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

Chapter 23

Blades of slightly overgrown grass rose all around me; my eyes were level with the ground. Damp earth and fresh rain soaked the air as I stuck my head out and looked around. As I had hoped, I was somewhere in the park, which was situated behind my old elementary school. The air was cool; the sky was clear and spackled with stars.

I glanced at my watch. Twenty minutes after midnight.

Swearing, I set my equipment – all but the knife, which I tucked in my pocket – just inside the entrance and hauled myself out of the hole. After pulling the lid back into place – leaving it slightly ajar in case it had a tendency to get stuck – I raced through the trees, praying Leo hadn't left yet.

Please, please be there, I thought, seeing the brightly colored playground equipment through the foliage. I peered through the leaves, not seeing any sign of Leo.

My heart began to sink. Maybe he'd gotten tired of waiting and had already left. Or maybe he had never shown up to begin with.

Disappointment stabbed at my chest as I stepped through the tree line and walked over to a swing set, gravel crunching under my feet. I plopped down, heavy hearted, and slowly began to rock myself.

I was too late, all because I overslept. I could've kicked myself, I was so angry.

Gravel shifted behind me. "Sloane?" asked a shaky, rough voice.

I gasped sharply, my heart skipping a beat as I abruptly stood and whirled around to find a tall, olive-skinned boy standing a few feet away. My eyes widened, drinking him in. His black hair was spiked with gel, and the muscles in his chest and arms stretched against his white t-shirt. A pair of brown eyes looked back at me, mirroring my shock.

"Leo," I whispered.

He slowly smiled, and I laughed as I ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck as he clutched me tight.

"It's really you," he said, running a hand through my hair. "I thought... we all thought..."

I pulled away and smiled up at him. "Yeah, me too, for a while."

His eyes were always fierce – Leo didn't know how not to fuse passion into anything – but something about the way he looked at me now made me tremble.

"I've been helping the Scarlet Guard search for you," he said. "McGuiness even had the Guild out looking."

This surprised me. I had always thought McGuiness hated me. Then again, McGuiness didn't really seem to like anyone.

I tensed at the mention of the other hunters, but Leo didn't notice. "Are you hurt?" he asked, examining me.

"No," I said, blinking. "I'm fine, for the most part."

"For the most part?" A sharp edge crept into the question.

I bit my lip. When I'd come here, I had every intention of telling Leo about the underground city of vampires. But for some reason, Angel's face, all innocent and naïve, flashed through my mind's eye, followed by Aden, his stormy blue eyes burning into my own. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't erase him from my thoughts.

I can't tell Leo about them. Not yet.

Shock and confusion rolled through me as I began weaving a lie. "I was chased by vampires," I heard myself say. Leo took a sharp breath as I continued. "I fought them off, but they followed my trail. I've been outrunning them, trying to find my way back. By some miracle, I found an old house that still had some electricity and a computer."

"How did you get back in? To the White Sector, that is."

"I used the same code."

Leo looked at me hard. "Did they... hurt you, Sloane?"

The air thinned between us as I stared back at him, unblinking. "No," I finally said. "No, they didn't."

He let out a long sigh. "Thank God you're alive," he said, pulling me to him again and resting his cheek against the top of my head. "I don't know what I would've done if I lost you."

I hugged him back, breathing in the scent of mint soap on his skin. Leo. My Leo. I've finally found you.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, neither of us speaking, before Leo pulled away and said, "Do you want to tell your mother? I assume she doesn't know you're back."

My stomach churned at the thought of facing her. "No," I said quickly. "Not yet." I didn't think I'd ever be ready to face her after what I'd done. I had broken so many laws and restrictions by going into the Red Sector. Those actions alone were going to come with a heavy punishment. I especially didn't want to think about what she'd do if she found out I was now a vampire.

To my astonishment, Leo grabbed my hand and smiled at me. "Come on. I have a surprise for you."

"Where are we going?" He led me toward his blue Jeep Compass, which was parked in the school parking lot.

Leo lived with his uncle, who had more money than he knew what to do with and often doted on his nephew. He had bought the Jeep for Leo as a Christmas present less than two years ago, right after Leo had turned sixteen.

He grinned as we got in. "You'll see." He gave my hand a squeeze, and I squeezed back. It wasn't romantic. We had always held hands, since we were kids. Leo was closer to being a brother to me than anything else, my best friend in the entire world. I wasn't even sure I could think of Leo in that way. Or rather, I was afraid to, as if by doing so I would be sabotaging our friendship. I didn't think it was worth the risk.

Leo sped off and filled me in on what had been happening since I'd been gone: school, training, etc. A whole month had passed, but the world had continued marching on as it always had.

After a short drive, we pulled up in front of a sketchy looking, aluminum sided warehouse. I slowly got out of the Jeep after Leo. "Where are we?"

He didn't answer, but his lips were curved into a mischievous grin. He pulled something from his pocket, dangling it in the air for me to see.

"A blindfold? Really?" Normally, I would've been ecstatic about surprises. Call me crazy, but after spending time in the Red Sector, I'd had more than my share of surprises for this lifetime.

"Trust me," he murmured, wrapping the strip of black cloth over my eyes and tying it behind my head. I gave him a nervous smile as he took me by the shoulders, guiding me as we walked into the building. He paused, warning me of some approaching stairs, and we slowly descended. Blind, I reached out with my other senses. It felt like concrete flooring. The air smelled of sugar and dust, and there was so much alcohol riding the draft that I could literally taste it.

"Leo, I'm not sure –"

"Trust me. We're almost there."

In front of me, there was a muffled giggle and a few gasps right before Leo ripped off the blindfold and I faced a throng of people yelling, "Surprise!"

My nervous excitement quickly turned to horror as I looked at their wrists, seeing one black tattoo cross after another.

This wasn't just a surprise party.

Leo had deposited me in a room full of vampirehunters.