knowing that I can talk to you guys,” I said with fake enthusiasm.

  Mom wasn’t quite ready to back down yet. “I mean it, Aurora,” she warned me. “If you sneak out again or start hiding things from us, you will be grounded. And we will revisit the therapy option.”

  I nodded vigorously. “I get the message, loud and clear,” I assured her. “Did you want to talk any more?” I asked. “It’s just, I’m crazy tired after having to get up so early to help – “ I paused. Shit. What was my fake friend’s name? “Kelly,” I finished.

  “Get some rest,” Dad said.

  I flashed him a relieved smile and headed up to my room.

  Disaster averted…for now.

  Chapter 13

  Lucas didn’t call me until around noon. I picked up the phone on the first ring. “Everything okay?” I asked worriedly.

  “Yes,” Lucas said.
“I’m happy to report that Henry is looking almost normal. He’s in the shower right now.”

  “Wow!” I exclaimed. “So he’s actually able to get up, walk around?”

  “He said he’s tired,” Lucas replied. “But his coloring has returned to normal. He had a lot of questions; he doesn’t remember much of anything. I’m not even sure he knows you were here earlier this morning.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “The truth. That you saved him from being turned. That he needed medicine all night to live.” Lucas paused. “I didn’t disclose the potential issues with being bitten. I figured he had enough on his mind.”

  “Okay,” I said. “We’ll just see how it goes. I’m not going to say anything, unless Henry notices that something is different. But he may not have any problems, right?”

  “Maybe,” Lucas hedged. He sighed. “Honestly, I don’t fucking know. I haven’t dealt with this before.”

  “We’ll just take it one day at a time,” I assured him. Lucas was exhausted. No reason to push him.

  “Can I come over now?” I asked.

  “Yes, when Henry’s out of the shower, I’ll come and get you. I think he’s fine to be alone.”

  We said goodbye and hung up the phone.

  Now to deal with my parents, who were watching me like hawks.

  When I got downstairs, Mom was in the kitchen. “I’m just about to go shopping,” she said when she saw me. “Want to come with me? Keep me company?” Mom smiled.

  “Gee, Mom, I’d love it. I really would. But Henry called and woke me up.” I paused and gave an exaggerated yawn. “He and Lucas are hanging out at Lucas’ house, and they invited me over.” That was true – sort of.

  “Really?” Mom asked in surprise. “I didn’t know they were friends.”

  “Yeah, they got to know each other because of me,” I explained.

  “It’s not…awkward, you hanging out with both of them together?” Mom pressed.

  “Not at all!” I said enthusiastically. “They both love basketball. They became instant friends.” So much for trying to stick to the truth.

  I expected Mom to let me off the hook, but she wasn’t done interrogating me yet. “Will Lucas’ parents be there?”

  “Yes,” I said immediately.

  “What time will you be home?”

  “A few hours? Is that okay? I can text you if that changes,” I quickly added.

  “What are you doing at Lucas’ house?”

  I tried to think of something half plausible. “Lucas has a basketball net at his house,” I finally said. “They’re shooting hoops for a while, then we’ll probably go get something to eat. Well, they will,” I corrected myself.

  My mom nodded slowly. “You can go, but if you’ll be more than two hours, let me know.”

  “Definitely,” I promised. I walked towards the door, trying to make my escape. Lucas would be here any minute!

  “One more question,” Mom said.

  I stifled a groan and turned back around. “Yes?” I asked.

  “How are you getting there? I could drop you off on the way to the grocery store. Then I could meet Lucas’ parents.”

  “No,” I said, a little too forcefully. “That won’t work. Lucas is already en route.”

  “Then he can come in and say hello,” Mom said lightly.

  I wanted to scream. I was almost an adult, yet I was being treated like a child. A child incapable of selecting her own friends, unable to be trusted.

  “Fine,” I managed to say through gritted teeth.

  It was just a moment later that I heard a text on my phone – my new secure one – from Lucas. I turned away from my mother and glanced at the display, praying she hadn’t seen the phone.

  Here the message read.

  You have to come say hello to my mom I quickly typed. I shoved the phone into my pocket and turned back around to face my mother.

  “Is Lucas here to pick you up?” Mom asked me.

  “Yes. He’s coming in, per your request,” I said, hoping the sarcasm in my voice wasn’t too obvious.

  I walked to the front door and pulled it open just as Lucas was about to knock. “Come on in,” I said. I’m inviting a vampire into my house. I stifled a laugh. Lucas gave me a faint smile and stepped into the room.

  “Lucas, it’s nice to see you again,” Mom said.

  “Yes, nice to see you, too, Audrey,” Lucas replied. He stood there awkwardly, his hands jammed into the pockets of his black trench coat. His eyes looked heavy. But of course they would be; he hadn’t slept in over a day.

  “Are you feeling alright?” Mom asked him. “It’s awfully hot out for such a heavy coat.”

  “Oh, it’s a lot lighter than it looks,” Lucas replied.

  “So, Lucas,” Mom started, “Aurora says you and Henry play basketball together? Are you on the team at your school?”

  “Yes, I am,” Lucas said smoothly.

  My mom nodded, apparently satisfied with that lie. “What do your parents do? For such a close friend of Aurora’s, she hasn’t told us much about you.”

  Lucas didn’t hesitate. “My dad’s an accountant and my mother is a real estate agent,” he replied.

  “Well, I’d love to meet them sometime,” Mom said.

  “Of course. I’m sure they would love to meet you as well,” Lucas said politely.

  “Can we go, Mom?” I asked impatiently. “Henry’s waiting for us.”

  “Yes, go ahead, honey. When you’re ready to come home, call me. If you want, I can pick you up. You know, save Lucas a trip.”

  “Thanks for the offer,” I said.

  “Sorry about that,” I told Lucas when we got into his car.

  “I take it she noticed your little excursion this morning.”

  “Yeah,” I said morosely. “I thought I was already on lock down. But now they’re one step away from grounding me. And sending me to therapy.” I groaned. “This is the last thing I need to deal with right now!”

  “Well, sounds like you’ve got a couple of hours. No time to waste. What was the catch with Emmett’s plan? The part that Henry can’t know about,” Lucas asked.

  “Guess,” I muttered. “It involves his dad, as usual.”

  I filled Lucas in on the other stuff that Emmett had told us, how Mr. Matthews intended to double cross Tobias.

  “That’s why I need to act fast – arrange the meeting with Tobias as soon as possible,” I explained. “Before Henry’s dad tries to make a power move.”

  “I can find out where Tobias is, but I’m still dead against you going alone.”

  “Well, you can’t pose as my bodyguard for every meeting!” I said in exasperation. “Besides, Tobias needs me. He’s not trying to kill me.”

  We arrived at Lucas’ apartment. “Do you think Henry can handle hearing about the plan?” I asked worriedly. “I don’t want to overload him, if he’s still weak.”

  “You’ll be able to decide for yourself in a minute,” Lucas said, unlocking the door.

  Henry was sitting on the couch, watching TV. He clicked the mute button as we walked into the room.

  “I’m so happy you’re okay,” I said, practically attacking Henry with a hug.

  “I’m fine,” he said, laughing, hugging me back. “Thanks for saving my life. Both of you,” he added, looking at Lucas and me. I hugged Henry again and then sat down on the couch next to him.

  “I put you in this situation. Your life was at risk because of me. How can you ever forgive me?”

  “Rory, it’s not your fault,” he said softly. “There’s nothing to forgive. Lucas told me you staked those bastards. How the hell did you overpower them? No offense, but I’m a lot stronger than you and I didn’t stand a fighting chance.”

  “I have no idea,” I said honestly. “Something came over me, and it wasn’t even much of a struggle.”

  “It’s got to be your powers – at least part of them,” Henry said excitedly. “When it came down to life or death, they kic
ked in, you were able to hone them. I’m not saying what happened is a good thing, but maybe it wasn’t all in vain.”

  “He’s right,” Lucas interjected.

  “I wonder if I could kill a demon now, too?” I whispered.

  “There’s only one way to find out,” Henry said.

  I shuddered. What if I’m not ready?

  “How are you feeling?” I asked, changing the subject.

  “Normal. A little bit tired,” Henry said.

  “Before I came to pick you up, I got him some human food,” Lucas told me.

  I laughed. “That’s what Nicholas called it when he got Emmett a pizza.”

  “Huh?” Henry asked in confusion. “What’s going on with Emmett? What all did I miss?”

  Lucas and I exchanged a glance. “Emmett has a plan,” I said. “But before I tell Henry, does Emmett know that he’s okay?” I directed the question at Lucas.

  “Yes, I contacted him and Nicholas.”

  “Good.” I proceeded to tell Henry what had happened with Emmett while he was passed out.

  “Absolutely not,” he said when I got to the part about meeting Tobias alone.

  Lucas sighed. “I’ve already tried, Henry. She won’t listen.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Henry offered. “That’s the only way I’ll agree to this.”

  Henry going with me was worse than Lucas! Tobias would surely recognize him and might even be dumb enough to mention Henry’s father.

  “No, it’s too dangerous for you,” Lucas said before I could answer. “You’re mortal. I’m not. I already told Aurora that I should go with her.”

  “Tobias is likely to get suspicious if I’m not alone. He has to think I’m working solely with him,” I argued.

  Neither Henry nor Lucas said anything.

  “We’ve got to get Magnus, Leon and Tobias out of the way to focus on Senara,” I said. “You know I’m right.”

  “I guess I need to set up another meeting with Magnus,” Lucas said. He sounded defeated, resigned. “At least I can go with you to that one.”

  “Thanks,” I replied.

  “And meanwhile, I’ll have Nic look into where Tobias is hiding,” Lucas continued.

  “How will he be able to find out?” Henry wanted to know.