by J. A. London
“You guys made it,” says a Night Watchman, shrouded in his black balaclava. He waves us in and shuts the door behind us.
“Great job tonight,” Victor says immediately, shaking the man’s hand.
“It couldn’t have been done without that intelligence,” the Watchman admits.
I stare at the two hands in a firm grip. I see so much possibility within that bond. Does anyone else? Is this just a party or the beginning of something, a Greater World Order that counters Sin’s perverse dreams?
In the mega-apartment are about thirty people, half Watchmen, half vampires. The Watchmen are in their customary outfits, their identities forever concealed, even from their friends and allies. But their masks are lifted partway up so that they can sip cold beers. The Lessers are dressed in black jeans and T-shirts, but their faces are uncovered. They talk with the Night Watchmen, both groups perfectly intermingling. I get goose bumps watching them laughing and raising glasses, giving cheers.
“Dawn, over here.”
I look at the corner of the room and see a Night Watchman, mask entirely covering his face, leaning against the wall. Even if I didn’t recognize Michael’s voice and stance, I’d know it was him because of the person standing beside him.
“Tegan!”
She grins. “Surprise.”
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
She holds up her hands. “Don’t worry. I don’t know where here is. Michael made me wear a hood on the way over.”
“Figured you’d want to see her,” he says, giving me a very quick hug that seems to solidify what we are now. Friends. He then shakes Victor’s hand. “Thanks for the intelligence tonight. This was a real big grab for us.”
“You’re very welcome,” Victor says. “Though I had little to do with it. Dawn was the one who broke Eris.”
“Really?”
“Surprised?” I ask.
“No,” Michael says, and I see the corners of his mask move as he smiles. “I’m not surprised at all.”
The room begins to grow quiet. The vampires have realized who is in their midst—their lord. They move silently toward him, surround him, giving a clear message that they will protect him at any cost.
The group is divided again. The vampires in the center, the Night Watchmen around its edge. The camaraderie I witnessed at Hursch’s was just an illusion, a moment of victory that wasn’t as grand as I thought.
“I appreciate the loyalty, but I don’t need protection here, Anita,” Victor says. “As a matter of fact—”
He moves beyond the circle, then turns and holds his hand out to me. I place mine in it and step up to stand beside him.
“Night Watchmen,” he begins, “you hide your faces, you keep your identities secret because you fear retaliation from vampires. But Dawn Montgomery has always dreamed of a world where vampires and humans live together. Tonight is the start.
“Just as I don’t need protection from you, so you no longer need protection from us. Remove your masks, walk proudly among your citizens, let them see who guards their back, who watches over them. I am not my father. I will not hunt you for protecting the precious citizens of Denver from any who would hurt them. Those who fought beside you tonight are not the enemy. Reveal yourselves to us so we can recognize our allies.”
I tighten my fingers around Victor’s. Everyone is so still, so quiet. Someone steps in front of Victor. I know who it is before he removes his balaclava. Michael.
He holds out his hand to Victor. They shake. Then he begins moving among the other vampires, shaking their hands, thanking them.
Another Night Watchman steps up and removes his balaclava. I try not to show my surprise. Sampson. I know him from school. As a bookworm, a geek, a kid that other students made fun of. I wonder how long he’s been risking his life for those who never appreciated him. He shakes Victor’s hand, then mine, giving me a shy smile.
“Thank you, Sampson,” I say.
He nods before moving on to be embraced by the vampires.
Two more Watchmen step forward. Then three, then six, and it’s obvious that many are as surprised as I am to see who they’ve been fighting beside. How unfair that they’ve had to hide, even from each other.
When everyone is revealed, I spot Anita in a corner and . . . and is that a Night Watchman hitting on her? And is she blushing?
Victor slides his arm around me. “As I said, it’s only a start.”
“But it’s a start.” I meet his gaze. “I wish the Vampire Council could have seen this.”
“You can tell them all about it when we return to New Vampiria after we defeat Sin.”
“I wish we had a way to know how things are going with Richard.”
“He’ll send someone back with news when he has some. It’ll be another couple of nights before they get to Los Angeles.”
“Long nights.”
“Hey, you two,” Tegan says, interrupting us. “That was awesome. I had no idea some of these guys were Night Watchmen.”
I grin. “Yeah, me either.”
“Here you go,” Michael says, handing Victor and me each a beer and clinking his bottle against ours. “To Crimson Sands.”
“To Denver,” I say. “They showed us what was possible, but we made it happen.”
“To Denver,” everyone repeats.
We chug down the beer. Then stand around embracing the atmosphere.
“So I need to go put on some fresh lipstick,” Tegan says to me. “Why don’t you come with me?”
“You can’t put on lipstick by yourself?” Victor asks.
“That’s chick code,” Michael tells him. “Tegan wants to talk to Dawn where we can’t hear. Which means she probably wants to talk about us.”
She punches his shoulder. “Don’t be such a smarty.”
I can see a light dancing in his eyes, and I realize she’s here not so much for me as Michael indicated, but for him. And I’m glad, so very glad.
“Come on, Victor,” he says, “let’s go grab another beer.”
As they walk off, Tegan says, “That’s something I never thought I’d see.”
“I know. It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” I turn back to her. “So you and Michael—”
“We’re just friends,” she says hastily. “Okay, maybe a little more than friends. He just . . . I don’t know. He just always makes me feel like everything will work out. We’ll defeat Sin, and the Day Walkers, and the Infected. We’ll be safe.” She gives me an impish grin. “And he’s gorgeous. Even with the scars. As a matter of fact, I think they make him sexier.” She nudges my shoulder. “So you and Victor . . .”
I shrug. “I don’t know. We haven’t had a whole lot of time to actually be together when some crisis isn’t breathing down our neck.”
“But he’s way hot.”
I laugh loud and long. The old Tegan is definitely back, thinking about guys and how hot they are. Seeing her like this gives me hope that soon everything will be better.
After a while, Victor and Michael rejoin us. I relish the fact that there’s no awkwardness between us. Eventually Michael and Tegan wander away, and I figure she’s looking for a quiet corner where he can smear her lipstick.
Faith strolls over, but she hardly looks happy. No doubt Richard is on her mind. She’s back in her signature red leather. “Everyone’s acting like we’ve won already,” she says.
“For tonight we have,” Victor tells her. “Even though you weren’t supposed to be involved.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You went into Hursch’s residence with the Night Watchmen,” Victor admonishes her.
“And dragged out Lila,” I add.
“You’re wrong.”
Victor sighs. “Faith, no other Night Watchman would dare go into battle wearing red heels.”
She shudders. “I just couldn’t put on those hideous boots they wear.”
“You’re not supposed to be placing yourself in danger.”
“But it’s all right if Richard does?”
“He’s a soldier.”
“So am I.”
“You’re next in line for the Valentine throne.”
That seems to bring her up short.
“If something happens to me—” Victor begins.
“Nothing is going to happen to you,” she interrupts.
“I’m not planning on it, but you also need to step back.”
“While Richard risks his life?”
“I admit what he’s doing is dangerous, but he’s not going to battle Sin. It’ll be a covert operation. Destroy the V-Processing center, stop Sin’s ability to mass produce the Chosen, and return here.”
“Sin hates you. He’s not going to leave Denver alone.”
“No,” Victor agrees. “He won’t leave Denver alone.”
“Now that we’ve dealt with the Day Walkers,” I say, “we need to start preparing for Sin.”
Victor nods. “I’d hoped we’d have a few days, but until we can figure out exactly where Sin is, we have to be ready.”
“I can do that,” Faith declares.
My eyes widen. “Do what?”
“Prepare Denver.”
Victor gives her a kind smile. “Faith, you’ve never been in a real battle, like we had during the war. You’re not experienced—”
“I know how to throw a hell of a party. How is this any different?”
He shakes his head. “It’s different.”
I know she needs a distraction from her worries over Richard. “Not really,” I say. “I think she can do it. It’s scavenging, getting everything organized. I think she’d be great at it.”
“Then it’s settled,” she says. “I’ll work with Anita, get a list of what’s needed and get things organized here. When Sin arrives, I’ll throw a surprise party for him.”
I can tell that Victor is going to object again. I squeeze his hand, communicate with my touch that he needs to let her do this.
He nods. “All right, then. You’ll represent us here in Denver. I’ll talk to Clive and Jeff—”
“I can handle that.” She turns her attention to me. “Thanks for believing in me, Dawn.”
“Anytime.”
“Don’t expect me at the manor. I’m going to stay in the city.” She strolls away.
“What am I not understanding?” Victor asks.
“She’s worried about Richard. She needs to do something, to have a distraction.” I glance around. “Until Sin arrives, she should be safe here.”
“Everyone should be safe.”
As the party progresses, Victor and I find our place on a couch. I watch the groups move like a single organism. Without the masks, it’s impossible to tell who is a Night Watchman and who is a vampire. Fangs aren’t being lowered. The most beautiful sound, though, is their laughter. Despite what happened tonight, despite the years of hostility, despite the war and the bloodlust and VampHu, they can laugh together.
The room slows down and I marvel at what I’m seeing: humans and vampires having fun together. With every handshake I see potential for change. I remember standing atop the Agency in Los Angeles, looking down at all the Day Walkers that surrounded us on the streets below. I remember Sin saying we were looking at the New World Order. And I compare that fear and grandiose design to what’s in here. One is created through blood, the other through laughter. I know which one I want.
“What are you looking at?” Victor asks.
“The future.”
Chapter 23
The next evening Clive gives a speech from a makeshift platform just outside the Agency building. A crowd of citizens has gathered. Rumors have been spreading all day about the great betrayer Roland Hursch. TV cameras are locked on Clive. Reporters are anxious for details. I wanted desperately to be there, but everyone convinced me that it was too dangerous, there was simply no telling how the crowd would react. So instead, Victor and I are watching it from my apartment.
Sitting on the couch with him, I’m suddenly glad I didn’t go. I want to support Clive in whatever happens next, but I also can’t deny the simple pleasure of being here, with Victor by my side.
On the screen I see Rachel sitting in one of the chairs lined up in a row behind Clive. She’ll be taking over the delegate position once again now that Hursch has been ousted, so she needs to show her loyalty. Beside her is Jeff, doubling as both date and bodyguard.
“You should have gone,” I say to Victor.
“I want the Lessers to be shown without Old Family beside them. I want everyone to see that they are loyal and tame, they can control their bloodlust without an iron fist ruling over them.”
“Roland Hursch’s crimes are unforgivable,” Clive begins. “He hid the Day Walkers in his home, sheltering them from discovery when they returned there from attacking our own. He toyed with our lives, using his fellow humans as pawns in a game that none of us were aware he was playing. He sold his soul to the devil, and he signed his name in the blood of those taken from us.”
I sometimes forget how good of an orator Clive is, how passionate he can sound when he believes deeply in what he’s saying. I always see him behind closed doors, where he’s the tired leader, the exhausted man who’s weary of looking for the right decision among so many bad options. But up there, in front of the crowd and cameras, he’s completely in control.
I wish I could see the crowd, but their perfect silence may tell me more than their faces. No boos, no jeering, no rushing to the aid of their beloved anti-vampire delegate.
“Remember this day and remember it well, citizens,” Clive says, hands held up high as though in praise. “Behind me sit several of our Night Watchmen—unmasked at the invitation of Victor Valentine. From him, we have no need to hide. Because of him, you can now know who has been keeping you safe.
“Last night, the Night Watchmen delivered us from evil yet again, but their eyes were not the only ones watching over us, nor were their hands the only hands at work. They were helped, every step of the way, by the Lesser vampires loyal to Victor Valentine.”
A low gasp comes from the audience, and I feel Victor tightening his hold on me, his tension matching my own.
Behind Clive a Night Watchman stands up from his chair, as does the vampire next to him. He’s wearing a suit and looks like any other employee of the Agency, which is perfect. He isn’t threatening or menacing. If anything, he’s a bit cute. And then they shake hands.
“Let this be the new model for all to follow,” Clive says. “These Lesser vampires have proved themselves not only to Lord Valentine, but to us human beings. They protected you while you slept. They lost their lives, lives that were once human, lives whose hearts beat just the same. Let their sacrifice and cooperation serve as an example.
“They need our blood,” Clive says, putting emphasis on each word. “But they are willing to protect us all from those who would take it by force. For that, we must be both grateful and giving to our friends. It is time we roll up our sleeves and show our appreciation . . . by donating.”
Cameras flash as Clive waves goodbye and everyone retreats back into the Agency. For a moment I fear a riot may start out of nowhere, the hushed tones during the speech nothing but anger waiting to be unleashed. Instead, there are quiet murmurs and then a slow dispersion of the crowd.
I turn off the television and call Clive. It’s his voice mail, like I expected, but I tell him he did a great job and he looked ten years younger on camera.
“Tomorrow will be the real test,” Victor says.
“I know. If they give blood, it’ll be the start of something new. If not, it’s back to the beginning.”
A knock sounds. I unfold myself, go to the door, and peer through the peephole. Faith.
I open the door.
“I’m looking for Victor,” she says, before I can greet her. “Thought he might be here.”
“Yeah, he is. Come on in.” She seems a little unsettled as she glides through in her characteristic red.
<
br /> Victor is immediately on his feet. “What’s wrong, Faith?”
“Something strange happened.” Sitting in a chair, hands between her knees, she’s having a hard time meeting our gaze.
I return to Victor’s side on the couch.
“What happened?” he prods.
She licks her lips, looks around. “I’m not sure how to say this, but, well, I had a dream. I . . . I dreamed of Richard, but it was like I was with him.”
I catch my breath. Dream-sharing between Old Family vampires supposedly only happens when the vampires are in love. She’s finally truly opened herself up.
“Faith, that’s wonderful!” I assure her.
She nods, but her reaction doesn’t seem so wonderful. “I’ve never dreamed before. It was a strange experience, frightening even. I don’t know how you humans put up with it.”
“You’ll get used to it. But what was the dream about? What happened?”
Faith rubs her hands together nervously, completely out of character. “Richard showed me where they were. In Crimson Sands.”
My heart lurches. “Is the town all right?”
“Seems so, from what I saw, but here’s the thing. Some old guy named George told Richard that his scouts spotted Sin and an army of Day Walkers heading into the mountains. Richard thinks they were looking for someplace to rest before moving on to Denver.”
Victor scoots up to the edge of his seat. “Richard isn’t thinking of trying to take them out, is he?”
Faith shakes her head. “No, he knows that they are outnumbered and wouldn’t stand a chance. He’s following through on his orders to destroy the V-Processing center.”
Victor is visibly relieved. “Good.”
“Did Richard say anything about Ian?” I ask.
Faith’s lips flatten. “Yes. Unfortunately, the vampires dislike him even more than they did during the war.”
“But why?”
“Apparently, whenever they’ve taken time to rest the horses, he’s won a good deal of money off them playing poker.”
I laugh, imagining how much Ian would enjoy beating his former enemies in so civilized a manner. “They’re Old Family. They can afford it.”