Surface Below: Dark Secrets (The Surface Below Book 1) (11 page)

“William Merrick Marks you stop it right now. That’s enough,” his mother warned. “We’re together now. You guys know the truth now. There is nothing that can be done to change what’s been done. It’s time to move on.”

Markus came behind his brother and handed him the bag. “Let it go, William. Alright. Here, take it.”

William backed down but not because he wanted to. Because he was sure Markus was asking him to. And there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for his brother. Swiping a cup from next to the sink, he poured the contents in and drank deeply from it. Tension and the hunger began to lessen.

“You stole everything from us. Both of you did. Hell, you all did. And now we have to muddle around in the dark to figure out how to fix it,” William accused them before following Markus out of the room.

Merrick crossed the room to his wife and took her into his arms. She took in every bit of him, wanting to never let go. Twenty-seven years was just too long to be without the love of your life. Your soul mate.

“I have missed you, my dear.” Merrick pulled away just enough to kiss her nose. “You are just as beautiful as you were nearly thirty years ago.”

“Did we make a mistake, Merrick? Were we wrong?” She wanted to go back and make different choices. Any choice that would keep her children from giving her that angry look. That betrayed look. Merrick kissed her again before answering.

“No, we made the decisions we had to, to keep our children safe and alive. And so one day they could come back and take their place as the rightful heirs and make everything right again,” he reassured her. “Come on, let’s see how our boy is faring.”

Nikki and Z sat on the couch, letting everything they had just learned sink in. They couldn’t comprehend the feelings they had. Nikki felt lost and abandoned now more than ever. She had grown up believing her parents had just dropped her into the foster care system and Danny had taken her in.

For Z, however, it was different. He was accepting the idea of being a vampire and conjurer. His eyes came up to meet with each of them, and then caught his newfound brothers in the archway. Finally, though, he stood up.

“You are all despicable,” he said. “The childhoods you gave us were horrendous. Abandonment. Death. That’s what you wanted us to remember?”

“Darling, we gave you what you needed to be strong when this day came.” Sarah tried to make him understand.

“By letting us believe that our parents had walked out, died or just dropped us like an unwanted puppy.”

Nikki grasped Z’s hand, giving it a squeeze. He turned back and looked down at her. They could have done better than that, he thought.

“That was the best you could do? Because somehow I don’t think it was.”

He stormed out of the room, passing William and Markus. Nikki followed close behind, keeping her fingers interlaced with his. They went up the stairs and disappeared to the second floor.

Their parents were in disbelief over their reactions. Over the years they had somehow rationalized that the children would accept their true fate and forgive them for their poor decisions. But they were wrong. Dead wrong.

“What’s wrong? Not the reaction you were hoping for? To be hurt and feel betrayed?” William said.

He leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms. His body was finally coming down from the instant high of his emotional roller coaster.

“Because if it wasn’t, you’re pretty fucking naïve. All of you. You are not our saviors right now. Because, right now, you’re nothing more than a bunch of lying bastards.”

“William, that is uncalled for,” Caroline snapped at him.

He glared at her and shook his head.

“Truth hurt a little too much, mom?” he countered. “Open your eyes and suck it up because you all have a long road ahead of you if you ever want any of us to trust you again.”

With that, William turned away and went up the stairs to find Nikki and Z. Halfway up the stairs he turned to face them again. “Miranda, Markus, you coming?”

They gave one last look at their parents and left the room. The two weren’t sure where their loyalties truly lay. Part of them understood why their parents had done what they had, but the number of lies and amount of betrayal surrounding it was almost too much to bear.

William, Markus and Miranda found their siblings hiding in one of the bedrooms upstairs. They walked in and sat down. It was awkward looking at each other with the knowledge that they were related.

“So we’re brothers?” Z asked.

“Yep,” Markus said, giving a nod.

“How is this even possible?” Nikki shook her head and pulled her arms around herself. “Vampires? Conjure whatevers? It’s like we’re stuck in some kind of bad dream.”

“I’d imagine for you it would be, but for us it’s what we know. It’s what we grew up with,” Miranda said.

William crossed the room and sat down in the window seat. He stared out into the yard and beyond that, the trees.

“So we’re half and half?” Z asked.

“Yeah. Our moms are Conjurers and our dads are Vampires. Which gives us all the attributes of both.” Markus was hoping this all made sense, at least a little bit.

“Right.”

Out of nowhere a purple and blue aura burst into the room, separating into five balls as it did. Each one went for its host and hit each of them in the head. It sent a searing pain through their skull. Painful screams filled the house as memories began to seed into place. 

William held his head as images bombarded his mind. The pain was strong, similar to a migraine starting at the back of his head and moving slowly to the front. It forced him to the floor and he held tightly to the window seat. His other hand pressed tightly to the side of his head.

It was slow to recede, but as the fog began to lift they found a new appreciation for one another. A deep love and bond held into place now.

“A little warning next time!” Markus yelled down to their parents. “Grr….”

“Yeah, would’ve been nice,” Nikki and Miranda called down at the same time.

Everything made sense now. William’s feelings, the bond, yes, everything about Becca made sense.

He pushed up from the floor and left the room and walked down the hall. On the other side of the door, he felt his soul mate. Even with the door between them, their minds were already seeded. Her feelings, his feelings. Each could feel the other’s.

His hand came to rest on the door. He could feel her energy inside, but more importantly, he could feel her power.

And it was massive.

Markus, Miranda, Nikki and Z stood at the door and had been watching his reaction.

“William? What are you doing?” Markus called to him.

“I can feel her,” William said in a whisper, still keeping his hand there, almost absorbing the energy coming from the room

The group eyed each other, concerned with his response. None of them could feel what he was feeling, not from each other or from William or Becca.

“You can feel her? What does that mean?” Miranda questioned.

The parents could hear the voices coming from the second floor and they ascended the stairs. At the top they looked from the group standing across from them to William, his back turned to them.

“What’s happening?” Caroline asked, closing the gap between her and Markus.

He shrugged. “Said he could feel her. I don’t know what that means.”

Their mother turned and locked eyes with Merrick, and he nodded.

“What? What does that mean?” Markus asked.

“It’s already started,” she whispered, watching her son at the door. “That was so fast.”

“What is starting?” Nikki asked.

“Merger. William and Becca are merging. Their minds, their feelings. Everything,” Caroline said. “They will be able to sense each other’s presence, movements, actions, feelings. Just as the Heir and Heiress.”

William moved his hand to the door knob and entered the bedroom.

William didn’t bother to wake Becca as she slept peacefully on his bed. He couldn’t quite grasp what was happening to him. The love he had for her was greater than the universe could ever fathom. All he knew was that she was his and he was hers. And nothing else mattered.

He climbed onto the bed and curled behind her, letting his arm wrap around her waist so he could pull her close to him. The warmth of her nearly naked body sent a shiver down him. He took in the smell of her hair, the smell of her body. It was intoxicating and it was all his. There was a carnal need beginning to form in him. The need to be with her.

When she’s ready
, he thought to himself.

Exhaustion finally caught up with him and he succumbed to sleep.

The morning sun began to kiss the shutters of the old farmhouse, and its occupants found refuge in the many bedrooms it offered. Finally finding solace in a restful sleep.

Becca, however, started to wake, her body no longer sore or broken from the horrific abuse Viktor had inflicted on it. Sitting up, she felt William’s arm fall from her side and she looked over at him. She knew immediately that his memories had finally been given to him and she smiled. It was just something she knew. Something she could feel. They could both share in the bond that was there.

Carefully and quietly she got out of the bed and went into the bathroom.

She looked at her body in the full-length mirror on the back of the door, and was astonished to see the majority of the bite marks had faded and left little evidence. Her mind was no longer foggy. Everything came through crystal clear now. The memories of her stolen childhood dominated the fake ones. Eventually the latter would be nothing more than a blip to be forgotten.

From a hook on the wall she grabbed a pair of pajama bottoms and white t-shirt. They were big on her but it gave her some security back.

She stared into the mirror above the sink. Her eyes looked different now. A deeper blue than they already were. Becca could see a confidence hiding behind her eyes too.

A scratchy burning felt its way up to her throat. She coughed and tried to clear it but that only made it worse. She grabbed for the rinse cup, filled it with water and guzzled it down. The fire ignited and went down her throat and into her chest. A dizzy feeling came over her and she gripped the counter. Her eyes looked into the mirror and a purplish hue began glowing back at her. Breaths came quickly as she tried to comprehend what was happening.

Just as the fire began to lessen, a strong aroma hit her. It was sweet, metallic and she had to have it. She left the room and descended the stairs; it was like she had left her body, unable to control her own decisions or actions.

The morning sun was bright when she stepped out onto the porch. It warmed her face but she didn’t notice; the only focus she had was on making that sweet aroma hers. Becca knew it led to a life force that the Beast inside her yearned for. Thirsted for. Hungered for. As she stepped off the last step of the wrap-around porch, her ears honed in on a faint sound. It was steady. Thumping inside her head.

Let it lead you.
A female voice filled her mind and she pushed herself to concentrate on the thumping sound. Her head snapped to the North and her legs took off before she could even realize what was happening. The smell of blood became stronger as her feet connected with the ground, her lungs sucking in the air around her. Into the woods it led her, the thumping intensifying in her head. She could almost taste the blood in her mouth as she grew closer.

Instincts told her to stop, crouch down and listen. To watch and study her prey.

It brought her to the very spot William and she had had their first date. The clearing at the lake. A young girl, high school age maybe lay on a blanket. A book in her hands. She was lying on her stomach, giving Becca the advantage. Closing her eyes, she could see what would happen in her mind.
Jumping out of the brush, sprinting towards her unknowing victim, climbing onto her and sinking her fangs into her before she could even scream out.
Becca’s heart pounded hard against her chest as she anticipated the perfect moment.

The girl shifted on the blanket, turning a page of her book; her long blonde hair cascading down her shoulder making it even easier for Becca to sneak up on her.

Go, go now
, the voice ordered. She obeyed, her legs sprinting up out of her hiding spot and towards the girl. Her feet barely made a sound as she got closer, and in one swift movement she lunged into the air and landed on her mark. Before any sound could escape her, Becca’s new fangs protruded from her gums and sank deep into the meat of the girl’s throat. The toxins quickly subdued her. The sweet, luscious nectar exploded into Becca’s mouth and a satisfying growl ripped from her chest. She drank hungrily until every drop had been drained.

Little did she know, the act of taking her first blood would start her down the path of Maturing.

And even closer to Merger.

Back at the farm the house was silent. No creaking floors or squeaking hinges. Just silence and peace. Upstairs in the bedroom at the end of the hall, a force filled the room. Like the universe was trying desperately to wake the man sprawled across the bed.

William! Get up! Now! She needs you!
A barely audible voice rang in his ears, urging him to wake up.

William shot up in the bed and searched the room for the voice. There was a deafening urgency to leave. Looking down at the space next to him, he found it empty. Becca was gone.

“Becca?” he called out, hoping she had snuck into the bathroom for a shower. But no one answered.

Jumping out of the bed, he went to the bathroom door and jerked it open; the room was empty.

“Becca?” He called out more loudly this time. His stomach tightened in knots. Snatching a shirt from the end of the bed, he pulled it on, already walking out into the hallway.

A picture of trees and dirt filled his head and he began breathing heavily. His hand lay flat on a hall table just next to him, balancing him as he was hit with a wave of dizziness. Closing his eyes he searched for her, trying to feel her as he had before. Another image flashed in his eyes and his heart nearly stopped. A girl in the clearing. He was seeing what Becca was seeing.

“Oh my god, no.”

His feet couldn’t go down the stairs fast enough as he began to realize what was happening. Slamming through the screen door, he bolted down the same path she had taken. The sound made Craeden nearly have a heart attack as he sat at the kitchen table enjoying a cup of coffee. Hot coffee splashed everywhere. His eyes barely caught the glimpse of William as he raced past. He pushed up quickly, the chair tipped over and he chased after him. By the time he had reached the porch, though, William was gone.

“William!” he called out into the empty yard.

William raced through the woods towards the very spot he had seen, hoping he could get to Becca before she broke the skin. The ground beneath him went by in a blur, and he could feel the presence of not only the unsuspecting girl but of Becca. Her rapid breathing, accelerated heart beat; he already feared he was too late. As he came close to the edge of the woods, a deafening scream filled the air and he stopped dead in his tracks.

“Oh no, Becca?”

Stumbling out of the woods, he saw Becca on the grass, her body arched up from the ground. Her victim lay lifeless next to her. William took off again and hurried to her. Lowering down next to her, he placed his hands on her shoulders but the fiery heat resonating from her made him jerk away. The blood coated her insides and her body boiled at an infuriated temperature. Turning her insides into a fiery playground.

Another scream scraped its way up her throat and it echoed throughout the wilderness. Her eyes rolled back and she squeezed them shut. She lost all control over her body, much like when Caleb had bitten her. It writhed against the feel of the ground beneath her. The long grass brushed against her highly sensitive skin and it made her whimper. A cold breeze swept past them and it stung like a thousand knives piercing through her body.

William cursed himself for being so distracted earlier by her injuries that he hadn’t given her the first dose of Hybrid. The return of her memories had paved the way for the Beast to be birthed deep inside her core. Ripping through her body to greedily consume its first savoring of human blood.

Becca’s hand gripped William’s arm as another wave of excruciating pain washed over her fragile body, her nails digging deep, blood trickling down from his arm. Her eyes met with his and he saw fear, pain and remorse. Remorse for taking a life. She was alert enough to know that much. But whether she fully understood what was happening to her, he wasn’t sure. Her hand burned against his skin and he wanted desperately to pull it away, but he resisted. Instead he covered it with his other hand and held tightly.

“Don’t.Leave.Me.” she forced out past the pain.

“I won’t, baby, I’m not going anywhere,” he promised. A similar memory came to the forefront of his mind. William knew this pain too well.

When they were children and had started to show signs of their maturing, Caroline had started them on a daily schedule of Hybrid doses. It was made up of mostly animal blood, which didn’t have the severe effects human blood did. It was more like heavy caffeine use or large intakes of sugar; but human blood was a drug to any vampire system. And its first interaction with the vampire anatomy was debilitating. And even more so to a Vampire who had never had blood, or Hybrid for that matter.

William had never had human blood through his childhood or teen years, other than the smallest trace amounts in the Hybrid. It wasn’t until he was 19 that he had succumbed to his first hypnotic craving for the life substance. A carnal need had overcome him one evening in the college campus courtyard, and he’d attacked a fellow student, nearly draining him.

It was then that Markus had taken on the role of brother’s keeper, rescuing William from taking his first life. There was nothing he could do, though, to soften the brutal effects it had on William’s body that night. Markus was forced to stand by as his brother’s body battled with its first taste.

For him, it became an addiction that he yearned to fill regularly. Even with the added balancing agent that Markus had been secretly giving him, he still craved the taste of the sweet, smooth, metallic liquid. He craved for the high it provided him. Making his existence in both the Bottom and Surface more bearable.

A cry brought him back to reality and he focused on Becca again.

Her body writhed on the grass as it began to pulse hard. Her eyes rolled back into her head once again and she started to shake violently. William held her arms to her chest firmly to keep her from flailing around.  And to keep her from hurting herself or him.

“Come on, Becca, just hang on a little longer. I promise, it will end.” William tried to get through to her, encouraging her to hang on. It was a pain that could only be described as a punishment much worse than any Hell. But finally her body stilled and she fell unconscious.

Sighing, he released her arms and pushed the matted hair from her face. Sweat covered her face and neck.

“Okay love…okay.” He sighed with relief. Even he was left worn out from just watching.

Certain that the fit had passed; he went over to the lifeless body of the blonde-haired girl. He pressed his index and middle finger to her neck and waited for any sign of a pulse. It was an unnecessary act as he could easily hear the stillness in her chest. But he did it hoping he could be wrong. There was no pulse though, nothing but the coolness of her body. Pulling his phone from his pocket he called Markus.

His tired, sleepy voice answered.

“William?” he answered. “Dude, I’m right down the hall.”

“Hey, I need your help.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?” He sounded more alert now.

“I need you to get in my truck and come down to the lake clearing,” William said, tucking the phone against his shoulder. Just as he had with the blonde next to him, he felt for Becca’s pulse. It was racing, faster than any normal beat. Shaking his head, he mouthed cursed words.

“What is going on?” Markus asked. William could hear him pulling his jeans on, the sound of his loosened belt clanging together at the buckle.

“Just grab a couple of shovels from the barn and bring my truck. Alright?” he insisted. “And don’t bring anybody with you.”

He hung up the phone before Markus could protest any. Looking back down at the dead body, he bit at the inside of his lip.

“What are we going to do with you?” he said, looking around to determine the best place to lay her to rest. The tree line stared back at him and he narrowed his eyes at it.

He gathered the girl’s blanket and book, balling them up, and walked them over to the edge of the woods. Looking over the spot, he nodded silently.

“This will have to do, darling.” Again he whispered to no one.

He went back and lifted her lifeless body into his arms and carried her to the same spot. The idea of burying this poor girl like this made him sick to his stomach. But he was left with no other option. Deciding between leaving her here to be found and protecting Becca, William would pick the latter every time. He loved Becca too much to let any harm or danger come to her.