Into the Dark (Until Dawn, Book 3)

by J. N. Baker

  There was no sign of the nymphs or their huge horses anywhere. In fact, there was no sign of anything. Even for my advanced eyes, visibility was next to nothing. The others were no more than fuzzy shadows in front of me. Clearly, the forest had been sheltering us from the brunt of the snowstorm. We were standing in a complete whiteout. Son of a bitch.

  “Okay, so maybe we should have kept one of the forest nymphs with us,” I said, more to myself than the others. Hindsight was kind of a bitch. I was fairly confident the forest nymphs’ whole “oneness with the earth” would help them navigate their way back. I wasn’t so sure about Brock, though. Or us.

  “Stay close together!” Ryuu shouted over the storm. A gust of icy wind slammed into us, pelting us with snow. It stung my naked flesh like a swarm of frozen bees. I pulled my hood tighter as we started to move, much slower than we’d planned.

  The wind howled around us like a pack of hungry wolves. At least, I hoped it was the wind. I picked up the pace, barely able to make out Ivanna’s silhouette just ahead of me. She couldn’t have been more than five feet away. Another blast of cold air hit me, damn near knocking me over.

  The hairs on the back of my neck stood, and not from the frigid temperature. Red flags shot up in the back of my brain, waving frantically. Someone was out there, watching us. I could feel their eyes on me. I slowed to a jog, glancing over my shoulder. There was nothing there—nothing I could see at least. Storm or not, we needed to pick up the pace.

  I whipped my head back around to relay the message only to find Ivanna gone. I called out to them, my voice drowned out by the roar of the wind.

  No. Not the wind.

  I spun around, drawing my sword. Squinting against the violent storm, I peered into the darkness. Something lumbered toward me. Something large, but not large enough to be one of the Sythen. I continued to walk backward, moving in the direction I thought the others had gone. Another roar sounded, followed by a low growl that was vaguely familiar. I paused.

  “Brock?”

  The shape drew closer, definitely that of a bear. I lowered my blade, but only slightly.

  “Brock, is that you?” I shouted again, not sure if he could hear me over the wind. The massive grizzly skidded to a stop in front of me and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. And then the bear rocked back onto its powerful hind legs, towering over me.

  Ryuu’s voice cut through the storm. “Ambush!”

  I swung my sword as the grizzly reared back to strike. It was a fast and powerful animal, but no match for me. Before its sharp claws connected with my flesh, my sword sliced through the bear’s thick hide. It stumbled back, howling in pain. Already I could see the animal changing back to its human form—one that definitely was not Brock’s.

  Shouting erupted in the distance. I needed to get to the others. I turned to run in the direction of the commotion when the dying shift stopped me dead in my tracks.

  “We have…your man…”

  My eyes dropped back to him. “What did you say?”

  He smirked, blood staining his teeth. “He’s…ours now…”

  My mind reeled, my stomach dropping. They had Alec? But how? He should have been safely back at the castle. Had Baldric somehow taken him in order to get to me? Could a teleport even be contained? Unless he meant…But that wasn’t possible.

  I leapt onto the man’s chest, sword pressed to his throat. “Who do you have?” I screamed. “Who?”

  I hadn’t heard the wolf coming until it slammed into me, sending me rolling through the snow. I scrambled to my feet, sword still gripped tightly in my hand. I’d learned my lesson the hard way during the Great Battle. Wasn’t making that mistake again—fucking Sythen.

  Two male vampires, clad from head to toe in black, emerged from the darkness, one on either side of the large wolf.

  Someone screamed in the distance—Ivanna? Shit. I gauged both bloodsuckers and their little dog too, my mind going over all the possible ways I could kill them quickly and get back to my people. There was no way in hell they had Alec. I was almost certain of that. But what if they really did have…

  No, I scolded, not allowing myself to finish that thought. He was gone. I needed to get that through my thick head. He was dead. Gone. Never coming back. End of fucking story.

  Right?

  The first vampire must have sensed my hesitation, seeing his opening. “Want to see him again?” he asked, and I wanted to smack that smug grin right off his fanged face. They were toying with me. They had to be.

  “Come with us. We’ll take you to him,” the second bloodsucker said. That was when I noticed they were twins. Born the same day, likely turned at the same time, and they would die on the same night. I’d make sure of it.

  “As if any of you are powerful enough to take Alec,” I sneered, calling their bluff. “Not even Baldric himself could restrain him.” Another shout rang out through the night. I was wasting time. I should have already killed all three and been back to the others by now.

  “Who said anything about the teleport?”

  I froze, my whole body turning to ice as the blood drained from my face. The sword nearly slipped from my trembling fingers. It wasn’t possible…

  They seized their opportunity. The two vampires lunged at me in unison, fangs extended. The sharp bite of the first blade in my side jerked me from my daze before the second blade could find its target.

  “Lies!” I roared, throwing them off me with little difficulty. The first vampire was back almost immediately. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped short as my blade found his neck. His head rolled across the snow, staining it a deep crimson.

  The second vampire screamed, charging at me with the wolf at his side. The bloodsucker’s short sword clanked against mine as I easily blocked his attack. He growled. And then I felt them, the wolf’s razor-sharp teeth as they sunk into my left leg. The animal’s powerful jaws clamped down harder and I bit back a cry as it yanked me to the ground. The vampire was on me in half a second, straddling my chest, and pinning my arms down with his knees. He pressed his blade against my throat, firm enough to draw a line of blood.

  “You’re coming with me,” he snarled, spittle flying from his mouth.

  “Fuck you,” I spat.

  I lifted my free leg, bringing the heel of my boot down on the wolf’s head, crushing its skull and killing it instantly. The vampire barely had enough time to register what had happened before I thrust my hips up, knocking him off me. He rolled to his feet but I was already on mine. My sword came down before he could raise his and his head joined his brother’s.

  The sound of steel on steel traveled in the wind and I headed straight for it, hoping I wasn’t too late. Knowing Ryuu, he’d already singlehandedly finished off all of the attackers. The ninja was good.

  A figure stepped out of the darkness, no more than three feet from me, and I slid to a stop in the soft snow. The shadow creature’s tattered cloak fluttered in the violent storm, whipping around it as if it were possessed.

  “Run!” the familiar raspy voice commanded. “You must flee!”

  “No!” I shouted. “They need me!”

  “It is likely too late for them, my lady,” the creature said, moving to block me once more. “There is nothing you can do. There are too many. They never stood a chance.”

  “I won’t leave them,” I bit out. “Besides, I have my new power. I can handle it. Move or I will move you myself!”

  I lifted my foot to dart around the creature and a scaly gray hand with long bony fingers shot out from beneath the black robe. It latched onto my neck, overgrown nails piercing my flesh. Its other hand snatched up my wrist mid-swing, squeezing until something popped. My grip weakened and my sword slipped from my fingers. With a strength I didn’t know the creatures had, it lifted me off the ground and pulled me toward it.

  “No,” I wheezed, closing my eyes to avoid its glowing stare. “No! Let me go!”

  “Your grief weakens you. It blocks your power,” i
t hissed. “You are useless here.”

  A cold finger pried open one of my eyes, forcing me to return its controlling gaze. Those yellow eyes locked onto mine and my stomach rolled as I felt the creature creeping into my head.

  They hypnotize their victims, making them see and feel things that aren’t really happening until they weaken you enough and eat you. They can’t help themselves, it’s what they are. You gave him power over you the second you made eye contact.

  “What are you going to do with me?” I choked out as Alec’s words came back to me.

  The shadow creature unexpectedly released its hold on my neck, dropping me to the snow. “I am going to save you.”

  “Wait!”

  I scrambled to my feet to chase after it when the first arrow pierced my chest, sending me stumbling back. The pain was beyond comprehension, more excruciating than an arrow should have been. I cried out, pushing forward through the intense pain. I had to get to the others. The second arrow found my stomach and my screams were erased by the howling wind.

  The creature paused, just close enough that I could still make out its silhouette. “It will hurt less if you do not fight it,” it called back to me. “I will do what I can for them.” And with that it was gone, swallowed up by the storm.

  Somewhere in the darkness, a man screamed.

  “No!” I cried, falling to my knees as a third arrow plowed into my leg, hitting bone. My body was on fire where each arrow penetrated my flesh, as if the metal tips had liquified and were burning straight through me. I crawled on hands and knees through the snow, leaving a trail of blood in my wake. The final arrow came from the side, straight through my neck.

  Blood exploded from my lips as I struggled for air, collapsing to my back. My head spun as the snow swirled and danced around me. As it covered me like a blanket, I let myself go to the darkness.

  I gasped as I sat bolt upright in the thick snow, hands flying to my unscathed neck. I raked my fingers across my skin and pulled them away. No blood, dried or otherwise. Looking down, I inspected the rest of my body. Dried blood caked around the tear in my shirt where the vampire’s blade had found my side, and my pant leg was torn from where the wolf had tried to remove my calf muscle. There was no evidence of the burning arrows anywhere.

  Was it all in my head?

  Shouting in the distance grabbed my attention. I groaned as I tried to find my feet, steadying myself with the help of a nearby tree. Wait…tree? I scanned my surroundings and my breath escaped me. Dim torchlight flickered in the distance, illuminating the stone structure I now called home. I was back in our kingdom, but how?

  Someone—something—must have brought me back.

  A chill crept into my skin, settling deep in my bones. I wasn’t sure it had anything to do with the snow.

  “Just find them!” a familiar voice yelled. I spotted Cody pacing back and forth at the castle gate. He was obviously frustrated and possibly drunk. Had I missed something?

  I sprinted toward him, standing in front of him before he could blink. He stumbled back and I caught him before he toppled over. Shifts weren’t exactly the most graceful creatures. Well, Cody wasn’t, despite the fact he spent much of his time as a cat.

  My shift friend gazed upon me as if he were seeing a ghost, his jaw hanging slack. Then he dove for me, his arms wrapping around me and squeezing harder than I would have thought possible. He inhaled my scent, his hands balling into fists in the back of my shirt. He was hugging me as if life itself was depending on it, perhaps my life.

  “What the hell is going on, Cody?” I asked, prying him off me.

  He visibly relaxed. “Thank God,” he sighed. “You all right, Fido?”

  “I’m fine. Tell me what’s happening?”

  “What do you mean, ‘what’s happening’?” he responded and it hit me.

  The hunt. The ambush.

  My eyes snapped to his. “Who?” I asked, an urgency in my voice.

  “All five nymphs made it back with the food. Brock also returned—mostly. He was half frozen and ranting and raving about how he’s going to fly to the first tropical island he can find and never come back. Guess the storm brought his ass down and he broke his arm. He was too weak to shift so he had to walk back the rest of the way in his birthday suit. He’s Slo’s problem now. Keeps telling her to forget his toes and save his dick.”

  “And the others?” I prompted.

  Cody shook his head, pain flashing through his chocolate eyes. “Ryuu, Dante, and Ivanna haven’t come back yet.”

  “Zoe?” Alec’s voice came from somewhere high up in the castle, and then he was standing beside me, pulling me into his strong arms. I melted into him, letting the heat from his body thaw the ice that still clung to my bones.

  A relief I hadn’t expected flooded through me. When Baldric’s lackeys told me they had my man, I’d been damn near positive they were lying. He was a teleport, there was no way he could be imprisoned. Still, it put the thought in my head: what if I’d lost Alec?

  Who said anything about the teleport? Those words snaked around my blackened heart, constricting. I knew they were liars, but it did nothing to stop those damned “what ifs.”

  Alec stepped back, holding me at arm’s length. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said, his fingers digging into my shoulders as if he were afraid to let me go. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.”

  I ran a hand over his stubbly cheek. “I know,” I told him. “I’m okay, Alec. I promise.”

  Cody rocked back and forth uncomfortably beside us. “Yeah…” he drawled out. “So, I’m going to go tell the boss that she’s back.” And with that, he took off.

  Alec enveloped me in his arms once more. “I’m sorry I was such a bastard before you left,” he whispered into my hair before kissing my forehead. “I never should have let you leave without saying goodbye. I let my anger and worry get the better of me. I was wrong.”

  Was he though? The little voice in the back of my mind reared her ugly head again. Perhaps I’d been a little distracted at times during the hunt, but…

  “You were just trying to protect me,” I finally said, pushing the thought away. “And it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I’m here.”

  Alec’s brows furrowed deeply, concern written all over his face. “What happened, Zoe? Brock said you were worried you were being watched. Where are the others?”

  Before I could answer him, a storm far fiercer than anything I’d just encountered thundered through the castle gates.

  “Where is he?” Jade raged. Her silvery-gray eyes locked onto mine and she made a beeline straight for me. She stopped no more than a foot away from me, a sheen of sweat glistening on her dark skin in the nearby torchlight. Her body was screaming fury, but I could see the worry in her eyes. It was a rare sight. For the first time in Jade’s long life, she was experiencing true fear.

  “I don’t know,” I told her.

  “How the hell don’t you know?” she practically shouted, grabbing my forearm tight enough to draw blood. Her anger seeped through my freshly torn skin. “You were with him!”

  Annie came gliding up behind her, putting a delicate hand on Jade’s shoulder. Jade shook it off.

  Ignoring her, Annie pushed between us, wrapping her arms around me and effectively forcing Jade back. “I’m so glad you’re okay. We’ve all been so worried,” the petite redhead said, adding extra emphasis to the “all” as she glanced back at Jade.

  Jade’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. I understood why she was upset. She was afraid for the man she loved. I could appreciate that. Hell, I was scared for him too. I loved Ryuu like a brother. Jade just wanted to protect him, to find him before something unthinkable happened. I didn’t blame her, but I also wouldn’t be her punching bag.

  “Look,” I said to her, “I don’t know where Ryuu or the others are. We were ambushed and got separated. I didn’t even know they hadn’t made it back.”

  “What happened out there?”
she ground out. She squinted at me, her nostrils flaring. “And why were you gone so damn long?”

  “Jade,” Alec growled. She apparently sounded a little too suspicious for his liking too.

  “Do you think I had something to do with this?” I came right out and asked. “And what the hell do you mean ‘so long’?”

  “No one thinks you had anything to do with this,” Annie assured me. “Zoe…” She paused, her voice wavering. “You’ve been missing for nearly two days.”

  I took a step back, running fingers through my tangled and wind-blown hair, damp from the snow. “That…that can’t be.”

  There was no possible way I’d been gone that long. I hadn’t realized I was swaying until Alec put a hand on my shoulder, steadying me.

  “She’s right,” he said. “It’s been almost two days since Brock returned. The shifts have been combing the skies looking for the four of you ever since the storm ended.”

  William stepped into view, his hard eyes watching us from the entrance of the castle.

  “Perhaps we should take this conversation inside,” he said before turning and walking away. None of us were stupid enough to think he was asking.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for checking,” I mumbled as I followed the others through the courtyard and up to the great hall where William no doubt waited impatiently for us.

  William sat at the large round table, drumming his fingers on the wooden surface. He waited until the door closed behind us before motioning for us to sit. Jade opted to pace the room instead.

  She’d hardly made two laps before spinning on me where I sat. “Where is he?”

  My fists slammed down on the table and it cracked. Annie gasped and Jade growled. I shoved my chair back to stand, glowering at Jade. “I. Don’t. Know,” I snarled.

  Jade didn’t move an inch. Her fierce eyes stayed solidly glued on mine. “It seems odd, don’t you think, that out of the four who go missing, Zoe is the only one who returns?”

  “Zoe is one of us, or have you forgotten?” Alec said sharply, stepping between Jade and me. “She shouldn’t be accused of anything.”