Dawn of Darkness (Daeva, #1) (31 page)

"I don't
wanna put you out," I said as he paid for me again.

"I think
I can spare enough for a meal and some drinks," Daniel said. "It's
the least I can do for you. I mean, we're not gonna let you starve,
you know?"

"Thanks,"
I said quietly, finishing off my drink as a new one was placed in
front of me.

"So, what
happened between you and Nate?" he asked. I looked at him in shock.
"I'm a werewolf, remember? I only caught the end of the
conversation where Nate was apologising though, and I could smell
you were lying to me when you said Nate was too tired to come
out."

I sighed.
"Nate kissed me."

"Shit,"
Daniel said, choking on his drink. "Nate's done some pretty stupid
stuff since he joined us, but that definitely takes the
biscuit."

"I think
he likes me... really likes me. He's been trying to get close to me
since I saw Ash."

"You
noticed that too?" Daniel sighed and shook his head. "Man, I
figured he was just excited to have someone like him around. You
know, another exile. If I'd known he was gonna pull a stunt like
that, I would've knocked some sense into him."

I knocked
back some more of my drink. It was Nate who encouraged me to join
the resistance, telling me that it was the only way to be with Ash
again. Had he said that so I would stay with him? Was he hoping I
would forget about Ash? I slammed the glass down on the
bar.

"You
never can tell about people these days," Daniel said. "I mean, I
never would have imagined Nate swung that way."

"Can I
sleep in your room?" I asked, remembering that Nate's room only had
a double bed. The last thing I wanted was to be sharing a bed with
Nate, barely clothed and at this rate, probably a little
drunk.

"Sure you
can."

It didn't
take long for our food to arrive. It looked messy. The chilli
burger was a large round bun, with two burgers, separated by melted
cheese, and topped with chilli, lettuce, pickles and a thick slice
of tomato, complete with a side of fries. I removed the tomato,
having never been keen on them, and replaced it with a mound of
fries. I squashed the burger down, fearing that it might be too big
for my mouth. Some of the chilli leaked out of the sides, making an
even bigger mess of the whole thing. I picked up the burger with
both hands, holding it over the plate to catch the chilli and
lettuce that would inevitably fall out when I sunk my teeth in. I
bit down and let out a low moan.

"How is
it?" Daniel asked between mouthfuls. I nodded, catching a bit of
chilli with my finger that had found its way to the edge of my
mouth. Daniel laughed. After over a week of eating only basic
foods, it felt good to finally get something filling and greasy
inside of me. My stomach roared its approval.

"So,
besides the thing with Nate, how are you holding up?" Daniel asked
when I had managed to devour the entire burger. I picked at the
leftover fries.

"I
dunno," I said, washing down the fries with some alcohol. "There's
the whole thing with the Silver Dawn and the resistance, Ash, my
powers are growing, and then there's that thing I saw in the
tunnel. I guess I'm still absorbing it all."

"Do you
wanna talk about what you saw? Might help take a load off your
shoulders," Daniel said.

I nodded
and explained about the skinless corpses from my nightmares, and
about how I managed to dispel the illusion. "Then it showed me Ash.
He was angry at me for not going back to Rachat with him, and he
said some hurtful things. He wanted to kill me, to save me from
what I had become. And then I think I killed him, with that new
power of mine."

"So
you're afraid you guys are enemies now or something?"

"I don't
know how I'm going to justify taking down the Silver Dawn to him,
but it has to be done."

"Ah,
don't worry about that. I'm sure Marcus has a plan to expose them,
otherwise, removing them is pointless, right? If we take down their
leaders, then people will still believe the teachings, and we'll
have accomplished nothing."

"Makes
sense," I said. If the citizens of Rachat still believed in what
the Silver Dawn taught, then the war would never be over. It wasn't
enough to simply free them from the liars. We needed to show them
the truth as well.

"You
wanna know what I saw when I faced my fears?" Daniel asked. "I saw
all my old friends back home, and a load of people I didn't know. I
watched them all die because I wasn't strong enough to protect
them."

"And did
it come true?"

"When
Sarah asked to join us, I said no because I kept thinking back to
what I saw in the tunnel. I just wanted to protect her, to keep her
safe."

"So,
that's why you blame yourself? Because you weren't strong enough to
save her?"

"Partly,
yes. But I think maybe it happened because I was so worried that it
might happen. I let the fear get to me. Just don't make the same
mistake I did." Daniel downed the rest of his drink and stood.
"Come on, let's head back. We'll get you some things on the way so
you don't have to keep borrowing from us."

I
finished the rest of my drink, screwing up my face. "You don't have
to do that," I said, feeling bad that I kept taking from
him.

"Like I
said, don't worry about it. Besides, we're expecting a big bonus
for the information we collected, and I think you've earned a share
of it."

*****

We
stopped at a couple of shops on the way back to Daniel's room, and
picked up some toiletries and a few changes of clothes. I kept it
basic, not wanting Daniel to have to spend more money than was
absolutely necessary, despite his protests.

I set my
things neatly in one corner of his room, and for the first time in
over a week, brushed my teeth with a toothbrush that wasn't shared
with someone else. When I came out of the bathroom, Daniel was
already in bed, taking up the entire left half of it. The blinds
were drawn, blocking out most of the sunlight. I sat on the bed and
began slowly undressing.

"Hurry up
and get in, will you? I'm not gonna jump your bones or anything,"
Daniel murmured. I laughed. Daniel had an amazing gift for making
me feel at ease around him, like it was clear he had no hidden
agenda. "I've set the alarm to go off before dark," he said as I
climbed under the covers.

"Night,"
I said.

Daniel
laughed and replied, "Morning."

I smiled.
It was so nice to sleep in a real bed again, though I couldn't help
thinking it was wrong to be sharing a bed with anyone other than
Ash. Still, I felt more relaxed than I had since the incident at
Boursac and sleep came quickly to me. Ash was still there with me
in my dreams, and I was glad.

I awoke
before the alarm went off, snuggling into the arm that was draped
over me. It felt so warm and familiar. My eyes shot open when I
remembered where I was. The stubble on Daniel's chin scratched
against my back as he yawned.

"Is it
time to get up?" he grumbled.

"What are
you doing?" I asked, shuffling out from under his arm to sit on the
edge of the bed.

Daniel
rolled onto his back. "Sorry, I probably should have warned you.
It's a wolf thing. We like to snuggle while we sleep."

I turned
round to glare at him.

"No
offence, Mik, but you don't have the right plumbing for me," he
said, holding his hands up. "I can't control what I do while I'm
asleep."

"Sorry, I
guess I'm still a little on edge about the whole thing with Nate,"
I said, wiping the sleep from my eyes.

"I don't
blame you. Do you want me to give him a piece of my
mind?"

"Thanks,"
I replied. "But no."

"You
sure? He deserves a good tongue lashing for pulling a stunt like
that."

"I think
he knows what he did was wrong, and I can't be mad at him for
having feelings for me. It's not like we choose these things. I
just need to make sure he knows where we stand."

"You're
more forgiving than I could ever be," Daniel said, rolling over to
look at the clock. "Still half an hour before we have to be up." He
lay back down, pulling the covers up over him.

"I'm
gonna shower, and then go see if Nate is up. I need to talk with
him," I said, standing and heading into the bathroom. I showered in
record time and dressed in my new clothes, pulling on a pair of
white sneakers that Daniel insisted on buying for me. Then I picked
up the clothes I borrowed from Nate and left the room.

I
hesitated at Nate's door, my hand hovering for a moment before I
knocked on it. Given a choice, I would rather have avoided this
talk like the plague. However, I had the feeling I would be seeing
a lot of Nate, so I figured it would be best to get it out of the
way and try to work things out. There was no reply. Probably still
asleep, I thought. I turned to go back to Daniel's room, and
spotted Nate at the top of the stairwell. He froze for a second,
before continuing towards me.

"I see
Daniel took you shopping already," he said, avoiding eye contact as
he unlocked his door. Nate strode into the room, unzipping his
jacket and throwing it on the back of the chair. "Are you coming
in?" he asked. I didn't answer, but walked inside and closed the
door. "Just throw them on the pile there," he said when I tried to
hand him his clothes. I did as he asked.

"We need
to talk."

"Figured
you'd say that," he said, slumping down onto his bed. I stayed
standing, my arms folded. "Look, I'm sorry. I know how you feel
about Ash, and I shouldn't have done what I did."

"Then why
did you do it?" I snapped. I had intended on staying calm, but the
truth was, I was still angry about the whole thing.

"Because," Nate mumbled, looking away from me. "I was sick of
seeing you hurting. I know what you've been going through this last
week, because I went through it too. I can relate to your pain. I
wanted to try and make it go away. And then I saw you laid there,
all relaxed and smiling, and I couldn't help myself."

"Just
answer me this. Do you have feelings for me?"

"I
dunno." Nate shrugged. "I mean, I've never had feelings for a guy
before, so I'm a little confused. I like you, and I guess I feel
closer to you because we have that shared history, but I dunno what
I'm feeling."

"Okay,
then you need to know where we stand. I like you, as a friend, but
that's all. I'm not giving up on Ash."

"Does
this mean you forgive me?" Nate looked up at me
expectantly.

"I guess
so."

"Great."
Nate smiled. "Let me make it up to you by buying something to eat
before we have to meet Marcus."

"What did
you have in mind?"

"There's
a sandwich shop down the road. Is that okay?"

"Yeah,
sure," I replied. Nate grabbed his jacket and I followed him out of
the room.

*****

Daniel
had managed to drag himself out of bed, and was getting dressed
when we returned. We walked over to Marcus' house, eating along the
way. Violet and Sebastian were waiting for us outside the gates,
and we went up the drive together.

Leigh
greeted us at the front door and led us into the lobby. Its white
walls were lined with gold-framed portraits, though not
surprisingly I couldn't tell you who they were of. Staircases
ascended on both sides of the hall, carpeted in red with black
handrails, and meeting in the middle, leading to a balcony from
which dark, wooden doors led off to the various parts of the
mansion. High above us a chandelier hung, illuminating the room
with what appeared to be electric candles.

"Marcus
will be with you shortly," Leigh said, motioning for us to take a
seat on the chairs placed either side of a set of large, double
doors. Her eyes landed on me. "Until then, I would like to speak to
you. Alone, if that's okay."

I agreed
and was led into one of the smaller side rooms. Leigh sat down on a
crimson couch with high arms, and patted the cushion next to
her.

"Sit,"
she said, pouring herself a cup of coffee from the china pot that
sat on the glass table in front of her. I took a seat on the couch,
trying to leave as much room as possible between us. "Would you
like a cup?" she asked, and poured one before I could
answer.

I took
it, not wanting to be rude, and sipped from the small, decorated
cup. I had to admit I missed my morning cups of coffee, but this
one was too weak and sweet for my liking.

"Why
don't you start by telling me a little about yourself?" Leigh
suggested, lifting her cup to her mouth.

I
responded by telling her of my recent graduation into the Silver
Dawn's army, and how I came to suspect something was up after
meeting the vampire at Montargis. I described how the General left
me unconscious, and how Nate and Daniel discovered me and brought
me back to the group. Finally, I told her about the recent growth
in my ability, in the hopes that she could enlighten me as to what
was happening.