Dawn of Darkness (Daeva, #1) (19 page)

"Sleep
well," Nate said. I heard his footsteps going down the stairs. Now
that I was alone, a few tears began to flow again. It seemed
stupid, after having cried in his arms, but I allowed myself that
moment in private as sleep took me under.

It was
light outside when I finally awoke. I was the only one in the small
room. The other sleeping bags were already rolled up and packed
away at the side of the room. Everything felt surreal, like a dream
I hadn't quite awoken from. My first real thought was I needed a
hot shower. A fresh change of clothes and a coffee wouldn't hurt
either. I climbed out of the sleeping bag and stretched my arms.
Every muscle in my body ached from sleeping on the hard floor. I
hobbled downstairs, squinting as I stepped through the door and the
light hit my eyes.

"Morning,
Sleepy," a voice startled me. Daniel stood leaning against the
wall, his arms folded.

"Where is
everyone?" I asked.

"Away on
an assignment. They made me stay behind to watch you," he grumbled.
I got the feeling he didn't much like babysitting duty.

"Is there
somewhere I can get cleaned up?"

"Follow
me," he said, pushing himself away from the wall. He picked up a
small bag sat at his feet and handed it to me. "There's a change of
clothes and a towel in there. You're about the same size as Nate,
so they should fit."

We
reached the edge of the ruins and Daniel led me into the woods to a
large river. "You can wash here," he said.

I glared
at Daniel. He sighed and turned around. It didn't feel right
washing outdoors. I undressed anyway, and tested the water with my
toes. The icy water sent a shiver up my spine and through my entire
body, goosebumps raising on my arms.

"Oh, just
get it over with. The water's not gonna get any warmer," Daniel
moaned. I turned my head to make sure he was still looking away. He
was sitting down, his legs crossed, and was whittling away at a
long stick.

I marched
into the river, deciding Daniel was right, and not wanting to
prolong the experience. A couple of steps in, and the water was
already past my knees. I took another step, and then I was falling,
going under. I flailed about wildly, breaking the surface and
gasping for air, half out of surprise, and half shock from the
biting cold.

"By the
way," Daniel shouted, "there's a steep drop."

"Gee,
thanks for telling me," I shouted back, my teeth beginning to
chatter.

"You're
welcome."

I washed
as quickly as possible, my whole body shivering. I swam to the edge
and picked up the towel, drying myself off before I froze to death.
From the bag, I pulled out a pair of blue jeans with a tear in one
knee, a red sweater and a black padded vest. I kept my thermals on
underneath, as a precaution against the cold weather. Lastly, I
attempted to make my hair presentable by running my fingers through
it.

"I'm
done," I said. Daniel jumped to his feet and spun round, throwing a
long stick at me. I caught it in one hand, stumbling back as it
threatened to smack me in the face. One of the ends had been
sharpened to a point.

"Let's go
catch some lunch, and I'll show you the ropes," he said, leading me
further up the river to a shallow stream that branched off from the
main body of water. Daniel stood at the edge, staring at the water.
I stood next to him, searching for what he was looking at. At first
I saw nothing, until I spotted movement beneath the surface. I
raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're
gonna try and spear a fish?" I laughed.

"Uh-huh,"
he replied, biting his bottom lip. His arm extended in a flash,
thrusting the makeshift spear into the water. I shook my head,
thinking it an impossible task. To my surprise, he lifted the stick
into the air, revealing a fish wiggling helplessly on the end.
"See? Now you try."

Daniel
made it look so easy with his supernatural speed. I tried over and
over, getting more and more frustrated that I couldn't manage to
catch something as simple as a fish. After many tries the novelty
wore off, and all that was left was frustration and anger. Daniel
showed me how to remove the scales from the fish with the blunt
edge of a knife, and left that task to me while he went about
catching some more. The first fish came out a little mangled, but I
soon got the hang of it.

While I
was busy scaling the fish, my mind began to wander. I wondered how
far we were from the ruins of Boursac. We couldn't have been too
far, if Daniel and Nate were hunting for deer when they spotted me.
I had the sudden urge to make a run for it. Violet wasn't there to
stop me now. I could escape and make it back to Rachat. Then the
rational part of my brain chimed in again, reminding me I didn't
know which direction to head, or if Ash would even be there
searching for me. General Marsten went to such lengths to isolate
me that it seemed unlikely he would let them look. He probably told
them I was dead. Besides, there was no chance of me being able to
return to the city, not with what I knew now. My best hope of
survival was to stick with Violet and the others, join the
so-called resistance and hope to get revenge. Maybe they'd help me
find Ash, if I explained it to them. And maybe Ash would join
me.

"What's
wrong?" Daniel asked.

"Nothing," I said, trying to keep my focus on the fish. But
whatever I did, I couldn't escape the unease of not knowing. That
was worse than anything else. What if he was in the ruins right
now, searching for me? My finger slipped and a sharp pain shot
through my hand, the knife slicing into my thumb. "Shit," I
muttered. Blood welled to the surface.

Daniel
sighed. "Let me see," he said, taking hold of my hand. "It's not
too deep. Go wash it in the river. I'll finish up here."

I did as
I was told, dipping my bleeding thumb into the cold
water.

"So are
you gonna tell me what's wrong?"

"I've got
things on my mind, okay?"

"Like
what?"

My thumb
was already starting to feel numb. I pulled it out of the water and
examined the cut. Daniel held out a tissue for me and I wrapped it
around tight. "I'm wondering about what the General told everyone,
about how I disappeared. I don't wanna believe they're not out
there looking for me. God, I can't even begin to imagine what Ash
is going through right now. Does he think I'm still alive,
or..."

"This
Ash... was he your best friend, or something?"

I nodded,
and for reasons I can't explain, began telling Daniel everything
about Ash, from how we first met at the academy, and how I tried to
push him away, to the recent developments in our relationship. I
chose to omit certain details, such as our drunken adventure, and
other late-night activities.

"Sounds
like you guys were pretty close," Daniel said, gutting the last of
the fish and placing it in a plastic bag with the rest.

"Yeah. It
all happened so fast, and now..." I paused, leaving the rest of the
sentence unspoken. "What if I could get him to join us?" I blurted
out. "He's powerful, and he'd be useful." I know it sounded
desperate, but more than anything right then I needed Ash to be
there for me. I needed him to comfort me, to tell me everything was
all right, and that we'd get through it together.

Daniel
let out a long breath, his gaze drifting down, and then back to me.
"It's not that easy. He probably has friends and family in the
city, right?"

I nodded
and hung my head. I understood exactly what Daniel meant. If it was
this hard for me to leave one person behind, then I couldn't even
imagine how hard it would be for someone like Ash to leave
everyone. I didn't doubt he had strong feelings towards me, but
were they strong enough for him to sacrifice everything, to leave
the city, for me? Somehow, I doubted it.

"Look, I
probably shouldn't be doing this, but... the place where we found
you isn't far from here. If you want, we could go take a look. At
least then you can know for sure if they're searching for you or
not."

I looked
up at him. Was it that simple? Could Ash and I really be reunited
so soon?

"One
condition though. If I sense any danger, then we leave immediately.
Understood?"

"Fine," I
said, following him across the stream. If there was a chance, then
I had to take it, no matter how small.

"Hope you
can keep up." Daniel grinned, launching into a full-out sprint. I
ran after him, stumbling over tree roots and catching myself on the
foliage, whereas Daniel seemed to slip through the plants and
trees, as though they moved out of the way for him. No doubt that
was one of the perks of being a werewolf.

I reached
the top of the hill, panting and wheezing. Daniel waited for me,
the bag of fish slung casually over his shoulder and a pleased grin
on his face. From the peak of the ridge I could see the ruins in
the distance. They certainly looked empty, but I needed to be
sure.

On the
way down to Boursac, we stopped at the cave. Daniel sniffed at the
air and said, "There's only four scents here. Me, Nate, you, and
that other dude." Of course, the chances Ash would have found the
place were slim at best. The woods completely encircled Boursac,
and it would be easy enough to lose your way once you were in them.
We passed the giant crater. The pool of mud was shallower now,
revealing partially buried bones.

"One
hundred years, and the stench of death still lingers," Daniel said,
covering his nose. Having an ultra-sensitive nose must have been a
real pain.

When we
reached the inner edge of the woods, Daniel crouched to the floor,
tilting his head to one side. Next he sniffed. "Seems empty to me,"
he said. We went a little way in, but Daniel was unable to sense
that anyone had been there since the day before, and there was
certainly no-one there but us. I was expecting it, but that didn't
help squash the feeling of disappointment that washed over me. And
then there was the anger. General Marsten. What had he said or done
to keep them away? I can't imagine them having given in
easily.

We walked
back to the camp, mostly in silence. Daniel tried a few times to
start a conversation, only to hit a dead end when I didn't reply.
The others still weren't back, so Daniel began teaching me about
the world outside Rachat, in an attempt to distract me from my
moping and seething.

"First
thing you need to know, is the Silver Dawn lied to you about a lot
of stuff, but they're also right on the money about other
things."

"Like
what?" I asked, my curiosity piqued. I was eager to learn exactly
how much of what I had been taught was a lie.

"Well,
for starters, not all vampires are blood-sucking
monsters."

I nodded
in agreement. So far, Violet seemed almost human. She was nothing
at all like the vampire I encountered only a few days ago. She, and
her friends, had given me food, water, clothing, and emotional
support. What had the other vampire proposed to me? A quick death
as he sucked my veins dry. Yes, Violet was a far cry from what I
assumed all vampires to be like.

"However,
most of the vamps out in the wild will rip your throat out and
drain you without asking questions. It's all about survival out
here. And with the Silver Dawn's scouts running around during the
day, it's doubly important we remain unnoticed, which brings me
onto my next point."

Again I
nodded, acknowledging what was being said.

"Staying
undetected. We only light fires for cooking or if it gets really
cold. Last thing we need is a smoke trail bringing in some wild
vamps. And if we hunt, we gut and skin the meat away from camp, to
avoid attracting predators and scavengers. We don't leave any
waste. When we leave a camp, it's as if we were never
there."

There
were other rules too, like not wandering outside of the camp unless
absolutely necessary. Common sense, really.

"Anything
you wanna ask?"

I
shrugged, then remembered the way Violet held Sebastian the
previous night. "Are Violet and Sebastian together?"

"Fifteen
years now, I think," Daniel replied.

"They
must love each other," I said, thinking over what Sergeant Locke
told us, that vampires have no humanity left in them. "I was taught
vampires don't have emotions. Not like we do."

"Some
don't. They just keep on living, while everyone around them ages
and dies. They grow apart from the world, and eventually forget
what it was like to be human. Others just turn off their emotions.
They give in to the hunger and becomes the monsters they believe
themselves to be, because it's easier than facing
reality."

I had
never thought of vampires like that before, as humans struggling
with what they had become. It must have been a lonely existence,
watching everyone around you die while you, immortal, remain the
same forever.

"Of
course, then you get the ones that enjoy it. The power. The
immortality. To them, killing is a small price to pay." Daniel
looked up into the sky, using a hand to shield his eyes from the
sun. "The others should be back soon. How good are you at
cooking?"