Dawn of Darkness (Daeva, #1) (38 page)

"Sure
thing, Boss." Daniel gave Violet a quick mock-salute. "You can
count on me to get these two sleepyheads up."

Nate and
I glared simultaneously at Daniel.

*****

We spent
much of the night packing, and searching for extra supplies for me.
Daniel had an extra rucksack, and Violet said she had a spare
sleeping bag at her place. She brought it over while we finished
packing. I made sure to pack my toothbrush and some toothpaste, a
spare change of clothes, and a few pairs of underwear and socks.
Once the basics were packed, we went to a nearby all-night store to
pick up a few extras. We bought energy bars and food supplements
mostly, enough to keep us going a little longer between food
stops.

Before we
went to bed, I double checked I had packed the knife Nate gave me.
I moved it from where I originally packed it in the main
compartment to the side pocket where I could get to it easier.
Having a new ability that could do physical damage was all well and
good, but unlike Nate's ability, it wasn't enough to deal lethal
damage to a vampire. Still, it might be enough to incapacitate them
for a short while, as it had done with Cynthia. With everything
ready, we settled down to sleep.

"Scared?"
Daniel asked.

"A
little. You?"

"We're
going up against the big bad this time," he said. "Who knows how
many of us will survive?"

"We'll
survive."

"How can
you sound so sure?"

"Because," I said, my voice barely more than a whisper, "I
can't bear to think of the alternative."

Daniel
placed a hand on my shoulder, but said nothing. He didn't need to
say anything. I felt the uncertainty in his touch that said he
wished he could believe everything would be okay. I wondered if he
was thinking back to his vision in the tunnel, of watching people
around him die. That wouldn't happen. It couldn't. I needed to hang
onto that tiny thread of hope because it was all I had. I reached
one hand up and placed it on top of Daniel's.

*****

I was the
first to wake up that afternoon. I glanced at the clock and noticed
I still had an hour or so before I needed to be up. My eyes closed,
but sleep evaded me. A sense of unease settled in my stomach.
Whether it was the fear of going up against a pure-blood, or
excitement at the thought of being able to return home, I wasn't
sure. All I knew, was I needed to be up and moving. I went into the
bathroom and spent a long while standing under the spray of hot
water. It was probably the last shower I was going to get for at
least a week, so I savoured it as much as I could, until my
blushing skin began to tingle.

It was a
little before five-thirty when we arrived at Violet's. There was a
taxi waiting outside for us, and Sebastian was loading their
backpacks into it. By the time we arrived at the tunnel entrance,
there was a large crowd gathering. I spotted Marcus and Leigh at
the front. Anna was there too, with two female vampires, and a
human male. There was also one group of five I didn't recognise;
three males and two females, at least three definite vampires that
I could spot. Then there were the lines of onlookers either side of
the main group. Hordes of humans, vampires, and even a few
werewolves sporting their furs had gathered to see us
off.

Every now
and then, I felt a drop of water hit me on the nose. The sky was
dull and black, the moon peeking out from behind a blanket of thick
clouds. Wooden torches and bonfires had been lit either side of the
tunnel, swaying in the gentle breeze that made the hairs on the
back of my neck stand on end. Anna came up to me as I stood
watching the crowds swell. People must have been coming from all
over the city to watch.

"I
thought I might see you here," she said, smiling. "How is your
ability coming along?"

"Great,"
I replied. " Thanks."

"That's
nice to hear, but do you think you'll be up to fighting a
pure-blood?"

I turned
to the nearest wall and flung my magic at it, leaving a deep
scratch, and then another, and one more for good luck. Anna opened
her mouth in surprise.

"Rachat
is my home. My friends are there. Don't underestimate my desire to
save them."

"I will
keep that in mind."

"Anna,"
Violet said. "Shouldn't you be off breaking hearts instead of
bothering the poor kid?"

Anna
snarled, flashing her fangs.

"Your
attention, please," Marcus' voice rang clear above the clatter of
the crowd.

"We'll
settle this another time," Anna said before going back to her
group.

"What's
the deal with you two?" I whispered.

"Long
story," Violet replied. "Now quiet."

"That's
what she said," I muttered and turned my attention to
Marcus.

"Those of
you who stand before me this night, have been selected to take part
in what will hopefully be our final battle against the Silver
Dawn." The masses cheered. "But the battle will not be an easy one.
We face an enemy that we thought extinct for centuries, and one
that will prove a most formidable foe. What we fight for is not
only our own survival, but for the hopes and dreams of the future,
for a world where we do not have to hide. For centuries, we have
hidden in the shadows, alone. And for the last century, we have
hidden ourselves away yet again, but no more! We will take this
battle to the heart of the enemy, and correct the course of our
future!"

The crowd
clapped and they yelled. They whistled and they howled. When the
commotion started to die down, Marcus spoke once more. "And now I
present to you the leader of this brave expedition."

From the
sides, I saw Russell heading to stand by Marcus' side. There was
more cheering, and Violet let out a long groan. I bit my lower lip
and silently cursed the world. Was it too much to ask to not have
Russell along for the journey?

"Soon,"
Russell started. The crowd's cheering came to an abrupt stop.
"Soon, we will embark on a journey that will change our future.
Some of us may never get to see that future, but know that we will
not fail. We will avenge those who have fallen, and those who are
still yet to fall. Their deaths will not be in vain. And in the
years to come, they will be honoured as heroes who gave their lives
in pursuit of a just cause, to rid the world of a great evil that
has lurked in the shadows since the beginning of time. For
freedom!"

Everyone
around us applauded, but not Violet. She shook her head.

"We bid
you well," Marcus shouted. "May you all return home
victorious."

Russell's
eyes scanned the crowd. His gaze stopped on me and he strode
towards us.

"Mikhail,
there you are. I wanted to apologise if I upset you last time we
met. Perhaps, I was a little too forward."

I opened
my mouth to say that it was okay, when Violet interjected herself
between us.

"Don't
you have preparations to take care of?" Violet asked.

"I
suppose." Russell glared at Violet, then turned to me and smiled.
"I look forward to working with you, Mikhail." Without waiting for
a reply, he walked back to Marcus' side.

When he
was a safe distance away from us, Violet grabbed hold of my
shoulders and turned me to face her. "You are never to be alone
with that man. Do you understand?"

"Why?" I
asked. Admittedly, Russell came off as a little creepy, but I
couldn't understand what might prompt a warning from both Anna and
Violet.

"Russell
is a sadist, especially to those he takes a liking to, which in
this case would be you."

"If he's
so bad, then why doesn't Marcus stop him?"

"Marcus
is blinded by his love for his son," Sebastian said. "He does not
see his true colours. He refuses to."

Marcus
and Leigh were leaving to head back into the city, and the fifteen
of us heading to Rachat began our march into the tunnel. The
vampires sped ahead, leaving only Violet to stay behind with the
humans.

"How come
Marcus isn't coming?" I asked. "If he's that old, then surely he'd
be better off helping defeat Verloren."

"Marcus
is old, but as far as vampires go, he's relatively weak," Violet
replied.

"But I
thought you get stronger with age."

"That is
true, but we all reach our limit sooner or later. Marcus' limit
happens to be lower than most."

"And
Russell?" I asked. One of the humans from Russell's group looked
over her shoulder at us for a second. Violet put a hand in front of
me, waiting until we dropped back from the main group.

"Russell
is more powerful than Marcus. He has Marcus wrapped around his
little finger," Violet whispered. "Then again, it is only because
of Russell that others do not try to usurp Marcus' position. They
fear Russell."

"He calls
himself the Prince of Aldar," Daniel said. "Cocky little bastard.
Whatever you do, don't go anywhere alone while it's dark. Even if
you need to go for a piss, take either myself or Violet with
you."

I
swallowed hard. "Is he that bad?"

"He's
persistent," Violet said. "And he's not above using blackmail and
mind games to get what he wants. He tried getting to Nate last
year."

"What
happened?"

"He
almost lost an arm, that's what," Nate said. "I think he learned
not to play with fire after that."

"Just
stick with us and you'll be fine," Daniel said.

"It would
be a real shame if he had an accident, or got killed on this
mission," Nate whispered.

"Nate,
don't do anything stupid," Violet warned him. "As far as we know,
he's not guilty of anything other than being a sadistic
jerk-ass."

"And
right now, he's in charge," Sebastian added. "Without him, this
mission will probably go down the drain. Not to mention the fallout
when we return to Aldar."

About
halfway through the tunnel, we went through a side door, into the
service tunnel. Inside the small passageway, I noted the lights did
not flicker on once, and there was no more breeze whispering to me.
We took out our flashlights and continued on our way. Nate made
sure to point out the place where I had lost control, marked by a
frenzy of deep slashes in the walls and floor. I hadn't realised
the extent of what my ability had done until then, and it was clear
why they had to knock me out. It scared me, that I could lose
control again. And what if the next time it happened, someone got
hurt because of me? What if, like in my hallucination, it was Ash
that got hurt?

I could
feel the fear inside of me, the doubt at the back of my mind, and
the sudden weakness in my knees. It threatened to consume me. But
this wasn't the time to doubt myself. After all, this was why I had
trained with Anna, to learn to control my magic. I trained so I
could become stronger, for myself, for Ash, and for everyone else
in Rachat and Aldar. Failure wasn't an option I had the luxury
of.

The short
days worked to our advantage, allowing us to spend most of the
night travelling. The vampires, especially those in Russell's
group, would get quite annoyed if we stopped for too long while it
was still dark. Each night, Russell tried several times to initiate
a conversation with me. And each time, I tried to brush him off by
sounding as uninterested as possible, hoping he would become bored
and find someone else to bother.

On the
fourth night, we settled down in some old ruins with enough shelter
for the daylight-challenged members of our expedition. There was
still a few hours until sunrise, but at the pace we were going,
those of us who weren't vampires were beginning to tire, and
Russell finally allowed a break for us to recover. I sat with Nate
and Daniel around the remains of a small fire that had been used to
cook our dinner.

"I can't
believe it might finally be over in a couple of nights," Daniel
muttered to himself. "Sixteen years since I joined the war
effort."

"What
will you do when it's over?" I asked.

"Well,
there's always more bad vampires to hunt. Maybe I'll try to settle
down a bit though."

"We
haven't seen many 'bad' vampires," I noted out loud.

"Aldar
and Rachat are protected against them," Nate said. "Most of the
trouble happens closer to the smaller trading towns and
outposts."

"What
about you?" Daniel asked. "Rachat may not be safe after all this is
over."

"I
haven't really thought about it," I admitted. Before I could make
any decisions, I had to know what Ash wanted to do. Even though
Marcus said the people of Rachat would be permitted to stay in
their cities, I wasn't sure how many of them would want to take him
up on that offer, either because they wouldn't trust the vampires,
or they would refuse to leave their homes.

"Look
out, here comes trouble." Daniel groaned. I looked up to see
Russell sauntering towards us.