Darkwalker

Darkwalker

The Sunwalker Trilogy Book 3

S. T. SANCHEZ

© 2020 by Sarah T. Sanchez

All rights reserved. Published by The Pampered Cat Press

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is strictly coincidental.

Edited by Courtney Johansson

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ISBN 978-0-999001-66-0

thepamperedcatpress.com

Also by S. T. SANCHEZ

The Keeper Archives

The Portal Keeper

The Secret of the Realms

The Keeper’s Batallion

The Sunwalker Trilogy

Sunwalker

Nightwalker

Darkwalker

For Dawn,

Who continues to support me by reading my drafts before they go to my editor. Which is a scary and daunting challenge.

&

For Red,

You’ll be missed. Hopefully someday you will forgive me for killing you off in book two. R.I.P.

Chapter I

CURSED

No! Tread gasped, horrified, as he dropped the note to the floor. He's going to turn her into a darkwalker.

He wouldn’t, Alex said, covering her mouth with her hand as she turned to Vanessa.

Actually, that sounds like exactly the sort of thing my brother would come up with, the eight-hundred-year-old vampire replied.

What is a darkwalker? Lilly asked, wanting to be clued in. She had heard Tread mention the term before, but had let it go. Now she shuddered, unsure if she really wanted to know.

Lilly watched as Tread stood numbly in front of her. The note lying on the cold tile floor. Lilly snatched it, quickly reading it, unable to believe the words she had heard. It was as if the world had stopped spinning. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing but retrieving her mother.

To whom it may concern:

Something invaluable of mine was taken. So, I think it's only fair to respond in kind. I will have to live with the pain you have caused me for eternity, and while death is the ultimate punishment for some, I believe it would be too generous for you.

My army of nightwalkers will soon rule this world and I will reign in paradise. I don't foresee a place for you in it. However, until that day I will content myself with finding bits of happiness where I can. Elaine will prove to be most entertaining, of that, I am certain. Until then I bid you adieu. I hope to see you soon. However, not all of you have the same amount of time left, so you may want to hurry. Tick tock.

Cheers,

KOYT

P.S. I hope Elaine's not afraid of the DARK

The scent of blood wafted up from the letter. Although it had dried, Lilly could tell it was still fresh. For the first time she wondered if there was a God and offered up her first silent prayer. She prayed that this ink hadn't come from her mother, but held out little hope. A sickening feeling formed in the pit of her stomach, and all she could see was red.

Koyt, Tread’s former best friend, his dead sister’s mate, had come to their community, Spero, waving a white flag of truce. And Lilly had stupidly let him in. True, the blame could be pointed at others too, but if Lilly had just sent him packing the moment he had showed his face, she wondered if this could have all been avoided.

Probably not. He was a sunwalker with several hundred years on her. Torturing her father, Dylan, for seventeen years hadn’t been enough revenge. No, he had to come here and try to kill Tread, his ex-friend. The vampire he blamed for betraying Sage’s memory, although Lilly’s father and other VAS officers had committed the actual murder. This vendetta all began when Tread released his twin sister’s killer, Dylan. Koyt couldn’t let it go. He would have murdered Tread if Vanessa, Tread’s adoptive mother, and Koyt’s own sister, hadn’t come and saved him.

Dragon steel had been their only surviving grace. If Vanessa hadn’t been wielding a sword edged with the rare metal, things would have ended far worse for the town of Spero. Tread for one would not be standing here now.

Now the fiend had struck another incapacitating blow, one far worse than Lilly could have imagined. While she had been preoccupied with trying to save Tread and making sure her father was safe, he had snuck by them yet again, kidnapping her mother, Elaine.

Underestimating him had been her downfall. She would never let that happen again. After reading the note again, Lilly was still confused. She could tell Koyt was taunting them, but she felt like she was missing something.

Lilly glanced around the room. What is a darkwalker? she asked again, shifting her eyes around at her fellow vampires, then focusing on Tread. That is what Tread had said Koyt was going to turn Elaine into. Something Alex couldn’t quite believe.

He was muttering to himself and seemed to be in another place.

It's a vampire... Alex, Tread’s friend from Little Rock, began looking uncertain, ...a different kind...something happens to them when they go through the transformation. She looked apologetically at Lilly. They don't turn out right. Alex turned to Vanessa. Can they really be made? I thought it just happened sometimes, and that no one knew why. Something to do with bad genes, maybe.

Vanessa opened her mouth but was interrupted before she could begin.

They are created. Tread sighed.

Lilly turned back to face him. How? she asked.

It seemed to physically pain him as he spoke the words. The same rules apply to creating a darkwalker as a regular vampire. They have to be bitten. Venom has to be injected, and they must consume human blood prior to the transformation, he paused, looking at her guiltily, but with one key exception. Darkwalkers can only be created if they turn during a full moon.

Why? Alex and Lilly asked at the same time.

It was hard to not want to hold Tread completely responsible for this nightmare she was living. After all, Tread had let Koyt stay. Dismissed every doubt and concern Lilly had voiced.

Beats me. He shrugged. I've heard rumors, some are sheer nonsense. Nothing really makes any sense. Some say because most vampires are creatures of the night and a full moon is the one night a month that provides the most light...well, that it does something to the vampire. Vampires should be created in darkness. Darkness protects them. He shook his head. I've heard it's a curse. That centuries ago a witch fell in love with a vampire and was betrayed. The vampire fell in love with a human, and on the night of a full moon, tried to gift his love with immortality. The scorned witch cursed the other woman, and that's where darkwalkers came from.

He looked to Vanessa for confirmation. I don't know about you, but I've never met any witches in my entire existence.

Not that I’ve come across, Vanessa agreed.

There are a few other stories I've heard. They all sound equally far-fetched. But it doesn't matter. Tread pushed his hair out of his face. How darkwalkers came to be isn't important. What's imperative is that they do exist. He turned and faced Lilly, a look of determination in his eyes. We can't let that happen to your mother.

But what makes them different from Alex or Henry or any of the many nightwalkers that live here in Spero? So, they are created under the light of a full moon—what does it do to them that causes them to become a darkwalker? Lilly asked, frustrated that the answers were not coming quickly enough. Her mother was out there in the hands of a psychopath. Why was it so difficult for them to understand the urgency of her understanding the situation?

Tread shook his head solemnly. The short answer? It makes them crazy—raving mad—no one can reason with them. He rubbed his face, looking emotionally exhausted. The longer answer…Well, I've never met one, but I've heard stories from vampires who have. It's like some wires get twisted inside their brain during the transformation. Whoever they loved or desired most during their human existence becomes their fixation. They become crazed with a feeling that nothing will be right until that one person who mattered most to them is dead. Apparently, the only thing that ends the lunacy is when the darkwalker has drained their loved one completely. I’ve heard they won’t kill anyone else until their obsession is dead.

Lilly gasped, covering her mouth with her hand and shuddering. That's horrible. We can't allow my mother to become one of those things. She shook her head, then looked up with a shred of hope in her eyes. Do you think the rumors could be wrong? I mean, you've never met one. Lilly grabbed at Tread’s shirt, desperate for reassurance. Maybe the stories have been exaggerated.

Vanessa stepped forward and placed her hand gently on Lilly's shoulder. They haven't, child, she said sullenly.

Lilly released Tread from her grip as all eyes turned to Vanessa. I've encountered two in my existence, she began. When we hear of one, we act quickly to terminate them. Or we did before humans became aware of our existence. No one wanted attention drawn to our kind.

Who's we? Alex asked, clearly surprised.

It made Lilly feel slightly better that she wasn’t the only vampire that appeared to not know the entire history of their kind.

Just older vampires. Those who've been around long enough to know that less is more. The less knowledge humans have about us, the better it is for our kind.

But if they only kill the object of their obsession, why bother with hunting them down? Alex wondered.

Darkwalkers can still draw outside attention rather quickly. Imagine a crazy human. They stand out because they act different. But an insane vampire, going at vamp speed, tearing apart cities, trying to find one individual… Vanessa shrugged, not finishing the sentence.

So, what happened in the two cases you witnessed? Tread asked.

Vanessa breathed out slowly. The first we beheaded immediately. It was clear that none of us could reason with the darkwalker. They can’t be talked out of it, even knowing death is imminent. It was over in a minute. She snapped her fingers. The second was different. I was with a friend when we found the darkwalker. I convinced him to help me capture it. We imprisoned the poor soul. She looked tired and older than normal as she spoke of the past. We found the vampire who had created it. Her name was Rebecca. She told us the creature had a sister. So as an experiment, we tracked down the sister and brought her to the darkwalker. The darkwalker became frenzied at the sight of her. The sister tried to reason with her, but it was the same. There was no sign of anything but a monster; not even a hint of humanity remained. Eventually, in a desire to learn more, we put the sister in the cage with the darkwalker. It was over quickly. The sister was devoured in seconds.

Lilly gasped loudly.

Vanessa nodded, It was a terrible thing to do, she acknowledged. But we needed information. We felt that one human life was worth the risk if we could figure out how to stop or end the craze. And then as soon as the sister was dead, the darkwalker changed. It was as if she transformed into a normal vampire. Vanessa shook her head. Upon realizing who she had killed, the vampire couldn't live with herself. Grief overcame her and she committed suicide by vamp.

Suicide by what? Lilly asked, confused.

Have you ever heard of suicide by cop? In the movies, when a perp doesn't want to go on but can't live with their actions, they attack a cop, or do something that forces the officer to kill them. Suicide by police, Tread explained.

Vanessa nodded in agreement. She attacked my friend, and forced me to end her existence. I watched it all. I am certain that she couldn't deal with the blood on her hands.

No, no, no, no, Lilly said, more to herself, shaking her head. This can’t be happening. No wonder the vampire wanted to end her existence. What she did would be impossible for anyone to get over. But after hearing the story, Lilly didn’t think the blood was only on the darkwalker’s hands. Vanessa and her friend had proven themselves to be equally guilty—probably more so than the murderer—in Lilly’s mind. The darkwalker had been out of her mind, not realizing what she was doing. Vanessa had no such excuse.

Tread walked over to try to comfort her, but she held up her hand to stop him. She needed a moment. Looking around the apartment, it was hard to believe how much had changed. She looked at the stove in the kitchen. She could picture her mother standing at it, flipping pancakes and making scrambled eggs, her father’s favorite. She moved to the kitchen table. They had spent hours playing scrabble together. It was her mother’s favorite game. Some of the letters had been lost so Tread had carved new ones out of wood. Next she looked at the sofa where her mother would curl up and read a book when she had the chance.

Everything in their apartment reminded her of Elaine. Memories flooded her mind. She had to get her mother back. She needed her.

Lilly took a deep breath. So, when is the next full moon? If he is going to do this, then he has to wait for that, correct?

Vanessa nodded.

In twenty-five days, Alex answered solemnly.

Koyt could be anywhere in the world and Lilly only had less than a month to find him, kill him, and rescue her mother before he turned Elaine into a monster.

Chapter II

BLOCKED

Okay. So where are they? Where did Gavin and the rest of Koyt’s goons end up? Lilly glanced around. The jail, right?

After Koyt entered the community, he convinced several of their residents to join his side. Gavin, Terri, Chloe, and Matthew were four of the vampires Lilly knew had sided with Koyt, along with his pal Hunter who had accompanied him when they first arrived. Who knew if there were any others that they hadn’t discovered? Lilly hoped not, but Koyt always seemed to have the upper hand and had accomplished more than any of them imagined possible.

Tread shook his head uncertainly.

Then Lilly remembered he had been a little preoccupied with trying to keep his head attached to pay much attention to anything else that had happened immediately after his scuffle with Koyt.

They have to be there, Lilly insisted. It was the only place that made sense. Tread, you can torture the information out of them—you’ve had plenty of practice.

Tread’s mouth dropped open, looking horrified by her suggestion and comment. Alex stared at her wide-eyed.

Lilly paused for a moment. Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just…

Terrified, Vanessa suggested, supplying the word. She patted Lilly consolingly on the back. We understand. Take me to them and I’ll get the information out of them.

Whoa! Hold on a minute. We can’t just go torturing people, Tread said, waving his hands in front of him and barring Vanessa’s path.

Sure we can, Lilly said, brushing him off. They took my mother. She glanced at Vanessa and motioned for her to follow.

No, we can’t, Tread insisted, grabbing Lilly’s arm.

Lilly glared at Tread. LET. GO. OF. ME. Her words were slow and deliberate.

Not until we discuss this, Tread responded, loosening his grip a little. Lil, this isn’t you. We can’t just torture them. Koyt took your mom. We don’t even know if they knew anything about that or not. AND— he barreled through, seeing Lilly try to interrupt, we are not a dictatorship. You have made that clear. You need to convene the council. You can’t just make rules as you see fit, no matter how justified you feel.

The room fell silent waiting to see how Lilly would react. Alex took a step back, uncertain of the emotions flying around the room.

Lilly let out a long sigh. It infuriated her that Tread was right. That now, after all the things he had done in his past, he was the one pushing her to make the moral choice. A small part of her wished he could just flip a switch and turn back into the vampire who didn’t value life. The one who might have even relished in the act of torturing another being. But Lilly knew that wasn’t fair. All right. I’m listening.

He hesitantly released his grip on her.

I will try to be more rational. But let’s wake the council now. I don’t want to delay. Every second that passes, Koyt is doing who knows what to my mother. And I’m not taking torture off the table.

I really doubt that after tonight anyone is sleeping, Vanessa guessed.

Still unsure of Lilly’s state of mind, Tread looked to Alex. Will you make sure Lilly goes straight to Town Hall?

Alex nodded; Lilly rolled her eyes.

Why did I ever give her a tour?

Vanessa can come with me. We will round everyone up. Tread motioned to the door with his head and his adopted mother followed him outside.

It didn’t take long for Tread to track everyone down. Mark and Annie had been together at the clinic. Lex was home but awake, horrified to find out Elaine had been taken. It took some coaxing on both Tread’s and Vanessa’s part to get Ethan to even allow his wife to attend the meeting after the events of the last few hours. Justin had been lifting weights. Ellen’s place still hadn’t been filled. The vote was supposed to take place tomorrow, but Tread doubted that would happen now.

Looking around the room, it didn’t escape Lilly that Vanessa wasn’t here. True, she was not a member of the council, but Lilly felt certain that Tread had sent her away solely due to the fact that Vanessa was not opposed to torture. Lilly didn’t even wait until everyone was seated before she began.

As I am sure you have all been informed by now, my mother Elaine has been abducted.

Lex looked empathetically at her friend as the others all slowly nodded in affirmation.

We’re so sorry, Annie said.

Yes, your mother was nice from what I could tell. I mean, she didn’t hate vampires, Mark agreed.

I appreciate the sentiment, but that’s not going to help me find her, Lilly began. Gavin, Chloe, Matthew, Terri, and Hunter are all confined to cells in the prison. She had confirmed this with Annie before the meeting commenced. Knowing they were a few short minutes from her location was really testing her self-control.

Rationally, she knew Tread was right. Torture was wrong. But all she wanted to do was pull them each apart limb by limb until she found her mother. Right or wrong, Lilly would do whatever she had to if it brought Elaine back. The consequences could be dealt with later.

We need to interrogate them and decide how far we are willing to go.

How far? Justin asked. So are we talking executions, banishment, or more along the lines of…waterboarding? He looked around uncertainly at the other council members.

Whatever it takes, Lilly answered, determination shining in her eyes. Although waterboarding was pointless, as vampires didn’t need oxygen to survive.

Lex looked to Annie, not wanting to meet her friend’s eyes. "I always heard torture doesn’t work. That people will just tell