Darkness Fades (Darkness Falls Series, Book 3) (13 page)

“We must present it to the rest of the
Highers and it must meet their approval. Rules. Remember?” Monarch
asks.

“That could take days,” Gabrielle growls.
“Even weeks.”

“We go by rules and order for a reason,”
Monarch reminds him. “Everyone agrees, or we don’t go through.”

Gabrielle considers this for a long time
with the fires crackling as the only backdrop noise. “Fine.”
Gabrielle sounds angry, yet he agrees. “But we need to do it
quickly. I want the army sent out as soon as possible, so that the
humans are caught off guard.”

Monarch nods and then they hurry off in the
opposite direction toward where the street narrows with the other
Highers following behind them. I wait until they’re gone before I
sit back down behind the car on the ground covered in ash drifting
from the burning barrels.

There’s silence between us, neither of us
knowing what to say about any of this—about Aiden.

“What do you think Monarch meant when he
said that they’d know in a few days what was going to happen to
Aiden?” I finally dare ask Sylas.

Sylas shakes his head as he stares out at
the dark street in front of us, lined with broken cars. “I don’t
know, but apparently Aiden told them everything he knew about
Mathew and the cure.” His tone is tinged with anger.

“It wasn’t Aiden’s fault,” I say, because
it’s not. I know what it’s like to be controlled like that. “You
can’t blame him. Monarch said he programmed him to obey him and not
to lie to him.” I always felt that Monarch cared about me. How
wrong I had been to believe that. He was and always would be
nothing, except a liar. A fake.

A Higher.

“This is bad, Sylas. We can’t let them send
their army to that colony. Those people will be an easy target for
the Highers and I left Maci and Greyson there… and if they capture
Mathew, there’s going to be no hope left for a cure.” I blow out a
stressed breath, thinking of poor Maci and how she’s injured. I
thought I was keeping her safe by leaving her there, but now I’m
not so sure.

“Then we need to leave now if we want to
beat them there,” Sylas tells me, his eyes burning with
determination. “We’ll have to let Aiden take care of himself.”

“But—”

He holds up his hand, cutting me off. “You
have to let him go… you can’t save everyone, Kayla.”

I feel queasy as a memory surfaces in my
thoughts.

“
You need to learn to let go of your
emotions, Kayla,” Monarch tells me, sitting beside me on the floor.
“You can’t let yourself become attached to people.”

“
But what about Sylas and Aiden?” I ask.
“I don’t want anything to happen to them.”

Monarch looks disappointed in me. “There are
other things more important than Sylas and Aiden. Much bigger
things, and there will come a time when you’ll have to choose your
battles; to let someone go. You need to realize that you can’t save
everyone. Not if you are going to save the world.” He pauses. “Do
you understand what I’m saying?”

I nod. “Yes, I understand. Getting the cure
and saving the world is the most important thing,” I answer
robotically.

He gives me a small smile, but his eyes are
filled with remorse. “Good girl,” he says and then pats my head

I lean back against the wall as he injects
my arm with a needle. I’ve gotten so used to it that I barely feel
the sting. My vision grows blurry as his voice fades.

“
I just hope you’ll remember this when
the time comes,” I hear him say and then I slip into
unconsciousness.

I blink my eyes. Sylas is snapping his
fingers in front of my face. I shake my head as I look at him.

“Having another memory flashback?” he asks
me, brushing ash out of his hair.

I glance around in the steel buildings,
listening to the cries of the vampires from somewhere in the
distance. “Yeah, and I think you are right. We’ll have to leave
Aiden for now.” I hate saying it, but it feels right. “We need to
get these papers back to Mathew and help them before the Highers’
army arrives.” I get to my feet and brush my hands down the back of
my jeans, dusting off the dirt.

Sylas stands to his feet as I turn around
and then we make our way back through the streets lined with
barrels and vampires, heading towards Mathew and the colony. We
move as fast as we can with the vampires’ screams piercing the air
all around us, winding around cars, leaping over them, knowing we
have to hurry. My only hope is that we make it back before the
Highers’ army gets there.

That we can save the world before it’s too
late.

Chapter 18

The cold night air feels like it should be
affecting me, slowing me down or hindering my endurance, but it
doesn’t. I never get tired and Sylas keeps up with me easily. It’s
kind of perfect running through the desert at my own speed.

“This is fun,” Sylas says as we hop over
rocks.

“You think?” I leap over a large rock and
land gracefully on the other side.

He drops down beside me and smiles. “I do.
In fact, I think we should do it more often.”

I don’t answer, however I smile as we race
off again. We’re just on the outskirts of the colony, feeling good
about how fast we’re moving, when we cross a herd of vampires in
our path. They’re wandering around, trying to find something to
feed on, with their heads tipped back towards the sky, crying
out.

I slam to a halt when I notice them and draw
out my knife, ready to attack. I know that the vampires are afraid
of me, but Sylas’s scent might attract them. He slows down beside
me, starting to ask what I’m doing, but then he turns his head and
his eyes slightly widen as he sees them and steps back.

One of the vampires glances over at us and
then the rest smell the air.

“Sylas, run,” I order as I stick my hand out
to protect him.

He doesn’t budge and I’m about to shove him
back when the vampires suddenly lower their heads and cower back.
One braver one comes running up towards us, but then it veers
quickly to the right and takes off with the others.

I give Sylas a puzzled look from over my
shoulder and he shrugs.

“They probably caught your scent,” he says,
yet he doesn’t sound completely convinced. We’ve been attacked
before together. My scent doesn’t always repel them so easily.

Still, I nod and then we start running again
down the path and over the hill to the outskirts of where the
vampires have migrated. It’s like we’re herding them away, forcing
them to run.

Every once in a while, one will turn back
towards Sylas like it’s about to attack him, but then quickly darts
forward like it’s afraid. They head out to the flat land and
finally they’re a safe distance away.

I stop and so does Sylas, watching them cry
in the distance. He looks at me funny and then we continue to walk.
“Maybe my scent isn’t normal,” he says with a confused look on his
face. “Well, normal for me.”

“What do you mean?” I ask as I hop from a
large rock to a smaller one.

He matches my move breezily. “Well, think
about it. I had changed into an abomination. The vampires are
afraid of them. Maybe I still have the same smell as when I was
changed.”

“You could be right, but if that’s the case,
I wonder if it will be permanent.”

“Maybe. I wonder if there’s a cure for
that.”

“Do you want there to be a cure for that?” I
ask. “It’s kind of convenient.”

He wavers. “Yeah, I guess, but still… those
things smell disgusting.” He sniffs himself and pulls a puzzled
face. “I honestly can’t smell anything, except dirt.”

I lean over and sniff his chest. “You smell
fine to me.”

He bites his bottom lip as I lean away. I
can tell that he wants to do something to me; maybe kiss me like he
did back when he was changing. I take off before he can do so,
knowing I could easily get caught up in his kisses. He jogs after
me, smiling to himself.

We maintain a rapid pace and make it back to
the cave before daylight. Sylas insists that he can make the rest
of the journey in the daylight and that he’ll keep his jacket on to
protect himself. I argue for a moment then I hear Monarch’s words
echoing in my head once more.

There are other things more important than
Sylas and Aiden. You need to realize that you can’t save everyone.
Not if you are going to save the world.

His words haunt me. I shake my head to try
and clear it, but it doesn’t work and I hear them again.

There are other things more important than
Sylas and Aiden. You need to realize that you can’t save everyone.
Not if you are going to save the world.

“You’re right, we should keep going,” I tell
him, not liking myself that much at the moment.

His lips curve to a pleased grin. “I think
you are finally starting to understand what you need to do.”

“Maybe.”
Or maybe Monarch’s just stuck in
my head.

Sylas draws his hood over his head and tucks
his hands up into his sleeves. We start moving again as the
sunlight casts against our backs. Sylas slows down a little, but
not enough that it makes me feel like I’m lagging. Finally, after
racing around rocks, going uphill and downhill, we arrive at the
colony.

There are two guards posted on top of the
wall created from scraps of car. It’s the same two that were there
when Aiden and I left. They stand up on the wall, pointing their
knives at us as we approach.

“Stop where you are, both of you,” the guard
closest to us threatens, raising his knife in a threatening
manner.

Sylas and I both stop at the bottom of the
wall and stare up at them. The one guard hops down in front of us,
landing with a grunt, then holds his weapon out as he circles
around us.

He walks up to me, eyes roving my long,
black hair and short height. “I remember you. You’re that Kayla
creature that left here not too long ago.” He eyes me over again as
Sylas’s jaw tightens and he inches closer to me protectively.
“Mathew told us that we’re supposed to let you back in when you
return.”

His scrutinizing gaze diverts to Sylas. He
aims the tip of the knife at his chest. I’m worried Sylas will
retaliate, however he tips his head down away from the sun.

“But you’re not the same guy who was here
before,” the guard says suspiciously. He pauses. “He can wait here.
We don’t know what he is or what he wants.” He shoves the weapon
into Sylas’s chest and the blade glazes through the fabric of my
jacket he has on.

Before I can blink, Sylas smashes his elbow
into the guard’s face then, without missing a beat, he thrusts his
knee into his wrist, steals the knife and flips it around so it’s
aimed at the bewildered guard’s face.

The guard on the top of the barricade lets
out a scream and then I hear the sound of a ringing bell. I’m not
even sure where the hell it’s coming from, but I do hear a rustle
of commotion from the other side of the barricade. Sylas continues
to stand, pointing the weapon at the guard’s throat who doesn’t
dare move. The other guard jumps down and points his knife at
Sylas.

I’m deciding whether to knock Sylas out or
the guards—which way would make things easier—when Mathew arrives
at the top of the wall. He peers down at us with his pale eyes,
taking in the situation, then turns and very unsteadily climbs
down. The guard with the weapon aimed at Sylas says something to
him in a low tone when he approaches us.

Mathew shakes his head and shoves away the
knife the guard’s holding then smiles at me. “I’m glad you made it
back and that you brought Sylas with you.”

Sylas is startled, but he still keeps his
head down because he has to. “How do you know my name?”

He ignores Sylas’s question, eying the knife
in Sylas’s hand still pointed at the guard. “Let me apologize for
the way the guards treated you. Sometimes they get a little too
protective of our colony, but then again, I can’t blame them.”

Sylas hesitates, his muscles stiff, then
finally he turns the weapon back around and hands it to the guard
with an irritated look on his face.

“I’ll let it go this time,” Sylas says in a
low tone. Even though I can’t see his eyes from below his hood, the
warning in his tone causes even me to shiver. “But next time I
won’t.”

The guard takes the weapon, glaring at him,
yet he doesn’t say a word. He quickly climbs back up the wall and
the other guard follows.

Mathew motions for us to follow him and we
all climb up the wall and down the other side. As we move, I notice
that Mathew looks different then when I saw him just a couple of
days ago. His eyes and skin seems to be much more pallid and he
really struggles to get up that wall.
I wonder if he is starting
to change faster now.

Mathew picks up his walking stick and then
we head down a dirt path towards a building. “Did you find the
papers, Kayla?” He looks at me inquisitively, waiting for my
response.

I pat Sylas’s pocket. “They’re right here,”
I tell him.

Relief floods across his face as his legs
shake in the attempt to bear his weight. “Good. Let’s hurry inside
my lab and see if I can make sense out of them.”

The word lab sends a red flag up in my head
and apparently in Sylas, too, because he slams to a stop, grabbing
my arm and pulling me back.

“Wait just a minute... you knew my name…” He
trails off, muttering under his breath. “Yet you can’t really see
my face beneath the hood.”

“Because I could tell who it was,” a
familiar voice rises behind us, causing Sylas and I to spin
around.

My jaw drops at the sight of Aiden standing
behind us with his hood pulled down and a dark smile on his face.
“Glad to see you’re back to your old self, brother.”

Aiden stares at us as we remain silent,
looking back and forth between the two of us like he’s waiting for
us to say something. We don’t because we don’t know what to say;
what’s going on? Why is he here? Does he remember telling Monarch
about the papers? Or maybe he doesn’t even understand any of
this?