Dark Seeker

by Taryn Browning

  “I left her in the parking lot. There are still a few students and teachers lingering. She didn’t want them to get hurt.” He started forward again. Kai kept pace.

  Relieved and furious to see Matt, Janie focused on the long object in his hand. What is he doing? He’s going to get himself killed. And what is he holding? “Is that a jousting lance?”

  He smiled. “Pretty cool, huh? I found it in the theater room. I think it’s real.” He hushed his tone. “Oh, and I did what you asked. It’s taken care of.”

  Janie breathed out. Caleb could still hear him. “Thanks.” Hopefully Jerome and his gang are helping Kai.

  Matt’s smile straightened. He glared at Caleb. “How do I kill him?” He shuffled forward, jabbing the lance at Caleb.

  “You’re going to kill me with that?” Caleb erupted into laughter.

  Janie directed her eyes to the bottles behind them in an attempt to signal Matt. He gave her a confused look. “Smash them,” she said.

  Matt focused on the bottles and nodded.

  Caleb tightened his grip on Janie’s throat. “Shut up! There will be no more talking out of you. If you so much as squeak, it will be the last noise you make.”

  “Why haven’t you killed me yet?” she said. “What are you waiting for?”

  Matt inched forward. “Janie, do you think that’s the best thing to say right now? He does have his arm over your windpipe.”

  “Listen to your boyfriend. Shut up.” Caleb squeezed her throat harder. Janie gasped for air.

  “Just do it already.” Janie thrust her head backward, smashing into his nose. She winced. The pain of her earlier injury shot down her skull. Green blood oozed down his face and on to the back of her bare neck, causing her skin to burn. Her flesh sizzled. The burned stench stung her nose.

  Caleb readjusted his arm around her throat. “You’re just trying to piss me off. It’s not going to work. I’ll kill you when we’re ready.”

  “You will not!” Matt sprinted forward with the lance pointing outward.

  Caleb’s grip loosened. Janie spun out of his hold. The lance pierced through his stomach and exited out his back.

  “Nice job.” Janie shot Matt an approving look and lunged for the bottles. Caleb whirled around, knocking Janie to the ground with the part of the lance that protruded from his back. She fell inches from the bottles.

  With one quick forward jerk, Caleb ripped the lance from his torso, not as wounded as Janie would have liked.

  “I guess that’s not how you kill them.” Matt bent over and retrieved a second lance. “Luckily, the theater had two. I’ll aim for the head next time.”

  The twins appeared under the bleachers. They wore muscle shirts, exposing their large arms. At first they ignored Janie and Matt. “Caleb, where are the bottles? You were supposed to keep them on you at all times.”

  Caleb glanced down at Janie. “The Seeker got in the way. It’s okay. They’re right here.” He bent down to retrieve them. Confusion flashed across his face. “Yo, Quinn, they were right there, man.”

  “Looking for these?” Janie held up both bottles and smashed them against the asphalt. The glass shattered into pieces. Vampire venom flooded the ground. Balls of screaming white lights—the lost souls—bounced in the air like large molecules with nowhere to go.

  “You idiot.” Quinn struck Caleb with his fist. “Antony told you not to put those down.”

  The other twin grabbed Janie by her hair and yanked her to her knees. “Miss Seeker, Antony has plans for you.”

  “Let her go.” Matt jabbed at the twin with the lance.

  Quinn ripped the lance out of Matt’s hands and struck him over the head with it, knocking him unconscious. “Nate, let’s go. It’s time to continue with the plan.”

  “You can’t,” Janie said. “I’ve released the souls and you don’t have any more venom. You’re finished.” Quinn backhanded her. Janie spit blood.

  “Quinn, where are we going?” Nate said anxiously. “We can’t Turn her without Antony.”

  Quinn appeared to be the more level-headed twin. “Last I saw, Antony was fighting Jerome inside.”

  “Where’s Michaela?” Nate twitched, showing Janie how much he feared Antony.

  Quinn took charge. “I’ll find her and tell her to meet us inside. Get the Seeker there—now.” Quinn passed Janie off to Nate with a firm grip on her hair. She’d already been cracked over the head by a two-by-four, it stung too badly to resist. Every tug made her more nauseated.

  “What about him?” Nate pointed to Matt. Janie thought she saw Matt’s eyes flutter. The twins didn’t notice. “Can we eat him?”

  “Leave him. We don’t have time. He’s useless to us.” Quinn kicked the broken glass and cursed under his breath.

  “He could be an athlete. We could use him.” Nate sized him up. “Look at his varsity jacket.”

  Quinn became enraged. “Not now! We’ll come back for him. Our priority is the Seeker.” Quinn grabbed Caleb by the shirt and lifted him to eye level. “No more screw-ups. Go with Nate and get the Seeker to Antony.” He shoved him backward.

  A puddle formed at the base of Caleb’s pants.

  CHAPTER 20

  Kai and Abram found Matt crouched under the bleachers. He held his lance between his knees. His hand was pressed firmly against a gash in his head. Blood seeped through his fingers. Kai felt bad for him—for a fraction of a second.

  Kai tapped Matt on the head. His head shot up. He fumbled backward, pointing the lance at Kai.

  “You look terrible,” Kai said. “And what are you holding?”

  “Back off, Kai.” Matt rose to an unsteady stance.

  “Touchy. I was only stating the obvious.” Kai’s words were brisk. “Janie told you to go home. You didn’t listen.” He plucked the lance from Matt’s hand. “And you think this is going to stop them. As I said before, you’re a dim bulb.” He threw the lance to the ground. It splintered in two.

  “You can’t have her,” Matt said.

  “What did you say?” Kai’s stepped inches from Matt. The demon who used to live inside him wanted to rip the boy apart. Then he realized it was the human inside of him. The demon no longer existed. Humans had evil thoughts, too. The difference was, they didn’t usually act on them. Kai wouldn’t either. He still didn’t like Matt. Matt complicated things, but Janie seemed to care about him.

  Matt pushed forward. “You heard me. You can’t have her, Kai. She’ll always be connected to me through this Imprint thing. You’ll never be rid of me. You will never truly have her for yourself, and that kills you.”

  Kai lunged at Matt, causing Matt to stumble back. Matt’s reaction made Kai smile. It showed weakness, and right now he needed to see Matt’s inferiority to hide the truth—Matt was right.

  “The Imprint doesn’t apply if you don’t exist.” Kai cornered Matt beneath the bleachers.

  “Hold on, both of you,” Abram said. “Neither of you have her, trust me. Janie’s too independent to need either of you.” Abram grabbed Kai’s bicep to restrain him. Kai jerked his arm out of Abram’s grasp. “Now, both of you, grow up. We need to find Janie. Last I heard, she was heading to the field.”

  “We didn’t see her, and we just walked half the track,” Kai said. He paced, refusing to look at Matt. Abram was right; fighting didn’t help find Janie.

  “She was just here. They took her,” Matt said.

  “Took her where?” Kai clutched the collar of Matt’s jacket and lifted him off the ground. “Tell me.” He shook Matt.

  “Put him down. You’re not even giving the boy a chance to speak,” Abram said.

  “Fine.” Kai lowered him, but didn’t let go. “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know exactly where she is. Now get off my collar.” Matt swatted at Kai.

  “Useless.” Kai released Matt and pounded his fist into a bleacher. The metal bench concaved under his hand.

  Matt fixed his collar, his jacket soaked with blood from his head wound. “Give m
e a chance to talk.” Matt pointed to the broken bottles. “Janie smashed the bottles. Whatever was inside of them is gone.”

  “The vampire venom and lost souls.” Kai examined the puddle on the ground. He dabbed his finger in the venom and smeared the liquid between his fingers. He smelled it to make sure. It’s vampire venom. “Without the venom or lost souls, Antony loses.”

  “The twins didn’t seem happy about it,” Matt said.

  Abrams eyes shot up from the puddle of vampire venom. “The twins who attacked me were here?” He stepped between them to speak to Matt. “What did they say?”

  “They thought I was unconscious. One of the twins, Quinn, said something about moving forward with the plan and needing Antony’s supply to ‘Turn’ Janie.”

  “We’ve got to find her. Antony must still be alive, or they think he is. If so, Antony has more venom. While I was inside, Antony and his crew killed at least one of Jerome’s vampires. Antony’s in possession of pure venom.” Kai brushed past Matt and Abram. “We don’t have much time.”

  “Wait—Kai, you said he needed a lost soul. Where is he going to get one?” Abram said.

  “He’ll take a soul from a human. There are plenty around to choose from.”

  “And the testosterone, Janie’s a female.”

  “A very strong female. She’s got more endurance and strength than any of those football players.” He pointed to the field. The quarterback launched a spiral down the field. Kai turned back to Matt. “You’ve got to think. Did Quinn or his brother say anything about where they took her?”

  “Quinn was going to find some girl named Michaela,” he said quickly. “He told his brother, Nate, and this other one, Caleb, to take her inside.”

  “Let’s start in the basement and work our way up,” Kai said. He removed a smaller blade from his belt.

  “Should I grab Isabelle?” Abram said.

  “No, if Antony is searching for another lost soul, we’ll need her patrolling the parking lot.” Kai started forward. “Abram, are you coming?”

  “What about me?” Matt said.

  “Go home.” Kai pointed in the direction of the parking lot. “You’re going to end up getting Janie killed.”

  Kai found Jerome where he’d seen him last—lying beneath a crumbled wall outside the locker room. Kai slid his blade back into his belt and knelt down beside him. Jerome’s tattooed arm draped over his chest, resting under a wooden stake.

  Jerome strained to open his eyes. He struggled to speak. “Dude, you’re okay.”

  Kai tried to act as if there wasn’t a stake pressing up against Jerome’s heart. Close enough to cause a slow death, but not close enough to kill him instantaneously. “You look good, man.”

  Jerome coughed. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. “Tanya?”

  Kai shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.” He gripped Jerome’s hand. “Last time I saw her, she was kicking some Daychild’s ass.”

  “That’s my girl.” He tried to smile. “How about Janie?”

  “I don’t know.” Kai inspected Jerome’s wound. All the memories he’d been running from came racing back. He fell forward. His knees smacked against the linoleum floor. Watching Jerome die so painfully, in such a similar way, made it feel like it was happening all over again. . .Tavares stood over him, ready to plunge the dagger into his skull…

  “Kai—I thought you were the one. I was so proud the day I created you. I had such high hopes for my prodigy. What a disappointment.” Tavares gripped Kai’s throat and slowly lowered him to the ground. “How—how did you develop a conscience? It’s impossible. . .you’re soulless.”

  Kai tried to speak, but Tavares had crushed his windpipe. Kai stared into Tavares’s cold red eyes. Unlike Kai’s human complexion, left over from his demon days, Tavares was a true vampire, very pale. His platinum hair blended with his skin, giving him the appearance of an albino.

  “What, nothing to say?” Tavares made a sound somewhere between a laugh and an echo of pity. “I thought you’d put up more of a fight. Love has weakened you.” He lifted his silver dagger. “Her death will be less painful than yours. . .I promise.” His voice grew louder. “You just had to have her. Well, now you will both pay for wronging me.” Tavares plunged the dagger into Kai’s skull at just the right position to cause a slow, torturous death. Kai’s last image before everything faded to black was of—her.

  “Hey, you with me?” Jerome choked.

  “Yeah, man. I’m here.” Kai blinked back to the present moment. “It’ll be over soon. I’ve been where you are.” Kai lifted the cross around Jerome’s neck and placed it in Jerome’s hand.

  “Tavares did this to you and look at you now. You’re tougher than ever.” Jerome coughed. His white tank soaked with red. “There’s hope for me.”

  “You’ll be good, bro.” Kai tightened his grip around Jerome’s hand. “You don’t go down easily. You’re a leader. You should be proud.”

  “Antony got away. I think my crew is dead.” His voice cracked. “Tanya?”

  “You did well,” Kai said. “We couldn’t have done it without you. Janie stopped them. We’ve accomplished what we came to do. Don’t worry about Antony. I’ll make sure he doesn’t make it out of here alive.”

  “Take care of yourself.” Jerome squeezed his hand. His grip weakened as time passed. “You’re alright, Kai Sterdam. I like you. Whatever you are—vampire, human, demon.”

  Kai did the only thing he knew would ease the pain. He shoved the wooden stake further into Jerome’s heart. He swore he heard Jerome say “thank you” right before his body combusted into ashes and vanished.

  “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. And I’ve been doing this for years.” Abram stood over Kai. “Vampires are evolving. I’ve been wrong about a lot of things.” Abram extended his hand to Kai. “Let me help you up, my friend.”

  Kai accepted Abram’s hand. “It’ll be an honor to kick Antony’s ass with you.”

  “So Tavares did the same thing to you?” Abram shook his head. “From what Janie told me, Jerome killed Antony’s girl. That was reason enough for him to punish Jerome, I guess. What did you do to make Tavares want to punish you like that?”

  Kai placed his hand on his heart. “My past. Janie is my future.”

  Abram motioned for Kai to lead the way. “I understand.”

  CHAPTER 21

  Janie came to, chained to some sort of loud machine. Sweat rolled down her face. The temperature had risen. Where am I? She noticed an open door directly in front of her. The sign on the door said Boiler Room. As far as she could see, she was alone. She tugged on the iron cuffs, but they didn’t budge. Outside the door she heard someone talking, maybe Antony. Things were foggy. She couldn’t reach the back of her aching head, and her neck burned from Caleb’s blood. Thinking back, head-butting Caleb wasn’t the brightest idea. But it felt good at the time.

  “Are we good?” She recognized the squeaky high-pitched voice—the girl with the spiky hair, Michaela. The room flooded with the sounds of enormous washing machines and idling car engines. Janie had to strain to hear their conversation over the machines.

  The next voice boomed, drowning out the whooshing. “The boy will do,” Antony said. “I need a soul. Throw him in with the Seeker. I’ll kill him after I inject the venom. I want the soul to be as fresh as possible before it’s transferred.”

  “Take whatever you want from me, just don’t hurt her.” Janie tensed. Matt.

  “You’re making the ultimate sacrifice,” Antony said. “We’ll remove your soul and give it to the Seeker, but she won’t need it for long. Two souls can’t inhabit the same body. Both souls will eventually die. Then the process will begin.” His voice sped in excitement. “When the extra-strong dose of vampire venom is injected directly into her bloodstream, the transformation will begin. And when the souls depart, she will be close to the Turn.”

  “You need her strength to finish,” Matt said. Janie cringed, surprised by ho
w much he knew.

  “This one’s been paying attention,” Michaela said.

  “There’s no doubt she’ll survive. I’ll be the only leader with a Seeker. This has worked out better than I could’ve planned.”

  Matt appeared in the doorway, his hands bound with rope and his varsity jacket missing a sleeve. Red stains decorated the varsity lettering. A gash started from his forehead and ended somewhere behind his hairline. Dried blood crusted around his eyes like flaking dried paint.

  Michaela guided him into the room and tied him to another loud machine. Her large hoop earrings grazed her shoulders as she secured the knots.

  “Turn me,” Matt said. “I’m an athlete. I can handle it. Let Janie go.”

  “Shut up.” Michaela slapped him. He fell to the side, still suspended by the rope. Michaela left the room and slammed the door behind her.

  “Matt, are you okay?” Janie tried to get to him. The cuffs wouldn’t budge.

  “I’m fine. I hate her.” He fell silent. “Janie—” He sounded exhausted. “I don’t think they’re zombies.”

  “No, Matt, they’re not.” She expelled an exhausted chuckle.

  “Sorry.” His voice came out low and defeated. “I did what Kai told me. I guess I wasn’t fast enough. They caught me before I even hit the parking lot.”

  “Kai—you saw Kai.” Hope and relief rose within her. “He’s okay?” She did her best not to shout.

  “They went looking for you.”

  “They?” She tried to sit up straighter. The cuffs jerked her back.

  “Kai and Abram.”

  “Together?” Something had to have happened. Abram would rather kill Kai then work directly with him.

  “Is that a problem?” Matt squirmed within the rope. He cursed under his breath.

  “I guess not,” she said. “I didn’t think they got along.” Maybe this means he’ll stay.