Blood-Kissed Sky (Darkness Before Dawn) (28 page)

Tegan starts bouncing on the bed. “Come on. We have a surprise waiting for us.”

I peer up at her. “I thought we were going to hang loose until tonight when we can go to Carrollton Manor.”

“When
you
go,” she corrects me. “I’ll be distracting Ian from figuring out that you’re doing what he doesn’t want you to do. Anyway, Matheson showed up at the hotel this morning saying he has something special planned for us.”

“That’s weird,” I say.

“I know. But the guy’s like a gigantic, pudgy grandpa. Come on, he’s going to buy us breakfast downstairs. Michael and Ian are already there.”

“All right,” I say. “I’m starving.”

By the time we arrive, Michael and Ian have already finished four stacks of pancakes and an entire plate of hash browns. Matheson is next to Ian and demands more food for all of us.

“Not too much,” I say. “I don’t want to be wasteful.” Of course, I’m thinking about the Outer Ring and the people starving there.

“Nonsense,” he says. “After that harrowing encounter last night in the laboratory, you deserve everything. Here, more syrup.”

“How’s Simon?” I ask, refusing the syrup as a kind of protest for those suffering outside.

“With his arm in a cast, he’s already back at work as we speak. Perhaps you’ll have another opportunity to visit with him—compare notes, as it were.”

“I don’t know what more I could add,” I confess.

“Well, no matter. I heard you were leaving us tonight,” he says. “I went to visit the Night Train, and they’ve already turned it around on the tracks.”

“That’s right,” Ian says. “We’re heading back to Denver. Our work here is done.”

I jerk my head around to stare at him. “What?”

“I don’t see that there’s anything else we can accomplish here.”

“But—” I stop myself from saying that I haven’t been out to Carrollton Manor yet. I need to go there, talk with the Old Family vampire. I have to find a way to manage that before we leave.

“Well then, it seems I’ve caught you just in time,” Matheson says. “I have a very special treat in store for the four of you, something very, very, very few people have ever seen.”

He leans in and waits until he has our undivided attention. And then he says the two words that I never thought I’d hear. “The ocean.”

We ride with Matheson in his limo to the Agency building. On the rooftop he has prepared a helicopter for us. I am in absolute awe of this thing that I’ve only ever seen in photos. I look at Michael, whose jaw might be permanently stuck to the ground, and even Ian can’t hide his boyish excitement.

“I haven’t been on one of these since the war,” Ian says. “I thought VampHu made them illegal.”

“It did,” Matheson says. “But we follow our own rules here. Now, hop aboard, my lovelies, and enjoy the view.”

We step up into the helicopter and strap ourselves in, Ian helping us with the complex X-shaped belts that secure us in place. The pilot is wearing a giant helmet with a microphone, into which he spouts an endless stream of code words. Matheson hands us two large duffel bags.

“You’ll need these. Have fun!”

His voice is drowned out by the whirl of the propeller above him and he shuts the door with a big smile.

The blades pick up speed, and just when I think they’ve reached their maximum and the noise and shaking is deafening, they keep going. And going. And going. I instinctively close my eyes like something bad is about to happen, but force them open when we begin to move.

The ground slowly descends, and we rise into the sky. I can’t help but laugh. I never imagined anything like this.

From up here, I look out the windows and see the city and the walls that comprise the double rings, the separating of the haves and have-nots. Then we head off toward the horizon.

“Can you believe this?” Michael yells. “They’ve done everything right here, Dawn. They kept the vampires in their place and this is their reward.”

“But now they have to deal with the Thirst.”

“Small price to pay—and it’s not in the center of the city. It’s not the Thirst we need to be studying. It’s how Los Angeles achieved domination over the vampires.”

I’d like to argue, but the view is too breathtaking. From here, I can see the vast stretches of empty space and they seem so beautiful from such a distance. I can even see the mountains way, way off in the horizon.

The mountains that feel so familiar…

A weird dread falls over me—

Suddenly Tegan is punching my shoulder. I turn away from the mountains and gasp at the magnificence stretching out before me.

The ocean.

It’s staggering in size, curving with the earth, so blue that I could stare at it for an entire lifetime and still not find every shade undulating within its folding waves. It’s alive. It breathes. It gives me hope for something better far beyond this place, to where the waves crash anew on different shores.

I’d hoped the ocean was some mythical place that we’d never find, and we could simply glide through the air for an eternity, taking in the sights meant for only birds. But we eventually land.

We step out and instantly the air is fresh and pure and somehow salty. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before and my lungs suddenly crave it like a new sensation they know will soon be taken away.

The pilot shuts off the propeller. The new smell is overtaken by an incredible sound. A soft crash, but spread wide like it covers the earth. It has a rhythm, a song, a melody all its own. It’s heavy and infinite, completely beyond words, and I already know I won’t be able to describe it to anyone who hasn’t heard the roar of the ocean.

Tegan is next to me, and I dare not look at her, in case this magnificent place is just a dream and disappears when I turn away. So instead I lace my fingers through hers, and realize that this is a moment I could only ever share with her, and it’ll be our moment. Forever.

“I never imagined anything like this,” Tegan whispers.

The vampires took this, took so much beauty from us.

“How long do we have?” Michael asks the pilot.

“As long as you want. When you’re ready to head back, just join me at the chopper.”

Taking off my shoes, I hold them as we scramble over the dunes to get to the water. The sand is warm against my soles and it shifts beneath my feet. Tegan and I are laughing, clinging to each other, struggling to keep our balance. Ian and Michael follow behind us. When I glance back, I see that they’re both wearing smiles that are brighter than I’ve ever seen.

This is what our life should be—smiles and happiness.

We drop the bags that Matheson gave us on a smaller sand drift. Tegan runs ahead, dancing over the beach with wild abandon. Michael, Ian, and I approach the water’s edge. Seashells litter the shore. The water rolls in, swirls around our ankles. Our feet sink just a little and I release a startled squeal. Michael laughs.

Seagulls cry out, swoop down gracefully. On sticklike legs, sandpipers race up and down the beach. I only know what they are because of books at school. I never expected to see them.

Tegan rushes over, smiling brightly, out of breath. “Isn’t this amazing?”

“People used to crowd these beaches,” Ian says. “Before the war.”

“Christopher said he spent time at the beaches in the east,” I tell him.

“He lied. People don’t leave the cities in the east any more than they leave them anywhere else. But he dreamed of playing in the ocean.” From his pocket, he retrieves the leather necklace that he removed from Christopher’s neck. “Enjoy the waves, kid,” he says quietly before hurling the necklace into the surf.

We watch it bob on the ever-moving whitecaps until they swallow the pendant. Who knows in what strange land it’ll finally come to rest? I hope it’s somewhere far away.

After we take a silent moment, Tegan says, “Let’s see what’s in those bags.”

We unzip the duffel bags and pull out several towels and a large multicolored ball.

“What is this thing?” Tegan asks.

“Come on, I’ll show you,” Ian says, grabbing it and running through the sand.

We all follow, and Ian turns around, tells us to spread out, and then bumps the ball toward Tegan. She hits it to me and it goes sailing. I have to chase it and, lifting my arms, I knock it over to Michael. He returns it the same way.

I can’t believe we’re laughing. We’ve all forgotten the world and the vampires and the dangers. Right here, it’s just the waves, the sounds, the laughter, and the beach ball.

After a few minutes, I go sit down on one of the towels while Michael and Tegan walk down the beach, still passing the ball back and forth. Ian wades out into the water until it’s circling around his calves. I wonder what distant memory he’s recalling.

I can’t help but think about Victor. We could never share a moment like this. The sun, so glorious, warms every part of me. It’s like I never stopped to thank it for being there, always saw it as something that keeps the monsters away, instead of what it really is: perfection written in the sky.

I put my chin on my knees, my arms wrapped tightly around my legs, thinking that maybe I can freeze this moment. But the sun keeps moving, keeps setting. And it’s time to go back.

When we return to the hotel, we discover Faith and Richard are in our suite. A white cloth-covered table cluttered with covered dishes is set out on the balcony.

“We thought since this is your last night here that something special was in order,” Faith says.

“I brought something for you, Ian, from my private collection,” Richard says. “The best scotch you’ll ever find. I thought we might toast to better vampire-human relations.”

Ian eyes him warily but the lure of good whiskey proves too much. “Sure, why not?”

“We’ll leave the elders to their fiery brews,” Faith says to me. “We’ll have wine.”

Maybe it’s because we’re near the sea, but we have an assortment of seafood spread out before us. It looks to be real, which means it cost a fortune. Not that Faith can’t afford it.

She lights candles on the table, and they flicker in the slight breeze. Tegan seems more relaxed, and I wonder if the time she spent at the beach distracted her from her bad memories of Sin. I catch her sneaking glances at Michael and when she realizes I spotted her, she looks guilty.

Hearing a clink of glasses, I watch as Ian takes a long swallow of the amber liquid. “Ah, excellent stuff.”

“Only the best for you, Ian,” Richard says. He shifts his attention to me, and I see something secretive in his eyes, something I can’t read. A little warning bell goes off in my head, but this is Richard. Victor’s best friend. He trusts him with his life. Has trusted him with mine.

“So what did you do today?” Richard asks.

I tell him about our trip to the beach.

“You should’ve seen it, Richard. It was…”

“Breathtaking? I have seen it. But never with the sun out. Tell me. Is the blue bright and beautiful with the sun reflecting off it?”

“Even more, it’s … incredible. I wish all humans could see it. I wish we could tear down the walls and start over with the vampires.”

“Who knows? Maybe this little trip will prove to be a start.”

“Will you be returning to Denver with us?” Michael asks.

“No, I need to reconcile with my father and that’s going to take effort and time.”

He doesn’t sound too happy about it, but we will need all the Old Families to align with Victor in his battle against Sin.

“What about you, Faith?” I ask.

She pats Richard’s hand where it rests on the table. I think she meant to make it a brief token of reassurance, but he turns his hand over quickly and captures her fingers between his. I expect her to pull away. Instead she gives him a soft smile. “I’m going to stay and help Richard make amends.”

“What … the … ’ell?”

The slurred words have us all jerking our attention back to Ian. He’s struggling to come up out of his chair, but he only gets halfway there before toppling over and crashing to the floor in a sprawl.

Tegan rushes over to him, touches the pulse at his throat. He snores deeply, and she gives Richard an accusing glare. “You put something in the scotch.”

Richard finishes off his glass, making his point that he’s immune to its effects. “I did.”

Michael is on his feet, his stake drawn. “What’s going on?”

Richard slides his gaze over to me. “You wanted to go with me to see my father, didn’t you?”

My heart is hammering. “I did. I do. Absolutely.”

“Ian wasn’t going to let you go,” Faith says reasonably. “And now, he’ll have sweet dreams until you come back.”

“I was going to distract him,” Tegan says accusatorily.

“Oh,” Richard says, looking sheepish. “Yeah, that probably would have worked, too.”

“I didn’t get a chance to tell them,” I say, looking at Tegan. I wish I
had
shared our plans, since their methods are a bit extreme. But it’s done now.

“And you forgot to tell me,” Michael says. “I could have saved you all some trouble, because you’re not going. It’s too dangerous.”