Birth of a Dark Nation (17 page)

Just take a sip.

No!

I heard if you drink it, you can walk in the
sunlight for a little while.

And I heard if you drink their blood, you
get addicted worse than crystal meth. No, thank you.

.

"I'm not sure who those people were," I
admitted. "But the guy sounded black to me. Maybe from around here.
And the woman had a very slight accent. Can't tell from where.
Anyway, we got bits and pieces from a lot of conversations, maybe
from ten different people. I'm sure more live in the house. But the
key players seem to be Nigel, Cassandra, Malcolm, and the main two
servants—the black guy and the girl."

"This…" Dante began, and then he sighed.
"This actually seems like really good information."

"You sound sad about it," Victor teased.
"What's the matter, didn't think Justin could deliver? I had total
faith in him."

"Oh, shut up," Dante said.

"Can we use this?" I asked expectantly. "Can
we somehow use this information to help break Orlando out? He is in
there, in the mansion. Like, right now."

"Yes. He is." Victor nodded. "But you have to
understand, if we just go in there with wooden stakes blazing, it
could start a war."

"Fuck war, that's your brother! If there's a
war, then they started it! I don't get it, why are you guys so
timid around this issue? If it was my brother, I would have been
broken him out."

"There are just some things you don't
understand," Dante said. "There's a whole world you still don't
know about. An order to things. If we upset the balance, it could
mean the end of us."

"You're talking to me like I'm a baby. I did
all this for you—for both of you—and now you're just sitting on the
information? Jesus Christ."

I slammed my laptop shut, stood up, and
looked out the window.

"Calm your nerves, Son of Adam," Victor said.
"You've done a lot for us, and we appreciate it. But just try to
forget everything and let us handle the rest."

"What? Oh hell no. Whatchu think this
is?"

"Listen!" Victor's voice grew loud and he
came next to me, right into my ear.

"For whatever reason, we can't hypnotize you
into forgetting. And we've put a lot of trust in you so far. This
is about as much appreciation as I can show you. But at this point,
we have to talk to Babarinde next. I have to follow his
instructions. Not yours."

"Then do it!" I yelled back.

"Justin, back off," Dante said. "Please."

"I'm not afraid of either of you," I said,
storming out of the room. Victor followed, brushing past me as he
sped out of the door. The force of his run threw me off balance and
I fell to the floor.

"I just wanted to help."

"I know," Dante said. "It's just complicated
with us."

"Some things don't need to be." I picked
myself up and dusted my knees off.

"Orlando left you guys on purpose, didn't
he?"

Dante nodded.

"We separated. It was time."

"Well now it's time to get back together. I
can't believe a human has to tell you that there is strength in
numbers."

Thanks to a contact I'd made in city hall, I
was given a sneak peek at some legislation that could decrease the
funding for HIV service organizations in DC. Not us, of course,
because we didn't get any government funding anymore. Nor did we
need it or want it. But in the event that other organizations lost
funding, it would be an opportunity for Magdalene House.

I was competitive, at least when I was
already winning. If Magdalene could branch out into other areas of
the city, it would mean big things for our clients. I wasn't above
the acquisition of another nonprofit organization.

While I was poring through the document, my
Skype began to light up. I barely used the thing, so it caught me
off guard.

Oh, shit.

It was Uncle John.

I answered the Skype call and sat up straight
in my chair.

"Hello John! How are you?"

"I'd like to explain something to you," he
said calmly.

"Yes, sir?"

"You are not a Razadi."

"I suppose you talked to-"

"Do not interrupt me. You are not a Razadi.
You do not do the work of a Razadi. You do the work of a human.
Your job is to run Magdalene House. That's it. Do you understand
me?"

"Yes, sir."

"What you did at the request of Victor Pearl
was ill-advised and reckless. You have absolutely no idea what
you're dealing with here. And Victor, of all people, should have
known better than to send you into a vampire nest."

"I'm sorry."

"I know. And you'll be even sorrier if this
situation blows up. Be careful, Justin. You just threw a stone at a
beehive."

"I-"

John ended the call and the screen went
black. My heart sank. I never wanted to disappoint him. Fuck.

October weather in Washington was usually
mild, so my long walk with Dante down Rhode Island Avenue barely
even required a light jacket. I felt safe walking with him
anywhere, whether it was the tourist-filled sidewalks of downtown,
or the sketchy side streets of Pleasant Hill. As the sun set, I
looked at my man and knew that he had my back.

"You like these walks we be on?"

"Yeah, I do. Gets me some good exercise every
once in a while."

"You look like you been losing weight."

"You think so?" I smiled.

"Yeah. I mean you looked fine the way you
were."

"But it's nice to be getting in shape."

"Fuckin', walking, and drinking water. That's
all you need."

"You silly."

"It's getting late," Dante said.

"And it's pretty dark out here. Damn, did we
really walk all the way to North Capitol Street from
Woodridge?"

"Sure did. You trying to walk down by Howard?
Get something to eat?"

"Nah, we should probably head back. If I eat,
I'm not going to feel like walking all the way back. Damn, I
haven't walked this far since I was a kid."

Dante smiled.

"You wouldn't have made it…"

"Back in Africa?" I completed.

"Yup. All we did was walk and run in the
golden valley. But it was fun. Safe and peaceful."

"You miss it."

"Sometimes. But I know that's not home
anymore. You feel me? Our destiny was to be here."

"Don't you miss your family?" I asked.

"I have my family here."

"Yeah, but what about your mother? Sisters?
Aunts?"

"I had all that," he smiled. "Mama Abeo."

"Abeo was your mother's name?"

"Yeah. Leader among my people. Well
respected."

"Is she…still living?"

Dante shrugged.

"When we left, we left. That was it."

"You mean you nev-"

Suddenly, I was lifted from the ground and
thrown across North Capitol Street, crashing through the gate at
the nearby McMillan Sand Filtration Site. The wind was knocked out
of me as I lay in the grass. Before I could get my bearings, I saw
a dark-skinned black man towering over me with his inch-long fangs
bared. He bent down and bit my neck.

Before the world went black, I noticed two
things: a bloody piece of my flesh dangling from the teeth of the
vampire who had just attacked me, and the look of horror on Dante's
face as he approached. That's how I knew that I wasn't going to
survive.

"It's done," Malcolm said, as he glided back
into the mansion on Rock Creek Park.

"He's dead?" Nigel asked.

"I don't know, I guess. Sure."

"You've got some…" Cassandra pointed to her
mouth, then Malcolm's mouth.

"What? Oh." He went to the hallway mirror and
investigated. He tried licking the corner of his mouth, but gave up
and used a baby wipe from a hallway closet.

"He tastes…different…" Malcolm said.

"What do you mean you 'guess?'" Nigel
demanded.

"I mean, I tore his neck open and rolled
out."

"Was he dead when you left?" Cassandra
asked.

"Not yet. He's probably dead by now, though.
Unless the daywalker got him to a hospital in time."

"You were supposed to kill him!" Nigel
said.

"No.
You
said to send them a message.
The message was delivered: Don't fuck with the Anubis Society."

Nigel rolled his eyes and covered his
face.

"Darling, who else saw you?" Cassandra
asked.

"Just one daywalker. The one they call Dante.
Walking around the reservoir by Howard in the middle of the night
like they hadn't a care in the world. Looked like they were in
love. Faggots."

"Malcolm, it's the 21
^st
Century,"
Cassandra said. "Certainly, you've seen two men in love a hundred
times over by now?"

"And it never gets less disgusting. I don't
even drink men if I can help it. That's why I spit his ass
out."

Cassandra just shook her head.

"Why didn't you kill him?" Nigel
demanded.

"Because I wanted the bastards to feel the
pain, Nigel! They came into our home—while we slept—and planted
listening devices! They know we have their kinsman. And they ain't
getting him back. It's not about killing for the sake of revenge.
They need to feel pain for what they've done. Long-lasting
pain."

"That isn't for you to decide, idiot. Didn't
you listen to what I said about the prophecies? Justin Kena is
dangerous to us. He needs to die. The daywalkers have been
protecting him. This was our chance and you blew it. Fuck!"

"You and these old, stupid prophecies…Nigel,
nobody believes in that old shit anymore. Vampires have always been
and always will be."

Sasha and Andre Crawford shifted
uncomfortably in the corner.

"Darling, I think what Nigel is saying here…"
Cassandra hesitated. "When the master of this house gives you a job
to do, you better do it to completion. We are the Anubis
Society—not some rag-tag bunch of Razadi rebels living in foxholes.
We have an order to how we do things. And if the master of this
house says to go teach a human a lesson, you'd better bring his
head on a fucking platter, with a side of lungs."

"Do it yourself, then. I'm not here for all
these stories about ancient vampires that never existed and
prophecies that will never come true. Fuck this, I'm going to go
eat."

Malcolm headed to the door. Nigel flew from
his seat so fast one might have heard the crack of the sound
barrier being broken. Fangs bared, and with both hands around
Malcolm's neck, Nigel began to scream.

"As long as you are a member of the Anubis
Society, you will believe as we do: that God created vampire and
left us to rule this realm under the gift of the night and the
moonlight! That anything walking or crawling when the sun sets is
our domain! On every single continent and in every fucking time
zone!"

Malcolm's fangs retracted as Nigel's chest
heaved.

"I might not have made you a vampire, but you
can believe one goddamned thing: I can end you."

Nigel let Malcolm fall to the floor.

"We've got to assemble now and squash the
Razadi once and for all. Andre, get the database. Sasha, draft a
letter to every society, lodge, and club in the Western
hemisphere."

"Nigel," Cassandra said. "Let's talk."

"About what? It's time…"

"Malcolm. Sasha, Andre…may we have the room
please?"

"Yes, Miss," Sasha and Andre said in unison.
Malcolm scrambled up and disappeared down the hall.

"Come sit next to me, my love," Cassandra
said, as she patted the cushion of the baroque sofa.

"How long have we been together?" Cassandra
asked.

"Since that night during the French
Revolution, of course."

"So you know by now that after all these
years, I would never steer you wrong."

Nigel nodded.

"We have Orlando. He belongs to us. We've got
the best doctors that money can buy studying his blood on every
level. I'm hearing they're on their way to a breakthrough. Darling,
we might be on our way to unlocking the secret of Razadi
blood."

"That doesn't make Justin Kena any less
dangerous to us."

"Why are you focused on him? We have the
upper hand. We've always had the upper hand. He's just a human.
There's no way to know if he's really 'The Key' from the
prophecies."

"Babarinde thinks he is," Nigel admitted.

"Babarinde is a fool. A superstitious
fool."

"He might be a fool, but he's one of the few
people I respect in this life. He brokered peace between vampires
and Razadi. For years. But if he's found The Key, then it's the end
of us."

Cassandra pursed her lips.

"Nigel, I want you to focus on Orlando. Turn
your attention to the science. Oversee the doctors. Let me worry
about the Razadi."

"You won't do anything."

"I will, darling! We will observe them
closely and see what their next moves will be. We'll find out how
injured Justin Kena is and whether he will survive. And we'll see
what happens next. Of course, I have my predictions. I think
nothing will happen. They know they can't beat us."

"You don't believe in the prophecies. You
never have."

"Be that as it may, I believe in you. Keep a
clear head. And look at it this way: if we decipher the code in the
Razadi blood, even if Justin is The Key, we could defeat them
anyway. Imagine, darling…a nation of nightwalkers who can finally
conquer the day. And it would all be because of you."

Nigel grinned.

"I'll give it a shot, my love," he said,
caressing Cassandra's neck.

He stood up and walked toward the grand
foyer.

"But know this: if you're wrong about this,
and we've blown our chance to eliminate Justin? A nation of
nightwalkers will know that you're to blame. Not me. Not Malcolm.
Our blood will be on your hands."