Surface Below: Dark Secrets (The Surface Below Book 1) (15 page)

“Why did you leave me?” Tears touched her eyes now. For Becca it was the most important question. “Why did you leave but Caroline stayed?” In some ways she had found herself resenting William for it, and even more for taking it for granted.

“We were told that Viktor had discovered I was Tobias’ wife. Our marriages were very secretive mostly because of our parents. None of them liked the other or our partner choices. It was what pushed Viktor to enact the Drifters’ Order. Anything to get to me. And if he got to me then he got to you and your sisters and to your father. I had no choice sweetie, please know that,” Sarah tried to convince her.

“And Caroline?” she retorted.

“Viktor didn’t find out about her marriage to Merrick until you were all in your early twenties. You were all grown and by then she slipped into the Conjurer Dimension again. She stayed there, confined to Craeden’s home.” Sarah scooted closer to her daughter and took her hands into hers. “I was always watching, darling. I didn’t miss anything.”

A few tears dropped down her cheeks. “How?”

“The Dark had its advantages. I saw you learn to ride a bike. I watched as you and your sister became the best of friends. Z’s innate need to protect the both of you. He’s a lot like his father.” She gently touched Becca’s chin and turned her face to look at her. “Your first kiss.”

Becca laughed at the memory, but still tears fell. “Trust me, your father didn’t like that one bit. I watched as Danny painfully survived your teen years. You really put him through hell and at times he deserved it. Which is why you’re a lot like your father. Although your father wouldn’t agree.”

“So you saw Davin?” The conversation turned serious again. Sarah’s eyes softened and she kissed her on the forehead.

“Yes, we saw Davin and I almost had to restrain your father to a chair to keep him from exposing himself.” She cupped her hands around Becca’s face. “We saw every little moment in your life and couldn’t be more proud of the person you’ve become. You and your sisters.”

The screen door swung open and Caroline stuck her head out. “Hey, you wanna come help me finish up dinner?” she asked Sarah.

“Ummm…” she looked back at Becca. But she waved her off.

“Go, we’re done.” Becca muttered, now eyeing the red barn again, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. Disappointed, Sarah pushed up from the swing and went for the door. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

“Becca, you wanna come too?” Caroline asked.

“I’ll be there soon,” she promised looking up at them.

Becca’s gaze came back to the barn. She set the mug down on the wooden planks beneath her and got up. A memory had struck her while she had been talking with her mother. One that brought on happiness and comfort.

Her memories of being with her sisters and the boys were strong the moment it had hit her back in the dungeon cell. They were vivid and lively. The six children had savored every bit of the property. Exploring and being imaginative. Being kids.

The barn was a vibrant red despite its age. Becca wasn’t sure but she was vaguely sure that the farm house and barn were nearing two hundred years old.

Her hand closed around the white wooden handle and she pulled the door open. An old, musty smell hit her in the face and she crinkled her nose. Had it always smelled that way, she wondered to herself as she entered. The interior gave a better idea of the actual age of the structure. And years of abandonment showed through. The vibrant, brown wood was now dingy and in some places suffering from rot.

An old rusted, once pretty green field tractor was parked in the corner. She could almost see Danny on it from all those years ago. The back wall lined with two large tool chests. Again another memory of her uncle. By day he was their substitute father but by night he was a mechanic. Working tirelessly on not just that tractor but the motorcycle he treasured. She imagined the tools inside the chests would be too far gone to even be considered antiques now.

Becca’s eyes stopped on the chipped and faded white ladder that led up to the second landing. Walking over to it, she gave it a jiggle, curious to see if it would hold her weight. She shrugged and placed her foot upon the first rung. It sagged slightly but held the pressure. Climbing up the next and the next, she was surprised she made it to the top without it crumbling.

“Phew…wasn’t sure I’d make it,” she said, looking down.

Dusting her hands off, she scanned the small alcove. It hadn’t changed much, save for the missing hay bales that had made up their little clubhouse. Coloring pages and six-year-old artwork covered the walls. Her eyes lit up at it.

The room came to life in front of her as another scene from her childhood played. A blonde headed Miranda sat in the corner, giving annoyed looks to the boys, as she tried to read a first reader Pocahontas book. She had been a bookworm for sure and Becca wondered if she was still the same. Nikki and Becca on the other side of the room, crayons splayed out around them. Sun radiated through the barn window, giving way to just how young and innocent they all had been. Six, six- or seven-year-olds playing as if they were no different than any other children their age.

Becca shook her head; if they only had known what they knew now.

Movement caught in the corner of her eye, snapping her back from the scene in front of her. Before she could react, a strong hand wrapped around her jaw and the back of her head and jerked her hard. She didn’t see her attacker but her hands shot up and tried to fight him off.

The force knocked her down on her back and dust sprayed into the air. She coughed and winced at the dull pain in her back. And she was aware of a heavy weight sitting on top of her.

“Hello Becca.” His voice made her jerk up and kick.

A scream scratched its way up her throat and Caleb was quick to clap his hand over her mouth.

“Shhhh….I just need a little taste.” His breath came in and out quickly as he inhaled her. A muffled scream vibrated against his palm.

She reached deep and awakened a dormant power. A power she could barely understand or truly tap. Fear mixed with rage and it flared up the semi-dormant Heiress. Still waiting to ascend and become one with the rest. Becca’s hand shot up, balled in a fist and hit him hard against the temple.

The force knocked him free and he grabbed at his head, a sharp pain blurring his vision. The smallest taste of her power. Becca wiggled her way from underneath him and bolted for the ladder. Swinging her feet over the rungs, she tried to climb down fast.

“Oh you little bitch,” Caleb growled, recovering from the hit too quickly. He raced towards the ladder and without another thought he pushed it loose from its place. It fell backwards, making Becca lose her grip, and she dropped to the barn foundation.

Pain jolted through her, a bold ache in her head. Everything went blurry and she was consumed by blackness.

Caleb jumped down to the ground, landing firmly on both feet. “Have it your way.”

Caroline put the kids to work in the kitchen, forcing them to face their parents. She was bound and determined to bring her family back together. If that meant uncomfortable silence and agitated stares, so be it.

Questions mulled over and over in Nikki’s head as she snapped at the ends of the green beans in front of her. Finally throwing her hands up, she looked up at her mother and Caroline.

“I don’t understand. How can we all just be so calm? If it’s as serious as you all make it out to be, shouldn’t we be doing something? Hiding? Coming up with a plan?”

Z stopped and turned to them as well.

“The farm is as safe as any place at this point,” Caroline told them without even turning from the stove. “Right now it’s a waiting game.”

“Waiting game for what?” Nikki pushed for answers. It was answered though by someone she hadn’t expected.

William had come in the middle of the question and now leaned against the counter. “For the rest of you to merge.”

“Okay and then what?” Z asked.

“Then we ascend,” William replied, grabbing at one of the raw beans and taking a bite. The two gave him a questioning look. “The merger is the first step. Like an awakening. Opening a door to the Heir and Heiress to come out. It makes you and your partner one. I can’t really explain it in detail but that’s what is.”

“And ascension?” Nikki shrugged.

“It will seed you all together. Making you a unit. Each an individual with his or her own unique abilities, but ultimately together you are at your strongest.” Sarah turned now and explained to them. “Once you all merge then the ascension will begin.”

“Begin how?” Z asked with an uneasy look in his eyes. He already didn’t like the feeling he got when he was hungry. The burn that spread quietly into his chest at night and erupted into a volcano. The taste of the Hybrid made him cringe. The thought of more unpleasant happenings just made him shudder.

“It’s complicated.” Sarah turned away again. Four sets of eyes fell on her back and she could feel every one of them. “Honestly I don’t know. It was the one thing the Heiress wasn’t clear on. All she said was that you would all have to die before you could live.”

And then she had four widened pairs of eyes on her.

“Die?” Markus spoke up.

William stared off at nothing trying to understand the phrase. Just as with Becca, the knowledge and history were there but had quickly turned to a fog after their merger. Crystal clear for just a moment. They were both still trying to make sense of it all.

“I’m not really sure what it means either.” Sarah shrugged.

As they spoke, Miranda felt a familiar feeling wash over her. A bright light flashed in her vision and dull tingling touched her skull. Her hands held to the counter top to keep her from falling. Fuzzy images filled her line of sight. She squeezed her eyes tightly, trying to discern them.

Both Markus and William looked at her now.

“Miranda?” William said softly but straightening. He knew that look all too well. “What is it?”

Her voice came out as a whisper and shaky. “It’s….I don’t know.” It exasperated her that she couldn’t see the vision. Her seeing ability was usually so clear and instant. It had never lingered so unclearly before.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Markus stood now.

“I don’t know, Markus,” She forced out, growing more agitated by it. “It’s….so fuzzy. There’s people but I don’t know who.”

A dull pain started out, like a knife slowly twisting into her skull and with each turn it was driving deeper in. Her hand shot up, holding to the spot and she winced.

“Miranda!” Markus went for her when he saw her in pain. Miranda pushed her free hand up and out in front of her.

Stumbling from the stool, the vision slowly searing into her sight. The pain growing as the fuzzy picture came into focus. It brought her to her knees and she shook, her hands now holding to the floor in front of her for support.

“Miranda please,” Markus pleaded with her, taking several steps towards her.

“NO!” she growled at him.

The picture was too close to being visible now. Any distraction risked her losing it again. Another blinding light flashed in front of her and it all came into focus. Her eyes shot open and she looked up at William.

“Becca in the barn, it’s Caleb.”

He took off out of the house, several hurried footsteps struggling after him. The mothers called for the fathers, Markus went for Miranda and the uncles were down the stairs in an instant.

The screen door slammed hard against the house as William barreled through it. Just as he took a step onto the yard he heard the crash from inside the barn, and red filled his vision.

William ran for the building and he yanked hard on the barn door. Caleb’s eyes came up to meet his and an evil played in them. His lips tinged with blood and it sent William over. He lunged at him and the two men went down to the ground. William got a punch in, connecting hard with his cheek.

William’s combat skills, though, were no match for Caleb’s, vampire or not. Caleb overpowered him quickly and threw him off. That wasn’t enough to stop William, though, as he tackled him low into a wooden beam. Caleb winced as pain shot up through his spine. Again a fist hit him hard in the jaw.

Caleb brought his knee up into his gut, forcing William to double over. As Caleb pushed him away and maneuvered around William, an arm came up and wrapped around his waist, pulling him down.

Tiring of the fight, Caleb grabbed William by the arms and twisted him up and against the beam. Making him hit just as hard as he had.  His hand shoved into his jacket and wrapped around a handle. In one swift movement he pulled the dagger from his jacket and plunged it into William’s stomach.

“I am not one to be messed with, William. You may be the Heir but you’re no match for me.” Caleb pushed the blade deeper and it forced William to grunt and growl. “Hurts, don’t it?”

It weakened William tremendously. His own hand closed around Caleb’s and tried to pull it free. But his strength had diminished.

“You feel that, right?” Caleb was chuckling, proud of his little weapon. A golden-handled, serpent-shaped dagger.

Caleb hadn’t been able to resist paying Becca a visit. His thirst for her was too great. And Caleb knew exactly where to find her. Although if he hadn’t known, her scent would have been easy to track.

Hurried footsteps came closer and closer now and Caleb’s other hand came up, and with the flick of his wrist the doors slammed shut and locked. William’s eyes shot up at him in shock.

“Oh that, just a little gift from my mother. The whore that she was didn’t make her any less a Magi.” Caleb held the dagger in place and brought his hand up to William’s throat.

He started to understand better now the strength and power Caleb had. He pushed against him but it only forced the blade to wiggle and dig deeper. Another growl ripped through his chest.

“Magics are a funny thing. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know much but I know enough. Like this little dagger.” He gave it a flick inside of his body and William grimaced against it. “It’s very handy when I need to end a fight quickly, like now. Its effects will wear off shortly.”

Caleb looked down at Becca, who was beginning to come around. Her eyes just barely fluttering.

“Well I guess I left just enough for her to survive,” he noted, turning back to rage-filled eyes. “She tastes so exquisite. How do you contain yourself?”

“Fuck you,” William said through gritted teeth.

“I’m going to make her mine, William.” He said the next words with sincere vehemence. “And I’m going to make you watch as I drain her of every last drop.”

The barn door splintered and cracked against the force hitting it. Tobias and Merrick using their true combined power of the Royals. Caleb pulled the dagger from William and released him. He hit the ground and his hand held to the wound. His mind foggy and body wouldn’t connect with it.

“But it will have to wait,” Caleb said, already falling back into the shadows of the barn and vanishing.

William had to force himself up and over to Becca. She was weak and hurt. A deep bite mark could be seen in the crook of her neck.

“Becca?” His own voice was fading. Her eyes opened slightly and she made an attempt to move. A pain shot through her arm and she winced. “No, don’t try to get up.”

“Ah, my arm…” she complained, holding it. Broken from the fall.

The lock finally broke away and the doors fell open. A flurry of yelling and voices came at them both.

“What happened?” Caroline went to her son, eyeing the deep wound in his stomach. “Come on, get up,” she encouraged, already pulling him up from the ground. “Merrick, help me.”

“She needs blood,” William said weakly, holding to his father. Sweat was rolling off his face now. Tobias was already cradling his daughter in his arms.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get her some Hybrid,” he assured him. William’s hand went up and stopped Tobias, his look stern.

“No, she needs blood,” he repeated. “Downstairs in the cellar. There’s some in the fridge.”

William already knew that Hybrid would no longer be enough to sustain their hunger or urges. They were going to have to relinquish themselves to the Beasts within them. Give in to urges that their kind had stifled for too long.

“Alright William,” Tobias agreed.

And with that and whatever magics Caleb had bestowed on the dagger, William collapsed.

“William!” Miranda and Caroline gasped.

Merrick struggled to get him back to his feet. “Markus get over here.”

Even with Markus on one side and Merrick on the other, they still fought getting him to the house.

“It has to be poison,” Craeden was already speculating. “Anyone see what stabbed him?”

He pulled a few bottles from his bag and inspected the wound. The question went unanswered. “Nobody saw anything?” he asked again, unscrewing a cap to a green-tinted bottle.

“Caleb was already gone,” Tobias said, tending to his daughter. “Markus go get the blood.”

Becca was more alert than her counterpart, although not by much. Another minute or two with Caleb and she wouldn’t have been. There weren’t many ways to kill vampires naturally but draining them was most effective. Decapitation worked well too. But aside from those, magics were the only threat. Her eyes fluttered open several times, everything going by in a blur.

“Becca? Do you remember anything?” Miranda came down to her side at the couch, her hands rummaging in her own Conjurer bag. “Do you know what happened between Caleb and William?”

She shook her head though. Everything had been a muffled blur. Distant sounds within the blackness. It wasn’t until she’d heard William call her name that anything remotely made sense. And the pain. The pain made sense.

That earthy, mint smell filled the room, something too familiar to Becca. Miranda expertly covered her arm in it. Taking care as she handled the broken bones beneath the skin.

Tobias hovered and silently scrutinized Miranda’s ability.

“Dad! Are you a Conjurer?” she finally shot a look at him. It made him straighten. And it got a sideways glance from Craeden and a smirk. “No you’re not. Please go stand over there. Geez, I know what I’m doing.”

Merrick chuckled. “Come on, Toby. She’ll be fine. Let your daughter work.”

“What does Caleb want with her?” Tobias asked, crossing to the other side of the room, keeping a close eye on Becca.

“You really want to dissect the reasons Caleb does anything?” Merrick posed the question. “Like father, like son I suppose.”

“No, I’m just curious to why he came up here and attacked Becca, but yet brought no one to apprehend any of us. Like he was coming here without Viktor’s knowledge.” He turned now and eyed Merrick. “What about her does he want? Enough to nearly drain her?”

Craeden worked unhindered by their conversation. He poured a liquid down into the knife wound. The same that Miranda had used for William’s burnt arm. In a blink William went from unconscious to seething. He shot up from the couch, wide-eyed and then grimacing.

“Oh good, you’re going to live,” Craeden said, pushing him back down. His eyes darted around the room and came to Becca. He started to push up, despite the intense burning in his side. But two firm hands pushed him back.

“She’s fine, lie down,” Merrick demanded. Challenge flickered in his eyes. “I will put you down if I have to, son. Lie down!”

Reluctantly he lowered back to the cushion and relaxed some. Again Craeden poured the liquid into the cut.

“Errr...Now I know where Miranda gets it from. What? Twice for good measure?” William said through gritted teeth.

“William, do you have any idea what Caleb wants with Becca?” Markus asked, hoping to distract him.

“Her blood.” William answered. The parents turned to look at him. Markus crossed the room and handed him a glass with the same in it. “Thanks.”

Craeden was still trying to fiddle with William’s wounds but he quickly pushed the man away.