Welcome to the Darkness (Darkness Trilogy) Read Free Page B

with a respectful bow.
    The Queen’s gaze rested on Nathaniel, and then swept over to me to size me up from head to toe.  Her skin was deathly pale, her eyes a cold crystal blue and she sat eerily still. Her long, blond hair fell in a thick curtain of ringlets over her shoulders. She looked like a zombie child, and if I could use just one word to describe her, it would be ‘creepy.’
    “So this is the newling of whom you spoke,” the Queen said in her young, yet commanding voice. She shifted her icy gaze back at me and said, “Come forward.”
    I took a reluctant step closer to the throne and stopped.
    “Closer,” she snapped. Her gaze darkened and she pointed to indicate a spot on the floor right in front of her.
    I stole a quick, questioning glance at Nathaniel, and he nodded urgently for me to obey. I stepped forward until I was only a few inches from the Queen. The tips of my shoes nearly touched her own.
    “Kneel before me,” the Queen commanded. She was clearly used to being obeyed despite looking so young and tiny.
    I did as I was told and knelt before her. She tilted her head to the side while she inspected me, like she was a predator considering how she might attack her prey. I had the scary thought maybe that was exactly what she was doing.
    “You’re a pretty one, aren’t you?” she said and placed her hands on either side of my face. I tensed, expecting her to strike at any moment. Suddenly, she pressed her cold lips against mine. I tried to jerk away, but her small hands held me firmly in place. I froze, and I was overwhelmed with a series of images flashing through my mind like a movie on fast-forward.
    I couldn’t make any sense of what I ’d seen. There was a castle with people milling about, then dark, empty rooms where I could almost feel the chill; a man who’s face drifted in and out of view, almost always with a look of cold anger; women cringing in fear and children screaming; a lifetime’s worth of fear and suffering, and one final image of a reflection in a mirror–a reflection of the Queen–but she had mussed hair, red-rimmed eyes, and a normal human skin tone that wasn’t pasty, vampire white.
    The Queen leaned back suddenly, breaking her hold on me, as she stared at me with a look of wonder on her face. It took me a few more seconds to realize where I was. I thought I’d just seen the Queen’s memories from when she was still human. It was disorienting to witness so many memories in a matter of seconds. At least, I thought it had only been a few seconds.
    “I have absorbed your memories, youngling,” the Queen said with a satisfied smile. She resettled herself on the throne. “I see you do indeed possess a fascinating and unique ability to walk in the sun.”
    Wait a minute . . . she had seen my memories? I stood up, and backed away to a safer distance.
    Apparently coming to a decision, the Queen looked at Nathaniel and said, “You have done well to bring the youn gling before me. He shall remain here until we find a use for him. You may–”
    “Hold on a sec,” I interrupted. “What do you mean I’ll ‘remain here?’ No way am I staying here. So now we’ve met, yadda yadda, but no offense, this place seriously freaks me out! I need some time to . . . process everything, and–”
    “Silence!” the Queen shouted, her voice a threatening growl, her fangs extended. “How dare you interrupt me and refuse my hospitality.”
    “Hospitality?” I asked in disbelief.
    “Hold you r tongue!” she demanded, rising from throne. “Did you not instruct this newling to treat me with respect, Nathaniel?”
    “Of course, your Majesty,” Nathaniel replied, looking daggers at me. I swear there was a touch of fear behind his eyes as well, and I wished I could backtrack our conversation about thirty seconds. Me and my big mouth.
    “Constance,” the Queen addressed the woman behind the throne who I’d almost forgotten about. “Fetch the ot hers.” I thought it was a bad