Vampire Babylon - Break Of Dawn Part 31

In his grief, he merely slipped inside, going straight for Eva, sitting next to her, and taking her limp hand in his. Again, he tried to heal her, placing his fingers against her head, against any inch of skin that might still be wounded.

The scent of jasmine came upon him before he could even identify its qualities. Then a voice sounded from a dark patch on the opposite side of the room.

"Benedikte."

The Master's head jerked up at the familiar tone, and he shrunk back toward Eva. Then realization suffused him like hemlock, bringing a measure of stultifying peace and welcome destiny.

"Costin?" he whispered to the voice he recognized now that it was pure and undisguised. Then he smiled sadly, even though it felt like a scowl. "You're finally here." TWENTY-FOUR THE HUMANITY.

BECAUSE of some hiking adventures years ago, Dawn knew where the old quarry in Griffith Park was, even though Frank said the Underground entrance was well hidden and apart from the TV and film projects that had previously set up shop in the caves.

From under his protective blankets, her dad was helping to guide them to the more out-of-the-way location, which Eva had shared with him.

After encountering a locked gate inside the park, then coaxing it open with the aid of an acid gun Breisi kept stored in one of many added vehicle compartments, Dawn kept her eyes peeled for rangers. Didn't matter if the officials confronted them, though: Dawn and the team were desperate enough to make a run for the Underground and lose any pursuers in the confusion if it came right down to it. Smokey could arrest them afterward.

From there, she pushed pedal to metal and took the SUV on a fire road, cold energy stringing her together as the same things kept repeating through her head: Breisi, Eva . . . Costin.

He kept saying he wouldn't need a team's help-not unless it were composed of command-ready Friends, obviously-but she wasn't disobeying and going Underground for Costin's sake anyway. Not at all . . .

She drove on, surprised all over again that flying in the face of a creature as powerful as Costin was so easy. Maybe none of them had been susceptible to his hypnotic sway at this desperate point. Maybe she, in particular, had gotten too good at blocking, because she had the distinct feeling that his final mind blast at her might've been a method of wiping out most of the information he'd imparted to her before leaving.

But something bugged her about that. Would he do a mind wipe on her when he'd been so upset about it being done by Paul Aspen? Of course. That way Costin could get his confessional and trust that Dawn wouldn't be privy to too much information.

Kiko and Frank hadn't been there for the nitty-gritty conversation and, with a wipe, Dawn wouldn't be able to tell them about any of what she'd heard.

In any case, on the way over, Dawn had kept Costin's personal information to herself. But the more she stayed silent, the more she realized what they were undertaking. And, too late, she'd started to wonder if a pill-popping Kiko was up to going Underground with her and Frank.

Following her dad's m.u.f.fled directions to avoid a more well-known quarry entrance and head lower, they ultimately reached a deserted area off a fire road where daylight swallowed the craggy hills, rocks, and dirt. In spite of the rough terrain, she parked under a shaded overhang, near where Frank said there was a fake wall that could be operated by a knowing touch.

She and Kiko got out of the 4Runner, but before they opened the rear door to help her blanket-swaddled dad out, Dawn stopped her coworker. "Maybe you should wait out here."

Hurting his feelings wasn't a primary concern right now, yet when he grimaced, she couldn't help feeling bad. He'd shucked off his back brace and donned a hip holster for his revolver, along with a smaller a.r.s.enal bag strapped over his chest, just like Dawn's and Frank's bigger ones.

"I've been fighting these things longer than you have," Kiko said, his words running together-but that could've been out of adrenaline, not necessarily a pill.

She bent and took him by the bag strap. "This isn't about your experience-which barely trumps mine now, by the way. This is about reality. I saw you put something into your mouth back at the house, Kik, and we're going to be hauling a.s.s all over the place.

You can't-"

"Come on, it was only for one little flare-up of pain, okay? That's all. Just a quarter of one Vicodin. And treating me like a kid isn't going to keep me out." She gave him a slight push away. "Don't play that with me. I don't have time for it."

For a moment, Kiko just stood behind her as she went to open the rear door so she could help Frank out. d.a.m.n, even a quarter of one of Kiko's pills would set her reeling, yet the psychic didn't seem totally stoned. Had he built up a tolerance for the medication?

Then, his voice showing an effort to talk 100 percent soberly, Kiko said, "I'm gonna go with the rest of the team, Dawn. You know that I won't just stand by while the s.h.i.+t's going down."

She paused, hand on the door latch as she thought, again, of how Costin's previous teams had died. They were probably as stupid, stubborn, and, yeah, loyal as this bunch was. And they probably hadn't believed, either, that their boss could face a whole Underground with just protective Friends as backup.

Was Costin resigned to them dying? Is that why he needed new teams with every Underground?

The shuffle of gravel told her that Kiko had taken a step nearer. "We're all going down there, no matter what Costin says. Do you really think he gives a hoot about anyone else now? He's concentrating on that master and, when everything is said and done, he won't care. He just doesn't want to have to keep an eye on us, I'll bet. We're over, as far as he's concerned, and that's why we've got to put Breisi first on the priority list. Costin ain't gonna do it. Breisi's an afterthought to him right now, but not for me.

Not ever."

From inside the SUV, a thump knocked against the door. Frank, waiting for them.

"Let's go get 'em!" he yelled from behind the tarped and tinted window.

" 'Em," which would mean "them" in Frank-speak. But was "'em" referring to Breisi and Eva?

"Okay." With the heel of her palm, Dawn knocked back against the window. The aggressive reaction helped to tamp down the pre-fight adrenaline collecting in her like explosives wired to blow. She turned to Kiko, who'd gotten out his revolver and was checking it over for the thousandth time.

"I just wonder," Kiko said as he shoved his silver-bullet-filled weapon into its holster, then took a wide-legged stance as if to steady himself, "if you and Frank are gonna retain any immunity. Maybe Eva negotiated it for her loved ones before she blew it with the Master, but is it still in play like it was when you saw those red-eyes with Ca.s.sie Tomlinson? I'm fair game, but what about you two?"

He seemed fantastically cool in the asking, but Dawn could sense a buzz of anxiety in her friend.

She shrugged, trying to make his important question seem inconsequential. "It all depends if Eva talked her way out of this last game she was playing with the Master. We'll see."

But something told her she needed to fight for her life, to never depend on the Master's whims to keep any of them safe.

What she needed to depend on were things like the lower vamps being weaker during the day, because they would probably act as the infantry once the team got past the entrance.

At the thought of getting on with this, she cowboyed up. She'd fought vamps before; she could do it again. Didn't matter that Breisi and Eva's existences were at stake. Didn't matter that Costin could very well need their help in taking the Master apart limb by limb . . .

Dawn stiffened. The Master. The creature that had set this all in motion. Taking him apart was music to her vengeful side. He'd dismantled her life and taken advantage of her for lesser reasons than redemption- Struck by her anger, the side-view mirror began to shake. Dawn calmed herself, saving it for when it would count.

After she pulled open the door, she told Frank to keep the blankets tightly around him, then aided him into the shade, careful to avoid any hint of sunlight. Once secure, he tested his luck by sticking a meaty arm out of his coverings. Then, unaffected, he shed his blankets, emerging out of his bulky coc.o.o.n with one emphatic shrug.

Immediately, he jogged into one of three dark holes.

Dawn didn't even have time to ready any weapons besides her loaded saw-bow. Here it went.

From their talk on the way over, Dawn knew Frank intended to connect with Eva through their Awareness while they all snuck around the sentry vampires. Right. And if they could manage that monumental piece of luck, maybe her dad could persuade Eva to lead them to the captive Friends, and then . . . What?

Wreak Underground destruction? Yell "banzai!" as they fight for a higher cause than their own lives?

She only hoped Frank didn't have it in him to betray her. She tried not to think that he could be part of some elaborate plan that he and Eva had cooked up to ultimately win over their mentally beaten daughter. Stranger things had happened lately, so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility, even if Costin had told her Frank was still decent.

"You get ahold of Eva yet?" Dawn whispered harshly as she followed her dad into the darkness. He was leading through vampire sight, she knew, but she didn't have time to put on a lighted headpiece from her goodie bag. Not if she wanted to keep up with Frank the bloodhound. Besides, there'd be electric hall light soon.

"I can't find her." Her dad was already a decent ways ahead, yet his whisper carried. "But she'll come through. You said she's been waiting for me to get back here, so I'm sure she's open for me. . . ."

Dawn turned around to give Kiko a look, but it was too murky. Still, she heard him breathing behind her.

Good G.o.d, what was she doing by letting him come with her and Frank?

She briefly considered tackling Kiko and leaving him knocked out in the SUV, but that would be unforgivable. Injured or not, he knew a thing or two about vamp fighting. Even under the slight influence, he'd studied, trained, and he knew how to use Breisi's gadget weaponry. Besides, he would end up coming inside on his own anyway, the brave fool.

They descended into the ever-increasing cool of surrounding rock, where the sound of their breathing overtook even the bash of Dawn's heartbeat in her ears. When they b.u.mped into Frank, he'd just opened a panel.

The entrance finished grumbling to a gape, shedding minimal light-enough to judge shadows by. All three of them waited, Dawn's saw-bow raised, and Frank aiming what looked to be a compact flamethrower; it had the silhouette of a long, flare-nozzled handheld gun, so she was pretty sure. She guessed Kiko would be using his own flamethrower instead of a revolver so they could enter more quietly.

When nothing moved in front of them, Dawn started to exhale, but she couldn't complete it. Her lungs felt too shallow.

Frank gasped, then whispered, "I think I just got something from Eva. . . ."

He moved ahead, and they did, too, running their free hands over the cave walls for insurance.

Soon we'll come to the hall lights, Dawn thought. Hopefully very soon.

Indeed, in the near distance, the breath of yellow beckoned from around a corner. As they got closer to it, time moved by at a fast crawl.

But, when they arrived, a fork in the tunnel caused hesitation. After exchanging glances with her dad, Dawn gestured to the path on the right. They took it, priming their weapons, pulse throbbing in her head.

Once they all were deep into the pa.s.sage, she allowed herself to breathe again.Until the lights went out and red-eyes opened to greet them from the top of the tunnel.

A frenzied cry, then two, three, four-five-cracked open the blackness. Frank's flamethrower growled, spitting fire up at the descending creatures. Immediately, the ceiling exploded with water, showering down from hidden holes.

s.h.i.+t, of course vampires would have fire precautions.

"Try the other route!" Frank yelled. His flamethrower lit the dark again, and the lights fluttered back on.

Without hesitating, Kiko and Dawn sprinted away. She looked over her shoulder once to check if her dad was following, but all she saw was Frank lowering into a crouch, then springing in superhuman grace to meet one of the Guards midair.

d.a.m.n-Frank. That was her dad going vampy in there. . . .

Running for her life, she got it together, knowing panic wouldn't do any good. Amidst screeches from the pursuing Guards, she and Kiko entered the other tunnel. It greeted them with suddenly full-blown electric lighting.

"So much for quiet," Dawn muttered, wondering if now was the time for getting out her whip chain, which would counter those barbed Guard tails. But there wasn't room to maneuver with it in the tunnel, so she stuck with the heavy stuff.

Kiko got out his revolver, his weapon of choice.

A sopping Frank flew at warp speed around the corner to catch up with them, yelling like a happy wrangler, "Here they come! Day hours did make them slower!"

Uh, yeah, and from what she'd seen it hadn't been by much. Maybe they were just slower to freakin' vampire Frank.

She aimed her saw-bow as her dad skidded to a stop next to her. Kiko mimicked Dawn with his revolver. Unlike her cofighter, she wouldn't be able to waste blades like bullets, so she forced herself to calm, even if her skin was frying itself away from her muscles.

Take the perfect shot, she told herself. Nothing less.

Four nail-on-blackboard cries, all piled one on top of the other, preceded four Guards around the corner. Frank's flames shot out at them, but they were using their long tails to whip upward in stop-start motion, toward the ceiling, out of the stream of fire.

Upon seeing them through the resulting shower of fire-alarm water, Dawn's vision went surreal. Movie monsters, her common sense told her. Nightmares with bald heads, pale skin, iron teeth, clawed hands, and deviled machete-slicing tails. From the first second she'd seen them, fooling herself was the only way to cope.

But a doused Kiko was as collected as a trained sniper. He fired, catching an approaching Guard in its heart.

Whhoo-wiiip. Its body-clothes and all-vacuumed inward until nothing remained.

That left three, one of which went after Kiko by flying through the water toward the gunman. All Dawn heard was a shot from her friend's revolver before she, herself, targeted a Guard on the very left. But when it hesitated, as if not knowing exactly what to do-maybe the Master still didn't want her dead?-she squeezed the saw-bow trigger.

With a sputter of water-shy sparks, the circled blade spun for her prey, catching it in the neck. But, d.a.m.n it, she'd only cut half its throat. Blood sprayed into the water as the creature gurgled and fell to the ground, grabbing at the wound, its sharpened tail beating into the mud.

From the opposite side of the tunnel, Frank fired his flamethrower. But when it guttered in midgrowl, he dug his other hand into his bag. During this pause, a Guard spit at Frank, and Dawn yelled, "Dad!" because she knew it might burn even in the water-soaked fight. But . . . oh, h.e.l.l.

Frank didn't need to worry, because he'd zipped out of the line of spit and come to cling to the side of a wet wall, crouched and ready to spring on the offending Guard.

Vamp. Her dad was a c.r.a.ppy v- Just as Dawn drew a machete from a hip holster and was about to finish off her own half-sawed creature, and just as Kiko's second foe disappeared from a bullet to the heart, Frank's Guard suddenly backed against the opposite wall, as if losing its senses, its purpose. Then it let out a word that almost jolted Dawn out of body.

"Frank . . ." the pitiful thing said, sliding down to the mud.

Her dad's grip slipped on his wall, making him lose his insect-like position. He crouched, hair matted to his head, water streaming down his weathered face. His silver eyes peeked through his drenched strands.

The sitting Guard c.o.c.ked its head and continued to stare at Frank. "Hooome."

Frank started to shake his head in denial.

"Dad?" Dawn said, leaving her own Guard behind as she lifted her machete and came closer to the sitting sentry.

Why wasn't her dad fighting? Maybe the Guard was seducing him back to their side; he was a vamp, she reminded herself, even though she didn't want to.

"Don't!" Frank said, lifting a hand. "Don't do anything-"

The Guard had turned its wet face toward Dawn. "Dawnie?"

The machete almost fell from her grasp.

Then she looked past the red eyes and at its expression. She wouldn't ever have known, otherwise, but there was something about its voice that told her.

"Hugh," Frank said. "It's Hugh Wayne."

Hugh Wayne.

When Dawn had last seen him, she and Kiko had been interviewing the drunk at the Cat's Paw-Frank's favorite bar-about her dad's disappearance. They'd continued to keep tabs on the place, and on her final visit, when she and Breisi had checked in there, Dawn had noticed Hugh was missing. No one knew where he'd gone, but since he had a tendency to land in jail or go on private benders, it hadn't seemed like a big deal. But he had no family, no real friends outside of the bar, so who had been around to care?

Then something about that first night at the Cat's Paw hit her, too. "Matt Lonigan" had been there. "Matt," the Master.

She suspected how Hugh might've disappeared. How each and every one of these buffed-out Guards might've been recruited . . .

"Hooome," murmured the Guard . . . Hugh. "Bloood."

At that word, Dawn gripped her machete, and Kiko, who was just as gobsmacked, raised his revolver. Yeah, they knew this guy, but he was still a vamp. He would kill for their blood, but that wasn't what was spooking her the most.

Her first instinct had been to terminate him without another thought-that was what made her scared.

Frank inched closer to his old friend, c.o.c.king his own head as if in understanding. The vamp habit dug into Dawn.

"Hugh?" he asked. But, just as he got near, something tore out from behind a corner, flying at Frank. Without even deigning to glance at it, her dad easily raised his hand and ripped at the thing's throat.

It was a Groupie skidding over the mud, a scimitar in hand. The woman's silver eyes bulged as she opened her mouth in silent surprise and tested her ripped throat with long, pink-painted fingernails. The chains she wore over her skin got caked with grime, her flowing blond hair growing red where it met her opened neck.