The Scarlet Dagger (The Red Sector Chronicles, #1) by Krystle Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

understatement. Admittedly, I was a bit surprised he had agreed to tell me anything at all, though I had no idea exactly how much of what he said was one hundred percent true.
     
    Paris pursed her lips, her beautiful face all soured up, but I spoke anyway. “Where are we? And don’t say in a hospital.”
     
    Aden’s mouth turned up in the corner. “We’re underground, about two hundred feet directly below Pittsburgh, to be exact.”
     
    That explains the bizarre power outages. I bet they have to tap into the White Sector’s power supply to run this place.
     
    “ Paris and I” – he gestured between them – “are part of an independent military faction called the Syndicate. You’re in the medical wing of our training academy. Dr. De Lange here is the Chief of Surgery, and an expert in hematology, or ‘the study of blood.’”
     
    My mind sorted through the information, latching on to one fact in specific. “Independent? As in, rebels?”
     
    Aden’s gaze was steadfast. “Perhaps.”
     
    My brain tried to process this. Before now, I – and the rest of the world – had thought vampires to be a plague, nothing more than horrific animals whose basic instinct were to feed off of humans like livestock. Aden and Paris were clearly reasoning, high-functioning creatures. Had I not known better, I would have thought them to be human. Neither of them was chalky, like the movies and literature painted vampires out to be. They could have been living next to me as my neighbors and I wouldn’t have been the wiser. It was an unsettling feeling.
     
    And not only were they practically indistinguishable from humans, they apparently also had a secret military base. This changes everything. What are they training for? The humans would never see them coming if they were planning to strike.
     
    I kept my alarm buried, masking my face with cool composure. Based on the presented facts, I drew another conclusion. “Back in the house, you recognized me.” I couldn’t recall what else Aden had said. Parts of my memory had returned in perfect clarity while others remained riddled with foggy patches.
     
    So that’s what Paris meant when she said amnesia was normal.
     
    Paris gave me a look of pure annoyance. “Of course he did. Your face is on the television programs every time your mother makes an appearance.”
     
    I chewed on my lip. They had been keeping tabs on the Pennsylvania White Sector, and most likely, on my mother . She had always been proud and driven – just like my brother – and her accomplishments as a Marine made her unique to the political circles she now ran in. She not only served as our sector’s Sovereign; as a skilled tactician, she oversaw the military operations not just for Pennsylvania, but for the entire collection of northeastern White Sectors. If the vampires had been tracking my mother’s movements, then it supported my theory they were planning to strike against the human race, possibly starting in Pittsburgh.
     
    “ So that’s why you were in my house,” I whispered. “You were conducting research. You’re planning an attack, aren’t you?”
     
    Aden’s face was perfectly stoic as he took a seat. He neither denied nor confirmed my accusation, which was confirmation enough in my mind.
     
    I have to get back to warn them, even if it costs me my life. If I didn’t, there could be hundreds more casualties. My own life seemed vastly insignificant in comparison to the mass homicide that would occur if the vampires launched their raid.
     
    “ That’s why you needed me,” I said. “Because you recognized me from the television broadcasts. You want to use me as leverage against my mother.”
     
    Aden’s eyes flashed as he nodded once, his gaze sharpening. “Yes. When I saw you, I couldn’t believe my luck, but I needed to turn you to insure you wouldn’t run back to your human companions so readily. Seeing as you come from a guild of hunters…”
     
    They would kill me