Darkness Rising

by Cate Farren

  Darkness Rising

  The Vampire Inheritance Saga, Volume 6

  Cate Farren

  Published by David Dawson, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  DARKNESS RISING

  First edition. July 7, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 Cate Farren.

  Written by Cate Farren.

  Also by Cate Farren

  The Vampire Inheritance Saga

  Summer's Deadly Kiss

  Darkness Rising

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Also By Cate Farren

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Also By Cate Farren

  Chapter 1

  Three months ago

  King Lachlan of the Fey surveyed his court with disdain. It was somewhat smaller than it used to be. Over the past nine months his allies had begun to abandon him. Some of them he couldn’t care less about. They were beneath him. Some of them he needed. They bolstered his ego and made him feel he was good enough to be their king. Some days he thought it just wasn’t worth the hassle.

  “You may go,” he called.

  He was bored. He needed to be with Daniel. Daniel always made him feel like he was the most important person who ever lived.

  The court surveyed him with contempt before bowing and leaving quickly, almost tripping over themselves in their haste to escape. Lachlan banged his fists on the armrests of his throne. How dare they look at him like he was nothing! He was their king and he was worthy of their respect!

  “Are you okay?” Daniel asked.

  His lover sported the bruises on his face from last night’s altercation. Daniel knew better than to anger the king when he was already feeling fragile. It was his own fault really.

  “Service me,” the king ordered.

  Daniel hesitated. “In the throne room?”

  “I am your king and I...” Lachlan sighed. He didn’t want to dirty his throne. Besides, Daniel looked a little scared of him. “Just go.”

  Daniel nodded and left almost as quickly as the rest of the court.

  “Sire, can I have a word?” someone asked.

  The king sighed. He shouldn’t be angry. Daniel loved him, and he put up with a lot. Lachlan knew that his temper sometimes got the better of him, but he couldn’t control it. The world was out to get him.

  Lachlan looked up. He didn’t recognize the male servant in front of him, though he did seem familiar. He was attractive, tall, with very pronounced ears. Sharper ears signified greater sexual prowess in a Fey.

  “What is it?” Lachlan demanded. “I’m busy.”

  “Not too busy to discuss an alliance that could benefit you greatly,” said the servant.

  The king was intrigued. He needed a distraction, especially after he beat Daniel the previous night. Sometimes he couldn’t help it. Daniel just didn’t understand the pressure he was under. How could he? He was just a lowly vampire. Daniel should be honored that he’d been chosen as the lover of a king and just accept what came with it.

  And yet...

  He refused to feel guilty. He was King. He could do whatever he wanted.

  “You’re not with one of the Toren factions, are you?” Lachlan asked wearily.

  His allies were leaving him one by one. They thought him feckless, arrogant and a waste of space. They didn’t think much of Toren, but they now preferred her over him, despite denouncing the princess once upon a time.

  Toren committed regicide! How can they prefer her?

  “Your staff have abandoned you,” said the servant. “Your allies would rather have the murderous princess as their queen, despite their earlier support. You need my help, and I need yours.”

  “I’m confused,” Lachlan admitted.

  The servant laughed cruelly and shifted into Loki. Lachlan didn’t move. He knew he was no match against the Lord of Chaos.

  “You want me to work for you?” Lachlan scoffed.

  “I want you to work with me,” Loki stated. “I need you. I need your magic.”

  “You have magic.”

  “I need lots of magic.”

  He still had his loyal guards, and he still had Daniel. All he had to do was call them and they’d protect him in an instant. They’d die for him.

  Lachlan nodded. “What can you do for me?”

  “I can protect you in the war to come. You will come out of it unscathed, with a willing population of Fey who will adore you for shielding them. You will be the king they always wanted.”

  Lachlan didn’t need time to think. He said yes.

  “Excellent,” Loki declared. “When can you get me what I need?”

  “What do you need exactly?” Lachlan asked.

  Loki paced, seemingly lost in thought. Lachlan felt his ire rise. How dare he procrastinate in front of him!

  “There is a rumor going around that the previous king decided to lock up any Fey who became addicted to blood magic after the atrocities Toren committed during the shapeshifter war.” Loki stopped pacing and turned to stare at him. Lachlan flinched. “Fey blood magic users are powerful and I need them.”

  Lachlan knew about this. The blood magic users were locked up in a magical prison in another dimension. Even the thought of them made him nervous. They were corrupt and evil and would do just about anything to perform the most malevolent magic.

  “You can’t control them,” said Lachlan.

  “I’m going to give them a task that will let them use their blood magic.”

  The king shivered. He didn’t want to know.

  “Thank you,” said Loki.

  Lachlan was surprised. “What for?”

  The Lord of Chaos smiled and walked away.

  Chapter 2

  "Clover!"

  Jared heard her shrieks of anguish as he snapped awake. The room he was in was sunlit, though his vision was blurred. He could hear water trickling. His body was vibrating, trembling, like he was sitting on top of a washing machine. He could taste dead blood on his tongue. An unidentifiable darkness was at the corner of his vision, whispering, taunting. Something was wrong. Clover was in danger and she was crying for him.

  I have to get to her.

  "It's okay," someone
said. Their voice was quiet, soft. He instinctively knew they meant him no harm. "You're alive now."

  He moved the thin, threadbare covers from him. They felt like sandpaper on his skin, which tingled and itched. He started to make out things in the room, though there wasn’t much by way of furniture. There was a wooden door that had seen better days, and a closet that had its front missing. The curtains on the windows were raggedy and wisp like. Even his bed felt it was made of pure, cold stone.

  There was someone sitting by his bed. A woman.

  "Mom?" he asked, his voice scratchy. It felt like there was something razor sharp stuck in his throat. "Mom?"

  "I'm here my sweet boy," she said. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

  He shook his head, trying to clear his vision and the vivid tastes in his mouth. All his senses were in overdrive. He felt insane.

  "Clover's in danger!" he cried. "Her mother tried to kill me and... Wait." He shook his head, trying to access the memories. All he saw was red. "She did kill me.” He shook his head again, as if denying the reality of what had happened. “I died. I felt the stake go through my heart.” He looked up into his mom’s eyes and said, “Mom, did I die?"

  Of course you died. You were almost ours.

  "You did die," his mother revealed. “I’m sorry.”

  He didn’t feel alive, yet he didn’t feel dead either. He’d always imagined that vampires must feel that way all the time, straggling the barriers between life and death, yet being a vampire had made him feel healthier than ever. What was different now?

  "But I'm alive," he stated. "Despite what the whispers say."

  "What whispers?" his mother asked.

  Forget us. Forget we exist.

  “Why am I alive?” he asked. “Why?”

  "You inherited a lot from your grandfather, including his ability to never die," said his mother. She tried to take his hand but he pulled away. Her touch made his skin hurt. "You know about that, right?”

  He nodded. “I died...”

  “It took a while, but you were resurrected."

  He knew it had to be true. Only someone who'd died and been dragged back to the land of the living could feel like this. It was like he'd seen beyond, felt the beyond. He'd touched death and he knew he'd never look at life the same way again.

  "How long?" he asked. His throat was starting to feel better now. “How long was I dead?”

  "Perhaps you should rest. Dying takes a lot out of you." His mother sighed. She pulled back her long auburn hair as it fell over her face. It looked ratty, dirty. His mother wasn't one to leave her hair in such a mess. "Not that I'd know. I haven't died yet. But father says it's quite traumatic the first time."

  That was an understatement, though he was starting to feel more like himself now. His vision and the rest of his senses was returning to normal; or what was normal for a vampire anyway.

  He groaned. "I need something to eat."

  "Here. Feed."

  She gave him a glass filled with blood. It smelled of magic and it was warm to the touch. It must have been spelled to keep it fresh.

  He took a sip and grinned. His vampiric side felt energized. "The blood tastes pure, like a human, but not."

  She didn't answer as he gulped down the blood, his hunger more or less satisfied. He'd never tasted blood quite like it.

  "This blood reminds me of Clover," he admitted. Thinking of her made him grin. "Is this Clover's blood?"

  His mother looked down at him sympathetically and said, "Honey, Clover died a very long time ago."

  The words felt like someone had hurt him physically.

  "How long was I dead?" he demanded.

  She didn't answer at first. He grew angry, vamping out.

  She held her hands out pleadingly. "You need to prepare yourself."

  He nodded, ashamed that he’d almost attacked his own mother.

  "How long?" he asked, more calmly this time.

  "3,023 years, four months, three days and seven hours."

  He didn’t blink. “You better be fucking joking with me.”

  The perfect, precise timeframe affirmed for Jared that it was no joke.

  “I can’t joke, not now, not after everything I’ve been through.” She sighed. “Do you think even I thought it would take this long? I know father said the first resurrection would take a long time. His first death lasted over a hundred years. It must be the human blood in you that caused the process to last so long.”

  He shook his head, refusing to believe it, but knowing in his heart it was true. His Clover was gone and he could never get her back.

  Chapter 3

  "This is your sister!" Duck Young shouted. He sounded frustrated and heartbroken and incredibly angry. "Gable told me she was one of the reasons you fought so hard to get back! She's walking and she misses you and all you're doing is sitting there like a doll! Snap out of it! For fuck sake snap out of it!"

  Clover thought about saying something, anything, just to see a smile on his face. It was tearing her up seeing him like this. He had enough to deal with. All he wanted was his daughter back.

  And all I want is...

  He slapped her.

  "No," he said, standing up. She could see the shame on his face and she felt like the worst person in the world for doing this to him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

  He fled the room, almost slamming the door behind him. Clover put her hand to her face, feeling the stinging skin, hating herself. She'd put her father through so much this past year and she hated putting him through even more grief, but it was for the best.

  I can't go back there. I can’t ever go back there.

  Even thinking about Chapel Green brought up images of Jared and she wanted to bash her head against the wall until the memories were banished. She couldn't think about him, not ever.

  Jared...

  She braced herself when the door opened and Ben the orderly entered. It was hard to keep a smug look off her face. Who did Loki think he was kidding? How did he think he could hide his true self from her?

  She wasn't sure how she knew it was him. One day Ben had entered her room to make the bed and she'd felt a connection to him that reminded her of the times in the hell dimension when she'd shifted her face. That only meant one thing – Loki was close by. The ironic thing was that Loki's sudden appearance in her life had pulled her out of her trancelike, catatonic state. She kept up the pretense she was still out of it while she thought about her future and what Loki was planning with her. He was obviously up to something and she knew it was her job to figure it out. Besides, thinking about Loki meant she could push other things securely to the back of her mind.

  "You look well today," Ben remarked, glancing at the half empty glass of water on her bedside table. "You should drink. I don't want you getting dehydrated."

  She looked up at him. It was time to reveal herself. If she was ever going to find out what Loki was planning she had to do this. She was petrified but this was the only way. She was in a unique position here and she had to exploit it.

  I'll find out what you're up to and I will destroy you.

  It was the only thing that kept her going, declaring vengeance on Loki. That man had sent suitcase nukes to destroy her home in the hell dimension. He wanted to cause chaos and destruction on her world, cause pain for the only family she had left. She would make this bastard pay and she would betray him.

  "Hey," said Ben gently. His tone was that of a gentle, caring nurse. It was a remarkable act. "Is that you, Clover?"

  It made her want to puke when he talked to her with such softness. The man was a monster who'd committed genocide.

  "I know who you are," she whispered.

  To his credit Loki didn't show any indication that he was surprised. The man was a consummate actor.

  The fake orderly smiled. "How does it feel to start speaking again?"

  "I know who you are," stated Clover again.

  He sat beside her on the bed, his movements
light and slow, like he didn't want to startle her. Clover already knew he didn't want her dead, but this surprised her. It was slightly embarrassing. Loki was the big villain. He wasn't supposed to treat her like she was delicate china.

  Does he care about me in some way?

  She pushed that thought aside. He couldn't care about her. He was evil and her plan was to betray him.

  "Who do you think I am?" he asked.

  She grabbed hold of his wrist, sinking all of her strength into it. Most of her muscle definition was gone from nearly a year of no physical activity but she put all her hatred into her grip, intending to break bones and make him suffer. She wanted to show him how much she hated him.

  "Why are you here, Loki?" Clover demanded.

  She refused to let go. She had to show him she hated him but not enough that she wanted to kill him.

  His face lit up in a cute smile. His guise of Ben was certainly a smart one. Who could resist a tall hot black guy with dimples who possessed the effortless sexiness of Taye Diggs?

  "Who's Loki?" he asked.

  She sighed. "Cut the crap and tell me why you're here."

  He smiled again, his features melting back into what she assumed was his true form. She was impressed. He was handsome, if a little pale. The only thing she hated was the man bun. She despised man buns. They were about as unattractive as a crushed slug.

  "How long have you known?" Loki asked.

  She grinned. "The very second you entered my room two weeks ago."

  He laughed, which surprised her. It didn't sound like the laugh of a villain at all. It was actually quite endearing.

  "What do you want?" Clover asked.

  "I want to help you," Loki offered.

  "What can you do to help me?" said Clover. "I have nothing."

  "That's not true – you have me."

  His offer was absolutely sincere, but she couldn't trust him, especially after what he'd done and what he intended to do. The truth was she might have been tempted by him once upon a time, especially soon after Jared's death, but not now. She may have lost the love of her life and her mother but she still had her father and her sister. She still had friends like Gable Trent, Adrian and Lovisa, who visited her often. She would fight for them. She may not get a happy ending but she was damn well going to get one for those she loved. If that meant pretending to join Loki, then so be it.