Dawn of Darkness (Daeva, #1) (21 page)

"And what
does this have to do with you?"

"I
refused."

"But
you're not dead."

"No."
Nate laughed. "I'm not. But think about it. If they killed everyone
who refused, it would start to get out of hand. Too much fear and
it would incite another witch hunt. So instead, they made us
disappear."

"Like
they did with me."

"Exactly.
Who knows how many people they've exiled? We were lucky these guys
found us, or we might have ended up as someone's main
course."

"You
almost did, Nate," Daniel said. "When we found Nate, he was busy
fighting off three vamps. We tried to help, and he nearly roasted
us alive."

"Well,
what did you expect me to do? A giant wolf leaped out at me from
nowhere. Of course I was gonna try to protect myself."

“
Sorry. Animal instinct, and all
that,” Daniel said, grinning.

*****

Daniel
and Nate began told me stories of their exploits since they had
joined up with Violet. It didn't seem like long before we arrived
at our next destination, their stories managing to distract me from
my thoughts. Another set of ruins lay before us, similar to the
ones we had left behind that night. They weren't too big, making
them easy to patrol, but large enough to give us adequate cover,
and situated right next to a convergence point for several small
streams.

When we
found a suitable place to set up camp, Violet began delegating. She
chose Daniel to go with her, and scout the surrounding areas, while
the rest of us stayed to unpack a few things. To my surprise,
Daniel began stripping right in front of me, and no-one else seemed
shocked by this. He caught sight of me and grinned.

"Sorry,
but you're probably gonna wanna turn away for this," he said. "It
freaks most people out."

I faced
away, realising he was about to shift. What followed was a
combination of sounds; popping, snapping, tearing and groaning.
Curiosity got the better of me. I stole a quick glance over my
shoulder. His skin was wet and glistening. It seemed to ripple and
vibrate as his skeleton reformed underneath. Bones moved about,
poking out at odd angles, threatening to claw their way out of his
skin. I felt slightly nauseous, and decided to focus on looking
straight ahead at the wall, trying to ignore the way his screams
slowly became snarls and growls.

"It's
safe to look now," Violet said. I turned to see Daniel scratching
behind one ear with his back paw, his head tilted. It was as if he
hadn't gone through a small portion of Hell to change into that
form. His eyes caught mine and his black lips appeared to curve
upward, flashing his fangs at me. It was a very human expression,
but on the face of a wolf it was just creepy.

"See if
you can find anything to eat while you're out there," Nate
said.

"Of
course, young master. Shall I also polish your shoes when I get
back?" Violet replied, as she left with Daniel, who gave a playful
bark then bounded outside.

"You're
always hungry," Sebastian muttered as he started unpacking the
sleeping bags.

"I can't
help it. I'm still growing." Nate smiled and took a bundle of
clothes from his luggage, placing them into a small plastic bag.
"I'm gonna go to the river and do some washing."

Sebastian
laid down on top of his sleeping bag, his hands behind his
head.

"Is there
nothing else to do?" I asked.

"Not
until Violet gets back," he replied. I let out a long sigh and sat
down, drumming my fingers against the floor.

"Don't
you get bored?"

"Sometimes, but it's not always like this. We're usually only
away from home a week or two at a time."

"Home?
Where's that?"

"We call
it Aldar, the hidden city."

"City?
You mean there are others out there?"

Sebastian
laughed. "Of course. Rachat isn't the only city left on the
continent, you know? There's at least two others, that we know of.
The Silver Dawn doesn't know about them yet, and if they do, they
don't know where to find them. Hopefully it'll stay that
way."

"This
city, Aldar. Vampires live there too?"

Sebastian
nodded. "It's mostly humans, but there's a lot of vampires
too."

"Wow," I
said, beginning to feel a little light-headed. I shook my head.
"All these years I've believed there was only one city left, that
vampires were all evil..."

"You
feeling all right? You look a little pale."

"It's
just a lot to take in," I replied. "I'm gonna go walk down to the
river. Clear my head."

The cold
wind stung against my hands and face. My stomach turned and
knotted. I thrust my hands into the warm pockets of the vest, and
wandered off in the direction of the running water. As I approached
the stream, I heard a voice muttering. I found Nate alone at the
water's edge, seemingly talking to himself. He jumped as I moved
closer to him, clutching his chest.

"Jesus,
Mik. You scared the life out of me."

"Sorry,"
I said. "What were you doing? Sounded like you were talking to
someone."

"Nothing." Nate scratched the back of his head. "I just think
out loud sometimes."

I sighed,
and sat down near the water's edge, leaning back on my elbows. How
could there be a city where vampires and humans lived together,
without us knowing? Surely, such a thing would be big news with the
Silver Dawn, unless it was another fact they simply forgot to
mention. Or maybe they really didn't know of its
existence.

I began
wondering what such a city must be like. Wouldn't it be scary, to
live in the same city as the undead? What if one of them got hungry
one night and went on a rampage? How would you tell the difference
between a good vampire and a bad vampire? And what if it was all an
elaborate ruse to build up a supply of fresh food? No, I told
myself, that was the Silver Dawn talking. How could I trust
anything they had taught me? How could I know what was the truth,
and what was a lie? I guessed I'd have to see it with my own eyes.
That would be the only way to know for sure, to find the truth for
myself.

"Hello?"
I heard Nate say. "Mik?"

I shook
my head, realising I had spaced out. "Sorry, what?"

Nate was
wringing out a t-shirt. "I asked how you were feeling."

"Oh.
Still in shock, I guess. I'm not sure what to believe
anymore."

"Yeah, I
know what you mean. It takes some getting used to, after living
under the thumb of the Silver Dawn for so long. Sometimes I'm still
a little unsure, but I just have to have faith in what I do believe
in."

"And what
do you believe?"

"I
believe that I'm gonna get my revenge, even if it kills me. I
believe that us finding you wasn't by chance. It was meant to
happen, you know? And I believe that you'll see your friend
again."

"What
makes you say that?"

"Call it
intuition." Nate placed the last of his wet clothes into the bag.
He started back to camp, giving me a quick nudge on the shoulder.
"Come on. Violet will be back before long."

Back at
camp, Nate set up a washing line using some wire and hydraulic
hooks that fastened themselves into the walls of the building. He
was mid-way through hanging the wet clothes over the line when
Violet and Daniel returned.

"Oi,
Nate. Catch," Violet said, throwing a small round object at him.
She threw another to me, and handed a final one to Sebastian. They
were oranges.

"Where'd
you get these?" Nate asked.

"There's
a couple of trees further downstream," she replied. "Not many fruit
at this time of year though, and they're probably not at their
best."

Nate
shrugged, ripping the rind from his orange and shoving segment
after segment into his mouth. I picked at mine, tearing the first
piece away and lifting it to my mouth. The juice exploded onto my
tongue as I bit down, causing me to screw up my face. It tasted
more sour than sweet, but it was a welcome change after two days of
fish and meat.

"Where's
Daniel?" I asked, noting he wasn't in the room anymore.

"He
caught his own meal," Violet said. "He knows not to bring his food
inside."

My eyes
widened. Had he actually killed an animal and brought it back to
eat raw? I knew wolves did that, but Daniel wasn't a real
wolf.

"Rabbit?"
Nate asked.

"Hare, I
believe."

The lack
of surprise in their voices told me this wasn't the first time it
had happened, and in all likeliness, was probably a common
incident. He must have it so easy, I thought, being able to shift
and eat anything he could catch, while the rest struggled by on a
minimal diet. Still, I don't think I would have been able to
stomach eating a raw animal, even as a werewolf.

It
occurred to me that I had no idea how Violet was feeding. I glanced
at Sebastian. There were no visible bite marks on his neck or
wrists. I supposed it was possible for her to feed from less
visible spots. The femoral artery, perhaps. I shuddered at the
image, which was far too intimate for my liking.

Violet
leaned out of the window. "Daniel, get your furry butt in here,"
she said. A minute or so later, Daniel strode into the room as a
human, completely naked, I might add. His mouth was decorated with
streaks of blood, as though he had tried to wipe it clean. It was
clear his body now felt the cold without the layer of fur covering
him. I'd rather not go into detail about how I could deduce that.
He pulled on some thick clothes and sat back against the wall with
a bottle of water.

"Okay,
now the mutt has finished eating..." Violet narrowed her eyes at
Daniel. He smiled back. "We need to come up with a plan. The
barriers at Marmagne are still exposed. This is our best chance to
gather information on them, and to figure out how they
work."

"Unfortunately," Sebastian added, "thanks to the idiots who
attacked them a couple of days ago, the Silver Dawn is on high
alert. Getting past the patrols unseen is going to be
difficult."

"What
about a diversion?" Nate said. "If we can make them think they're
under attack, maybe they'll leave an opening elsewhere."

"Too
risky," Violet replied. "We're not going to risk someone's life for
this." Her gaze settled on me. "You know how they operate. Any
input?"

Everyone's eyes seemed to follow Violet's, landing on me.
What were they expecting from me? Officially I had only been a
member of the army for two weeks, and I was definitely no
strategist. Ash and Lucas were usually the ones to handle that kind
of stuff. I racked my brain, trying to think of anything useful to
say.

"I got
nothing," I admitted. There was a collective sigh from the
group.

"Come on,
we need to think of something," Violet said. "If we lose this
chance, it could be another decade before another opportunity like
this arises."

"I hate
to say it, but I think Nate is right," said Daniel. "A diversion
might be the only way."

"No, I
won't allow it." Violet shook her head and folded her
arms.

"Daniel
is right, Dear," Sebastian said. "Getting information on those
barriers could turn the tide of this war. You said it yourself,
this is the best chance we've had in a long time. We need to take
it now, before those walls are erected."

"Then
what would you suggest, Nate?"

"Well,
not to blow my own horn or anything, but if you want a big, flashy
diversion..." Nate paused and held out one hand, lighting up the
room for a split second with a jet of fire that disappeared,
leaving only a blackened mark on the ceiling, and spots in my
vision. "I think I could handle that."

Violet
rolled her eyes.

"Plus, we
have a Siren," Nate said.

"Hmmm.
Create a diversion to thin their numbers, and then have Mik lure
any that remain into an ambush. It could work," Violet
said.

"There's
just one small problem," I said. "I don't know how to do
that."

When I
first learned about my ability, the only thing I could do with it
was project my own emotions onto other people, which wasn't
particularly useful, unless you wanted a room full of pissed off
people. After Ash and I became room mates, he helped me train,
until I could project an emotion without needing to feel it myself.
His empathy was a massive help in my training. However,
manipulating emotions to lure people to me was something I had
never tried before. Hell, I hadn't even known it was possible until
a couple of days ago. How would I even go about doing such a
thing?

"Luring
is one of the most basic Siren abilities," Sebastian said. "You
should be able to manage it, if you try."

Violet
agreed and insisted that I give it a try. She and Daniel led me
into one of the old buildings away from camp, where we hid on the
second floor. My task was simple; to draw Nate and Sebastian to me.
Violet and Daniel were automatically disqualified from the
experiment because of their supernatural senses. Not to mention the
fact that my ability didn't work on Violet.