Dark Matter: SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCE

by Jessica Loft

  “I just want us to be a family again. You and I, we’ve taken care of the lost boys for decades, Adam. I just want that back.”

  Adam rolled his eyes, knowing deception when he saw it.

  “You and I never cared for the lost boys the way you speak of Brie. You were a part of us, but you never led us,” Adam returned.

  For the first time, real emotion began to peak through Brie’s mask, and she bared her fangs at Adam and Emily. She wanted to play the part of the concerned lover so badly, but she was not one to be able to pull off such feats. No, her true personality was to be brash and quick and hostile. Subtlety had never been her strong suit, or cunning.

  “Kill her, Adam,” Brie said suddenly. “Kill her and we can pretend this all didn’t happen. We can go back to the way we were, and be happy again.”

  Emily felt her heart jump into her throat. She had wanted to talk to Brie, to reason with her. She could clearly see now that this was not going to happen. Not that it would have been a great help, but she wished in that moment that she had a weapon of any kind. If this crazy 1ampires was able to get past Adam, there was no stopping her from taking her life.

  CHAPTER 7

  Adam realized the danger a second too late. Drawn to the movement on his left, he had shifted his body for less than a second to head off any danger. It was all the distraction that Brie needed to run in and take Emily away from him. As he moved to go after, a hot, intense burning wound around his ankles and he hissed in both anger and pain. Looking behind him, he saw Samson standing on top of a small twist of silver cords. He followed them with his eyes and realized that Samson was the distraction, the movement he’d seen. And he’d been wrapping his ankles in silver.

  Painfully he tried to take a step forwards towards Brie and Emily, and he let out a loud roar of pain as he realized that he couldn’t. The look of fear on Emily’s face however was more painful than the silver. Like a smart girl, she stood perfectly still as Brie walked slowly around her, measuring the girl up.

  “I just don’t get it,” Brie said, after a moment of inspection. “Seriously. What is it about you that has Adam so drawn up in a tizzy about you?”

  “Maybe it’s the fact that I actually have compassion in my heart,” Emily replied. If she was afraid she was not showing it.

  “You don’t think I have compassion?” Brie asked innocently, batting her eyes as she held her hand up to her chest. “If I didn’t have compassion, would I do this?”

  With too much speed for Emily to register, she felt her left wrist snap in two, and she let out a cry of pain as it flopped helplessly. She hadn’t even seen Brie move, but she knew it was her. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she refused to let them. She would die before she let Brie see her tears.

  Across from them she could see Adam’s fangs gnash angrily in his mouth as he tried to get up from the ground. She wasn’t sure what it was exactly that was keeping him there, but he looked to be in a lot of pain. Emily had to think of something quick, or her and Adam would both be dead.

  “What is it that you want?” She asked, turning back to Brie. Her wrist throbbed painfully at her side; she could hear her own heartbeat in her ears. Still, she poured all her focus into Brie.

  “What do I want?” Brie asked, her voice full of surprise, as if she expected Emily to somehow know already.

  “What I want is for things to go back to the way were, before you came here, and before Adam lost his salt. We were so close to being a couple. Do you know how rare that is? For two vampires to discover that their soul mates?”

  “We’re not soul mates you heartless blood sucker!” Adam yelled, not able to take it anymore. Reaching behind him, Adam grabbed the silver cord and tugged violently. The sudden pull threw Samson off of the base and Adam quickly sat up to unwrap the cord from his ankles. The silver burned into his hands as he worked at it, but at least he could stand up now. When he finally did, his silver eyes seemed to glow in his rage, and he bared his fangs animalistically.

  “We have never been, nor will we ever be soul mates, Brie,” Adam promised, his voice low and full of death.

  It was only then that Emily felt fear carve its way into Brie’s body. Her small figure trembled with it. Though they had only known each other for a few weeks, Emily felt a swell of love and admiration as he stood there, ready to save her.

  “This is your last warning. Let her go. Now.” Adam told Brie.

  Looking up, Emily saw that two big fat droplets of blood were swelling up in each of Brie’s eyes as she looked on at Adam. She looked as if she had just been slapped in the face, her large eyes wide and full of shock. For a moment, Emily felt sorry for her. She was getting her heartbroken.

  “Fine,” Brie said passively, loosening her grip on Emily’s arms. “If you want her that badly, then you can have her. Good luck putting her back together though.”

  Emily heard Adam’s roar of protest as she felt the sharp object drag deeply across her throat. Her eyes wildly searched for the weapon as she felt herself being pushed forcefully to the ground and away from the crazed vampire. Emily tried to take a breath, but it hurt so badly to do so that she reached up to her throat. Immediately she felt her fingers being covered in a thick, wet syrup. Pulling her hand away, she rasped a scream as she saw that it was her blood.

  Her strength was leaving her quickly, and she barely made it a step before she stumbled back onto the ground and stayed there. Though her vision was blurring, she watched in rapt attention as she saw Adam’s figure tearing viciously at what she hoped was Brie. The other three figures simply watched in horror as Adam tore Brie limb from bloody limb. Emily watched until the figures blobbed together and everything faded to black.

  Across from them, Jules, Charles, and Samson watched wide-eyed as Adam lost control of himself for the first time since they ever became part of the lost boys. Though Jules was only slightly older, he grabbed Charles’ and Samson’s hands and pulled them away. He wasn’t sure if Adam was going to turn on them when he was finished with Brie, but he didn’t want to wait around and find out either.

  “Where are we going?” Samson whispered as they ran through the forest.

  “I don’t know,” Jules told him truthfully. “But we need to get as far away from here as possible.”

  ~

  Adam bloody fingers tore into Brie’s body as his anger boiled through him. The moment he saw her slit Emily’s throat was the moment he lost all control. Before he had even realized that he had moved he was on top of her, tearing away at anything he could grab. The screams had been deafening at first, but soon they stopped. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to step away from her.

  It’s not too late! A voice in the back of his mind told him. You can still save her, you just have to leave Brie’s body!

  Slowly, reasoning crept back into Adam’s mind, and he forced himself to sit up and look at the scope of the damage. Brie was clearly gone, with nothing left but a bloody mess. His eyes darted to the right a few feet away, and he saw Emily. Poor, bled out Emily, with her hand clamped uselessly to her throat.

  Adam was off of Brie and at Emily’s side in a second, his bloody hands gingerly picking up her broken body and cradling her to his chest. She still had a pulse, but it was quickly fading. If he wanted to save her he had to do it fast. Tearing a hole in his wrist with his fangs, Adam quickly moved his wound over Emily’s mouth. At first, nothing happened as his blood dripped between Emily’s parted lips. Then, after what seemed like eternity, Emily’s throat began to heal. A sob of happiness broke from Adam’s lips as he watched her heal. He knew then that she was going to be all right.

  HAPTER 8

  For the second time in two days, Emily awoke from taking Adam’s blood. Only this time it was different. Everything seemed brighter, clearer. There was also a gnawing in her stomach, as if she were starved. Sitting up, Emily looked around and found that she didn’t recognize where she was. No longer was she in her red sleeping bag, but a queen- sized bed, wit
h a large oak four-poster frame. The pillows and blankets that covered the bed were a dark red with gold trim. It looked very old world, and very expensive. Looking around, she also saw that all of the windows were covered in thick blackout curtains.

  “You’re awake,” Adam said, appearing at the doorway. He had a wide smile of relief on his face as he walked in, and Emily couldn’t help but mimic it.

  “I thought I was dead…again,” Emily answered. “Thank you for saving my life- twice.”

  Adam’s smile faltered as he sat down on the bed. Leaning in, he kissed her forehead, and Emily felt a prickle of warmth as he did so. He looked almost remorseful, and Emily asked him why.

  “I’m afraid I didn’t do as well as you probably would have hoped,” Adam explained, taking her hand in his. “You see, this time your wounds were a little more severe. You were nearly bled out when I got to you. The only chance I had at saving was to-well, turn you.”

  Emily deadpanned. It took her a moment, but remnants of what had happened slowly came back to her. The crazy vampire woman, the broken wrist, the slashed throat. The sick sounds of flesh being torn from flesh as Adam killed Brie. Also, where were they now? Something told her that she was far from Depoe Bay and her cozy little tent.

  “Turn me?” She whispered. As Adam nodded his head, Emily pulled her hand away from his and brought it up to her throat, then chest, then wrist. She could find no heartbeat, and her skin felt ice cold. Quickly she ran her tongue over her canines, and felt the long, sharp points of fangs. Panic started to rise in her as she threw the covers away from her and scrambled out of bed.

  “Am I- am I a vampire, Adam?” Emily asked.

  “Yes,” Adam said curtly. He’d never turned anyone before, and he’d hoped he’d done a well enough job with it.

  “Please,” he begged, motioning for her to come back to the bed. “I’ll explain everything.”

  “Where am I? What is this place?” She asked, looking around.

  “I’ll explain that too,” Adam promised, “just please, come back to bed.”

  ~

  A few hours later

  Emily look uncertainly from Adam to the highball glass filled with blood. It smelled amazing, but she wasn’t sure if she could actually do it. Her stomach growled as she looked at the glass, and she figured that she might as well try it. Sighing, she brought the glass to her lips and tilted it back. To her surprise, it wasn’t thick or cold, but warm and slippery. It slid down her throat easily and she was soon chugging the entire glass. When she was done, she used her tongue to clean around the rim of the glass, and started wiping down the insides of it with her pinky finger.

  “See, I told you it wasn’t that bad,” Adam told her.

  “What kind was that?” Emily asked, licking her lips as she handed the empty glass back to him.

  “Human. It’s what is best for us. Though we can drink animal blood as well, it just weakens us through time. But, when you live in a small place like Depoe Bay, sometimes animals are all you can get away with for a few weeks at a time.”

  “But not here?” Emily asked. After her initial shock, she had gone back into the bed and listened to everything that Adam had to say. He told her what had happened and how turning her was the only possible way to save her at all. After he knew she was going to be all right, he had taken her overseas, back to England. The story he had told her about the countess had been true, but he left one little thing out. After the family died out, there was no one to claim the house or the family fortune.

  All Adam had to do was prove that he was blood, and the house and the money would be his. He didn’t specify how long ago he had been able to prove that it was the family’s blood he’d had in his cells, but he won the case and all that came with it. And, now that Emily had his blood, it would belong to her if anything ever happened to him. That was a perk of being a vampire; you absorb your maker’s DNA.

  “Yes, here we can drink from humans, but until you can get your thirst under control, let me bring them to you. We don’t need any accidents.”

  Though Emily had been scared at first, she was starting to see the appeal of being turned. She would have a long life, and as it turned out, a luxurious one. After she had calmed down, Adam had confessed that he loved her, and that he would do whatever it took to protect her and make her feel safe.

  “Can I ask you something?” Emily asked, moving closer to him.

  “Anything,” Adam promised.

  “If you love me, why haven’t you kissed me yet?”

  Adam looked startled at first, but then as he thought out his answer, he relaxed, and stroked a curl back behind her ear as he looked into her eyes. They were silver now, just like his. But he would always picture them the vivid green they were from when she was human.

  “I wanted to make sure you were ready,” he told her.

  “You ask permission to kiss me but not make me immortal?” Emily laughed.

  “One was more pertinent than the other,” Adam teased.

  Smiling, Emily leaned in to Adam’s side. She felt his arms wrap around her as she tilted her head up to him. His lips, surprisingly warm, caressed over hers in a soft brush, then finally sealed over hers. Sighing in pleasure, Emily leaned further into him, finding that his immortal kiss was well worth the wait.

  Now Enjoy The Next Story Below Or Choose One From The Table of Contents

  A Proper Arrangement

  CHAPTER 1

  While I was considering my escape, my mother was discussing my trousseau.

  The morning room had a French door that led directly into the kitchen, out of which I could, if I was quick, sneak into the alleyway and be lost in the streets of Charleston within a moment.

  “Sadie, are you listening to me? I think we could order you three morning dresses and be within the norm, don’t you think? Do you like this light blue cambric?”

  Actually, that may take too long. Perhaps I could simply stand up in the window seat and step backwards out of the bay window, which would deposit me directly onto Broad Street; from there I could catch a carriage to the train station.

  “What am I thinking? With your chestnut hair, light blue would completely wash you out. I think lighter colors. Thank you for reminding me, Sadie.”

  Then again, I wouldn’t have any luggage. Or money. I wouldn’t get far without any money. More planning would be required to escape my wedding.

  My mother rose from the divan and glided across the room, her rose-colored gown mirroring the rosy view she had of the world. “Sadie, this wedding is truly going to be the highlight of the season. Aren’t you pleased?”

  I shifted my gaze from the bay window back to my mother. “Indeed, ma’am. I couldn’t be happier.”

  This wasn’t strictly true. Or really, at all true. I could be far happier. However, the situation was thus: My father, an influential but debt-ridden importer of sugar cane and rum had promised me in marriage to his business partner. Excitement and raptures abounded, for my parents, at least; in my marriage to Wentworth lay the promise of certain riches and financial security.

  “Love? This is not the time for romance, Sadie,” my father had blustered when I’d made the tiniest mention that, perhaps Wentworth was not the type of man I was interested in marrying. Wentworth wasn’t so bad—Charleston was packed to the gills with far worse choices—but besides being seven years older than I, he was humorless and completely absorbed in his financial doings. Our entire marriage would be adding up ledgers, I feared. The business of children would come far down the list of priorities, and even then, I wasn’t certain Wentworth knew how that business worked.

  My mother had moved on to table linens, certain that she had secured my opinion on the dresses. Having failed to determine a successful escape route, my mind wandered to my next favorite daydream: moving to the west, where mountains rose miles into the sky, where a man or woman could make themselves over in their own image, and—most importantly—the tight claws of societal norms had yet to lay the
ir grip. In short, people did what they wanted, and that was such a forbidden and amazing concept.

  “Sadie, do you think you’d like a setting for twelve, or sixteen?”

  The thought of planning dinner parties with Wentworth for any number of people was overwhelmingly dull. I uncrossed my ankles and recrossed them in the opposite direction, just for a flair of excitement, but my mind was still on the frontier.

  The slow morning with my mother extended into an even more dull early tea with Wentworth and my father. I managed to be seen and not heard, as was my father’s preference, but then Wentworth mentioned a plan that made the scheme of our impending marriage much more real than I had been willing to admit.

  “Miss Collins,” Wentworth had said, turning his bulky body toward me with surprising fluidity. He was dressed in the most fashionable—which is to say ridiculous—of costumes, all sateen and broad white lawn, a travesty in the pollen-soaked springtime. The entire outfit would be powdered with yellow on his walk home.

  “Yes, Mr. Wentworth?”

  “My father has granted me the opportunity of involving myself—and by extension you, my dear—in the more intricate details of our planting enterprise.”

  “Oh? That sounds like a very promising prospect.”

  Wentworth smiled a little; he wasn’t a bad sort, but on him every attempt at levity seemed misplaced somehow. “Indeed. I am to visit the sugarcane fields in person, in the West Indies.”

  My heart leaped in excitement. What luck, to be married, only to have one’s husband immediately shipped out to sea! It was a dream come true.

  I attempted to contain my mirth. “Well, that certainly sounds exciting, Mr. Wentworth. I am certain you will return from the trip with extensive knowledge to benefit the company greatly.” My eyes shifted to my father, who nodded slightly—he approved of my answer.