Welcome to the Darkness (Darkness Trilogy)

by L. M. Justus

  I returned downstairs and paused in the living room where this whole nightmare had started. A surge of anger built up inside me while I stood in the middle of the blackened, crumbling room. I turned and punched the wall and shouted as loud as I could. In a flurry of motion, I struck out, flinging bits of burnt wood and broken furniture in random directions all around me. My fangs popped out through my gums with a sting, and my voice changed again and I continued to yell and destroy everything I could get my hands on.

  After several minutes of working out my frustration in a whirlwind of fury, I sank to my knees. My hands shook and my breath came in gasps.

  Gradually, my breathing steadied and I started thinking of what I was going to do about my failed assignment and those stupid, psycho vampires. Could I run? I’d have a good head start because they couldn’t start tracking me down until sunset. I shivered thinking of what they’d do to me if they managed to find me though. And then there was good old Nathaniel, rotting away in his cell back at the lair.

  It was their own fault the assignment failed anyway. I mean, why the heck didn’t they figure out what time that cop was at work? Then I could’ve gone in when she wasn’t there. That would have been infinitely easier. Maybe they had set me up to fail from the beginning as some sort of test, to see what I would do when everything went to hell.

  I realized what I had to do. Like it or not, I had to return to the lair. I still had a few more hours before nightfall, so I’d have plenty of time to return the stolen car to the gas station I’d taken it from, and find my way back.

  On the return trip to San Jose, I rolled down the windows. I let the wind whip into the car, ridding myself of the smell of burnt house. I tried not to picture the vampires cutting off all my fingers and toes one by one.

  The sun drifted down from the sky for the night, as ribbons of red and gold stretched across the late autumn sky. After leaving the stolen car at the gas station, I’d taken a city bus the rest of the way. I stepped off the bus a block and a half from the nondescript house that was the entrance to the San Jose vampire lair. Halloween was a week away, and many houses in the neighborhood were decked out with pumpkins, spider webs and skeletons. I had the perfect costume too; all I needed was a black cape and a widow’s peak.

  I turned up the front walk of the house and let myself in using the key they’d given me. The place seemed deserted, but of course, the vampires were hiding from the day’s remaining sunlight. I had no idea what they did to keep busy during the daytime, but I knew they weren’t sleeping. That was one thing I’d figured out: vampires didn’t sleep, except for that short period of death after feeding.

  The door leading downstairs was unlocked, so I continued through and headed down. As soon as my foot hit the bottom step, one of the doors of the long hallway opened, and Dominic stepped out.

  “Reed,” he said.

  “Dominic.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “Was your mission a success?”

  I dropped my gaze to the floor and gathered my thoughts, even though I’d rehearsed what I was going to say a hundred times on the way here. “No . . . no it wasn’t. In fact, I’m not sure how it could have gone much worse. You have no idea how hard it was for me to come back here.” I still couldn’t look him in the face.

  “I smell your fear, youngling, but know this; while you were punished earlier for your rudeness and lack of respect, two things the Queen despises, she values loyalty immensely. You’ll see in time she’s not unreasonable, and in fact you may be honored to serve her in the future.” He opened the door to the room where I’d been debriefed for my mission earlier. “Please, wait in here for a moment,” he said, ushering me inside. I did as he asked, and he shut the door behind me.

  It was less than five minutes before Dominic returned, although it felt like longer. “This way,” he beckoned and made his way toward the door that led to the Queen’s chamber with the throne. I followed him into the dimly lit, cavernous room. The Queen was perched on her throne, with the other woman behind her. Candace? No, Constance.

  The Queen addressed me. “Tell me what happened, young one, and do not leave anything out, no matter how insignificant it may seem.”

  Under her penetrating gaze, I spat out the entire story of my failed assignment at the cop’s apartment in every humiliating detail. I even told her I’d driven back to King City to see my house. I hoped she could sense my honesty and eagerness to please her. I desperately wanted to make her happy so she wouldn’t hurt me again.

  She was silent a moment before speaking again. “Come here, Reed,” she said, using my name for the first time. “Kneel before me.”

  I shuffled closer to her, and knelt down. As I looked into her ice-blue crystal eyes, I tried not to tremble or show fear. She leaned forward and placed her cold hands on either side of my face. With extreme effort, I managed not to pull away or flinch when she brought her lips to my own.

  She held me for a second or two and then released me. No images flashed before my eyes like the last time. The Queen sat back with a satisfied smile and crossed her hands in her lap.

  “Your mission was not a failure,” she told me, and indicated I could stand up again. “I have seen what you experienced, and indeed my suspicions about this young woman have been confirmed. She did ask you who ‘Nathaniel’ was, did she not? Yet you never uttered his name out loud.”

  Did the cop ask me that? If she did, it must have been because I’d said something. Or . . . wait a minute–

  Before I had a chance to think about it, the Queen continued. “I want you to bring this woman here, alive. Before that however, Dominic will escort you out for your nightly feeding. He can ‘teach you the ropes’ as they say, because you are no doubt lacking in knowledge about some of our important rules.”

  “Uh, hold on, I mean . . . no offense madam, or your majesty, but . . . are you saying you want me to kidnap that woman?” I asked in disbelief.

  “I meant you should invite her to our lovely abode, Reed my dear. If she refuses, then you may have to bring her here by force, and so be it. You may go,” she said, with a dismissive flick of her hand.

  Dominic grabbed me by the arm and half-dragged me out of the room. I followed him in a daze as we went back upstairs. We continued outside into the darkness, now that the sun had set. When we reached the sidewalk in front of the house, he stopped and turned to me. He was tall enough I had to look up to meet his eyes when he talked to me.

  “I’ll take you to one of my favorite hunting grounds in the city,” he began, in his rich, soothing voice. “Show you some tricks of the trade,” he added, with a playful wink. I had to admit Dominic seemed half-decent, for a vampire that is, although he was obviously pumped about going out to ‘feed.’

  “Um . . . ‘hunting grounds?’ You mean hunting for people, right?” I asked.

  Dominic stared at me for a good five seconds, blinking very slowly before replying. “Of course I mean people–humans–what else would we hunt?”

  A couple across the street were walking their tiny dog. They were deep in their own conversation however, and didn’t seem to notice us. Even the dog didn’t spare us a look while his little legs worked furiously to keep up to his owners.

  “Cows, maybe?” I suggested, wondering if Dominic was going to burst out laughing at me.

  Instead, his face crumpled in disgust and he shivered. “Bovine blood . . . yuck. Reed, have you ever tasted a cow’s blood? There’s simply no comparison to human blood. None whatsoever!”

  I shrugged. “I’m pretty sure I’ve only had cow’s blood so far. Well, except for whatever it was they gave me in that cell.”

  “That was human blood, but it wasn’t fresh, so that hardly compares either. Come with me, and I’ll show you what real blood tastes like,” he said and turned away from me.

  “Wait! Look, man . . . I really, really don’t feel comfortable attacking some poor, unsuspecting person. Sucking out an animal’s blood like a giant mosquito is bad enough
. Besides, I thought you guys were trying to fly under the radar. How come no one’s noticed all kinds of people being bitten every night? The old ‘wild animal attack’ story can only go so far.”

  Dominic tilted his head while he regarded me. It was that weird mannerism the Queen had used on me too, like a bird spotting a worm in the grass or something. “How odd. You lack instincts that come naturally to all vampires, even newly turned vampires such as yourself. It will be okay, Reed, trust me. If you capture the gaze of your prey, you simply tell them to forget, to relax and not feel the pain. When you finish feeding, your saliva heals the wound, and the human is none the wiser for having served as your dinner. You only need to drink about a pint of blood per evening, which a human can easily spare.”

  “Let me get this straight; I can hypnotize someone to forget the fact I bit them, just by telling them to forget? What if I try to do that with someone who doesn’t speak English? And hey . . . my spit heals wounds? Man, if doctors could use that to help people, that would be totally amazing!”

  Dominic let out a patient sigh. “The words are more for your benefit when you mesmerize someone. It’s the idea you form in your mind when you capture their gaze that matters, so the language you speak is of no consequence. And you can see why it is imperative human doctors never get the chance to obtain and test your bodily fluids because you’re different now. Healing humans is none of your concern. You’re still thinking like a human, but you are not human, Reed. It’s time for you to embrace your vampiric nature. Now let’s go,” he said, taking a few exaggeratedly slow steps further away from me, waiting for me to follow.

  I raked my hand through my hair. My throat felt dry, my gums ached, and my whole body felt wired like I needed to run. Dominic sounded so convincing, yet the whole idea of feeding off people seemed so wrong. “Please, Dominic,” I pleaded. “Not today. I’m not ready yet. Let me wait one more day at least.”

  His shoulders drooped in resignation, but he nodded his agreement. “I’ll take you out of the city limits then, and you can feed on your animal of choice. For tonight.”

  He was true to his word, and we ran quickly through the suburban streets, silent blurs in the darkness, until we reached farmland. Dominic explained to me that I only had a few seconds after feeding before I essentially died for almost an hour. I’d thought it was weird I kept passing out, but he informed me my heart stopped beating and I stopped breathing, so it was more like a state of death than unconsciousness. I wondered if I would ever dream again.

  Although it felt a bit strange, the act of feeding on a cow came easier than I thought it would and what little instinct I had took over. When I finished drinking my fill, I automatically licked the wound. My saliva healed the two punctures within seconds. Then the blanket of death fell over me and I lost consciousness again.

  When I awoke, I was more than a little disoriented. I was no longer in a farmer’s field with cows. City lights and air pollution muted the glittering of stars above me. I sat up and realized I was several stories off the ground, surrounded by buildings in the heart of the city. In fact, I appeared to be on the roof of a building back in downtown San Jose. Dominic lay beside me asleep, or dead. Apparently, he’d carried me into the city and deposited me on this roof. Then he’d gone and fed nearby and returned here next to me before falling into his own death sleep. Was his being here enough to keep other vampires from attacking me? After all, he wasn’t being much of a chaperone if he wasn’t even conscious.

  My thoughts continued to swirl through my mind while I waited for Dominic to wake up. I tried to plan how I was going to kidnap the lady cop. How did I get into this situation? A flashback of her brushing her honey brown golden hair flitted past my thoughts. She was gorgeous, no joke. Young and beautiful, those greenish hazel eyes you could drown in . . . man; she was like a fantasy come to life. Too bad she probably thought I was a big time loser creep. Too bad I had to freaking kidnap her! Man, this was going to be a long night.

  Sarah

  Tuesday morning at dawn, light filtered through the bedroom blinds and the sky shifted from sunrise red to daytime blue. Sarah stumbled into the kitchen and wiped the vestiges of sleep from her eyes. She had never been a morning person and thought she should seriously think about requesting the night shift.

  Still in a fog of sleep, she prepared her coffee like a programmed robot. The rich aroma of the coffee grounds helped wake her up. After starting the brew cycle, she turned and leaned back against the counter. Should she have a bowl of cereal for breakfast, or be a rebel and try something different, like . . . toast?

  Okay, I’ll open the balcony door–I might have to force it if it’s locked–and then I’ll zip in and grab her. My new vampire strength and speed should make this easy.

  Sarah gasped, suddenly wide-awake. She recognized the ‘voice’ behind the thoughts. It was that kid who’d tried to bug her apartment.

  Or maybe I could try telling her she has to come with me, and she’ll just do it. Like she’s hypnotized. Oh, crap . . . you’re such an idiot!

  Sarah dashed into her bedroom and retrieved the sidearm from her belt. As she hurried back into the main living area, she released the safety and held the gun at her side. She focused on the balcony door and stood at full alert. Shooting someone was a last resort, but that was under normal circumstances. It seemed ridiculous, but this kid believed he had the strength and speed of a vampire. She’d seen evidence that there might be some truth to this when he’d fled her apartment yesterday, faster than any human could. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to take him down by whatever means necessary.

  With a loud crack, the lock snapped and the sliding door tore open. She raised the gun and fired. She aimed at his leg, to disable rather than kill him, but he moved so quickly her shot ended up hitting him somewhere in his torso.

  He came to an abrupt stop about four feet away, staring at her in shock and horror. He groaned and gripped his stomach, blood seeping between his fingers.

  Sarah held her gun in a wobbly grip aimed at his chest. She’d never shot a person before. She watched his blue eyes fade to almost white.

  “You shot me!” he growled.

  Her hands shook as she watched a pair of fangs slip out of his gums. She started to pull the trigger, but he moved in a blur and grabbed her from behind before she had a chance to fire. Her gun dropped to the floor and he pulled her close, trapping her arms at her sides. Then he pulled her head to the side and there was a sharp, stinging sensation at her neck. He was biting her! She tried to scream, but he smothered her mouth with his hand. A muffled cry was all that came out.

  This could not be happening. The reason she’d become a cop was to dig up dirt on domestic abusers and help prevent others from suffering from violence or abuse like her sister had as a child. She refused to play the victim. Sarah struggled and thrashed to free herself, but her efforts were futile. Reed’s strength seemed inhuman, far surpassing her own.

  After the longest minute of her life, she felt the horrid sensation of his teeth slipping out of her flesh. He ran his tongue over the wound and he pulled away from her neck. His hot breath brushed her ear.

  “Oh my God,” he choked out. “What have I done?”

  He released her and stumbled away. “I’m so sorry!” He covered this mouth, but his fangs had already retracted. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. Oh, God . . . I bit you. But, Jesus . . . you shot me! I think I needed to replace the blood. I can’t believe I just did that.”

  Sarah stood frozen in shock, staring at him while he continued to babble his apologies.

  He stopped suddenly. “Oh, no. Now you’re going to kill me.”

  He dropped in a heap onto the floor. Sarah stepped back, touching her neck. She brought her hand in front of her, expecting to see blood, but it was clean. She snatched her gun from the floor and watched Reed, her heart racing. She aimed at his unconscious form, her hands shaking badly. Was it her imagination, or had his wound stopped bleeding alread
y?

  What the hell was she supposed to do now? Call the police? She was the police! Did she need an ambulance?

  She stared at Reed a few moments longer before realizing he wasn’t breathing. She leaned closer, her breath labored and her heart beating a million times a minute. No, he definitely wasn’t breathing; there was no telltale rise and fall of his chest. There was no evidence of a heartbeat either. Was he dead? Would he stay dead? Or was this normal for a . . .

  “Vampire,” she whispered the word out loud.

  There was a clump of rope on the floor near her balcony door, lying where he’d dropped it after she’d shot him. He must have planned to use the rope to tie her up and kidnap her. Why on earth was she the focus of all his crazy antics? Had the secret of her telepathy leaked out?

  Sarah crept over to the rope, keeping a careful eye on Reed. She could use his own rope to tie him up in case he regained consciousness. He might be strong enough to break out of his bonds, but it was worth a try.

  She needed both hands to get the rope around him, so she placed her gun on the floor and set to work. She used the entire length of rope to bind him as securely as possible. Was there something better she could arm herself with?

  She ran over to her fridge, popped it open, and rifled through the vegetable drawer. Her hand closed over a stale head of garlic. Success! She scrambled back to the unconscious young man on her floor. Vampire, she corrected herself, not a man. But that was insane. Wasn’t it?

  Slowly, she brought the garlic up to his face until the dry, crispy skin of the shriveled head touched his cheek. Nothing happened. She smashed the head of garlic on the ground beside her. She touched him with it again, making sure the fragrant inner part of the garlic came into contact with his skin. Nothing. How were these things supposed to work on vampires?