Kissed by Darkness (20 page)

The world went black and there was no more pain and no more blood and no more fear. There was only the sound of my heart beating slower and slower and slower. Then it stopped.

***

I woke up to a world of hard, bright white. The sheets beneath my fingertips felt cool and smooth and smelled faintly of bleach. The light sent pain stabbing though my head, lodging itself behind my eyes.

It was obvious I wasn’t dead. No one could mistake the antiseptic stench of a hospital for the world beyond the pearly gates. Plus I was pretty sure you weren’t supposed to feel pain in heaven. If there was a heaven. I’d never been entirely sure about the afterlife. I should probably check into that at some point.

I ran a quick mental check. Other than the headache nothing hurt, which could be a good sign or a very bad one. I subtly started flexing muscles, bending joints. Mostly everything worked, though my arm was in a cast. One problem: I was strapped down to the bed. That baffled me. I was the victim here. Didn’t they know that? Why was I tied down?

I must have made a noise because a face came into view, hovering over my bed. Dark eyes and honey kissed cinnamon skin, a mark of her Indian descent, an expression far too serious for a face meant to smile at the world. “How are you feeling?” Her voice held an accent that wasn’t quite British, but close.

“Um, OK, I think. How long have I been out?”

“Three days. You were banged up pretty bad.” Her voice was cool, detached, her eyes watchful.

My mouth tasted of road kill and felt stuffed full of cotton. “No. I was dead. Wasn’t I? I died.”

Her smile was grim. “Yeah,” she said softly. Then her expression turned strangely tender. Sympathy or empathy? “You did. You died.”

“I don’t understand.” My voice came out a raspy whisper. I really didn’t. I didn’t understand how I could be alive. Not after what happened to me. I should be lying dead in the street, not cuffed to a hospital bed. “Why am I tied up?”

“Just in case,” she pulled a chair up next to my bed. The sun streaming in the window turned her dark hair almost blue black. It hung around her face in thick waves, framing high, broad cheekbones and full lips. Definitely at least part Indian, though her accent wasn’t Indian at all.

“In case of what?” My voice was getting a little shrill. Fear clawed at the back of my throat. I wanted to believe that I’d imagined the creature that attacked me, but I knew I hadn’t. What I’d seen shouldn’t exist, but it did. I knew what I saw was true.

I remembered the fangs ripping into my throat, the pain, the blood, the sharp stink of fear. My fear. I’d felt my life ebbing away, leaking out onto the cold pavement. I should be dead. The refrain kept pounding through my head: I should be dead.

“In case you turn.” Her voice was flat.

“Turn? Turn into what?” Panic tried to take hold, but I fought it down with a fierceness I didn’t know I had.

“A vampire.” She wasn’t kidding. “We tied you down in case you turned into a vampire.” I could tell by her expression that if I had turned, I wouldn’t have lasted long.

“I didn’t turn.” I wanted to feel relieved, but I didn’t. Not yet. Not until I was sure. “Wait. Vampires are real?” What I’d seen already told me they were real, but I wanted someone to tell me I wasn’t crazy and she was the only one there in that cold, bright room.

This time her smile was pure and true. “No. No you didn’t turn. You’re still human. And yes, vampires are real. So are a lot of other nasty things you’ve probably never heard of.”

“Then I’m OK? I’m not going to turn into … into …” I couldn’t say it. I didn’t even want to know what she meant by ‘other nasty things.’ I was still trying to get over the fact that vampires were not only real, but they weren’t the dazzling, beautiful creatures of Hollywood. The creature that had attacked me had been anything but sexy. Damn. There went a couple of my favorite fantasies.

She shrugged. “I still don’t know. It’s been three days. If you were going to turn you should have done it within the first twenty-four hours. Since you haven’t, I think we can safely say you’re not going to.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank the gods.”

“Yeah, you should definitely be thanking somebody. Nobody survives a vampire attack like that without turning. Nobody.” She looked me over as though I were an interesting new specimen. I stood my ground and refused to squirm. Points to me.

“Good, you’ll do.” Her expression went from cool curiosity to warm approval that fast. It threw me just a little, but it also made me feel kind of warm and fuzzy inside. Acceptance always feels good, even when you don’t really know why you’re being accepted.

I gave her a baffled look. I was feeling decidedly confused and a little bit lost. “Do for what?”

She stripped off the binding on my wrists then stuck her hand out. I took it gingerly and she gave my hand a firm shake. “I’m Kabita Jones, Class 1 Vampire Hunter and Demon Slayer. Welcome to my world, Morgan Bailey.”

Chapter Sixteen

“So you survived a vampire attack. And rather well, I might add.” Eddie took out a handkerchief, polished his glasses and popped them back in place. His brown eyes danced with excitement behind the thick lenses. I guess Eddie was a bit of a second-hand adventure junkie. I repressed a grin at the thought.

“Yeah, well lucky for me, the street where I lived was a popular spot for paramedics on their dinner breaks. It was an ambulance pulling up that scared the vampire away. The guys were able to jump start my heart then rush me to the hospital for a transfusion or twelve. They didn’t know it was a vampire attack, of course. Just thought I was another victim of gang violence.”

The fact they’d been able to revive me at all with so much blood loss was a major miracle. The reason for the miracle was starting to become obvious no matter how much I wanted to deny it. Even without the transfusions, I would have survived.

“Your injuries, how bad were they?”

I shrugged. “Bad enough. I had three broken ribs, my right ulna was snapped in three places, and I had a skull fracture and massive concussion. My kidneys were damaged, my spleen lacerated. I’d also lost a
lot
of blood, close to drained me. Don’t even get me started on the bruises and the teeth marks. He practically ripped my throat out.” I didn’t even want to think about how many stitches I’d had.

The British had become very adept at dealing with vampire attacks, as had most of the rest of Europe, since they’d been aware of supernatural beings for centuries and had been fighting them just as long. Like the US and the rest of the European Union, the British government didn’t officially acknowledge the existence of vampires and other creatures, but Hunters were everywhere and plenty of funding existed through MI8, the British Military Intelligence branch responsible for researching the ‘occult’ and identifying threats of a supernatural nature. They weren’t supposed to exist, but then neither were vampires.

“When I reached the hospital in London, undercover MI8 operatives recognized the true nature of my injuries and immediately shut me away in a special ward and kept me under surveillance. Fortunately for me, British policy prevents killing the infected until they’ve fully turned, just in case.” I’d been really glad of that policy when I finally woke up, though I was convinced the real reason for such a policy was the military’s hope they’d eventually be able to weaponize vampirism.

I didn’t mention that, though. Didn’t want to sound like a conspiracy nut.

Eddie pulled at his lower lip. “Interesting policy, since ‘just in case’ has never been an issue.”

He was right about that. “Nope, never in recorded history. No one has ever been attacked and not turned. Not until me, and not since.” I doubted the Sunwalkers had made it into any official historical documents. They were too careful for that.

The transmission of vampirism, on the other hand, had been studied by scientists probably since the day the first vampire showed up. There were still a lot of unknown factors when it came to turning into a vampire. Most people who got bitten didn’t turn, though there were some who did succumb even from the simplest of bites. I supposed in the same way that some people were more prone to getting the flu than others. But an attack like mine where the victim actually died after being nearly drained meant turning was inevitable.

“I’m surprised they didn’t stick you in a lab and study you.”

I shrugged. “They might have if it hadn’t been for Kabita. She’s got some clout over there.” A surprising amount, actually. Something to do with her family, though I’d never understood exactly what. I knew her mother was from India and her father was British and that she’d been raised in Malaysia, but I didn’t know anything else about her family ties. I tried to talk to her about it once, but she shut me down so fast I’d never brought it up again. Sometimes being a friend meant knowing when not to pry.

“And she got you into the Hunting game.” He folded his hands over his ivory colored waistcoat-clad tummy. I nodded. “She trained me, gave me a job. She doesn’t like dealing with vampires, so I took over hunting them while she stuck with anything demon related.

“After I’d been working with her for about a year, the US government started recruiting. They didn’t have enough trained Hunters and Europe was practically overflowing with them. Since Inigo was already living here, and it was my home turf, it was a natural fit.” I shrugged. “She changed my life. I owe her a lot.”

How different my life might have been if it had been someone else who’d come to the hospital that day instead of Kabita. I’d probably still be locked up in a lab somewhere. Worse, if they’d figured out what I really was, they probably would have tried to turn me into some kind of weapon.

He gave me a shrewd look. “So, I take it you healed faster than you should have?”

I grinned. “Yes, but that was probably the least weird thing that happened. After I got out of the hospital and started training as a Hunter, I realized a few other new things about myself.”

Like the fact I was faster and stronger than a human should be, not to mention I could heal not just fast, but almost instantly. And then there was the whole Spidey sense thing when it came to vampires. I still hadn’t mentioned the Sunwalker theory, but I had a feeling Eddie was getting there on his own. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

He pulled at his lip some more, frown lines creasing his brow. “So you inherited many of the Nightwalker’s characteristics, without actually turning into one. Interesting. This Darkness thing is new, is it? You’ve never been able to do anything like it before?”

I shook my head. “Not even close. It’s only been since we took on this new client. It happened after I met with him, before I met Jack. The Sunwalker.”

He smiled. “Oh yes, the Sunwalker.”

I glared at him. He cleared his throat, an expression of amusement on his face. Cheeky git. “To be perfectly honest, this is all new to me. I’ve never heard of anything quite like it.” He frowned. “No, I take that back. I do recall … “

He jumped up without another word and headed for the hole in the floor and that damned aluminum ladder. “Come on. We need the Book.” With that, he disappeared down the ladder.

Oh, joy. More ladder climbing. I shook off disturbing memories of the past as well as worries about my future and headed down the ladder to join Eddie. He already had the Book out. The thick creamy pages made a rustling sound as he flipped through.

“OK, hmm … yes. This is it.” He poked his finger at a page in the book brightly rimmed with beautifully painted orange and gold flames. In the center of the page was a picture of a cloaked figure standing in the middle of a ring of fire. The fine brush strokes made the fire almost leap off the page, they looked so real. The figure’s hands were cupped in front, a small flame dancing between them. The rest of the page was filled with bold, black writing in what appeared to be Latin.

Eddie quickly scanned the writing. “Yes, I thought so. These were the Elemental Mages.”

“Say what?” Was it my imagination, or were the flames on the page actually dancing?

“Elemental Mages. There aren’t very many of them left anymore and their powers are pretty much, well, they don’t really have any.” His finger traced the flame glowing between the Mage’s hands. “But a thousand years ago or so Elemental Mages had the most incredible powers. They were more powerful than any other magic practitioner ever recorded.”

“I take it they were into the elements.” My voice was probably a tad drier than necessary. Honestly, sometimes I wished my life would stop with all the magical mysteriousness.

“As the name would imply, yes, they worshipped the four elements as living beings, as gods. Each Mage chose an Element to worship: earth, air, fire or water. That element also became his, or her, element to call. They could quite literally channel that element through their bodies. They believed it was the gods giving them strength and power.”

“What did they do with the element when they’d channeled it?”

“Oh all sorts of things.” He was on a roll now, becoming more and more animated, hands waving about to emphasize his story.

“Water Mages could channel water to create rain for crops or into troughs for livestock during drought. They could even hold back rivers during flood season. Fire Mages could keep fires burning for days without fuel so their people wouldn’t freeze during winter. Air Mages could speed boats on their course or lighten the impact of hurricanes, and Earth Mages could carve out roads or even encourage plants to grow. Amazing.”

“But?” I knew there was a ‘but.’ People were people, after all, and there was something to the old saying that power corrupts.

There was a hint of sadness and anger in his voice. “But there was a use for their powers which was very dark indeed. Much like your Darkness, they could also channel their elements while in battle and use them as a weapon. It made them stronger, faster, more deadly, and nearly impossible to kill.”

There was more. I could tell from the hard look in his eyes that there was more and it scared me just a little. “Isn’t it good? Being hard to kill? Especially in my case, since I’m fighting vampires.”