The Scarlet Dagger (The Red Sector Chronicles, #1)

Chapter 33

No... no, anyone but him.

Aden watched me, his expression hard, before turning and kneeling before my brother. "My Lord," he murmured, placing a fist over his heart.

"Rise, Captain Knight," Orion said. "You've done well. Although..." He glanced at me. "I'm curious as to why you would go to such lengths to protect her. I thought my orders were perfectly clear: Once you find her, gain her trust and then bring her to me. When you didn't comply, I had to resort to my own measures to ensure her silence." His tone took on a dangerous quality. "Why did you defy me?"

Aden appeared indifferent. "It would seem a waste to go to all this trouble acquiring such a gem only to kill her before her true potential had been discovered."

By the desk, Angel had fallen completely on her side, sputtering pleas for help into a pool of blood. Neither Aden nor Orion paid her any attention, but seeing her – despite the secret she had kept from me – made what was left of my shattered heart swell with pity.

An odd look crossed Orion's face. "Yes, perhaps," he murmured, stroking his chin. His dark eyes flickered back toward me. "The fly still fell into the spider's web in the end."

I felt an excruciating pain in my chest, like my heart was being ripped in two. I glowered at Aden. "So you were working with him all along?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation, staring me in the eyes. They were empty and emotionless.

"Aden was eager to serve when I met him, as full of rage over the vampires as I was," Orion said, smiling. "He was my equal, a kindred spirit."

My eyes widened. Orion turned Aden.

"When I discovered my blood's capabilities," Orion said, "I wondered if my twin would possess such a gift, if turned. So I sent Aden back to the surface to find you."

"That's why you were in my house the night we met," I said to Aden.

He never flinched, cold as a statue with his hands clasped behind his back. "It seemed as good a place as any to start looking," he replied somberly. "I couldn't believe my luck when I saw your birthmark."

"The Mark of the Creator," Orion drawled. "Ah, the exquisite legend of the vampire king. Our dear parents kept a great secret from us, sister." His voice hardened. "Especially our pathetic excuse for a father."

Rage boiled within me. "He adored you. How could you say that? He worked his ass off for us!" I shook my head, exasperated. "I never could understand why you always sided with mother."

"Because we were two sides of the same coin. You had Dad; I had Mom. Guess I should be thankful to him, really. Without his monstrous heritage, I never would have been able to get as far as I have today."

"Dad was not a monster," I said, voice low.

"Really? Think about it, sis. All the night shifts he took, how he rarely spent any time out in the daylight –"

"He was exhausted," I argued, cutting him off. "He worked fourteen hour shifts. Of course he was going to sleep during the day."

"What about his temper?"

I tensed. As good a man as my father had been, I had tried my best to block out the times when he completely lost it and hurled things around the house as if possessed by an unseen force. "He was human. Everyone's been guilty of losing it every now and then," I stuttered, trying to sound strong despite my doubt.

You believed the best in both Angel and Aden, and look at where that got you.

I stared at the floor. "You think our father was the one who passed the strain down to us."

Orion shrugged. "It's possible. Too bad he's dead. I'd really love to test his blood."

"What did you mean earlier?" I asked. "When you said my blood was special?"

Orion's eyes sparkled. "I had my theories, but I couldn't know for sure what your blood was capable of until I tested it. Though my subordinates failed at capturing you, they did manage to get a large enough sample of your blood from the gunshot wound."

I ran through my memories of the arcade, when I had been shot. I remembered fire ripping through my shoulder, right before I slammed into the wall. They must have taken the sample from the bloody smears I had left behind.

"I had hoped your blood would empower mine and make the virus even stronger than it already was," Orion said. "But I was so, so wrong. I never could have imagined what it would do."

I waited. "What? What happened?"

Something close to awe spread over Orion's face. "Your blood has the power to destroy the virus. A cure, as it were."

"A cure?" I repeated.

"Quite. My worst fear had been realized – a way for my intricately laid plan to fail. I knew if anyone knew what I was really up to – what your blood could do – I would lose an entire year's worth of hard work. That's why I sent the poisoned drink."

Then his glamour abilities must be as strong as my own.

I thought of what Orion had said about the first vampire and our unique attributes. What if the stories were true? What if we really were descended from the ancient vampire king?

Aden remained perfectly still as Orion walked over to the window and gazed out over the city.

A city he was about to destroy.

"Midnight," Orion sang. He removed a small device from his jacket pocket. "That's when it will all come to an end. When I press this button, thousands of capsules will launch and fill the air with my perfect poison. And the vermin known as vampires will finally pay for what they did to me."

I couldn't fully blame him for being bitter. His scholarship, his bright future... all of it was gone now. I felt the hatred and rage burning off of him.

"It doesn't have to be this way," I said.

"Oh, no, Sloane," he said, turning to look at me. "There is no other way."

I shivered – it was the first time he had called me by my name. Something twitched from the corner of my eye. I looked at Angel, now so lifeless she might as well have been a corpse. Aden seemed undisturbed by this. Wasn't he aware that once the virus was released, he would die, as well?

I looked at the grandfather clock. It was thirty minutes until midnight.

"Come, my trusted friend," Orion said, beckoning Aden forward. "Together, we will watch the dawn of a new era."

Aden slowly moved toward Orion.

I fought against my binds again, wanting to scream. How the hell could Aden just stand by and let this happen? His mother, everyone we knew and had fought for... they would all be dead within a few days if we didn't stop the virus. And if it somehow reached the surface, then the human race would suffer as well. I was literally about to the watch the beginning of the end of the world... again.

Movement caught my eye as Aden reached inside his pocket, slowly removing a gun from his jacket and pointing it at Orion's head.

Hope and fear flooded me. While Nero was a monster that deserved to die, he was still my brother.

Orion looked confused. "What are you doing?"

The barrel was only a few inches from his forehead. I couldn't see Aden's face, though I could hear the malice in his words. "One of your boys dropped this, the night they tried to kill Sloane. I thought you might want it back."

Understanding unfolded on Orion's face, and he smirked. "You're in love with her."

My breath caught in my chest. Could it be true? Had Aden really been looking out for me all along?

"It's time I set things right," Aden said. He cocked the gun, and I gasped.

Orion. My twin.

"Wait!" I cried, but it was too late. Aden had already pulled the trigger.