Black Dawn (7 page)

Colin smiled, but not for long.
Zari
dropped to her knees and unto her back. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head. “No!” He turned his gaze on his brother. “What the hell? We’re losing them both? How can this be?”

“
You!
Let them go now. They’re linked to each other. You fool, night and day, darkness and light. You can’t have one without the other.”

Colin gritted his teeth. “No! I’ll gladly let
Zari
die!”

Dane roared. “You’d let Dar die just to get back at me, wouldn’t you? If there’s any part of you that has ever cared for anyone else other than yourself, you’ll let Dar go. Please, Colin!
If not for Dar’s sake, then for
Zari’s
?
You love her, don’t you?”

“
I’m a vampire,” Colin howled. “The fairy means nothing to me!”

The entire time, Dar was somewhat aware of the vampires’ conversation. For mere seconds, her heart had stopped and so had
Zari’s
. Summoning all of her energy, she cast a shield around them both in hopes to jump-start their hearts.

“
Destroy him for both our sakes, sister. He will only bring you harm!” She begged her sister. “Fight his hold on you, on us!”

Zari’s
spirit was as weak as hers. “I can’t fight it Dar, I too weak.”

“
You’re the one who is free. Do something, and do it now before it’s too late!” In vain, Dar struggled against the cuffs. Agony sizzled through her body as her arms grew tired. Panic ran through Dar as she contemplated them both dying here in this realm. She’d imagined the hurt their father would suffer if he lost both his girls. She tried summoning her strength, but it was too late. “I can’t fight this.” Dar felt herself slipping into the void. Communicating with her sister after fighting through the black hold was too much.

Apparently the vampire’s influence was too great over her sister. It was all up to Dar now, or so she’d thought. As she slowly drifted into unconsciousness, she heard the uproar in the hallway. Familiar voices rang through her ears as she passed out.

Chapter Eight

“
Looks like we have company.”
He motioned to one of his guards. “
Go,
see what’s going on out there!”

Colin grinned and snapped his fingers and the cuffs fell from Dane’s wrists. Without warning, Dane grabbed his brother around his neck, pushing him against the wall. Fangs
bared
, they hissed.

“
I see you have a soft spot for the little fairy,” Colin said with a smirk. “She’s slipping away, you know.” He slipped from Dane’s grasp and hurled his brother in the air, flat on his back. “You’re too weak to defeat me.”

Dane hissed and leapt to his feet and charged his brother, knocking him flat on his back. “No time for words! I’ve a score to settle with you!” Enraged, he punched Colin several times, all the while keeping an eye on Dar. It pissed him off and concern for her shot through him like nothing he’d ever felt before. He had to annihilate his brother and revive her.

 
In seconds, the door burst open, and the room was soon flooded with odd-looking vampires. Or were they vampires? He couldn’t tell and he didn’t care at the moment. The urge to inflict pain rose as he reached into his brother’s mouth and ripped his incisor out.

“
Hey man, aren’t you going to free me?” Lucas struggled against his bonds, but Dane ignored him.

“
Arrghh
!”
Colin’s cries of pain filled the air as two of the strange men rushed over to
Zari
and Dar. They obviously seemed concerned about her and he figured they were her relatives.

“
You will pay dearly for that!” Blood seeped from the fresh wound in his mouth as he rushed forward.

“
You’ve held me up enough,” Dane said with grimace. In one move, he snaked his hands around his brother’s neck and twisted.
 
Satisfaction was his when he heard his brother’s neck snap. Colin’s body slumped to the floor and turned to dust.

“
Hold it right there!” One of the strange men blasted him with light from his fingers. His back connected with the steel wall, knocking the wind out of him. Yeah, they were fairies for sure. He’d blast them back, but he’d depleted his energies fighting his brother.

Shaking his head from the blow, he looked up to discover that he’d been surrounded.

“
Don’t you
move!
” A large man pushed through the others who were surrounding him.
 

“
I’m not the enemy!” Dane snarled.

“
What did you do to my daughters?” The large man bent down and grabbed him by the collar. “I swear by all that is light, I will banish you, vampire!”

Dane surrendered. “I’m telling you, I’m not the enemy.”

Then, who was this?” The guard pointed to the pile of dust lying on the floor.

“
That
used
to be my brother.” Dane slowly rose to his feet, holding his hands up in the air. “He was trying to harness
Zari’s
power. We were taken. Brought here, and awoke in chains.”

“
He’s telling the truth, man.” Lucas said with a snort as he yanked lazily against his restraints. “Hey, anybody
wanna
free me now?”

“
Lucas is a friend of mine. Really, we mean you no harm.”

“
He’s a vampire,” the man sneered.

“
He’s my friend!” Dane bit out roughly. “Release him now!”

The man seemed to relax and released a breath. “I’m Dar and
Zari’s
father, Cyrus.” He looked over at Thom. “Go on. Free his friend. Any sudden moves, and he’s toast!”

“
Well, it’s about time!” Lucas lamented as Thom reluctantly and carefully freed the burly vampire.

Dane walked over to Dar’s slumped body and removed the cuffs. Her arms must have been sore, he thought, from the weight of her body when she lost consciousness.

“
Stay away from my daughter.” Cyrus thundered.

“
I’ll not hurt her.” He hoisted the fairy up into his arms and held her in his arms before another guard took her from him. “She needs to be healed.” He couldn’t describe the feeling he was experiencing at the moment, but it was foreign to him.

“
We will heal her,” Cyrus assured him. “We must return to
Sychuria
before the king closes the portals.” The man’s eyebrows knitted together.
 
“You and Lucas will accompany us.”

“
Me, go to Fairyland?” Lucas interjected with a wave of his hand. “No man, I don’t think so. Walking around in a world where men are sporting green tights and all?”

Dane smirked at his friend’s smart-assed comment. “Do you really think that’s wise?” Dane asked. “I don’t belong in your world.”

Cyrus’s eyes widened. “You have no choice in the matter. I want to know what you’re doing with my daughters.”

“
Dar needed help locating her sister. I’ve done nothing wrong and I won’t be harassed, fairy!” Dane said with a growl.

“
Contain him!” Cyrus ordered.

Before he could react, the guards overpowered him. Right now, the most sensible thing he could do was to surrender and not put up a fight. He didn’t want bad blood between himself and Dar’s family, but this big fairy was starting to piss him off.

“
Hey, there’s no need for that! What the hell’s your problem, dude?” Lucas sneered, before baring his fangs.

“
No, don’t do that!” Dane yelled. “You can’t show aggression, Lucas.”

“
Why do you trust them?” Lucas growled before retracting his fangs.

“
Contain his friend, too, should he become a problem.” Cyrus turned to Dane. “We’ve been fighting vampires all morning,” Cyrus muttered. “I have half a mind to make arrangements for you to meet your maker now,” He stated coolly before opening the portal with a wave of his hand.

“
I don’t know why, but I must go with my instincts,” Dane insisted as he looked up at his friend.

Lucas rolled his eyes, took off his hat and rubbed the scarce locks that lightly dusted his bald head. After thinking for a few seconds, he slapped his hat back on his head and nodded. “Sure. I’ll go along for the ride.”

“
Good idea.” Now, what happened to the rest of Colin’s coven?” Dane asked loosely.

“
Dusted.”
Another guard offered up. “At least, half of them are. They pose no threat to us now.
Especially since they don’t have the necessary elements to cast this realm into darkness.”

“
So, you saved my Dar?” Cyrus asked as the guards entered through the portal.

Dane observed Dar’s father and wondered why he would take him into their world. “I’ve watched over her. She was in danger from the moment she crossed over,” Dane admitted. “Vampires were after her and I had to take care of them.” He stood proud, and looked him directly in the eye. “Believe me when I say I mean you no harm.”

After everyone else entered the portal, Cyrus motioned for Dane to enter. “It’s okay. You’ll be able to come back if you want.
“ He
glanced around the room, “I don’t know why you would ever want to return.” Beauty no longer exists in this world.

“
This is my home.” Dane admitted stubbornly. “I just want to know: why should I come with you?”

“
Because if I know Dar, she’ll be highly upset when she awakes and you’re not there.” With that, he entered the portal and Dane reluctantly followed. A flash of light assaulted his eyes, and a heavy weight, almost like a magnet, pulled him forward.

“
Ah, cool, man. I feel like I’m back in the seventies!” Lucas said with a laugh.

In a split second, Dane stood in
Sychuria
. The scent of fresh honeysuckle caught his attention as he followed Cyrus and his guards towards a large palace.

“
Well I’ll be a wolf in a chicken coop!” Lucas took in the scenery as well. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“
I know, right?” Dane grinned.

He inhaled deeply of the scent he’d long since forgotten. It was a memory of the past, one where he’d shared a tender moment with his mother. A tear threatened to fall, but he forbade it. Emotions were forbidden to him. He had to remind himself of that a long time ago.

The field where they walked was lush. He couldn’t help but take in the beautiful scenery of Dar’s realm. For several seconds, he stopped to take in the sights.

Cyrus turned around and smiled. “Come on, you two. We don’t have all day.”

Dane began walking again as he reveled in the beautiful landscape. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“
Then you’ll want to stay?”

Quickly Dane snapped out of the euphoric feeling.
“Uh no.
I won’t go as far to say that. Your world is beautiful.”

“
Isn’t Dar enough to make you stay?”

Dane stopped in his tracks. “What are you saying to me?”

“
I’m saying
,
you’re in love with my daughter. I know your thoughts. Why do you think you’re still in one piece?”

Dane narrowed his eyes. “How is it that you can read my mind?” He bit out harshly.
“Stay out of my mind, fairy!”
He knew his origins made it easy for other
fae
to read his thoughts. Now his temper was starting to get the best of him and for the first time in his existence, he felt weak-minded and vulnerable.

“
Why can’t you admit that you’re no full vampire?” Cyrus asked. “Unfortunately, we can’t read the minds of vampires, but we can with fairies.”

Dane stepped away from him. “Are you kidding? I’m no fairy.”

“
Ah, but you’re half.” Cyrus said with a smile. “Being part
fae
and all, it isn’t a weakness, so you should embrace it. I know you’ve had to fight others your entire existence. It must be tough being a loner. You don’t ever have to be alone again.”

“
Stay out of my head, man!” Dane said sharply. “I knew I shouldn’t have come here! What the hell was I thinking?”

“
You came here because of Dar.”

“
See, I knew you had it bad for her!” Lucas said with smirk.

“
Shut up, Lucas! She’s not the reason I came here!”

Cyrus crossed his arms and laughed. “Okay, then why did you come here?”

For once, Dane was at a loss for words. It was true, although he didn’t wish to admit it. He’d crossed over to see how Dar was feeling. The thought of never speaking to her again left an uneasy feeling in his gut and his heart. It was more than that. He needed to be with her, if only for the last time before they went their separate ways.