The Darkest Song (The Eternal Darkness Duet #1)

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

T he next time I woke I was alone in a cement room containing nothing but the cot I lay on. Thankfully, my shackles were gone. I sat up and looked around. There were no windows, only a steel door on one wall with a narrow slot near the top. I jumped up, rushed to the door and pounded my fists against it.

“Open the door! I want to see Adam!” My cries echoed in the room. “Let me out of here!” Eventually I wore myself out and returned to the cot. A moment later, the slot at the top of the door slid open, and a bag of blood was pushed through before the slot slammed closed again. I rushed to the door and pounded again. “Come back!”

I looked at the bag on the floor. It looked like the kind hospitals used when you donated blood. I wondered briefly if it was poisoned, then my hunger took over and I tore the cap off and drained the bag.

I don’t know how long they kept me there. I slept on and off, and a bag of blood was dropped in two more times.

I was asleep when they came the fourth time. I heard a noise at the door and opened my eyes, expecting to see a bag drop through the slot. Instead, the door swung open and an armed guard stepped in.

I lept off the bed and bared my fangs at him, a feral hiss escaping me. I didn’t have a chance to ponder the sound I’d just made, because a second guard entered the room holding a metal baton at his side, the tip crackling with electricity. I froze, and the guard’s lips curled into a sinister smile.

“Come,” the first guard said, stepping to the side to allow me to exit the room. I passed him cautiously, afraid he might strike me. The guard with the baton led the way, and I stared at the crackling tip as I followed, the second guard falling into place behind me. We walked down a long hallway lined on both sides with steel doors like the one on my cell. Was Adam in one of those rooms?

They led me up a flight of stairs to what appeared to be the main floor. They took me down several hallways, turning this way and that, passing countless closed doors along the way. These doors were made of wood, and the floor I walked on looked like polished marble.

We rounded another corner, and I saw two guards standing in front of a closed door. As we approached, they stepped to the side, allowing us to pass. The guard in front of me pushed open the large door, and I followed him through, stumbling to a halt when I saw the room.

“Walk.” The guard behind me shoved me, and I stumbled forward. My eyes darted around the room as I walked, taking in every detail.

It was an enormous space, with soaring ceilings and tall stone pillars in the corners. At the end of the room was a raised platform, like a stage, with eight large wooden chairs that looked like thrones. Three of them were occupied by lavishly dressed vampires, a woman in the middle, and a man seated on either side.

A crowd of vampires stood to the side of the room and several of them bared their fangs at me as I passed. They were all dressed elegantly, as if this were an upscale cocktail party rather than a trial.

The guard in front of me came to a stop just before the raised platform. “Here,” he said, pointing to a spot on the floor with his baton.

I stepped forward and looked up at the three vampires seated before me. They stared down at me, their faces void of emotion.

A commotion broke out behind me and I turned to see Adam being led into the room, still shackled at the wrists and ankles. The length of chain between his ankles only allowed him to take small steps, and the vampires in the crowd hissed and cursed him as he passed. Our eyes met, and he held my gaze as he crossed the room to stand beside me.

I tried to step towards him, but the guard beside me yanked me back into place. I wondered why Adam was still shackled when I was free.

“Adam De Clare, formerly of House Velasco.” The female vampire on the stage spoke, and Adam and I both turned to face her. She was wearing a black gown that pooled at her feet. Her dark hair was twisted high atop her head, and she had diamonds at her neck and ears. “You are here to be judged for the crimes of hericide and unauthorized creation. Do you deny these charges?” Her voice rang out in the now silent room.

Adam raised his chin. “No.”

What? My eyes darted back and forth between Adam and the female vampire. “Adam,” I began, and the woman's eyes shot to me. I flinched under her gaze, but refused to be silent. “Adam, tell them the truth.” I looked sideways at him but he stared straight ahead. “He didn’t turn me,” I said, looking up at the woman. “He didn’t do any of those things. Another vampire turned me, I don’t know who it was, but Adam found me and was helping me. He was teaching me about vampire rules, so I didn’t get noticed by humans. He was trying to do the right thing. We both were!” I looked at Adam again. Why was he just standing there? Why wouldn’t he defend himself? “Adam!” I practically screamed his name, and he flinched.

“Does she truly not know?” The woman directed the question at Adam.

He glanced at me then, his face tense. “She is completely innocent in all of this,” he said, looking back to the three on the stage. “I ask that the Strategoi take her innocence into consideration and allow her a quick death.”

What? My jaw dropped. Was Adam asking them to kill me?

The three vampires exchanged a look before the female spoke again. “Is that truly what you wish, when her life could be spared through metapherus archond ?” I heard gasps and murmurs from the crowd.

“Yes,” Adam replied, staring straight ahead.

“What the fuck Adam!” I screeched, but he continued to stare blankly ahead. I turned to the female. “Hey!” I shouted, getting her attention. “Will you please explain what the fuck is going on? Because I haven’t done anything wrong, and I don’t want to die.”

The woman stared down at me. “She has fire.” I waited for her to continue, but instead she looked over my head to address the crowd. “Is there anyone here who will accept this newborn?”

“ What?" My eyes darted around the room. “What does that mean?” No one paid any attention to me.

“I will.” A voice rang out from the back of the room.

I started to turn to see who had spoken, but was startled when Adam’s roar filled the room. He spun around, mindless of his chains, and lunged towards the crowd at the back of the room.

A guard rushed forward and jammed a baton into Adam’s back. His body jerked as electricity coursed through him, but he grabbed the end of the baton and yanked hard, sending the guard on the other end careening toward him. Adam lifted the guard and threw him across the room, just as two others rushed in. I watched in disbelief as Adam fought them both at once. Even with him chained, they didn’t stand a chance. He tore into them with his fangs and his claws.

The vampires in the room were all shouting, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Adam. He fought like an animal. Where had this strength been when we were captured?

An arm came sliding across the floor towards me. Just an arm. I slapped a hand over my mouth and jumped back as blood came pooling towards my feet.

The female on the stage was shouting, and four more guards joined the fray. They hit him with electric batons, over and over, eventually bringing him to his knees, and still they did not stop.

I tried to run to him, but the guard at my side grabbed me and held me in place. I screamed Adam’s name and struggled to get free, but I wasn't strong enough.

“Enough!” The female on the stage shouted, rising to her feet. The four remaining guards lowered their batons and stepped away. Adam lay unmoving on the floor, his eyes closed. Was he alive? He had to be! Three dead bodies lay on the floor around him, one of them in multiple pieces.

“Adam-” I choked, hot tears running down my face.

“Well, that was unexpected,” a man said dryly. I turned and saw a vampire crossing the room towards me. He was massive, taller than Adam even, with dark hair and olive tanned skin. He was wearing a black suit, and I stared at his polished shoes as he casually stepped over a dead guard on his way towards me.

“Julian Calahorra of House Velasco.” I heard the woman say. “Do you accept this newborn through metapherus archond?”

“Yes.” The man came to a stop a foot in front of me. I had to tilt my head back to see his face. He looked down at me, his dark eyes fathomless. I wanted to run, but my feet wouldn’t move. I was like a mouse caught in a snake's stare. “I accept.” He said, looking directly into my eyes as he spoke.

“Then it is done.” I heard the woman say.

“What is done?” I asked, still unable to look away from him. “What does that mean?”

His full lips slowly curved into a cruel smile. “It means you belong to me now.”