Surface Below: Dark Secrets (The Surface Below Book 1) (4 page)

“Oh the shenanigans you two get yourself into. Still reliving your teen years,” he muttered, reaching the top landing.

The second floor of the farm house had four bedrooms, all of them furnished and awaiting a guest. Rarely anyone came but they were there for when someone did. Walking to the end of the hall, he entered the master bedroom. It was large and seemed better fit for a female occupant. The bed was covered with a queen size wedding ring quilt, hues of pinks and purples covering it. Furniture throughout the room was mostly antique, adding to the farm house setting.

William set the bag down on the oversized chest just at the end of the bed, opened it and reached in. He pulled out a small plastic medical bag full of a red substance. Lowering to the edge of the bed, he stared at the bag.

He shook his head and stared at nothing now. The bag shifted back and forth in his hand, the thick substance coated the clear plastic. For a moment he considered emptying its contents into the sink, washing away his addiction and turning over a new leaf. The time he had spent with Becca though had left him hungry, and a fierce fire raging in his chest.

“Slave to the blood,” he whispered, uncapping the small opening on the end of it. As he emptied the contents into his mouth, coating over his eager tongue, euphoria burst throughout him. It clouded his mind and he closed his eyes.

Tired from the emotions and energy that washed over him with Becca. The Beast begging to be released. And his own overthinking of all of it made him pull himself up onto the bed. He didn’t bother to get under the quilt or even take off his clothes.

William allowed his bloodthirsty high to overtake him. But he enjoyed drifting off to the thought of Becca and the next time he would see her. He hoped it would be soon.

Nikki skipped through the house and into Becca’s room, jumping up onto her bed. Becca pulled her pillow over her head and groaned.

“So tell me about your date.” Nikki was already prying and had a smile from ear to ear. She had worked the night before and hadn’t had a chance to interrogate her.

“It was a date,” Becca whined, trying to hold tightly to her covers as Nikki pulled on them.

“Well tell me about it already.” She yanked hard on the covers and it revealed a glaring Becca. “You owe me anyways, I covered your shift and mine for you to go on that date.”

“I hate you,” she said, pushing up to elbows and rubbing her eyes. “What time is it?” Becca looked over at the clock on her night stand, eight thirty.

“We went on a picnic,.” she said with a yawn, resting her head into her arms.

“A picnic?” Nikki scrunched her face. “Really? Where?”

“Down at Pickett Lake, it was romantic.” Becca smiled. “It wasn’t what I was expecting either.”

“And?” Nikki pushed.

“And nothing, we ate and talked. It was refreshing.”

“You ate and talked? No hanky-panky, no nothing.”

“No hanky-panky, just talk. And we may have kissed and then he took me back to my car.” Becca teased her. “Honestly, it was the way a first date should go.” And the kiss was electrifying, she recalled, biting at her bottom lip.

It had taken everything inside her to not invite him back to the house. But she wanted it to be different with him. She wanted to appreciate him. And she wasn’t about to indulge any of those feelings to Nikki. If she did, she would never hear the end of it.

“Well you’re no fun.” Nikki lay on the pillow next to her, crossing her arms. “Is he at least interesting?”

“Yeah and sweet and super sexy. A true southern boy.”

“Now that much I can agree with you. He is one sexy piece of…”

“Nikki, behave.” Becca slapped her on the leg before getting up.

“Where are you going?” Nikki threw her hands up, thirsting for more details.

“Shower, coffee….normal people stuff.” Becca teased, leaving the room.

“You take the fun out of everything, Rebecca Ann,” Nikki yelled after her, making Becca giggle.

~*~*~*~

“Rise and shine, brother.” Markus walked in and pushed the curtains open. William pulled the covers over his head. “Come on, I got all the good stuff for a hangover.”

Well he was particularly peppy this morning, William noted, recoiling further into his bed.

“I don’t have a hangover, Markus,” he protested, shoving his head under his pillow to shut out any ray of light.

“Yeah that’s one for the books.” He balked at him. That was a hard idea for him to chew on. “Since when do you wake up sober on a Monday? And why are you staying at the farm?”

“Since I took a girl out on Sunday.” William sat up in his bed rubbing his eyes. “And I wanted some peace and quiet for once.”

“You what?” A crease formed into Markus’ brow. “Are you telling me my brother is that stupid?”

William forced himself out of bed, not feeling entirely rested from his sleep. And even less interested in being scolded by his brother first thing in the morning. He went into the master bath and closed the door. Leaning against the sink, William could feel the slightest bit of blood still lingering in his system. His eyes lifted to see his own reflection. For the first time, he didn’t see just anger. There was a hint of something more. It was the beginnings of love.

He switched his jeans for the pair of blue cotton pajama pants hanging on the back of the door. Taking in a breath, he pulled the door open again. Markus was sitting on the bed eagerly awaiting for him to emerge.

“You’re not going to go away, are you?” William groaned.

“Nope.”

“Is there coffee?”

“Well yeah, isn’t there always coffee when you wake up to me?” Markus reminded him.

The two men left the room and went down the stairs.

“So what are you doing, William? What girl are you talking about?” Markus questioned, following him into the kitchen.

“The other night I went out and had every intention of going to my usual place, but ended up at the bar in town. It was like I was drawn there. It was weird,” William began to explain to him as he poured a cup of coffee from the freshly brewed pot. “And I met a girl and she was so familiar. Like I knew her.”

“And taking her out accomplished what exactly?” Markus was baffled by the concept. He always knew his brother had a taste for human companionship, but it was also forbidden.

William shook his head, obviously not sure what it had accomplished. Other than falling for her even more.

“I don’t know. I guess I was hoping something would spark if I spent time with her,” he admitted. Markus poured some coffee as well and joined William at the table. Windows lined the walls of the kitchen and the natural light that poured in gave way to the untouched construction of the house.

“And did it?” he asked. William shook his head and grimaced as he took a sip of his too-hot coffee. Markus shook his head and silently chuckled.

“No, not really. But when she told me her last name, that same familiar feeling hit me hard. Do you remember mom or Craeden mentioning the name, Lorde?” William looked up at him, noting the twitch he had made at the name. “Sounds familiar, right?”

“Lorde? Like as in Tobias Lorde?” Markus ticked off without blinking.

William threw his head back and sighed, feeling ridiculous for not thinking of it.

“Tobias Lorde. That should have been a given the minute she said it. Why didn’t I think of that?” He was practically admonishing himself. But reminded himself that he had been distracted by everything about her. “Think it’s possible there is any relation?”

“I don’t know, maybe. The only way to know for sure is to go down and see Benton. If anyone knows anything it’s him,” Markus suggested. “Or better yet you could have asked her.”

“No, if she were related to Tobias that would make her one of us. And she is certainly not that. Trust me.” William quickly shut down the idea. He didn’t get that knowing feeling inside him. A feeling that would come on strong when something other than human came around. It was like a rock weighing down on your chest, getting heavier the closer one got.

“Okay, then you could go down to the Bottom,” his brother suggested again.

“Yeah I could,” he said, giving it more and more thought. “You know what, I’m gonna go today.”

“Do you want me to come with? Could be fun,” Markus offered with a glint of excitement in his eyes. Part of William wanted to tell him no, but that same feeling wanted him to come.

“Yeah I think that’s a good idea,” he agreed, already pushing up from the table and heading for the stairs. “Let me get a shower and we’ll be on our way.”

He showered quickly. There was something that connected him to Becca, and he was beginning to wonder if he knew more about her family than she did. That brought on a new set of questions.

Why didn’t she know what she was? Why was she living on the Surface as a human? Did she know and didn’t want him to know? How would she hide that?

Coming down the stairs, he seemed to shake the dozens of questions from his mind. For now there was only one. Was Tobias Lorde her father?

They left and took the country road deeper into its vast offering. Field upon field passed by, a house set out in the distance every ten or so miles. William loved the seclusion this part of Raymont offered. In town it was crammed with wall to wall homes, surrounding the small intimate town center. With one major street light and an old style pharmacy it was a picture of small town living.

“Are we taking the portal?” Markus asked, already recognizing the open field William had pulled off to.

“Yeah, I hate Traveling; you know that. I’d just rather take the drive and go through the portal than the latter,” he replied, putting the truck into park and getting out.

William had never fully embraced his Conjurer side. He knew the basics on how to conjure small objects from nothing, or move things if needed, and the basic knowledge on healing. But Traveling was something he’d never bothered to learn. It was an uncomfortable experience, and one he avoided as often as possible.

Going from one point to another freely by manipulating the space around you. It felt like the universe could rip you apart, and it felt like the world was trying to crush you.

Portaling was William’s preferred method of traveling to the Bottom. A fixed point in certain locations across the globe. Enter from the Surface and right into the Bottom World. It was more like a doorway. No pain or unpleasant feelings. Just a few steps through a flash of darkness.

“Traveling wouldn’t be so bad if you would just do it more. After a while its effects wouldn’t be so harsh. Mostly residual.” Markus tried to convince him as they crossed the field towards a large, lone willow tree. It completely dwarfed the men as they came to its base, looking up at its massive beauty.

“I’d still rather Portal than Travel if it means coming here and seeing this beauty.” William defended his reasoning, giving him a sideways look. “But I understand why you Travel, obviously, but if I don’t have to, I don’t”

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, let’s get down there,” Markus scoffed at him.

He was determined, he hoped, to one day convince his stubborn brother to embrace his Conjurer side and see how much easier life could be if he did. For now though, he was more intrigued by this obvious connection between William’s forbidden love interest and the infamous Tobias Lorde.

The two men navigated their way to the back of the tree, to the secret portal door leading into the Bottom World.

Unlike the Conjurer Dimension that existed on its own plane separate from the Surface, the Bottom was an anchored world. It had a physical existence several hundred miles under the Surface of the Earth. And for thousands of years had gone undiscovered by humans, cloaked by magic. Where one could only get to the Dimension by Traveling, one could Travel or Portal to get to the Bottom.

William took the first step towards the tree, his foot disappearing as it entered the massive trunk. Another step and he vanished, passing through a short flash of darkness before coming out into an empty alleyway. The ground was wet from a fresh rain. An unnatural attribute of the Bottom.

From behind him, Markus emerged out of nothingness. Looking from one end to the other, the two brothers headed towards the sound of passing traffic and the hustle and bustle of city life. The Portal

The busy city that surrounded them was full of life. Taxis, cars, trucks and vehicles of all kinds filled the four-lane street. Skyscrapers reached high around them, with smaller storefronts here and there. The sky above was blue with passing clouds and a bright sun. Environmental influences like rain and sunshine were nothing more than an illusion, created with magic to give the Bottom inhabitants some semblance of living on the Surface. Without actually living there.

If humans ever stumbled upon the Bottom, and if it weren’t for the fact they would have to pass through a portal to do so, they would believe they had stepped right into New York City.

For most, it was illegal to reside on the Surface. There had to be a valid reason for doing so. Like being involved in politics or high profile jobs. Just as Benton had done during his years as a professor. Otherwise you were considered a Drifter. A person who had turned his back on the Bottom, his own species and more importantly, the Council.

Like William. The only thing that worked in his favor was that he had union amnesty and other laws prohibiting them from locating such people.

“I really hate coming here.” William noted, walking down the sidewalk, keeping an eye on the people surrounding them.

“Yeah, I know, but you want answers right?” Markus shrugged. “Don’t worry, it’s not like anyone is going to recognize you, and union amnesty protects you anyway.”

“Maybe, but it’s not even that. I just hate how fake it is here. Why can’t we all just live on the Surface among the humans? What’s so wrong with that?”

Markus gave William a quick look. He couldn’t understand his brother’s fascination with the human race. He had nothing against humans, but nothing good could ever come from being around them. The laws made sure of that.

“At one time there was nothing wrong with it, William. But it is what it is. Can’t change the laws.” Markus shrugged again.

They stopped in front of an antique looking store front. Not many realized that Benton’s book store was a book store at all. The windows were filled with antique lamps, trinkets and only a few books.

William had been there enough times though to know what treasures hid behind the misleading storefront windows.

A bell above the door chimed as they entered. The store was filled from floor to ceiling with books of all kinds.

William always felt like he belonged here, surrounded by books of all kinds. He appreciated a good book. Especially the classics; but what English Lit major wouldn’t?