The Scarlet Dagger (The Red Sector Chronicles, #1) (31 page)

I crossed my arms, still glowering at Aden. “How much did you see?”

“
Only snippets, brief flashes of places and people,” he replied calmly. “You can never see full memories from drinking someone’s blood, only pieces of them.”

I paused, remembering how I’d seen memories of Leo and me when I had bit him. He was right; I’d only seen “snapshots” of our time together.

I gave him a curt nod, as if to say “I trust you.”

He clasped his hands together, and I decided to change the topic. “I didn’t tell anyone about the base, in case you’re wondering.”

Aden shrugged, looking as if he could care less. “I’ve never been particularly worried about anyone finding it. Humans never want to believe in the impossible, in the real, live horrors that walk this wretched earth.” He suddenly sounded thousands of years old, despite the fact he had only been a vampire for less than two years. “People have known about us for centuries, ever since the Dark Ages, yet history and science have painted us to be nothing more than a myth. Those who have seen us convince themselves it was a dream, that they were hallucinating when they saw our fangs, that it was a trick of the light when our eyes glowed red as we licked a drop of blood from our lips.”

I thought about what Aden said, staring at the coffee table, but it was hardly enough to divert my thoughts from what was really bothering me. “I didn’t mean to,” I said softly. “I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“
And you didn’t.” Aden put a hand on my arm, and I felt his warmth through my shirt sleeve. “Just as you didn’t mean for Orion to die the way he did, which, by the way, also wasn’t your fault.”

I stared forward, distant. “I don’t really know what to believe anymore.”

“
Forgive yourself.”

Aden said it with such fire that I turned to look at him. “You can’t wallow in misery over things of the past. Trust me, I’ve been there.”

I blinked, wondering about something. “When we went out to dinner,” I said carefully, “you had a photo. You said the man in the picture was your father, right?”

Aden tensed, pulling away from me, but I placed my hand over his. “Please,” I said. “I want to know.”

His eyes grew hard, his expression guarded. He glanced down at my hand and sighed. “Yes, he was my father. Still is, I suppose.”

“
So he’s alive?”

“
Yeah,” Aden spat. “He’s probably still living in Pittsburgh, right where we left him, or rather, where he left us.”

I listened as Aden opened up to me. “My father was a politician, always trying to get ahead. He finally won the job of Mayor, and things were going well for a while… until I was changed.”

I thought of the man’s face, and another memory came back.
That’s where I’ve seen him before, in the newspaper and on TV. He was the Mayor of Pittsburgh before my mom took over as Sovereign.

“
What happened?” I asked softly.

Aden smirked. “Believe it or not, I was quite the rebel. I used to sneak out of the house and go to wild parties, drinking and smoking and getting high. Really idiotic things, now that I think about it.”

I was surprised. Cool, collected Aden had never struck me as the wild, “bad boy” type.

“
One night,” Aden said, “I was completely hammered, so much that I was blacking out. I must have passed out on my way to the bathroom, waking up in a pool of my own vomit, because the next thing I knew, this shadow was leaning over me. I thought I was hallucinating – it was a guy, that much I could tell, but he looked odd, like he had fangs. He told me everything was going to be all right, and then I blacked out. Then, I woke up down here with this pounding headache and two bite marks on my neck.

“
I was so gone, I didn’t even remember my own name. Paris was the first person I met here, other than Dezyre, who saved me. Turns out, my body didn’t take to the change so well, something to do with the blood of the vampire who made me.”

My mind was hooked around one detail. “Dezyre Drake saved you?”

Aden blushed, looking away. “She’s not all bad. We dated for a little while,” he mumbled. “But though I was grateful she had ultimately saved my life, I couldn’t develop anything more than gratitude toward her. We broke up about a week before you arrived.”

So that’s why she was so hateful toward me. She thought I was moving in on her man.

I’d have to mull that one over some other time. “How did your mom become a vampire?”

Aden’s eyes darkened to indigo. “I went back to tell her what had happened about a month later. Paris thought I was crazy, but I went anyway. My dad flipped out, saying he didn’t want anything to do with me, that I was going to hell and he didn’t need anything tarnishing his reputation, even though he ended up losing his job to your mom a few months later.”

I winced. His dad sounded so much like my mom.

“
The morning after he had moved out, I found my mom sitting alone in the living room, staring at a picture – the one you saw – in her hand. She had been up all night crying. Just when I thought she may scream at me to get out, her bloodshot eyes met mine. I had never seen her look so haunted.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “Without saying a word, she held out her wrist, inviting me to drink.”

“
So you changed her?”

“
Believe me, I didn’t want to.” His face was pained. “But she begged me, and so I did. Then we both came here, abandoning our old lives.”

I sat back, absorbing all this. “I’m sorry about your dad, for what he did to you and your mom.”

He shrugged. “Don’t be. I’m not.”

Aden rose, rubbing his palms against his jeans. “You’d better eat that while it’s still edible,” he said, pointing to the tray.

“
Aden,” I called and he stopped, turning around.

I stared at him, unsure why my heart started beating so fast. “Thank you. For telling me, that is.”

He nodded, almost walking away, but then paused. “I almost forgot about this,” he said, pulling a box from his pocket.

I groaned, remembering the chip inside. “No way am I letting Paris put that thing back in my arm. Do you have any idea what I went through to get it out?”

He handed it to me. “Chill. I was just going to tell you to throw it away.”

“
Oh.” I sat the box in my lap, then looked up at him, puzzled. “Why the change of heart?”

Aden’s eyes danced. “I think you know.”

I blushed, not sure how to respond, but thankfully I didn’t have to. He smiled at me, making me flush deeper, and strolled to the door before letting himself out.

I sighed and fell back against the couch. No wonder Aden hadn’t wanted me to go to the surface. It wasn’t job related – it was because he had first-hand experience in being shot in the back by his family.

Maybe he wasn’t a villain, as I had thought. But if he wasn’t working for Nero, why did he share the same spice scent? What game was he getting at?

I closed my eyes, suddenly tired. Sleep came, accompanied by the feeling of Leo’s lips upon mine. But this time, they didn’t bring their usual wave of guilt.

This time, I felt regret.

Chapter
28

When Monday came, I returned to the academy. Angel looked visibly relieved to see me.

“
Did you go?” she hissed to me during calculus.

“
Yeah.” I gave her a small smile. “Thanks for covering for me. The camera thing was great.”

She waved my praise away. “And?”

I sighed. “I said goodbye.”

“
Oh. Good, then.”

And that was that. She didn’t bring it up the rest of the day, bless her. I guess I really did look that sullen, trying to push Leo from my mind.

Following Aden’s suggestion, I’d thrown the chip away. Seeing as I’d only been gone one night – and since the chip apparently really was dead – no one had noticed anything out of the ordinary. I tried really hard to banish my memories of Leo, to forget about the kiss we had shared and what that meant. My biggest regret was never seeing him again. How could I ever face him? The kiss made things twice as bad.

It doesn’t matter. You’re never going back there. This is where you belong now.

I spent a lot of time worrying about the virus, wondering when they would unleash it. I wanted to stop it down here, to head it off before it ever had a chance of reaching the surface, but I had no idea how I was going to go about doing that. Despite that dilemma, I felt marginally better after warning Leo. At least someone up there knew what the vampires were planning, and I prayed Leo would heed my premonition before it was too late. That somewhat eased my guilt, knowing I had possibly saved his life. I could forgive myself if he lived.

Word had spread about my fight with Rook, and the other vampires more or less started to accept me as one of their own. Some of the other soldiers – mostly my classmates, the ones who were there to see the fight – even started treating me with respect. I was thankful for the acceptance, as it meant I didn’t have to worry about trying to constantly tune out everyone’s hatred and anger. Though I kept my mental block up, I still stayed alert for any “warning signs,” like the one I received at the arcade right before the shooter fired. But life remained blissfully dull, and I preferred it that way. It made it easier to settle into a routine.

Before I knew it, three whole weeks had flown by, and we were less than seven days away from Christmas. It didn’t feel like it, being underground. Festive wreaths and twinkling white lights had been hung along the walls and doors, and from the ceiling, cheering up the base a bit. Aden said it was a way for us to hold on to our humanity.

I noticed a definite change in the air as Christmas Eve approached. Everyone seemed more excited, and I couldn’t blame them. Somehow, I still managed to feel a bit melancholy, though I tried not to let it show. No use in bringing down everyone else’s spirits.

“
So,” Angel piped up one day.

“
So what?” We were walking down the hall together toward the mess hall.

She looked so excited, she could hardly control herself. “Has Aden asked you yet?”

My eyes narrowed. “Asked me what?”

“
Oh, that’s right. It’s your first year here. It’s still somewhat of a new tradition, as we only started this last year, but on Christmas Eve, we hold a Holiday Ball, right here at the base. It’s glorious!”

I blanched at the thought of dancing. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.”

“
No!” Angel tugged on my arm, pouting. “Please come! It’ll be a lot of fun, I swear!” She blushed, looking uncharacteristically shy. “I’m going with Rook.”

“
Shut up! You are not.”

She nodded, grinning ear to ear. “He asked me last week. I thought, you know, we could all go together.”

I sighed. “Angel, I can’t dance. Besides, I don’t have anything to wear.”

Though I had gotten my first paycheck, they’d taken out a big chunk for court costs and hospital bills, which sucked. (I thought that was totally unfair.) What little Krillion I had left in my account had to last me through the next month, as I’d still need to buy groceries or have enough to cover a meal at the base. Right now, food definitely trumped a fancy dress.

“
Oh, leave that to me.” Her eyes glittered mischievously. “I’m sure we can find you a dress.”

I hoped she didn’t mean my borrowing her clothes. Somehow, I thought I’d never be able to get anything of hers to fit, she was so petite.

“
But I don’t have a date,” I argued.

She winked. “Yet.”

Angel looked past my shoulder, and I turned around to see Aden walking up to us. She started slipping away. “I’m going to go see if I can find Rook. See you inside.”

I tried to grab her, suddenly freaked out to be left alone with Aden, but Angel just gave me a knowing smile and disappeared through the doors.

“
Hey,” Aden said, sounding a bit out of breath. “I thought I was going to miss you. I got tied up with my last class.”

I folded my arms, feeling very exposed, and shrugged. “Angel and I are just getting here ourselves. Class ran over a bit.”

Aden nodded, and we stood there while other personnel and students passed us. I looked anywhere but at him. Now that Angel had mentioned it, they all seemed to be talking about the approaching ball. I supposed I was too wrapped up in thwarting the virus and thinking about Leo to notice much of the gossip going on around me.

“
Sloane,” Aden said, and my head snapped forward.

“
Yes?”

He smiled. “There’s this event coming up –”

“
The Holiday Ball?”

He nodded. “Angel told you, I see.”

“
Are you surprised?”

He laughed. “No.” His eyes turned smoldering. “I don’t suppose she also told you I was planning on asking you to be my date?”

My heart trembled, and I cleared my throat. “Um, yeah, she, uh, might have mentioned it.”

“
So will you go? With me?”

I searched his eyes, my mouth hanging open. After an awkward silence, I found my voice. “Yeah, sure. It sounds like fun.”