Dark Secret

by Danielle Rose

  He slams closed the door behind us and drops my hand. My heart is pounding in my head, and my thoughts are spinning out of control. The energy of the house seeps into my soul. It’s exciting, ecstatic. I can barely keep my cool while Jasik rushes through his bedroom, searching for something.

  In an instant, he’s pulling open his closet and tearing off his clothes. Blood rushes to my cheeks, and I turn away. Thankfully, I didn’t see much more of his naked body than I saw this morning. The last thing I need right now is to be excited and aroused.

  “We haven’t much time,” he says, frantic.

  I turn to face him. His comfy sweats and T-shirt have been replaced with black jeans, a dark T-shirt, and a military-style jacket. He brushes his hair back when a few strands fall into his eyes.

  “Time? For what? What’s going on?” I shout.

  I remember Malik’s words. Humans have been attacked. But after that, Jasik was whisking me into his bedroom. I barely got to register his words, let alone ask questions. Obviously something serious has happened, and I ache to know what it is, to be included. I should be next door in my bedroom.

  I drop my duffel on the floor and unzip it. I desperately search for my weapon. I find the small black box that contains my cross necklace and push it aside. At the very bottom of the bag, I find the box that secures my stake. I yank it from the bag, open the box, and withdraw my weapon. I stand and kick the bag. It slides against the floor until it knocks into the wall. With stake in hand, I face Jasik.

  “I need you to stay here,” he says, gaze on the deadly silver in my hand.

  “What? But where are you going?” I ask, confused. He is clearly getting ready for a fight. Why would we stay here?

  “To aid the humans,” he says.

  “What humans? What’s happening?” I shout. I’m getting angrier by the second.

  “Jeremiah was on patrol after breakfast. He must have encountered something and sent word to Malik,” he says.

  “Sent word? How?” I ask.

  “We have cellular telephones, Ava. This is the twenty-first century,” Jasik says plainly.

  If I wasn’t frightened, I might have laughed. Once again, Jasik shows me his softer side. Unfortunately, I can’t appreciate it right now.

  “Malik, Hikari, and I are going to help him,” he says. “You need to stay here.”

  He turns away from me and faces his dresser. He opens the top drawer, nearly yanking it completely from the furniture, and shuffles inside. By the time he slams it closed and faces me again, he has a dagger in his hand. The silver metal is bright and shiny. The handle is black. He slides it into a hidden sheath inside his inner jacket and strides toward me.

  “Why? I should come with you,” I argue.

  “No. Absolutely not.”

  “Jasik, I’m an asset. Use me.”

  “Ava, you’re a risk I can’t take.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I slide my stake into my jacket’s inner pocket and cross my arms over my chest. Rage is building within me, and if he’s not careful, I might take it out on him.

  “Humans have been attacked. I don’t know how many were injured or how many rogues are there. I can’t watch you if I’m hunting them.”

  Jasik tries to pass me, but I sidestep to get in his way. I’m blocking his exit, and I can see his frustration is building.

  “You don’t need to watch me, Jasik. I fed. I’m fine.”

  “You’re an unnecessary risk, and I’m not willing to take the chance. End of discussion.”

  He swoops around me so fast I completely miss it. I’m facing an empty bedroom and listening to his bedroom door open behind me.

  “Why do you even care?” I blurt as I stumble around. I may not be as agile, but I can get the job done.

  He stops in his tracks and turns to face me. “Are you seriously asking me that?”

  I shrug. “Maybe.”

  “This attitude and reckless behavior is why you’re not coming and why you must train with Malik.”

  “We don’t have time for your power trip, Jasik! I’m coming, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”

  The tiny muscles in his jaw clench. I’ve overstepped. There will be no going back and no forgiveness before he leaves. He once called me stubborn, and I have to laugh about that now. If I’m stubborn, what is he?

  “Ava”—he exhales sharply—“stay here.” His tone is harsh, and it’s pointless to keep arguing.

  The door to his bedroom slams shut, and I hear his descending footsteps. With each step, they grow more and more faint. The front door to the manor closes, and I’m alone.

  Well, alone as a girl can be when she’s in a house full of vampires who don’t particularly care for her.

  Chapter Twelve

  I unlock Jasik’s bedroom window and peer down. I’m on the second story of a rather tall Victorian-style manor. I’m not sure how many feet it is until I reach the ground, but it certainly looks to be a higher jump than the one at my old house.

  As I shimmy out the window and dangle my legs in the air, I send a silent prayer to whatever god or goddess is listening.

  “Time to test these fancy vampire skills,” I say aloud.

  I’m falling. The air swoops through my hair and tickles my nose. A quick burst of adrenaline rushes through me. Am I flying? I hang my arms out to my sides, as if I really could take off into the night sky, and giggle as I land.

  There’s no pain, no break, no internal ache. It’s as if I’ve just stepped off a stair or jumped from my bed. The extra height made no difference.

  Cautiously, I scan my surroundings. Jasik’s bedroom was across the hall from mine, so I’ve landed in the backyard. The area is unfamiliar yet similar to the front yard. A small clearing leads to overgrown brush and forest trees. The sky is alight with stars that seem brighter ever since I transitioned into a vampire.

  There are still several hours before the sun will rise, but I doubt the vampires will need a lot of time. Like me, they’re experienced hunters. I’m sure they’ll reach the rogues in no time, so I must move quickly if I want to aide them.

  I run my hands along the front of my jacket, smoothing down the fabric as I search for my weapon. I need to ensure it hasn’t been lost in my escape. If I wish to hunt, I need the tools. I encounter the familiar bulge of my sheathed stake and turn to run toward the front of the manor.

  But I stop dead in my tracks.

  Amicia stands before me, arms crossed, finger tapping disapprovingly against her bicep. Her eyes are narrowed, her jaw clenched. Her nose is pointed toward the sky as she assesses the situation. She definitely doesn’t look amused or pleased to find me jumping out of Jasik’s bedroom window.

  I’ll admit this definitely looks very bad. When I arrived unwanted, she made it explicitly clear that she won’t tolerate even one mishap. This likely qualifies as that single wrongdoing. I decide to face her head-on, so I swallow the knot that’s forming and wait for her to speak.

  Except she doesn’t.

  Time slows to an agonizing pace as I wait for her. Just listening to myself breathe is starting to irk me, and the steady beats of her heart, while mine remains overworked, are just her way of showing off.

  I don’t have time for this!

  I’m not sure how many minutes pass, but the moment it becomes unbearable silence, I finally cave and offer an explanation.

  “I can explain,” I blurt.

  “I’m waiting,” she says firmly.

  “The other hunters left. I was supposed to catch up with them.”

  She exhales sharply. “Ava, I’m offering you the chance at honesty, and you wish to lie to me? Do you take me for a fool?”

  I shake my head and break away from her deadly gaze. “No. I just… Jasik didn’t want me to go with, but I need to.”

  “And why is that?” Her steely gaze sends shivers down my spine. I don’t understand why she affects me this way. She’s not my sire, but I’m terrified of her nonetheless. If true
strength had a smell, it would smell just like her. A candle company could bottle her up and sell the concoction to witches for lighting during courage rituals. Or skip the ritual. Just light her up and let it burn. Inhale deeply and become a new person. Rinse and repeat.

  I sigh because the truth is inevitable, so I resort to honesty—not because of what she said but because I’m fairly certain she can actually sense a lie. It’s like she has some superpower the rest of us didn’t inherit when we transitioned. It also doesn’t make sense to keep lying, because she knew I was going to jump out of Jasik’s bedroom window enough to wait for me outside; Jasik must have already told her the plan and clued her in to the fact that I wasn’t invited.

  What a jerk.

  “He thinks I’m a liability,” I say.

  “And you don’t agree?”

  “No. I have a lot of experience in battle.”

  She arches a brow. “I’m certain you do. Just how many vampires have you slain, Ava?”

  The silence returns, and this time, it’s earth-shattering. How am I supposed to answer this question? If I lie, she’ll probably sense it and sentence me to death for annoying her—or for my dishonesty. If I tell the truth, she’ll hate me, deem me untrustworthy, and cast me out. Either way, I’m basically looking at my last days on earth. It’s safe to say this isn’t quite how I imagined my final moment with these vampires.

  “Amicia, I won’t apologize for what I’ve done, and I don’t expect you to answer to me for everything you’ve done. I’m sure your body count is much higher than mine, and I think we can both agree we did what we had to do.”

  She nods. “I suppose so.”

  “I won’t deny that I was sneaking out and disobeying Jasik’s request to stay here until he returns, but I can’t sit by and watch as they face rogues without me. He won’t take my word that I’m an asset, so he’s forcing me to prove it to him. I can only do that in battle.”

  “He worries your hunger will get the best of you. How will you control your desire around injured humans?” she asks.

  “I think you and I can both agree that I’m the only one in this house who truly cares about protecting humans.”

  “I resent your accusation. We hunt rogues each and every night.” Her tone is sharp, and I worry I’ve overstepped. Unfortunately, there’s no going back now, so I let her have every ounce of my honesty that she requested from me.

  “You hunt rogues to protect your secret. Vampires don’t want to become the dominant species and risk their takeout meals-on-wheels. Extinction means vampires die too. Sure, your actions benefit humans, but that doesn’t make them any less selfish. I hunt to protect humans, to keep them safe without expecting anything in return. That has been my sole concern every time I’ve gone on patrol.”

  I’m firm, standing my ground, and waiting for Amicia to succumb to my will. I’m not going back inside this manor, and the longer she keeps me here, the harder it’s going to be for me to track the other vampires. So we need to end this standoff once and for all.

  “You judge us for our actions because we benefit from both the elimination of rogues and the protection of humans, but you’re overlooking something far greater.”

  “And what’s that?” I say a little too confidently. I doubt there’s anything she can say that will prove me wrong.

  “You are a vampire, Ava.”

  With everything I have, I want so desperately to argue with her—not about being a vampire. She’s right about that. I am a vampire, and I need to start acting like one. I must remember that I’ll never look at humans the same way again. They aren’t docile creatures in need of my protection. They are my source of nutrition.

  Thankfully, Amicia doesn’t offer me the chance to respond. She exhales slowly and releases some tension, standing straighter and letting her arms dangle at her sides. She strides toward me.

  “I admire your resilience, Ava. I hope you prove to be an invaluable asset in my home,” she says.

  She walks past me, and I turn to keep my gaze on her. She walks through the glass doors that lead to the conservatory and disappears into the manor. Others watch on, their crimson irises like daggers to flesh, but I ignore them and run to the front yard and past the gate.

  The moment I’m in the woods, a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I’m tense in the house, never feeling truly safe or at ease. The vampires will acclimate to my presence, but it’ll be a slow venture toward friendship. I hope impressing Amicia will help speed this along. I’d like to sleep with both eyes closed and not fear for my personal belongings.

  I clear my mind and try to focus on Jasik. I’ve spent the most time with him out of all the vampires, so finding him should be fairly simple. I know his mannerisms, the way he thinks, the way he smells. He’s a predator in search of his prey, so I don’t think he’s too worried about covering his own tracks right now. He’s no different from the countless vampires I’ve hunted on my patrols. They never saw me coming either.

  I come to a sudden stop. The world is spinning all around me as I try to catch my breath. I have so much strength at my disposal. I feel like I could run for miles without ever tiring. I ache to run until my legs give out just to see how far I’ll get. The exhilaration of my new strength and heightened senses is exhausting.

  I scan the woods. There are several paths with broken branches. Most come from the wildlife that calls this forest home. I spend several minutes unsuccessfully trying to find Jasik’s path. Just when I’m beginning to wonder if all hope is lost, I resort to my final sense.

  With nose to the sky like some rabid beast, I inhale deeply. The faint smell of cinnamon reaches my nostrils. I open my eyes and dash toward the smell, risking everything on the hunch that it leads to Jasik and the other vampires. I continue taking several deep inhalations, not worrying about how much noise I must be making as I run toward the familiar smell.

  I reach them in a matter of seconds. The three hunters stand in a small grouping on the outskirts of Darkhaven. Jeremiah is still missing. A spark of concern is beginning to burn within me. Where is he? Has something happened?

  The forest borders Darkhaven on three sides. The vampires built their home within it, hiding so deep in the woods that no one has ever ventured there. We’re nowhere near there now.

  Clear across the expansive forest, in what some locals consider the bad side of town, there is Darkhaven’s only nightclub, the Catacombs. What was once a prominent church has been converted into a local hangout spot where all the cool kids like to listen to a live band and drink beer smuggled within travel mugs. Since high school kids bring in the greatest revenue, a bouncer sits at the front door to charge a cover, check IDs, and stamp hands.

  Even now, from this distance, I can see him. He’s a large man wearing a tight tank top that’s far too small for his muscular build. His dark skin is slick with sweat. The flickering light above the door reflects off his shiny black curls.

  I can hear the live band and distant rumblings of people talking over the music. Every few minutes, the distinct clatter of billiard balls rings through the walls.

  The stench is nauseating. The pungent rush of sweat and stale beer is stagnant in the air. I stumble into the clearing, as if I’m drunk from the fumes alone, and make my way toward the vampires. Jasik doesn’t hide his annoyance with me.

  “I told you she’d sneak out anyway,” Hikari says. She doesn’t hide her frustration either.

  “Jasik, we haven’t the time for this,” Malik warns.

  My sire sighs and turns to face me. “Will you never listen?”

  I shrug. “I guess not. Better you learn that now.”

  “You’re a liability,” Malik says.

  “I’m an ally. You don’t have many of those, especially ones already trained to fight rogues, so I suggest you don’t piss me off,” I say.

  Hikari laughs. “Are you seriously threatening him?”

  By the time I process her words, she’s already in front of me. She’s one quick smack
away from knocking me unconscious. But I’m brazen, high from the scent of booze and adrenaline.

  Before I can respond, Jasik is beside me, separating us as if he really did expect a brawl.

  “Ava, you shouldn’t have come. You’re too great a risk.” He turns to face the others. “But we don’t have time to escort her back home, so we’ll use her.”

  “Use me? For what?” I say.

  “Bait.”

  The night air is cool against my skin. It’s an odd sensation to shiver not from the cold but from uncertainty and fear. I feel the vampires’ eyes on me, but I can’t distinguish allies from enemies. I have no idea if the vampires stalking me are my nest-mates or rogues on the prowl.

  By the time we caught up with Jeremiah, he informed us the humans were already dead. He wasn’t able to save them, and I could see from his grim demeanor that he will live with that knowledge the rest of his life. And vampires live way too long for that nonsense. It’s in these moments I can understand the desire to go rogue, to turn off your emotions and simply act.

  He wasn’t able to approach the rogues without risking his life. Jasik assured him he made the right decision to wait and call for backup. Their idea of patrolling Darkhaven is so much different than mine. As a witch, I was expected to kill any vampire I encountered. No one cared about my safety. No one thought to have me call for help first. No one ever offered to join me.

  The vampires truly care for each other. They may not be blood relatives, but they are family. They’re nothing like what the witches taught me to believe. What else have they lied about?

  The vampires and I have split up in search of the rogues. We’re all within earshot, and I feel like they’re expecting me to mess up so badly the rogues find me first.

  Hence, bait.

  But I intend to prove them wrong. I will find a rogue and kill it before the others even realize what’s going on. Then, maybe I’ll get the respect I so rightfully deserve.

  Just as I’m developing my plan, something happens. It’s a distinct moment in time, like when the wind shifts or the temperature drops suddenly, and it leaves me on edge. My pulse races, my heart pounding so loudly it’s all I can think about. My senses rapid-fire. The smell, the sounds, the lights…they all become too much. I want to cower and fight at the same time.