Darkness Fades (Darkness Falls Series, Book 3) Read Free Page B

down.
    When my feet gracefully land on the ground,
I hurry to my left and head for the desert land that stretches
towards the caves. Aiden gets his footing and moves quickly with
me, motioning at me to go faster. So I do. My legs and arms drive
my body past its breaking point until I feel like I’m going to
crack apart. Even then, I go faster.
    The monsters begin to fade into the
distance, however their howls and cries still pierce the air, so I
keep moving; going forward, racing through the sand, around bushes,
cacti, my eyes fixed ahead of me. I could probably go on for days,
but I eventually slow my pace down to a jog then conclusively to a
walk when I feel we’re safe enough away and the howls have finally
dissipated.
    Aiden slows down with me, walking at my side
while looking content and sort of happy, which is strange.
    He’s not panting, nor am I. Our hearts
aren’t beating, but our skin is damp with sweat. We’re both
unnaturally calm and it starts to click in my head that maybe we’re
abominations, too.
    “So are you going to tell me what those
things are?” Aiden finally asks, peering up at the dark sky.
    “I’m not one-hundred percent sure.” I shrug
as I sidestep around a bush. “All I know is that’s what Dominic
turned into—and he said he was an abomination. Half vampire, half
human... some sort of mutated hybrid.”
    Aiden slams to a stop. “Wait, isn’t that
what we are? A mutated hybrid?”
    I halt and turn to face him. “Well, Dominic
said we weren’t. He said we’re something different, although he
never said exactly what, but the abominations are more vampire than
human. These gross beasts with no sense of pain, fear or mercy that
will kill anything. We still have our will left—our sense of
humanity—for the most part.” I breathe in quietly and gaze out at
the land. “I probably could have learned more, but I ended up
having to kill Dominic when he attacked... Sylas and me.”
    “Have you ever seen them in groups before?”
he asks, leaning to the side and catching my eye, his expression
unemotional. “The beasts, I mean?”
    I shake my head. “I’ve only seen two and
they were by themselves.”
    “Where did they come from?” he wonders. “I
mean, I’ve never seen one before, so why all of a sudden? And why
were they running in packs like that?”
    “I’m not sure… maybe Monarch and Gabrielle
are creating them now. That would explain the sudden onset of
them.”
    “Why would you think that?”
    “Because of the cells. There was blood and
scratches all over inside them... and I heard stuff… horrible
stuff…” I trail off, trying not to shudder because it’d make me
look weak. “I think that they may have been creating them there and
I think they might be using them as weapons, like they send them
out to attack or something.”
    Since I’m divulging everything right now, I
decide to let him in on everything, unsure how he’ll react. “Aiden,
there’s something I need to tell you about Sylas… when he was
attacked by Dominic… he was… he was bit. He started changing into…”
I shut my eyes and force a lump down my throat. “Something else
when we were captured by the Highers. I’m not sure what he
is right now.” When I finish, I open my eyes.
    “So you’re saying he’s going to turn into
one of those monsters?” he asks, his voice tight.
    “You sound upset.”
    “Because I am,” he replies, his jaw set
tightly.
    “But I thought you hated him.”
    “I don’t hate him.” He looks at me and I see
honesty burning in his eyes. “Just because he’s done some things in
the past that I think are wrong, it doesn’t mean that I don’t care
about him. Besides, I wouldn’t want anyone to have to become one of
those things.” He starts walking again and I follow him.
    My thoughts drift to Sylas as silence
settles between Aiden and I. I can’t help thinking of the kiss
Sylas and I shared before we were captured in the cells. The way
his lips felt