The Darkest Dream (The Darkest Trilogy) (15 page)

“I should call
Marleja
.”
 
Darren announced suddenly, and I almost asked him if he was listening to my thoughts.
 
But then I realized that, considering where they had been going, I probably didn’t want to know the answer to that question.
 

“You should.”
 
I nodded in agreement, taking the sudden change of subject as an end to the former conversation.
 
I had to remember not to get so emotional—to control myself around him.
 

“You should sleep,
”
 
I
shook my head arduously.
 

“No—Darren—that’s all I’ve been doing—”

“Just rest.
 
Even if only for a little while.”
 
And I could tell by the look in his eyes that this would be something I had no choice about.
 
Still, I wanted to protest as much as I could.

“What time is it even?”
 

“Late afternoon—around four, I’d say.”
 
He did not look at the clock and as he rose to his feet, I found myself, almost against my will, laying back into the bed.
 
“Sleep, and when you wake, I’ll have something wonderful for you to eat.”
 

“You’re leaving?”
 
I pulled myself into a sitting position, propping myself up with my arms.
 

“I won’t be gone long.”
 
He told me, and I nervously bit my lip.

What if Demetrius could track me by now?
 
What if he found me?
 
As much as I wanted to kill him, I knew that I had no hope of doing so without Darren—not unless I could control the sun.

And then I realized what Darren had said just a moment ago.

“But it’s still light out.”
 
Four in the afternoon—the sun would be hanging high in the sky, and Darren wouldn’t make it any further than the parking lot.

The corners of his lips turned up ever-so-slightly as he reached for the curtains and drew them back.
 
Through the cloudy glass of the window, I could see that it was completely overcast outside.
 
Not a drop of sunshine as far as the eye could see.
 
The window was splattered with raindrops.
 

“Oh,
”
 
I
said softly.
 
My mind raced, searching for excuses.
 
Even if there wasn’t sunlight
here
, that didn’t meant that the clouds wouldn’t suddenly part and reveal the sun’s pure bright rays.
 
“But—”

“I’ll be careful, Lucinda.”
 

I hesitated for a moment, my mind racing.
 
“What about Demetrius?
 
If you can go out, so can
he
—”

“He hasn’t found us yet.
 
You needn’t worry.”
 
I wondered how he could be so sure—what if Demetrius was blocking him, like Darren was trying to do to
him?
 
What if he was just waiting—?

And suddenly he was on his feet and in front of me, his eyes holding mine as I once again leaned back into the pillows.
 
“You sleep.
 
Don’t worry about a thing.”
 

When he leaned over, I felt my breath catch in my throat.
 
“I’ll come back for you, Lucinda.
 
I promise.”
 

His words were comforting and my heart fluttered wildly as his hands quickly worked to tuck me in.
 
Darren paused for a moment, the back of his hand brushing along the length of my chin.
 
“You’re really an amazing girl, Lucinda.”
 
His dark eyes found mine, holding them for just a moment, until I heard him whisper softly.

“Sleep, my girl.”
 

It only took moments for his gift to take effect.
 

He was there again.
 

The pale, dark-haired man from the dreams I had as a girl.
 

Dreams that continued to comfort me late at night even as I grew older.
 
His presence was so calming, and I could never deny the waves of peaceful stillness that rushed through me as I saw him—as I relaxed into his embrace, reveling in the way our bodies fit perfectly with one another.
 

We were dancing, as we always did.
 
For the first time, I heard the beautiful melody.
 
No longer was I the casual observer standing on the peripheral, watching as an outsider.
 

I had become the girl—I felt the weight of the beautiful gown all around me, the bodice hugging me tightly.
 
The touch of my hair on my shoulders, the feel of his arms around me.
 

I was the girl.

And Darren had become the man.

I realized this with great satisfaction, my heart swelling—though there was something artificial about it.
 
I had no idea if he had always been the man, or if I had suddenly transposed his image onto my dream-man.
 

But I didn’t care.

In my girlhood dream, I knew that I belonged with this man.
 
And more than anything, I wanted to belong with Darren.
 

I felt warm, content—no feelings of fear as I rested my head against his chest, breathing in his scent which was suddenly all Darren.
 
An earthy scent, but warm—comforting.
 
Where I normally would have sensed the ocean, I was now overwhelmed by the scent of rain—calming, relaxing, comforting.

Darren.
 

Then, suddenly, it was gone.
 
I felt a hand beginning to stroke my hair, but everything in my body told me that this wasn’t right.
 

I raised my head to glimpse his face once more—to comfort myself with the knowledge that he was still there with me.

But as I saw the man’s face, I screamed.
 

As fear coursed through me, I yanked myself from his embrace.

Because no longer was he the man I longed for.
 

He had suddenly become the man I loathed.
 

Demetrius’ lips turned up into a cold smile and I continued backing away, knowing I wouldn’t be able to escape him in this place.
 
It was limitless—never-ending darkness, waiting to swallow me up.
 
Every time I’d had the dream, I had never really minded.
 
Always, just as a subtle feeling of trepidation would begin to tickle my spine, the man would arrive—and everything would disappear.

But now, the fear was almost overwhelming.
 

His laughter was enough to stop me in my tracks.
 

“Quite a mind you have here, little girl.”
 

“This isn’t real.”
 
I told him.

“On the contrary, it is very real indeed.”
 
I tried to ignore the panic, ordering my eyes to open and my mind to end this nightmare.
 
“Not at all a nightmare.
 
I believe you’ve been informed of our…special talents.”
 

And again, the panic was undeniable.
 
His voice, so smooth—like music to my ears.
 
“…some can penetrate dreams...”
 

Demetrius’ laughter was cool and callous.
 
“So it would appear that the girl has fallen for the vampire once again.
 
Rather kismet, if you ask me.”
 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
 
He laughed once more, throwing his head back.
 
When he brought his gaze back to mine, his black eyes were still smiling.

“Silly girl…it’s
you
who doesn’t know what you’re talking about.
 
You have no idea.”

“You know nothing.”
 
My voice was stronger than I felt.

“I know much more than you imagine.”
 
He was impossibly close now, and my skin was crawling.
 
Everything in my body told me to run, and I wondered how it was that my mother could have felt no fear around this…thing.
 
“Would you like proof?”
 
Demetrius asked—but he didn’t wait for my response, instead suddenly reaching forward and grabbing my wrist.

The effect was instantaneous.

I was back in my dream—only instead, I was an outsider once more, watching as another version of myself danced with the dark haired man.
 
After a moment, the image shifted to my earlier fantasy—the one in which my loved ones lived, and Darren was a man, and I was both loved and in love.
 
And I was happy.
 

And then the image shifted once more, only this was something I did not recognize—at least not as one of my own memories.
 
It was the scene I’d come upon in the diner the night
Phe
died.
 
Darren, pleading with Demetrius to let my friend go.
 

I could
feel
his emotions.
 

He was nervous, and a moment later, I felt him tense significantly.
 
Through the small window that I had watched the monster kill my friend, Darren caught just the briefest glimpse of my hair.
 
Suddenly, he was filled with a dull panic that I could tell he was trying—and not quite succeeding—to
control,
especially once he heard my gasp.
 

And then
Phe
was falling, and Darren was filled with sorrow—for
me
.
 
Knowing that this loss would hurt
me
.
 

When suddenly I appeared, I knew the reason Demetrius was showing me this scene.
 

Because as I fell to my knees beside my friend, so close to the monster who had just taken her life, Darren swelled with emotion.
 
It was brief—but I felt his undeniable fear.
 
I felt the urgency within him to not only comfort me, but to take me away from this scene, to protect me from a fate he wasn’t sure he could change.
 

But as suddenly as it had come, it disappeared—and I knew Darren had shut himself down, so as to hide his weakness from his enemy.

He couldn’t let his emotions get the best of him.

As Darren watched Demetrius begin to take my life, rage roared to life.
 
And that rage came from a place deep within him.

A place that evolved from love.

Upon my realization, Demetrius’ laugh sounded loudly throughout the infinite darkness that now settled around us.
 
Gone were the images that he had just shown
me,
and the warmth that Darren’s presence had provided me.
 
I hadn’t even noticed feeling safer—more comfortable—until the sensations had disappeared, leaving me cold and alone and frightened.
 

“The innocence of first love…it’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
 
Had he not been a monster, I may have actually been touched by his words.
 
His tone was almost
kind,
his demeanor less intimidating than it had been originally.
 
He seemed touched by the moment—almost fatherly, I couldn’t help but think.

Then, as if realizing what he was displaying, he laughed his now familiar cruel laugh.
 
“A bit unwise, though, darling.
 
Darren is a monster, after all, just like me.”

“Darren is nothing like you.”
 

“I could show you countless images to make you rethink that belief.”
 
And without warning, I was surrounded by screams and maniacal laughter.
 
I closed my eyes tightly and placed my hands over my ears, childishly trying to hide away from what I did not want to see.
 

It didn’t work, however—as the images were in my mind.
 
I saw Darren in various situations—luring females in with a coy smile, viciously tearing into the throats of unsuspecting victims, working alongside Demetrius as they devoured entire rooms of people.
 

I watched the two of them as they tortured a man, his screams unbearable as he pled for help from a woman who could do nothing to save him.
 
I watched as Darren snapped the man’s neck.
 
I felt the devastation pour off of the woman, overwhelming me.

The images continued—images of death and blood and chaos and destruction.

“Stop it!”
 
I finally screamed, unable to take anymore.
 
As if he’d heard me, the wild Darren that I’d never wanted to know looked up at that exact moment, his eyes finding and holding mine.
 
They were the same eyes I’d come to love—so intense, so dark—only now, they were wild, lacking remorse.
 

They were
happy
.
 

“I told you he’s a monster.”
 

“
You
are a monster.
 
You made him that way.”
 
I stood within reaching distance of the man who had killed both my mother and my best friend, and I did not stand down. “One way or another, you’re going to die.”

“You have spirit, I’ll give you that.”
 
He reached out and touched my face, his fingers lingering just a moment too long.
 
“You’ll make a fine vampire, darling.”
 
At this, a shiver worked
it’s
way down my spine.
 
His eyes softened ever-so-slightly.
 
“It’s
funny,
I once said those very words to your mother.”