Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 03] Read online

  Embracing the

  Darkness

  by Shiela Stewart

  Breathless Press

  Calgary, Alberta

  www.breathlesspress.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or

  persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Embracing the Darkness

  Copyright© 2009 Shiela Stewart

  ISBN: 978-0-9782744-6-7

  Cover Artist: Justyn Perry

  Editor: Shiela Stewart

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations

  embodied in reviews.

  Breathless Press

  www.breathlesspress.com

  To Nancy,

  You opened my eyes to all sorts of

  possibilities when you lent me your V.C. Andrews and Stephen King books.

  Not to mention taking me to see Cujo and giving me the scare of my life!

  Thanks for showing me

  what could be, sis.

  Chapter One

  Jacob’s Cove 2025

  Two weeks since the darkness began

  Jonah woke to complete silence, the darkness surrounding him. His life seemed to be consumed by the darkness now. His brain was foggy and he knew if he were to give in and close his eyes he would drift right back to sleep. He didn’t want to sleep because in sleep he dreamt and in his dreams she called to him.

  So forcing his eyes open he tried to sit up, and found himself tied to the bed. Shaking his head clear, he tugged at his arms and felt the restraints around his wrists dig into his skin. Looking down, he saw the band securing his left arm to the side of the bed and an IV attached to his hand.

  What the hell?

  “You’re awake.”

  He heard a rustling sound and as he turned he saw a woman standing at the foot of the bed. Her hair was jet black, cut in a sharp bob that ended at chin level. Her eyes were a soft blue and her face was delicate yet firm. And he had a vague memory of her holding him. Her name was Raven and she had helped him.

  “I was hoping you’d sleep a little longer, but three hours is good. How do you feel?”

  He blinked rapidly as she turned the light on. It stung his eyes and he wished she’d left it off. “Why am I tied to the bed, Raven?”

  “It’s a safely mechanism, for your own good. Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

  She was always trying to feed him. When would she get it through her head that he didn’t want to be fed? He didn’t want to be alive. She’d been so gentle with him when he’d been chained up in Chaos’ basement, treating his wounds, then breaking him free. He’d told her then, and still meant it now, that he didn’t want to be saved. Yet here he was, tied to a bed with Raven once again trying to keep him alive.

  What did he have to live for anyway? His wife and unborn child were dead and he’d been made into a vampire. He didn’t have anything left to live for.

  “You drugged me?” He remembered the stab to his arm right before he’d been about to…end his life. And now he was awake, and tied to the bed.

  That pissed him off.

  “Yeah. I had to. It was a mild sedative but I’d hoped because of your injuries you would sleep longer. I also washed you down and dressed you. I have a cup of O-negative here for you. The blood bank is fully stocked.”

  They were in the hospital. She’d rescued him from Chaos’ place and had taken him to the hospital. It was all coming back to him now. She’d left him to make his phone call to Trinity and he’d seized the moment to end his miserable life.

  Only she’d stopped him. Once again, she was trying to save him.

  He clamped his lips shut when she put the cup to his mouth. He’d rather starve to death than drink someone’s blood.

  “Being stubborn won’t deter me, Jonah. I’ve been a nurse for nearly ten years and I’ve done my fare share of intubations and IVs, not to mention feeding tubes. If need be, I will shove a tube down your throat to your stomach to get you to eat. Or…you could stop being a spineless wimp and drink what’s in the cup. You decide.”

  He clenched his jaw and glared up at her.

  “Fine, have it your way, but let me tell you, it won’t be a pleasant experience.” She turned away and began to walk to the door.

  “Why do you care if I live or die?” he blurted out. She stopped, then casually turned to him, her face softening as she responded.

  “I care because I’m a compassionate person who thinks all life is precious.”

  “Even the bastard that turned me into a blood sucking animal?”

  “Chaos will get his comeuppance eventually, and you’re not an animal. Do you want to try this again and take the drink or do I go in search of a tube?”

  “What I would like is for you to untie me.”

  She took another step towards him and he thought she would actually do as he asked. Then she stopped short of the bed and folded her arms across her chest. “Exactly how stupid do I look? I know without a shadow of a doubt that the instant I release you you’ll try to take your life again. Not going to happen, buddy. Drink?”

  “No!” She was going to find out just how stubborn Jonah Moore could be.

  “Have it your way.” She spun around and marched from the room.

  He tugged on the restraints and felt the fabric give way with his strength. He was strong. Well, stronger than he’d been before. Encouraged by that, he tugged a little more. When the fabric tore open, he gave a silent cheer. Then he tried to move his legs, and couldn’t. What the hell? Then it came rushing back at him. The accident that had killed his wife and unborn child had also paralyzed him.

  Stubbornness taking over, he grabbed his legs, annoyed when the IV got in his way and ripped it from his hand, then pulled his legs over the side of the bed. Using his arm strength, he pushed himself from the bed until his feet touched the floor. Then giving a silent prayer, stood.

  He tumbled down onto the floor like a sack of potatoes.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Raven rushed into the room, dropping the bags she’d been carrying, onto the floor as she crouched down beside him.

  “Doing the belly flop,” he snapped at her, slapping her hands away when she tried to help him up. “I can do it.”

  “You need help. Do you have any idea what sort of damage you could have just caused yourself?”

  Jonah squirmed, trying to prevent her from touching him, then she hooked her arms under his and hoisted him up. He felt like a useless rag doll as she dragged him back to the bed. He felt her crawl up onto the bed, then pull him up with her. Because he wasn’t a complete invalid, he placed one hand on the bed to brace himself and used the other to pry her hands away from around his chest. “I got this now,” Jonah snapped.

  “I should have known the restraints wouldn’t hold you. It was worth a try though.” She shifted his upper body in place then pulled his legs up and rested them on the bed. “Idiot!”

  His upper lip peeled back in a snarl. She hopped off the bed and hurried to the pick up what she’d dropped when she’d come into the room. One of them was indeed a tube. Damn woman was serious. She really was going to shove a feeding tube down his throat. “Come near me with that thing and I’ll rip your arm off.”

&nb
sp; “Oh, put your fangs back.”

  It was then that he realized his teeth were longer. He hadn’t even felt them growing. How was it possible to have them growing longer and he not feel them? How odd was that. “I mean it, Raven. Get that thing away from me!”

  “If you refuse to eat, then I’m using it. But for now I have something else planned.”

  “What are you going to do with that?” he asked when she pulled a syringe from its plastic seal.

  “I want to see how much feeling you have in your lower extremities.” She undid the snaps at the side of his pants then laid the syringe on his bare thigh. “Tell me when you feel it.”

  He watched as she slid the tip along his leg from thigh down to his knee and over. He gritted his teeth but felt nothing. Then she slid it along the bottom of his foot. He felt a slight tingle but nothing like he should be feeling, considering he was terribly ticklish.

  “Anything?”

  He shook his head, then closed his eyes. Add being a paraplegic to the list of reasons why he had no reason to live. “Ouch.” His eyes flew open. “I felt that. What did you do?”

  “I poked the underside of your foot. Do you feel this?” She jabbed him again.

  He nodded and felt a hint of optimism. “Yes, yes I felt that.”

  “That’s good.” Raven smiled as she moved to the next foot. “Tell me if you feel this.”

  He jumped when she jabbed him and laughed. “I can feel that too. How come I can feel that but I couldn’t feel it on my legs?”

  “I only ran the tip over your leg. Let’s try poking them.” She went back to the leg that was bare and began from the top of hi foot. “Feel that?”

  “Yes.”

  She moved up to the ankle. “Now?”

  “Yes.” He’d never felt anything as wonderful before in his life. As she moved up to his thigh he felt every prick of the needle. When she moved to the other leg, he felt it there as well. “Does that mean I’m not paralyzed?”

  “You have some paralysis, but I would say your chances of being a complete paraplegic are slim. You can use your hands and you can sit, so I would deduce that you

  probably injured the lower lumbar or sacral vertebrae.”

  “Huh?” That had gone completely over his head.

  She laughed a she snapped his pants back up. “Sorry, that’s the nurse in me coming out. Your lower spinal column. I’m not a thoracic specialist but that would be my guess. I think keeping ice on your back is the best way to go. Tell me if you feel this.”

  He grabbed her hand when she slid the waistband on his pajamas down. “What are you doing?”

  “I was going to check how much feeling you have in your—”

  “Not going to happen.”

  “Abdomen,” she finished, keeping her eyes steady on his.

  “Oh. Okay.” He released her hand and felt more than a little embarrassed at what he’d thought.

  “I’ll trust you to test that organ for sensation. Can you feel this?” She poked his belly and he flinched. “I take that as a yes.”

  “I felt that.” Was she implying that he might not have feeling in his…dick?

  “That’s a really good sign. Do you think if I gave you a jug you could try to urinate for me?”

  He blinked at her response. “Come again?”

  “I need to know if you have control of your bodily functions. I’ll get the jug and you can try.”

  She scurried from the room, leaving him lay on the bed with the thought of not having feeling in his genitals or control of his bodily functions. And just when it seemed things were looking up. He flinched when she burst back into the room.

  “Here we go.”

  She handed him a long horn shaped plastic jug and he was absolutely baffled by it. “What’s this?”

  “It’s a urinary can. You hold it to your—”

  “I get the idea now.” He didn’t need that in-depth of an explanation. “Uh, a little privacy would be nice.”

  “Oh, sure. I’ll just wait by the window.”

  “I can’t pee with you in the room, Raven.” That was one thing he considered private.

  “Well, I can’t leave the room. What if you need my help?”

  “I’ve been urinating on my own for some time now. I think I can manage it on my own.”

  “All right. But I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.”

  “I’ll be fine.” He waited until she left the room, closing the door behind her before he lifted the jug. He stared at it for a few moments, then glanced down at his member hiding beneath the pale blue hospital pajamas. He wasn’t afraid, he consoled himself.

  Just get it over with.

  He slid the waist band below his hips and looked down. It was limp, curled up and resting comfortably against his pubic hair. He hesitated before taking it in his hand.

  “How’s it going?”

  “Fine,” he said quickly, startled by her voice. He drew in a deep breath and continued. He could feel it in his hand, but felt nothing from his touch. Closing his eyes, he drew in a deep breath then placed the jug to his groin. He couldn’t even feel the cool plastic against his flesh. He may have feeling in his feet and legs, but not in his dick.

  The urine trickled from the tip to slide down into the can. He felt at least relieved by that. When it stopped, he took hold of his member and pulled the can away. He held himself in his hand for another moment, just staring at it. Then he gave it a squeeze.

  “Okay, I waited long enough but I’m worried.”

  He released himself and quickly yanked his pajama bottoms back up when she burst into the room. “I managed just fine. You could warn a guy before bursting into the room while he’s—Here.” He thrust the jug at her, angry at everything and her.

  She took the jug, glanced inside and pursed her lips. “Not much. Did it hurt?”

  “No.” He crossed his arms over his chest and laid back down on the pillow.

  “Well, that’s a bonus. I’ll go empty this and get you another ice pack for your back. Can I trust that you won’t do anything stupid in the two minutes I’ll be gone or do I tie you up again?”

  “Yeah, because those held so well before. I’ll be a good boy and just lay here like a useless lump. You can go.” He turned his head away in humiliation.

  He wasn’t even a man anymore.

  ***

  What good were all these powers if she couldn’t use them to find her closest friend? Trinity paced the sitting room floor, wanting to rip her hair out. Jonah’s phone call had been so short, so abrupt, so…final. She didn’t like how he had sounded. She’d been racked with both guilt and frustration since the accident that had killed Ariel, resulting in Jonah being taken hostage by Chaos. If she’d only stopped them before going out he would still be here and Ariel would still be alive. She was frustrated with the fact that even with the queen’s help, she’d been too late to find him.

  With all her new abilities, she still wasn’t able to find him. That infuriated her.

  Nothing had gone right in weeks. She’d been too late to save five innocent young girls from losing their lives to aid in raising the king. Sure, she’d taken out the king, but had failed at bringing the sunlight back. Chaos was constantly eluding her and now he had one of her—no, not one—he had her closest friend, the man she thought of as a brother. And she was helpless to do anything about it.

  She’d given her life to save her lover and had been rewarded by the queen granting her a new start fresh with powers that included being able to transport herself anywhere she liked, freeze people to their spot, keener senses, and for some reason she was able to glow. Trinity wasn’t sure the purpose of that ability yet. But with all she had now, all she could do, the one thing Trinity wanted more than life itself she couldn’t accomplis
h.

  Finding Jonah.

  “You’ll wear a hole in the carpet, dear.”

  She waved Basil’s words away with a careless sweep of her hand. She loved him dearly but he wasn’t helping her right now. The instant Dante and Gypsy came into the room, she pounced. “Jonah called. He’s alive!”

  “What?” Dante ran to her, taking her arms in his hands, his eyes meeting hers. “When? What did he say?”

  She hadn’t known Dante long but he had come to be as close a friend to her as any she’d ever had. Gypsy, well, Trinity was still getting used to her. It wasn’t the green hair, Trinity could handle that being that she chose to dye her own hair a blood red, but it was her youth. The girl was barely in her twenties and very much a carefree soul. Trinity worried she wasn’t taking their situation seriously enough. Though, she was handling being a vampire with no problem, so that was a bonus. “He said he was all right, said he had to do this, then told me he loved me and hung up.”

  “What the hell does that mean? What does he have to do?” Dante inquired.

  “Beats the hell out of me. Do you know how to trace a phone call?”

  Dante scratched his head, messing up his dark hair. “Um, you need to have the equipment to be able to do so, and no, I don’t have that sort of stuff. Too sophisticated for my income. You think he’ll call again?”

  “I don’t know, but it would be nice to be able to know where he’s calling from. Why would he do that? Why would he call me and not tell me where he was? It pisses me off.”

  “At least you know he’s safe,” Gypsy piped in from her spot on the sofa.

  “Do I? Or did Chaos force him make the call. It was too cryptic and not like Jonah at all. If he was truly safe he would have told me where he was. I’m betting Chaos made him call to get us to back off finding him. Well, that is not going to happen.” She was not going to give up looking for her best friend.

  “What do you propose we do then?” Dante asked, lacing his fingers with Gypsy’s.

  “I don’t know. I don’t fucking know! I could try going to the queen again. Maybe she’ll be there this time.” Trinity still didn’t understand it. Why hadn’t Rajana been in the room when Trinity had gone to see her the second time? And why hadn’t she come when Trinity called?