From the Darkness (Blackwood Vampires Book 1) Read online

  From the Darkness

  By: E.J. King

  From the Darkness

  Grace Hardwick never thought her life would end up like this. She was born into a Vampire hunting family but when her parents were killed, she was sent to live with a foster family. After ten years of a “normal” life, the monsters from her past have returned.

  When Grace is attacked the night of the Homecoming Dance, she is taken to the Darkness- a sanctuary for Dark Souls that have given up killing humans. But not everyone believes that monsters are capable of good, and a group of Hunters is closing in on the Darkness with only one goal- destroying it.

  Grace has been brought to the Darkness at the command of its Premier, William Blackwood. He believes that Grace is the only one that can help save them. William is a centuries-old Vampire and therefore Grace’s sworn enemy, but that is not the greatest challenge Grace faces in the Darkness.

  In a world where nothing is at it seems, Grace must quickly learn who she can trust. She was brought to the Darkness to save it, but it isn’t long before she realizes that the Darkness may destroy her.

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  EPILOGUE

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  Copyright©2016 by E.J. King

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  PROLOGUE

  Grace

  I hated Vampires.

  Aside from the fact that they killed my parents, their disgusting fangs and freaky gold eyes made my blood run cold. I couldn’t stand the sight of them and took no greater joy than in stabbing them in the heart.

  I was a Hunter. My purpose in life was to destroy evil. For the first seventeen years of my life, I had gladly done just that. Hunting wasn’t just my calling- it was something I was born to do. I was good at it.

  All of that changed when I woke up in the Darkness.

  No sunlight. No people. No Hunters.

  Just them.

  They roam freely, protected by the Darkness. They aren’t afraid of me here. This is their home, and I’m just an unwelcome visitor. I’m a walking, talking blood smoothie.

  But the biggest change of all inside the Darkness is that for the first time in my life, I don’t want to kill the Vampires. Or at least, not all of them. Especially not one of them.

  I still hate Vampires, but now I think I might also love one of them.

  I’m so screwed.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Grace

  My life has always been a series of contradictions. I was born into a family of Vampire Hunters and spent my early childhood chasing monsters. After my parents were killed during a hunt, I was raised by a family of mortals. They didn’t believe in Vampires, they didn’t believe in keeping weapons in the house, and they certain didn’t believe in their foster children sleeping with knives under their pillows.

  It was almost like they wanted us to be slaughtered in our sleep.

  They also told me that I had to go to school every day and do my best to make friends. But the kids at school were boring and mean, and they stupidly tried to pick fights with me every day. So it wasn’t really my fault that I kept getting suspended.

  As a final punishment for dumping a bowl of chili over the head of the class president/head cheerleader, I was assigned the ultimate punishment- ticket duty at the homecoming dance. Not only that, but I was required to dress in “appropriate attire.”

  “Damn.” A low whistle followed me as I headed toward the dance floor. I turned to find my best friend, Cole Sanders, leering at me. “You clean up good, Wick.”

  “I hate that nickname,” I muttered, shooting him a glare.

  “Don’t blame me for your last name.” Cole flashed his killer smile. “I can’t believe they got you to put on a dress.”

  I rolled my eyes. “My last name is Hardwick, which you know. And this dress is a form of cruel and unusual punishment as doled out by Principal Beal.”

  “Cruel and unusual looks good on you,” he said, smile growing. “Aren’t you supposed to be taking tickets at the door? Now all the hooligans and rapscallions will sneak in.”

  “You’re an idiot.” I noticed Principal Beal standing at the entrance, giving me the stink eye. It was pretty much the only look she ever gave me. “Now leave me alone. I’m supposed to be checking the backdoor to make sure no one propped it open to let their friends get in without a ticket. This is very important business.”

  “Indeed.” Cole followed close behind as I pushed my way across the gym-turned-dance floor. Surprisingly, I was only groped three times before making it to the other side. “Did you see that? Mindy Louis just stuck her tongue down Parker Ellis’ throat. He’s dating Noelle Briggs. If she hears about this, she is going to pull a Wick on Mindy.”

  I stopped just before the emergency exit and turned to punch him in the arm. “Do not use that bastardization of my name as a euphemism for someone going crazy.”

  “You should be flattered. Everyone at school thinks you are a badass.” He turned serious suddenly, grabbing my arm. “You can’t open this door. It will set off an alarm.”

  “Wow. You believe all the lies they tell you, huh? That’s pretty lame, Coley.” I yanked my arm away and pointed above it to where two wires hung unattached. “This thing isn’t hooked up to anything. The smokers made sure of that.”

  “Ahh. Smart.” Cole nodded appreciatively. “And look at you being all Nancy Drew-like.”

  I sighed and shoved open the door. A blast of heat smacked me in the face. “Keep this door open while I take a quick look around.”

  At first, I didn’t see anything other than a few cars in the faculty parking lot and cigarette butts littering the ground. It wasn’t until a high-pitched giggle pierced the air that I realized we weren’t alone.

  “Isn’t that Norah?” Cole said, pointing toward the bleachers.

  “Son of a…” My hand clenched into a fist. “Wait here.”

  I stormed in the direction of the laughter, muttering swear words under my breath. I hadn’t expected to play the role of chaperone tonight. “Norah Hardwick. What do you think you are doing?”

  In the group of five teenagers, only one of them didn’t look at me. She was blond and pretty, and she looked a lot like myself.

  “Go away,” she said, stumbling over her words.

  My sister was a lot of things- smart, talented, and pretty. But she was never bitchy. She had to be drunk.

  “How much have you had?” I asked automatically.

  “Enough,” she replied, eyes half-closed as she smiled at me.

  “Come on.” I grabbed her arm and yanked her forward. “I need to get you home.”

  “Hey!” One of the guys reached out as if to stop me. A hard glare from me changed his mind.

  “I can’t believe you are drunk,” I said, mostly to myself because Norah was too far gone to comprehend my words. She lea
ned heavily against me and I did my best to support her weight. “Cole, you won’t be getting laid tonight. I need your help getting Norah home.”

  When he didn’t protest, I glanced toward the gym door. It no longer stood open and Cole was nowhere in sight.

  “Damnit, Cole,” I said, looking around. “If you left me here and went back to the dance, I’ll never forgive you.”

  When he didn’t jump out at me from the shadows, I started to panic. It was going to be nearly impossible to carry Norah all the way around the school by myself. A loud thumping noise behind us made me whip my head around.

  “Cole?”

  The four boys we had left at the bleachers all lay on the ground, unmoving. Shadowed figures stood over them, staring directly at me. I caught their gold eyes flashing beneath dark hoods and knew that my past had finally caught up with me. Frantically, I pulled Norah the last few feet toward the door and frantically pulled at the handle.

  It didn’t budge.

  Knowing that we were trapped, I slowly turned around. One hooded figure stood closer to me than the others, its face only a couple of feet from my own. In addition to the animalistic eyes, I could see sharp fangs as it smiled at me.

  “I’ve always wanted to have a Homecoming Queen,” it said, eyeing my dress.

  “Hate to disappoint you, but the only thing I’m the queen of is a bad attitude.” I hated myself for agreeing to wear the dress rather than something that would have allowed me to keep my Hunter knife close at hand.

  “I happen to like sass.” It took a step forward and I braced myself. I was defenseless, but that didn’t mean I would go down without a fight.

  When the Vampire’s arm shot out, I prepared for a blow to my face. Instead, a chemically soaked cloth was pressed over my mouth and nose. I tried to hold my breath, but the smell was so strong I found myself gasping. A second later, my vision went black and my world was replaced with darkness.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Grace

  My head was pounding when I finally forced my eyelids to open. I instantly regretted that decision.

  “Wakey, wakey.”

  I had to blink several times to clear my vision. When my eyes could finally focus, they settled on two men standing across from me. Their gold eyes told me they weren’t men at all.

  “Where am I?” I didn’t bother looking around the room. The shackles on my wrists and ankles made it pretty clear that I was being held prisoner.

  “You’re home, Grace.” The Soul closest to me leaned closer. “Welcome to the Darkness.”

  “The Darkness?” I let out a laugh. “That isn’t at all melodramatic. Where is my sister?”

  The other Soul ignored me. “We should take her to the Council now, Drake. They are going to be very pleased with us.”

  “Settle down, Knox. We have a little time to play with our new friend.” Drake flashed his fangs at me. “We want you to feel at home, Grace.”

  “How do you know my name?” I asked, my blood running cold.

  Drake reached out, his pale fingers twisting a strand of my hair. “You’re asking all the wrong questions.”

  “What question should I be asking?” I said, staring straight into his Vampire eyes. I was pretty sure I was going to die anyway, so there was no use in being scared.

  “If I were you, I would want to know who ordered you to be brought here.” Drake smiled smugly. “I would probably also be begging for my life.”

  “There’s a couple of things you should know about me. One- I never beg. And two- I’ve killed much scarier Souls than you.” I returned his smug smile with one of my own.

  His attack was so swift that I couldn’t prepare myself. He had me pinned to the wall in seconds, my head pushed to the side to expose my neck. I squirmed and futilely struggled against my chains.

  “Let her go, Drake.” Knox’s voice was calm but forceful. “He will be very angry if you harm her.”

  Drake’s fangs skimmed the sensitive skin of my neck and my insides twisted into a knot. I thought I might throw up.

  His lips moved up to my ear and he said, “Soon, love. Soon.”

  Then he was pulling me after him, down a long hallway and up a flight of steep stairs. Walking with my ankles shackled together was more than a little challenging. I almost fell several times, but Drake kept me on my feet with his hand like a vice around my arm.

  At the top of the stairs, we exited the building. The air outside was crisp and electric. Instinctively, I looked up and gasped. The sky was a beautiful shade of purple and appeared to be glowing, unlike anything I had ever seen in real life. It felt like I was trapped in an acid trip.

  “What is this place?” I murmured, not expecting an answer.

  “You’re in the Darkness,” Knox said, as if that explained everything.

  “Thanks, that was really helpful,” I snapped.

  Aside from a few buildings, including the cement one we had just left, the only other thing in sight was a dense forest. If it hadn’t also been crawling with bloodsuckers, the Darkness was actually quite beautiful.

  I didn’t get much time to enjoy it because I was quickly ushered toward another building. This building was nothing like the prison cell I had just left behind. It was massive, and built with smooth white marble.

  “Come, Grace.” Drake yanked my arm. I hadn’t even realized that I had stopped walking, so entranced was I by the monument before me. “The Council is waiting.”

  I swallowed hard and followed him up the smooth steps, my heart pounding in my chest. I had never heard of the Council, but any official gathering of Souls couldn’t be a good thing. My expected presence before them had to be an even worse thing.

  I looked down at the steps as I climbed and was surprised to find that I was still dressed in my dance attire- black cocktail dress and silver flats. It wasn’t the outfit I would have chosen to wear before a council of Vampires, but I didn’t exactly have a choice.

  We stepped into a large foyer that was lit by a chandelier comprising of seemingly a thousand candles. As I gazed up at it, I wondered how they kept it lit. It was a silly thing to worry about, but at least I hadn’t given into the overwhelming panic that kept threatening to overpower me.

  On the opposite side of the large foyer, a line of guards stood in front of an oversized wooden door. Drake flicked a hand, dismissing them. “The Council is expecting us.”

  Though the guards’ faces remained stony, I detected contempt in their eyes. Not contempt for me, the human, but contempt for Drake. Naturally, he was oblivious as he tapped his foot impatiently while the guards opened the door.

  I lifted my chin as we marched into the room. Sure, I was probably marching toward my death. But I could at least live my last moments by my own terms. I could keep my head up and not cower before these monsters.

  The talking in the room stopped abruptly and dozens of sets of gold eyes turned in my direction. Drake squeezed my arm even harder, enjoying his control over me. I kept my eyes straight ahead as I shuffled beside him, ignoring the flashes of fang as we passed through the crowd.

  Before us, a horseshoe shaped table held thirteen official-looking Souls. Four dressed in red, four in blue, and four in white. I quickly scanned each of them, but my eyes locked onto the man in the middle. He was the only one wearing black, the only one that didn’t appear ready to rip out my throat.

  All Vampires were beautiful. It was part of the deal. With immortal blood in their system, they didn’t have to worry about sun damage, wrinkles, and pimples. Their skin was unblemished, their hair lush and shiny. Their bodies were cut like marble statues. I had grown used to their abnormal beauty because I knew that when they were ready to feast, their true demonic form would appear. Fangs and wild eyes, faces contorted with bloodlust. When I looked at Souls, that was what I had trained myself to see.

  But I couldn’t trick myself into seeing that when I looked at the young man in black. As I stared at him, enthralled by his beauty, he stared right back at me.
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  “Your majesty.” Drake bowed dramatically. “I am pleased to report that after ten long years, we have found her. This is the Mulier Fortis.”

  I flinched, racking my brain for a translation and coming up empty. I wondered if perhaps Drake had just insulted me in Latin. Given how he had behaved toward me so far, it wouldn’t be surprising.

  The Soul before me nodded slowly, his eyes unblinking as he looked me over. I felt myself beginning to blush as his eyes raked my body.

  “Why is she shackled?” His voice was both deeper and softer than I had expected.

  “She is still a Hunter, brother,” Drake said, a laugh playing in his voice.

  I noticed the exchange. Drake had called the Soul both “your majesty” and “brother.” I wondered what that meant.

  “Unbind her,” the Soul said, betraying nothing in his impassive face. “She has nowhere to run and the magics will suppress her fighting abilities.”

  Knox swept in quickly and began to unlock the shackles. His fingers were icy cold on my skin.

  “Have you been harmed?” he said, staring directly into my eyes.

  “No.” I didn’t think it was necessary to tell him that I had been drugged and abducted. He had probably been the one to order my capture. “These shoes are starting to hurt though.”

  I was surprised to see the faintest hint of a smile play at the corners of his lips. I amused him.

  “We can take care of that.” His eyes darted to his left. “Octavia, be sure to find our guest appropriate footwear.”

  Guest? I couldn’t imagine a situation where a prisoner would be called a guest, but it had just happened.

  “Of course, your majesty.” Octavia glared hard at me, her gold eyes narrowed in disgust.

  “Is there anything else we can do to make your stay more comfortable?” The Soul sounded bored, as if he was only asking because he had to. He didn’t really care about my answer.

  “You could all die,” I replied with a surprising amount of sass. Apparently I had a death wish.