Chosen (Book #4 of the Vampire Legends) E-Book

Emma Knight

• Herausgeber: Lukeman Literary Management
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Serie: The Vampire Legends
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 183

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Rachel Wood wakes after having just taken the leap of faith with Benji with the Blue Tablet to find he is mortally injured. Rachel embarks on a journey to save her love—a journey which will take her deep into the heart of the gravest danger. Is she willing to give up her life to save her one and only true love? How much is she willing to sacrifice?

Leseprobe

chosen

(book #4 of the Vampire Legends)

Also by Emma Knight

SWORN (Book #1 of the Vampire Legends)

TAKEN (Book #2 of the Vampire Legends)

Copyright © 2012 by Emma Knight

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 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 the prior permission of the author.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

CONTENTS

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

“I love thee, I love but thee

With a love that shall not die

Till the sun grows cold

And the stars grow old.”

Chapter 1

Rachel looked down at her green, scaly mermaid tail and her long, flowing red hair, and for a second, she couldn’t help but wonder why she looked like a mermaid. Holding her hand as she swam under the sea was Benji. She looked down at his legs, which were no longer legs, but a green, scaly tail as well, and the water flowing through his beautiful mane of hair made it look irresistible as he gazed into her eyes. The warm water reminded her of the tropics. She could feel the sun beating down on her through the crystal blue water as she gazed back into Benji’s eyes.

He leaned in and kissed her, passionately, as if it were their first kiss. She felt tingley through her tail and hands and she could feel the little hairs on her arms stand up. As they kissed, Rachel could feel something being slipped into her hands. It was cold and metal with sharp edges.

She looked down to see Benji had handed her a shiny, gold key.

She looked at him, confused.

“What’s this?”

“It’s the Gold Key, let’s use it,” Benji said.

“Where? How?” Rachel asked, looking around the sea floor as if a treasure chest would magically appear.

“C’mon, Rach, you’ve done this before, don’t you remember?”

“Um, I think you’re mistaken, I’ve never seen this key before in my life!” Rachel assured him.

“This key is to the Golden Chest. You remember, the one that came out of the old ship.”

Rachel stopped and thought for a moment and then a smile came across her face. Suddenly, she remembered it. Benji had found the key they’d been looking for for ages. The key held the answers to what lie inside the ancient Golden Chest.

“Let’s go!” Rachel said in excitement, as she grabbed Benji’s hand and started swimming up towards the rays of the sun. “We don’t have much time!” Rachel said, swimming faster.

“I know, we have to move quickly!”

The two swam quickly up towards the shore, passing other schools of fish, swimming around them. As they reached the top of the water, Rachel leaned in and kissed Benji one more time.

“I love you,” Benji said, in between kisses.

“I love you, more,” Rachel said back, smiling. “Promise you’ll never leave me?”

“I promise!” Benji said.

“Say it again,” Rachel begged.

“I promise! We will be together forever. Now, let’s go find that treasure,” Benji said with excitement.

“OK!” Rachel said.

As they emerged from the water, their mermaid bodies quickly turned back into human bodies, with legs and feet. They no longer had their tails and now they could breath oxygen. As if this were completely normal, it didn’t faze either of them as they skipped together towards the Golden Chest.

The sun quickly went behind the clouds and the sky grew dark—darker than Rachel had ever seen before. It was almost black, like midnight on Halloween. There was a bright orange streak where the sun had gone behind the clouds that cast an ominous shadow over the land. Rachel became scared and slunk into Benji’s arms.

“Don’t worry, Rachel. We will be OK, we just have to get to the chest,” Benji assured her.

“No, I’m scared. What’s happening?” Rachel asked.

“There’s no time for questions. Hurry!” Benji pleaded. “There’s the chest, I see it, over there!” He pointed towards the rocks next to the ocean.

The two ran quickly towards the rocks where the Golden Chest lay on its side. As they approached it, the two looked around to see if anyone was there or if anyone was watching them. They knew they had to move quickly so they didn’t get caught.

“Hurry, get the key out!” Benji said to Rachel.

Rachel fumbled around and reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out the shiny golden key. Her hands were shaking as she lifted it towards the key hole.

“I hope this works!” Rachel said.

As she put the shiny key into the hole, a loud crash of thunder boomed above her, making her jump backwards.

“Try again!” Benji yelled. “C’mon, Rachel!”

She quickly got back onto her feet and put the key back into the hole. She turned the key to the right, and a beam of light came out of the cracks of the chest. As she and Benji worked together to pry the lid off a huge wave came and crashed over them, getting them soaking wet. The waves kept coming, faster and faster, and Rachel felt drenched.

*

Rachel woke with a start, and felt as if she were falling from a high cliff. She sat up, out of breath, looking around her as if it had all really just happened. She touched her legs to see if they were real or if she still had a tail. She couldn’t remember how she’d gotten to this place as she looked around to find herself washed up in a dark, damp cave. Panicked, she looked around for Benji. She couldn’t find him anywhere, but heard someone breathing loudly around the bend.

She leapt to her feet and peered around the bend of the eerie cave she’d woken up in.

“Benji!” she cried, her voice echoing. “Are you here?”

Silence filled the air. The breathing she’d heard just moments before grew louder and louder, as if following her. She started to whimper and tear up thinking that she may be alone in this cave with nobody to protect her.

“Benji, please! I need you!” Rachel cried.

Rachel looked around to see stalagmites and stalagtites surrounding the ceiling and floor of the cave. She had to dodge them in the tight areas. Then, suddenly, she saw him, lying on the floor with blood coming out of his neck.

Benji.

She ran over towards him, slinking her body down next to his and lying across his body hysterically crying.

“No! Benji! No!”

Chapter 2

Rachel could see Benji’s chest rising and falling. He was alive, but in great danger. The wound on his neck was still bleeding, dripping into a large puddle on the floor that looked as though it had been dripping for quite some time. She stood back cautiously, not wanting to hurt him, not wanting to cause any more damage to his body. What she really wanted to do was pick him up and hold him, kiss him and tell him everything would be OK—but she couldn’t. She didn’t know if it would be OK. From the sight of Benji, she knew he was in trouble.

“Benji,” she whispered, hoping for a response.

His quick breaths filled the air as she watched the blood continue to ooze from his neck.

“Benji, are you OK? Please tell me you’re OK, PLEASE!” Rachel pleaded quietly, almost in tears.

Nothing.

Rachel got closer to his body, reached out and touched his ice cold hand, which sent a shiver down her spine. For a moment she’d forgotten they were vampires. She tried to remember.

She remembers clutching the Blue Tablet. Holding Benij’s hand and jumping. Plunging to what she was sure would be her death. But, here she was, alive, breathing, trying to figure out how they got into this cave. Had the jump killed him?

She looked down at her wrist, hoping her watch was still on, and it was. The time said 11:05am and the date was September 15th.

“September 15th?” she asked out loud.

How could it be September? she thought to herself. The last thing she remembered was the Halloween Ball and it being almost Thanksgiving. She thought something must have gone wrong with her watch, maybe the battery was low or maybe it was broken. She grabbed Benji’s arm and looked down at his watch in disbelief.

September 15th. How could this be? Had they really been in this cave for almost a year?

Then, out of nowhere, Benji started coughing and spitting up water.

“Benji! Are you ok? Answer me!” Rachel cried.

Gurgling noises came from his throat as one of his eye lids opened and Rachel caught a glimpse of the whites of his eyes and his pupils rolling back in his head.

“Benji, please, don’t die, you can’t leave me!” Rachel begged. “I love you.”

Rachel looked at Benji’s lips, which appeared to be mouthing something to her. She couldn’t quite make it out. She listened carefully and heard a slight whisper.

“The Red Amulet,” Benji whispered softly, his eyes still not focusing.

“Red Amulet?” Rachel asked. “What’s that?”

Then without another word, Benji’s body slunk back into a state of unconsciousness and his body lay limp on the cave floor. She took another look at Benji and realized she needed to find help fast. She tried to pick him up—but he was too heavy. She couldn’t lift him. She realized the only way was for her to leave him and go get help. She hated the idea of leaving him here alone—but she had no choice.

Rachel walked quickly through the cave, trying to find a way out. It was dark and damp, and the screeching of bats echoed off the wall. She thought for a moment that she was still dreaming, or in some sort of horror movie.

Terrified of being alone, she began to breathe quickly, and her heart started racing. She had to get out of there—and fast. She ran towards a ray of light she saw towards the far back of the cave, but when she came upon it, realized it was only a small hole leading to the outside. She couldn’t possibly fit through it.

She walked towards the other end but found nothing but darkness and stalagmites. She walked to another end and luckily she saw a narrow passageway, just big enough for her to squeeze her way through.

Sucking in her gut and barely breathing, she pushed her way though the small opening and followed the smell of fresh air and the warm rays of sun that were hitting her on the face. Thankfully, she’d applied Hex Lotion in anticipation of getting out of the cave alive and so she wasn’t worried about getting burnt or killed.

With only the Red Amulet on her mind, Rachel knew she had to figure out what the Red Amulet was and where to find it. She knew Benji was in great danger, and perhaps this Red Amulet was the only thing that could save him now. She felt like a lost puppy and didn’t know where to begin. She needed Benji now more than ever and he was unable to wake up or help her. She’d wished he could have finished telling her about the Red Amulet before he fell back into his state of unconsciousness, but he didn’t. Now it was up to her to put all the pieces together. It was up to her to make it right and save his life. After all, he’d do anything for her. Now it was her turn to prove her love to him.

Rachel leapt into the air, felt her wings spread, felt the cool wind hit her in the face and knew, that no matter what she had to do, she would find it.

Chapter 3

Rob sprinted down the football field, holding the ball and charging for the endzone. He couldn’t believe his speed and agility—he was faster than ever. He felt like a cheetah running through the African desert. He was unstoppable and nobody could keep up with him. He clutched the ball tightly in his hands as the croud cheered him on.

“Rob! Rob! Rob!” the kids yelled from the bleechers.

Then, charging the last yard and into the end zone, Rob scored a touchdown. His tenth touchdown of the game. It was unheard of—even Rob couldn’t believe his streak this game. He knew something was up, he didn’t feel quite like himself tonight, and knew his powers were coming back.

It had been almost a year since the incident with Violet, when he first felt his body changing and his powers strengthening; but then, all of a sudden, they disappeared. They went almost as quickly as they came, and now he was beginning to feel the powers come back in full force, even stronger than before, but he didn’t know why.

Why now? he thought to himself.

“Nice one, Rob!” a teammate said, slapping him on the back.

“Word!” another teammate said, high fiving him.

“Yo, what’s gotten into you? You’re da bomb,” another teammate said, chest-butting him.

“Rob, nice work! Now that’s what I call an amazing game,” the coach yelled as he came barreling onto the field to congratulate Rob on winning the game.

The cheerleaders danced onto the field, all running up to Rob and hugging and kissing him. He’d never felt more loved or prized as he did at that moment. He felt like he was on top of the world, yet he knew it wasn’t him. He knew there was someone or something behind this sudden surge of power.

The team walked off the field together, smiling and high fiving each other on their way to the locker room. The crowd in the bleachers was still chanting his name and many of the kids were coming up to Rob in amazement, congratulating him on his win for the school.

As he entered the locker room, Rob’s head suddenly began to hurt; it felt as if someone were inside his brain, banging on the walls of his skull. It hurt so badly, he had to stop and sit down for a minute with his head in between his hands. Then, a hunger came raging through his body and he became ravenous. All he wanted to do was eat. He was craving blood, something he hadn’t thought of in months. Now, suddenly, it was emerging from out of nowhere. He knew he had to let it subside; there were way too many people here and he knew he’d get caught if he killed an animal and sucked its blood. But Rob wasn’t craving an animal per se—what he really wanted was human blood.

Each person that came up to him was tempting to him. His eyes rolled back in his head, the hairs on his arms stood up and his body began to get goosebumps all over. He started shaking.  He couldn’t resist the sight and smell of all of these people. He ran to the end of the locker room, where his teammates were already in the shower and getting dressed to go out that night.

Rob had been looking forward to the big post-game bash at his friends’ house and hoped that this hunger and surge of power would subside and he would feel like his old self again. He didn’t like these feelings; despite his strength and power, he felt helpless and out of control.

One by one, his teammates passed him, by saying they’d see him later at the party as they left the locker room. Within fifteen minutes, Rob was the only person left in the locker room, sitting on a bench with his head in between his hands. He prayed that this would all go away, that it wasn’t returning for good this time.

He lifted his head, stood up and opened his locker door. Inside the grey metal door was a picture of Rachel, still hanging from last season. He didn’t have the heart to take it down; he still loved her and missed her. He thought about her every day, even though he’d started seeing Becca, a senior in his class. He knew he’d never see Rachel again and figured she’d been killed, since nobody had seen her in almost a year.

“Rob!” Becca’s voice called out through the door of the locker room. “Rob, are you in there?”

He rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to answer but knew if he didn’t she’d come in and find him anyway.

“Yeah, be out in a minute,” Rob answered solemnly.

“Honey! You’re taking so long. What’s going on?” Becca yelled in again, in a high-pitched, snotty tone.

Rob didn’t answer; he figured if he was silent, she would just go away. He didn’t have the energy to deal with her right now. He liked her and everything, but she was pretty high maintenance, and he wasn’t in the mood for her antics at that moment.

“Robby bear! I know you’re in there,” Becca called as her voice got closer and closer.

“There you are silly! I knew you were in here,” Becca said, leaping towards Rob to give him a kiss.

“Not now, Becca. I’m not in the mood,” Rob said, still peering into his locker.

“Not her again,” Becca said, looking at the picture of Rachel in his locker. “Why do you have her picture in your locker, Rob? Huh?”

Not having a good answer, Rob shrugged his shoulders.

“You need to get over that loser anyway, you have me now,” Becca said as she walked over and attempted to rip the picture down.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing? Don’t touch my stuff!” Rob yelled. “Leave that picture where it is, it’s not up to you to take it down.”

“I just don’t know why you still have it up and why there isn’t a picture of me hanging in your locker. What? Do I mean nothing to you? Do you not care about me as much as you cared about her? She’s gone now, don’t you realize Rob? She’s never coming back,” Becca said in a snarky tone.

“You don’t know that for sure, so stop saying that. She might come back, have faith,” Rob snapped back.

“Anyway, this is stupid. Let’s get to the party! What are you going to wear?” Becca said, glancing down at his duffle bag full of wrinkled clothes. “Hopefully nothing in that nasty bag of yours.”

“What is your deal Becca? Can’t you just let me be? I’ll wear whatever I want, and I don’t need you hovering over me to make a decision. I can do it on my own,” Rob answered.

“Geeze, you’re in a mood tonight Mr. Moody Pants,” Becca said in a sing-song voice.

Rob couldn’t take it anymore. He had to get her out of his sight.

“Becca, please leave now, I’ll meet up with you later,” Rob said anxiously, his body begin to tremble and shake again due to hunger.

“Nah, I’ll wait here for you. I don’t want to leave Mr. Moody all alone now do I?” she said again.

“If you don’t leave now and if you don’t stop calling me that I’m going to get really upset, Becca,” Rob said angrily. “Go!”

“Mr. Moody Pants, Mr. Moody Pants,” Becca called out in a chant.

Suddenly Rob couldn’t take it anymore. He launched at Becca as she fell to the floor, screaming in horror. “What are you doing, Rob? Get off of me!” she yelled.

“You asked for it,” Rob said, as his large fangs emerged from inside of his gums.

“AHHH!!!” Becca screamed. “What’s happening? Who are you? Stop! Please!” she pleaded.

“I warned you. I tried to be nice, but there’s only so much I can take,” Rob said as he leaned down towards her neck.

“Noooooo!!!!” Becca screamed. “Noooooo!!!!!!!!!”

It was the last words she uttered before Rob sank his fangs deep into her neck, sucking the blood out of her body and feeding a nice long feed on the blood of his girlfriend.

Chapter 4

Rob couldn’t bear it anymore. He had to find Rachel. He couldn’t stand his life without her and had to find her. He loved her desperately and wanted to be with her. He also knew she held all the answers to why he was feeling this way, and why he was turned. He couldn’t explain his desire or passion for finding her, but knew he had to follow his gut, his true animal instinct to be with her.

He didn’t linger in the locker room; he ran right out, without covering up the mess he’d just made. Becca lay on the floor, blood dripping from her neck, convulsing as he slammed his locker door shut and ran out, without looking back. He figured it didn’t matter anyway, because nobody would suspect anything, especially not from him.