Dawn of Darkness (Daeva, #1)

Dawn
of Darkness

by

Daniel A. Kaine

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 Daniel A. Kaine

Cover
Design by Keary Taylor

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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This is a
work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and
incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or
used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

"I'm not
taking no for an answer."

I opened
my eyes to see my room-mate leaning against the off-white wall next
to my bed. I groaned and rolled over, facing away from him. There
was a sharp prod in my side, and then another.

"I'll
stop if you say yes," he said, poking me over and over again. I
tried to slap his hand away, becoming increasingly annoyed with
him, but he caught my wrist in one hand and continued his assault
with the other. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"Dammit,
Ash! I'm not going, so just leave me alone."

He
dropped my wrist and let out a dejected sigh. Ash had been
pestering me for several hours to join him and the rest of our
squad in celebration of our last night as cadets. I didn't care
much for socialising, least of all when it involved alcohol. The
thought of having my inhibitions lowered did not appeal to me in
the slightest. Not to mention being hung over the next
morning.

Still, Ash was nothing, if not
persistent, and I could hardly kick him out of his own room. Not
that I would have been able to manage if I tried. At six foot, Ash
towered over the bed. His blond hair was cut
short
and spiked, complimenting his olive
complexion and crystal blue eyes. A black tank-top stretched across
his chest and abs, showing off his rather athletic
build.

"Please,
Mik?"

"I'm
tired, okay? The General made me spend all evening washing the
transports for that comment I made earlier."

"He never did have much of a
sense of
humour
." Ash laughed, and then his smile dropped. "Please come
celebrate with us. It wouldn't be right without the whole squad
there."

"No."

"Mikhail,
I will drag you out if I have to," he said, his arms folded across
his chest. I rolled over again and tried to ignore him. I closed my
eyes and heard footsteps moving away from me. Just when I thought
he had given up, his hands locked around my ankles. I gave a
surprised yelp as he began pulling me towards the bottom of the
bed. My hands grasped at the bed, desperate for something to hold
onto. They found only the covers, which slipped through my
fingers.

"Okay,
fine! Fine." Ash stopped. I sat up and groaned. I glared at him, my
brown eyes locked in mental combat with his. The edges of his mouth
crept upwards, and he gave a quick snigger as he made his way into
the adjoining bathroom.

I stood,
opened the nearby wardrobe and reached for a black jumper. I pulled
it on over my t-shirt before ruffling my hair until it looked
presentable. Whereas Ash's hair was always neat, mine was a mess of
black waves. Almost being dragged off the bed hadn't
helped.

Meanwhile, Ash had emerged from the bathroom. He squeezed
past me, through the gap between the wardrobe and my bed, and
picked up some deodorant from the bedside table. I jumped, feeling
a firm pinch on my backside, and smacked the hand away. He flashed
me a toothy grin.

"Bastard," I muttered under my breath. I'm sure he heard me,
not that it would ever deter him. Ash was openly bisexual and had a
bit of a reputation for getting around the block. I may only have
known Ash for a year, but I knew what people said about him, and
that was he never kept a partner for longer than one night. As for
myself, well, I never thought about that kind of stuff. Sex is only
another way to get attached to people, and when that happens you're
setting yourself up to be hurt. People always leave you. It's
inevitable. The best way – the only way – to avoid the heartbreak
is to just not care. And this was something I had been good at,
until Ash was forced into my life.

It was
only a year ago when I entered the Military Academy and was
assigned to Ash's squad. I ended up sharing a room with him too,
which I had not been pleased about. He and the other members of our
squad, the Third Sunreaver Cadets, were at the academy for two
years prior to my arrival. An unfortunate accident left their fifth
member paraplegic, and so I was fast-tracked to the final year on
account of my supposed compatibility with the group. You see, the
five of us were gifted. And when I say gifted, I mean we had
abilities that most people don't – Daeva, they call us.

The Daeva
were a relatively new phenomenon, and most 'normal' humans feared
us. As a result, most of us ended up in the military, who had no
qualms about hiring us. It was the only choice available to us, but
it wasn't a bad deal – we were given food, accommodation, clothing,
and a decent pay. In return the army got itself a nifty superhuman
soldier.

"Cheer
up. Tonight is supposed to be a celebration." I turned to see Ash
looking out of the small window. He didn't need to look at me to
tell what I was feeling. Ash was an empath, and a powerful one at
that. Besides his empathy, he could also create ice from thin air.
He was watching snowflakes fall gently from the night sky, the moon
illuminating each and every one of them. "It's New Year's Eve, and
our last night as cadets! Aren't you the least bit
excited?"

Truth be
told, I was excited, but not because it was New Year's Eve. I never
understood what all the fuss was about. Every year people get
wasted and make promises to themselves for the coming year that
they invariably break. I was excited because from that point on, we
would be fully-fledged members of the Silver Dawn Battalion.
Finally, after all the training drills and simulations we would be
given real missions; a chance to let loose and show everyone what
we were made of.

"A bit,"
I replied, "but you know I hate this kinda stuff."

"You
don't hate it. You hate that a part of you enjoys it." Well, that
was news to me. Ash moved to stand at my side and his hands gripped
my shoulders, turning me to face him. His eyes gazed into mine,
searching for something deep inside of me. "What is it you're so
afraid of?"

"Nothing," I snapped and shrugged him off, feeling a little
annoyed that he had tried to read my innermost emotions. That was a
boundary we agreed long ago was off-limits. The physical contact
strengthened his reception. Fortunately for me I had a psychic
ability of my own, allowing me to mentally shield myself. He was
more powerful than I. He could have forced his way past my shields
and peered down into my soul. But he didn't. Point for Ash. "Can we
get going now?"

"Yeah,
sure." The serious look on his face melted back into his trademark
smile, his lips twisting upwards slightly and flashing a small
amount of teeth. It was something I always liked about Ash, and
made me able to tolerate him. He could let things go and get on
with life rather than trying to force an issue.

We
grabbed our jackets from their hooks on the back of the door and
Ash led out into the corridor.

"We're
meeting Katiya over at her dorm first."

My mood
worsened at the mere mention of Katiya, causing me to pull the door
shut a little harder than I should have on the way out.

*****

Katiya's
dormitory was part of a separate building, a short walk from our
own. We made our way across the square and past the stone statue of
the Prophet Jules, to a small three-story apartment block used by
the female members of the army. A few of the windows in the smaller
building remained lit, and as we passed them we could hear the
sounds of giggling and laughter; the sound of drunken females
entertaining themselves until the New Year countdown. At one
window, a young cadet leaned out and tried to tempt us into joining
her and some friends, for what I could only imagine would turn into
an alcohol-fueled competition for Ash's attention.

"Maybe
another night," he smiled and winked at her. He laughed quietly as
we moved out of earshot of the girl, who remained hanging out of
the window, probably to enjoy the view. "Looks like you got an
admirer."

"What
makes you think she's not another of your fan-girls?" I asked. I
had a reputation for being cold and uninviting, and I was fine with
that, especially if it meant not having to put up with hordes of
swooning admirers, as was commonplace with Ash. At least he enjoyed
the attention.

"Because I just know. I mean,
yeah, she probably wouldn't mind a piece of me, but when she looked
at
you
... didn't you see the way she froze?"

"That
doesn't mean anything."

Ash
sighed. "You're hopeless. Trust me, I felt her desire hit me like a
brick. She wants you. So, what do you say? I could go back and get
her name for you. Maybe fix you up on a date or
something."

I looked
back in time to see her blow me a quick kiss before retreating
inside. A shudder ran up my spine, and I was sure it wasn't from
the cold. "Not interested."

Ash's
brow furrowed. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you show the
slightest bit of interest in anyone... female or male."

I stopped
walking and turned to face him. "What about you? You haven't shown
interest in anyone beyond that of a quick fuck."

Ash's
teeth ground together. "You know what, Mik? Just... forget
it."

I didn't
have to be an empath to know I'd unintentionally hit a sore nerve.
But how was I supposed to know? With anyone else he would have
laughed it off and made a joke about the other person being
jealous. Perhaps, it was because I was one of the few who didn't
judge his lifestyle that made my comment all the more hurtful. My
only goal was to deflect the conversation away from my personal
life. That was something I didn't talk about. How could anyone
understand I had no desire to be that close to anyone? Ash
especially, I thought wouldn't understand.

He turned
and started to walk away from me. Seeing his reaction created a pit
in the bottom of my stomach, an awful hollow feeling that I was
unfamiliar with. Each step he took made the feeling grow, and so I
did something I hadn't done since I was very young.

"I'm
sorry."

Ash
froze. I saw the tension in his shoulders, manifesting itself as a
subtle twitch. I don't know whether it was the fact that I
apologised – and meant it – or if he could feel how awful I felt,
but he came back to me and wrapped his arms around me.

He was
two or three inches taller than me, his breath scalding against the
shell of my ear as he spoke. "I'm sorry too. I guess we both have
some issues to work out."

Issues. I
had plenty of those, but none I wanted to share. I didn't want
people to pity or feel sorry for me. Or worse still, I didn't want
them trying to 'fix' me. I pulled away from the embrace, feeling
more than a little uncomfortable by the display of emotion. It felt
good, and that was the problem.

*****

We
continued on to Katiya's room. It was on the third floor of the
building, room fifty-four I noted. It was my first time there.
Unlike a certain someone I never had any reason to visit the female
dorms. Ash knocked twice.

"One
minute," Katiya called to us.

We stood,
for what seemed like an eternity, with Ash drumming his fingers on
the door frame, and I tapping my foot. The door opened to reveal
Katiya clad in a long, white bathrobe. Her chestnut hair fell in
waves and curls to her shoulders, framing her healthy-pink skin and
matching brown eyes. She looked almost a different person. During
training she always tied her hair back into a tight ponytail, and
was definitely one of the lads. I guess she had to be in a squad
with four guys. Now she looked feminine and softer, though I knew
not to judge this particular book by its cover.