Mark of the Dagger (The Marked Series Book 1) (8 page)

"Besides," he continued as if she hadn't spoken. "You're the one that seemed to be paying attention to my activities tonight. I think it's you that’s jealous."

"You have lost your ever-loving mind Samuel," she said angrily and threw her hands into the air. She was mad because he was right and she hated that. "Now you’re just being immature. Why is it that you've picked me to torment? Can't you see that I can't stand you?  Is it because I don’t fall at your feet like the rest of the Hunters society? Is that why? Or is it because you like to kick people when they're already down. Because I've been down ever since I've been here... That is until tonight. I'm finally making friends and you had to cause a scene in there. Now no one is going to talk to me because they'll be too scared of you. Well let me tell you this." she said and poked him in the chest. She advanced and poked until they were standing very close. She was mad enough that she didn't even notice. "I am not one of those people who are scared of you. And I will not let you keep me down. Go back to your Barbie doll and leave me the hell alone. If you mess with me again you'll be sorry."

"How sorry," he said roughly. He grabbed her hands and held them behind her back, pressing his body hard against hers and holding her prisoner in his embrace. His head was slowly descending to hers and she had just enough time to breathe, "Don’t you dare."

Ignoring her demand his lips met hers softly, still giving her the chance to back away.  This wasn’t how Dani imagined her first kiss happening but she refused to back down.  Samuel took her acceptance as a go ahead and forced her mouth open with his tongue.

He tightened his grip on her arms and deepened the kiss and Dani couldn’t take it anymore.  Being honest with herself she knew that she had been dreaming of this since she fell out of the tree.  On the other hand, she had zero experience with boys and the thought of Samuels kiss scared the daylights out of her.

The fell of his lips against hers was bliss.  She had never felt this out of control yet complete sense of calm before, and especially never at the same time.  The excitement and nerves of first love, the scary anticipation of what would happen next.  And the serenity that flowed through her at knowing that Samuel would be with her to find out.  It sounds impossible but Dani thought that she could literally feel the little click of her heart as it opened to him.  He released her arms to pull her closer still, one hand tangling in her hair, the other wrapping around her waist.  She moved her arms up around his neck and held him close, pouring all of her love into the kiss, hoping that he would feel it.

When Samuel finally pulled back Dani couldn't tell in the dark night but she thought his eyes were shining with passion. He took another step back and said, "See, I think I just proved my point." She could tell now that his eyes were shining in amusement, and nothing more.

She had to clear her throat before she could ask, "What point was that?"

"That you were the one who was jealous. That you do care what I think." He took another step closer. "I think you wanted me to kiss you, and you have for a long time. You are wrong in thinking that I was jealous, little one. That I was interested in you, I'm not. I only kissed you to prove to you that you're full of shit. And there is something you should know about Jordan. The guy is a tool. He uses girls and throws them aside quicker than you can say vampire, so the next time someone tries to help you out, don't be a bitch. Listen to what they have to say before you go all high and mighty on them. You think you're better than everyone else that judged you when you first came here? You're wrong, you've judged me and everyone else too, so you're just as bad as them. You don't know me Dani, you don't know anyone, and if you keep acting like this then you never will."

She turned around to head back to her dorm room without backward glance at the boy she loved and her friends who had come out to see what was keeping her. She didn't want any of them, especially Samuel to see her cry. The things he said weren’t true; she didn’t judge everyone else, not like he meant.  And yes, maybe she put him into a certain category but that wasn’t until after she had talked to him the first time.  She didn’t do it with just one look at the guy like everyone else did to her.

Dani wanted to be alone so instead of heading back to her dorm she turned toward the pond… And their tree.  She was so mad at herself for giving him the chance to do what she always knew he would.  He broke her heart all for the sake of a stupid point.  It’s not as if Dani hadn’t already known she loved him, it was just a closely guarded secret that she never wanted anyone else to know.  That’s why she kept it so close, why she never acted on it.  Because the one time that she let her guard slip around him he crushed her in just a matter of minutes. 

She hugged her knees to her chest and laughed out loud. How pathetic, she thought, to think that an eighteen-year-old would be interested in a sixteen year old. And one that was an amazing Demon Hunter at that and she was just a lowly mixed blood. She couldn't quiet the sobs that racked her chest. She had never been so torn up in her life.

"The guy is a jerk Dani. He doesn't know what he's talking about," Jan said when she caught up to her. She sat beside Dani and pulled her into a hug. "What he said, you know we don't really think that right? At least me, Nick and Damien don't, I can't speak for everyone else. I don't know what they think but I do know that it doesn't matter. I'm sorry that I dragged you to that party."

"Don't be. I had a lot of fun while it lasted. I just don't understand why he acted that way."

"Well," she shrugged. "In a way he was kind of right about Jordan, he is a tool. But you weren't acting like a fool, not at all. I wouldn't have let you get crazy with him and he had no right to use your own feelings against you. That was just low."

"How did you know?"

"What? That you're in love with the stupid jerk?" she asked on a laugh. "Because you're my friend and I pay attention. You didn't deserve what he did. And after seeing what just happened, I don't blame you anymore for being a jerk to him all those times."

"Gee thanks," Dani said sarcastically.

Chapter Ten

Dani tossed and turned all night, the events of the party running through her head over and over again. She was utterly broken. Granted, she shouldn’t have conveniently handed her heart over, especially to someone that she barely knew. So she would accept the blame for this pain and move on.

Aside from what happened tonight at the party, Dani was pretty happy with the way things were going. She has great friends, people are starting to warm up to her. She is excelling in both her classes and training. Overall, things were going great. As long as she didn’t include anything that had to do with Samuel.

If there was one thing that Dani would change since being here, it would be the fact that she hasn’t gotten up the courage to go to the auditorium.   It really shouldn’t be all that hard. Yes, it was the place her father died, but in the end it was just a room. And she really had to stop making up excuses for not going in there. She could admit that she we was scared. Would she be able to feel her dad as soon as she walked in there? In a sense, would there be ghosts, even if they were only ghosts that she could feel?

That’s what scared her the most. She was terrified of what she might find. Nevertheless, Jan was right. She really did need to face it head on, just as she had with everything else since coming to Mt. Claussen.

Taking a deep breath, Dani pushed out of bed, pulled on a hoodie sweatshirt and her shoes and went out into the hall. She paused at Jan’s door, debating on whether to ask her to come with her. Deciding against it she continued on her way. It was better to do this alone.

Dani wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the cold and hurried across the dark grounds. Luckily she didn’t run into any Hunters doing their nightly checks. Once she made it to the main building that housed the auditorium, she quickly ran up the stone steps and quietly opened the heavy door.

The halls were dark and empty except for wall sconces hanging every few feet that lit the hallways with a soft, warm glow. Even after being here for months, she still couldn’t get over the mid-evil feeling of the campus. It was amazing, especially this building. She always felt that if you listened hard enough and sat still long enough, then you would be able to hear its secrets.

Outside of the door to the auditorium Dani stilled. She didn’t want to just rush in there. Yet she knew that she needed to hurry in case there were any Hunters roaming around. Taking another deep breath, she slowly opened the door and walked in.

Stopping just inside the door she paused to look around. Just like the rest of the building at this time of night, it was dark and silent. There were a few lights lining the pathways on the floor, other than that it was pitch black. Though she could not see much, she could feel the vastness of the room. It was massive with many layers of theater seating as well as a balcony.

Dani slowly made her way down the main aisle toward the stage. Where in this room did he fight his last battle? Where did he take his last breath, she wondered, as she sat on the edge of the stage and let her feet swing back and forth. Was it here, on the stage? Or was it closer to the door where he could meet the demons before they could get any closer to the students.

She could almost hear their battle cries and felt their terror, desperation and courage.    The Hunters fought with all they had.  With the acute sensation it was like she was there when it took place.

How horrible it must have been for the students locked in here while their home was under attack.  Did the younger student’s cower in fear while the other students and Hunters protected them or did they pick up a weapon and join the fray?  Young or old Dani knew instinctively that they all would have picked up a weapon to defend what was theirs if they had to.

All of the worry and fear that kept her from coming here was for nothing.  She may have sensed the battle but she felt nothing from her dad.  Oh, how she wished she could talk to him again.  She missed him terribly and just wished that she could talk to him about all of this.  She had a lot of questions for him; where did he get his sword? what did it feel like when he found it? and was it the same feeling she had in her dream?  There was so much that she could say to him or ask him about but the main thing she wanted to know was this; did he think of Dani and Sarah at all during the battle?  Did he regret coming to help?

Dani was thrown out of the auditorium with a dizzying force of speed. When the dizziness had subsided she opened her eyes and found herself on the grounds of the compound. She had no clue how she had gotten here. As she took a look around the grounds, she noticed that something was off. As soon as she took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down enough, she realized what it was. This wasn’t real. This felt the same as her dream. The dream she had just before she was marked. And on the tail of that thought brought another. Would she be marked again? She really hoped not.

Before she had time to think much more about it she took off running toward her dorm room. Though if this was like her dream she had no clue what she thought she would gain by going there. She turned around and ran toward the staff quarters and her uncle, her sword.

Halfway there she was surrounded by the mist that she now knew was a capability belonging only to vampires. Menacing laughter floated all around her. She was trapped. She knew it, and they knew it and there was no one around to help her, there was no way out.

“How did you get past the wards?” she asked in false bravado.

“We had help,” was all she heard. The reply came from nowhere and everywhere all at once. The sound of its voice was terrifying in a way that she had to hold back her cry. Deciding that she had nothing to lose as they were inching closer and closer to her, she started yelling. Yelling for help, yelling in warning, she didn’t know. When she heard an answering war cry to her left, she pivoted to see who it was and what they were doing.

Samuel. He was coming to save her. No, she couldn’t let him. There were too many, he was likely to get killed. That thought sent a terror she had never felt before skidding down her spine. “No Samuel don’t. Go get help. Please don’t. There are too many. Please go.” No matter what she said, he ignored her and kept charging closer and closer to the group of vampires that surrounded her. Once he got close enough, she saw him smirk and swing his sword in a large arc looking every ounce the fierce warrior that he is.

Dani wrenched out of the dream and found herself back in the auditorium. She was shaking, sweating and crying. How had that happened? She couldn’t really qualify that as a dream since she was wide awake when it overtook her.

She hopped off the stage and landed on shaky legs. As she slowly made her way to the back of the auditorium and toward the exit she thought about what had happened. Was it a premonition of sorts or a remnant from battles past? It could be either of those things, though premonition wasn’t a normal talent for Hunters to have. At least not that she knew of.

It was probably just some kind of residual memory or something. She was in the auditorium thinking about and imagining the battle that happened years ago. Her imagination was just in overdrive. Dani shook it off and decided that she would talk to Joe about it later and headed back to her room. And she will admit that she looked over her shoulder the entire way back.