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

  I still hadn't looked at him, but I felt him nod. The next second I felt the tiny pinpricks of the wind against me as he ran. I looked behind to make sure Ryan had followed. I had no doubt he could keep up, but sometimes he had a tendency to do what he felt like, not what was necessary and you never knew which he’d choose.

  I really wish I hadn't looked.

  About twenty miles behind Ryan was something with wings moving so fast all I could see was a blur of color. There are very few things that can move fast enough that I can’t see it clearly and only two of them were any kind of good, at least that I’d encountered. This one was definitely not a good one. "Tristan, a blur with wings is coming up on us."

  “A blur?” I heard the note of panic and tightened my grip, burying my face in his shoulder as he picked up speed. We both knew it wasn’t going to be enough. Even at his fastest I could still see him clearly. Ryan was another story. He still stood a chance of getting out of here.

  I lifted my head, ignoring the sting as the wind hit my skin. “Ryan run ahead as fast as you can! Don’t argue just go!” I’m guessing he read the fear on my face because he just nodded and the next second I couldn’t see him anymore. I turned so that I could speak to Tristan without screaming. No telling how good this thing’s hearing was. “When I tell you to, I want you to stop.”

  He gave me a searching look, “You sure about that? I can’t guarantee we won’t get hurt.”

  “You let me worry about what happens after. I’m hoping this thing has the same problem.” It was wishful thinking, but that nagging voice in the back of my mind was telling me I was on to something. I was also about to attempt something I’d never done before. Well, at least not on a scale this large.

  Here’s to hoping it works.

  I took in the blur with wings that was coming up on us at an incredible rate. Where it had been twenty miles out a few seconds ago, it was now less than a mile away. That meant I needed to act quickly. I also needed to be precise, or this could go horribly wrong.

  Taking in some much needed air, I blocked out my surroundings and concentrated on the creature. Suddenly there was a brick wall right in front of it.

  Just as I saw debris flying from the creatures impact I yelled, "Stop!" While simultaneously creating an opening that led to the underground tunnel I knew was beneath us.

  We both went down, tumbling upon impact as I closed the hole behind us. Not an easy task with one hundred and eighty pounds of muscle crushing me into the not so soft concrete every few seconds, but I managed if only just barely.

  We finally stopped with me sprawled on top of him, dazed with cuts and marks that I had no doubt would bruise before the day was out. I could see our bags a few feet away from us, thankfully undamaged. I rolled off him after a second, trying to catch my breath.

  Tristan seemed like this didn't faze him and started to stand back up, but thought better of it. Instead he waited for me to get my wits about me. I took a minute longer than necessary, relishing the fact that I had an advantage over him.

  Tristan may be extremely fast. He may have super strength, combat training, healing abilities, and an array of other skills I'm probably not aware of despite how long we've been friends, but I had something he didn't.

  While he may be able to see up to a mile during the day, he had nothing in the way of night vision. I on the other hand, had the ability to see almost everything within a seven-mile radius, regardless of lighting. Probably why I’d been stuck on night watch so long.

  He nudged me a bit, I assume to make sure I was conscious. "I'm good. I'm pretty sure I just had the wind knocked out of me is all." I started to stand up and he followed suit. After I was sure I wasn’t going to fall back down, I led him to where the bags landed.

  While he grabbed them as I took inventory of where we were. He hooked his finger around a loop in my shorts, then we started to head out of the compound. He followed in silence for a while, but I knew it wouldn't last. Sure enough five minutes into our journey, "Can I just ask what the hell you were thinking?"

  I held back a grin, knowing he'd hear it in my voice, "I was thinking I needed to get us away from that thing."

  "Yeah, I get that part, but did you really have to reconfigure, or whatever to get us out? We could have gotten stuck in the ground, or something. You need to think before you do that kind of crap." I held the laugh in as I felt him shiver at the thought of being trapped.

  "But we weren't. I have a lot more control over this ability than you apparently think I do." I'd added bit more bite to my tone than I intended with that statement, but I was a little irritated with him. True, I'd only practiced on a small scale before today, but that was beside the point. Let him think I’m mad. It’ll get him off the subject quicker.

  He sighed, "That wasn't what I meant. I-you-" he cursed. "Look. I think it's more the shock of you can do something like that, rather than I thought you couldn't control it. Anyway, did you happen to see what it was?"

  "I did, but you’re not going to like it. Watch your step." I pushed a particularly thick bunch of cobwebs out of the way before leading us forward over a row of brick that had raised up from the ground. His hold on my shorts strained as he tripped over them and a string of curses follow. I have to hold in a laugh once again.

  In all honesty I could have manipulated something into a light for him, but he didn’t know that. He hated having to rely on anyone for anything and in moments like this I’d like to think I’m helping him put things in perspective…

  Okay, so I’m really doing it for my own amusement. I’ll eventually make a light for him one of these times, but for now let him suffer. That’s what he gets for underestimating me. Not to mention that without being able to see, he can’t carry me. I’m sure he’ll get me back for it, but for now it’s worth it.

  “How long till we catch up with Ryan, do you think?”

  He doesn’t answer, instead pulling me to a stop. I turn getting ready to ask why he stopped me when I hear something. It sounds like something is scratching at the ceiling above us. My eyes widened in surprise. I looked over to see him with a smug look on his face. “You going to tell me what it is now?”

  “I think it’s a Seeker.”

  Seekers’ are usually a cross between a fallen messenger angel and a scavenger demon though the council have discovered a few variations. They always finish the job, have more patience than most, and can find anything for a price, though the extent of their abilities usually depends on how powerful their parents are.

  The only way to identify a seeker is a series of tribal markings that look like vines wrapping around the right arm. The more powerful they are the more they have and a few that had been mentioned in the council record books have them on both arms.

  From the fact that this one has wings, speed and not only both arms but most of his chest covered in the intricate black lines, I’m guessing this one is in a league all its own.

  The thing that concerns me is what his intent is. They’re usually paid to find and kill, though not always. The fact that I’m still breathing and how impatient and determined this one is to get to me quickly… I can’t say for sure, but I have a feeling he’s been paid to pretty much kidnap me.

  Oh joy.

  Chapter Four

  We both stood there looking at the ceiling, though I wasn’t sure why. I felt like we should have been doing something to get away from the creature, not closer to it. It seemed smart to me anyway. I’m sure Tristan had other ideas as usual. Stubborn. I have no other word for it except maybe determined, but I don’t think that covers it entirely.

  He was more of a ‘destroy now ask questions later’ type of guy. Always has been, and I'm sure that probably won't be changing any time soon. Not that I couldn’t wish for it, but I was a bit more realistic than that. That saying ‘if wishes were fishes’ comes to mind.

  In all honesty, that kind of mentality was probably the reason he was still standing here, but I couldn’t figure out why I was. I w
as more of a flight than fight kind of person. If something is scaring me I’m out of there as fast as my feet will take me. Probably why I was questioning my own actions.

  Maybe it was a misguided sense of loyalty, but I felt compelled to stay and make sure we both got out of this in one piece. It may be a first for me when it came to Tristan, but then I’d never really been in this kind of situation with him. Thinking on our options, I knew I was seriously crippled in the physical department, but that didn’t mean I was completely useless.

  Especially since I didn't have to protect Ryan at moment. With any luck, he'd be in the safe house munching out on whatever kind of food was there. It was actually really likely seeing as how he was a lot faster than us. Even more so since we were standing in one spot instead of trying to get to safety like any sane person would.

  After a few minutes Tristan shook his head in confusion. “Who would want you badly enough to unleash a seeker on the compound? You’re nobody.”

  I guess I’m not the only one to come to that kind of conclusion, though I wasn’t too sure that comment hadn’t been an insult in disguise. If it was, I’m choosing to ignore it. Bigger fish and all. “Your guess is as good as mine. I've never been seen out of bounds and unless you count today, I've been keeping to myself lately.” I shivered, “Too many visions.”

  He nodded like he understood, but we both knew he didn't. It was better to ignore that elephant in the interest of not starting a fight at the moment. That would be all we needed.

  Us arguing and screaming at the top of our lungs making it easier to find us. May as well wave a blazing sign that says we’re right here, though even being relatively quiet, it seems this thing can still pinpoint us somehow.

  I shook my head trying to focus on the question that Tristan just asked me. He gave me an annoyed look, but repeated himself. "Was it just the right arm, or did both have markings? I need to know what kind of attack I should be planning."

  I hesitated.

  While I knew something like that had to be going through his head, I wasn't sure I wanted to let him know how bad this could get. Granted, his knowing would be beneficial seeing as how he'd dealt with seekers and similar demons before, but at the same time he'd end up more focused on trying to destroy it than getting out of here in one piece.

  I’d seen him do it in training, and heard about him doing it on numerous occasions. I wasn’t about to have that happen with something like this. Like I said. I was interested in getting the two of us out of this alive. In one piece preferably, though I had a feeling I might only be able to pull that one off by the skin of my teeth, if at all.

  Instead of answering, I crouch down and pick up a medium size rock then grab his hand placing it there, my hand still covering it. After a second I take mine away and light floods the tunnel. That should distract him. I wasn’t so sure if it would be good or bad for me in the long run, but it was a distraction all the same.

  It takes him a minute to adjust to the change in lighting, but he's soon giving me a look of disbelief. "After all the times we've been down here and I had to hold your belt loop to get around, you could have just turned a rock into a light? Seriously?"

  Rather than answer, I scoffed and gave him an indignant look hoping to turn it around on him. "What exactly do you think transmutation is? I mean I know you've never seen me do anything on a large scale before today, but I thought you'd at least have grasped the concept of it by now. I've told you enough about it and you saw all that I did in our house."

  "Not really getting it I guess. I mean I know you've told me about it, but it seemed like a lot of science. Not my strongest subject. I’m more of a tactics kind of guy. Give me a game of chess and the ability to out maneuver my opponent any day. I just get confused with the atoms and chemicals and all that nonsense. Too complicated."

  "Seriously?" He shrugged. I shook my head but said for what felt like the hundredth time, "As long as I know the basics on what it's made of and what I want it to be, I can change it." I shook my head knowing that the statement was going to be forgotten as soon as it left my lips. “For the record, I find science a lot less complicated than chess. At least with science there’s usually the same answer to a problem every time. Same with math.”

  “Say what you will. It’s still all just gibberish to me.”

  Suddenly the scratching above us stopped and I was on the receiving end of a seriously scathing look. "Now that you've distracted me and put both our lives in danger, you mind finally answering the question of how big his marks were."

  I closed my eyes, peeking through one slightly, as I awaited the explosion of curses that were about to fly my way. "Both arms and most of his chest." One second my feet are firm on the ground, the next I'm over Tristan's shoulder and he's running faster than I've ever seen him move. Not one word came out of his mouth. "I'm going to assume this is worse than I thought."

  "That wasn't a seeker."

  Okay, color me confused. That was the only thing I knew of with marks like that. "Then what was he?"

  "Hunter. They don't tell the newbies about them because of how rarely they travel to the surface. They're about ten times more powerful than a Seeker and they're twice as cunning. That also explains the wings."

  My eyes opened in surprise, "What the hell does it want with me?"

  "I'm not sure. From what I understand, they only come to the surface for a few reasons. A mission from Belial, or one from Lucifer himself are two. There’s a few others I know of, but they’re not really relevant to why it would be after you. Our knowledge on them is kind of limited. You don't normally survive an encounter with a Hunter."

  I went quiet. Instead of my usual smart comments, I listened to Tristan’s footsteps as he ran. My mind became a cacophony of thought, blocking out all other sound. It wasn't until Tristan came to a full stop that I realized he'd been trying to ask me something.

  I shook my head, but that only made me dizzy seeing as how I was still upside down. "What?"

  "I asked if you knew which way we're going." I felt myself being lifted off his shoulder and placed on my feet. His arms holding me steady as I sway from the shift of blood in my head, and if I was being honest, I was starting to feel a bit of the weirdness from earlier though not as badly. "You okay?"

  I looked up at him. He looked concerned and I couldn't blame him. This was the second time I'd almost passed out in as many hours. I shrugged.

  “Honestly Tristan, I have no idea. This is a lot to process for me on top of what happened earlier. I'm not like you where strange creatures are after me on a daily. And before you start jumping off to conclusions, no that was not a stab at your choice of career. It was an observation."

  "Well, I have to admit, even I'm a bit worried here. Not every day you see a and live to tell the tale. They normally don’t leave any witnesses. They only reason I know of them is because of Alex."

  "I'm scared to ask, but do you know what it wants me for?"

  He sighed, "I wish I had an answer, but I don't. The only thing I can think is maybe you somehow ended up on the Devil's radar as far-fetched as that is. Now before that thing catches up to us, do you know where we are? I'm usually following so I haven't paid as much attention as I probably should have. I can't remember which tunnels we take after this point."

  I had a feeling he was lying, but now wasn’t exactly the time to call him on it. Instead I turned out of his hold and walked toward the three tunnels that branched out from this one, studying them. "How many have we passed through? I couldn't tell from how you were carrying me."

  "This is the sixth tunnel. I went left, right, left, right, right and now we're here."

  I nodded, seeing the underground layout in my head. "We've got three more to go after this one." I started forward. "The sixth is a middle tunnel, seventh is middle to last, eighth is right and ninth is third from the left. If we were going to the beach rather than the safe house you'd take the second from the right. Not that that’s any kind of relevant at the
moment."

  "Good to know." A shiver went down my spine as all the hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention for the second time today.

  That definitely wasn't Tristan’s voice. Not even close.

  "Tristan?"

  I started to turn when a set of powerful arms covered in intricate black vines with a metallic silver undertone were suddenly wrapped around me. One covering my mouth, the other wrapping around my middle like a steel band.

  Instinct kicked in and I started to struggle, my arms hitting every available surface it could reach to no avail. I may as well be trying to hit a brick wall for all the damage I was doing. It might be more effective.

  "You may as well calm yourself. You're not getting loose anytime soon. Not unless I want you to and after that stunt with the wall your wonder boy pulled, I'm really not feeling any kind of generosity toward anyone. He’s lucky to be breathing at this point."

  Something about what he said struck a chord with me, however I couldn’t figure out why. Instead I let out a miffed breath, but stopped struggling. I knew he was right about me getting free and if I wanted to get out of this with as little damage possible, I knew I had better cooperate... at least for now. The second I knew I could get away without consequence; I was gone like a fish in a shark tank.

  "Good girl. Now I'm going to take my hand off your mouth. You scream, or yell and I kill your friend. Nod if you understand me." It took a second of debate, but I nodded. I had no way of knowing if Tristan was okay to begin with, but something told me if I didn’t cooperate I might never find out.

  After a second he took his hand away. I didn't say anything at first, but I had to know. "Is he okay, or are you messing with my head?" It was a legitimate question. One I could end up regretting, but I wanted an answer all the same. Lucky for me he took it for what it was.

  "He fine just knocked out. See for yourself." He turned me around and sure enough I could see the steady movements of his chest as he lay unconscious. I went to move toward Tristan, but he stopped me. “Not happening. He’s fine, as you can see. No need to get any closer to him. I’d hate to have to knock you out too.”