After Daybreak (13 page)

Everyone is silent as she speaks. It’s a truth they must’ve known in their hearts, a truth that has been created over hundreds, maybe thousands of years. And if we’re all in awe of its reverence, Asher certainly is not.

“Damn you. Damn you all.”

He leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. The Asher seat stands empty.

After a few moments, Lilith says, with a wicked smile, “Shall we call a vote as to Victor’s earlier proposition?”

Hands are raised. Without Asher and with me, the vote is eight to six in favor.

“We shall each send a child to Denver,” Lilith says. “One who can fight. But to gather an army of Lessers to accompany them will take time.”

“Which is a luxury we do not have,” Victor says. “We must act quickly to stop the creation of more Infected Day Walkers.”

“You speak truth. What do you recommend, then?”

“Often, during the war, a small group of Old Family could do more than an entire army of Lessers. Our purpose is clear: to destroy the V-Processing center. I can achieve that with fourteen Old Family.”

“And no Lessers?”

“We’ll be able to move faster without them. Meanwhile you can begin assembling the Lessers and working on a means to ensure we have adequate blood. When the time comes and we have to face Sin’s army, they’ll be ready.”

“I agree with your assessment,” Lord Carrollton says. “As this began in Los Angeles, under my son’s watch, it seems only fitting that Richard command those we send to do our bidding.”

Richard bows his head. “I would be honored.”

“Are there any objections to Richard leading the charge into Los Angeles?” Lord Paxton asks.

Silence.

“So it shall be. And, Victor, as we have you to thank for the V-Process—”

“I’m representing the Valentines,” Faith announces.

Victor comes out of his seat. “Faith, I can’t expect you—”

“Denver needs you.”

Looking at her, I also suspect she doesn’t want to let Richard out of her sight.

“And what of the Montgomerys?” Lord Romanelli asks.

“She is alone,” Lilith says. “She is exempt from this.”

“If she sits on the Council, if she has a vote, she is not exempt,” Lord Paxton says. “She must go to Los Angeles or relinquish her seat on the Council.”

I angle my chin. “I’ll go to Los Angeles.”

Beneath the table, Victor squeezes my hand. I know he’s not happy about this, but I’m grateful that he doesn’t say anything to undermine my authority on the Council. He knows as well as I do that I have to be seen as strong.

“We should be able to have our representatives arriving in Denver within three nights,” Lord Paxton says.

Three nights?
Then I’ll be heading back toward hell’s gates.

Chapter 15

A
s soon as the Council adjourns, we head out. We don’t even bother to drop by the hotel to get our things. We have everything we need, everything of importance. We’re not going to stop off at Xavier’s either. We’re going to drive straight through.

“That didn’t turn out exactly as I expected,” Victor says, and frustration vibrates in his voice.

“The truth is,” Faith says, “someone has to keep an eye on Richard, make sure he behaves. I’m better equipped to do that than you.”

His jaw clenches. He’s not upset with Faith. He’s upset with me.

“You should have stepped off the Council,” he says in a flat voice. “Without Asher there, we had the votes to go to war.”

“I proved that I had the right to represent the Montgomerys. That means at the table and in battle.”

“And when we battle humans again? What then, Dawn?”

“With a seat on the Council, I’ll die before I’ll let that happen again.” Reaching across, I lay my hand over his where it’s gripping the steering wheel so hard that I can see the whites of his knuckles. “Victor, if I had sacrificed my place on the Council to avoid going to Los Angeles, I would have proved what many of them believed: that I wasn’t worthy to be there in the first place.”

“And how do you think Clive is going to take your returning to Los Angeles? Are you going to make up some story about why you have to go?”

I grow melancholy as I watch the skyline of the city grow smaller and smaller in my side view mirror. I wanted the vampires to be worthy of defeating us, of being more than they are. But just like the humans, they’re struggling to survive. Like the humans? Not like us.

Because now I’m neither human nor vampire, but trapped between the two. I’m not sure where I’ll fit in when we reach Denver.

“No,” I say somberly. “I’m going to tell him the truth.”

As usual my credentials get us through the gate, past the narrow-eyed suspicious guards. But as we roll through Denver, I can sense the thick tension in the air. Occasionally I see the bright orange flames from a large fire pushing up against the night sky as though its goal is to devour the stars.

A few people are out, running, darting through the streets. I hear screams, shouts.

“What’s going on?” I ask, but then someone charges toward the car, trash can in hand.

Victor swerves the car just in time, his vampire reflexes missing the pedestrian who throws the metal tin at the car, where it bangs off the hood. He was aiming for the windshield.

I turn around in my seat to see him raising his fists in anger and others joining him. In their hands are their weapons of war: crowbars, baseball bats, and lit torches.

We round the corner and I see an old junker’s shop where I once went with Tegan to get her phone repaired. The front window is smashed, people running in and out, holding their stolen goods tightly to their chests. The looters make quick work of everything, like ants eating a rodent to the bone. Little remains but empty shelves.

“This looks bad,” Richard says. “I’ve seen some riots in my days, but this one—”

Splat!

Rotten fruit hits one of the side mirrors and Faith noticeably gags.

“Let’s just get to the Agency in one piece,” I say.

A huge explosion makes the night seem like day for a few seconds. I look upward and see the fiery smoke churning out of the Works. A careless worker? Sabotage? But why?

Victor speeds up and it takes all his concentration not to hit the rioting pedestrians who wander aimlessly through the roads, unreadable signs of protest in their hands.

We park in the Agency garage and go inside. Although the guards know me, they still call Clive to get his okay to send us up.

Clive looks weary, downtrodden as we step into his office.

“Dawn,” he says, his voice rough and scratchy.

“Clive, what’s happening?”

“I’m losing control of the city.” He walks over to the wall of blinds and hits a button. They begin to retract slowly in a motorized fashion, starting at the middle and moving apart, giving us a good view of Denver. The vast city, with its maze of structures and surrounding wall, has its own mood. And the mood now is chaos.

The fires I saw from the street are more visible from this height. Portions of the city are aglow. Moving closer to the window, I press my hand against the cool glass as though I can erase what I’m seeing.

“You remember when I said Eris may have been waiting before she struck?” Clive begins. “Well, I think her waiting is over. The Day Walkers are everywhere. More than we knew, more than we could have imagined. People are terrified. They hear rumors that there is a nest of vampires in an abandoned building and they set fire to it. Without evidence. The fire department is having a difficult time keeping up. The Night Watchmen are fighting with citizens as much as with vampires. We don’t have the staff or the resources. I’ve never wanted vampire intervention, but now we need it. Tell me the Council is sending help.”

I glance back at him, wishing I could relieve his burden. “They’re sending Old Family to Los Angeles, but we didn’t know this was happening in Denver. Is there any sign of Sin here?”

“No. Just Eris. She’s releasing Day Walkers into the city somehow. Not that it would be very difficult. It’s only ever been a skeleton crew guarding the walls during the day. We always relied on the sun to keep the vamps out. But now that’s not an option. We simply can’t cover the entire wall night and day.”

“How many have died?” I ask.

“Twenty, by most accounts. Half by vampires, the others by the fires started by those who feel powerless.”

“Don’t they know that isn’t helping?” I ask.

“They don’t think we’re listening. They think we’re making deals with the Day Walkers.”

“That’s ludicrous!”

“Of course it is,” Clive says, stepping away from the window. “But it’s Hursch who’s telling them, so they’re hanging on to his every word. He finally got his shot to be delegate and the city is falling apart. So he has to make a scapegoat out of someone. We’ve always been the easiest target, and even though we’re now his
employer
, he gladly blames us.”

“Fire him,” I say. It seems like the obvious solution.

“I did, but he considers himself a delegate of the people now. He says he’ll deal with Victor himself. He’s always been seen as a radical hero, and that mystique has only grown since Eris arrived.”

“Has Eris made any demands?” Victor asks.

“To surrender the city.”

Victor curses harshly. Vampires aren’t supposed to be controlled by emotions. Maybe he’s been hanging around me too long, because it’s obvious that he’s livid. A big chill runs up my spine.

Faith and Richard are doing little more than staring out over the city. I can’t tell what they’re thinking.

Clive looks at Victor. “When you took the throne from your father, you told me things would be different, that there could be cooperation. Prove that to me now. Help us.”

I turn toward Victor. I imagine running through his mind is every possible way to rid ourselves of Eris and her Day Walkers. But vampires lack imagination. His method will involve a direct assault. I think we need something a little more subtle.

“Do you have a way to contact Eris?” I ask Clive.

“Yes. She left a messenger in the city so she could be contacted when we’re ready to negotiate our surrender. Why? What do you have in mind?”

“I think a little confusion might disrupt the Day Walkers and give us an advantage,” I say, a plan forming.

“Confusion is often the best weapon if deployed properly,” Victor says. “Do you have an idea?”

“Yes. It’s time to cut off the head of the snake. It’s time to go after Eris directly. We need to know exactly how she’s getting the Day Walkers into the city and where they are.”

Time isn’t on our side. I don’t know what Sin’s plans are. He may be on the march already, his eyes set on Denver, the center of the entire country. If Denver falls, the country will be split in half, giving him greater power and leverage. So we have to act fast and secure the city behind the walls, then get the blood back into the countryside. From what I see, that all hinges on getting to Eris. How we deal with her I suppose will be her choice.

With everyone hovering around Clive’s desk, I make various notes and jot down strategy, explaining as I go, adjusting as the others toss in their thoughts and ideas. My plan involves surrendering to Eris, asking her to take me to Sin so we can negotiate terms. I feel like I’m in the second phase of the war that never quite ended, despite what VampHu said.

“I don’t like it,” Clive says. “I say when we get her into the city, we capture her then.”

“Too many Day Walkers are in the city,” I remind him. “If anyone learns she’s our prisoner, word will be sent to Sin. He’ll unleash his army of Infected. The citizens of Denver won’t stand a chance.”

“What do you think, Richard?” Victor finally asks.

“I have a feeling that the Day Walkers, while smart, depend on Eris to give them orders. Their campaign to spread fear would be disrupted,
they
would be disrupted. If she goes, so do they.”

“Then it’s settled,” I say.

“Dawn, this is risky. We don’t know what she’s capable of or if she’s planned on this all along,” Victor says.

“I know. But we have to take the chance. We can’t wait for her, or Sin, to make the first move.”

I run my plan by them one more time, and we tweak it here and there, preparing for the worst-case scenario. Unfortunately, that scenario would be the deaths of everyone in this room. But if we don’t strike now, then when?

Chapter 16

A
n hour later Clive sends word to Eris. When the sun has risen high enough to chase the vampires back into the shadows, we’re both standing at the window, basking in the heat when he says, “She’s coming.”

I see the luxurious white carriage that carries her wherever she goes. Behind it is another one, no doubt carrying additional guards. They both come to a stop in front of the building and I watch as three hulking Day Walkers climb out of the first carriage and hand her down. More guards clamber out of the other carriage and take positions, obviously alert and ready for any danger.

“Everyone always thought we were making deals with vampires when really we weren’t,” Clive says. “And now, we’re doing exactly what everyone always accused us of.”

“Is the press release ready?” I ask.

“It’s being typed up now.” He checks his watch. “I go on air in thirty minutes to alert the citizens that you’ve surrendered to Eris in exchange for the Day Walkers leaving. I don’t like this, Dawn.”

It’s not the first time he’s protested or I’ve replied, “I’ll be fine.”

The moments stretch for eternity. Then she enters the room.

She looks like the sun’s daughter walking through the doors, an expression of extreme arrogance on her face. With her are the three Day Walkers, good looking, obviously well fed, unlike so many others. They’re calm and composed, not lusting after my blood, merely waiting for orders, looking around the room to make sure an ambush isn’t in wait.

“Miss Montgomery,” Eris says in that fake-polite voice I’ve always detested, “I hear you will be negotiating the city’s surrender. Sin will be pleased.”

“You’ll take me to him?” I ask.

She tilts her head slightly. “To him and his army of Chosen. Shall we be on our way?”

“After you.”

“Don’t try anything. My guards are very fast and very deadly.”

“I’m sure they are.”

“Trained by Sin himself.”

Which means they don’t fight fairly.

I give Clive a determined look. “We’re doing what we have to do, Clive. Don’t feel guilty; it’ll get you nowhere.” I hope he can read my subtext, that if something goes wrong, he can’t blame himself. I knew what I was getting into when I came up with this daring idea.

Once outside, I’m given a hand up into the carriage. It’s as luxurious on the inside as I’d imagined. It’s clear that Eris would accept nothing less than plush, red velvet seats and a full burgundy leather interior.

She’s lifted in as well and sits across from me, then the two Day Walkers join us, the third one taking his seat on top with the driver. With a whipping sound and the neigh of the horses, we begin clopping down the streets. The mighty carriage glides through the day.

The day. I knew Eris would want the meeting only when the sun was out. Only during the day can she neutralize any threat from Victor. Walking-in-the-sun bitch.

The gates of the city open up and we head down the long road. I wonder in which direction she’ll ultimately take me. I assume west toward Sin, unless he is no longer there. Perhaps he’s just over that hill or that mountain, nearer than we thought, in which case I’ll be in a hell of a lot of trouble.

Looking out the window, I see the city walls slowly descend out of view as we make greater distance. They seem so fragile now, more fragile than ever. The Day Walkers are inside, walls or no. I can’t keep my mind from returning to Crimson Sands and its unwalled foundation. Their strength comes from the citizens, vampires and humans, not from stone masonry on the outskirts trying desperately to hold the night at bay.

“Don’t you love the sun,” Eris says, looking dreamily out the window as it cascades beautiful light into the carriage.

“I enjoy the night more,” I say.

“I would assume as much coming from you. After all, you are a vampire.”

“A drop of Montgomery blood in my veins barely constitutes me as a vampire.”

“But the potential of that single drop is infinite.”

“You’ve been listening to Sin too much,” I say, trying to paint her master as some myth-spinning madman. Anything to get her doubting, anything to keep her off balance.

“Once he turns you, you’ll have a shift in perspective,” she says. “So many Lessers are uncomfortable in their own skin. Do you know why? It’s because they long to feel the sun. Everyone thought that the difference between humans and vampires was that we need blood to survive. No—that isn’t the biggest difference. You humans ate animals, feasted on flesh and blood just as we do. In fact, you slaughtered them in a most uncivilized manner. So, no, it isn’t the blood that made vampire Lessers different. It’s the sun. Without it, the human soul shrivels and dies and all that’s left is the choking reminder of the beautiful daylight they once felt but are forever denied.”

“Are you implying that you still have a human soul? Because I’m not so sure of that,” I say.

“I’m saying that Day Walkers retain more humanity than Lessers. We are superior. You will see that. Your humanity won’t be lost, but only enhanced, coupled with the power and immortality of a vampire.”

She’s trying to sell me on the idea, though I know what Tegan would think: Eris is trying to sell
herself
. Maybe she isn’t convinced, even after all these years, that she’s happy with what she is.

“Of course, you’ll be lucky if he decides to turn you now,” she says. “He knows you went to the Council. Don’t you remember the offer he gave you?”

“Kill Victor and he’ll spare my friends.”

“And you spat on his generosity. You’ve already shown your disloyalty. I have no idea what fate you now face.” She smiles, hoping I’ll be afraid of this ominous warning. But I’m not. “Rest now. We have many miles to cover.”

That’s the best thing I’ve heard from her so far, because that means the night will come before we arrive, and that is what we need the most. The night.

Despite Eris’s suggestion I stay awake the entire time, watching the sun slowly dip down. It’s funny, I’ve always enjoyed sunsets, though I’ve known the dangers they bring. Now, however, the opposite is true: The setting sun brings my salvation.

The night grows older and we continue riding. I figure it’s been nearly twelve hours of nonstop traveling when we finally come to a halt. I look out the window, expecting to see Sin’s devilish smile, the frightening metal claw attached to his arm, the one that scarred Michael’s face and chest. Instead all I see are ruins of what were once buildings.

“We have to let the horses rest,” Eris says, the carriage door opening and the Day Walkers exiting. She takes my arm and not so gently escorts me outside.

The air is cool and I quickly gauge our surroundings. We’re barely off the main road.

“We’ll stay here for the evening,” Eris says. “Don’t worry. The Lessers out here won’t dare come near us.”

“I wasn’t worried,” I say, knowing that if anyone should be worried, it’s her.

The horses attached to the carriages are unhitched and led to a small stream running not far from the main building, or at least what was once a main building.

“This place used to be a hydro plant,” Eris says, as though reading my mind. “That tiny stream was once a massive river. This building drew energy from it and powered the nearby cities. Vampires hid here during the war until it was bombed by you humans.”

“Looks like we did a pretty good job,” I say.

She glares at me, annoyed. “We’ve put a great distance between us and the city. Us and your friends. Don’t annoy me. My hand might
accidentally
slap your face.”

“I notice we went north. I figured we would go west, back toward Los Angeles.”

“Yes, so would everyone else. I couldn’t take the chance that Clive had set up an ambush down the western road, so we’ll be taking the scenic route.”

Clever, but I’d expect nothing less from her.

I start walking among the ruins. I’m Eris’s prisoner, but she doesn’t need to chain me. With her speed, and the Day Walker guards as well, I could never escape. Not by myself anyway.

Concrete shells of buildings rise up like a strange forest, nothing but the gray slabs. The metal cables that once held them together now stick out as though they are exposed bone. Bits of rubble, both large and small, litter the ground and I have to watch my step. Inside the main building, or what’s left of it, I see the remnants of a fire where scavengers once made camp. Cinder blocks circle the ashes.

“Terry, get up high and keep a lookout,” Eris shouts.

One of the Day Walkers brushes past me and quickly scrambles up the building, using the wall and the remains of floors to bounce from one place to the next, until he’s scaled the three stories in a matter of seconds.

Sitting at the top, he looks out over the land and I wonder what he sees. I sit on one of the cinder blocks and wrap my arms tightly around myself to ward off the chill. A Day Walker comes up to me and places a blanket around my shoulders and then lights the fire with a match.

“Thank you,” I say.

“We wouldn’t want you dying of frostbite,” he says.

“You could just turn me and save my life before that happened.”

But he shakes his head. “Only Sin will have that pleasure. Not only would you be robbed of the wonders of walking in the sun, but he would have our heads.”

So I sit and wait, hoping that the horses will need a full night’s rest before continuing their journey.

“Eris, something’s coming,” Terry says from atop his watch post.

My heart jumps.

“What is it?” she asks.

“A car. Heading this way.”

Eris clamps her jaw tight, her words a hiss between her teeth. “Your friends?”

“I have no idea.”

“Let’s hope not. For their sake.”

She moves away and gathers the other Day Walkers, each one checking to make sure their stakes are in their belts, in their boots, across them in bandoliers.

“Eris . . .”

“Talk to me, Terry.”

“They’re definitely—”

A vicious black shadow, fast and unforgiving, knocks him from his perch. One moment he’s there, the next, he’s falling to the earth, a trail of blood flowing from his body. When he lands with a thud, a stake is lodged in his heart. I look back to where he was, but the shadow has moved on.

“Spread out!” Eris yells.

The headlights of the car appear closer, barreling right down at us, its engine echoing through the vast space. When the car is near the camp, it stops and slides, the doors flying open, and figures tumbling out, stakes at the ready.

Terry’s fall put the fear into their hearts, and the arrival of Old Family vampires, Richard and Faith, sealed their fate. Michael and Ian do their part. They may not have the speed and strength of their fanged opponents, but they have experience, they have technique. Day Walkers fall quickly to the ground. Each one has a stake squarely in his chest, and their eyes are closed, never to see another sunrise.

Eris looks around nervously. Jumping to my feet, I sprint toward her, intending to tackle her.

Her beautiful figure becomes a blur, a white cascade in the wind, shadows and mirrors, on a direct collision course with me. She stops dead just within arm’s reach of my throat. I stagger to a halt. Victor is beside her, a stake in his hand, the tip lodged in her ribs, but not her heart. It continues to beat.

Her knees begin to buckle as she shows her fangs and grits her teeth in pain. Her eyes are large, a combination of frustration, anger, and agony.

Within minutes, Eris is on the ground, chains wrapped tightly around her. They constrict her, make it impossible for her to dislodge the iron links or the stake still planted in her ribs. But rather than scream with pain and frustration, she merely looks at me with an immense fury, like nothing I’ve ever seen on someone so beautiful.

Richard and Faith are going about the bodies, turning them over and crossing their arms in the dignified manner of forever sleep.

Michael and Ian are still looking among the ruins, perhaps for Day Walkers that decided to hide rather than fight. But they don’t find any. Facing my friends was a lesser evil than facing a disappointed Sin.

“It looks like your plan worked,” Victor says to me, in full view of Eris as though she were nothing but a beautiful rock. No threat.

“How?” she shouts.

I take off my shoe and dump the tiny microchip into my palm. The chip that would allow Victor to track the citizens of Denver. The chip designed to locate those who have not met their quota. A chip that allowed him to follow me instead.

As I explain it to Eris, she screams her outrage.

“Now,” Victor says, approaching Eris and kneeling in front of her, showing no fear, no animosity. “We have a great deal to discuss.”

“I’ll never tell you anything,” she says.

“We’ll see. . . .”