Darkest, BK 2 of Lightwalkers (completed)

II

Jonathan

I laid on the floor in the library, watching the sun sink through the high arched windows. There was only about thirty minutes left until the sun set. Only thirty minutes left to be me.

Oh, but I am you, Kain whispered, following my thoughts.

My body shuddered of its own accord. I would never accept Kain as a part of myself. We found out the morning after, that the spell Michaela had performed the other night had only partially worked. At night, it did exactly what she had wanted it to do: it forced me out of control of my own body, freeing Kain to do whatever he wanted to do.

Daytime was a different matter. During the day, or most of it anyway, Kain died like the rest of the vampires, leaving me to myself. Not that there was much to do, anyway.

The sound of a page turning, drew my attention across the room. The girl, Carrie, who'd found me in this room that same afternoon before Michaela hauled me off for some ritual time. She sat reading in the armchair. Or more to the point, sat watching me. I didn't really see the point of it. She was tiny, but I knew by the way her eyes watched me that she'd give as good as she got.

Rolling over, I curled up on my side, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my back. How did everything go to hell so quickly? One moment, I'm camping with my brother and the next...

I let the thought trail off, not really wanting to go over the events again. It was done. Seth was dead, and I was sorta dead. If only I could find a way to finish the job.

If you think that I'm going to let that happen, you'd better think twice. Kain's voice was stronger, forceful almost, as he pushed at my presence.

I've got all of eternity to figure it out, I'm sure it won't take me that long, I replied to him.

The sun disappeared behind the trees of the forest, taking the last of it's warmth with it. I sat up, and glanced at Carrie. She'd already tucked a bit of ribbon into her book and set it on the little end table by her chair.

She stood and turned to leave, but stopped when she reached the door. She glanced back, a worried look on her face. "Do you want anything? I could get you a blanket or something?"

I shook my head and looked away, not trusting my voice.

Aww, are you going to cry?

As the sun fell below the horizon, I could feel the the blood in my veins icing over. It wasn't as painful as that first night, but I still curled forward, biting my lip to kept from calling out. Kain forced his way to the front.

Kain stood, stretching. I hated the feeling of my body moving without me directing it. It drove me back further from the front of my, our, mind. Back to a dark corner that allowed me to hide without feeling any of it. If I pushed myself, I could see what was going on or what Kain was doing with my body. But Kain's habits and choices were far from anything that I might have done for or chosen for myself.

So, I drifted in the dark corner, trying not to focus on anything that was going on. Not on Kain getting ready for the evening, or joining the other vampires. Not on the small court of vampires that had gathered around Michaela like they did every night. Not on the glasses of blood they sipped at.

Kain turned his thoughts inward, looking for me as he raised the glass of red liquid to our lips.

I hated blood. I hated how I craved and detested it. I fought against Kain's grip in vain, hoping that maybe this time I could shake him free.

You think you can fight against me? You think you can be free of me? It's not possible. You can't get rid of me. I'll always be here.

I'll find a way get rid of you, I replied to him, and let myself sink deeper. Away from him and away from the world.

In the very darkest corners of my mind, I found that I could hide myself from him. It's where I thought about my brother and Mom and tried to figure out how I could join them. The sun was useless to me, and it's not like they kept stakes around in a house full of vampires. I was tempted to just drift here for eternity. To give up.

But I couldn't give up. Not yet anyway. I would find a way to end this.

I pushed up, coming back to the surface of my mind. There was a warmth lurking just below the horizon. I could tell that the sun was close to rising, close enough that the glow of predawn was probably in the sky.

My eyes were closed and my body was still. The house was quiet and just the slow breathing of someone else in the room was the only noise I could hear. Kain's presence was coasting, sleeping as soundly as the body that held the both of us was.

I eased my presence forward, past Kain's and as the sun rose, I took control of my body. My fingers twitched against the velvet interior of the coffin. It was a familiar sensation, one I'd felt almost every morning this past week as I regained control.

Slowly, as I grew warm, I found the strength to move. I pushed the coffin lid open and heaved a sigh of relief. I couldn't get used to the casket's confining feeling. Shielding my eyes against the bright light of the morning, I looked around.

I was in Kain's room, or mine, I guess. They'd given me one of the rooms on the third floor. It was a long rectangular room instead of the large square one that Michaela's was. I was the only vampire, besides Michaela, to have my own room. I didn't understand why I wasn't still with the others that slept in the basement, in the room where I'd woken up on that first night. Not that I was complaining, waking up in a sea of coffins was very disturbing. Was it something to do with Kain? Had Michaela singled him out?

Someone cleared their throat. I turned, startled by the sound, to see Louie standing by the doorway. I'd forgotten that he was there, even though I'd just heard him breathing

"Good morning," I said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Lan said that if I needed anything to just ask Louie, like he was some sort of servant. But I knew the truth, I wasn't blind. Louie was my daytime guard. The person who made sure I didn't escape. Lan wasn't fooling anyone.

"Carrie is waiting for you downstairs," Louie said.

I pulled myself out of the coffin.