Into the Dark (Until Dawn, Book 3)

by J. N. Baker

  “So I’ve heard. You and your king can go fuck yourselves,” I shot back. “How could you?” I said a little softer, inching away from him.

  When he didn’t move to grab me again, I spun on my heels and ran for the castle. Even when I felt his eyes burning through me, I never looked back.

  I stumbled through the castle gates, my legs struggling to hold the weight of my heavy, nonexistent heart. Emotions stirred deep within me and I felt sick. For the first time in a long time, I longed to be the cold, emotionless monster that my kind was supposed to be. For the first time, I found myself not wanting to feel. Dizziness overtook me and I swayed back and forth as the courtyard began to spin uncontrollably around me, or perhaps it was in my head.

  “Zoe?”

  Cody ran for me at full speed, which didn’t seem so fast in comparison to my own super speed. I was pretty sure he was moving in slow motion. He reached me in time, catching me as I fell into his arms. The warmth of his body made me realize just how cold I was.

  “What’s wrong, Zo?” he asked, panic in his voice.

  My head rocked onto his shoulder, but I didn’t need a shoulder to cry on. No, those tears had all been shed when Josh had died. When I thought he’d died.

  “He should have died,” I murmured.

  “What are you talking about? You’re not making any sense. Who should have died?”

  A blinding pain ripped through my chest—a pain I could only guess was my blackened heart breaking all over again—and a tearless sob bubbled out of me. I wasn’t sure what hurt worse: his death or his betrayal.

  “Enemy,” I mumbled into Cody’s ear, his long blond hair tickling my frozen nose. “Forgot me.”

  He gave me a hard shake, nearly dropping me in the process. “Zoe!”

  “He’s alive!” I shouted, my voice echoing against the stone walls.

  My forehead hit Cody’s shoulder once more and my mind went black.

  I stirred on something soft. A bed. Where was I?

  It took all of my strength to open my eyes. A fire was roaring in the fireplace to my left, casting an orange glow across the small, mostly unfurnished room and filling it with warmth. Cody’s room. Seeing as he spent most of his nights curled up between Annie’s and my feet, his room went mostly unused. But he insisted on having one still for…other bedroom ventures.

  Cody’s voice came from outside the bedroom door.

  “If anyone asks, you don’t know where she is,” he said. “Lie. Do whatever it takes. I need time alone with her. Don’t let anyone else into this room.”

  “What if it’s Alec?” a soft female voice asked. “He’ll never believe me.”

  “Then stall him.”

  There was silence and then the door clicked shut. Cody walked over to the bed, sitting beside me. He put a warm washrag across my forehead and I moaned.

  “Is that all it takes to please you, Fido?” he whispered, removing the rag as I gave him a half-hearted swat on the leg.

  Ignoring his protests, I sat up and touched my throbbing temples. My head was pounding. I leaned back against the headboard and sighed. “I had the strangest dream. Stranger than usual.”

  Cody paused before dipping the washrag into a bowl of hot water. He wrung it out and dabbed my face, removing the layers of sweat from my skin. The heat felt divine. Had I been out in the snow?

  “I dreamed Josh was still alive,” I said and Cody’s hand faltered. “Yeah, I know,” I continued. “Stupid, right? I dreamed he’d become one of the Chosen. Worse yet, Baldric had turned him into a bloodsucker.” I laughed at the ridiculousness until I looked up at a now-trembling Cody. He’d gone completely pale.

  “I don’t think it was a dream, Zo,” he said once he found his voice.

  “What are you talking about? Of course it was. Josh is—he’s dead, Cody.”

  Cody took a deep breath, fiddling with the damp washrag in his hands before dropping it into the small basin. “Dude, you stumbled into the castle half frozen, ranting and raving. You told me ‘he’s alive.’ What happened out there, Zoe?”

  “I-I don’t know,” I whispered, furrowing my brow. It couldn’t have been real, right? Was I just hoping it was a dream? And like the horrible nightmare it was, it all came rushing to the surface. “Oh my God,” I breathed. “He is alive. I saw him by the lake. He was there, Cody. He was real. He’s…he’s working for Baldric.”

  “He was here?” Cody practically squeaked.

  I nodded, remembering looking into those icy eyes. I couldn’t understand how eyes that were once so full of warmth and life could be so cold and empty. It was as if he were nothing more than a ghost. He was there. He was alive. But he wasn’t living. And still, I hungered for his touch, his kiss.

  “I wish he was dead,” I said to the covers, too embarrassed by my words to meet Cody’s eyes.

  “Zoe…” he started.

  “No,” I said, stopping him. “It’s true. He’s the enemy now. Baldric has taken everything out of him. It isn’t him anymore. He doesn’t even remember who I am,” I breathed, a stabbing pain shooting through my chest like a thousand daggers. “The man I saw out there wasn’t Josh. He was just another pawn to do Baldric’s dirty work.”

  “Did he say anything?” Cody finally asked.

  “That he’d come to take me to his king. And that Baldric is the rightful ruler,” I added, not bothering to hide my spite.

  “Did he try to attack you?”

  My lips tingled at the memory of Josh’s assault and heat flooded my face. “No,” I finally said, more than a little breathless. “No, he didn’t. But he did try to take me with him.”

  “And yet you’re here.”

  “And yet I’m here,” I echoed.

  “He let you go?”

  “Not necessarily.” I sighed, scrubbing a hand over my face. “Kind of.”

  “Then, maybe there’s some sort of hope,” Cody said. “Maybe we can get him back.”

  “He’s gone, Cody. It was like looking into the eyes of a stranger. Baldric must have done something to him, erased his memories or found a way to control him. That isn’t the Josh we knew, not anymore. He might as well be dead.”

  We sat in silence for what felt like hours, listening to the crackle of the fire and reminiscing on better days—days when the people we loved were still alive and the sun still shone. When friends didn’t become enemies.

  “Wait a minute,” he said, standing and turning on his heels to face me. I could practically see the lightbulb flashing over his head.

  “What is it?”

  “Where is she?” a deep voice raged from outside the door. A surge of adrenaline pumped through my veins and I sprang to my feet, stepping protectively in front of Cody. I knew full well what was about to come through that door.

  “I swear,” a small female voice cried, “I don’t know anything.”

  “Out of my way, shift,” Alec raged, barging into the room. The door swung open, flying off of its hinges and across the room.

  Holly chased after him. “I tried! I’m sorry!”

  Alec snarled over his shoulder and Holly recoiled. She turned and fled the room—probably a smart move.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Alec shouted, his voice laced with anger and suspicion. His eyes darted from Cody to me and then back to Cody.

  “Leave him alone, Alec,” I warned.

  “What are you doing in his room?” he raged, stepping so close that our bodies touched.

  “We are talking,” I shot right back. “Ease off.”

  “You shouldn’t be alone with him.”

  “Zoe,” Cody said, stepping beside me.

  “No, Cody. I’ll handle this,” I snapped, turning my attention back to Alec. “I’ll be wherever I good and well please,” I growled, jabbing a finger into his sternum. “You do not own me, Alec. Don’t forget that.”

  “Zoe,” Cody said again, tapping incessantly on my shoulder. Couldn’t he see I was a little busy trying to save his ass?

&n
bsp; “Don’t touch her,” Alec snarled. “You don’t have any right to talk to her. She’s mine.”

  There was that word again. And yet it didn’t hold the same effect as it had when Josh said it. In fact, coming from Alec’s mouth it just pissed me the hell off.

  “I can talk to him wherever and whenever and I want,” I said, shoving Alec back as he tried to get at Cody a second time. Cody held his ground, no more than two feet away from me.

  “Zoe,” Cody said once more and whatever patience I had left went right out the window.

  “What?” I snapped, turning on my shift friend, Alec growling behind me.

  “Alec’s the one who told us Josh was dead.”

  I lunged at Alec, my fingers coiling around his throat. The momentum of my attack sent us both careening into the wall, stone crumbling to the floor at our feet. Alec grunted, struggling against me. I’d gotten stronger since my ascent. Ryuu had known it and now Alec would know it too. I was stronger than him.

  “Liar!” I screamed, tearing him away from the wall and catapulting him right back into it. I drew back my fist and swung, my knuckles connecting with his perfectly chiseled jaw. Something cracked and I wasn’t sure if it was my hand or his face. Maybe both. Whatever, it would all heal.

  Other than a few grunts, Alec didn’t respond. He just stared at me with empty eyes, so much like William’s. Would I be that cold and heartless with age? What was I saying? I was already well on my way.

  Alec’s lack of emotion only pissed me off that much more. I wanted to see his pain, his remorse. I wanted to see something—anything. My fingers tightened on his throat.

  Cody jumped into action, grabbing me by the shoulders and trying to pull me away. I easily shook him off and he took the hint, backing away with his hands up. “Sorry, dude,” he said to Alec. “You’re on your own with this one.” With that, Cody took off down the hall, either to get the hell away for my rampage or, more likely, to get help before I killed Alec.

  “What has gotten into you?” Alec growled once Cody was gone.

  “He speaks,” I sneered.

  Alec narrowed his eyes on me, the scowl on his face deepening.

  “You lied to me,” I said through clenched teeth.

  I reared back to punch him again but he blocked me, grabbing my wrist with one hand and shoving me away with the other. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Zoe.”

  “You lied,” I said again. “You told me Josh was dead.”

  Alec stiffened, his eyes momentarily widening. “Zoe,” he started, “I can explain.”

  “Oh, you can explain?” I said, my voice getting louder. “You can explain like you can explain everything else? You’ve just got an answer for everything, don’t you? What is it this time? Did William tell you to do this too?” I picked up the only chair in the room and hurled it at his head. He ducked and it slammed into the wall with a loud crash. Wood splinters rained down around him.

  I didn’t wait for him to respond. I charged him again, throwing myself into him. Alec tried to push me away once more but, again, I was stronger. My fingers found their way back to his neck, tightening until I heard him struggling for air. Electricity hummed just beneath the surface of my skin, itching to get out. Just when I thought it would, the others stormed into the room.

  “What is going on here?” William bellowed.

  Without needing any direction, Annie and Jade rushed me. They got right to work prying me off Alec, whose neck was turning a beautiful shade of purple. He’d be healed faster than I would have liked—faster than he deserved. I kicked and screamed as the two women pulled me away, still seeing red like a mad bull. The two of them together struggled to restrain me.

  “What is going on?” William asked again, sounding just as impatient as always. When he got no response, he shook his head. “This is not the time for petty courtship problems, especially with the loss of one of our own. Baldric is up to something. We must stay focused. Now more than ever it is important we maintain a unified front.”

  “He is a liar,” I hissed, glaring at Alec as I struggled against Annie and Jade’s combined efforts.

  Alec shot me a look, his eyes begging me not to tell William. If he thought this was going to be our little secret, he was sorely mistaken.

  “Do I need to repeat myself a third time?” William asked, his arms crossed over his broad chest.

  “Josh is alive!” I blurted.

  Annie gasped, releasing me to cover her gaping mouth. It gave me just enough leverage to slip out of Jade’s stronghold. I tackled Alec, shoving him back against the wall and pinning him there, my forearm tucked neatly under his jaw. Annie and Jade quickly started toward me but William stopped them with a raised hand.

  “What do you mean he is alive, Zoe?” William asked, stepping beside us. Alec looked to him for help as I pressed my arm farther into his throat, making a choking noise as he lifted to his tippy toes. When he started to change color, I picked him up and threw him to the ground.

  Alec coughed and wheezed on the floor, struggling to climb to his knees. “I can explain, William,” he rasped.

  “You’ve done enough,” I snapped. William stopped me before I could plant my foot in the back of Alec’s head.

  How could he betray me like that—lie to me about something so important? I fumed, pacing across the room to keep from killing him. The last thing we needed was to give Baldric the opportunity to create another one of his hybrids.

  “How is this possible, Alec?” William asked. “You told us Josh was dead. You knew I wanted the human kept alive.”

  “That isn’t even the half of it,” I said before Alec could speak. “Not only is he still alive, he’s one of us.”

  “One of us?” Annie squeaked, her big green eyes growing even bigger.

  Jade looked sick. She’d put two and two together quickly.

  “And you are certain, Zoe?”

  I nodded stiffly at William. “I saw the markings. He’s definitely one of us.”

  “So, it has happened…” William trailed off. “That is…unfortunate.”

  All eyes landed on our fearless leader.

  “What are you saying?” Jade asked. “Did you know Zoe’s human was a successor?”

  William nodded. “I suspected. Though I had planned to be the one to turn him, of course.”

  “You knew?” Jade practically shrieked. “You knew he would replace one of us and you didn’t say anything? Don’t you think that’s something we should have been told?”

  William pinned her with a stare. “Would you really have wanted to know that one of you was likely destined for death?”

  Annie’s gulp was audible.

  “If we’d known we were at risk,” Jade seethed, “Ryuu never would have risked the hunt. He might still be alive.”

  “You would have me believe that Ryuu would have hid from the world like a coward, letting the rest of our people fend for themselves?” he asked and Jade clamped her mouth shut. “No, I would not have you live in fear. Fear makes us weak. I will not allow us to be weak. Besides, I did not know who Zoe’s human would succeed or when. Part of me hoped it would be Baldric.”

  “Wish in one hand…” I mumbled. “And he isn’t my human.”

  “So,” William continued, ignoring me. “Baldric now has one of the Chosen on his side.”

  I blew out a breath. “He’s got more than that,” I said. “Baldric has turned him into one of the bloodsuckers.”

  That was clearly the last straw for William. “Why did you not tell us the human was still alive?” he boomed, hovering over Alec. “If I had known, I would have fought to get him back. Explain yourself. Now.”

  A hint of fear flashed across Alec’s eyes but it quickly disappeared. He stood. “I was trying to protect her!” he shouted, jabbing a finger in my direction.

  “The answer for everything,” I snapped, glowering at him.

  “It’s the truth,” Alec retorted, taking a long step toward me. Jade stepped forward,
holding him back half-heartedly. She would have loved nothing more than for him to hit me. Hell, to kill me. Then she wouldn’t have to do it herself.

  “I told Josh to get you out of there,” Alec continued, “but when he returned both he and the Sythen attacked me. I managed to slay the Sythen but Josh got away. I struck him pretty good across the chest before he escaped. I thought the wound would have killed him. I really thought he was dead. I mean, he was human for all I knew. Maybe he was already one of the bloodsuckers.”

  I remembered the long scar I had seen trailing from Josh’s chest to his hip, a scar that wouldn’t have been there if he’d already been a vampire during the Great Battle. I had assumed Baldric had inflicted the wound, but it was Alec. Alec had tried to kill Josh. Whether or not Josh was working for Baldric, that news angered me further. William grabbed ahold of me as I lunged for Alec yet again.

  “Enough,” William said before releasing me. “Let him speak.”

  “He was working for Baldric!” Alec yelled in my direction. “He tried to kill me. What did you expect me to do? You don’t even want to know the vile shit he was saying about you before he attacked me.”

  “Try me,” I bit out, clearly a glutton for pain.

  Alec growled, running a hand through his messy hair. “He told me that after he got rid of me he was going to ‘fuck your pretty little pussy raw.’ He said he was going to take what he wanted from you until he’d had his fill and then he’d hand you over to Baldric to do with as he pleased.”

  I recoiled from his words. “You lie.”

  “He was just trying to get in your pants to lure you away, Zoe. He didn’t care about you. He was using you. He was using all of us. Who knows for how long?”

  “You still should have told us,” William interjected before I could say anything more. “If we had known, we could have better prepared.”

  “If I’d known he was a successor, I would have,” Alec countered. “I merely thought he was a turncoat.”

  He turned his eyes back to me. They were full of pain. “I thought knowing he was a traitor would be more painful than thinking he was dead. I was just trying to protect you, Zoe.” Alec took a tentative step toward me, reaching for me. I withdrew.