After Daybreak Part 20

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 pus.h.i.+ng 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 winds.h.i.+eld.

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 onea""

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 b.u.t.ton. They begin to retract slowly in a motorized fas.h.i.+on, 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 gla.s.s 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, wis.h.i.+ng 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 a.s.sault. 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.

An 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 l.u.s.ting 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 b.i.t.c.h.

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 a.s.sume 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 h.e.l.l 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 a.s.sume as much coming from you. After all, you are a vampire."

"A drop of Montgomery blood in my veins barely const.i.tutes 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 s.h.i.+ft 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. Noa"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.