The Lightest Dark (The Dark series Book 1) Read online

  With that taken care of, I head out to the makeshift jail/archive room in the middle of the compound. All the while Tristan followed behind me like a shadow.

  Chapter Two

  The second I stepped into the building I felt something was off in a very bad way. All the anger evaporated and my body went on high alert, taking in every detail of the room from the lack of a guard to the fact that the place looked like it had been ransacked. Blood splattered the walls, books were thrown haphazardly, and power was so thick in the air I could taste it.

  I turned around, everything in me screaming for me to run, but I stood my ground, “Tristan?”

  “Yeah?” he looked around him like nothing was out of place and I had to wonder if maybe it was just me.

  It wouldn’t be the first time I’d lost my grip on what was real and what was a premonition, but it would be the first time I had such a vivid taste of power in one. “What did you do?” my voice trembled as I spoke, letting on just how terrified I was.

  He narrowed his eyes in confusion. “What are you- oh.” Recognition of what was happening to me registered and he started to grasp for me, but I backed up just out of reach. He lowered his hand a look of hurt flashing in his eyes.

  I take a deep breath and close my eyes, trying to stamp down my fear. It was irrational to be afraid of something that hadn’t happened yet, I knew. It didn’t make it any less real to me. I opened my eyes again and turned to see if the vision had faded.

  The place looked immaculate. Not a book out of place and the blood that splattered the pale gray walls seconds ago was nowhere to be see. Evan was sitting behind the desk that hid the door to the hall. The hall led to the only three cells in the compound.

  Not too many people were crazy, or stupid enough to cause problems these days, but there were a few hellions like my brother that wanted to push the envelope a bit and see what would happen.

  That’s where they ended up for a few hours, or days depending on the offense… or their age.

  Evan had a look that told me he thought I was losing my mind. I’ll admit, it was entirely possible. Just for different reasons than he was probably imagining. I turned to Tristan, “Well talk about it later. I can’t make sense of it yet.” He nodded and I turned back to the desk where Evan was sitting.

  Evan Barker is one of the younger ones in the Guardians at 19. He stands at 5”9 with Indigo eyes, raven black hair and the smoothest skin I’ve ever seen. He’s also the strongest, along with the vainest guy here and can probably bench press the building we’re in and not break a sweat.

  Good thing too. I would hate to see how he'd react to the slightest imperfection in his skin should that happen.

  As I make my way toward him the previous look was immediately replaced with his usual cocky smile as he stood up walking around to lean against the desk, crossing his arms and taking a defensive stance. Apparently he knew why I was here. “What can I do for you, Cali?”

  “It’s Calista to you and you know exactly why I’m here so let’s cut to the chase. Why was I not informed my brother was taken to lockup today?”

  “Well, Cali.” His smile widened when my hands clenched at my sides. He knew there wasn’t much I could do being new to the Guardians myself and even though he was a higher up in the Guardians, Tristan wasn’t allowed to say anything on my behalf in this type of situation. He’d be accused of favoritism.

  I was tempted, but assault against another Guardian was a serious offence and I’d be thrown out of the compound if I laid even one finger on him without good reason. Then again, I’d never been entirely rational when it came to my brother.

  I decided to settle on a bit of blackmail. I’d recently started to keep little tidbits about all the guys I had to be around. Strictly a self-preservation method seeing as how I was only friendly with maybe five people here, if that.

  Still, it came in handy when things like this happen with Ryan. “Don’t push me. I have no problem going it alone if it means smacking that smug look off your face,” Insert dramatic pause here, “or maybe I’ll tell the council all about your trip outside the gate with Halley.” His smile dimmed a bit, though not by much. I guess he wasn’t sure if he should call me on it.

  “Ryan decided that he was going to take a dive off of the school watchtower into a pool of chocolate pudding. We asked around, but no one seems to know where it came from. It was just suddenly there. We have him in lockup until he either tells us, or someone comes forward. That’s why you weren’t told.”

  I widened my own smile, stepping forward into his personal space. Judging by how fast the last of his smirk was wiped off his face as he stood up straight with feet shoulder width apart, I’m guessing it wasn’t a nice smile. “Tell me Evan, what is article 57- 8 in the guardian handbook?”

  His frown deepened. “What does the handbook have to do with your delinquent brother?” I ignored the comment instead stating one of many rules I had come to memorize in the last five years.

  “Article 57-8 states that anyone apprehended under the age of seventeen may only be kept in custody a maximum of three hours without the consent of a parent/caretaker. Said parent/caretaker must be notified at the time of apprehension regardless of circumstance. Should parent/caretaker be unreachable you are to escort the captured party to their place of rest as is stated on their compound dossier at the end of the three-hour allotment. Failure to comply will result in the immediate suspension of the guardian in charge at the time of apprehension.”

  “You’re full of it. There’s no way they’d suspend me over something like this. Your brother is a menace. I’m doing the community a favor by keeping him over night.”

  I turned to look at Tristan and I nodded. He turned and went out the door. I turned back to look at Evan. The look of trepidation on his face would have made me laugh if I hadn’t been so irritated.

  “While I realize that my brother has been less than an ideal citizen, we are Guardians. Not barbarians. We need to follow the rules, regardless of personal feelings. I’m guessing something my brother has done in the last few years almost certainly affected you negatively and you did this as a bit of pay back. Like I said. I get it, so this is what’s going to happen. Tristan has just gone to get Alexander. Tell me the real reason I wasn’t called and I won’t rat on you. Give me a good incentive not to throw you into the fire you just started.”

  He smirked, crossing his arms and leaning back against the desk again. I guess he’d decided to call me on my word. “Alex would never suspend me over Ryan. He hates Ryan.”

  I raised an eyebrow at that. “You sound so confident. Then I guess you have nothing to worry about.” I almost laughed at how sure he seemed. Almost.

  To the untrained eye, Lead Guardian Alexander Kelly did hate my brother. The reality of it was he loved my brother, but more often than not, Ryan pissed him off like no one else, hence the misconception. In hindsight this seems to have worked out for Ryan, though I don’t think Alexander will find it as amusing as I do.

  It takes no more than ten minutes for Tristan to come back. Alexander is behind him, a frown on his face as he looks lost in thought, though I’m sure there would be more cursing involved if he knew why he was here. He took in the situation as I take a quick assessment of him.

  Alexander is broad and tall at 6”2. He has steel blue eyes, chestnut brown hair cropped close to his scalp, and a jagged scar above his lip that gives him an edge that otherwise wouldn’t be there. He seems more strung out than usual. I have to wonder if it has anything to do with what I told everyone at the council meeting earlier.

  If anyone there were to take my warning for what it was, it would be Alexander. His gaze keeps bouncing back and forth between Evan and myself. I decide to put him out of his misery and tell him why he was asked over. “I was informed about fifteen minutes ago by Tristan that my brother was taken into lockup and no one bothered to call me.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Understood. Tristan, go ahead and take Cali to get Ryan
. I’m sure you know where the keys are kept.” He turned back to Evan, “Why was she not called?” His voice was calm, but I heard a slight intonation at the end of his statement. It was his only tell. I would definitely not want to be Evan right now.

  As Tristan and I make our way down to the cells, Alexander’s voice continued to rise, getting louder and louder. I couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped my lips.

  “Yeah, when I told Evan a few months ago that anyone who crossed you would regret it, I don’t think he quite believed me.”

  I considered asking how that subject had even come up, but decided against it. Instead I shrugged. “He should have heeded the warning. Now he’s suffering the consequences.”

  We turned the corner and went into a room that had floor to ceiling steel bars going the length of the room to split it in half with two more separating them into three separate cells. I think this room used to be a safe room of some sort for confidential files and the like, but I can’t quite remember the particulars.

  My brother was laying on the cot in the cell farthest to the left, his arm across his eyes. He was covered in a brown sticky substance I could only assume was the chocolate pudding Evan had mentioned earlier. “RYAN!” He jumped up so fast he almost smacked into the bars face first.

  Both Tristan and I started to laugh. Ryan straighten himself up as Tristan got the keys to let him out. I guess he was getting ready for the talk we were going to have the second we got home. It was always the same and this time would be no different.

  Honestly, I understand why he does this kind of thing. If I hadn’t had him to look after, it would have been me in the pool of chocolate pudding… well, maybe not chocolate pudding. Probably butterscotch. I love butterscotch.

  Anyway, my point is that while I understand, as his caretaker I’m not allowed to condone it. It would say that I'm okay with that kind of behavior when I'm not. Not entirely anyway.

  My brother and I are a bit of an oddity in the community and I think that has a lot to do with why he acts out in strange ways, though that’s not the entirety of it. The truth is this incident is one of many over the course of the last year.

  He’s been acting out like this since we lost our mother in a supply run two years ago, but it’s been getting progressively worse the closer my first run gets. I’m hoping that he calms down a bit after that, though I won’t be holding my breath.

  I give my brother a quick once over before we head out. He stands at 5”9 has the same dark red hair that I have, though his eyes are more of an ice blue while mine are a dark silvery color. Everyone else here has a hair color variation between white blond and jet black hair. Not one of them have a shade of red.

  Ryan and I are the only ones with red. Not even our mother had red hair, though she did have the same eyes as me. We never knew our father so we assume that’s where the hair color came from. It seemed the most logical explanation to me anyway.

  Apparently he died just after Ryan was born and our mother moved us here from one of the northern communities though she never talked about it. Only once and that was to tell us what to say should anyone ever ask. If you tried to get her to speak of it anymore she would clam up like a rusty vault door. Try as you might, unless you had the right tool, she wasn’t about to open up.

  With the differences visible in a place that teaches you to always be on the lookout for things that don’t belong, we come up on the radar a lot. Our hair is kind of like having a beacon on the top of our head that says ‘hey look it’s the anomaly! Everyone point and stare’.

  As you can imagine, it gets old fast. Especially in a community where the population just barely reaches 500. You learn to deal, but I don’t think you ever get used to that kind of attention. At least I would hope that you don’t. Guess I’ll find out eventually.

  As we make our way to the front, I notice that it’s gotten quiet. At first I assume that it’s because Alexander took Evan to the council, but the closer to the front we get the more wrong it feels. I stop moving. Tristan and Ryan follow suit, turning to see why I’ve stopped. I look between the two, “Do you feel it?”

  All I get are mirror looks of confusion, though I expected nothing less. “Feel what sis? What’s wrong?”

  I shake my head, “I’m not sure. Something feels… off.” I’m suddenly reminded of the vision I had earlier and a chill goes down my spine causing me to shiver. I’m not sure what it is, but something is niggling at me. “Tristan, I think maybe they changed their plans.” It was the only thing I could think of that would give me this feeling.

  He gives me a sharp look, his entire being shifting from my best friend to the formidable warrior who’d fought and earned the spot of second Guardian. “What makes you say that?”

  I hear him, but it feels like it’s through a fog that’s slowly getting thicker. I feel myself fading as he and Ryan start to argue. I want to tell them to stop, but I can’t open my mouth. I can’t do anything and soon I can’t hear, or see them, though I know my eyes are open.

  It almost feels like I’m lost inside my own mind.

  Chapter Three

  A shrill sound like nails on a chalk board pulls me out of the fog. Comprehension hits me and I find myself in Tristan’s arms as he runs. Ryan’s following closely on his heels and I have no recollection of how I got there. I sucked in a deep breath, feeling like I’d been the one running the more aware of myself I become. The sound that had broken through finally registered and I recognize it as the warning alarm.

  Something was trying to get past the gates.

  My arms went around Tristan’s neck as I tried to shift. I wanted to get the biting wind off my face without throwing off his rhythm. In any other circumstances I’d have told him to put me down, but I knew this time he’d refuse, so I saved my breath. Both he and Ryan ran faster than I ever could, having been gifted with speed.

  I took in my surroundings and gathered that he was headed to our house, or at least that’s what I called it. In reality it used to be a gaming hall/restaurant of some sort, but Ryan, Tristan and I had rebuilt it to suit our needs about six months ago.

  It had mainly been me, seeing as how transmutation can go a long way in turning a wreck into a treasure, but I let them take the credit. I had decided long ago to keep that ability to myself after what happened to the last person who had the ability of transmutation, and -when he found out about it- Tristan had agreed.

  Ryan just went along with it, though I think someone finally told him what happened to the last person with the ability because he’s finally stopped asking why.

  As Tristan came up to our house, I had to wonder exactly why he led us here instead of following protocol and heading to the center of the compound. I watch as Ryan headed in while we remained outside. “What are we doing here?”

  I tried to get down, but Tristan held me in place. If I’d been on my feet I might stand a chance if I could land a kick in the right place, but being that I was in his arms, I didn’t see any point in struggling. He’s closer to Evan in the physical strength department than anyone else, while my physical strength rested somewhere on the other side of that spectrum.

  I’m sure I made a face because he started with, “I’m holding you so get over it. As for what we’re doing here, Ryan and I decided it would be better to come here and grab the getaway bags. Something happened to you back at the cells and we weren’t sure what. Better prepared than stumbling and it gave you a chance to shake off whatever it was before we meet up with everyone.”

  “Good thinking." I admitted, albeit a bit begrudgingly. "I’m not exactly sure what just happened to me. It felt like I was in some kind of fog.” I frowned.

  “All I know is you went as white as the moon and you started to fall, then the alarms started sounding. It could be a coincidence, but I don’t think so. Whatever that is trying to get in, I think it might be after you.”

  I instinctively tightened my grip on him, “You don’t know that. It could be after anyone here. So
me of the others could have had the same reaction.” He wasn’t buying into that lie any more than I was.

  “When we get to the designated area we can ask around, but I think we both know what we’ll find out. Are you sure you want them to know it’s targeting you?”

  I would have argued, but he was right. Even if there was a slight chance what happened to me was a coincidence, it was better no one else knew. No telling how they would handle that.

  At best they might put me in isolation with the expecting mothers thinking they were keeping me safe. At worst they’d throw me to the proverbial wolves… or maybe the literal ones. From what I've been told werewolves came to the surface and they've taken to it like nothing else. The point is, until we know more our lips are better off sealed.

  While I knew he was right, I didn’t have to like it.

  Ryan came out a few minutes later, struggling with three duffle bags. Tristan walked over and without even jostling me, grabbed two and threw them over a shoulder. I narrowed my eyes as he smirked. "Must be nice."

  I got a small thrill as his smirk turned to a scowl. "Shut it, Cali. If you think picking a fight with me is going to get me to put you down, you got another coming."

  "If I was trying to pick a fight with you…," I hesitated.

  Did I really want to start something right now?

  I shook my head, laying down in the crook of his shoulder so I didn't have to make eye contact and had the added benefit of shielding my face once he started running. "Never mind. Just get to the gathering point."

  I could feel his eyes on me. I figure he's debating whether, or not he wants to know what I was going to say. The decision was taken out of his hands when the alarm changed from a warning to the evacuation alarm.

  Whatever it was trying to get in, it had just succeeded. "Cali, what do you want to do?"

  I didn’t even have to think about it. "The south tunnels. If whatever this is really is after me that means it can sense me somehow. Best to lead it away from everyone, or at least try to."