Dark Horizons (The Red Sector Chronicles) (5 page)

They had jerked Paris’s and Aden’s masks off, saying “Frost would want to see our sunny faces.”
After winding through the halls for what seemed like a small eternity, we paused before a set of polished black doors. Rook stepped in front of us, giving two loud knocks. I took the chance to sneak a peek at Aden and Paris. Paris’
s
jaw was clenched, and her eyes were firmly fixed forward, while Aden –

I stopped breathing.

He was slumped forward, his skin completely broken out in sweat. His shirt clung to his chest, revealing the outline of muscle
s
beneath. Normally, I would have preferred that look on a hot guy, but the fact he
appeared
that way because he was gravely ill carved out a hollow feeling inside my chest. He was trying hard to keep his face composed. I could tell because the clue to how he was
really feeling was in his eyes; they
had a pinched look to them
,
suggesting all he wanted to do was scream.

Heart sinking to my stomach, I snapped my gaze back aro
und as the doors swung open and an explosion of sound slammed into me.

My eyes widened slightly as
they
marched
us inside. I scanned the large, circular room, watching in amazement as the twelve members of the Council, all sitting on their high chairs, argued fervently with one another. Most of them
had on masks and
looked like they too had just come straight from the New Year’s Eve gala, which I had opted not to
attend. I suddenly felt very out of
place in my dark jeans, deep purple sweater, and black Chucks.

For the most part, none of the c
ouncil members even seemed to realize we were there, except for two familiar faces.

The first was a welcome sight. Mrs. Knight was in the middle of a conversation, the only
person
who didn’t look like she was on the verge of spontaneously combusting with an
ger, when her eyes flickered up
and caught mine. Aden’s mom kind of resembled a younger Martha Stewart, with fair hair the same shade as her son’s and a pretty, kind face.
Her eyes brightened, like she was smiling at me, though I couldn’t see
her mouth
because of the mask
. S
he
paled when her eyes landed on her son.

Guilt punched me hard in the gut. If Aden hadn’t been trying to rescue me, he might not be in this position in the first place. The fact
I
needed re
scu
ing
at all
still didn’
t set well with me.
I
mentally
kept replaying the time when Orion’s men had
busted
i
nto Aden’s apartment to get me;
I could have tried harder, fought harder,
done
anything
to keep us out of the mess we now found ourselves in
.

A woman
pointedly cleared her throat, interrupting my brooding,
and my eyes landed on a slender
female
whose gaze
could freeze over h
ell.

My eyes narrowed into a glare, and I pressed my lips together to keep from hissing.

General Frost looked down on me from her middle seat
,
with all the affection of one
looking at a cockroach
she
was
about to crush
.
She was one of three c
ouncil members, I noted, who were not wearing masks.
Her silver hair was swept up in a tight bun, givi
ng her wrinkled face a “pulled”
look. She wore the same jacket and skirt combination all the women on the base had to wear, only hers was made from gold silk. It was the exact same outfit I’d seen on her when we first met, and I wondered if she owned any other items of clothing. A diamond forget-me-not was pinned to her lapel, the “Mark of the Creator,” or the symbol of the first vampire king. It was also the same s
hape of the birthmark on my collarbone, right above my heart
. Orion had one, too,
at
the same place on his body.

The first time
Frost and I met, it
hadn’t been pleasant. With my identity as a vampire hunter revealed, she had tortured me in an effort to pull information out of me, since she was convinced I had infiltrated their base to try to kill them. Aden had managed to convince her not to
execute
me, and so I had become her prisoner, of sorts.

The feeling of being chained and prodded by Scarle
t Steel
sent a bolt of fear through me. B
ut I kept my expression guarded, not wanting Frost to see me
as weak
. She would only use the opportunity to pounce on me.

Immediately, the noise in the room died down
and everyone finally looked at us,
as if
just noticing they were not alone.
I tried to kee
p my face from flushing as the c
ouncil members eyed us up and down, the
soldiers
lining us up side by
side. Paris stood in the middle.
I wanted to be closer to Aden in case I needed to help him, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

“Sloane McAllister.”

My attention snapped forward at the cold voice addressing me. Frost’s words carried throughout the room, seeming to bring the temperature down a couple degrees. “P
aris De Lange
and Aden Knight.” She purred the last name. A
den had been her right hand man
. They weren’t friends; she was proud of him in the way a master
was
proud of a prize
d
hunting dog. “There is substantial evidence that the three of you were conspir
ing against the e
mperor and thus,
against the well-being of this e
mpire. Do you deny it?”

Paris was the first to speak up. “Well
-
being?” she spat in disbelief. “General Frost, whether you’re aware of it or not, Ner
o was planning to wipe out the e
mpire with a genetically
enhanced
super-
virus. I
’d hardly call that having the e
mpire’s best interests at heart.”

“Lies!” Fro
st shouted, slamming her fist down on
the
podium. “No evidence has been found to suggest such a thing. To
make such a ridiculous assumption
, Dr. De Lange, is
treason
.”

Paris’
s
eyes turned icy as Frost hissed her name,
but she made no move to argue.

“If I had it my way,” Frost continued haughtily, “I’d have you all executed on the spot.”

My eyes widened, and I heard Paris suck in a tight breath.

“But,” Frost said, biting off the word like it killed her to say it, “the Council is not in full agreement with that decision, and as our rules dictate, you will be held prisoner until we can set a trial date to determine your fates.”

I hoped my expression seethed
hatred. H
ell, I was half hoping Frost’s hair would catch on fire if I glared at her hard enough, but that would have been
wishing for
too much. It was all I could do to keep from pouncing on that old hag right then and there. Rook stiffened, and I could sense him watching me
from the corner of his eyes
. Slowly, he moved his finger behind the trigger, raising his gun slightly.

“Until further notice, you
are all
hereby declared enemies of the e
mpire.” Frost’s silver eyes narrowed. Once before, I might have chilled or maybe even cowered a little under
her
stare
, but not today. I shot a glare as hot as hers was cold
right back at her, and smirked when her mouth twitched, threatening to roll up in
to a sneer.

“Captain Rook,
”
she hissed.

I blinked, whipping my head around to stare at Rook. He caught my eyes, a sheepish look on his face. “Captain?” I mouthed, but he immediately looked away, composing his face into hard stone once more.

“You will escort these criminals to our prison ward, where they are to be held until further notice. Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rook clipped, saluting her before starting to walk toward us.

There was a horrible gurgling sound to my right. Aden had begun coughing again, and something about watching him suffer made whatever dam was holding my anger back snap.

Raising my head, I said, “
I don’t have time for this
crap
! Aden needs help now!”

The words were barely out of my mouth before pain erupted at the back of my skull, making sparks fly before my eyes. As I stumbled forward, someone kicked me hard behind my knees and I went down, flinging my arms out to catch myself. It didn’t matter. My wrists were jerked behind me as a pair of cuffs was painfully tightened around them, leaving my cheek to smack onto the cold, glossy floor.

Paris heaved one of her “what an idiot” sighs, underscored by a now seething Aden as he tried to break free of his captors.

“Don’t you dare lay a finger on her,” he spat,
his
voice contorted with rage. I had forgotten how scary he could be when he was in what I dubbed “killer mode.” His angelic face had become that of a demon, with glowing red eyes and long canines that could rip a man’s throat out in less than a heartbeat.

When I made to get up, someone firmly planted a boot
on
my face. I could feel the treads digging into my cheek, reeking of dirt and worn out leather.

Frost had risen out of
her
chair, as had Mrs. Knight, who seemed to be begging her son with her eyes not to do anything rash. “Well,” Frost snapped, “if they’re going to give you this much trouble early on, I wonder if you’re truly ready for the position, Captain Rook.”

“My apologies, General,” he said, bowing his head slightly as if shamed. “It won’t happen again. We will use Scarlet Steel if necessary to restrain them.”

I blanched, remembering the feeling of the red metal eating away my flesh merely by touching it. It was an experienc
e I had no desire to relive any
time soon.

“Let us hope you are not as grave a disappointment as your predecessor,” she said evenly, snapping her gaze briefly to Aden before flicking her hand. “Now get them out of my sight. The Council has many… disagreements to work through.”

Two guys hauled me up so quick
ly
that
my
head spun
. The c
ouncil members turned away, and
the guards
promptly began leading us toward the doors.

“Wait!” I cried.

Frost closed her eyes, a severe scowl clouding her feat
ures. “What is it?” she snapped
.

The guards halted, looking at Rook for guidance. He searched my eyes, finally nodding once, and they turned me back around. They gripped my arms so tight I thought I would lose circulation
, a warning to behave myself
.

“We have proof,” I said.

Frost started to roll her eyes, then caught herself. “Proof of what?”

“That Ori – um – Nero was planning on wiping out the vampires with a
super-
virus.”

She sighed, exasperated, and leaned forward so her elbows were resting on the podium. “There is no such evidence,” she said, staring down at the podium while rubbing her temples.

“Then I suppose Angel’s body doesn’t count as proof?”

Astonishment flashed over Rook’s face, and I immediately regretted being so brash. He and Angel had sort of been dating before Orion used her as an experiment to test the virus out on.
Rook
wasn’t there, and I felt bad he had to find out this way.

Frost gave me a long, irritated stare before speaking. “Sergeant McAllister, there was no
body. Only a chair, some rope –
which you undoubtedly hop
ed to restrain our emperor with –
and the gun you or Captain Knight used to shoot him
in your shoddy assassination attempt
.”

That statement was so full of bullshit that my brain took a few extra seconds to process it. “
Excuse
me?”

“Sloane,” Paris growled under her breath, but I ignored her. “Of cour
se there was a body there,” I went on.
“
How could you miss it? She was covered in…” The shock of what Frost’s words meant slowly sank in, making my skin break out in
goose bumps
as dread sank in my stomach like a lead weight. “You’re covering it up to make it look like we’re the villains and not Nero.”