The Eternity Cure (36 page)

“Allison. Ezekiel.” Kanin’s voice cut through the tension, the rising fury. I paused and glanced at the other vampire, who hadn’t moved from his spot beneath the drain. “Let him go,” he ordered softly.

Zeke didn’t move, but his jaw tightened stubbornly.

“Kanin—”

“We don’t have time for this.”

I slumped. Kanin was right. We didn’t have time to fight Jackal now. The seconds were rapidly ticking away, for all of us. For the refugees and Kanin, and now…now Zeke. What would happen, I thought numbly, if that time ran out? There’d be no one left. Everyone would die.

Except me. I would be alone again.

Sheathing my blade, I turned to the human beside me. “Zeke,” I said, and put a hand on his arm. It was tight beneath my fingers, muscles coiled into steel bands. “Let’s go. Come on, we need to find the refugees.” His arm shook, tightening his grip on the weapon, and I lowered my voice. “Please.”

He resisted me a moment, then finally lowered his blade, the tension leaving his back and shoulders. “This isn’t over,” Zeke warned in a low voice, still glaring at Jackal. “I’ll find you. The next time we meet, vampire, I’ll kill you.”

Jackal chuckled. “The next time I see you, bloodbag, you’ll be a stinking, eyeless corpse. So forgive me if I’m not too terribly concerned.”

Zeke didn’t reply. My blood brother stepped away, the evil grin back on his face. “Well, I can’t say it hasn’t been fun,” he said, giving us a mocking salute as he turned to leave. “But I have other things to do now—vampires to find, armies to raise, that sort of thing.” He glanced at me, and his smirk faded a bit. “Sister, if you ever get tired of these walking bloodbags, come find me. We could still do great things, you and I.”

And, with a final sneer, he turned his back on us and walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the pipe.

I stared after him, still half thinking he would come stalking back, laughing at us for falling for such an obvious trick. It didn’t happen. The darkness behind us remained silent, still and empty. I closed my eyes once, searching for him, and felt his presence through our blood tie. Though it was very faint, pulling farther and farther away. Jackal was gone.

“Come on,” Kanin said, when it was clear he wasn’t coming back. “Let’s keep moving. We’re almost there.”

“Did you know?” I asked Kanin a few minutes later when the pipe ended and we came to the main stretch of sewer again. We hurried down the tunnel, knowing we were racing the clock, but questions still hounded me, refusing to leave me alone.

The vampire glanced me, puzzled, and I elaborated. “Jackal,” I said. “Did you know he would leave if he found out you were…sick? Is that why you didn’t tell him?”

“One of the reasons.” Kanin’s brow furrowed slightly. “Jackal has always been…pragmatic. If he suspects he is on the losing end of a bargain, he’ll get out of it somehow and come at it from a different angle. In his eyes, I could no longer give him what he wanted, so he decided to find another way. He’s always been like that.”

“I screwed up,” I muttered, angrily kicking a rock into the water. “I’m sorry, Kanin.”

He shook his head. “Don’t apologize for Jackal’s shortcomings, Allison. We all made our choices.”

That didn’t make me feel much better. Jackal was still gone, and Kanin was still sick. And Zeke, walking quietly behind us, was starting to cough more and more. He tried to hide it, and he never complained, but I could hear the raspy, painful breaths, caught the faint scent of the blood he would cough up sometimes, and worry gnawed at my insides.

“Kanin?” I asked again, and heard him sigh, as if steeling himself for more questions. For a second, I almost didn’t ask, but then hardened myself. I wanted to know. “Why did you Turn Jackal?”

He didn’t answer for a long time, and I thought he was going to ignore me. “Why do you want to know?” he finally asked in a quiet, almost sorrowful voice.

I shrugged. “Because I’m curious? Because I want to know, how do you choose? If there’s a criteria for Turning someone into a vampire? Because…”
Because I want to know if he was ever like me, once. And if I…could ever become like him.

Kanin, in that knowing, inscrutable way of his, seemed to guess what I was thinking. “I found James a few decades ago,” he began slowly, as if resigning himself to the tale. “When I returned to this country again. I’d been gone for many years.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why?”

“Why were you gone?”

He closed his eyes. “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?” he murmured, and I felt a tiny stab of guilt. But it was overshadowed by determination and a burning desire to finally know all his secrets. Kanin had kept almost everything from me for so long, but I was no longer his student. I wanted to know who my sire really was.

I paused then said, very carefully, “I think I have a right to know, Kanin.”

“Yes,” he murmured, running a hand over his eyes. “Yes, I suppose you do.” Dropping his arm, he continued walking down the tunnel, his face dark. “To answer your question,” he began, his tone flat, deliberately emotionless, “I was forced to go on the run. After the other Masters discovered what I had done, what I created, they all wanted my head. For the first time in countless centuries, they were united under one goal—destroying one of their own. It became almost a competition, to see who could kill me first. And, of course, there was Sarren….” His expression darkened. “So, I fled the country, spent many years on the run, never staying in one place for long. Eventually, the other Masters stopped sending people to kill me, and things finally calmed down. Except for one.”

I shivered, knowing who he meant. Kanin shook his head. “Sarren never stopped. Wherever I went, he wasn’t far behind. I knew that, one day, he would catch up with me. And I knew that, when he did, his revenge would be terrible. But I hoped to atone for my mistakes before that happened. So, I returned to this country after many years, to find the research the scientists left behind. I knew there was at least one scientist who had survived the carnage the night the rabids escaped, but I knew nothing of where he was, if his ancestors still lived. After years of searching and getting nowhere, I finally decided to investigate the very place the rabids were created. Though it was a vampire city now, and its Prince still wanted me dead, I had to try.” He gave me a sideways look, a faint, rueful smile crossing his lips. “You know the rest.”

I listened in rapt amazement. This was the most I’d ever heard Kanin speak of his past, as shameful and horror filled as it was. “Where does Jackal fit in?” I asked, remembering my original question.

“Jackal.” Kanin’s eyes narrowed. “When I returned, the world was not the same. The vampire cities were in full power, and everything outside the cities was chaos. That first year, I stumbled upon the burning remains of a small homestead in the middle of the wilderness. It seemed that bandits or raiders had killed everyone, or so I first thought. But, later that night, I found James lying in the road several miles away. He’d been shot in the leg, but had dragged himself as far as he could before his strength gave out.”

“He was dying,” I guessed. “Like me.”

“Yes. Though his death was not quite as imminent as yours.” Kanin’s brow furrowed. “Rather, I had no food, no water or medicine or bandages, and we were many miles from civilization. He would have died of blood loss and exposure, and he knew it. We had a rather interesting conversation.” Kanin almost smiled again, though his voice was grave. “Him lying there, and me standing over him, trying to determine what kind of person he was. I thought I knew what I was creating when I offered him the choice. I thought…” Kanin laughed softly, a sound completely without humor. “I thought I’d found someone who would help me bring an end to what I had caused. I didn’t see what he truly wanted until much later.”

“What happened?”

Kanin looked reluctant to continue, but he did. “I taught him how to be a vampire, same as you. We traveled for several months, the two of us. He seemed fascinated with the idea of curing Rabidism and would ask me questions about the research, the scientists, the hidden labs. We argued about a lot of things, but I was still too blind to see what I’d created.

“Then, one night, he tracked down those men who killed his family, and tried Turning them. To this day, I don’t know what he told them. Perhaps he offered them immortal life, perhaps it was only revenge after all. But all those men he attempted to Turn became rabid, every single one of them. And he didn’t stop trying. I found him with the last of the humans, dead rabids everywhere, still trying to create his own offspring. And I finally realized what kind of vampire I’d brought into the world.

“James wanted to bring an end to Rabidism,” Kanin finished, his eyes hard, “but only to create his own army, his own kingdom, and to fill the world with our kind. Vampires should rule, he told me. Why should humans take over the world, when we were so vastly superior? Only numbers had stopped us before, and if vampires could produce offspring again, the humans would never rise up against us.”

“Jackal said you tried to kill him.”

“I did.” Kanin’s voice was remorseless. “He was the only vampire I’ve ever Turned and then tried to destroy. Before James, I didn’t care what my few offspring did when we parted ways. I could only teach them how to be an immortal, and then let them carve their own path through eternity. But the world that James envisioned was something I could not allow. Unfortunately, he managed to escape, though I told him if our paths crossed again, I would end his life.”

“And that’s the last you saw of him?”

“He took the name Jackal and vanished into the mountains with the last of the humans who’d slaughtered his family. I suppose they became the first of his so-called raider army. So…” Kanin looked down at me. “Now you know all my secrets, all my regrets.” He raised his head, frowning. “You and Ezekiel, who I know has been listening to every word we’ve said.”

“Sorry,” Zeke said from behind us. “I wasn’t trying to.”

Kanin’s lips twitched in a bitter smile. “Perhaps it is better,” he mused, “that someone knows who Jackal really is. I swore that I would never create another after James, but…” He paused, his next words nearly lost in the shadows. “I am glad that I broke that promise.”

“Kanin…”

Zeke quickened his pace, catching up to us. “Now I have a question,” he said, and Kanin sighed once more. He didn’t protest, however, and Zeke went on ruthlessly. “So…you
are
the vampire that was helping the scientists, aren’t you?” he asked, and there was a hint of awe in his voice. “The one who helped the original team looking for a cure.”

“They spoke of me?” Kanin sounded surprised.

Zeke nodded. “The scientists in Eden told me everything,” he said. “Everything about the vampire experiments, and how the rabids were created. They said you vanished the night the lab caught fire and the rabids escaped.” His voice took on a faint edge. “The common belief…was that you started it.”

“No.” Kanin’s voice was low, remorseful, and a hint of pain glimmered through his calm expression. “Since you both seem determined to drag my entire past into the light… no, it was not I who set fire to the lab. I told them the rabids needed to be destroyed, but most of the scientists disagreed. There was a split among them, those who wanted the rabids put down, and those who thought they could still be used. Finally, a decision was made to kick several of the scientists off the team—the ones who wanted the rabids destroyed.” Kanin paused, then said, very softly, “One of them was the head scientist, Malachi Crosse.”

Zeke drew in a sharp breath. “Jebbadiah’s grandfather.”

“I went to the lab that night to stop him,” Kanin said darkly. “I knew what he was planning, but by the time I got there, it was too late. The lab was in flames, the scientists were dead, and the rabids were gone. I had failed.”

For a moment after this revelation, we were all silent, the only sounds being our footsteps echoing on the cement and Zeke’s ragged breathing. “Did you know about the other lab?” I questioned at last. “The one in Old D.C.?”

Kanin shook his head. “Not at the time. Though I did find out about it later. They were giving human patients the experimental ‘cure,’ weren’t they? Foolish.”

“There was a massive rabid outbreak in that area,” I said. “Thousands of people, tens of thousands, maybe more, died and Turned because of it. So, you might not be responsible for the spread of Rabidism, Kanin. It might have started in D.C., not New Covington.”

“Even if that were true…” Kanin glanced at me, his eyes shadowed. “I was the one who exposed our race, who offered the lives of other kindred to find a cure. I appreciate the thought, Allison, but this is still on my head. Now…” His attention shifted to Zeke, who was listening to this in somber silence. “I have told you everything about my past, and we are still a few minutes away from Sector Four. I wish to know about the scientists in Eden. Have they been given the research? Are they working on a cure?”

But before Zeke could answer, scuttling sounded up ahead, and two skinny, pale figures darted out of a nearby tunnel. The mole men slid to a halt when they saw us, hissing and raising their crude blades.

“More topsiders!” one rasped, baring rotted black teeth. “Get out! Get out of our territory. You’ll find no safety down here. The topsider camp is destroyed. The intruders will be dead soon! You will join them if you do not leave, now!”

Zeke stepped forward, pistol in hand, his face and voice icy. “What did you do to them?”

The mole men hissed again, eyes widening. “The topsider chief!” the second man snarled. “He’s returned! With…with
vampires!
Run, warn the others!”

They took off, but Zeke was already bringing up his gun, and I was lunging forward. The pistol boomed, striking a mole man in the back, and my katana sliced down, beheading the other.

“Quickly.” Kanin came forward, hurrying into the dark. “It sounds like we don’t have much time.”

The smell of blood hit me soon after, soaking the air and making my stomach turn with Hunger. As we drew closer to the underground camp, voices began to echo out of the tunnels: cries, shouts, angry hisses and snarls. A desperate scream cut through the clamor ahead, and we began to run, weapons already drawn.