Dawn of Darkness (Daeva, #1) (28 page)

"Yeah,
you're probably right," I said. Violet smiled and thrust a backpack
into my arms.

*****

Soon we
were off again into the cold darkness. I plodded along, keeping my
hands tucked inside the pockets of a jacket I borrowed from Daniel
since he had no need for it. It was a little big, but it helped
protect me from the biting wind that stung my cheeks and ears. Nate
promised they would buy me some of my own stuff once we reached
Aldar in a couple of day's time. The night drew on, and before long
I could see a giant tower looming on the horizon.

"That's
the Eiffel Tower," Nate told me.

"Used to
be France's most well-known landmark," Violet said. "At night, it
would be all lit up. It was beautiful. People would come from all
over the world to see it. And now..."

"How old
are you?" I asked. I figured she was at least a century old, from
the way she talked about the world before the apocalypse. She
glared at me.

Nate put
an arm over my shoulders and whispered to me, "She might be a
vampire, but she's still a woman." When Violet finally stopped
shooting daggers at us with her eyes, Nate attempted to mouth
something to me. It looked like he was trying to say three-hundred
and twelve. A hand appeared out of nowhere, smacking Nate round the
back of the head.

"You're
not as silent as you think," Violet snapped. "And it's
three-hundred and nine."

Sebastian
laughed, but he was soon silenced when Violet turned to him.
Three-hundred and twelve it was then. She must have seen so much
over her life. Or should that be death? Over three centuries' worth
of history, and three centuries' worth of death. There were so many
questions I could ask her, but I didn't know where to start. It
seemed all I was doing lately was asking questions, and yet, I
still felt like I knew nothing.

"Are we
there yet?" Nate asked again.

"No,"
Sebastian replied, the irritation clear in his voice. We had only
been walking for an hour or so that night, and if Nate's excited
behaviour was anything to go by, we were definitely getting close
to the hidden city of Aldar.

"How
about now?"

"Nate,"
Daniel growled. "Shut up already. You know exactly where we
are."

"Where
are we?" I asked, looking around for some indication. There was
nothing out of the ordinary; more ruins and overgrown fields. In
fact, it looked identical to the landscape of the previous
night.

"That set
of ruins up there is Calais," Daniel said, pointing to a line of
buildings on the horizon. After that, it's about five hours to
Aldar."

"Finally." I let out a long, weary sigh. "My feet are killing
me." The balls of my feet were throbbing. The clunky boots I was
wearing felt as though they had shrunk in size.

"Yours
and mine both," said Nate. "First thing I'm gonna do when we reach
Aldar is have a nice long bath."

"Sounds
good to me," Sebastian said.

"A hot
shower, then a visit to the pub for me," said Daniel.

"And
we'll finally be able to eat real food again," said
Nate.

"What's
wrong with my cooking?" Daniel asked.

"Dude, I
love your cooking. You know that. But I need to eat something other
than deer, fish, and that weird plant soup."

'Weird
plant soup' summed it up perfectly. I was sceptical when Daniel
showed up at camp holding an armful of leaves and yellow flowers.
It wasn't bad, but Nate was right. My body was craving something
more substantial. Maybe some chicken and potatoes, or a greasy,
cheese pizza. My mouth watered at the thought of it.

*****

Calais
was soon upon us, and as we rounded an old apartment block, I found
myself stopping to take in the view. The ocean. Having lived in the
city all my life, this was my first time seeing it outside of a
book. I had always dreamed of being able to witness it for myself.
The sliver of a moon reflected on the surface of the water, gently
rippling. Waves crashed onto the beach, creating a white foam
before the waterline retreated. I ran out onto the soft sand,
kneeling to pick up a handful. The grains slipped through my
fingers. I went further out to the water, dipping my fingers into
it as an icy cold wave flowed over my fingertips. Violet appeared
at my side, and I felt embarrassed for acting so
child-like.

She
smiled. "Nate did the exact same thing."

I looked
out to the ocean, watching the moon's reflection glimmer and sway.
It was so peaceful, and strangely hypnotic. My only regret was Ash
wasn't there to see it with me. He would have loved it. Maybe after
the war, I thought, then I could show it to him.

"Which
way now?" I asked.

Violet
pointed out to sea. "Aldar is across this body of
water."

"Does
this mean we get to ride a boat?" My heart raced at the thought of
going out onto the water.

"No," she
replied. My heart sank. "There's an old tunnel that goes
underwater. But before we can use it, there's something I need to
tell you."

"What's
that?" I asked, a lump forming in my throat.

"The
tunnel is protected by a powerful compulsion spell. Once you enter,
you will be overcome by fear, compelling you to turn back. And the
deeper you go, the worse it will get."

I
swallowed hard. "So how do we get past it?"

"The rest
of us have already been recognised by the spell. It will let us
pass unhindered. You, on the other hand, will either have to face
your fears, or go through unconscious. Your choice."

"What did
Nate do?"

"What do
you think?" Violet chuckled and shook her head. "He charged in and
came out the other end crying like a baby."

"And the
rest of you?"

Violet
nodded. "We have all faced it too."

So, I
could either take the easy way out and be carried through, making
myself appear weak in front of the others, or tough it out and face
whatever nightmares my mind could conjure up. Of course, I had to
pick the brave choice. If everyone else had done it, then I wasn't
about to be the first to chicken out. And what was the worst I
could possibly face? The fear of never seeing Ash again? I had
already met that fear several times already, and since then I found
a new resolve, to remove the Silver Dawn. What else was there to
fear? The skinless corpses from my nightmare, perhaps? As
horrifying as they were, they weren't actually real.

"I'll
face my fears," I said, figuring the spell couldn't conjure up
anything worse than I had already faced. Besides, if it worked
anything like my ability, then I should be able to shield against
it. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but any hope is better than
none.

"We
should get going. If we hurry, we can make it to the other side
with a few hours of darkness to spare, and I can talk to Marcus
before he's dead to the world."

"Marcus
is the leader of the resistance," Sebastian added. "He's a very old
and wise vampire. If anyone can decipher the glyph we found, it'll
be him."

"How
old?" I asked.

"He lost
count." Violet laughed. "But Marcus used to be a Viking warrior in
life. That puts him around a thousand years old, at
least."

"Wow," I
said. I couldn't even imagine living that long. Marcus must have
witnessed the rise and fall of entire civilisations, countless wars
and battles, and the invention of so much technology, even things
we took for granted.

"Oi!"
Daniel shouted from back at the wall. "Are we gonna get going, or
what?"

We
rejoined them at the edge of the beach and set off again. The ruins
of Calais weren't particularly ruined. It was more of a ghost town.
The buildings were mostly intact, minus a window or a door here and
there. As with Boursac, nature ran rampant. Vines scaled even the
tallest buildings, rising up to eight stories high. Weeds sprouted
out of every crack and crevice, in the pavement and on the walls.
Soon after, we reached the start of the tunnel. There was just one
small problem. Piles of rubble and debris blocked the
entrance.

"I hope
you have another entrance," I said, following Violet as she stepped
over the metal tracks that disappeared into the sealed
tunnel.

"That's
the main tunnel," Daniel said. "We'll be using the service
entrance."

I was led
to a small grassy area on the far side of the tunnel. Sure enough,
in the middle of the overgrown grass and weeds was a large metal
hatch, which Violet crouched down to grasp the handle of. The hatch
creaked and groaned as she pulled it open, ending with a loud clang
of metal against stone.

I looked
down into the dark hole and saw metal rungs embedded into the stone
wall, going down as far as I could see, which wasn't far. Violet
climbed down first, clutching a flashlight in her mouth. When she
reached the bottom, she turned the light on and shone it at the
ladders for the rest of us to see where we were going. Sebastian
went next.

"Watch
your step," Nate said as he kneeled at the edge. "The metal can
sometimes get a bit damp, so make sure you hold on tight. Don't
want you falling and cracking your head open now, do
we?"

I went
next, gripping the cold metal as I descended into the darkness,
towards the small shaft of light that shone from below. Daniel came
last, closing the hatch behind him. The sound of the hatch snapping
shut echoed and reverberated off the walls, producing a soft
ringing in my ears. I continued down, feeling for the next rung
with my foot until I made it to the bottom.

Daniel
pulled another flashlight from his pack and pointed it down into
the tunnel. Damp moss blanketed the walls. The path sloped down to
a large metal door. Broken light bulbs hung from the ceiling, long
since shattered. The hallway was about wide enough for three people
across. I walked at the back of the group with Nate, who had taken
the torch from Violet.

As we
approached the door, I heard a dripping noise. Drip, drip-drip.
Drip, drip-drip. I shuddered, remembering the dripping noises in
the bunker where I found the Fifth Covenant. I willed myself on,
telling myself it was only water, and most likely just the spell
trying to force me to turn back.

I must
have muttered something out loud, because Nate laughed, startling
me. "The spell doesn't affect this part of the tunnel," he said,
putting an arm over my shoulders and dragging me along to catch up
with the rest of the group.

Violet
began working on unlocking the large door. She turned a giant wheel
in its centre. The metal bars screeched as they slid out of their
latches, allowing the door to be pulled open.

"Beyond
this door is where your trial begins," Violet said. "We'll be with
you the whole way, so keep moving forward as fast as you
can."

"If it
gets too bad we can still knock you out," Sebastian said. "Most new
people come through that way."

"It won't
come to that," I said, steeling myself for what lay
ahead.

"That's
good," Daniel said, patting me on the back. "Believe in yourself,
that's the best advice I can give you."

Beyond
the door, the tunnel continued to slope down. I took a deep breath
and entered first. The air inside was heavier and staler. In the
distance, I could see lights flickering on and off. I gulped,
feeling a twinge of fear race up my spine.

'I can do this,'
I repeated over and
over in my mind.
'Focus on moving forward.'

The tube
lights in the ceiling buzzed as they wavered on and off. I wondered
if the lighting was done intentionally, to add to the effect of the
magic, or if it was a hallucination caused by the spell. Whatever
it was, it was working. Spots filled my vision from the constant
flashing of lights. I jumped, thinking I had seen something in the
darkness, but when the next light came on, there was nothing. I
took a deep breath and pulled my shields tight around me, like a
solid iron wall. Whether it actually blocked out the magic, or I
only thought it did, it helped.

Nate came
up next to me, taking my hand in his. At first I was shocked,
having not heard or seen him approach me. I wanted to pull my hand
from his, but the contact was comforting. I held on tight as we
delved deeper into the darkness. Unfortunately, the comfort didn't
last long. A cold chill blew through the air, causing my whole body
to shudder. What made it worse was the wind appeared to whisper in
my ear. I couldn't understand what it said, but every bone in my
body told me to turn and run.

'Just a
spell,
' I
chanted.

Drip,
drip-drip. There it was again, that same pattern of drips. Another
illusion, perhaps?

"You're
crushing my hand," Nate said.

"Oh,
sorry." I released my grip and pulled away from Nate to walk in
front of him.

The wind
whispered to me again. "You're not real," I told it, forging on.
The wind disagreed, whispering louder and more often, as if to
prove its existence. "No, you're not.”