Darkness Unveiled

by Emerson Knight

“Maayyaa!” the creature screamed in a joyous, desperate plea, then stepped back, raised both hands, and stabbed its claws into its stomach. A moment later, it yanked its claws free, drawing out a spurt of blood that streaked the floor of the cage.

  “No!” Josh yelled, finally distracted from his spell. Before I knew it, he was unlocking the cage.

  “What are you doing?” I yelled, reaching for him too late as he charged inside the cage to somehow prevent the creature from disappearing. “Get the hell out of there!”

  Before I could reach Josh, the creature slashed his arm. Oblivious to the wound, he gripped its arm and began to chant. His eyes became opaque. The lights in the cellar blinked erratically. A moment later, they shut off altogether, leaving us in perfect darkness for a few seconds until some of the lights blinked back on.

  Reaching inside the cage, I gripped Josh’s t-shirt collar and yanked him backward out the door. Once he was out, Chris leapt into the cage brandishing a knife. Whether she intended to injure it or somehow prevent its escape, I wasn’t sure, but the creature vanished just as she struck. Any trace of the creature’s blood disappeared as well.

  Josh thrashed himself free from my grip, cursing at the empty cage as Chris emerged. It took him a long string of furious expletives before he noticed with surprise the blood dripping from his wound.

  I gripped his arm, assessing the gaping wound that bled profusely, then clamped my hands over it to staunch the bleeding. He needed medical attention soon. Fortunately, the poison wouldn’t be a complication, since it only seemed to affect supernaturals.

  My brother frowned at the sight of his blood on my hands. “Whoever is involved in this is stronger than I am,” he admitted, swallowing his pride.

  The few remaining lights still flickered, the rest blown out by the power of his magic. Not by much. “You did what you could,” I consoled him, “more than you should have. Don’t do anything like that again, okay?”

  Josh frowned. “You’re doing it again.”

  “You asked me to give you room. I’m doing what I can.” I sighed, restraining the urge to yell at him for being so reckless and charging into the cage. You’re not invulnerable. What were you thinking? “I am just asking that you be more careful.” I gave him a tight, half-smile. “You’re going to need stitches—several.”

  He grinned as he unwrapped my hands and clutched his arm to his chest. “I guess I should get it over with. You want to bet I get to hear another one of his speeches?” He accepted the inevitable with a shrug. “This should be fun.”

  You’ll listen to Dr. Baker, but not to me? I chuckled, giving my brother a forced smile as I led him up the stairs.

  CHAPTER 12

  “I didn’t have enough time,” Josh lamented, then winced as Dr. Baker began stitching the wound together while Sebastian, Chris, and I watched. A badly shaken-up Sky was in her room, guarded by Steven. Sebastian had placed him there to make her feel comfortable, and to keep Chris from interrogating her.

  She frowned. “We should’ve anticipated that.” When we didn’t respond, she asked, “What now?”

  “We need another creature.” Josh shrugged.

  Her piercing stare shifted between him, Sebastian, and me, calculating. She wanted answers. Who or what was Maya, and what did it have to do with Skylar? had to be the question on her mind, but she knew better than to ask. That wouldn’t stop her from finding out on her own, eventually.

  “Is that what you want me to tell Demetrius?” she asked, skeptical.

  Josh appeared about to offer an apology when Sebastian spoke first. “Yes. The hunt continues tomorrow, with or without the vampires,” he stated with an obvious finality.

  After a final round of suspicious glances, she nodded and left.

  “It’s my fault,” Josh said.

  Sebastian waved off his apology. “The creatures have never displayed the kind of awareness required for self-immolation.”

  “It recognized Maya,” I said, stating the obvious. “How is that possible?”

  “She’s supposed to be dormant.” Sebastian scowled.

  Josh chewed at his nails before answering. “Its entire demeanor changed once the spell began. That was the witch, I’m sure. The genums aren’t just empowered by him; he can control them directly. The real question is: what’s the link between the witch and Maya?”

  “He called to her,” I said warily.

  “Why?” Sebastian asked.

  Josh shook his head, wearing an expression that blended frustration and disappointment. “Until we learn more about the witch, I don’t have any answers.” After a moment, he added, “What do we do about Chris?”

  I scowled. As if her curiosity about Sky hadn’t been enough motivation to dig into her past, now Chris had Maya’s name to investigate as well. “She’ll find out about Maya and Sky eventually.”

  “Can you put some roadblocks in her way?” Sebastian asked.

  “Some,” I said, “but she has too many resources, most of which she keeps to herself. The best thing we can do now is keep her away from Sky, which is going to be difficult while she’s representing the vampires.”

  “We should keep Sky away from the creatures as well,” Josh added.

  “Can your ward protect her?” Sebastian asked.

  Josh nodded, certain.

  I grunted, amused as I imagined how she would react when told she needed to sit home and wait while the rest of us hunted.

  “I’ll talk to her,” Sebastian stated.

  I was more than happy to leave the task to him. Surprisingly, she agreed, though I doubted I would’ve received the same cooperation. She claimed she was falling behind in her job—Sky worked from home as a healthcare auditor for a private company—but I suspected she was more worried by her encounter with the creature than she let on. Perhaps focusing on something other than pack business would remind her of the safety and relative peace of mundane life. I could only hope. Knowing that she was safely tucked away behind Josh’s ward gave me a peace I hadn’t felt since before the attacks began.

  The vamps didn’t take well the news that Josh had failed to source the creature. Accusations of incompetence were bandied about, but they couldn’t offer an alternative strategy. We had no choice but to return to the hunt and capture another creature to source, but we’d learned from our first failure. Once tranquilized, it would be hog-tied to ensure it could not injure itself. As an added precaution, the claws and feet would be splinted by specially cut wood blocks. So that it couldn’t bite its tongue or cheek, a mouth guard would be inserted and the jaw taped shut. This time, we weren’t taking any chances.

  Unfortunately, the witch knew our strategy. Over the next two evenings, the hunt failed to draw a single attack. Most likely the witch was adjusting his tactics to accommodate ours, and his discovery of Maya, whatever that meant. We had the unfortunate circumstance of waiting to react to our enemy’s change of tactics, but the hunt continued. For the moment, it was our only course of action.

  Having returned from another fruitless search alone, I was surprised to find the library empty. I was going to look for Josh when I decided to take advantage of the moment. Having spent a great deal of time with him there, I knew how he organized the sections on magic.

  At every turn, the witch seemed to reveal an increasing amount of power. Josh was doing his best, but he was overwhelmed, which said a great deal about the threat this witch represented. I had access to power Josh didn’t have, but I’d spent little time learning how to use it. I could dismantle wards and fields, but that was largely an intuitive effort. More complicated magic required rituals and spells. Only Sebastian knew what I was capable of. If I were to reveal myself, it would put me, Josh, and the pack in danger, but an opportunity to exercise my power unnoticed might arise. If we couldn’t turn the tables on the witch soon, I might not have a choice.

  I quickly found the section I wanted, but it took a while to sort through and decide which books might be of most use to me. Judging by the
wear on the bindings, I chose three books Josh was least likely to miss. After stashing them in my room, I returned to looking for him.

  I was walking past the entryway when the front door was kicked open and Quell, wearing an intense, anxious look, entered carrying an unconscious Sky in his arms. His lips were stained with blood and his eyes, once bright green, were now jet-black. From the two of them, I heard only a single, faint heartbeat.

  Anger and fear drew the air from my lungs. I gently took Sky from his arms as Steven, Sebastian, and Gavin rushed into the room. The heartbeat was hers, I realized. Her breathing was shallow—almost nonexistent. Suddenly oblivious to anyone but Sky, I shouted for Dr. Baker as I ran with her in my arms to the clinic. He arrived just as I laid her onto a table.

  “What happened?” he asked, examining her.

  “Vampire bite,” I growled as he found the marks on her wrist, which appeared unusually clean, as if she hadn’t offered any resistance. But the jagged bite wound on her neck told another story, as did the bruise forming on the back of her neck.

  He listened briefly to her heartbeat through a stethoscope. When Kelly hurried into the room, he pulled the tool from his ears and gave instructions to begin a blood transfusion.

  “Ethan, I need some room to work.”

  I backed out of the way. “Will she be okay?”

  “As long as I work quickly,” he said, his tone unusually tense as he worked with Kelly to save Sky.

  I berated myself as I strode back toward the entryway. I should’ve killed the vamp at the farmhouse that first night. My prediction had come true. He’d lost control and fed from Sky. He hadn’t drained her dry—this time. But Quella Perduta was never going to get another chance.

  Each step became faster, until I reached the entryway at a full run, propelled by pure animal rage. Quell stood in the entryway like a repentant statue waiting for judgment while Sebastian questioned him. I could see in the rigidity of Sebastian’s posture that he was controlling his rage, doing a better job than Steven, who stood on his toes as if he were going to pounce at any moment. Gavin, on the other hand, seemed unusually calm, almost enjoying himself.

  Quell observed my charge with a sad, resigned expression, making no effort to stop me.

  “Ethan!” Sebastian shouted. “Stop!”

  I roared, a barely human sound, as I leapt past Sebastian, kicking the vamp in the chest and sending him flying several feet backward into a wall, leaving a deep impression. Shocked by the impact, he stumbled onto his feet, but made no move to protect himself as I unleashed a flurry of punches to his chest and torso and drove him back against the wall. Unsatisfied, I picked him up by his shirt, swung him around, and flung him across the room. A leather chair collapsed beneath him with a splintering crash.

  I thought I heard Sebastian call my name again as I picked up an end table on my way toward Quell. The vampire managed to climb to his knees, but once more made no move to defend himself as I raised the table above my head. He watched unblinking as I smashed it over his skull, driving him back down to the hardwood floor. Picking up a jagged splinter of wood, I loomed over him. Before I could drive the stake through his heart, Sebastian slammed into me. The stake fell from my grip and the air fled from my lungs as he drove me, unbalanced, into a nearby wall, pinning me there with his forearm against my chest.

  I tried unsuccessfully to push him off, then tried to slip sideways out of his grip, all the while glaring at Quell, but Sebastian was an unrelenting mountain. Suddenly his face was in mine. Amber sparks of his wolf flashed in his eyes and I could feel the heat of his breath as he yelled repeatedly.

  “Ethan!”

  Unable to break free, I roared in frustration. For a moment, I shifted enough to catch another glimpse of Quell as he slowly climbed to his feet, facing me with a forlorn expression. Still, he made no move to escape. Even if he tried, Gavin had moved in front of the door, and Steven had positioned himself to stop the vamp from fleeing into either of the neighboring rooms.

  Sebastian slid me along the wall until he had me in trapped in a corner. “Enough!” he bellowed, blocking my view of Quell so that I had no distraction from his wrath. “Ethan! Stop!”

  “He fed from Sky!”

  “Not yet! Ethan!” He relaxed the pressure on my chest just enough to slam me back into the wall, shocking me. “Ethan!” I stared back at him, blinking in disbelief. “There are protocols.”

  “No!” I roared. I didn’t give a damn about his sense of decorum.

  “Before we punish Quell, Demetrius must be involved. He must see the evidence. When Sky recovers, she will tell her story. Then, and only then”—he slammed me back into the wall once more—“will we pass judgment.”

  I shook my head, but my resistance was cracking. As much as I hated to admit it, Sebastian was right. This wasn’t just a matter of decorum. Had I witnessed the attack on Sky, I could’ve killed the vamp on the spot. But I hadn’t. The only witness to the attack was Sky. Until she told her story, and Quell had a chance to refute it, killing him might not only end our alliance but trigger a war. I would be giving Michaela what she wanted. For the sake of the pack, I had to calm myself.

  Sky will live, I repeated like a mantra until I slowly brought my rage under control. After a moment, Sebastian relented, releasing me from the wall.

  “I will call Demetrius,” he announced. “No harm is to come to Quell without my authority. Steven”—he singled out the young coyote who still struggled with his own fury—“go to Sky. Stay with her until I call for you.”

  He answered with a tense, defiant gaze, but only for a moment before turning away to obey. On his way out of the room, he punched a hole in the wall next to the doorway.

  In a matter of minutes, Demetrius and Michaela transported to just outside the front door, accompanied by Chase, Gabriella, and a vampire known as Eros. He was new to the Seethe, someone we had spotted only recently but knew nothing about. Seeing him for the first time, it was apparent that while he was new to the Seethe, he was not a young vampire. He was a wild card that needed to be watched, carefully.

  Demetrius’s gaze was intense, his jaw clenched as he accepted Sebastian’s invitation to enter the house. Demetrius understood the gravity of the situation, and I suspected he didn’t appreciate being drawn back to the retreat to answer for the misbehavior of one of his own. I wondered what horror Quell would suffer from his Master if he managed to leave the house alive. Vampire punishments were notoriously brutal, often involving coffins and boxes that might remain locked for decades. But there was no chance I would surrender Quell’s punishment to Demetrius, or anyone else.

  Michaela’s lips were drawn into a thin, flat line as she seemed to struggle between fury and fear. The other vamps were mostly curious, as if they’d come to see a show, but they remained alert in case the proceedings should turn violent. Or perhaps they believed Sebastian would violate the alliance and attack them. If so, they were mistaken.

  As the vamps entered the house, their eyes were drawn to Quell, who met their judgment with stiff resolve. Demetrius’s expression hardened until he turned away, as if the mere sight of Quell was an inconvenience. Michaela eyed his bloodstained lips, then turned to give me a narrow, suspicious look. Recalling our discussion during the hunt, I couldn’t blame her for suspecting my role in Quell’s assault on Sky.

  Sebastian led the entourage into the main room, drawing the rest of us in his wake. From behind Quell, I noticed an obvious, jagged hole in his shirt, in the exact location I would strike to stake his heart. Though the skin beneath seemed undamaged, the surrounding material was stained with blood.

  Quell chose to sit alone near the center of the room, his back rigid, on the edge of an ottoman. Demetrius and Michaela sat together on a couch on one side of the main room, with Chase and Gabriella sitting nearby. Eros stood near the door, as did Gavin.

  “Where is Skylar?” Demetrius demanded, glancing about the room.

  “With Dr. Baker,” Sebastian answered
sharply. “She required a blood transfusion.”

  “We shall examine her wounds, and hear her version of events.”

  Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. “When she regains consciousness, she will have the opportunity to explain what happened.”

  Demetrius responded with a slight tilt of his head, then directed his attention at Quell. “Did you feed from the girl?”

  “Yes,” he answered simply.

  Gavin smiled.

  “A very unfortunate occurrence,” Michaela announced, “but as I understand it, the young woman isn’t part of your pack. While she has every right to defend and even avenge herself, Quell’s poor taste is none of the pack’s business. The alliance has not yet been broken. Not unless you intend to harm him, of course.”

  “Skylar has the protection of the pack,” Sebastian stated.

  Michaela’s eyes widened as she laid a palm over her chest. “Was there an announcement? I certainly had no idea.”

  “She was at the table when the alliance was made,” I answered. “No reasonable argument can be offered that she was anything other than a full participant of our party.”

  Michaela answered with a cloying smile.

  “Explain yourself,” Demetrius commanded of Quell.

  “A hunger overcame me and I fed from her.”

  Demetrius scowled. “You confess?”

  “I do.”

  Michaela remained skeptical. “After nearly seventy years, you finally tired of your Hidacus?”

  “Yes.”

  “He has been stalking her,” I interjected. “He spends hours outside her home, watching her.”

  Demetrius glanced aside, disgusted.

  “He has confessed,” I said. “His life is forfeit.”

  “We have his story,” Demetrius proclaimed. “We shall hear Skylar’s version before we pass judgment.”

  My fists clenched as I glared at Quell.

  “She should regain consciousness at any moment,” Sebastian said. “You are welcome to wait here—”

  “We will be present when she awakes.”