Frailty (The DarkShine)

By Jenika Snow

After the world has fallen prey to a race of vampires, Helina Alges struggles to stay alive. Living in a cave to survive and keep hidden proves difficult all on its own. But then a vampire takes a special interest in her, and she soon realizes she is the prey to a very deadly predator.
 
When she meets Gaijryc, the prince of the vampires who have claimed everything as their own, Helina has no choice but to trust him. But the attraction to Gaijryc is too hard to ignore.

How can Helina possibly care about a man who comes from a race who see her species as nothing but cattle?

Helina realizes not everyone is who they seem, and that dangers come in many forms. This will be a fight not only for herself, but for her very species.

Reader Note: This work was previously published as Forbidden.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jenika Snow
• Release date: Aug 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781536525816

Book preview

Chapter One

They came

Helina drove in her Jeep Liberty over to her sister’s house. Although the day was picturesque, she felt that something was definitely not right. The air was still, and not even the wind swept through in a light breeze. She didn’t hear any birds chirping in the distance, not even the sound of a dog barking in the distance. It wasn’t just that though.

She hadn’t seen any cars on the road, and although she took the back way to get to her sister’s house, there was this little voice in the back of her head that said she needed to be alert. It was that fight or flight instinct, that feeling that told people to go back to their primal ways and fight. It was as if the whole world had stopped.

She pulled into her sister’s driveway and a shiver skated down her spine. No, something was definitely wrong. She didn’t move, and sat there for a moment. The small development that Lizelle lived in was normally quiet, but it was the weekend, and there wasn’t any activity.

None at all.

Helina got out of the car, walked up to the front door, and knocked. She glanced over her shoulder, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck lift, and turned back forward. After knocking once more and not getting a response, she gripped the brass handle and pushed the door open. As soon as she stepped inside she knew something was terribly wrong. She smelled something strong coat the air, something that was tangy and thick and made her gag. Her sisters’ house was eerily quiet. She closed the door and just stood there. She called out, but nothingness is what answered back. Making her way to Lizelle’s bedroom, Helina stood in front of the closed door with her heart beating rapidly.

She pushed the door open and it swung inward soundlessly. The sight before her had her mouth dropping open in horror. Lizelle was on her back in the middle of the room, her lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling, her mouth open in a silent scream. Twin puncture marks marred her neck, two rivulets of blood making a path down her arm to pool around her still body. Noise from the corner caught her attention and Helina turned her head, her whole body in shock.

He was a monster from a nightmare, a creature that she would never forget for as long as she lived. His mouth was stained red, his fangs touching his lower lips and dripping her sister’s crimson blood down his chin. He didn’t look like a normal man—not because of the fangs, but because of his sheer size and presence. It was as if there was an air of evil and danger that poured off of him. He was taller and bigger than any man she had ever seen, his muscles so pronounced Helina knew he could crush her bones with one hand.

His head was shaved, his eyes so blue it was as if she stared into Caribbean water. Black flame tattoos snaked their way up the sides of his neck, so sinister in their appearance that she actually started to shake. The sight of that dark ink made his presence that more frightening. Her fists bunched into balls, but she knew there was no way she would be able to defeat a creature such as him. Helina looked at her sister and wanted to fall to her knees and weep. Looking at her sister’s murderer again, she felt terror course through her body as he stared at her as if he hadn’t yet had his fill.

Run.

That one deep, dark word sent intense fear through her and her breath actually stopped. She ran so fast and hard that the only sound she heard was of her feet hitting the hardwood floor, and the erratic rhythm of her heart. Helina ran out of her house and into the bright Saturday morning—the sun blinding her momentarily and causing her to halt. She got in her car and peeled out of the driveway, driving so fast that she smelled the rubber burn off her tires.

She left Lizelle’s house, left her sister’s poor body lying on the floor in her bedroom as she ran like a coward. As she drove off, Helina prayed she wasn’t the only one of her kind left.

Chapter Two

The beginning of the end

Helina drove fast and recklessly, her cheeks wet with tears and her eyes swollen and red. She knew it wouldn’t be wise of her to go back to her home, but she couldn’t just leave with nothing to her name. Against all common sense, she went back to her house, all the while hoping that the monster that had killed her sister wasn’t right behind her.

She grabbed all she could, running back and forth between her house and her car. Anything she could fit into her Jeep Liberty went. By the time she drove out of there, she couldn’t see out her back window. At first her mind was blank, and she had no idea where to go or what to do. After a good twenty minutes of staring at the road beneath her tires, she knew where she would go where those monsters couldn’t find her—at least she hoped they wouldn’t. It was the oddest thing to see, the roads empty, the streets void of any life. Helina had no idea what was going on, but there was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that warned her of horrible things.

Her parents—before they died—used to take her sister and her camping at Saragon Lake next to the Saragon National Forest. During the summer months it had been an every weekend kind of thing. Helina and Lizelle used to play hide and seek in the woods connected to the campground. During their ‘expeditions’, they had come across a small, almost invisible opening at the base of the mountains. It had been big enough for them to pass easily thorough, but of course, they had been small children at the time. They had called it their secret closet.

Fresh tears started to pour out of her eyes as she remembered the times she and Lizelle had shared those moments. Helina knew that she would go to the spot that her sister loved so much, where their memories were strongest. She didn’t know if she would be able to find it. It had been years since they had been there, but she knew she had to try.

An hour into her drive she turned off onto a dirt road. Finding it became easy when the sights, sounds, and even smells of the forest penetrated her senses and ignited her memories of the time she used to spend there. As she pulled her car into one of the open spots, she knew she would need to get rid of the SUV so they wouldn’t find any evidence of her.  She looked around the empty campgrounds and tried to remember the way she and Lizzie used to go. Grabbing as much as she could, Helina started off the way she thought looked familiar, bags in hand, fear making her move fast. She looked around at the towering trees, her skin prickling at how silent everything around her was.

An hour later, she stood in front of the same boulder she had passed four times already. She dropped her bags on the leaf-covered ground and sat down, feeling defeated. The only sound she could hear was the beating of her own frantic heart. It was as if the earth had opened up and swallowed everything that was living.

She leaned her head against the hard, cold stone and closed her eyes. She felt like screaming to the heavens. She opened her eyes again and stared at what was right in front of her. Nestled in the base of the mountain was their secret closet. Bushes and a sapling covered the opening, concealing it to where it was almost invisible. Helina felt a smile break across her face despite everything that had happened. She grabbed her bags and headed to her new home.

She dropped her bags as she pushed the bushes and sapling to the side and eyed the opening. It looked much smaller than she remembered, and she doubted if she could squeeze through. She dropped to her hands and knees and started to move herself into the small space. Her shoulders scraped across the jagged opening and she winced in pain. Finally, after her shoulders burned and her hands and knees were embedded with pebbles, she stood up. It was definitely smaller than she remembered, but it felt secure and safe and that was what she needed.

Walking through another opening and down the slanted earth, Helina smiled at what revealed itself. In front of her was the same bubbling natural spring that had been there so many years ago. The crystal clear water bubbled in its pureness and smelled fresh. She sat down on the naturally smooth rocks, took her shoes off, and dangled her feet in the warm water. It wasn’t the wisest thing for her to do at the time; for all she knew that monster could be waiting for her right outside the entrance. She moved her feet around in slow circles as she thought about a particular memory of Lizelle.

Lizelle had been fifteen, and she had been twelve. It was another weekend of camping and they had just snuck off to their special place. They never got into the water—were actually too afraid their parents would find out. Their mother had been so overprotective of Lizzie that it had been sickening. Now that Helina was an adult she could relate to her mother and why she felt the need to be so protective of her sick firstborn. Of course at the time that was the thing Helina hated most about her.

Helina had tried to talk Lizelle out of it because she knew how mad their mother would be if she ever found out. She remembered clear as day: Lizelle turning toward her with her big hazel eyes, the ever-present dark circles around them.

Lina, please don’t tell mom. What if I never get the chance to feel this water? What if I die tomorrow without letting its pureness wash the dirt away?

Helina knew Lizelle hadn’t been talking about the dirt literally, and she hated how negative her sister had become. Lizzie had stripped down to her bra and underwear as she sat on the smooth rocks and watched the churning water. She had stayed in that water for so long that when she came out her fingers and toes had looked like prunes. Even though Helina had tried to talk her out of it, she was glad her sister hadn’t listened. Lizzie had the most beautiful smile on her face, and a glow that surrounded her entire being. That had been the last time they had come to their secret spot, the last time they had gone camping.

That, of course, had been ten years ago and was now only a memory. Helina got up, put her shoes on and grabbed her things from the entrance. After making several trips to her car, she now sat on her blanket which covered the hard, cold dirt ground. The sun was starting to sink beneath the horizon and her whole body ached. She grabbed a blanket and covered her body as she lay down. Her eyelids felt heavy, and before she knew it she was asleep.

Helina woke the next morning feeling dirty and gross. She knew her hair was matted together on one side, and her mouth tasted stale. She stood and stretched, grabbing some of the toiletries she’d managed to snag in her escape and walked over to the spring. She undressed and sank into the water’s bubbly warmth, sighing in contentment and closing her eyes. Resting her back against the edge, she soaped herself clean and washed her hair. She hadn’t managed to think of shampoo or conditioner, so soap was the only thing she could use. She hated the way it made her hair feel, but she was glad she had at least remembered that much. That was, after all, the least of her worries.

After drying off and getting dressed in a clean set of clothes, she sat on her homemade pallet and debated whether or not she should even attempt to go outside. She sorted through what food she had thought of bringing, and could have screamed when the majority were canned goods.

Canned goods were perfect for her particular situation, but the fact that she hadn’t thought about bringing a can opener left her in a very difficult situation. After trying tirelessly to open a can of mixed fruit with a jagged rock, she ended up throwing the can against the wall, which only ended up making a huge dent in the steel. She sat back down, cross-legged, and grabbed a Twinkie. She was going to have to think of something, because Twinkies were just not going to cut it.

They sat high above all others, their thrones encrusted with rare jewels that glistened under the lighting. They were the rulers of their kind, the superiors of all others. Many humans had been extinguished, but the majority of them had been captured. Some humans they chose to keep—their pets to play with and feed from. They were stronger, faster and smarter than the humans, and because of that, their reign would run long and strong. They were the DarkShine, the creatures of the night, the blood drinkers known as vampires.

Gaijryc paced his quarters as his mother and father spoke with the council below. Their kind had taken over the world, the royal family residing in America. Even though their species was pleased and celebrating the fact, Gaijryc couldn’t help but feel remorse for the race that had once thrived here. His kept his feelings to himself, for if his kind ever realized that he, the high-ranking prince of the DarkShine had remorse, he was as good as dead.

The DarkShine were known for their ability to show no fear, for their strength and agility, and for their cunning ability to defeat the enemy. They were an ageless species—one that had been around for centuries.

He stepped up to the thick slice of glass that covered his bedroom window and stared out at the bright sun-kissed ground below. There were many myths about his kind; many lies that only helped them blend in better with the beings around them.

He closed his eyes as he heard his father summon him, his strong voice weaving itself through his mind. Gaijryc made his way down the spiraling staircase that wrapped itself around the upper loft of the mansion. His mother had loved the house when she had seen it, so the previous owners now made food for the others. His stomach churned at the idea of all those innocent humans that had become nothing more than cattle for his family, for his kind.

His outer appearance was that of a strong, virile and ruthless prince—one of the strongest males of his kind that killed without remorse, and whose sexual lust could not be rivalled. He did what he had to do to be what his kind needed, but inside, Gaijryc was a male that needed something more, needed to feel something inside that touched his very soul. Until he found that, he would be what he needed to be, do what he must. Coward as that might be, Gaijryc was the high-ranking prince, the one to take over his father’s place should that time ever come.

He stepped off the marble inlaid steps and walked through the wide double oak doors that led into the grand ballroom. Sitting high above everyone else, his parents’ thrones were like their own beacons of light. His father, King Kristoff, and mother, Queen Castalia, held themselves like the royalty they were. Standing on each side of his parents were his younger twin brothers, Aires and Adais. Their bodies were stiff, their short, pale blond hair and bright blue eyes making them seem innocent and pure, but in reality they were quite the opposite.

By nature they were ruthless and cruel, the epitome of what a DarkShine soldier should be. They couldn’t help it, though; it had been bred into them when they were first born. Gaijryc had been trained the same as them, harder since he was the first born, but the twins lacked any kind of emotion, any kind of feeling. Male and female DarkShine stood before the royal family, and as he walked closer, they parted for him like a hand split them in half.

You called for me, Father?

Ah, Gaijryc, my son, please come up here with your family.

Gaijryc loved his mother and father, but over the years, he had grown to resent their ways, the way they cared only for themselves, and very little for their kind that they ruled over.  He walked up the red carpeted steps and stood between his parents. He looked down at the sea of bodies, the elite society of his kind. The females were in their jewel inlaid gowns, the males in suits ranging from different time periods. Gaijryc watched the faces in front of him, each one of them beautiful in their own exotic and deadly way.

My son, I have been speaking with the council and it was discussed about you mating a female and producing an heir. Your mother and I would like to step down from the throne soon, and since you are the high-ranking prince, your time to rule is nearing.

He looked down at his father and grimaced inside. The king spoke the words as if he didn’t remind him about mating a female and