Dreams of Darkness

by Eve Langlais

  “We made a deal,” Titus growled.

  “The deal is canceled. But I will give you one free piece of advice. If you intend to live a long life, kill the girl.”

  A light flared in Titus’s eyes, almost a red glow, and when he spoke again, Adara could have sworn his teeth were longer. “Enough of your games, Giselle. We had a bargain, or are you trying to tell me the mightiest witch in the world is afraid of a mere slip of a girl?”

  “Foolish vampire.” The words were hissed with vehemence, and a swirl of darkness coalesced in front of them.

  Hair of spun ebony, skin of purest marble, and eyes the pure black of nothingness peered from the face of the witch. Short of stature and clothed in a robe of woven silver threads, she looked pissed as she raised a hand to point at Adara.

  “Forsaken one, you are not welcome in my home. Tainted by evil, coveted by the diabolical, you are meant to walk alone. To aid you is punishment. To succor you is death. You are not welcome here. You are welcome nowhere.”

  Logan growled and lunged at the witch, but Titus held up a hand, and—to Adara’s surprise—Logan held back.

  “So, you do know who and what she is?”

  “No, but she bears the mark of the forsaken,” spat Giselle. “That is all you need to know. Abandon her before you share her fate.”

  Her words rang in Adara’s mind, and she barely noticed as the witch, her piece said, vanished in a swirl of black smoke. As answers went, it left more questions, but one fact became glaringly clear. If she stayed with Logan and Titus, they would die.

  And I don’t want that.

  But what could she do to stop it?

  Chapter Thirty

  As soon as they reached Logan’s house, Adara claimed fatigue and went upstairs. Much as he wanted to chase after her, Logan let her go. What else could he do?

  Restrain her? Shake her and tell her to ignore what the witch had said?

  He didn’t think she’d listen. After their meeting with Giselle, Adara had grown quiet and withdrawn. He could almost see the gears of her mind whirring as she allowed the crone’s words to get to her.

  He waited until he heard a door shut upstairs before turning to Titus. “Brilliant fucking idea taking her to your friend.”

  “You can’t blame me for Giselle’s words. Even I couldn’t know she’d react like that.”

  “But she did, and now Adara is freaked.” Which made him wonder if he should be freaking, too. Exactly what had they inadvertently gotten involved in? Had he brought harm onto his pack?

  “We can’t abandon her,” Titus declared.

  “No shit, Sherlock. I never said we would, but I am getting mighty tired of all the bullshit.”

  “Did you think it would be easy loving someone so special?”

  The claim froze him, and he stared at Titus. “You love her?”

  The vampire spread his hands. “How can I not?”

  The admission hit him hard, rousing a possessive anger and a fear within him, trepidation that she liked Titus, too. “Has she told you she loves you also?”

  “No, and she may never say it. But it won’t change how I feel.”

  Which mirrored his own thoughts. “What are we gonna do about it?”

  “Duel at sunset?” Titus said with a raised brow.

  “This isn’t funny, asshole. We can’t both have her.”

  “At the moment, neither of us can. Not until she resolves the issues plaguing her. And once she does, I’d say the choice is entirely hers.”

  “Or I could kill you,” Logan tossed out nonchalantly.

  “I’d like to see you try.” For a tense moment, they stared at each other. Watching the other for a first move. A flinch. A weakness.

  Their impasse was interrupted by a yell. “Logan, we need you.” His second’s tone sounded harried, and he could hear snarling in the background.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Logan sprang to the front door as it opened, and Kevin spilled inside. His eyes were wide and bright.

  “Boss, the house is under attack by fucking zombies.”

  “How many?”

  “Like a shit-ton of them.”

  The necromancer had found them.

  “I’m coming.” Logan shot a glance at Titus. “Protect Adara.”

  “I will take her to my place. Meet us there once you’ve extricated yourself from this mess.” Titus fled up the stairs, and Logan had to trust that he would keep Adara safe.

  “Ready, boss?” Kevin asked, his hand on the door.

  “Let’s do this.” Logan briefly contemplated letting his wolf out, but given the wild howling he heard, there were enough animals already. He’d have to be the voice of reason. Especially if they drew attention.

  When Kevin screamed zombie attack, Logan had honestly thought a handful. The reality was much more daunting.

  It was The Walking Dead come to his front yard, with dozens of shambling bodies reaching with dead fingers for the living.

  Kevin and a half-dozen other pack members fought them off. Only Kevin retained his human shape with Logan. The others had gone feral, their jaws snapping, their growls loud and vicious.

  Logan dove into the fray, reaching a corpse and grabbing it by the head, ignoring how his thumbs sank into soft flesh. He gave it a twist, snapping the spine. The body dropped. Twitched.

  Logan turned to the next zombie, only to stop as something grabbed his leg. He looked down. The body he’d just broken hadn’t died a second death like the previous times. Rather it scrabbled for him, fingers grasping at his ankle, the head, grotesquely twisted backwards, leering at him. It opened its mouth and exhaled, “I found you.” Then it laughed. All the zombies uttered that eerie laugh that set a few of the pack to howling.

  Logan refused to be intimidated. He stepped on a flailing arm, felt the bone crunch, and sighed as he realized what would have to be done. He reached down and grabbed the head, twisting and straining until—with a sickening crunch and pop—it pulled free.

  The body twitched a moment longer before lying still.

  Still holding the head, Logan growled loud enough for his pack to hear, “You need to decapitate them.”

  And so did the real massacre begin. He forgave the youngest pup in the group for scurrying to some bushes and emptying the contents of his stomach. It wasn’t a pretty battle or a glory-filled one. There was nothing pleasant about killing those who should have remained buried.

  Logan had no time to wonder how Titus fared. Or to worry if he’d made a clean escape with Adara. His job was to ensure that he took out as many zombies as possible because each one meant one less threat to Adara.

  But it was messy.

  And loud.

  When the battle ended, there was no hiding the carnage, not this time. Which was why when the cops arrived with flashing lights, he and the others of his pack that had remained human raised their hands over their heads and knelt on the ground even before the first panicked shout. At least they didn’t have to explain a pack of bloody wolves—they’d slunk off into the shadows. They’d reconvene later after they’d showered and brushed their teeth.

  “Drop your weapons and put your hands where I can see them.”

  We bow to no one. His wolf didn’t like being subservient to anyone. Especially not with danger still throbbing in the air around him. Logan pushed down his beast. He would remain in charge for the moment.

  “What the fuck happened here?” gasped a young rookie cop.

  Whereas the older policeman man grunted. “Who the fuck knows. Handcuff them all and bring them to the station. We’ll let them sort it out.”

  Which was how Logan ended up back in an interrogation room in less than forty hours. He and several of his pack. But at least Adara was safe.

  He wouldn’t know how wrong he was until much, much later.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Earlier, as the battle began…

  Hearing a commotion, Adara flung open the bedroom door just as Titus reached the top of the
stairs.

  “We have to go,” he barked, his tone more harried than she’d seen thus far.

  “Why?”

  “The necromancer has discovered your location and sent some of his minions.”

  Her gaze darted behind her, to the window. “He sent zombies? Here?” The news sent her heart pattering as fear instantly flooded her veins.

  “Yes, here. They are attacking en masse out front.” Titus reached for her hand and tugged, but she resisted.

  “We can’t leave. We have to help Logan.”

  “And how will you help him?” His blue eyes caught hers. “Are you ready to kill something that is already dead? Can you take a knife to rotting flesh and do what must be done to stop it?”

  Yes, a voice inside screamed. However, the fear in her blood knew better. She opened her mouth, only to snap it shut. “I don’t know.”

  “Exactly. Which is why the best thing you can do is leave with me now. Perhaps, once you are gone, the necromancer will call off his pets.”

  The logic had her following Titus down the steps, only to have him dragging her the last few as she slowed, hearing the snarls from outside.

  “Are those wolves?” she asked.

  “He has some of his pack helping him. Let’s not waste the opportunity they’re giving us to slip away. Hopefully unnoticed.” Rather than ask, Titus grabbed, swinging Adara into his arms and taking long strides to the back of the house.

  Adara looped her arms around his neck, trying to keep from giving in to her panic, which proved easier than expected given her irritation. An annoyance with herself.

  I should be helping, not running away. Yet Titus had a point. What could she do other than get in the way?

  I should be doing something. After all, this whole situation was her fault.

  The door in the kitchen led to the unlit backyard. The lack of illumination didn’t slow Titus’s stride. Could he see in the dark?

  “Hold tight,” he said suddenly, and she almost asked why until she heard it.

  A coughing hack brought pimples to her flesh as she realized not all the zombies attacked at the front. Titus, however, didn’t put her down to fight. He held her tightly against his chest as he moved. While she didn’t see it, she heard the sickening crunch of impact and a thud as something hit the ground.

  Titus kept walking, but not fast enough to avoid the raspy whisper, “Forsaken one, you won’t escape. There is nowhere you can hide. Nowhere to run that I won’t find you.”

  She ducked her face into Titus’s shoulder and tried to stop the tremble in her limbs. The fear engulfed her completely. And yet, within that cold cocoon of terror, a kernel of anger burst to life.

  I’m so sick and tired of this.

  Yet what could she do?

  It seemed she was a constant passenger to her own life. Unable to make decisions about her future. When was it her turn to decide?

  When will I finally find the courage to make a stand?

  Titus made it over the fence then through another yard to a street. She didn’t know how he managed it, but within moments, a sleek, expensive car pulled to the curb, and she found herself ensconced in luxury—with heated back seats.

  As they drove away, she couldn’t help but stare out the window. Would Logan be okay?

  “He’ll be fine,” Titus said as if reading her mind. “He and his pack can handle a few zombies.”

  “Then why are we running?” she snapped. “We should have stayed and helped.”

  “Helped how, exactly? Because you do realize the moment you appeared outside, you would have been a lodestone for the dead. Distracting Logan might have gotten him killed.”

  At the rebuke, her lips clamped shut.

  Titus sighed. “I don’t mean to sound harsh, but in this, you should trust us. We know what we’re doing.”

  “Because you’ve dealt with so many situations like mine,” was Adara’s sarcastic reply.

  “No, you are unique, but in the end, all battles are the same. Let those with experience handle it.”

  “The whole problem is you continually having to handle it. Being required to clean up the havoc I am causing.” The words emerged choked as emotion swamped her. “I’m so tired of it all.”

  “We’ll—”

  She interrupted. “Don’t say you’ll fix it. You can’t. No one can, and it’s getting worse. Logan is fighting for his life. At his house. I literally brought this mess to his doorstep. How long before it shows up on yours?”

  “Would it help if I said I had a better defense system?”

  “No.”

  “Even if you weren’t involved, dearest, we would be hunting this sorcerer. There are laws against what he is doing.”

  “Then let someone else handle it. I don’t want you to die.” The admission emerged softly.

  Titus laughed. “Die? Let’s not be so dramatic. I’m a vampire, or have you forgotten? I am much more resilient than you think. My life—or unlife, as some would call it—has been a never-ending series of danger and drama. My kind has been hunted since the beginning of time. It is not being boastful to claim I can handle it.”

  “I can’t.” With that, she remained silent, rousing only when the car slowed to go through some honest-to-goodness gates. Big, tall, wrought-iron ones with spikes along the top. There was also a camera, the red light steady. No one would enter the front gate unnoticed.

  Driving onto the property, there was little she could see, as night bathed everything in shadows, but she couldn’t miss the giant mansion brightly lit and welcoming.

  Her eyes widened as she took in the grand façade. “You live here?”

  “Yes, and for the next little while, so do you.”

  A very short while because, during the drive, Adara had finally made a decision. One she didn’t tell Titus about.

  She let him set her up in a room, a luxurious suite with plush carpeting in a shade of rose. A gigantic bed took pride of place, covered in pillows and a satiny comforter. The room even had its own bathroom with a soaking tub. A suite fit for a lady.

  I’m not a lady.

  However, she didn’t say that aloud. She expressed her thanks. Even allowed Titus to have a tray sent to her laden with food. He stayed and watched her eat it—more like choke it down because her throat felt so tight.

  Adara was still with Titus when he got the call that Logan had rebuffed the zombie attack but was at the police station for questioning.

  “I can’t believe he was arrested.” Again.

  “Fear not, dearest. I’ve got my best lawyer working with his to ensure that no charges are brought.”

  Titus seemed so calm and cool about everything. Didn’t he see just how much trouble she kept causing?

  No, he doesn’t see it because he likes me. Which was why she needed to protect him. Him and Logan.

  As the hour grew late, she yawned, and Titus wished her a good night—which was actually closer to a good morning. She shivered as he kissed the top of her hand and wished her sweet dreams.

  As if. She would never escape her dreams of darkness.

  In case he kept some kind of vampiric tabs on her, she pretended to go to bed. Despite the comfortable mattress and the soothing scent of the fresh sheets, she couldn’t sleep. Lying on her side, she watched the window as the sky lightened outside. Not a sunny day, but enough to ensure that all UV allergic vampires would hide.

  Once she knew for sure Titus wouldn’t return, she grabbed the phone from the nightstand and dialed.

  When Dr. Forrester answered, she said, “Where can I meet you?” Even as she asked, she knew Logan and Titus would be angry at her decision. But it was her choice. Not theirs. She had two options: hand herself over to the necromancer, or hope that the doctor truly meant her no harm. After all, he’d kept her alive. He’d given her freedom. Surely, that counted for something.

  She expected to have a problem escaping. Titus claimed there was tight security, which was why she peeked outside her door first.

/>   The hall was empty. She crept, barely breathing, heart racing. She made it down the stairs before someone took note of her.

  A man, muscular and blond, suddenly stood in a doorway. He regarded her with an icy stare. A stare that made her tremble.

  Run. He’s one of them! One of what? It didn’t matter.

  The fear struck her hard and fast, almost sending her to her knees.

  His lips flattened. “Where are you going?”

  Her voice trembled. “I need to go. Before trouble follows me.”

  Given that he obviously worked for Titus, she expected him to order her back upstairs. Instead, he turned his back, silently giving her permission to leave.

  Adara didn’t waste the opportunity. She exited via the front door, and he did nothing to stop her. She jogged down the drive without seeing a soul. Approaching the closed gates, she eyed them with trepidation, hoping she had the strength to climb, only to have them open.

  The blond man clearly wanted her gone. She slipped through the gap and stood outside the protective boundary of the property.

  Clang. She flinched when the gates shut behind her with a firm finality.

  There was no going back. I am well and truly on my own now. Treading a path she’d decided.

  She began to walk, not too far. The car was where Dr. Forrester had said it would be, the driver wearing sunglasses that hid his eyes. He held open the rear passenger door, and she slid into the vehicle.

  Bang. The door slammed shut, and the lock engaged.

  Panic fluttered in her breast. It screamed at her to get out. Why did she go like a lamb to the slaughter?

  Dr. Forrester wasn’t the enemy.

  Or was he?

  It was so hard to tell. There were so many gaps in her psyche.

  Because you need to forget. A sibilant murmur in her mind.

  Forget everything.

  Relax. Clear your mind.

  The soothing words tried to stifle her memories, but she fought against it.

  I want to remember. Because only by knowing the truth could she reclaim herself.

  Is that even possible? She couldn’t forget the witch’s words.