Blood-Kissed Sky (Darkness Before Dawn) Read online

  “But you’re his most trusted servant,” Richard says. “Surely you know where he went.”

  “Oh, I do, young Carrollton. He’s all around us.”

  Maurice reaches down and rubs his hand along the dusty chair, pulling his fingers up and licking them.

  It isn’t dust. It’s ash. Vampire ash.

  “Why?” Richard asks, immeasurable calm in his voice.

  “Because he saw the future,” Maurice says, scaling the throne until he is perched on top with a balance that is mystifying and somehow adds to the small vampire’s grandeur.

  “The future? No one can see that.”

  “You can,” Maurice says. “Just look around, and you’ll find that you are … surrounded by it.”

  Michael slowly moves his flashlight up, tracing it across the ceiling, where the stonework slowly gains texture, moving from flat rocks with grooves to fully formed limbs and heads.

  The ceiling is composed of living, breathing vampires. And they have their eyes focused on us.

  Chapter 26

  Maurice’s mouth opens into a gaping black maw; rows of fangs send spittle flying as he lets out a massive roar that pours from his chest. The Infected are everywhere. The vampires descend from the ceiling, landing without grace, but with purpose. The need to feed has taken over their minds, and they only want to drink from Richard and Faith. Michael and I are mere inconveniences who will be dealt with quickly.

  “We can’t fight them all,” Michael says.

  “We aren’t going to fight any of them,” Richard says. “Run!”

  Michael grabs my arm and we begin sprinting, but the hairs on the back of my neck are prickling and I know the vampires are chasing us. Michael eventually lets go of my arm and pulls out another stake, running farther ahead to clear the path of any vampire that gets in his way. His speed is incredible, his endurance something beyond human.

  A vampire infected with the Thirst drops in front of us. Michael wastes no time dispatching him with a quick blow, so vicious and savage it’s like he’s possessed. I can hear Richard and Faith still close behind, but they, too, are fighting off this horde of the damned.

  As we near the entrance to the manor, Richard leaps in front of us, kicking the door so hard that it nearly flies off its last hinge. He jumps into the car and starts it up. We get inside just as a vampire pounces on the hood.

  The vampire’s claws slam into the windshield, causing a fracture. Faith, maybe more annoyed than frightened, pulls out a stake and rams it through the glass, right into the vampire’s chest, striking a deadly blow. The Infected quickly rolls off.

  As Richard speeds away, the vampires have no intention of letting their prey go. They’re scurrying after us, keeping a close distance.

  “Speed up!” I yell, staring out the back window.

  “I’m going as fast as I can,” Richard says. “This baby was built for luxury, not speed. Besides, it’s not as though I have a smooth road to work with.”

  He’s right. Without a road, we’re bumping over terrain littered with potholes and unseen branches and puddles of mud. Richard can only go fast enough to keep the terrifying monsters out of arm’s reach, but not much more. They’re close enough that I can see their eyes, and our reflection in their black pools.

  We reach the secret entrance to Richard’s tunnel and dive in so fast that all four tires leave the ground for a moment and the top of the car catches the roof of the entrance, causing sparks to fly. I look back. With their increased strength, the vampires stop the door from closing and they pour in.

  The narrow passageway slows us down even further, and our pursuers take advantage. Before long, they flood the tunnel, running across the ground and crawling over the walls. Like insects, they can defy gravity. Some flatten themselves and take a path across the ceiling in an attempt to be the first to reach us.

  A solid thud. A vampire on top of the car. He smashes Michael’s window and reaches in, but before he can grab hold, Richard swerves the car into the wall. The vampire is dashed against the rocks, releasing a grotesque howl before crumpling away and falling below the rampaging horde.

  That’s when a terrible thought occurs to me. “They’ll get into the city,” I say. “They’ll kill everyone!” Even though human blood is worthless to them, they will show no mercy to the inhabitants of Los Angeles.

  Richard looks in the rearview mirror, perhaps counting, perhaps gauging. But he must come to the same conclusion.

  As a vampire latches onto the side, Richard slams the car again into the wall, but clearly aims for one of the supporting wooden beams. After that, he hits every single one he can find. We lose speed, and the car’s lights go out—destroyed by the very wooden beams he deliberately runs into. But we keep just enough ahead.

  Richard’s plan becomes clear. He’s trying to cause a cave-in and destroy his tunnel forever.

  A large, crucial wooden trestle is just ahead when Richard says, “We had some good times, friends.”

  He then rams into it so hard that we nearly stop dead in our tracks, but it’s enough to begin the inevitable. The roof begins falling, rocks hitting the top of our speeding car. I look behind us as the entire tunnel begins to crumble under the weight of several feet of earth. Eventually, the vampires panic, and unsure whether to run back or continue their pursuit, they hesitate. And that’s all it takes for the tunnel to bury them.

  We emerge out of the other side and Richard slams on the brakes to prevent us from hitting the brick wall just outside the large metal door. I turn my head sharply to see that the once-clear tunnel is now nothing but a mountain of dirt and debris, impossible to dig through.

  Chapter 27

  The car barely makes it to the front of the hotel, two of the tires flat, lights missing, and the hood wrecked. Just as we stop, the side-view mirror falls off. I would laugh if I wasn’t shaking so badly. We rush through the lobby and get into an elevator.

  I can’t imagine what Ian’s going to say when we tell him what we’ve discovered. It should at least deflect some of his anger toward me for disobeying his order not to leave the city.

  We burst into our suite and the first thing that I notice is that Ian is awake, sitting in a chair. Tegan is beside him. Thank God.

  “Ian, Lord Carrollton is dead,” I say. “The Thirst, it’s everywhere.”

  When he doesn’t say anything, I notice two men in black suits standing near the door, stakes drawn. They must have been there when we rushed in, but I was too distracted to notice them. Faith, Richard, and Michael all have stakes drawn and have gone into defensive stances.

  “Director Matheson is requesting an urgent meeting with you and your party,” one of the black-suited men says. “Including the two vampires you brought with you into this city.”

  How did they find out about Faith and Richard?

  Faith, of course, doesn’t look concerned at all. Richard, on the other hand, does. He knows how serious a crime this could be: Knowingly bringing two vampires into the city could result in death to us all.

  They pack us into two different black sedans and drive to the Agency. I’m with Michael and Tegan. Looking out the window, the night has never seemed so dark.

  Once we arrive, we trudge like a funeral procession up the steps, through the lobby, and into the elevators.

  The entire ride up, not a single word is spoken, by us or our handlers. When the doors open, we’re led to Matheson’s office. Our escorts let us inside, shutting the door behind us, not following us in. I know that I’m going to have to rely on my delegate skills to get us out of this.

  Matheson looks up and smiles.

  “Thank you so much for coming. Beautiful evening, isn’t it?”

  If he’s angry, he certainly isn’t showing it.

  “Matheson, I can explain,” Ian says, stepping forward.

  “Oh, there’s no need,” the director says, standing up and laughing jovially. “I know you well enough, Ian: You’d never do anything to endanger my city. Bringi
ng two vampires, especially two well-groomed and beautiful Old Family vampires, is nothing to worry yourself with.”

  Okay, now I’m confused. I look around and everyone else seems puzzled, too. Except for Faith, who seems happy with the compliments.

  Matheson walks over to the window and looks out over the towering buildings, the same way Clive does. Maybe it’s a director-required skill. Though I imagine he sees something very different. Success.

  “Look at it,” Matheson says. “So beautiful. When the first brick was laid, the mason could have never dreamed how high his wall would reach. Nor could he realize how easily it would all crumble.”

  Matheson steps back from the window and his mood is beyond somber, as if he’s about to deliver the news that a loved one has died. He paces slowly toward his desk, his hands clasped behind him, eyes on the floor. He takes his seat and seems far older than he really is, slowly easing himself down like he might break at any moment.

  “Why did you call us here?” I ask.

  “For your … final present.” He presses the intercom button on his desk. “Send him in, please.”

  “Yes, Mr. Matheson,” a voice responds back.

  The director pulls his finger back from the button as if it weighs a hundred pounds, dragging it along the desk. Silence everywhere. Even from outside. The entire city has stopped just for us.

  The door opens, and the devil himself strides in.

  “Hello, Dawn,” Sin says.

  Chapter 28

  “Sin,” Tegan breathes, and for all her talk of wanting to stake him, she seems capable of doing little more than staring at him in shock.

  “Ah, my favorite human,” he says. “I was so hoping you’d be here.”

  “You … you—”

  “Business first.”

  He isn’t the teenage impostor who stepped into our classroom a little over a month ago. His hair and eyes remain unchanged, though a new darkness silhouettes his entire being. The raggedy jeans and T-shirts have been traded for an outfit more suited for an Old Family vampire. A complex series of buckles and straps wrap around his body, tying together a well-fitted bondage of toughened leather and metal plates, clearly meant to protect his vampire heart. On top of it is a long coat that brushes the floor, blacker than the eyes of the Infected who have taken over the countryside. The high collar nearly touches his ears in a throwback to some great count that he must be descended from. And, most fearful of all, on his right hand, a gauntlet made of interlocking metal plates that starts at his elbow and climbs down to terrible claws that line the tip of each finger. It’s large and cumbersome, yet seems a natural extension of his evil presence.

  Ian and Michael immediately draw their stakes.

  “Don’t,” Sin says, giving fair warning.

  But they don’t listen. Ian takes the lead, wasting no time with two stakes flying in. But Sin catches his arm, and with a swift kick, sends Ian back.

  Michael runs on pure emotion, wanting to kill the vampire who tricked him, who betrayed him, who made himself seem like a friend. The vampire who bit Tegan, and nearly killed me.

  Sin punches him hard in the gut and all Michael’s air rushes out of his lungs. Then, with a backhanded slap from his mighty claw, Sin sends Michael falling to the floor, blood arcing into the air. Across Michael’s face, four deep streaks reveal torn flesh and bone.

  The action seems to have snapped Tegan out of her shock. I can see the anger burning brightly in her eyes as she rushes to Michael’s side.

  “You’re getting old, Ian,” Sin says. “Your body’s been through too much, your mind too fogged with scotch. And Tegan, well, I still haven’t gotten your taste out of my mouth—neither your lips nor your blood. Finally, Michael, I can add more scars to your face. You’ll only have to live with them for a short time, because I’ll be more than happy to end your foolish life.”

  “You bastard!” I shout and reach for my stake, but Richard holds my hand tightly. “Let me go!”

  “Don’t …” Richard says.

  “You’d be wise to obey the Carrollton,” Sin says. “He’s only looking out for you.”

  “I’ll kill you!” I shout, letting my anger run free.

  “Not like this,” Richard whispers into my ear, his tone as harsh as it is quick. “You’re a delegate first, even without the title. That’s your strength.”

  I take a deep breath, and listen to his words. He’s right. My emotions rarely control me, and I can’t start letting them do so now. Sin just took down two hunters with ease; what chance would I have?

  Ian and Michael get back up, and I can see them contemplating another assault. But Sin has crossed the room, his arms behind his back, his clawed hand dripping Michael’s blood.

  “Dawn, you were very naughty to leave Denver without telling me. Poor Eris has been beside herself with guilt, feeling as though she failed me. My disciples don’t like to disappoint me.”

  “How many is that? Two, three?” I taunt.

  “You have no idea. But you will. Very soon you will understand everything. As for the rest of you, you’re free to go; just leave Dawn.”

  “You’re outnumbered,” Michael says, his face deadly serious, and made even more so by the thick crimson running down his cheek and collecting onto his shirt like wet paint.

  “Me? Outnumbered?”

  “Michael’s right,” Ian says. “Two hunters and two Old Family vampires, you won’t stand a chance.”

  Sin walks over to the window and presses his hands against it, the metal claw making a sharp tapping sound.

  “It’s a beautiful city, isn’t it?” he says. “At least, the people are beautiful.”

  “You talk too much, Sin,” I say.

  “Isn’t it strange,” he asks, ignoring me, “that all the people are so young and healthy and gorgeous? That they don’t seem to ever sleep? That they’re happy? How can that be?”

  “That’s only the Inner Ring,” I say. “Most of the population live in constant starvation.”

  “Yes, the poor Outer Ring. The ugly ones. The … unchosen.”

  “It isn’t their fault that they’re out there.”

  “Oh, but it is. Because it isn’t just a wall that divides them. The real difference runs through their veins. It’s in the blood.”

  He taps on the glass some more, as if satisfied that he’s made his bizarre point.

  “Look outside,” he says, “and I think you’ll find that it isn’t I who is outnumbered. It is you.”

  He walks over to the desk, that disturbing calm following in his wake, as I rush to the window to trade places with him.

  The entire Inner Ring, every person I can see, as far off as the farthest building, is looking up … at me. It’s like they’re a single organism, a single mind. A thousand, at least, gazing up, unblinking. My skin wants to crawl off as their hungry eyes devour me.

  But it isn’t their eyes that concern me. It’s their fangs.

  All of them have fangs.

  “No,” I say without wanting to, a pathetic little whimper, a plea for this to not be happening.

  The others join me and stare at our nightmare come alive: The city is made of vampires.

  “Day Walkers,” Sin says. “Each one chosen by me, each one turned by me. A small army at my fingertips.”

  Impossible. But then it dawns on me.

  “The Outer Ring is where they get their blood,” I say. “Those walls aren’t meant to keep vampires out; they’re meant to keep humans in.”

  Sin smiles. “It’s the future, and you’re looking at it. At least, part of it. Human colonies, just waiting to be feasted on.”

  “How?” Richard asks. “This must’ve taken—”

  “Twenty years,” Sin says, anger in his voice. “Twenty long and patient years. This city surrendered early, and I started almost immediately when the walls went up. I saw within it an opportunity to share my gift. The young and beautiful, I promised they could be that way forever. And best of all, they could walk
in the sun. Who would turn that down? Immortality, strength, beauty, health. Things that the New World Order would never allow humans. The VampHu might as well have said, ‘Humans will forever be miserable cretins!’ It might as well be the law! So I promised them a life worth living. A few resisted the offer, and they were quickly dealt with for fear of them spreading the news. But each of the Day Walkers out there is loyal to me. They aren’t like the Lessers once controlled by your pathetic father, Richard, who he starved and allowed to run rampant. They aren’t like Valentine’s Lessers, who are controlled only through fear. They love me because to them, I am God!”

  He turns toward Matheson, who pulls his lips back to reveal a pair of fangs.

  “Good boy,” Sin says, slapping him playfully on the cheek.

  “You’re insane!” I shout.

  “Now you must see my proposal in a new light,” Sin says, leaning on the corner of the desk. “Give me Dawn, and the rest of you will leave tonight. Resist, and not only will I still get Dawn, you will be killed.”

  “What are you going to do with her?” Faith asks, a strong sense of protection running through her voice.

  “It doesn’t matter!” Michael shouts, the blood still dripping from his deep lacerations. “She isn’t going with him.”

  “Quiet down, child,” Sin says. “The adults are talking.”

  “Fuck you!”

  “Maybe I’ll scar the other side of your face. Give you some symmetry.”

  “Try it!” Michael pulls out another stake.

  “I’ll go!” I shout. Everyone turns toward me and Sin’s smile makes me want to vomit.

  “You always were the smart one,” he says.

  “Just let them leave.”

  “Of course.”

  “We can’t trust him, Dawn,” Tegan says. I know she has a special hatred reserved for him.

  “You’re welcome to stay, too,” Sin says, looking at her. “We can pick up where we left off. Then again, I already got what I wanted out of you.”