Wicked Darkness Read online

  WICKED DARKNESS

  VICTORIA ZAK

  Copyright

  Wicked Darkness - Victoria Zak

  Copyright 2018 by Victoria Zak

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior written permission of the author and publisher.

  All characters, events, and locations in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, dead or living, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Cover Design: JAB Designs

  Editing: Violetta Rand

  Created with Vellum

  CONTENTS

  Newsletter Signup Victoria Zak

  Praise for Victoria Zak

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Newsletter Signup Victoria Zak

  About Victoria Zak

  More Books by Victoria Zak

  Sign up for Victoria Zak’s newsletter to receive a free copy of her Guardians of Scotland novella

  Highland Destiny

  You’ll also find additional special offers, bonus content and info on new releases.

  www.victoriazakromance.com

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  PRAISE FOR VICTORIA ZAK

  “Victoria Zak is an author with a great imagination. Her fast-paced writing quickly pulls the reader in to her beautiful worlds.” —USA Today bestselling author Kathryn Le Veque

  “Victoria Zak creates mystical Highlanders like no one else.” —USA Today bestselling author Barbara Devlin

  “A strong new voice is rising in Paranormal Highlander Romance with Victoria Zak.”—USA Today bestselling author Suzan Tisdale

  1

  EVIL LINGERED IN THE AIR. And for someone like Leana, who had fallen from grace so long ago, it felt perfect. Masked by her black cloak, she slipped inside the familiar tavern she’d been visiting for over a month, chose her usual seat in the back of the room, and wondered where a certain woman had gotten to. Leana’s latest target, a lass that never deviated from her daily routine.

  “Wine?” A voice asked a nearby patron.

  Leana closed her eyes and breathed in the intoxicating fragrance of heather and bog myrtle. The killer inside her resurfaced, dominating her every thought. Her gums ached as she recalled how easily her fangs could rip into flesh. Especially the soft skin on a delicate neck. Ye must be patient, Leana, her darker side warned . She found it difficult to resist her natural cravings, that constant temptation to revert back to her lower self, the creature that preyed upon the weak.

  Leana wasn’t ashamed of who or what she was—she wore it proud like a crown upon her head. She gripped the edge of the table, her sharp black nails splintering the wood. She hadn’t spent the last month studying Davina’s every move just to surrender to her hunger and ruin everything she’d planned so carefully. If she’d intended for the lass to be a simple meal, she would have killed her the first day. Nay, this time Leana had a purpose.

  She’d watched Davina and knew her every move as if it were her own.

  With her eyes closed, Leana heard the wine splashing into the tankard at the next table, even smelled her hair. Her flirtatious laughter made Leana smile.

  Aye, the lass was perfect.

  Leana opened her eyes to find Davina standing next to her. The lass didn’t look well. Her eyes were swollen and red and her skin much paler than the day before.

  “Mistress.” Davina coughed into a cloth. The stench of blood awakened the Baobhan sith’s hunger inside Leana.

  “Please, sit,” Leana motioned to the chair across the table. “Ye need rest.”

  “I can no’.” The lass looked around the tavern. “I must get back to work.”

  Leana pulled back her hood and stared into the lass’s eyes. “Ye want to sit with me, Davina.” With a single look, Leana could influence the mind of a human, bend Davina to her will.

  Confusion creased Davina’s face. “How do ye know my name?”

  “There’s no one here but ye and I.”

  Davina sat down.

  Luck was on Leana’s side. The stronger willed the victim, the harder it was to manipulate their mind. But Davina was different—she was ill. Her mind was weak. “Ye are no’ well, lass.”

  “How do ye know?”

  “I can smell heather and bog myrtle on yer breath. Everyone knows that’s a remedy for fever. I know what ails ye.”

  “How? Can ye see the demon?”

  Demon? That was ridiculous. It was clear the lass was suffering from a weak heart.

  “The priest said I should ask God for forgiveness for my sins. God is punishing me, but for what, I dinnae know.”

  Leana held the lass’s hand. “There’s no’ demon in ye. Ye have a failing heart.”

  Leana sat back, watching Davina. Compassion broke through her savagery, planting the tiniest seed of sympathy for the lass. She could heal Davina. “Keep yer promise to yer sisters. Dinnae take an innocent life,” her conscious warned.

  But Davina had something Leana wanted—her life.

  The unfortunate lass matched Leana in every way with her long red hair, slender body, and pale skin. She had no family, so no one would notice if she disappeared and Leana took over her body.

  Faking her own death was the only way for Leana to trick the fae queen into believing she had died. The queen wanted her, for it was Leana who had called upon the fae for help. She’d made the blood oath that had changed her

  sisters’ lives.

  With Leana gone, her sisters, Adaira and Masie, would stop searching for her and live productive lives. It was the only way to protect them. In the past Leana had always tried to do the right thing, but always ended up hurting someone she loved. Not this time.

  Leana exhaled. This wasn’t the time for her conscious to take a righteous stance.

  “Lass.” Leana leaned forward. “I can take yer pain away. All ye have to do is ask.” If Davina wanted to end her suffering, it wouldn’t feel like Leana had taken an innocent life. The fae queen had taught her so well.

  “I dinnae understand,” Davina said. “The priest said I would die. How can ye heal me?”

  “Lass, I never said I would heal ye. All I said was I can take the pain away. No more coughing up blood, no more weakness, no more pain.” Leana looked around the tavern. “Ye would no’ have to work here anymore. Dinnae ye grow tired of men putting their hands all over ye?”

  “Aye.” Davina coughed.

  “Dinnae ye want to leave all this loneliness behind?”

  “Aye.”

  “I can give ye what ye seek.”

  “Death?”

  “All ye have to do is ask.”

  Davina lowered her head. “I’m in so much pain.”

  “I know, lass.” Leana squeezed her hand. Sorrow welled in Davina’s eyes causing Leana’s cold heart to crack with sympathy.

  “I’ve wasted my life. I was too scared to live outside these four walls.”

  Davina looked around the Tavern. “My dreams of marrying a loving man never came true. I should have conquered life and taken what I wanted.

  Instead, I stayed here with the bottom
of the barrel eejits.” Davina sobbed into her hands.

  Leana caught a tear from Davina’s cheek. The loneliness, regret, and agony that plagued the lass filled Leana with immeasurable hunger. If she wasn’t careful, her inner beast would be unleashed. “Ask me,” Leana commanded.

  Davina slowly looked up from the floor. She stared into Leana’s eyes, completely bewitched.

  “Good, lass,” Leana whispered. “Ye want to ask me something, aye?”

  Davina nodded. “Take me to the void. Kill me.”

  Leana’s lips curled into a wicked grin. The plan was working beautifully.

  Manipulating Davina’s mind was too easy. “Ye will obey every word I say.”

  Davina nodded.

  “Ye can no’ breathe.”

  The lass clutched her chest and gasped for air.

  “Ye need fresh air. Go outside and wait for me.”

  “Aye.” Davina quickly stood.

  “Dinnae talk to anyone. Go unseen,” Leana said.

  The lass made her way out of the tavern.

  Relieved, Leana exhaled. No matter how many times she’d controlled a human’s mind, it still made her nervous. The mind was powerful and unpredictable. If one thing went wrong, an unexpected scream or a bold accusation against her, Leana could be accused of witchery and burned at the stake. Nay, she wasn’t going to become kindling for a bonfire.

  Leana pulled her hood over her head and walked outside. Her new life awaited.

  The cold, night air bit into Leana’s skin as she followed Davina’s footprints into the glen behind the tavern. Her blood pumped wildly through her veins with the need to kill. Aye, Davina waited just beyond the trees.

  Leana licked her lips as everything turned red. Her fangs extended, and animal-like power consumed her. Shite, the beast was there. Like lightening, she stalked through the glen—ready to attack, ready to kill, ready to change her own life.

  She found her prey standing beside the shallow grave she’d dug earlier.

  “How long have ye been planning me death?” Davina asked.

  The lass’s mind was under Leana’s control, so why was she asking questions? Had she missed something about Davina? “Who are ye?”

  “Ye should know. Ye’ve been stalking me.”

  What was happening? Had Leana been tricked? Was the queen behind this? Perhaps she should go before something happened…

  “Dinnae leave,” Davina said. “I want to die. And it’s my choice. But why me? Why am I chosen?”

  Leana didn’t know what to say, nor was she obligated to explain herself.

  “The real question here is why I can no’ compel yer mind.” Leana studied Davina. “What are ye?”

  “What do ye mean? I’m an orphan. ‘Tis all I know.”

  “But ye know who—” Leana paused. Mayhap the lass didn’t know that a blood drinker was standing in front of her.

  “Know what?”

  “The truth is, I want yer life and I can no’ have it if ye’re still alive.”

  “Why would ye want to be me? I’m nothing.”

  “Davina, yer life matters to me.”

  “Why? Who are ye running from?”

  Maiden, Mother, Crone. “It does no’ matter why I chose ye or who I’m running from.” Because ye’ll be dead. “Ye’ll no longer suffer. This life was no’ yers to keep. Face death and cross into the void knowing yer new life begins in another time and place.”

  Davina braved looking at Leana.

  The first time Leana had seen Davina, her eyes were filled with sorrow.

  Perhaps that’s what had attracted her to Davina, for Leana knew endless suffering, too. Something altogether different shined in the lass’s eyes now.

  A flicker of something good . Hope?

  “Who will send me to the void?” Davina asked.

  “My name is Leana.”

  “Leana, promise ye’ll live my life better than I have.”

  Once again, the lass had found a way to creep into Leana’s heart. She paused, considering Davina’s words carefully. If she healed the lass Davina could live her own life to its fullest. She’d find the man of her dreams, have many bairns.

  Did Leana have the strength to ward off these weak human feelings and allow this woman to live?

  Me sisters deserve to live. Davina must die.

  “I promise.”

  The lass tipped her chin up. “I am ready.”

  Leana brushed Davina’s long hair away from her face. A large vein ran down the side of her neck, her sweet life essence running through it. Leana’s gums ached as her fangs descended.

  Without a second thought, Leana’s fangs stabbed through Davina’s tender flesh. She sucked at the vein. Iron-tasting blood flowed across her tongue and down her throat, awaking her eternal thirst.

  It didn’t take long for Davina to wilt against Leana, too weak to stand on her own. Leana took another long taste, sealing Davina’s fate. Her body went limp and her heart stopped beating.

  Leana laid the body on the ground. She wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand, catching her breath. She felt empty and numb.

  Though her plan had worked, she didn’t feel any better. Why did she feel like there was something gripping at her heart and wouldn’t let go? Remorse?

  Nay, she shook her head and quickly dismissed that wretched thought. She’d killed before, but somehow, this felt different.

  Quickly, Leana switched dresses with the lass, then placed Davina in the grave. Looking down at Davina, Leana shuddered. By switching clothes with the lass, Davina took on Leana’s features. She picked up the shovel she’d left by the grave earlier and started to fill the grave with dirt. That’s when she found her green, woolen cloak on the ground. She picked it up. Her Clan Keith white stag brooch was pinned to the cloak, and it reminded Leana of her sisters. Their mother had given them matching brooches. It was the only thing she had left from her family. She caressed the heirloom.

  Everything must die with the lass.

  Keeping anything that tied her to Leana Keith was a risk she wasn’t willing to take. She threw the cloak and brooch inside the half-filled grave, then resumed shoveling. “The demons can no’ harm ye anymore, Davina.

  Yer God will lay ye to rest.” At least she hoped so for the lass’s sake.

  “Goodbye, Leana Keith.”

  2

  KENDRICK SAT at the head of the table drumming his fingers. His eldest daughter, Anna, still hadn’t come home. To make matters worse, she had her five-year-old sister lie for her.

  He refilled his ale cup, no stranger to drink. In fact, he’d become very fond of the taste and numbing effect when he overindulged. Though his wife had died five years ago giving birth to their youngest daughter, Allison, her loss felt fresh.

  The door creaked open and Kendrick straightened, fighting the urge to leap across the table and run to his daughter to make sure she fared well.

  “Da,” his doe-eyed daughter said, shocked to see him awake at such a late hour.

  He glared at her and folded his arms across his chest.

  “I—I can explain.”

  “Ye have been with the MacTavish lad, aye?”

  “Da—”

  “It would be wise no’ to lie to me, daughter,” his tone hardened. “I’m in no mood.”

  Anna closed the door, avoiding his gaze.

  Kendrick stood and made his way across the room. “I’ve told ye no’ to see that lad anymore.” He pulled a piece of hay from her tangled hair.

  She pushed off the door, shouldering her way past him. “We’re in love, da.”

  “Love!” Kendrick whipped around. The only thing that lad was after was his daughter’s virtue. Love had nothing to with it. “He told ye that, and ye

  believed him?”

  “Da!” Anna faced him. “I believe him. He wants to marry me.”

  Kendrick’s heart sank to his stomach. Marriage? Nay, this was not a conversation he wanted to have with Anna. She was an innocent, too
young to think of such things. “If ye will no’ obey me rules, I’ll send ye to the nunnery until I find a fit husband for ye.”

  “Ye wouldn’t,” Anna exclaimed.

  “Aye, I would. I want better for you.”

  “Just because he’s poor does no’ make him any less of a man. MacTavish has worked yer land for years, and his parents have been loyal.”

  “Coin buys loyalty, Anna.” Kendrick started up the stairs. As far as he was concerned, the discussion was over.

  “Da, do no’ walk away. I’m no’ a little girl anymore.”

  Kendrick stopped half way up the stairs. “I know ye’re a young lady.

  Why do ye think I’m trying to keep ye from making a mistake?”

  Anna shrugged.

  “If ye wish to make a good match, ye need to protect yer maidenhood.”

  “But I dinnae want to marry a man I do no’ care about. I love MacTavish, and he loves me. He makes me happy, Da.”

  “Enough,” Kendrick cut her off. “Ye’re not to see that lad again. In fact, ye are no’ to leave this house until I say so, understood?”

  “Nay,” she refused. “Mum would never treat me this way.” Anna stomped up the stairs.

  “Anna,” Kendrick called after her, but she continued to her room and slammed the door.

  Kendrick’s shoulders drooped in defeat. His daughter had a way of shaming him. Aye, her mother would have handled the situation better. Anna knew exactly how to cut him to the bone. His once loving daughter now hated him and blamed him for her mother’s death. He’d not marry her to a servant.

  He returned to the table in search of more drink, only to find the pitcher empty. He headed to the kitchen to get more ale. Spirits would warm his soul and make him forget, if only for a night.

  The amber liquid warmed his body like a lover. “Adamina, I miss ye,” he whispered as he stared into the flames in the hearth.

  He needed his wife more than ever. Raising three children alone was hard. He didn’t understand his daughters. Anna grew more and more

  rebellious. He’d caught Allie running around the kitchen wielding a wooden sword and cursing like a lad just yesterday. As a warrior, it warmed his heart to see his wee lass showing interest in fighting, but that kind of language from a five-year-old wasn’t proper. Anna and Allie needed a mother.