Darkness Before Dawn (27 page)

“Very important, m’lord.”

“I’m glad we agree. Because I’ve decided to trust you, Dawn. So much so that I’ve brought
you
as my guest.”

“M’lord?”

“Yes, I know, a bit unconventional. A human has never been allowed into my inner sanctum quite like this, but I felt that your presence would be welcomed. I hope you’ll accept. Everyone is already here; they’re waiting for us upstairs.”

I swallow hard. Once again, any other choice is just an illusion.

“I would be honored,” I say, clinging to formality in the hopes that it will remind him of my delegate status. Hoping, too, that my presence won’t be welcomed as dinner.

Valentine gives me a broad smile, and I see his fangs, each one massive in size, glistening.

“Then let’s not keep our guests waiting.”

He walks toward me, grabs my arm like a vise, and leads me down the hall. And I know by his touch that I’m not his guest; I’m his hostage.

I’m afraid he’s not taking me to dinner after all. That he’s hauling me into a room to show me Victor’s battered and beaten body. That he’s going to demonstrate the folly of not giving him total loyalty.

We go up a flight of marbled stairs, down another corridor, and face gigantic double doors. He places one hand on the handle.

“I gave you a chance, Dawn,” Valentine says, his grip threatening to break my arm. “I could’ve given you the earth, the stars, and everything in between. Now you will pay for choosing Victor over me.”

He opens the door and shoves me in violently.

The room is cold and dark, lit with just a few poorly placed gas lamps giving off their yellow glow across the stone walls. In the middle is a large, ornate table, thick with aged wood. I immediately recognize one of the four sitting at it.

“Dawn!” Victor shouts, surging to his feet.

I want to rush over to him, because I’m so glad he’s alive. But Valentine is beside me, and I’m still very much under his control. Even when he isn’t holding me, his vampire speed makes me just as vulnerable as if his hands were already wrapped around my neck.

“Miss Montgomery, I don’t believe you’ve met my brothers, Ransom”—a vampire who very much resembles Valentine stands and bows—“and Seymour.” The other male gets to his feet. He’s bloated with excess, and I don’t want to think about how much human blood it took to get him to that grotesque state. An air of entitlement rolls off both of them in waves. While etiquette demands that they stand until I’m seated, they both return to their chairs, their expressions of disgust telling me that to them I’m nothing beyond a source of blood.

“My daughter, Faith.”

She looks to be nearly my age. To say she’s beautiful would be like saying the sun glows a tad. I’ve never seen one before—an Old Family female. Their rarity is reflected in their beauty, as if a huge amount were divided among the very few of them. She has perfect skin, fiery red hair, and an hourglass figure. Her eyes are the same sharp blue as Victor’s, but they look more seductive, if that were possible. Her red dress hugs every curve.

She does little more than wiggle her fingers at me, seemingly bored with my sudden entrance into this room.

“And I believe you’ve met Richard Carrollton.”

I wonder how he knows it. If Richard is wondering the same thing it doesn’t show on his face as he steps out of the shadows.

Theatrically, Valentine says, “And allow me to introduce to all of you Dawn Montgomery, delegate, coconspirator, traitor. Curtsy, Dawn.”

I don’t. I stand there with my shoulders back, my spine straight. I hold Victor’s gaze, trying to convince him I’m not afraid, even though my knees are trembling.

“Curtsy!” Valentine shouts, his booming voice echoing off the walls.

Victor gives me a brusque nod. So I do what Valentine asks. I pretend to be meek. I curtsy and say, in my best delegate voice, “It’s a pleasure.”

Valentine chuckles darkly. “Oh, what games we all play. I know my son tried his hardest not to involve you tonight. And for good reason. He doesn’t want you to witness his actions at this final moment.”

“This has nothing to do with her,” Victor says, taking a step forward.

“It has
everything
to do with her!” Valentine yells. “She had a choice regarding whose side to join: mine or yours. She chose you. That makes her just as guilty as you. Who else? Stand up now! Who else has sided with this bastard son of mine?”

Faith rises, a cool confidence imbuing the move.

“My own daughter,” Valentine says, a steely anger in his voice. “I should have known. You’re as disloyal as your mother. Who else?”

Richard steps forward.

“Of course,” Valentine says. “When Faith brought you as her guest, I thought it was a joke. Now I see the real purpose. My brothers? Whose side do you stand on?”

Valentine’s brothers remain seated, but unlike Faith, they definitely do not give the appearance of being bored. I can see them calculating what all this means to them and how they can best profit by it.

“So this is it?” Valentine says. “Your grand plan to overthrow me?”

“You’ve gone mad,” Victor says. “You no longer reign over the vampires; your own bloodlust rules you while the Lessers starve. When we turned them, we had an obligation to provide for them. Now the Thirst is sweeping east, heading straight for us.”

“Ha! The Thirst. An urban legend, believed only by stupid children like yourself.”

“It’s real! And if you refuse to act against it, I will be forced to act in your stead.”

“You may have tricked Dawn into thinking you’re something you’re not.” Valentine’s anger flares in his eyes, his fangs slowly extending. “But I’ve known you for four hundred years. And someday soon, she’ll see what you truly are. They always do.”

“You’re casting around smoke and mirrors, Father, to distract us from the real issue,” Victor says. “It is time for you to step down as head of the family.”

“Never. Not as long as I draw breath. This is my empire! Forged by my hands. You have no idea what it takes to rule, what I have already set in motion.”

“I know you’re using my brother to do it.”

Valentine chuckles. “I always thought him an aberration, but he is what you are not. Loyal. And he possesses a beautiful evil. More cunning than you could ever hope to be.”

I hear the pride in his voice, and it sends a shiver through me. Is that the family trait Valentine would be most proud of passing down the line? Wickedness?

“Destroy me and you will unleash him,” Valentine says. “And then it will be as if you released hell itself.”

Victor removes a stake from his belt. It’s long and metal, perfectly suited for a single, deadly strike to the heart. “You’ve left me with no choice.”

“Make one move and I’ll bring an end to your precious Dawn’s life,” Valentine says, with a finality that stills any movement in the room. Now I see why I’m here. A poker chip. Leverage. Valentine’s last hope. “I can snap her neck before you reach me.”

“I’ll put a stake in your heart before you get to her,” Victor says.

“You underestimate me, child. I may be old, but with age comes power.”

“She doesn’t mean anything to me,” Victor says.

I ignore the sting of his words and concentrate instead on his purpose in saying them. He’s trying to remove me from harm’s way, trying to convince Valentine that I’m useless as a poker chip.

The ancient vampire merely laughs. “Nothing? Nothing at all? Then you won’t mind when your brother turns her into what she was always meant to be.”

“She’s just a human.”

“You’re wrong. She is so much more.”

“She’s just a vessel for blood....”

Valentine backhands me across my face. The force sends the world black for a moment, and I fall to the floor as his laugh reverberates through the chamber.

I try to stand up, but the strength of the blow has made me dizzy. Still, I’m able to see Victor’s reaction. I’ve never seen so much hatred on anyone’s face. All of it is focused on his father.

“That’s right,” Valentine says. “Give freedom to your rage. If we’re going to fight, I want it to mean more than who takes the throne. I want to know that I raised a son who’s willing to kill his father, just as I killed mine.”

Valentine pulls a stake from behind his coat.

Richard withdraws his own and looks at Valentine’s brothers. “Try to help, and I’ll put this through your chest. Understood?”

Father and son are in place. The witness is accounted for. All the pieces are in play. The future of the city, of the Valentine family, of my life, will be decided in the coming seconds. But more, Victor’s future will be decided, and in that moment I realize as never before that I want him to have a future. I don’t want him to die. And not just because he’s the better of the two. But because I care about him more than I realized—with every fiber of my being.

I don’t know what happens next; the two Valentines move too fast for human eyes to catch. It’s nothing but blurs and grunts, them stopping in frame for one second, only to continue on. The entire scene plays out as though lit by a strobe light, quick flashes of still life: Victor with his stake in hand; Valentine dodging it; Victor chasing; Valentine feinting.

I’m frozen in fear. It could end at any moment, with Victor falling to the floor, dead. Regrets slam into me. There is so much I never told him. How much I admire about him: the way he watches over the vampires in the city. The way he watched over me. How much I want the world he envisions: vampires and humans working together.

It’s difficult to believe that a short while ago I would have celebrated his death. One fewer vampire in the world. Now I would grieve with the same fierceness that I mourned the loss of my parents and my brother.

I want to help Victor, but I know the best way to do that is to stay as still as possible, not to be a distraction. All his energy and focus have to be on defeating Valentine.

I glance over at the other vampires. They have no problem translating the rapid movements before them. Valentine’s brothers are smiling, their eyes gleaming at the violence they’re witnessing, even thriving on it.

But Richard is more concerned, studying every sharp movement. His eyes dart back and forth, following as his best friend fights for his life.

I see a flash of Victor’s blue suit, and I’ve never wanted anything more than for him to win.

Please. Please, Victor. I know you can do this.

Suddenly everything stills. Except for heavy breathing, silence descends. Everyone is held captive by the sight in front of us. On the floor, the monstrous Valentine huddles over his smaller son. Both as motionless as statues. Unable to breathe. Unable to move.

Then Valentine’s body slumps over and falls to the floor. Victor’s stake is buried deeply in his father’s chest. The Bloody Valentine’s heart beats no more. That tiny spot of darkness in the world seems to have been made bright for now.

I see Victor’s chest rise and fall with the rhythm of his breaths, deep and full. I want to hold him, but I’m scared that he has too much anger still, too much ferocity. He needs a moment’s pause. Slowly he brings himself to his feet, standing tall.

I can see the determination in his eyes. I was right. This isn’t over.

“After my uncles have seen to Father, take them to the dungeon,” he says in a forceful voice that leaves no room for argument.

“You can’t—” one begins, but he cuts him off.

“You are either with me or with my father. Both paths have consequences. The funeral will be at dawn. At that time you can give me your answer.”

His uncles struggle to carry the behemoth that was Valentine, as Richard and Faith escort them from the room. I’m glad. I’m glad that it’s finally just Victor and me.

“Victor,” I say.

A moment passes before he turns toward me. There aren’t tears in his eyes, but an infinite sadness that is even deeper.

I can’t stand the distance any longer. I cross over to him, reach up, cradle his face, and tilt his head toward me so he looks me in the eyes. He needs to see me. He needs to know that I’m here for him. What he did … it doesn’t change what he is. But it has changed what I feel for him. From the moment we met, he’s tried to show me that he’s not a monster. Tonight he proved it. He didn’t want to kill his father. He was forced into the confrontation.

I could have lost him and he’d never have known that I’d fallen for him. Hard. My feelings snuck up on me, one kindness, one revelation at a time. The vampires took everything from me, but I’m looking into the eyes of one who has the power to give me back a reason to live, who can heal my gaping hole of sorrow.

I don’t know how to put any of that into words. So I just wrap my arms around him, welcome his arms coming around me. Then he pulls me in tighter, and I end up being the one to shed tears.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” I whisper. “Victor, I was so scared that I was going to lose you.”

“You’ll never lose me, Dawn. Since I met you, for the first time in my life, I truly understand what I’m fighting for. You are every sunrise that I will never see.”

He lifts my chin and lowers his mouth to mine. The kiss is so gentle, made sweeter by the knowledge that we’ve both survived. That we’re on the cusp of a change. My heart swells with emotions I don’t quite understand. They’re almost frightening in their intensity. For the first time, I don’t think of Victor as a vampire, but simply as someone I love. Our tongues dance together and I press myself nearer, wondering if I’ll ever be able to get as close to him as I want, as I need.

For this one moment, he is all that matters.

Chapter 27

I
feel something warm and wet seeping through my sweater, just below where my heart is thudding. Pulling back, I glance down. Victor’s blue shirt is glistening, soaked in blood.

“Victor, you’re hurt.”

His hold on me weakens and he stumbles back a step. “My father was right. I underestimated him.”

“What do you need? Tell me and I’ll do it.”

“I need to rest, that’s all. Help me to my bedroom; it isn’t far.”