Kissed by the Dark

by Donna Augustine

  “I don’t know what’s going on with you two. I mean, other than the obvious, that you broke up. You did break it off with him, right?”

  “Yes.” I shrugged. “It’s hard to be in a relationship with some guy you just met.” And thought that maybe you were a monster and had not a lick of trust in you. The list of problems went on and on, but it didn’t seem to stop the feelings that piled up, poking me in opposite directions.

  “I don’t want him. I just don’t want him with her.” Dana wasn’t a good person—at all. She’d done horrible things to me, and there Kane was, about to get it on with her. It was quite logical why I didn’t want them together when I thought of it like that.

  “Oh, okay then.” Flip’s eyes opened wide, but then returned to normal as she shrugged. She looked like she’s just had a silent conversation with herself. “His right—”

  “Don’t tell me.” I stood. “I’ve got to get out of here before I accidentally break something.” After the last time, I’d gotten a vague idea of where the threshold was, and I was fast approaching it.

  She nodded, making me think I should run out of there before I found out what Kane had just done now.

  I started toward the hallway and then made a sharp turn toward the exit. Less damage to be done outside if I didn’t calm down quick enough. Jerry stiffened as he saw me approach. “Jerry, I need some air. If you don’t open the door…”

  He looked over my shoulder to where Kane was sitting, then sucked in some air between his teeth. “Don’t go far,” he said, swinging the door open.

  There was no one on the street, but that wasn’t unusual around here, and even more so lately. I was more surprised when they did linger outside. All the monsters inside were afraid of the bigger boogieman down the block.

  I paced away from the door, wishing I had something to do out here, instead of looking like what it was—that I was having a bad day and needed air.

  I walked a little more, aware that Jerry might be staring at my back through the peephole. I went just far enough that I could duck around the corner out of sight.

  I banged my head on the brick wall I leaned against, closing my eyes as I thought back over every step, every decision, that might’ve led me to this place I was now. Maybe I should’ve just kept kissing Kane that day? Then maybe he wouldn’t be at the bar with Dana right now. But I had a really great reason for pulling back. He hadn’t trusted me then and he still didn’t.

  But her? Did he have to keep hanging out with her?

  My eyes were still closed when I felt a slash across my neck. I opened them as I gripped my throat, my hands trying to stop the bleeding. A vampire I didn’t recognize stood in front of me, smiling, fingers dripping in my blood.

  I fell to the ground at his feet as he said, “Die, you whore.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  My cheek was against cement, my attacker’s boots in front of me. Ugly boots, with green plaid trim. It angered me to have ugly boots as my last vision. I tried to hold my hands to my throat, gushing warmth oozing through my fingers. My vision was blurring and my grasp weak. As I lay there, it was odd I was even still awake. I felt like I was dying. Considering the damage he’d inflicted, shouldn’t I already be dead?

  “Fucking die, already,” my attacker said, hatred thick in his voice. His knees bent as he stooped to my level, probably to see why I was alive.

  Even he thought I should be dead, and he was probably experienced at this sort of thing. I knew the slim thread of life I clung to was about to be snipped.

  Before he could, there was a blur off to the side, accompanied by a breeze. The vampire’s ugly boots lifted off the ground. There was a thud of something heavy hitting the ground, followed immediately by a second thud.

  Kane appeared in front of me, his eyes taking in the damage done. “Ollie, hang on. I’ve got you.” His hand pressed over mine, gentle but firm, trying to keep pressure there without cutting off my air. His other arm hoisted me up partially. “Jerry, go to—”

  “Kane, let me help her,” Frederickson said, kneeling in front of me. “She’ll never make it otherwise. I can save her. It’s her only option.”

  Where had he come from? Had he been sitting back watching the attack?

  Kane tensed, contemplating it too. Death or Frederickson. It wasn’t that clear-cut. I wasn’t sure if he hadn’t been watching from the end of the alley. Maybe this was a setup?

  That I was still alive made me begin to doubt that Frederickson was my only hope. Maybe I had more time than anyone thought? How had I not died already? I wanted to say all this, but staying alive and awake seemed to be the extent of what I was capable.

  I felt Kane’s arm squeeze around me. Somehow I knew this meant his was going to let Frederickson do it, like a final hug before he handed over my fate. Except that thought was much more poetic than the reality.

  “As her maker, you will release her immediately,” Kane said.

  Oh shit. Here it came. I was going to be a vampire.

  “Of course—after the initial phase, anyway,” Frederickson said. “It needs to be like that or—”

  “Just do it.”

  Kane knelt in place, my upper body resting against his lap and arm. My head lolled to the side as they argued the details. They fell silent, and I had the worst feeling that it was because Frederickson was opening his wrist up for me. I’d heard that was how they did it.

  Maybe this was the only way? And even if it were a trap, I’d find my way out. I didn’t want to be a vampire, but I wanted to be dead even less, or at least the kind of dead that no longer spoke. I’d take Frederickson’s type of dead over dead dead. Being a vampire would be just another compromise of life.

  I heard other people approaching, and then Kane barked, “Everyone back inside.” The sound of shuffling feet receded. I heard Jerry, and then Butch, yelling and telling them to get back.

  As I lay there, my head supported by Kane, I saw a shimmer ahead. It was exactly like the shimmer I’d seen Harg talking to. Whatever it had been, it was here now.

  As it got closer, I waited for some response from Kane or Frederickson. There wasn’t one. They didn’t see it.

  “Craw…” I said, only getting the first syllable of “crawler” out before warm liquid was dripping into my mouth and down my throat.

  Frederickson’s wrist was pressed firmly against my lips, and there would be no more speaking. Whether or not I wanted his blood was no longer a choice. It was done.

  It felt alive, as if it were fizzing and bubbling against my damaged flesh, easing itself inside of me. A hand ran over my head, trying to soothe me through the process.

  My eyes shifted to the shimmer that was now nearly on top of all of us, and I was stunned by the overwhelming power I felt surging over me. This thing, whatever it was, was potent on a level I’d never experienced.

  And still, neither Frederickson nor Kane seemed to sense it. It hovered close to all of us, and I wondered if even Frederickson’s blood would save me now—or them, for that matter. Were we about to die? I tried to speak, but Frederickson seemed to force his wrist firmer over my mouth, clearly wanting me to drink his blood, be one of his. Maybe he feared I’d try and abort this transfusion?

  All the while, the shimmering moved closer to my hand that lay limp on the ground, until it was right above it. It bit down on the spot where I had the mark of being shadow kissed. The stabbing pain made my body jerk.

  “Slow down. You’re hurting her,” Kane said to Frederickson, as his fingers grazed my forehead.

  I tried to shake my head and realized I couldn’t move. I wanted to say it wasn’t Frederickson, but I couldn’t speak. I was frozen, and not from weakness. That thing had done something to me. All I could do was lie there.

  The pain on my hand relented for a moment, and a grey mist filled the air a few feet above our heads.

  “What the hell was that?” Kane asked, sounding like he was about to rip Frederickson’s throat out.

  “
I have no idea. Maybe it’s something to do with her Shadow Walker blood?”

  Teeth bit into my hand again, and somehow didn’t hurt quite so much this time, as if it had been numbed. I could still feel the vampire blood coursing through me, mending as it went. But instead of seeping through my body, it now felt as if the fizzing and bubbling was traveling through my mouth, and throat, then down the arm, where the creature was biting me.

  “That should be enough,” Kane said firmly.

  “A little more to be safe,” Frederickson said, making sure he got his hooks into me as best he could.

  “No. That’s enough.” Kane pushed Frederickson’s wrist away from my mouth. “Why isn’t she moving yet?”

  “It might take a little bit to fully work. Her injuries were extensive.”

  Kane’s fingers grazed my neck, which felt like it was healing, even as I barely moved because of whatever the other creature was doing to me. It released my hand again, and then released another grey mist.

  If Frederickson or Kane noticed it this time, they didn’t remark upon it. Kane gathered me up, cradling my body to him as he stood. “I’ll find you if I need you.”

  “I’ll need to bring her with me. It’s part of the process.” Frederickson’s desperation reeked like rotten eggs on a hot summer day.

  “I told you, I’ll let you know.”

  The creature that glimmered rose with us, and then there was a swooshing feeling, as if my arm was attached to a vacuum that was sucking my cells dry. I found I could finally move my head, and I tried to catch a glimpse of what was happening to me. I couldn’t see much, but I heard a drawn-out “Shhhh,” as if it were telling me to keep quiet and lulling me to sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  A warm hand brushed my cheek and then moved over my forehead.

  “She’s still warm,” Kane said, sounding as unsure as he was capable of.

  I opened my eyes and realized I was in my apartment, on my bed.

  Kane had his fingers placed on my neck, his brow furrowed. Butch, Leon, and Flip were all standing around the bed, staring at me as if I were a zoo exhibit. It made sense—I was a newly made vampire.

  Kane sat on the bed beside me. “How do you feel?”

  “Pretty good. I guess that’s normal?” I looked out the window, seeing the dark sky. I ran my tongue over my incisors. They felt the same. Maybe they wouldn’t pop down until I got hungry. Was I hungry? I looked back at the people staring at me, seeing if I had an urge to sink my teeth into their necks. No, definitely had no urge to do that.

  “Does it take a while to kick in? Maybe by tomorrow? How long have I slept?”

  Kane reached out again, grazing my throat. “I’ve seen the transition before. Another day isn’t going to get rid of your pulse.”

  “How do you have a pulse?” Butch asked, stepping forward and squinting. Leon was taking a step back, and Flip sat down on the other side of the bed, gaping.

  “I definitely have a pulse?” I asked, looking at Kane.

  “Yes.”

  I put my fingers to my throat. Yeah, still ticking away.

  That thing, the Glass Monster, it had cleaned the vampire blood, sucked it out of me. I’d felt it. But why? That didn’t make any sense.

  I’d thought I might’ve imagined it, but I guess I hadn’t. If I had, I would’ve been dead right now, or undead. Definitely in some sort of dead category.

  None of this made sense. “Does this vampire thing ever not take?” I looked around the room, hoping for answers.

  Kane was the only one who responded. “No.”

  “You said Asher did something to me that kept the crawlers away, right?”

  He crossed his arms. “Yes.”

  “Maybe whatever he did could protect me from all sorts of stuff?”

  “Nothing else happened?” Kane tilted his head down, glaring at me from beneath dark brows, his eyes as intense as ever. He knew I was holding back. It was in every line of his posture. But the tilt of his head was a bit softer, as if he were going to give me a little time to spill. I didn’t know how long, but a little. Or maybe because he’d been there the whole time, it was hard to accuse me of pulling a dirty trick?

  Not to mention that it could’ve been some sort of near-death vision. Maybe it hadn’t even happened and the theory I’d just fed him about Asher was the actual truth.

  The Glass Monster, for lack of a better name, had saved me. If it wanted me to keep quiet, I would. Especially since Kane had been sitting at the bar with Dana, my nemesis, while I was being attacked.

  “You saw everything I saw,” I said, playing on my hunch. “You were there with me—after the attack, anyways.” I did some of my own glaring. Who was he to even question me?

  “So that’s the way you want to play this?” he asked, getting his back up.

  He could stare me down all damn day. All I had to do was think of him standing at that bar and I was ready for war. “Exactly that way.”

  I sat up a little straighter, putting some steel in my spine. That’s when I noticed my bloodstained shirt looked like a Rorschach test and my hands were stiff with dried blood. And there was a lot of blood. It appeared as if I’d emptied every drop I had and then cycled through some more. How was I alive?

  I stumbled out of bed and I walked a few paces to the last open spot in the bedroom.

  That vampire in the alley almost killed me. Considering how much killing I’d supposedly done, I guess indignation was a bit much, but that didn’t stop me from feeling it.

  “Did anyone identify the vampire who attacked me?” Because the first thing I was going to do after I got my head back on straight was track down Ugly Boots.

  “I’ve already taken care of him.” I didn’t miss the look Kane then gave Butch, or the quick nod he got in return.

  I remembered my attacker’s feet leaving the ground in a whoosh. Those had been pretty loud thumps afterward. I guess someone had made sure to hose out the fleshy bits already.

  Kane had protected me. He’d killed him. A vampire. In seconds. I wasn’t sure if I should thank him and give him a big hug or take off running, because what the hell kind of monster was he? Maybe I should be happy he was moving on to Dana.

  “Do we know why?” I asked. “He didn’t say much to me.” If we didn’t, it was going to be hard to question him now that he’d been washed into the gutters. I stared down at my hands, walking into the attached bathroom before anyone answered.

  I turned the faucet on, letting it get as hot as it could as I ran my hands beneath it. Red and then pink filled the basin.

  Kane came and leaned in the doorway. “Frederickson said your attacker was the maker of the vampire you killed in the mall.”

  “And Frederickson just happened to appear? Seems a bit odd.” I added globs of liquid soap to my hands.

  “No doubt he took advantage of the situation. And if he had succeeded in converting you, I think there might’ve been many reasons he would’ve given to delay releasing you from his maker’s bond.” He shrugged. “But I don’t think he’s behind anything else. We have bigger issues than him. If he becomes too much of a problem…”

  If Frederickson got in the way, he’d be dead. Kane ended the sentence with another shrug, as if that was all it merited. It wasn’t even a strong shrug but a halfhearted attempt.

  How was it that I, the one who was capable of releasing what amounted to demon creatures onto this earth, was the only one Kane wasn’t ready to kill? There had to be something else to it that I didn’t know. And it couldn’t be lovesickness, or why would he be at the bar cozying up to Dana?

  “Are you okay?”

  I glanced up to see him staring at where my hands were turning raw under the heat and scrubbing.

  “I’m fine. I’m sure you’ve got things to get back to. I know I interrupted your meeting with Dana earlier.” I turned off the water and dried my hands, hoping he’d say something about what he was doing with her. Not that it was my business.

&nb
sp; He straightened. “Get some sleep.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I’d lain low for the entire day, not wanting to deal with the crowd in the Underground, where they could all confirm I was still human.

  Being a Shadow Walker was bad in this crowd. Being a Shadow Walker who let in monsters was really bad. But being a Shadow Walker who let in monsters and was such a freak that she was immune to vampire blood? Off the charts.

  Chairs screeched as people hurried to move out of my way when I walked into the Underground. It seemed that people were maintaining a twenty-foot distance at all times, fearing I’d go nuclear at any moment.

  I didn’t look up at Kane’s office. Or I didn’t look up for long. The booth we always sat at was empty, but I made my way to the bar, where Flip was already seated.

  “How are you holding up?” she asked, looking over the new flesh lining my neck.

  “No scar.” I’d worn a V-neck on purpose. Let everyone get their look and be done with it.

  I glanced up toward the light shining through Kane’s office and then looked away quickly.

  “He’s alone up there,” Flip said. “I’m keeping tabs.”

  “Thanks, but it doesn’t matter.”

  She snorted. I ignored her.

  I was still there, leaning against the bar next to Flip, when the procession started. It began with the door opening and a vampire walking in, holding four dozen red roses. He paused as Jerry pointed at the bar. The vampire started right toward us.

  “Flip, are you dating someone you haven’t told me about?” I asked.

  She turned toward the vampire. “No. My relationships only span from dusk to dawn, and those are the good ones. You don’t want to know about the bad ones.”

  Before the first vampire got a few steps in the door, another one followed with another bouquet. Then another. All heading our way.

  I looked at Flip, trying to see what she was making of this. Her face smoothed out and then expanded as her jaw dropped and her mouth turned into a large O, like Flip had just gone through her own Big Bang.