The Scarlet Dagger (The Red Sector Chronicles, #1)

by Krystle Jones

  Chapter 19

  I pushed down the first strands of panic as I looked around the room, weighing my options. I could wait for someone to come in and glamour them, but I didn’t know how far I’d make it before I was caught. And if that happened, surely they’d kill me.

  Or…

  Think, Sloane.

  I anxiously scanned the room. There had to be something here I could use to pick the lock. My eyes roved past a body, doing a double take.

  It was the little girl I had tried to rescue from the cells, the day I discovered glamour.

  Seeing her there, I felt incredibly guilty. So much had happened the past few days, I had completely forgotten about her. Sadness welled up in me as I stared at her lifeless face, remembering the warmth of her body pressing close to mine as we tried to find a way out of the base. But it hadn’t been enough – I couldn’t save her in the end.

  I walked up to her, my chest heavy with regret, and brushed back the bangs from her closed eyes. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered. My fingers touched something cold and metallic; a shiny bobby pin was holding her hair back.

  I bit my lip, glancing at her face again. Part of me felt guilty as I reached over and pulled the pin from her hair, my fingers brushing her cold skin, like I was again cheating death on her account. If I could’ve traded places with that little girl, I gladly would have, but she was gone. Her parents would never see her again, and I had let her walk back into Death’s clutches.

  I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths, which made me a little dizzy from the fumes. It’s not your fault. You didn’t know, couldn’t have known. It’s not your fault…

  I saw my brother’s face. Just like his death wasn’t your fault. Orion would want you to live. So would Dad. You have to fight, for them.

  Resolved, I raced to the door and knelt, inserting the bobby pin into the keyhole.

  Once my mother had become Sovereign, she placed all kinds of etiquette rules and restrictions on me. When she saw I wasn’t living up to her expectations – meaning, I wasn’t kissing the asses of every visiting politician who came through our house – she would lock me in my room until the meeting was over. But it never stopped me. I always kept a bobby pin handy, twisting it into a makeshift key so I could use it to escape.

  With practiced hands, I felt around until I heard the bolt click, and the door slid open with a whoosh. Exhaling a huge breath, I put the bobby pin into my pocket and looked outside. The hallway was empty.

  Every muscle in my body was coiled into a tight knot as I snuck out of the room and crept toward the exit. A cart rattled somewhere to my right and I backtracked, ducking down another hallway as two people in bulbous white hazard suits rolled past with a stretcher, its victim covered by a white sheet. The person’s arm hung over the side, the hand visible beneath the edge of the sheet. Blood dripped from the corpse’s pale fingertips, leaving a trail. The two workers stopped at the room I had just come from, lifting the body and carrying it inside.

  I swallowed hard and sagged against the wall. My head rolled to the right, and I noticed an open door. The light from the hall spilled inside, illuminating several filing cabinets.

  You should get out of here while you still can, my mind said.

  Squeezing my lips together, I took a deep breath and walked into the office. I found a light switch and a thin book, which I used to prop open the door in case it was also locked. The room was large, and was laid out a bit like a library, with different sections in alphabetical order. Several rows of filing cabinets spread out before me.

  I knew it was incredibly stupid, but the temptation to learn something was too great.

  If I’m going to find any answers, it’ll be here.

  I walked down a row of metal cabinets. They were all labeled, some by month and year. I paused, my eyes glued to the label in front of me.

  It was October, three years ago.

  The exact same month Orion died.

  I had to be quick. Glancing back at the door, I knelt and tugged on the drawer. Yellow file folders peered back at me, though they appeared to be in no particular order. Newspaper clippings about the Eclipse and biochemical warfare were stuffed haphazardly next to medical charts for people I didn’t know, along with more messy notes. Judging from the dates written on the files, the vampires had been experimenting on people for a while now.

  But what for? What were they trying to gain from this? If not to harvest their blood, then what use were the humans?

  A photograph of each test subject was paper clipped onto his or her chart. I flipped through them, not seeing how it could all be linked, when my eyes froze on the bright smile of a boy from my memory.

  Orion.

  I stared at his sophomore portrait, shocked to see him, before pulling the file and flipping through it.

  Why do they have a file on my brother?

  My eyes scanned a page. I could make out his name, but the rest of the handwriting was illegible, save for a few words that stuck out: “mutilated corpse,” “blood testing,” a few notes about his high IQ, and his estimated birth and death dates. With growing confusion, I flipped the page, coming to what appeared to be a record of blood tests. The dates of the experiments had been scrawled at different parts of the page, about ten total. I frowned when I read the last one.

  It was dated three days ago.

  “What the hell?” I whispered, furrowing my brows.

  Beside the date was a note and I squinted to make it out: “Level of infection is twice as fast as the bubonic plague. No known cure.”

  The new information swirling in my head began piecing itself together. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room, and I swayed, splaying a hand on the floor to catch myself. The articles on biochemical warfare, the Mark of the Creator, the secret lab full of dead human bodies…

  “Oh my God,” I breathed. “They’re not just planning on fighting back against the human race. They’re planning to annihilate them with a chemical weapon.”

  And my brother’s blood held the key.

  My mind reeled. No wonder Aden had been so keen on turning me. They wanted to use me – my blood – as a weapon.

  No, my heart argued. Aden wouldn’t do that to you.

  I paused, thinking. Would he? I didn’t know anything about him; he kept his past so well-guarded. What if he had been lying to me all along? My heart sank a little, a feeling which I tried very hard to ignore.

  Maybe that’s all I am to him, a pawn on his chess board.

  And what about Paris, who Aden trusted so dearly? She was obviously in on this, in league with whoever the Spice Man was. A man I suspected Aden was also involved with.

  My head spun and I shoved the file back in the drawer, rising more confused than ever. I wanted to kick something. Wasn’t there anyone I could trust down here?

  Either way, I had to get out. More than ever, I had to get to the surface to warn everyone before it was too late. The humans could kill me if they found out what I was. I knew McGuiness wouldn’t hesitate. He’d probably make it a public execution, if he could. But I could never live with myself if Leo – or even my mother, despite our differences – died and I hadn’t done a damn thing to stop it.

  I walked to the door and listened. Silence greeted me, so I crept down the hall and out the back entrance. My heart pounded with adrenaline, my stomach churning with dread as I stumbled up the stairs and down the alley back to Paris’ apartment.

  As I ran, I tried forming a plan. If I went aboveground, I would have to come back. I was afraid that if I stayed, the vampires would launch the attack premature. Warning the humans in the first place would all have been in vain, if that happened.

  I thought about going straight to the tunnels, but decided against it. I had no clue where they led, or how to navigate them. Besides, if I ran now, Paris and Aden might suspect I knew something, and I needed their trust to help my friends and family.

  The memory of Aden’s kiss shredded my heart in two. Since w
hen had I started liking him? When had he become anything more than the sworn enemy?

  Because he’s defended you, been kind to you, a voice in my head said gently.

  I shook my head. Lies. All of it had been just to get me to play along and not ask questions.

  Well, if he thought this girl was going to play the part of love struck damsel-in-distress, he obviously didn’t know who he was dealing with.

  Luckily, there was no one out, and I slipped back into Paris’ apartment unnoticed. I sniffed my skin. It still smelled faintly of formaldehyde. I found the bathroom and a washcloth, and tried to rinse the scent from my skin, or at the very least, mask it. There was nothing to do for my clothes. Something told me Paris would kill me anyway if she found me wearing something of hers, so I just sprayed some air freshener and lingered in it – hoping it would stick to me – before walking back to the couch. I covered my entire body with the blanket, trying to douse any remaining scent from the lab, and before I knew it, I had drifted into an uneasy sleep.

  Chapter 20

  I heard the gun cock right before I opened my eyes.

  “I could smell the lab on your clothes as soon as I walked through the door,” Paris said, anger burning on her face. She stood over me, aiming a pistol at my head.

  I stared back at her, keeping my lips pressed together.

  “You followed me,” she said.

  I swallowed and slowly rose. “Yes. How long have you known?”

  “Known what?”

  “About the virus,” I snapped. “The eradication of the human race.”

  “Now what makes you think that?”

  “Don’t lie to me,” I bit back. “I saw the files, read about the experiments. My brother was one of your test subjects, wasn’t he?”

  Paris never flinched. “We had been experimenting with biochemical warfare for years, ever since the Eclipse. So many possibilities for the vampirism virus, but we never found the correct strain.” She smiled. “Until fate delivered us your brother. Or rather, what was left of him.”

  I clenched the blanket tightly in my fist. Sure, my brother had his faults, but he still deserved more than to be brutally murdered and cut up like some science project.

  “Why him?”

  “Your brother’s DNA is unique,” Paris said. “Because he is descended from the first vampire ever created.”

  “That’s absurd. You’re saying I’m descended from some legendary vampire king?”

  “You’d be surprised how often legends walk hand in hand with the truth,” Paris said, smiling slightly.

  “But I’m a human.”

  “No, not anymore. You never were completely human.” She paced in front of me, never lowering the pistol. “Your blood lust manifested itself differently, in the form of your desire to fight. You were always stronger and faster than the other children, weren’t you?”

  “I…” I struggled to deny it. I always won all the prizes in Field Day, had dominated every track meet. My fighting record had been so lengthy that it had been a miracle to keep me on the team. Only my outstanding grades had made up for it.

  I shook my head. “That can’t be possible.”

  “Three years ago, humans would’ve said vampires were impossible, but they’re real. We said there would never be another world war, and yet it happened. I thought I would be with my husband forever, that he would never die, but he did.” Bitter rage colored her voice, and I tensed as she again raised the pistol to my head. “You’re the missing link, Sloane, whether you’re ready to admit it or not.”

  I shook my head, disgusted with her. “This is wrong. So, so wrong. Why are you helping them?”

  “I’m helping us!” she screamed back. “You have no idea what is at risk here!”

  She wasn’t angry because of what I’d done – she was angry because she was terrified. I could feel it. “What are you so scared of, Paris?”

  She blinked, caught off guard. “I’m not.”

  “Yes, you are. I can tell.” My eyes narrowed. “Who was that man you were with, at the lab tonight?”

  Her face completely drained of color, turning her white as a ghost. She wetted her lips, locking wide, fearful eyes with me.

  “Please,” I pressed. “You can tell me.” I pushed a bit of glamour into my words, hoping she would give in.

  I waited, tense and silent.

  “Nero,” she finally whispered, her voice no more than air.

  The Emperor. So that’s who’s behind the experiments. I paused. Aden thought the gunmen at the arcade looked like Imperial Guards, though he didn’t know for sure. Could Nero really be the one trying to kill me? If so, why? Does he see me as some kind of threat?

  Paris began unbuttoning her blouse. “What are you –” I started to ask, when I caught sight of a thin scar right above her heart.

  “You see this?” Paris said, tapping it with her fingernail. “When Nero asked me to aid him, I couldn’t refuse. He had a container filled with poison sewed into my chest, right above my heart. It’s wired to explode via an electronic signal, going straight to my bloodstream and killing me instantly.”

  Paris walked toward me and bent down, her eyes hardening. “I am their only link to the experiments. Less than five vampires know, not even Frost.”

  I glared at her. “You’re a surgeon. Why don’t you just remove the vial yourself?”

  Paris smirked. “As Nero told me, the vial has to be deactivated by him for it to become harmless. Should I try to remove it, the vial will break anyway. Which brings me to my original point…”

  She pressed the barrel of the pistol against my forehead.

  “If you breathe one word,” she whispered, “I’ll kill you.”

  Chapter 21

  Thankfully, I didn’t have to stay with Paris for long. Aden came for me before noon. I had apparently fallen into a coma, as I didn’t even hear Paris leave for the hospital.

  “Did you manage to find out anything about the shooters?” I asked Aden – perhaps a little too sharply – as we walked. Behaving normally around him was proving harder than I had originally thought. Every time I looked at him and caught him looking back at me – which he did frequently, like I might vanish any minute – I became all flustered and couldn’t think straight.

  He’s lied to you, I reminded myself. He can’t be trusted.

  Not meaning to, I glanced at him and blushed, quickly looking away. Now I know why I never dated. I hate feeling this way, this unease. It sucks.

  Aden frowned, his blue eyes turning stormy. “No. But Frost doesn’t seem to be too concerned about it.”

  Ha. Of course she’s not. She could probably care less if I died.

  “We looked into it, but couldn’t find any leads,” he continued. “Frost thinks they were probably more extremists disguised as Imperial Guards, and I’m inclined to agree. Either way, it was decided you should return to the academy to continue training. You’ll be safer there than at my place, anyway, and Frost wants you to be ready if she needs you.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Another person who wants to use me as a pawn,” I muttered.

  Aden glanced at me. “You sure you’re all right? You seem a little… off today.”

  “Well, let’s see. My brother was brutally murdered by a Rogue, and I was turned into the very thing that killed him. On top of that, I’ve been tortured, electrocuted, and shot at. No, I can’t possibly imagine why I might be a little off.”

  Aden stopped, grabbing my hand. My skin tingled as he wound his fingers through mine. Part of me wanted to hold on to him as tightly as I could, while the other half wanted nothing more than to smack him. “You don’t have to go in today,” he said gently. “I can tell them you’re not feeling well if you’d rather stay home.”

  My heart fluttered against my will as I stared back at him. The concern in his too blue eyes seemed so genuine.

  Stay strong.

  “No,” I finally said, clearing my throat and looking at my feet. “I want to go. Trai
ning will be a much needed distraction.”

  He studied my face. “Anything else wrong?”

  I shook my head, weary on all levels – emotionally, mentally, and physically. “I’m fine.” Geez, I even sounded tired. “I didn’t get much rest last night.”

  Aden grinned. “I thought I saw a storm cloud hovering over your head this morning.”

  “Looking at everything that’s happened to me recently, I’d say it’s more like a hurricane.”

  He laughed, and then his face grew serious. “I swear to you, no harm will come to you on my watch.” His voice had lowered, becoming breathier, as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, causing my heart to skip a beat.

  I mentally stuck out my tongue at my heart. Traitor.

  I nodded, having no reply to that. What could I say? Thanks, but no thanks, you lying douche. I know what you’ve done, and who you’re working for.

  Or so I thought. I didn’t actually know if Aden was working for Nero. Maybe he didn’t know about the experiments; Paris had said less than five people knew. Perhaps Aden really was innocent. But if he was completely naïve, then why did he smell like spices on and off?

  It couldn’t be pure coincidence; the smells are too close for it to be that. Then again, maybe they wear the same cologne… I’m so confused.

  Aden placed a finger under my chin, raising my gaze to his. “Trust me, okay?”

  I swallowed and nodded, my stomach doing a flip as my heart and mind duked it out. He gave my hand a squeeze before dropping it.

  Aden quickly changed the topic, asking me mundane questions like what my favorite movie was, if I had ever been outside the United States, and so on. I only half heard what he said, too distracted by figuring out how I was going to escape.

  ***

  The rest of the day went on as usual. No shooters, no drama. It was blissfully mundane.

  All day, my thoughts had been preoccupied with forming my escape plan. There was a track inside the base. Since I hadn’t had a chance to probe Angel’s mind about the tunnels – as we were never truly alone – I invited her to go for a run with me after classes let out. It was a shot in the dark, as she didn’t exactly look like an athletic type, but to my surprise she readily agreed. Even more surprising was that she was able to keep up with me; she didn’t even appear winded.