Frailty: The Darkshine (4 page)

Although he was a frightening sight, she couldn’t deny that his voice was as pleasing to her as a lover’s caress. She couldn’t find her voice to answer his question, didn’t think she could have answered it anyway. He went down on his haunches in front of her, his eyes roaming over her body and making her feel as if she was laid out bare for him. He was so close to her that she could see now that the green of his irises had little flecks of blue in them. His hand reached up and she stiffened instinctively. She felt the soft caress of his fingers along her cheek, heard a gasp and realized it had come from her.

“Who are you?” he asked her again, his fingers travelling down her cheek and outlining her lips as he continued to stare at her mouth.

She licked her suddenly dry lips, shocked by the deep groan he uttered. The situation was surreal, her reaction to him, his reaction to her. Helina didn’t know what was actually happening between them and as much as she hated to admit it, she felt a strong pull toward him that went beyond all reason and doubt.

“Please, tell me what you are called.” His voice was soft, yet deep. Strong, yet gentle. He brought his eyes to hers, urging, compelling her with his stare to answer.

Before she could answer him, he turned his head and stared over his shoulder across the stream. She followed his gaze but said nothing, heard nothing but her beating heart and the wilderness around them. In the next second he had her in his arms and back into the woods before she could even inhale. Realizing what was happening, Helina opened her mouth to scream, only to have his large palm cover it as he looked down at her and shook his head. He stared down at her intently, paying no attention to where he was going. She found herself falling into the teal abyss that made up his gaze. As he held her, she knew fear should be forefront in her mind, but as his strong arms pressed her tighter against his chest, any thoughts of that particular emotion seemed to vanish.

Everything around her was no more than a blur as he raced away, leaving whatever threat lay behind him. Before she knew it, he was sliding her down his muscled body and pushing her so that she was forced to drop to her knees. Helina realized that she was at the entrance to her cave. He gently urged her until she started to crawl through the small opening. She didn’t dwell on the uneasiness that he knew where she had been staying. Once she was inside she turned and looked back at him. He was once again on his haunches, staring at her with an expression that resembled fear.

“Please, hurry inside. I will come back very soon.”

They looked at each other for a suspended moment before he vanished before her eyes—moving so fast it was like vapor leaving the extinguished flames of a fire. Helina went to the farthest part of her cave, where the shadows encased the corners and no light penetrated. She didn’t know what compelled her to listen the vampire, the enemy, but she knew that if he was dangerous to her, he would have, could have killed her before she even knew it.

Gaijryc left the
cave entrance and made his way back to the stream quickly. He was by the water in no more than a few seconds and just in time to see Aires walking casually through the parting trees.

“Ah, there you are.”

Gaijryc smiled at his younger brother and walked through the water. Normally he would have just jumped across, but the fact that he was about to be near Aires and that his brother would no doubt be able to smell the human, Gaijryc needed to get the female’s scent off of him. He felt the water splash off his boots and land on his arms and shirt. Gaijryc kept his smile as he watched Aires stop by the edge of the water and knit his brows in confusion. Gaijryc knew his brother was wondering about the strange behavior.; no DarkShine would purposely walk through water when they could just as easily jump across it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of silver. In the next second he scooped up the trout and held it tightly in his hand. He walked up to Aires and showed him the fish as he slapped him on the back in greeting.

“Aires, what brings you out here?”

“I thought I would get some fresh air. The mansion was getting stuffy and I was sick of seeing and smelling Adais fuck those females. I see you are out fishing, huh?”

“Yes, a gift for Mother. You know how she loves the taste. I am going to have the cooks prepare it for her tonight.”

Gaijryc started to walk back to the mansion. He needed to lead his brother away from the human female so that there was no risk of Aires sensing her. He was lucky the fish had swum across when it did. The smell of it helped cover her scent. He didn’t ask Aires to come with him, just hoped his brother would follow. Thankfully he could hear his brother’s footsteps behind him.

Gaijryc didn’t know what compelled him to protect her, but as he’d stared into her lovely eyes, he knew he could do no less. Aires had a taste for humans, more so then any other DarkShine. He had always wondered if Aires
shined
them—had controlled their mind so that they too felt compelled to want him as much as he wanted them.

Most of the time his kind didn’t bother controlling a human, since it took an exorbitant amount of energy. Others were just plain cruel and enjoyed a human’s fear, didn’t even attempt to
shine
them into submission. He felt a light breeze as Aires ran past him, his body not even a blur. Gaijryc picked up his pace and ran after his brother, an age-old game the two used to play when they were younger, but today he just wanted to get his brother away from the female.

“Getting slow in your old age, brother.”

“Just letting you win, Aires.”

The two raced to the front door of the mansion, not even their breathing accelerated. Aires stepped in first as Gaijryc looked behind him at the woods a moment before stepping into the foyer.

Helina stayed in
that dark, cold corner for an hour before she heard a noise at the opening of her cave. She tried to make herself as small as possible, her body starting to shake because she was afraid of who or what might be only a few feet away. She prayed it was the vampire that she had seen by the lake. The fact that she actually felt that way had her shaking harder. Helina shouldn’t want anything to do with him, since his kind, after all, had killed Lizelle.

She could see the opening of the cave from where she was crouched and felt a wave of relief wash over her when she saw it was the vampire from the lake looking through the entrance.

“Are you okay?”

Helina knew he couldn’t see her, for the corner she was in was completely obscured by darkness, but he looked right at her—seemed to look right in her eyes. Helina was shocked by how much relief she felt at the sight of him. She didn’t even know him, didn’t know if this was some kind of cruel game he wanted to play before he killed her, but she assumed if he wanted to harm her he could have done so back at the lake.

He gestured for her to come to him and, as if she couldn’t help herself, Helina slowly uncurled her body and moved toward the opening. She could see his fangs shining bright white in the sunlight as he smiled wide at her approach. Those fangs should have frightened her, but no fear came to her from the sight. He held his hand out and she glanced at it apprehensively.

“I promise I won’t harm you.” His voice was calm and tentative, as if she were a frightened animal that he needed to coax.

She looked into his face and back again at his outstretched hand. She placed her palm in his much larger one. As soon as their skin touched, Helina felt a shock wave of electricity pulse through her. Their eyes locked for a suspended moment, as if he too felt the same jolt of awareness. She let him pull her out of the cave and into the sunlight. He stood much taller than her five foot six, his body seeming to dwarf hers in height as well as in mass.

“What are you called?”

Again his dark voice seemed to wash through her, touching every cell in her body. He worded his question so strangely that she wasn’t quite sure how to answer. Looking at him, she finally said the only thing she thought he meant.

“Helina. My name is Helina Alges.” Her voice sounded rather weak, but as he smiled once again, she felt the tension ease from her shoulders. Even though his fangs were very prominent, very long and sharp, she just had this feeling deep inside of her that made her comfortable being around him.

“Helina.” He said her name like it was honey sliding from his tongue, as if he enjoyed saying it on a pleasurable level. “So beautiful. So feminine.”

Helina didn’t know what to say to his comment. “Wh-what is your name?” Her words seemed to stutter out of her mouth as she asked the question, not so much because she feared him. Her neck was craned back in order to see him and she saw another one of those stunning masculine smiles cover his lips.

“I am called Gaijryc, high prince of the DarkShine.”

Her eyebrows knitted in confusion at his words. “DarkShine? Is that what you are? I mean, you’re a vampire, right?”

His low deep laugh surprised her. “We have been called many things, vampires being one of them. Our true name, the name our kind was born to, is the DarkShine.”

He still had her hand as he led her in a slow, steady walk through the woods. They were quiet, the sounds of the leaves crunching beneath their feet seeming loud and piercing. She didn’t know why she was letting him take her away from the comfort of her cave, didn’t know why she was having anything to do with him at all.

Helina looked down when she felt his thumb run small circles across her inner wrists. She caught herself continuously looking at their joined hands and then at his face. She don’t know why she’d even let it get this far. For all she knew he was leading her to her very death. Helina looked back in front of her and watched the brown trunks of the trees pass them. The colorful flowers brushed by their feet and she heard the sound of the trickling water as they neared a stream. He stopped by a large boulder and let go of her hand.

“So, sweet Helina, what brings you to living in a cave?”

She took a couple of steps back and watched him stare at her. She didn’t know how much she should tell him, didn’t know if revealing that she had watched one of his kind kill her sister was the smartest of moves.

Opting to tell him part of the truth and see if he would leave it at that, she spoke softly. Although she should keep what she knew to herself, she couldn’t help the feeling inside of her. It was a feeling that made her feel warm and safe, protected in a world gone crazy. She couldn’t explain the strange feeling, for she had never felt it before. It was as if he were her protector, a feeling that he wouldn’t let anyone or anything hurt her. It was ridiculous to have these feelings about someone she even didn’t know—a vampire nonetheless.

“What are you thinking right now?”

His words brought her back to the present and she looked into his face. His skin was a golden color, as if the sun had come down and kissed it intimately. His eyes were a bright blue, a startling contrast with his pale blond hair. The locks touched his forehead, short and neat in its appearance. She let her eyes travel down his muscular body and took note that every tendon and sinew was defined to perfection.

Dropping her eyes to the ground, she stared at her running shoes that had little pieces of dirt and leaves stuck on them. “I was just thinking about your question,” she lied. “My family used to come here with me when I was little. After my sister died, well, I guess I just felt like this was the place I needed to be.” Helina was not about to tell him that she’d moved into a cold, dark cave because she feared the monster that had killed her sister would come after her. A sad look crossed his face, a look that made her think that he really did feel sympathy for her.

“That must have been very devastating for you. I am truly sorry for the loss of your sibling.”

Helina started to kick around the rocks at her feet, willing herself to stay strong. “Why didn’t you kill me? I mean, didn’t you want to suck my blood or something?” She didn’t know what possessed her to ask him, but the words just spilled out. Her head downcast, she didn’t dare look at him after she asked the question. When he didn’t answer right away, Helina glanced up. He was staring at her with what appeared to be utter shock.