Dark Return, page 1
DARK RETURN
(A Seeker Novel, Book 2)
Taryn Browning
OTHER BOOKS BY TARYN BROWNING:
Dark Seeker (Seeker, #1)
Dark Beauty (A Seeker Novella)
Whispering Hills (Whispering Hills, #1)
Emanare (Destined, #1)
Copyright © 2012 by Taryn Browning
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
www.tarynbrowning.com
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, and place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
DEDICATION
For my wonderful & supportive husband, two beautiful boys, and amazing family & friends.
Thank you for your ongoing support. Without you, none of this would be possible.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am so happy to be able to share this story with you.
Thank you to my husband, Keith. You are my first editor and biggest supporter. Also, to my two precious boys.
Thank you to the YA blogging community for your reviews. Thanks to my friends and critique partners. Angie, this book wouldn’t be what it is today without your awesome feedback. Also, my fantastic editor, Catherine Van Herrin. Thank you Heather from SupaGurl Books for always cheering on my books and characters.
None of this would be possible without the love and support of my parents, Ken & Sandie Hackman and Sheryl Morgan. You’ve always encouraged me to follow my dreams. Huge thanks to my sisters, Lauren and Kim, for always being there for me. There are so many people who have influenced my writing. I am thankful for each and every one of you.
And most of all, thanks to you for reading my book. I hope you enjoy.
CHAPTER 1
Kai ran his hand through his blonde waves. This was not good. He’d left his past in the past. There was no way he was going back again. Not now. Not after he’d met Janie. He'd spent so many years making up for all that time he’d been a monster. Near death at the hands of his own maker, he had been saved by a witch. Albania had granted him humanity. This was something he refused to lose again. Now that he had the capacity to love, he would do whatever it took to hold on to it.
He was here for only one reason; to get rid of Leah and return to Baltimore. Kai sighed deeply into the cold air. Janie would be so pissed if she knew he was doing this without her, but he didn’t have another choice. He just hoped she wouldn’t find out. She'd had to deal with so much since she'd met him. Kai knew she was strong, but he refused to cause her any more pain. Not when the problem could be dealt with now, for good.
“What are you doing here?” Kai said, glancing across the uniformly lined gravestones that seemed to go on for miles, like a stack of dominoes. It was after hours in Arlington National Cemetery, so they wouldn’t be spotted.
Leah smiled as she walked from behind a large headstone, exposing her fangs. She looked exactly the same as she had the last time he saw her. Still beautiful. Her blonde hair was cut into a slanted shoulder-length bob. Once vibrant blue, her now-black eyes were rimmed with lush lashes caked with too much mascara. Just as he remembered, her pouty lips shimmered with pink gloss.
“Oh, come on.” Leah stepped closer to Kai and cocked her head. “You know you’ve missed me.” She started to reach for him, but hesitating, she placed her hand on her tiny hip instead. The familiar gesture filled Kai with memories.
“I’m not the same.” Kai’s heart skipped a beat. He forced his feelings down and turned away from her. She was his past. Janie was his future. The faster he got her away from Baltimore, the better. Even now, her presence outside D.C. was too close. He wouldn't be satisfied until she was across the country, or better yet, across the world.
With a short laugh, she said, “Do you think I don’t know you’re different? You’re all they talk about. The 'Daychild Turned human.' What, did you think taking out the Baltimore leader wasn’t going to cause talk among the community? Tavares is pissed.”
She reached out and grasped his face, no longer hesitant. That was the Leah he knew so well. She turned his head so that he stared straight into her dead black eyes. “I’m warning you, Kai. If you undermine his work, he will kill you. Right now, you have a target on your back. Your little Seeker won’t be able to protect you from the king.”
Kai stepped out of her grasp. “Leave Janie out of this!” Just hearing her refer to Janie angered him. She had enough to deal with, considering the rising number of Daychildren who had learned how to Turn humans. This fight was his. If he could prevent Leah and Janie from ever meeting, he would.
“Mmm, Janie, interesting name. I guess I should be jealous." Leah scraped her pink fingernail across the top of a gravestone. "It wasn’t long ago that I was the one. Guess times have changed.” She sounded remorseful, but Kai knew otherwise. Leah's only concern had always been for herself.
Kai drew in a breath. “You made your choice years ago, when you chose him.”
Leah’s face hardened, her dark eyes squinting. “Like I had a choice. I would have ended up like you—dead. Well, at least that was his plan. I guess the witch had other plans for you.”
“You need to leave,” Kai demanded.
“No way. I’ve spent over fifteen years thinking about you. Now that I’m close, I plan to stay.” She paced, tapping her fingers on her skin-tight jeans. “So. Quinn has taken over the Baltimore crew. Weak. He should be easy to overthrow—”
He interrupted her. “I will be forced to kill you.”
Leah pivoted and stepped up to Kai. “You can’t kill me. I was made with you—one of the first. You loved me. Anyway, Humanity has made you weak.” She appraised him. “Although I’d have to say it’s also made you quite handsome.” She studied his face. “Your eyes used to be green, but not this green. It suits you." She touched his face again. "You’re quite pretty.” Leah ran her hand down his cheek, catching a white highlight between her fingers.
He swatted her away. “I will kill you if you come to Baltimore. Consider this your only warning. If you take one step toward Janie—” Kai laughed. “Never mind, I won’t have to do anything. Janie is plenty capable of taking you out on her own.”
Leah growled, placing her hand on Kai’s forearm. “You just made this a challenge. I will kill your little girlfriend. Then I’ll be there to pick up the pieces." She dug her fingernails into his skin, drawing blood. Leah took a moment to examine the color of his blood. His was now red, and hers was still a filthy green. Green and acidic to the touch. The holes in his clothes and boots proved how dangerous a Daychild's blood could be.
"You can’t deny your first love or who you truly are," Leah continued. "You’re one of us. The witch may have given you a heart, a soul and human blood, but she can’t take away all those years of killing. You’re damaged; even more so now, since you have a conscience." She grunted in disgust. "Loving a human, and a Seeker at that. She's nothing but a bug that I intend to squash.”
Kai snatched Leah’s wrist and yanked her toward him. “You won’t touch her.” Fury gripped him to his core, causing his muscles to shake. The thought of Leah touching one hair on Janie's body made him want to snap her wrist, followed by her neck.
“We’ll see, my love.” She didn’t make any attempt to remove herself from his grip. Instead, she sank into his touch. A satisfying smile crossed her glossy lips.
Kai dropped her wrist but didn’t back down. She wanted a fight. This interaction turned her on. He could feel the electricity through their skin. It had always been this way with them, and it only heightened when they had both Turned.
He refused to give her anything. He needed to kill her. Reaching for his scythe, he let his fingers brush over the hilt. After a few swipes, he bypassed his weapon altogether. Who was he kidding? He couldn’t kill her then, and he couldn’t kill her now. So many years ago, Tavares had given him the choice—her life, or his death. He’d chosen death.
Her metallic breath tickled his face. He could smell the blood from her most recent kill. The coppery scent took him back to the days when they had killed for sport. A time he desperately wanted to forget.
“You remember us. I can tell by your expression. Just a moment ago, you thought about killing me, but you changed your mind." Her black eyes bore into his. "You can’t kill me, Kai. No matter what happens, we are connected. We always will be. You couldn’t let me die then, and you won’t do it now.” She ran her finger down his arm, examining the scars lining his forearm. “What happened here?”
Kai thought back to his fight with Abram, after he’d done the unthinkable and killed Janie’s father. His Humanity was so new at the time; it had just been granted to him by Albania. He’d lived so many years as a monster. Evil was all he knew. Anything else was torture. For so many years, he’d wished Abram had just killed him that night. Then he met Janie. Wow, had things changed. Now, living without her seemed like a greater agony.
Kai composed himself, blinking the sting from his eyes. Even though Janie had forgiven him, he still wasn’t sure he would ever forgive himself. The raw feeling that overcame him when he thought of how many people he'd killed and discarded with no remorse was too deep.
“Not going to talk about it, then. Too bad,” Leah snapped. “It’s just
Leah's eyes fell to his boots. "What the hell are those? It looks like they've been through a grinder."
"Your blood," he said with a satisfying laugh. "What, you've never noticed what your kind's blood does to leather? It's like acid." He lifted his foot, proud of the tale they told—that he'd killed so many Daychildren. At least he'd somewhat made up for all those years of killing. “Leah, go back to Tavares and tell him you have no intention of going to Baltimore.”
“That’s not going to happen. I was given an order by my king.”
“The same king who had no problem shoving a dagger through your skull when you chose me over him. The king who killed me in your place, only because I refused to let him kill you,” Kai said, anger rolling off his tongue. “Some loyalty you have. Either that, or you’re just stupid.”
Leah raised her hand, cutting him off. “That’s enough. I don’t need to take this from you. I have a job to do, and I intend to carry it out with or without you. One way or another, I’m going to get you back. And this, my love, you’ll have no control over.” She blew him a kiss and spun around. “Goodbye, for now,” she said, waving with her back to him.
Kai blinked and Leah disappeared into a line of trees.
CHAPTER 2
Kai doubled over, placing his hand on one of the larger gravestones, the resting place of a World War II one-star general. He gripped the cool stone as the past came rushing back to him. He thought about his time with Leah before they had Turned, and his time after, when Tavares had changed them into disgusting half-breeds—both vampire and demon.
He’d spent many years with Leah, positive she was the love of his life. Sure, in the beginning, it was only high school love, but later, it became much more intense. The Change had bound them in some way. Back then, he couldn’t imagine existing without her. No doubt this was why he had almost died for her.
He straightened, tilting his head back and gazing up at the stars. What was he going to tell Janie? There were so many things he’d hidden from her, but she’d forgiven him. He wasn’t so sure she would forgive him this time. The memory was as vivid as the day it had occurred. . .
The old warehouse did nothing to hide them from him. The dank, concrete room reeked of mildew and damp wood. Crates from previous owners lined the walls, but the place was condemned and now housed the undead. Kai grasped Leah's hand and led her through one of the chained doors to the outside. They stepped down into the alley. It wouldn't be long until Tavares found them.
"He knows we're still together," Leah said, throwing herself into Kai's arms. Although it was a seemingly desperate gesture, Kai knew her well. She would follow their king anywhere. Even the screwed-up "love" they shared was no match for the undying devotion she felt for Tavares. In a way, Kai figured she felt love for their king. But it stemmed from a place of obligation, not feeling, if they actually had feelings.
Kai embraced her, running his hands through her blonde hair. Things were so different between them now. As high school sweethearts, they were inseparable, but the loss of their Humanity had turned their relationship into one of necessity, as if losing their souls also bound them together. What was once just innocent teenage love had twisted into a possessive game.
"We'll fight him together."
Leah pushed back on his chest. "But how? He's our creator. If he wants me, he'll have me. We have no other choice."
The sound of pounding erupted behind the metal door. Within seconds, they broke through the door.
Kai pushed Leah behind him. "I'll deal with him."
Leah stepped away from Kai and planted her boots firmly on the concrete. "I will not fight him. He's our maker. We owe him our loyalty."
"Loyalty? How can you be loyal to someone who forces you to be with him?"
"That's how you see it. I don't know what's wrong with you lately. It's like you’re developing a conscience or something. We don't love like humans, but you, you've changed." Leah's look of pity twisted inside of him. He knew he'd changed, that the kill was no longer his endgame. Even for their soulless race, there had to be something more than brutality.
The door swung out. Tavares stepped through it, followed by a group of Daychildren.
His red eyes locked on Kai. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out about the two of you?" Tavares switched his stare to Leah. "You're weak."
"What are you going to do. . .banish us? Then who will help you create your hybrids? You need us." Kai stepped toward the king, eyeing the Daychildren standing behind him. The girl to his left salivated, ready to tear into anything. "Those newbies will ensure your demise. They are useless and wild. Without the first of our kind—Leah and me—the Seekers will defeat you. Are you forgetting? I already saved you from the sharp edge of a Seeker's stake."
Tavares closed the distance between them with one stride. He was a large man, standing at least three inches over Kai's six-foot stature. Kai straightened his spine. He refused to back down, no matter what Leah said.
"I'll make this very simple for you," Tavares said, his red eyes glowing. "Make the choice; you or her."
"But you wouldn't kill me," Leah said, joining Tavares's side. "I want to be with you. You and I could be so powerful together."
"I'm already powerful. Are you forgetting the reason you are here? I made you. You should feel honored that I chose you as the first." Tavares laughed. "Wow, how ironic. I can end you just as quickly as I created you." He grasped Kai by the throat. "Do you love her so much that you would die for her?"
Kai peeled Tavares's fingers from his neck, only to be grasped by another set—a newbie who appeared to turn cannibalistic at any moment. He kicked the newbie in the stomach, sending her into the alley wall.
"Stop!" Tavares held out his palm. "Dagger, now!" he commanded. Another Daychild stepped up, handing him a silver-plated dagger. The Daychild recoiled. His hand had touched the dagger, burning him.
Kai was unable to move. His king, his creator, had given him a direct order. No matter how badly he wanted to shove a stake through his heart, he couldn't. In a way, Leah was right. . .Tavares owned them.
"To your knees," Tavares said in a calmer tone. Kai's knees hit the concrete. "So you wish me to kill you, not her." When Kai didn't speak, Tavares raised the dagger, aiming for Kai's skull. "Answer me!"
"Yes," Kai managed to say. He was content with dying. In reality, he'd been dead for a while now. At least now he could stop feeling so conflicted by the bloodthirsty cravings of the demon inside of him and the human conscience he had started to develop. He had no idea why he was so different from the others. Why he'd started to feel so ill after every kill.
Tavares snatched Kai's throat and thrust him up against the alley wall. Brick shavings showered his shoulders and green blood oozed down his neck from his wound.
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.” He gripped Kai’s throat even tighter 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 Leah.
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