Dark Horizons (The Red Sector Chronicles) by Krystle Jones Read Free Book Online Page B

S is ,” he said, flashing a smile.
    “How did you…” The question died on my tongue as my mind tried to wrap itself around the fact my brother was standing outside the bars.
    Free.
    “Escape?” he finished. “It was easy. I glamoured them. Their weak minds were easy enough to control.”
    “Glamour alone wouldn’t be enough,” I said. “What else did you do?”
    He shrugged. “Our glamour is stronger than most vampires since we’re descended from the first king. That being the case, we’re also stronger and faster than ‘lesser’ vampires.” He kicked one of the corpses out of the way with a look of utter disgust.
    “What do you think you’re doing?” I growled. “You deserve to rot in a cell for the rest of your long, wretched life for what you’ve done.”
    “ Oh, no, I don’t think so, S is.” He knelt and grabbed a bloody security badge . Wiping it off on his jacket, he lifted it up to the scanner while it was still around the man’s contorted neck. “I have far too many plans to be inconvenienced for much longer.”
    The little light turned from red to green , and a door slid open.
    “Sloane!” Paris yelled. “If he escapes, I won’t be able to find a cure!”
    My eyes widened and I whirled around. “Orion, stop!”
    He paused at the door, turning just far enough to give me a bitter smile. The red light brought out his glowing crimson eyes and bloody fangs, making him look like a demon . “No, Sloane. I’m never going to stop, not until they pay for taking my dreams away.”
    Then he stepped out the door, along with the only chance I had at saving Aden’s life.

CHAPTER 5
     
    It’s weird how life has those moments that seem to move both incredibly fast and slow at the same time.
    I stared at the now closed door my brother had just left through as the sirens blared and red lights flooded the prison ward. The ruckus disoriented my surroundings , but not to the point that I could n’t see the set of keys lying in a pool of blood in front of my cell.
    Kneeling so fast I slammed my knees onto the floor, I carefully slipped my arm through the Scarlet Steel bars and hooked my index finger beneath the ring. Slowly lifting it up, I began bringing my arm back in the cell.
    “Hurry!” Paris shouted over the noise.
    “You’re. Not. Helping,” I said through gritted teeth. My whole body was stiff with the effort of trying not to touch the bars, which I knew would burn through my flesh in less than five seconds. This close, the bitter , acidic smell wafting off the metal was so sharp it burned my nose, like swimming in a p ool that has too much chlorine.
    I couldn’t help the sigh of relief that slackened my shoulders once the keys were safely inside, and I rose, moving in front of the lock. My stomach twisted with dread. There was no way I could avoid touching the bars if I hoped to unlock the door.
    “Quit being a pussy and do it!” Paris growled.
    “I f you’re going to talk smack, maybe yo u should unlock your cell first and then help me out !” I shouted at her with equal fervor.
    That shut her up. I didn’t know whether to be disappointed she’d declined my offer, or relieved to get her off my back.
    Pulling the sleeve of my sweater down as far as it would go, I used it to cover my palm before sliding my arm through the narrow gap between two of the bars. Not wanting to put my face next to the steel , I knelt and awkwardly turned my wrist so the first key was angled for the lock. There were five total . I prayed I would get lucky and hit the right key on the first try.
    No such luck.
    The first one didn’t work, so I tried the second. Then the third.
    About the fourth key, my knees were starting to tremble with the effort of maintain ing my position. T ension knots had balled up the muscles under my right shoulder blade, making my arm cramp. Wincing at a particularly excruciating spasm , my arm flinched half an inch, brushing against the bars. Though the sweater covered my