The Dark Ones

by Rachel Van Dyken

  It was death.

  I needed to stay far, far away from him if I wanted to live.

  The only happy thought that occurred to me was that someone as old as Cassius most likely despised humans enough not to toy with them. Unlike the vampire and siren, who found it amusing and harmless.

  "Do you know your duties?" Cassius barked. "Or am I to go over them with you? From the looks of Alex, it seems he's been too preoccupied to do much of anything except fill the air with his arousal."

  Alex's nostrils flared, but he said nothing.

  "And, Stephanie, what's your excuse?"

  She dropped her head and gave a little shudder. "Sorry, Cassius."

  "Mason?" He turned to the werewolf. "Your looks don't betray you, but your rapid heartbeat does. Tell me, does she set your blood on fire?"

  The werewolf rolled his eyes. "Only in irritation, my lord."

  "Ethan…" Cassius barked. "You've been quiet."

  "I've been watching." Ethan tilted his head, making himself look more vampire than before. The way his eyes glowed in my direction sent shivers all the way down my spine. "I think I'll keep her."

  Stephanie jumped up from her seat. "Ethan—!"

  "Please." Ethan waved her off. "He owes me, don't you, Cassius?"

  The temperature in the room dropped at least thirty degrees while Cassius stood and, with little effort, threw Ethan across the room. He slammed into one of the rock walls.

  Pieces of dust flew into the air. I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands.

  "Dramatic," Ethan huffed beneath an array of rubble and rock. "Then again, you've always been dramatic, haven't you, Dark One?"

  Cassius released Ethan and turned to face me. "You will go with Ethan. You will do your… duty." The way he said it made me feel dirty, like I was being whored out.

  "I don't need to explain the rules, but I will, for your sake, explain them once. You're hired to do a specific job for us. You are not here to try to land yourself an immortal husband, so leave those hopes and dreams at the door. Physical contact between you and an immortal is forbidden, and if you are on the receiving end of it, outside of your duties, you will be the one punished, not the immortal.

  Yeah, that was what I was afraid of.

  "They may touch you, may do whatever the hell they want with you. But if you seek them out, touch them without proper invitation…" His voice trailed off, his nostrils flared. "Do you understand?"

  Not at all. But I had no choice. I gave a quick nod, wringing my hands together. "Yes."

  "Ethan," Cassius turned, "consider my debt paid."

  Ethan's smile grew to gigantic proportions. "Oh, it's been paid," he licked his lips, "in full."

  I knew that look.

  I was going to die.

  Because there was no way that vampire wasn't putting his hands or his fangs on me — and it would be my fault because I was the human.

  To them, we weren't victims. Just nuisances they put up with.

  "Well then…" Ethan held out his hand in my direction. "Shall we?"

  Fear kept me rooted to my spot.

  Then suddenly warmth spread throughout the room. I quickly glanced to the siren; Alex had his hand raised in the air, and I could almost see the heat radiating from his hand toward my body.

  Be calm, he whispered in my head. Ethan will not harm you.

  And you?

  None of us mean you harm.

  My gaze flickered to Cassius.

  Alex gave a slight shake of his head. Yes, human. He means you harm. You are never to be alone with him. Ever. If you are, I cannot help you. I cannot shield you from his power. If he touches you, if he claims you, it will be the last time you own your own body, soul, and mind. He will destroy you. If you must… run.

  My hands shook at my sides, but I managed a nod in his direction.

  Ethan held out his hand again. "Come."

  I followed him, careful not to touch his hand lest he have the same effect on me a Dark One would, and followed him through a side door.

  He moved silently next to me, opening door after door, finally leading me into a dark parking garage where a black unmarked town car was waiting.

  "Hurry, get in."

  "What?"

  He shoved me in the car and ran to the other side, faster than my eyes could follow, then sped off as if we were being chased.

  "We don't have much time." He looked behind him. "Damn it, we have less than that much time."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "He will hunt you."

  "What?" I gasped. "Who?"

  "Cassius…" He spat. "He wants you. I could feel it. Could see it in his mind's eye as if I was living it myself. The reason you're here isn't for the immortals. It's for him."

  "But, my mom said that—"

  Ethan barked out a laugh. "Yes please tell me what your human mother told you about what your job is to the immortals?"

  I swallowed the dryness in my throat. "I'm to educate you about the ways of the humans so you don't have to interact with us. Teach any of the immortal children how to use the Internet, cell phones — technology — and at the end of the day, I—"

  He roared with laughter, interrupting what I thought was a pretty good speech.

  "So that's what they tell you now?"

  "Wh-what?" I looked behind me only because he kept looking behind us. For Cassius to fly overhead? Or what? We were in the middle of Seattle. It's not like the immortal would want to be seen.

  "Immortals cannot have children with one another, Genesis."

  "What?" I gasped. "But that's impossible. That would mean—"

  Ethan's eyes flashed. "Do you really think that with all the money we have, all the resources, we would need a tiny pitiful ugly little human to tell us how to use a damn computer?"

  Well, when he put it that way…

  It didn't make sense. I mean, I'd studied their history, studied everything about each race. I'd studied my butt off so I could be useful for them, to them. And when all of that was finished, I'd even had to take classes on proper etiquette — how to serve at an immortal feast, how to dress when I was presented, how to—

  "Oh, my gosh," I gasped, reaching for the seatbelt.

  Ethan's hands went to mine. "Stop. It will pass. You're just scared."

  "But—"

  "Shhh." Something shifted in the car, maybe it was the temperature, maybe it was just Ethan trying to calm me down, but my heartbeat slowed way down.

  "Did you just…" My words felt funny. "…slow down my heart?"

  "I'm a vampire, love. What did you expect me to do? Bite you into silence?"

  Yeah, that's exactly what I expected; it's what the books had said.

  "Don't believe everything you read. Besides, I'm not the least bit hungry." He winked and took the next exit toward Lake Washington.

  "So…" He drove the car like a maniac. Turns weren't just turns. It was like he was jerking the car so hard the steering wheel was about to come off. "Tell me you believe me."

  "Believe you?"

  "About your purpose?"

  "What is my purpose?" I asked. "I mean, sir, or… um…" Crap, I'd drawn a blank on how I was supposed to address him. He was above me; I needed to show him respect.

  "Ethan." He sighed heavily. "Damn, do they brainwash you that much these days?"

  "These days?"

  "We haven't called a number up in fifty years." Ethan shook his head. "Pity that Cassius would do it now. Then again, after looking at you…" He licked his lips. "…I'd probably do the same damn thing."

  "What?"

  "Home!" Ethan screeched the car to a halt in front of a gigantic, fenced-in mansion overlooking the lake. A few men stood outside the gates. When they magically swung open, Ethan sped inside then turned off the car. "Come on."

  With no other option but to follow, I quickly got out of the car and followed him to the door.

  Two men with the same-colored eyes but darker hair glanced from me to Ethan and ba
ck again.

  The first spoke. "Apologies, my lord, but she… you cannot bring a breeder into the house! Not if you want to live through the night." He leaned forward and sniffed. "She's marked!"

  "Stay out of it, Ben." Ethan gripped my hand and jerked me into the house.

  "Breeder?" I repeated. "What did he mean by that?"

  "Silence, human." Ethan continued pulling me through the house until finally stopping in a gourmet kitchen. "I don't know what to do with you yet. I don't suppose you'll take kindly to the doghouse out back or the nice water bowl with the name Scratch on it?"

  My mouth dropped open. "A dog? You're going to treat me like your dog?"

  "Joke." He smirked. "But good to know you're opposed to sleeping outside."

  My knees threatened to give out. He must have noticed; in an instant I was in his arms being carried to the nearest chair.

  "Humans," he whispered into my hair. "So fragile."

  It didn't register I was in a vampire's arms. In fact, nothing was registering. Nothing was making sense, and I wasn't sure if I was even allowed to ask questions. It wasn't my place. My mom had made that clear.

  I was terrified of doing the wrong thing — and suffering for it.

  The room felt warm again. Warm and familiar. I looked up just as Stephanie and Alex rushed in the room.

  "Your scent is all over the thing." Alex shook his head. "It's not enough."

  Ethan hissed. "I've had her for fifteen minutes. He freaking marked her. What do you expect me to do?"

  "Try harder," Alex clipped then turned his cold blue eyes toward me. "Sorry, little one, but this day's going to get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better."

  "I'll do it," a third gruff voice said.

  "Mason…" Ethan nodded. "…do your worst."

  Mason grunted then held out his hand to me.

  I didn't take it.

  "Hell, Ethan, what did you do to her?" Mason rolled his eyes. "She's petrified."

  "She's human," Stephanie pointed out.

  "S-sorry." I shook my head. "I'm sorry that I'm scared."

  They all stopped glaring at one another and instead turned their full focus on me.

  "Fear attracts immortals," Mason said plainly. "It would be good of you to stop shaking."

  "Slow her heart." Stephanie slapped Ethan in the chest. "Hurry."

  Rolling his eyes, Ethan focused in on me, and slowly my racing heart went back to normal.

  "Mason," Alex barked, "hurry."

  "Right." Mason took a step forward. "We won't hurt you… but it will hurt."

  "What?"

  "Just…" Ethan cursed and looked away. "…stay as still as possible, human."

  "She has a name," Alex grumbled, earning a fiery look from both Ethan and Mason.

  My breath hitched when Mason leaned down, gripping my shoulders, and softly nibbled on my neck. It felt good — until a slicing pain followed the nibbling.

  I shrieked.

  He didn't let go.

  When I was about ready to pass out, he pulled back, his eyes completely black. "It didn't work."

  "Shit." Ethan ran his hands through his hair.

  "You have to do something." Stephanie looked toward Ethan. "He'll find her if you don't."

  "What the hell do you expect me to do?" Ethan roared. "Bite her?"

  The room fell silent. Didn't vampires bite?

  Isn't that what the text had said?

  Alex exhaled loudly. "I'll try, just don't get all pissed off when she melts into a puddle on the floor."

  "Oh please." Stephanie rolled her eyes.

  "Focus." Alex snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Let me try to at least smother his scent with mine."

  His lips descended.

  And I was being kissed — by a siren. Something the texts described as indescribable ecstasy.

  I was too afraid to feel anything except for heat and desire.

  My heartbeat picked up again. My body went damp and hot as his mouth moved against mine.

  When he pulled back, it wasn't with a satisfied smirk but one of hopelessness. "I'm so sorry, little human."

  "He'll come for her," Stephanie whispered, her eyes flickering to Ethan. "If he takes her—"

  "I know," Ethan barked. "Don't you think I'm well aware of our own prophesy?"

  "Yet we play right into it… every century," Alex muttered. "I thought… for a second, I thought this one would be different. It felt different, right?"

  The room fell silent again.

  "What…" My voice was hoarse. "…what am I really doing with you? Why was my number called?"

  "Oh dear…" Stephanie plopped down into a seat. "Ethan didn't explain that?"

  "Again, fifteen minutes," Ethan muttered under his breath. "And she's human. It's not like her capacity for learning new information has evolved."

  I glared at him.

  Mason chuckled.

  "Honey…" Stephanie reached her hand across the table and placed it on mine. "Whatever your family has taught you is a lie. You aren't here to teach us or do anything of the sort. You're… you're a breeder."

  "A breeder," I repeated. "Like a horse?"

  Mason laughed harder. Well, at least I knew werewolves weren't out to kill me.

  Ethan swore and sat down on the other side of me.

  "We call numbers every fifty years to breed. Immortals cannot procreate with other immortals," he explained. "Humans are chosen based on their scent, strength…" He coughed and looked away. "Physical appeal."

  "But I'm ugly," I blurted. "To you I'm ugly. We're ugly, we're nothing, we're—"

  Ethan shook his head slowly. "And that's the greatest deception of all." His hands moved to my chin. "To us you're not ugly. You are absolute perfection."

  "To a Dark One," Mason continued, "you're life itself."

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Genesis

  MY BREATH HITCHED IN MY CHEST as I stared at the strangers around me. What did that even mean? Life itself? I was nothing. Why would I be taught humility and self-hate my whole life only to be told by the very ones I was supposed to fear that I was life itself?

  "Jealousy," Ethan said softly, "quickly turns to envy. Envy is a dangerous thing because you end up wanting so desperately what you'd never been given in the first place. The greatest sin an immortal can commit is to laugh in the face of what we are… and want." His eyes were sad. "He wants you."

  "To kill me?" I whispered hoarsely.

  "No." Ethan cupped my chin with his smooth fingers. "He wants to possess you, and believe me when I say you'll like every part of that possession — until he leaves you. Dark Ones always leave, and you'll die."

  "Maybe she's different," Stephanie said in a quiet voice.

  "You'd be willing to sacrifice another?" Mason roared, slamming his fists onto the table. It split down the middle right in front of me.

  Gasping, I slid my chair back and nearly fell out of it.

  "How many times have we said we'd stop testing the prophecy?"

  Stephanie looked down at her hands. "It's the only hope we have."

  "Hope," Alex muttered. "What a sad, pathetic little word."

  "We aren't letting Cassius have her." Ethan's green eyes flashed as he released my chin. "We won't repeat what happened last time."

  "What happened last time?" I asked, knowing I'd probably regret the answer.

  Mason's entire face crumpled with pain as he let out a howl and ran out of the room.

  "Shit." Alex stared after him. "It's going to take hours to get him to come out of his state now."

  "I'm so sorry." I held up my hands. "I had no idea—"

  "Of course you don't," Ethan snapped. "You know nothing."

  I am nothing.

  I hung my head.

  "Be easy on her," Stephanie said in a calm voice. "She's been brainwashed for quite a while."

  "Will he be okay?" I asked in a small voice. "The wer—" I was about to say werewolf and had to stop myself. "Mason? Will he be o
kay?"

  "After he runs." Ethan hung his head. "Maybe if he eats something other than berries and the damn pinecones I keep finding in the upstairs bedroom."

  Stephanie's lips pressed together in a small smile. "He finds comfort in the outside."

  "Yeah, well, he's ruining my wood floors," Ethan grumbled.

  "You live together?" I blurted.

  All eyes fell to me. "All immortals live together in one sense or another." It was Ethan who kept answering my questions. "And you didn't offend Mason as much as remind him of what should have been… what could have been."

  "Oh." I swallowed against the dryness in my throat. Shock must have been wearing off as I could at least feel my body again, though what I felt was shaky and weak.

  "Ethan…" Stephanie glanced between us. "I know you don't like the idea, but it's really the only way."

  He chewed his lower lip; fangs descended from the top of his mouth. "I know."

  "It's the only thing we haven't tried." Alex put his arm around Stephanie. "It won't be so bad, will it?"

  What were they talking about?

  And why was I suddenly feeling rejected all over again?

  "It won't be so bad," Ethan repeated. "It will be absolute torture… hell rising to earth… and you ask me to do this still? Knowing what you know?"

  The two of them hung their heads but said nothing.

  It was on the tip of my tongue to ask when the entire temperature in the room dropped.

  I saw my own breath.

  "He's close." Alex cursed. "Do it now!"

  Ethan's green eyes met mine; they flashed then went completely black before he said in a low gravelly voice, "I'm so sorry."

  All I felt was pain.

  As black overtook everything.

  "I love you so much." The woman danced in the field, throwing her hands up into the air in excitement. "Say you love me."

  "I love you." Ethan grinned. "Always, you know this."

  "Say it again!" She laughed and threw herself into his arms.

  I felt everything he felt, like it was me. He wasn't just elated, he was… perfect. Life was perfect. The universe was at one with him and his mate.

  "The hour grows late," he whispered against her temple. "Shall we go back to the castle?"

  She pulled away and pouted. Her dark hair fell in loose waves all the way down to her waist. "Catch me first."