Darkness Rising

by Cate Farren

  “She’s too busy having fun to notice we’re missing,” said Adrian.

  When they’d left to spend some time alone he’d seen the witch dancing with the other shifters, her black hair shaking around crazily, her arms whirling. Adrian knew Rihanna hadn’t had that much fun in her life before. This place really brought out your true self, even for stuffy witches.

  “What are we going to tell the were council?” Lovisa asked.

  “The truth,” Adrian stated. “They have to leave these people in peace, but they also have to make amends.”

  “Would any of them want to go back?”

  “We live as long as regular humans. None of these people were born on our Earth. This is their home.” He thought for a moment. “Except for maybe the snake shifters. They live longer. I suspect the ones that live here weren’t born here, but they’re too stubborn to say anything.”

  A flock of de-evolved Prime Demons flew over the horizon. Adrian pulled Lovisa closer to him, feeling her warmth. He never wanted to leave. Why would he want to go back to a world on the verge of war when he could be here?

  ADRIAN SIGHED. HIS memories of the hell dimension were tinged with sadness now; sadness that they had to leave.

  "We should live there," he blurted out.

  Lovisa stared at him as she straightened her wig. "Live where?"

  "The hell dimension. We should live there after all this is over, the war and the curse I mean."

  "We can be an old married couple."

  They laughed for a moment before realizing they were both deadly serious.

  "You really want to live there?" Lovisa asked.

  "You really want to be married?" Adrian asked.

  They both nodded at the same time.

  "Are you proposing to me?" said Adrian.

  "While I don't go in for all those labels and stuff I'm technically a man today, and the man is supposed to propose, so I..." She grinned, her face going bright red. "Will you marry me?"

  Adrian didn't need to think. He just said yes.

  LOVISA GIGGLED AS ADRIAN scooped her up in his arms. She'd never been so happy. The curse and the war and all their other problems seemed so far away. Every day should be like this. Every day could be like this.

  She felt her cell vibrating in her pocket.

  "I have to answer that," she said. "Really."

  He kissed her again. "I thought we could celebrate."

  "I'm...I'm a man today. I thought..."

  "I want to experience everything about you."

  She really wanted to say yes. The thought of Adrian penetrating her anus sent shivers up and down her body. He was a big man and he knew how to use what he'd been born with, but she needed to answer her cell phone. She'd set up the vibrate function for one caller only, so she'd know when he called. This could be important.

  "I really need to answer my cell," she insisted.

  He smiled. "I understand."

  He placed her gently on the bed. She answered her cell, nervous about what the call might mean. Was it another dead end, or was there finally light at the end of the tunnel?

  "Lovisa here," she answered.

  A voice on the other end said. "I've found her."

  Lovisa listened for a while and hung up. Her nerves felt tight, ready to snap. This was the call she'd been waiting a long time for.

  "The witch is in England," Lovisa revealed. She looked up into Adrian's brown eyes, still unable to believe it. "She works for Dracula, and..."

  "What is it?" he urged her.

  "She's married to him. She's married to Dracula, the most powerful vampire who ever lived."

  Chapter 8

  The view outside the window was a magical forest. Squirrels scampered. Sprites glowed like fireflies as they whizzed about the tree canopies. The smell of pine and grass drifted through the glass. Crickets chirped. It was all fake, a magical illusion to hide the fact that Dracula's mansion was underground. Pretty, but fake.

  "I've been cooped up here for a year now," Sutton complained. "There's nothing to do."

  Vishanti eyes her warily. "You're sounding like a petulant teenager. Stop it."

  "Sorry."

  Ever since she'd turned up at her father's estates in Whitby (directly under Whitby Abbey) she'd been mostly confined underground. She got to go out on occasion, once a week, but only with her bodyguard, the tall, hunky and bearded Pakistani vampire Vishanti, accompanying her. She felt like a prisoner. She might as well have let herself be arrested for the murder she was framed for if she was just going to end up like this.

  "So you like cocks or cunts?" Sutton asked, grinning.

  She stared up at him from her bed, hoping for a reaction. She liked winding him up. The man was so straight-laced and placid.

  "As a guard for your father I have no time for personal pursuits," he stated. He hesitated before adding, "But if it will shut you up I am straight."

  "Then why haven't you seduced me?" she demanded crossly. "I know I haven't been looking after myself well. I haven't dyed my hair in ages and I ran out of wax paper days ago, but I'm hardly a train wreck. Am I unappealing?"

  Vishanti stared at her for a moment. Sutton felt very self conscious. Her bodyguard not trying to seduce her was tantamount to him calling her ugly. Her father's guards had tried to get into her pants many times in the past. What was wrong with this one?

  "I do my job," said Vishanti. "That is all."

  She couldn't help but be impressed, despite his lack of attention. It meant she could count on him to protect her if the time came.

  Not that I can't protect myself. If Loki comes for me...

  Sutton heard a commotion outside her apartment door. She put her ear to the wall, listening to the sound of hundreds of marching feet. It sounded like there was an army entering the underground castle.

  "What's going on?" she asked, intrigued.

  "The Prime Minister is here," her bodyguard answered.

  She grimaced. "The ugly one or the fat one?"

  "Neither. Our new PM is one of us, a vampire."

  Sutton was actually surprised. Why would her father allow another vampire to gain that much power? It wasn't like him to stand for that.

  "It just goes to show that the British people will vote for any idiot," she muttered, turning back to the window to stare at the squirrels. "Any idiot."

  "The vote was fixed, obviously. But this is a good thing. Besides, we had the queen's blessing. She knew we needed a strong leader in such dark times."

  Queen Elizabeth was a shrewd person. She got on well with Dracula, and kept toe to toe with him in an impressive way for a human. Dracula enjoyed her company. Sutton despaired what would happen once she died. Charles was scared of vampires, her father in particular. The British royal family wouldn't be the same without Lizzie at the head.

  Only father could get away with calling her Lizzie. I think she had a thing for him once upon a time.

  "Did I ever tell you about the time I fed off Prince Harry during an orgy at Buckingham Palace?" Sutton told him. She grinned, licking her lips. "That boy is insatiable."

  "Why don't you tell me?" Vishanti asked. "I could use the distraction."

  Sutton sighed. "You're bored too. We could...sneak out and listen into what father and the PM have to talk about."

  "He wouldn't like that."

  She knew she was getting to him, which was good. She loved corrupting people.

  "You're a warrior." She walked up to him, staring up into his brown eyes. He was at least six-foot five inches of yumminess. "You hate guarding me as much as I hate being looked after like a toddler with behavioral difficulties. Come with me. Let me lead you astray." She put her hands on his chest, feeling the hard muscle underneath his dark blue uniform. "You might like being naughty."

  He grinned. "I suppose, if we were to be quiet."

  Sutton blew him a kiss. "I knew you were a rebel at heart."

  She followed him out of the door. Her father was waiting outside, as disappoi
nted in her as he always was. Dracula never missed a trick.

  "You need to stay inside," he ordered her.

  She crossed her arms. "I want to know what's going on. I don't like being left out of the loop. I'm not an idiot. I want to understand."

  "There's someone here who you...wish would die a horrible, horrible death. I think those were your exact words."

  Sutton visibly paled. She hoped never again to set eyes on Lady Stephanie Wilson. She'd promised to gouge the woman's eyeballs out and force her to eat them should their paths ever cross.

  "And why is my darling sister here?" Sutton demanded.

  "She's the new Prime Minister," her father answered.

  Sutton nodded. "A thankless job for that whore. I hope it makes her hair fall out."

  "Just keep out of her way. Please. You can go out tonight."

  "I was going to anyway."

  She stormed back inside and slammed the door, refusing to let bad memories of her sister cloud her mind. Her and Stephanie's relationship had been stormy from the very beginning. Stephanie had resented having a little sister that was prettier than her. Sutton had resented having an older sister who was a complete and utter bitch.

  “Why do you hate your sister so much?” Vishanti asked. “You get on well with your two brothers. They stay in their rooms here and don’t make a fuss.”

  Sutton jumped on her bed, thinking about where she’d go tonight for some fun. She refused to think about Stephanie and her evil smirk. It made her feel miserable. Her sister always made her feel miserable and lonely and insecure.

  She looked up at Vishanti. “She is father’s first born. She gets treated differently. She basically does what she likes and Dracula doesn’t bat an eyelid. Oh, and she refused to pick sides during the vampire war because she was fucking the enemy at the time. Bitch.” She turned away, imagining all the ways she could gut her sister. “Bitch.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Vishanti. “I know that was a hard time for you.”

  “The love of my life was ripped apart and eaten. I was captured and fed off like I was cattle, which killed my baby and almost killed me. My father turned me into a vampire against my will to save my life. Oh, and most vampires in the world died. A hard time is stubbing your toe. This was way more than that.”

  She hated feeling sorry for herself. It wasn’t the person she was now.

  She jumped off the bed and opened her closet. “Help me choose a dress. I want to look ravishing for tonight.”

  DRACULA KNEADED HIS forehead as he sat at his desk. He hated to see Sutton in such pain. The agony she'd gone through still haunted him. It had been his job as her father to protect her and he'd failed miserably. Still, a part of him was glad he'd had to turn her into a vampire. If he hadn't she would be dead, or died of old age a long time ago.

  I'd miss my little Sutton if she were gone.

  Sutton was a breath of fresh air. She continually challenged him and made his life difficult. He wouldn't have it any other way. She made life worth living.

  He looked up from his desk. "I'm glad you could make it, Lady."

  Lady Stephanie bowed pleasantly and sat down. Dracula loved his firstborn, but even he knew he had to be careful around her. She was manipulative and conniving and not a pleasant person to be around. He still hadn't forgiven her for staying neutral during the war, though he hadn't told her that. He had to be civil.

  "Cut the pleasantries, father," she snapped, tossing back her dyed blonde hair. She pouted. "I'm not in the mood. I've got a headache the size of Mount fucking Everest."

  "How many times have you climbed that mountain now?" he asked. "I forget."

  His daughter was dressed in a dark blue pant suit that made her look like her idol, Margaret Thatcher. Her blue eyes were shrewd, watching his every move, waiting for a reaction. She was definitely her father's daughter. He loved her, but sometimes he actually thought he hated her, even though he'd helped her to become Prime Minister.

  Steph sighed. "We have serious things to talk about, including the fact that the previous PM was the one who supplied the shapeshifters with nuclear weapons to commit genocide in that hell dimension."

  Dracula was surprised. "So the shapeshifters haven't infiltrated terrorist groups."

  "This is worse." She crossed her legs, tapping her long fingernails on her knees. "The idiotic man was blackmailed with photos of him dressing as a Geisha and being spanked by a trans woman."

  "All it took for him to turn was a photo? I'm glad we got rid of him."

  Former Prime Minister Gerald White was now living comfortably in Barcelona with his mistress, a former porn star/librarian. They'd given him a lot of money to step down and help ease Stephanie into being nominated.

  "I don't want shapeshifters infesting my government," Steph complained. "The last thing I need is for my own cabinet plotting against me."

  "I have it on good authority now that all shapeshifters at large are dead," said Dracula. "I had a phone conference with the Black Fey just yesterday."

  Dracula winced. It pained him to know that the Fey princess was turning towards her dark persona again. She got results, but when she was like this the woman scared him. She was powerful. He'd have to curb her impulses before it became too late to stop her.

  "But he's breeding more, many more," Steph added. "Right?"

  "Obviously they're not ready yet, otherwise we'd all be dead." Dracula made a mental note to talk to the king of the Fey. He hadn't heard from him in a while, which was a bad sign. He could be up to anything. "So, Stephanie..."

  "Why have you summoned me?" Steph asked. "I am rather busy at the moment."

  "All of my children have been accused of violent crimes that have been recorded on video," Dracula explained. "I have a feeling you're going to be next."

  "I thought I could smell them all here."

  Stephanie's cadou was an enhanced sense of smell. It may seem like a rather obnoxious gift but it came in quite useful. She could smell when people were lying by the amount they sweated, and she was very good at hunting. Nobody could hide from her.

  "But not all of them," Steph added. "My human sister isn't here. Jared's mother."

  "She's gone off the grid," Dracula confessed awkwardly. "I've had people looking for her for over a year, since Jared's death. She's nowhere to be found."

  "Then she's perfectly safe."

  His daughter placed her tiny couture handbag on the desk. She took out a USB drive shaped like a giant tooth.

  "I visited an MP in Sheffield a week ago," she explained. "An hour later I was recorded murdering his entire family, the cat included. We got the footage before it was released onto the internet."

  "How?" he asked, taking the USB. He put it in his drawer. "Or shouldn't I ask?"

  "The amount of shapeshifters we were told were out there doesn't match up. Either Toren is lying about killing them or recruiting them or..."

  Dracula didn't want to think about the alternative, that Loki had already sent new recruits out into the world to cause chaos. He wanted to be ready before such a thing happened. His secret weapon was nowhere near finished.

  "Toren can handle them," Dracula stated.

  "But can you handle Toren?" his daughter asked, smirking.

  Dracula glared at Steph darkly before saying, "You've never seen me in full battle mode. I have powers that you can only dream about dear daughter."

  Steph looked away, uncomfortable. He laughed, and they continued to talk about her duties as Prime Minister.

  VISHANTI DROPPED A pile of shopping bags onto the floor. Sutton sighed and looked through them, finding nothing of interest. The whole afternoon had been a wasted trip. She would’ve been better off wearing the old tat her father saved from past girlfriends and wives.

  "Whitby has no designer stores," she complained. "What the hell am I going to wear?"

  "You have enough dresses to impress a Kardashian," Vishanti snapped, irritably. “Just pick one and wear it.”

  Sutton
was about to complain more when she noticed a white bat flutter stealthily by her open door. Curious, she ran out to find it, but it was gone.

  "What was that?" she demanded.

  "What was what?" her bodyguard asked.

  She caught another sighting of the bat heading around a corner. She went after it, keeping her distance, following it through long corridors and down another flight of stairs. The creature eventually entered a room at the far end of Dracula's mansion which Sutton had been told was closed off for renovation.

  What is going on?

  She knew the bat was a vampire. She could just tell. She wasn't vain enough to presume she was the only vampire apart from her father who could turn into a bat, but the fact that one was creeping around the mansion was suspicious. They could up to mischief.

  She pushed the door open, looking around. The room was spacious, with a messy unmade bed. There were scores of book shelves lines with books. Mementoes from around the world dotted the place, from a didgeridoo to a small Eiffel Tower replica to an African tribal mask. The place was like an underground apartment. Someone lived here.

  "Took you long enough to find me," a voice said behind her.

  Sutton turned to look at the intruder. She grinned.

  Chapter 9

  Clover waited but Loki never came back that day. She was anxious to spend more time with him, to learn more about his past and the past of the world. It was utterly fascinating. She was probably the only person on this planet with this kind of view into their enemy and his motivations.

  "What do you think?" she asked.

  "I think you're playing with fire," said Jared. "But you already know that."

  She looked up from her bed and smiled. Jared was standing by the door, looking down at her with sadness. She wanted to reach out and touch him, feel him. She needed him so much. Only his touch could make her feel alive again.

  Except he's dead.

  She didn't know what this was. Maybe she was still insane. Maybe someone was playing with her. Maybe it was a ghost. She didn't know. All she knew was she had Jared with her. She wasn't about to question that. He might go away.