DARK RETURN Sneak Peek #2

As promised, here's another sneak peek into Dark Return, due for release at the end of the year. The sneak peek is a flashback to when Kai was a Daychild. You may not want to read the excerpt if you haven't read Dark Seeker. I don't want to spoil anything. (This work is not finalized and is still in draft form.)

The old warehouse did nothing to hide them from him. The concrete room reeked of mildew and rotting wood. Crates lined the walls, left over from the previous owners, before it was condemned and left to inhabit the undead. Kai grasped Leah's hand and led her through a chained door to the outside. They stepped down into the alley. It wouldn't be long until Tavares found them.

"He knows we're still together," Leah said, throwing herself into Kai's arms. Although a seemingly desperate gesture, Kai knew her well. She would follow their king anywhere. Even the screwed-up "love" they shared was no match for the undying devotion she felt for Tavares. In a way, Kai figured it was love that she felt for their king. Only it stemmed from a place of obligation, not feeling.

Kai embraced her, running his hands through her blonde hair. Things were so different between them now. As high school sweethearts they were inseparable, but the loss of their humanity had turned their relationship into one of necessity, as if losing their souls had also bound them together. What was once just innocent teenage love had become twisted into a possessive game.

"We'll fight him together," Kai said.

Leah pushed back on his chest. "But how? He's our creator. If he wants me, he'll have me. We have no other choice."

Pounding erupted behind the metal door.

Kai shoved Leah behind him. "I'll deal with him."

Leah stepped away from Kai and planted her boots firmly on the asphalt. "I will not fight him. He's our maker. We owe him our loyalty."

"Loyalty. How can you be loyal to someone who is forcing you to be with him?"

"That's how you would see it," Leah snapped. "I don't know what's wrong with you lately. It's like you're developing a conscious or something. We don't love like humans, but you, you've changed." Leah's look of pity twisted around inside of him. Kai knew he'd changed, that the kill was no longer his endgame. Even for their soulless race, there had to be something more than brutality.

  

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek into Kai's past.