The Darkest Colors Read online

  Before she was even aware of her return, Raina felt Lisa almost forcefully dragging her to her feet. How long had she been sitting there? She felt that she had only just closed her eyes but a moment ago. Had she dozed off? Or would it have been closer to the truth to say that she had blacked out? It wasn’t good, either way. She had things to do, loose ends to tie up before her world truly began to collapse all around her … or was it already over?

  “My car is right over there. See it?” Lisa asked her softly, nodding toward her fairly new, clean white Toyota about twenty feet away. “Can you walk that far?”

  “Sure, sure,” Raina insisted, trying unsuccessfully to shoo away her friend’s assistance.

  Lisa began to lead her along the sidewalk with an arm around her waist. “You’re looking worse by the minute. How do you feel?”

  “Like my body’s falling apart.”

  “Are you nauseous?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Dizzy?”

  “Totally.”

  “Cramps?”

  “God, yes.”

  “What else?”

  The light of the morning sun bore down upon Raina with a heat that was almost a physical weight. “I hope your car still has good air. I’m starting to feel like a French fry under a heat lamp.”

  Lisa opened the passenger-side door, helped her inside, and hurried around into the driver’s seat. The interior of the Toyota was oven-like, so stifling with the intensity of its heat that Raina actually found it difficult to breathe. Thankfully, Lisa switched the air-conditioning on full-tilt without being asked. The initial blast of air from the vents was a mildew-scented, steamy assault on the senses that made Raina groan and wince, but it quickly faded and turned into a soothing, reassuring, blessedly cool breeze. She aimed one vent at her face and the other at her chest, lay back in the seat, and closed her eyes as Lisa drove them out of the hospital parking lot.

  * * * *

  Chapter Eleven

  Raina gasped as Lisa shook her by her shoulder to wake her. “Hey. Hang in there, okay? I’ll be right back. I need to run in and get you some stuff. I’ll leave the car running so you can keep the air on, okay?”

  “Cool beans,” she replied as nonchalantly as she could.

  Raina tried not to be frightened by the fact that they had seemingly teleported from the parking lot of a hospital to that of a pharmacy and convenience store. Had she blacked out again? Maybe she was more tired than she’d really felt. More than anything, she was physically exhausted, feeling as though she had been running through an obstacle course of some insane degree for the past twenty-four hours. Every muscle in her body ached. Her stomach growled and suddenly sent a sharp pang of hunger through her that made her wince and double over slightly. She needed to eat something, and soon. Another check of her mouth with her tongue revealed that nearly all of her teeth were fairly loose, some to a point that they almost felt as though they were merely laying inside of her mouth like so many odd-shaped pieces of hard candy. She didn’t try to wiggle any of them out, though. She wanted to keep them as long as she could. It strangely reminded her of when she was a young girl, losing the last of her baby teeth. She hadn’t wanted grown-up teeth. She hadn’t wanted those big, goofy-looking things in her mouth that would look totally unfamiliar in her smile. Then, as now, she had liked her old teeth. She knew them. They worked. They were just fine. Why fix something that wasn’t broken?

  Though she was positively dripping with perspiration, she became aware of the fact that she was now so cold that the beads of sweat upon her skin felt like bits of ice. She reached over to the center of the dashboard to switch off the air conditioner, but couldn’t quite make sense of how the controls on Lisa’s car worked. She didn’t like these new cars with their fancy automatic climate controls and whatnot. She had to deal with computers enough at work, as it was … or rather, as it had been, since she dimly remembered that she had just quit her job. Frustrated and confused by the weird symbols and buttons of her friend’s car, she switched off the air conditioning in the only sure-fire manner that she knew. A weak-handed turn of the ignition key brought the engine to a halt and the arctic breeze from the dashboard vents abruptly ceased. Raina slumped back in her leather seat with a sigh of relief, and let her head loll over until her forehead bumped against the window of her door.

  Again, Lisa drew a gasp of alarm from her as Raina felt herself being shaken by her shoulder, although this time she choked upon something wet and warm in her mouth. Covering her mouth with her already bloodstained right hand as she coughed, she barely managed not to spray blood all over the inside of Lisa’s car. However, the same could not be said for her clothing; as soon as Raina cleared her throat, she discovered that she had been drooling blood and saliva upon her own chest during her unconsciousness. She had blacked out yet again, and more teeth had freed themselves from her gums in that time. She opened the door of the car with her clean hand, leaned out, and ejected a small splash of crimson upon the blacktop, catching the lost teeth in her hand along with the other three teeth she was still holding.

  “Jesus, Raina, I thought you were dead!” Lisa gasped.

  “Not yet,” she replied, shutting the door. “Working on it, though. Gimmie another hour or two.”

  “Here.” Lisa got into the car and began digging into one of the two large plastic bags of items she’d purchased in the store. “I don’t know what all you’ll need, exactly, but I figured this would help you out a little for right now.”

  Lisa unscrewed the cap of a large bottle of water and handed it to Raina. The previous, smaller bottle had fallen to the floor at her feet at some point that she could not remember. As before, Raina used the water to cleanse the inside of her mouth, opening the door again and expectorating upon the ground. Thankfully, the blood did not show as anything but general wetness upon the blacktop surface. This time, she did take a long, hearty drink from the bottle, submitting to the need to fill her stomach with something, anything. For such a large bottle of water, it certainly didn’t seem to last very long at all.

  Lisa started the car again, resurrecting the chilling winds of an artificial Alaska, and Raina was suddenly thankful for it, as she was once again feeling as though she were inside of a convection oven. Lisa handed her ridiculous doses of supplements, vitamins, and other pills, and Raina downed all of them with reckless abandon, washing them down with a large can of a rather gross-tasting energy drink. It didn’t satisfy her hunger completely, but it was enough to have something in her stomach for the time being, as Lisa finally put the remaining items into the back seat, fastened her seat belt, and drove them away from the pharmacy.

  She managed to stay awake for at least half of the ride home. During that time, Lisa used her cell phone to call back to the hospital and notify them that she would be late in returning from her lunch break, as she was dealing with a family emergency. A moment later, Raina felt her door being opened as her friend helped her out of the car, half-carrying her from the driveway and up the few stairs to her front door. It was not without difficulty, but Raina did manage to produce the correct key to her own house and open the front door with it, unassisted.

  “Home sweet hell,” she muttered as she practically fell through the doorway into her living room, holding herself aloft by clinging to the doorknob and Lisa’s shoulder.

  Lisa began to lead her across the living room, slinging one of Raina’s limp arms over her shoulders and putting an arm about her waist. It was a bit funny, since Lisa was even smaller than Raina, and she was barely strong enough for the task, but she was giving everything she had to help her friend. Her voice was strained as she said, “We need to get you into bed.”

  Raina suddenly remembered why the bedroom door was closed as they approached it, and she dug in her heels, almost causing Lisa to drop her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You don’t wanna go in there.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because … you’ll freak out,” Rain
a said, having to concentrate very hard to form her words and keep her legs underneath herself.

  “Over what?” Lisa asked. “What’s the deal?” There was a pause. “Look, I’m not gonna stand here and hold you up all day.”

  The door of her bedroom opened slightly, as though moved by an unseen force, but it was quickly and immediately slammed shut.

  “What the hell?”

  “Brenna’s still here,” Raina explained. “She was … helping me … after last night.”

  “Helping you?” Raina didn’t have to see the look on Lisa’s face to know that she didn’t believe that.

  “Just … forget it. You won’t believe me, anyway.”

  Lisa said nothing in reply to that. She moved closer to the bedroom with her, and then paused at the end of the hallway to knock upon the door.

  “All right, already! Hang on a second, would you?” Brenna exclaimed from the other side of the door. “Let me get some damned clothes on…”

  “She sleeps naked,” Raina explained before Lisa could ask. “I know … it sounds bad, but … she wasn’t naked while I was here.”

  “You don’t have to explain. It’s none of my business,” Lisa said flatly. To Brenna, she said, “Hurry up in there, would you?”

  “Fuckin’ patience is a virtue, y’know!” There were some sounds of movement on the other side, and finally Brenna’s voice, slightly muffled now, said, “Okay, I’m cool now.”

  “Not like you’re hiding anything the whole world hasn’t already seen, anyway,” Lisa commented as she opened the door and helped Raina inside.

  A large lump under the sheets of Raina’s bed replied, “Yeah, well, I wasn’t keen on getting an instant sunburn when you opened the door.”

  Raina was able to move away from Lisa toward the bed, shoving her vampire friend through the covers. Brenna moved over a bit, and Raina collapsed across the top of the bed. Lisa closed the door behind herself, explaining that she was going back out to retrieve the items she’d bought from the pharmacy. As soon as she heard the door close again, Brenna peeked out from under the covers.

  “What the hell happened?” she demanded. There was a pause, and then she suddenly moved close to her friend as she saw her condition. “Holy shit! What the fuck happened to you?”

  “Shit happened,” was Raina’s mumbled reply. She lazily explained how her body had begun to rebel against itself at the hospital. She held up the handful of teeth that she’d been clutching for some time. “Tooth Fairy’s coming. Bitch owes me a fortune.”

  Lisa opened the door to the bedroom quite suddenly as she returned. Brenna let out a yelp of alarm and ducked under the covers again.

  “Dammit! Warn me when you’re gonna do that!” Brenna cried out from under the sheets. “You wanna turn me into a French fry?”

  “It was worth a try,” Lisa replied quite coldly as she shut the door. She hadn’t ever truly been comfortable with the idea of Brenna (a vampire) being one of Raina’s friends, but now she suddenly seemed downright hostile towards her.

  Brenna poked her head out from underneath the covers again, her raven hair looking quite frazzled, her makeup long ago washed away, and her eyes looking weary with lack of sleep. Raina saw the unfriendly gaze she cast in Lisa’s direction and wanted to say something to soothe them both, but she was already preoccupied with simply clinging to consciousness.

  “So, you’re going to be taking care of her while she goes through the Change,” she said more than asked of Brenna, placing the bags of items upon the floor.

  “That’s the plan, yeah,” Brenna answered confidently. “Why?”

  Lisa shrugged her thin shoulders as she folded her arms under her small breasts and leaned back against the dresser behind her. “Just wondered. I guess it’s only right though. I mean, it probably wouldn’t be kosher if someone like me was helping out.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked as she tossed aside the covers and sat upright. She was wearing only her panties under a T-shirt that she had apparently borrowed from Raina’s dresser in a hurry.

  Lisa shrugged again. “Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work? I mean, I’m not all totally up on how the whole vampire Code thing works, but isn’t a Maker supposed to take care of their bloodspawn?”

  “What’re you talking about? I’m not her Maker.”

  “Oh, yeah. Okay. Whatever,” Lisa quipped bitterly, rolling her eyes.

  “Hey … fuck you, all right?” Brenna snarled. “I just told you, I’m not her fuckin’ Maker.”

  “Then who is? Oh, wait, that’s right. It was that one guy, that High Court vampire, right?” Lisa replied, snapping her fingers as she pretended to jog her own memory. “Something Fallamhain…”

  “What the fuck is your problem?” Brenna demanded. When she got up from the bed to stand before Lisa, she positively towered over her. “Look, you wanna talk shit to me, that’s fine, I don’t care, because I’ve never cared for your tiny little flat-chested bitch ass in the first place. But don’t you fucking dare call Raina a liar!”

  “Who said anything about lying? I’m just going by what I’ve heard so far…”

  “Which, for your information, is exactly what happened,” Brenna said for her. “I was there, all right? I’m the one that found her slumped over in the back of her own car. Look, it might not mean shit to you, but our friend over there is dealing with a lot of hard emotions right now, and you’re acting like a self-righteous snob. That fucker, Duke Sebastian, knocked her out, raped her, and then took a needle and…”

  “Raped?”

  “What? Yeah, raped.” Brenna apparently wasn’t used to having her tirades interrupted.

  “Sure, tell the whole world about it,” Raina protested weakly from where she lay upon the bed.

  “What? She already knows about the Duke. I thought you already filled her in on the rest…?”

  “Are you serious?” Lisa interrupted, turning to Raina. “Did he … were you really…?”

  “I don’t know for sure.”

  “She was,” Brenna insisted.

  “How can you not know?” Lisa asked.

  Brenna let out an exasperated sigh. “Look, if some guy knocked you out and you woke up in the back of your own car feeling wet and finding your underwear pulled off, wouldn’t you assume…?”

  “God dammit, Brenna,” Raina groaned, “enough with the details.”

  “All right! Fine! But it was fucking rape, okay?” Brenna argued. She was gesturing a lot with her hands at that point, which was usually a sure sign that she was on the edge of getting physical. She turned toward Lisa abruptly. “The point is, you’re so busy being selfish about this, you can’t even stop and consider what’s really important here.”

  Lisa’s voice was softer now as she asked, “How am I being selfish?”

  “Oh, gee, I don’t know. Maybe getting all butt-hurt because she didn’t come to you first?”

  “God, would you two quit it, already?” Raina groaned, rubbing her temples. “If you’re gonna fight … do it somewhere else. You’re making my headache worse.”

  Lisa and Brenna glared at one another for a moment or two in silence before Brenna finally broke the stare. She reached down and snatched up one of the bags of items from the floor, actually making Lisa flinch. Brenna saw this and smiled at her.

  “Relax, sweetie. If I was gonna do something bad to you, I would’ve already done it by now,” she informed her as she began sifting through the plastic shopping bag. She began taking things out and lining them up along the dresser. “Nice. Vitamins, minerals, calcium, iron, protein … just what a growing girl needs.”

  “Like I said, I was just trying to…”

  Brenna silenced her with a loud snap of her fingers, and then pointed the polished nail of her index finger at Lisa’s face. “Shut it. Okay? Just let it go. I’m done being a bitch for today, if you are.”

  Lisa held up her hands, rolled her eyes, and turned away. A few seconds of relative silence passed as B
renna laid out the contents of the bag upon the dresser, doing the same with the other bag. She took one of the large cans of energy drink over to Raina, cracked it open as she sat down upon the bed beside her, and helped pull her up into a sitting position. The rattle of car keys caught both their attention.

  “I’d better get back to work, then. I’ll check in later to see how you’re doing,” Lisa sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She looked at Raina for a moment, clearly worried, before she turned her gaze to Brenna. “Take good care of her, okay?”

  “She’s in good hands,” Brenna replied with a smirk, putting an arm around Raina. “And hey…”

  “Yes?”

  “Don’t tell anyone about this,” she added with uncommon seriousness. “I mean, nobody. No gossip, no secrets with your hubby, not a soul … got it?”

  “Yes, of course,” Lisa agreed with a nod. She hesitated. “I need to open this door to leave. I’m giving you fair warning this time.”

  “Oh.”

  With that, Brenna grabbed the covers nearby, shielded herself with them, and Lisa opened the door, exiting the room quietly. Lisa gave her friend one last lingering glance as she left, surely knowing that it might be the last time that she would ever see Raina in daylight … or alive, at all, for that matter.

  * * * *

  Chapter Twelve

  Brenna was being chased by an unknown entity, something or someone of a shapeless blackness that pursued her through the maze-like corridors of some strange building. She had been descending a set of stairs and had turned to look back at the thing that followed her. Her feet, which felt as weak and ineffective as though she were running through chest-high waters, were then tripped by something that had then struck at them, and she had begun to fall. The very instant at which she would have otherwise landed face-first at the bottom of that staircase, she awoke with a gasp and sat bolt upright.