In the Face of Darkness by Sarah Dell

In the Face of Darkness

  Sarah Dell

  Copyright © 2013 Sarah Dell

  All rights reserved.

  DEDICATION

  To Kacy, without your support and encouragement this book would still just be a thought in my head.

  PROLOGUE

  Trevor Caligari wiped the blood from his face. He had never shot a man before and he hadn't anticipated the mess it would make. He could already feel a headache forming in the back of his head from all the screaming. The screaming was coming from his secretary who had barged into his office after hearing the gun shot. Mrs. Malory had been the secretary for his predecessor for over twenty years. Caligari imagined that she only stayed on because she didn't know what else to do. He knew she wasn't loyal to him.

  “Mrs. Malory” he said hoping that she would finally stop screaming. He watched as Mrs. Malory did her best to compose herself as she walked out of his small office. She gathered her things from her desk and let the office door slam behind her as she left. Caligari smiled. She would take the rest of the day off to tell everyone on the Island about what happened and be back at her desk in the morning. Mrs. Malory lived for a good piece of gossip and he gave her plenty of that. He was going to do this job his way, and he wanted everyone to know it.

  At thirty, he was the youngest leader in the history of the Brotherhood. There were those who disagreed with his appointment, but the council who put him in charge understood that he was the only one willing to do what needed to be done. There were hard decisions that needed to be made, decisions none of the senior members were able to make.

  Caligari knew that his predecessors believed themselves to be pious and the Brotherhood to be a pure organization. The official mission of the Brotherhood was to rid the world of evil, but he knew that there was more to the Brotherhood. He was far from pious and he knew that ridding the world of evil was impossible. The best the Brotherhood could do was put up a good fight.

  Caligari had seen true evil, and he would make sure that evil didn’t get a foot hold in the world. To do this, he would be forced to not only tolerate the existence of other evils, but become an ally of those evils. This was not going to be a popular view, and soon he would have to weed out any brothers who would choose to stand in his way.

  Caligari stared at the blood spatter on the walls of his office and sighed; he was going to have to find someone to clean up this mess. It was an old tradition to kill a brother who failed a mission. You either completed your mission or you died trying. He couldn't recall it being done in his lifetime, but the circumstances justified the punishment.

  One of the biggest problems with the Brotherhood is that they care too much about honor and traditions. The families of the founding members are treated like royalty. The body sitting in front of him was a descendant of a founding member, which was why he was given the mission of finding the girl.

  A picture... Caligari laughed. He had brought back a picture. He had gotten close enough to take a picture, but he still let her get away. Caligari hadn't planned on killing the man, but he had come into his office and laid the picture down on his desk like it was some kind of prize. Caligari didn't need a picture. He needed the girl.

  Caligari didn’t feel sorry for the dead man. He had been given every opportunity to succeed, but he had still failed. Caligari hadn’t been given any opportunities; he had taken them.

  Caligari looked up when he heard the door to the antechamber open. He was expecting his second meeting of the day. He hoped that this meeting would go better than the last. Matthias Sawyer was not a popular member of the Brotherhood. Like every other brother but himself, Matthias was bound by blood to the Brotherhood. Matthias had not grown up on the Island like most of the brothers, but the blood bond brought him back.

  Matthias was a descendant of one of the founding members, and the blood bond that was passed down to him had made the choice for him. Due to his lack of popularity, Matthias was sent out on less important missions. However, unlike the dead man before him, Mathias had completed all his missions.

  Caligari knew Matthias would do anything to be released from his blood bond. He saw Matthias for what he was; a valuable asset and he knew just the incentive Matthias needed to succeed at his last mission. Caligari had no time to worry about what the others in the Brotherhood would think; the girl needed to be found. He rose as Matthias strode into the office. “Brother Matthias, I have been looking forward to meeting you. I would ask you to sit down, but my only chair is occupied at the moment” Caligari motioned to the lifeless body.

  “Is that Sturmer?” Matthias’s face remained expressionless as he looked at the dead body.

  “Yes, I shot him because he failed a mission. You know our law” Caligari said.

  “Yes, but I wasn’t aware that law was being carried out” Matthias said.

  “It is now. I know you are wondering why I have asked you to meet me here” Caligari changed the topic from the dead Sturmer.

  “Do you know this girl?” Caligari held the picture so Matthias could see it.

  “No” Matthias said. Caligari saw the small change in Matthias's face before he could hide it. Caligari knew that he was lying. His research indicated Matthias had lived in the same area as the girl before coming to the Brotherhood.

  “Lying to me is not in your best interest” Caligari said.

  “She died” Matthias said softly.

  “Sturmer took this picture last week” Caligari said.

  “That's impossible” Matthias said.

  "Is it?" Caligari waited for Matthias to understand his meaning. The girl wouldn't be the first member of the undead Matthias had been asked to track down. “Do you think you can find her?” Caligari asked.

  “Yes” Matthias said.

  “Good. Because if you complete this mission for me I’ll give you the one thing in this world that you want; I'll give you your freedom” Caligari knew this was just the motivation he needed.

  “No one has ever been allowed to leave the Brotherhood” Matthias said.

  “There are going to be a lot of firsts now that I’m in charge” Caligari said.

  “I bring you the girl and you release me from the Brotherhood” Matthias repeated.

  “That’s what I’m offering you, and I’d prefer not to have to make another mess in my office” Caligari said as watched Matthias leave.

  CHAPTER 1