Dark Horizons (The Red Sector Chronicles) (49 page)

“Thanks, er, for dinner,” Leo said gruffly, looking at Aden.

Aden nodded. “You’re welcome over anytime,” he said politely. I had
a feeling Mrs. Knight said she would
nag him to death if he showed poor manners. She was probably lurking aro
und the corner, making sure he
said it.

I opened my mouth to speak when Leo said abruptly, “Well, see you around.” Without a backward glance, he turned and ushered Arika down the
dirt road.

I stared after them until they turned a corner toward their own block, speechless and a little hurt. Shutting the door softly, I blinked and tried to compose the heat rising in my face. I stared at the floor, at my feet, at anything but Aden.

“That was fun,” he said lightly.

“Yeah,” I said quickly, casting him a too bright smile. “It was great.”

I couldn’t handle the awkward silence that followed. Restless and craving anything that would take my mind off Leo, I started past Aden toward the kitchen, intending to ask Mrs. Knight if she needed any help cleaning up.

“Don’t worry about him.”

I stopped,
turning back around
. “What?”

Aden sighed and walked up to me, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Relationships between a maker and his or her protégé can be, well, complicated at times.”

I snorted. That was an understatement.

“But maybe what he needs is a few more days to sort it all out, to think about how he fits into our world.” He smiled at me reassuringly. I noted there was a sad look to his eyes, like he was gazing on me for the last time. “I’m sure he’ll be dying to see you soon.”

Before I could ask what the weird look was for, he strolled past
me and
into the kitchen.

I lingered behind for a few seconds and shook my head. “Men,” I grumbled, joining him and his mom.

I knew something was up the moment I saw their faces. “What is it?” I asked, instantly alert. “What’s wrong?”

Aden lifted a slender finger to his lips, motioning for me to be quiet. He nodded toward the small TV on the countertop.

My gaze followed his cue
and I instantly frowned.

Frost was speaking into a microphone before a crowd. It looked like she was in front of the base. Cameras flashed all around as she paused to catch her breath.

“Therefore, until the Council can decide what’s best for the citizens,” she went on,
“I hereby exercise my right as supreme c
hancellor to appoint myself as protector of the e
mpire.”

Mrs. Knight audibly gasped. Obviously, she had no idea Frost was going to pull a stunt like this.

Aden swore as the crowd, mostly reporters, went ballistic. They practically charged the stage as Frost was escorted off, begging for a comment or an interview.
The camera zoomed in on Frost, and I noted she was wearing Orion’s ring. It looked like it had been resized to fit her skinny finger.

“Is she serious?” I said, jerking a thumb at the TV. “Did she really just…?”

“Yes,” Aden said, his face grim. “Frost practically just declared herself
e
mpress.”

Mrs. Knight was already washing her hands and pulling on a light coat. “This isn’t right. The rules are in place for a reason. She should never have made this move without at least consulting the Council first.”

Those words chilled me. So I had been right – Frost
hadn’t
let her posse in on it.

My stomach twisted into knots as I thought about the implications. If Frost s
eized executive power over the e
mpire, then…

Aden was already following his mom out the door. “We’ll come too.”

I caught the subtle hint of steel in his voice, the silent threat that no one would harm his mother if he had anything to say about it.

Within minutes, we had locked up and were walking toward the base when we first heard the noise.

As we neared,
my eyes widened. It was ju
st like before with the proteste
rs, only ten times worse. All sorts of people had come out of the woodwork to protest Frost’s decision; they seemed even angrier at this than when Orion had been shot.

“Guess the mourning period is over,” Aden said dryly, already scanning the area for potential threats.

I was equally vigilante.

We met with the guards along the perimeter. “I’m sorry,” one of them said curtly, “but you can’t come across –”

“Let us pass,” Mrs. Knight said, producing her security badge. “We’re here on official government business.”

It looked like the guard was about to argue when he said, “Senator Knight, my apologies. Please, step through.”

Ducking under the
security
tape
that wrapped around the perimeter
, we
briskly walked
toward one of the hospital wing’s side entrances when I saw Frost remount the podium from the corner of my eye. I stopped, curious. Aden and Mrs. Knight also drew up short.

Frost’s voice boomed over the crowd like thunder as she jerked the microphone
out of its holder
. “Listen well, because I won’t say it again:
All who protest will be seen as
committing treason
against the e
mpire
,
and
they
will be incarcerated in Scarlet Steel.”

That shut them up pretty quickly. A few
people
still yelled and screamed obscenities – until Frost’s lackeys grabbed them and followed through on Frost’s promise.

Their wails of agony as they were cuffed in the horrible red metal brought looks of shock and anger to the faces of the other citizens. Silently, t
hey glared back at Frost as her lips peeled back into a smug smile
. “That’s better,” she said. “You are all to return to your homes immediately.
For your protection, you are not to leave your territories until further notice. Guards will be sent to patrol the streets. Anyone caught loitering will be punished accordingly.”

I stared at her, mouth agape, unable to believe what I was seeing or hearing. Growling, I started forward,
but Aden grabbed my arm.

“Not now,” he said in a low voice. “You’ll only make matters worse. It’s better to let the Council handle this diplomatically.”

Diplomatically my ass. Dictators didn’t do politics; they did what was in their best interests.

“All hail Caesar,
”
I thought dryly.

Aden must have sensed my reluctance to comply, because he never let go of my arm.

Heaving a disgruntled sigh, my
posture
relaxed
and Aden released his grip. “Come on,” he said, taking my shoulders and gently steering me back toward the base. “There are other ways to fight besides fists and roundhouse kicks.”

“But listening to a room of vampires have a verbal
smack
down
isn’t as exciting as throwing a punch into Caesar’s – I mean – Frost’s face.”

He chuckled but gave me a warning look. “Might want to keep t
hose comments to yourself. Here
I have a feeling we’re t
he minority in feeling this way, at least where the military is concerned.
”

“Which is exactly what I’m afraid of,” I wanted to tell him. But I did what he said, keeping my snark to myself until we were inside.
A guard met us a few steps in, asking us all to wear masks. Mrs. Knight snapped hers on – as did Aden – but I handed mine back to the guard. When he opened his mouth to say something, I said, “Don’t ask,” and we all briskly walked past him.

The hospital hall was surprisingly calm for the events unfolding outside. It looked like any other establishment, with staff standing around chatting or bored, and doctors and nurses conducting normal routines.
Everyone still had on masks, I noted, and I wondered how Paris was doi
ng with her research. Hopefully
she had gone down to the labs soon as we left Aden’s hospital room.

Mrs. Knight whirled on us
.
“
We need
to contact the other c
ouncil members. They’re most likely on their way here as we speak, but just in case…”

“I’ll help,” Aden said, turning to me. “Sloane?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m in.”

“Good,” Mrs. Knight said. “Then let’s waste no time.” She looked at Aden. “Head to the academy level
,
and let the front desk lady know who you are and what you’re doing. She ha
s all the contact info for the c
ouncilmen. And don’t take no
for an answer.”

“Never do,” Aden said. His eyes warmed as he looked back at his mother, like he was smiling,
before
he turned and walked
away.

“You, Sloane, have a special assignment.”

I turned my attention back toward her. “How special are we talking?”

Her
gaze
turned mischievous. “You’re going to round up some of our eager reporters
outside and bring them to the c
ouncil chamber in thirty minutes.”

My brows stooped; it took every ounce of willpower I had to not wrinkle my nose. “Reporters? But why?”

“You’ll see,” she said, cupping my cheek. “Trust me?”

I stared into her blue eyes, the same eyes Aden had inherited, and couldn’t help but to nod. “With my life.”

She
smiled at me with her eyes and wished
me
good
luck. “I’ll head over to the Council building to start getting things ready for the meeting.” T
hen
she
promptly went back out the way we’d come.

I wondered what she wasn’t telling me, and why it was so important for me to find reporters. Regardless of my curiosity, Mrs. Knight was one of the
few people whom I trusted whole
heartedly.

As I started to walk away to perform my assigned task, I heard a distinctive French voice cry out, “Sloane, wait!”

Turning around, I saw a winded Paris sprinting toward me.

I arched a brow, eyeing her up and down. She looked like she hadn’t slept in a week. Large bags hung under her eyes, and her hair had that slig
htly crazed look to it, like it ha
d shrieked at the sight of a comb.
Her mask was even a little lopsided.

“Paris,” I said a
s she stopped in front of me. “D
on’t take this the wrong way, but you look awful
.”

Either she wasn’t paying attention
,
or she somehow didn’t hear me. Her eyes were wild, glittering with excitement. “I was on my way to call you when I walked by and saw you were already here.”

“What is it?” I said, instantly interested.

Never removing her intense gaze from mine, she grasped my shoulders and leaned forward. “Sloane, I’ve found a cure.”

I blinked, smiling. “That’s great! I was wondering about that. I don’t know how many people caught Orion’s mega-bug, but I’m sure they’ll be plenty grateful.”

She shook her head roughly, making her already tousled hair fall in w
avy wisps around her face. “No
, you don’t understand. There was something else in your brother’s blood, something absolutely remarkable.”

I stared at her. “I don’t understand.”

Paris paused a moment to catch her breath.

“Sloane, I’ve discovered the process for reversing the
vampirism
virus.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I gasped, hanging onto every word as the meaning of what
she had
said registered. “Reverse?” I whisp
e
red. “You mean…?”

Paris nodded,
her eyes glittering with excitement
.

I waited for the confirmation, my mind working a million thoughts a second. Every muscle in my body tensed, anticipating those next words that would change my life.

Paris
hesitated
, her voice barely audible when she spoke.

“
Sloane, I know how to make you
human again.”

***

End of Book 2

Will Sloane forsake true love to save
her
humanity? Find out in
Cross My Heart
, the final installment to
T
he Red Sector Chronicles
.

Coming soon