Dawn of Darkness (Daeva, #1) (20 page)

"Awful."

"Well,
ol' Daniel here's gonna teach you how to set up a fry rock," he
said standing and placing his hands on his hips.

"What's a
fry rock?" I asked.

"You'll
see soon enough. I want you to go find a thin, flat slab of rock
and bring it to the spot where we ate yesterday. It needs to be
about this wide–" Daniel demonstrated with his hands, "–and this
long. Think you can do that?"

"Sure."

I thought
it would be an easy task to find a piece of rock. After all, we
were surrounded by crumbling stone buildings, but they were all too
thick, or uneven. Having no luck in the ruins, I ventured out into
the woods. It didn't take long to find a suitable slab of rock. I
lifted it up. There was something on the underside of the rock, and
when it moved I yelped and dropped the rock on my foot, swearing
and cursing. My heart pounded against my chest. I had never seen
anything like it before. The thing was long and thin, with hundreds
of legs, patterned in black and yellow stripes. I laughed at how
pathetic I was being. I was a trained soldier with supernatural
powers, who fought and killed a vampire, and yet there I was,
jumping out of my skin at the sight of a strange bug. It was
probably harmless.

Regaining
my courage, I used my foot to flip the stone over. The bug was
still there, and still crawling about. How it had not died from the
impact of hitting the ground with a rock on top of it was a mystery
to me. Using a small twig from a nearby tree, I managed to brush
the bug off the rock, along with the rest of the dirt, and I
returned to Daniel with the slab.

Daniel,
in my absence, had set up two larger stones, about two feet apart
with an unlit fire between them.

"Let's
have a look," he said, holding out his hands. I placed the stone in
them. "Not bad." He positioned it on top of the two rocks, across
where the fire would be. "This should do nicely."

He
cleaned the rock using some water and an old rag, then placed two
small stones under the slab so it titled slightly towards the
ground. "This way the grease runs off as the food cooks," he said,
and began working on the fire.

I watched
as he struck a piece of flint against a chunk of metal, trying to
catch the spark on some cloth. Several strikes later and the cloth
began to glow, the fire quickly spreading to the dry leaves, and
finally the wood. Daniel poked at the fire with a stick, making
sure it spread evenly under the slab.

"The
trick is to keep the fire small and contained. Remember, we want to
heat the rock, not incinerate it." He stood, handing me the stick
and a bottle of water. "Keep an eye on it for me, and let me know
when it's ready. Just drip a tiny bit of water on the rock. If it
sizzles, then we're ready to start cooking," he said, walking away.
"I'm gonna watch out for the others."

"Okay," I
said, poking the stick half-heartedly at the burning embers. I
wasn't sure how to tend a fire, but luckily Daniel was back within
a few minutes, announcing that he had spotted them in the distance.
He sighed, snatched the stick from me, and began to fix the mess I
had made.

"Can I
ask you something?" I asked hesitantly.

"Sure."

"What's
it like... being a werewolf?"

"Why? Do
you wanna become one?" he grinned, flashing his pointy
teeth.

"Just
curious," I replied. "You're the first one I've seen."

"Hmmm,
well, it's painful. The changing, I mean. Every bone in my body has
to break and reform. It's indescribable."

"So,
what's the upside?" There had to be a massive incentive, I thought,
for a person to put themselves through that much pain.

"The pain
is over pretty quick. Maybe thirty seconds and it's done. But once
it's over, it's the most liberating experience ever. With animals,
everything is simple. It's all about food, survival,
sex..."

Did he–?
I cringed at the thought. It must have shown on my face because
Daniel paused to laugh.

"Okay,
forget that last part." Daniel grinned, dismissing it with a wave
of his hand. "It's like being in a dream. I'm completely aware, but
it doesn't feel real, if that makes sense. I have control, but I
don't think the same way as when I'm in this form."

I had to
admit, it did sound intriguing. Humans definitely over-complicated
things a lot. I could see how someone would enjoy the freedom of
giving themselves over to their primal instincts.

"Anything
else?"

"There is
one thing. What were you doing in Rachat?"

"I
wondered when you might ask that," he said. "Those files I was
carrying when you bumped into me... well, you had a blood test when
you entered the academy, right? Those were the results of the tests
done on all the Daeva."

"And?
What did they say?" I asked hurriedly.

Daniel
shrugged. "Don't look at me. I'm no scientist."

I let out
a dejected sigh.

"Hey,
cheer up. After we're finished our job here, we'll be able to get
the files to someone who can decipher them. You're gonna come with
us, right?"

"I'm not
sure yet. There's still–"

"Ash,"
Daniel interrupted me. I nodded. "Look, I won't lie to you. The
chances of you getting him alone outside the city are slim to none.
Chances of him joining us are probably even worse."

"I know,
but I have to try."

"Just
don't get your hopes up, kid."

I heard
footsteps behind us. "We're back," Nate called out. He paused,
looking blankly at the fire. "Man, where's the food? I'm starved. I
hope you two didn't eat it all."

Daniel
laughed. "Keep your pants on. The rock's just heating up." He held
out his hand to me. I stared back at him, wondering what he was
doing. It took a few seconds, before I realised he was after the
water I was absently holding in one hand. I had forgotten all about
it. Daniel poured a couple of drops onto the rock and it hissed,
evaporating straight away.

"Hand
over the fish," he said. "Time to start cooking."

Nate and
Sebastian went to clean themselves up. Violet sat with us, filling
Daniel in on their progress. She explained to me that they were
sent to gather information on the exposed barriers at Marmagne, but
thanks to the recent attack they couldn't get anywhere close
without being spotted.

"Back to
the drawing board then." Daniel sighed. "So what do we do
now?"

"We move
tonight. I've already told the others. Mik, you're welcome to join
us, of course."

I thanked
her, agreeing to stay with them for the time being, at least until
I figured out what I was going to do. Realistically though, what
choice did I have? I had lived in the city all my life. Chances
were I wouldn't survive more than a few days on my own, if
that.

Nate and
Sebastian returned and soon the fish was cooked. The others, minus
Violet for obvious reasons, picked up their fish and started
cutting into them, removing the bones from the meat. I sat staring
at mine, not sure what to do with it. It was Nate who finally
looked over at me and offered to demonstrate. I watched carefully
as he made several cuts and slid his knife under the flesh. Then he
opened the fish up, pulling out the backbone and chopped off the
head and tail. At the end, I was still none the wiser.

"You'll
get it soon enough," he said.

"Took him
forever to get the hang of it," Daniel said. "Now look at him,
showing off."

"Go lick
yourself clean, dog-breath," Nate replied. Daniel laughed, and
Sebastian sputtered, almost choking on a mouthful of fish, which
made them laugh even more.

I had to
suppress a slight smile, feeling bad that I could even think about
laughing, given the circumstances. But what else could I do in my
situation? I was alive, and that had to count for something. And as
long as I survived, I'd get my chance for revenge and to see Ash
again.

After the
sun set, we began our trek to find a new camp. We stuck to the
edges of the woods for a while, remaining under the cover of the
trees, before venturing out into the open, following the path of a
small stream. I looked up at the sky and noticed how much brighter
the stars were, now that I was away from the lights of the city. I
wondered what Ash was doing at that moment in time. Was he also
watching the stars, as he often did, thinking of me? Was he still
sleeping in my bed, alone? I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that
I hadn't noticed Violet walking beside me.

"Daniel
told me about your friend," she said.

"Oh."

"I
understand why you want to search for him..." Violet
paused.

"But?”

"Try to
think of this from his perspective. You'd be asking him to give up
everything for you; his friends, his family, and his way of life.
It might hurt now, but at least he'll be safe in the
city."

I froze,
my fists clenching. "I am thinking of him," I snapped, raising my
voice loud enough that the others heard me. "He doesn't know where
I am. He doesn't know if I'm okay, or being tortured by the enemy,
or even if I'm still alive. If I can find him, then at least I can
explain, and he can make his own choice. He won't have to go on
living, never knowing what happened to me." My throat felt as
though it was beginning to close up. "I can't leave him like that.
I just can't."

"Okay,"
Violet said, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Then we will do our
best to help you, but you have to understand there are no
guarantees. You might never get your chance to explain."

"I have
to try."

Violet
nodded and put her arm around me as we started walking again. "He
must really be something," she said. "My heart feels for you. It
really does. I don't know what I'd do if I lost
Sebastian."

I opened
my mouth to ask a question, but seeing the downcast look in her
eyes, I chose not to say anything. I was thinking about what Daniel
had said, about vampires having to watch their loved ones die. What
would she do when Sebastian grew old? Would she turn him before
then, or choose to die with him?

Violet
looked like she was about to say something when Daniel came racing
back to us. "Vampires," he said. "They're approaching
fast."

Nate and
Sebastian were already running towards the nearest cover; an
abandoned gas station. Violet grabbed hold of my arm, pulling me
along so fast that I'm not sure if my feet ever touched the ground.
She pulled me inside the building, put her hand over my mouth and
whispered, "Do not make a sound. Don't even breathe if you can help
it."

I nodded
and her hand fell to her side. From our hiding place, crouched
behind an old display stand, I saw them whizz past us. One. Two.
Three. They were a blur. The fourth paused in the front of the
building. He looked around, as though he was unsure if he heard
something, and then sped off in the direction of his
pack.

We stayed
crouching, unmoving, waiting until we were sure they were far
enough away. Daniel was the first to stand. "Whew, that was a close
one," he said, wiping his brow.

"No
shit," Nate said.

"What
would we have done if they spotted us?" I asked Nate as we
continued walking.

"Fight,
usually. We've met a couple who stopped to talk, but most vampires
out here don't care about anyone outside of their group. Food is
scarce out here, so they'll kill other vampires just to claim
humans as their own." He paused, and began fumbling with something
at his belt, then held out a small leather sheath. "Here, you
should probably take this. I don't need a weapon
anyway."

"Thanks,"
I said, giving him a weak smile and fastening it to my
waist.

"No
problem."

"How long
has it been?" I asked. "I mean, since you left the
city."

He
scratched his head. "Probably a little over a year now."

"How come
I've never heard of you?" It was something that had bugged me when
I first heard he was from Rachat. There weren't many Daeva, so when
one was discovered it always stirred up a commotion.

"What do
you think happens to Daeva who refuse to join the army?"

"I don't
know," I replied. “I've never heard of anyone declining before.”
What else were we to do? It's not like anyone else would have hired
us.

"You
remember the story of Shannon, right?"

"Yeah, it
wasn't long before my ability manifested. She could manipulate
electricity, but she lost control and killed a group of civilians
before someone killed her."

"No."
Nate shook his head. "She refused, so they killed her and made up
some bullshit cover story."

"Why
would they do that?"

"Fear.
It's all about the fear. They wanted to keep the public afraid of
us, so we had no choice, but to join them."