Scarlet Night: The Complete Trilogy

by Megan J. Parker

  “I am SO not going easy on you!” She beamed and followed after him further inside the training room, “First moment I get, I’m taking off a finger!”

  Zane raised an eyebrow and turned his entire body to face her, “You sure you’re ready to spar against me? You may have got me the other night, but to be fair, it was never my intention to bring you in damaged. Now—with a med-staff handy and enough synthetic blood to heal anything not fatal—I have no reason to be gentle.”

  “That’s fine with me!” she turned away and scoffed, “I like it rough! Besides, how tough can you be? You were just injured and laid-out.”

  He shrugged out of his shirt and smiled, his fangs already extended in excitement, “Don’t worry about that, little lady. I heal fast.”

  Serena took in the view, finally getting a good look at his tattoos in all their glory. Under the evenly-spaced and all-revealing lighting of the training center she could make out every intricate trace of the tribal patterns that covered most of his torso. A memory of her lips tracing the designs from the night Devon had possessed him surfaced and she bit her lip, suppressing it as fast as it came.

  “Stay focused! A distracted mind is a mind that’s eager to be destroyed! And I can already see that you are elsewhere! If your father taught me anything, it’s that you can’t let your emotions run rampant in the battlefield,” Zane scolded as he grabbed two sparring sticks and tossed one in her direction.

  Serena glared and grabbed the staff in midair with her aura and drew it to her hand slowly as she dropped into a fighting stance. Keeping the blunt tip of her weapon aimed at her opponent, she grinned at him, “what’s the matter; afraid to give me something sharp?”

  “We wouldn’t want Daddy’s little girl to hurt herself on her first day of classes!” Zane grinned and immediately charged her straight-on, holding his staff at one end and letting its length trail after him as he rocketed towards her. As the distance between them rapidly dwindled, he pivoted and went to swing at her; bringing the entire length around in a wide, hissing arc with all the momentum he had gathered.

  Seeing his direct approach, Serena smirked and vanished. As the end of the staff broke through the air where she’d been standing a moment ago, he growled.

  Of course the girl knew how to go into overdrive!

  And that meant she would try to…

  He brought the staff around and held it behind him—letting the length run parallel with his spine—in time to deflect Serena’s attempt to attack him from behind. The thunderous impact of the two weapons coming together filled the room and was quickly absorbed into the padding as Zane spun to face her.

  But she was already gone again!

  He smiled at her tenacity as he pushed himself into overdrive. As his vision shifted to accommodate the new speed, he spotted her as she sprinted in a semi-circle to try and take him from the side. Spinning around to deflect her attack and came in with the opposite end in an attempt to catch her behind her leading ankle, only to have her move that foot in time to avoid the strike…

  … and drive it into his stomach.

  The force from the kick was enough to knock him back, but Zane was able to stay both on his feet and in overdrive as she came at him again. As the vicious attacks continued, both held strong against the other, the combined force of their strikes straining the staffs and filling the room with a prolonged roar of supernatural battle. Another strike was thrown and blocked and both of the weapons gave out under the other’s force and as the wood tore apart their fragments and splinters froze in midair—frozen in the mortal time-stream while the two supernatural beings sparred—and hung there as if mocking their lost weapons. Neither of them deterred, they darted through the bits of wood with their fists balled and ready. Two punches landed simultaneously and the room slipped back into normal time as the two were knocked out of overdrive and across the room until they came crashing down onto the unforgiving hardwood floor.

  Zane groaned and rolled to his knees, struggling to stand up, and when he’d finally gotten to his feet, grabbing his shoulder in pain. Wincing from the contact, he glanced at the floor and let out a heavy sigh at the sight of the massive crack that he’d put there when he’d fallen; two perfect indents showing where his back and shoulders had broken through.

  He silently thanked Gregori for his vast wealth and the assurance that the damage would be easily repaired.

  The sound of metal straining caught his attention and he looked towards the opposite side of the room in time to see one of the weapon racks—loaded with a series of Oriental swords and daggers and cracked in half down the middle from Serena’s fall—start to come unhinged. As he watched the collection of weapons start to shift, he watched as a short sword slipped free and stabbed into the floor several inches from Serena’s head.

  And the rest were sure to follow!

  Growling, he fought through his own pain and dizziness and rushed towards her, pushing his already-drained body into overdrive and struggling to maintain the superhuman speed as the room slowed around him long enough for him to snatch her body from the floor and hurling them both out of range of the slew of razor-sharpness that rained down behind them.

  Zane groaned and blinked against his worn-out body’s blurring vision and saw Serena below him; pinned to the floor by his body.

  Biting his lip at the compromising position, he hurried to pull himself off of her, hoping that she hadn’t gotten the wrong idea or that he hadn’t done any damage in falling on top of her. The sound of another crash reverberated in Zane’s ears and he gritted his teeth as a second wave of falling weapons rang out and startled Serena into an upright position; holding her chest and coughing as she tried to catch her breath.

  Zane sighed; at least she was safe.

  He dropped his head to look at her, she was breathing softly and her chest lifted and fell in slow breaths. He chewed his lip as he realized he was staring at her chest still and turned his attention to her face. Her dark bluish-purple gaze was pulled into his and he frowned, realizing he’d been caught. She winked and licked her lips. Realizing he was being teased, Zane looked away and growled.

  “Like what you see?” She smirked.

  “I was... I was just trying to help you; to save your dumb ass from getting sliced to shit!” He glared, “And, for the record, no. I don’t like what I see! I prefer my women to have tits!”

  Even filled with anger and embarrassment, his mismatched eyes were so beautiful. She’d caught him and he knew it; knew it and was pissed about it! She smiled to herself. She knew just how to get to him. Knew exactly what buttons to push.

  Which worked to her benefit, because he was hot when he was angry.

  While she’d known that her teasing would get him riled, she had not anticipated her own body’s response to his piercing gaze. Even then, in the midst of celebrating her own victory against his emotions, she felt tingles along the length of her arms at the memory of his stare.

  Trying to move past her own thoughts, she dusted herself off and cleared her throat; “so what the hell happened, anyway?” she asked, motioning to the condition of the room.

  “A lot...” he turned his attention and pulled back, “and the expensive kind of ‘a lot’, at that,” he sighed, pushing his hair from his face.

  She chuckled at all the damage and gave Zane a look, “Blah blah blah! I see my father’s legacy lives on within you.” She sighed and stretched out, shaking her head, “Bastard always bitched and moaned about cost! ‘This costs this’! ‘That costs that’!” she growled, “Just another reason why I left in the first place. It was all that the old man could talk about; the only thing I’m sure he thought about! Well, one of the only things at least,” she added quietly.

  Zane frowned and looked over at her and tilted his head as he thought for a moment. She was so different than most the girls he had met. Something about her that irritated and enticed all at once; an arrogance that bordered confidence—or was it the other way around?—and a percepti
on that seemed to skew everything it took in.

  He smiled softly; she was definitely a mystery to him.

  And he’d always loved a good mystery.

  “There’s nothing wrong with being worried over finances, you know. Aside from you, everybody else seems to understand that much.” He sighed and leaned against the wall to catch his breath, “And it’s not like I choose to worry about it! Believe me, I’d much rather just have to worry about money. It’d be a lot more peaceful, I’m sure!”

  Serena grinned, “Aw! Afraid you’ll get more grey hairs?”

  “It’s not grey!” Zane growled, running the length of silver in his bangs between his fingers to analyze it himself, “And it’s not from worrying, either!”

  “So what is it from, Zane? More of this curse-thing? Just what are you?” She turned and sat next to him and leaned back as well. “You definitely aren’t like any vampire or therion I’ve met before. I mean, I saw that… that thing you became, and I’ve never seen a therion look like that! But what sort of vampire can change its shape?”

  “It’s hard to say anymore. I sometimes feel like the vampire that dreamed he was a therion, other times I feel like the therion that dreamed he was a vampire.” He looked down so that he wouldn’t have to see her expression, “The only truth that matters is this: I’m a real monster. I’m what never should have been; what is supposed to be kept as nothing more than a myth or a threat—a boogieman for mythos parents to scare their kids into behaving. The point is to show me real suffering. It takes me when I’m at my most vulnerable and it leaves behind chaos with my name written all over it. It kills without discretion and it lives to destroy so that, when I’m back in control, I have to take in the aftermath and know it was me.” He shook his head and sighed, “I’m a plague, Serena. A nuclear warhead handled by an idiot with a mallet. That’s all you need to know.”

  “That’s hard to believe.” Serena drew her knees up and leaned against them for a moment. “I mean, you aren’t a bad person—sure, you’re a dick and a whiner—but that doesn’t make you a monster. I can tell that much. Even if you do become some cheesy mythos version of The Hulk, I’d still think you were a pussy,” she smiled, “but at least you’re a pussy who’s also a good person.”

  Zane scoffed and shook his head, “I wish I could become The Hulk! At least he’s admired! I’m worse than what the comics could make me out to be… and besides, I’m not green.” He looked over and grinned, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Though she held his gaze briefly, he was forced to look away from her growing look of sympathy, wishing to everything he could believe in the words she was saying. Wishing he was something—anything—other than a monster. Leaning back until he faced the ceiling, he tried to stifle his body’s shaking as the memories returned. He could still feel every puncture into his flesh; could still smell the ceremonial incense and boiling ink and spilled blood and putrid sweat and tears. He could still remember every agonizing second as the cursed ink assaulted and warped his body and core to a cellular and spiritual level. And every time he remembered, he felt the same scorching and his skin began to burn and crawl; trying to escape from itself and its history. “I should go.” He went to stand up and walked towards the door before pausing and turning towards her, “You should go to the infirmary for some synth-blood if you’re still in pain.”

  With that, he turned away from her and left the room.

  “You like him, don’t you?” Devon grumbled.

  “He’s a good person, I guess.” Serena frowned and turned to Devon as he appeared beside her.

  He sighed and she felt the warmth fill her more as he looked around the room.

  “I can’t protect you like this.” His image shifted and faltered as he lost focus on staying visible, “Dammit, Serena! I’d give anything to be able to protect you like he can.”

  She turned to him and smiled warmly before standing up and walking over to him. “And you will, Devon. Soon enough! Sooner than you think! We’ll find a body for you! This clan can help us both and when you’re in your own body again we’ll finally be able to be together! Just like we’d always planned! Forever!” She smiled and shook her head, “Don’t worry about Zane! We aren’t right for each other.”

  “If you say so,” His spectral features curled into a smile and he chuckled, “Either way, I’m happy you said that.” her aura shifted as he spoke, and he moved a palm that she couldn’t feel over her cheek, “I love you, Serena.”

  She smiled, trying to hold back her emotions for his benefit. “I love you too, Devon.”

  Zane’s eyes widened as he listened in to Serena’s conversation. She was speaking to something—someone—else in the room, and though he couldn’t see her aura he was certain that the shift in energy hadn’t been somebody new. Either she was more out of her mind than he’d thought, or there was something occupying her auric force. Zane pried further, trying to figure out just what he was hearing without being seen. As he peeked around the corner he caught sight of her facing away from him, staring intently on whatever it was she was conversing with. As he narrowed his eyes in an attempt to see, something shifted in front of her—something shaped like a person, but completely transparent—as Serena’s aura refracted some of the room’s light. He frowned, wishing he could see auras in this body, but, sadly, that ability was reserved for the beast. Either way, one thing was for certain…

  She wasn’t crazy.

  There was somebody anchored in her aura; somebody desperate enough to cling to another’s life-force and still aware enough to carry on a conversation.

  And an intimate one at that!

  He frowned at the thought and, feeling a familiar tingle, looked down to see the tattoos on his arms glowing. Despite not wanting to hear any more of the one-sided ghostly conversation, he couldn’t tune out Serena’s words and he realized that he was the topic.

  “We aren’t right for each other.”

  He struggled to stifle a growl and shook his head as he turned away from the conversation to regain control. Why was he getting so upset?

  It wasn’t as though he’d thought any different.

  He knew he was a monster and didn’t deserve her.

  Still, the burning in his chest was hard to argue with.

  He’d already been forced to admit that with her around he felt more in tune with himself than ever before. Even the beast, which had never responded to anybody as something other than another thing to rip apart, seemed oddly calmed when she was near. And, selfish as it was, he wanted that peace to last.

  He wanted her!

  Swallowing away the feeling of nausea that crept inside of him and, after several deep breaths, looked down at his arm as it stopped shaking and the ink faded back to black. Knowing there was nothing more to be gained from eavesdropping than more pain he hurried away to the upper levels and into his room.

  He couldn’t trust her and, worse than that, he couldn’t trust himself around her.

  Zoey couldn’t stand it!

  Try as she might, she couldn’t stay away from Isaac!

  Though they both knew what they were doing was wrong, they had begun to see each other more often. She had sworn—taken what she’d hoped was a solid and unbreakable oath—to herself to, for the benefit of her clan, never to see him again.

  That oath had barely survived a day!

  Damn him and his animal magnetism!

  All inhibitions had been lost; all qualms and worries squelched and justified with flimsy reasoning.

  It was wrong!

  It was foolish!

  It was reckless!

  And Zoey loved it!

  As the spark of excitement at being reacquainted with her forbidden lover was stoked to an all-consuming flame in her chest, she wove between the trees and hurdled stumps and rocks as they presented themselves. With Isaac keeping a steady pace beside her, she navigated through the forest, not caring where their journey took them. So long as she’d arrive there with him. She felt complete. />
  “You’re too slow!” Isaac growled playfully as he sprinted ahead of her and cleared a gorge overlooking a shallow stream.

  “No fair!” Zoey pouted, hurtling herself over the gap and, realizing she wouldn’t close the distance, using her aura to carry her to the other side. As her feet touched down on the grass she let out a sigh of relief, keeping her eyes shut until she had caught her breath, “You’re used to this sort of thing! You’ve been running in the woods your entire life!” She looked up to shoot him a glare and frowned when she saw that she was alone, “Isaac?”

  She heard his laugh only a moment before he darted out of hiding and grabbed her by the waist and carried her deeper into the forest and up a hill with her holding onto his shoulders. His laughing carried as he ran with her, scaling the hill on bare feet as though it were nothing. As he planted his next step on a plot of earth, she gasped and cried out as the patch uprooted and he lost his footing. Pulling her into him, they rolled down the small, grassy slope together and finally landed on a patch of wildflowers that coughed pollen and petals into the air with the impact. As the evidence of their fall settled, Isaac, on his back below her, was still laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” she scolded, still breathless from the fall, “We could’ve died!”

  “Nah. I know these hills too well to let them kill me,” he smirked up at her, “Besides, I’m not easy to break.”

  She laughed, patting at his broad chest, “You, good sir, are a beast!”

  His grin widened as he looked up at her as his eyes began to glow fiercely and he drew his face closer to hers. “I know I am. And you love it!” He caught her lips against his and she gasped softly, before closing her eyes and began kissing him back. She still wasn’t used to the bestial passion in his kiss, which always caught her off guard no matter how prepared she was for it, but it only forced her to match his effort with her own to keep her head on her shoulders. She couldn’t stop herself from succumbing to them each and every time, especially not when there was so much passion and sincerity behind them. She moaned as his hands skimmed her sides and he slowly began to pull away, leaving her lower lip with one final nip to remember him by.