Okay, look, I'll tell you what I know, but you have to promise not to tell your dad about this."
"Trust me, Dawn. I'm very good at keeping things from my father."
"Okay, then. Yes, the vamp had bite marks on his neck. Really savage ones. Michael and I—" I stop as something else occurs to me. "I saw you at the Night Train."
"I know you did. I saw you, too. That guy you were with—"
"My boyfriend. Michael."
"He seems … capable."
"Very capable." I let my voice reflect my pride in Michael's skills. "So why were you there?"
"Getting to know my enemy."
"Ian Hightower doesn't hunt vampires anymore unless they're messing with the train."
"Not Ian. You."
I feel like he just punched me in the chest. I've always considered vamps as the enemy, hated them beyond belief for what they did to my brother. But I never reversed it, never considered it from their side. Never saw myself as their enemy.
"I thought you were the one who wanted to be allies—friends. Besides, how can you say I'm the enemy when I work as a delegate to ensure there is enough blood for the vampires?" How can you view me as the enemy when I've not attacked a human or taken blood directly from one since the war ended?"
I narrow my eyes at him. "Clever wording, Victor. Did you think I'd miss it? You have in the past. Probably by force, against their will."
"During the war, yes. I did what I had to do to survive. Like all soldiers."
Black and white. I've always viewed the human-vampire relationship in black and white. They take. We give. But he's mixing things up, showing me shades of gray, complicating matters that should be simple. I don't like it. Then another thought occurs to me. "You didn't follow me and Michael, did you? After we left the station."
"At first, until I realized you might want some time alone."
I slam my fist against his shoulder. He barely moves. "You creep!"
I reach for the door—
He grabs my arm, but I wrench free.
"Dawn, after your encounter at school, I just wanted to make sure you were safe."
"I don't want you following me."
"You're right. I'm an evil creature to try to protect you."
He makes me feel petty and small, but I don't want him in my life. Still… "Did you see any vamps in the area?"
He hesitates. "Some, but they were harmless."
"There are no harmless vampires."
"You think that only because you haven't taken the time to get to know any. Yes, a lot of Lessers tend to lose their humanity when they're turned, but it's not due to the process. It's because they become enamored of their new selves: their strength, their invincibility. They become deranged. But others adapt well. They're no different from you."
"Do not compare me to a vampire."
He sighs. "I just meant that they aren't like the vamps on the trolley. Those were the equivalent of human juvenile delinquents. But if you could see some of these others, you might appreciate your role as a delegate more."
"I appreciate my role just fine. And it wasn't a vamp at school. It couldn't have been. It was just some kid. I don't need you to protect me."
I can feel him studying me. I don't want to be out here standing with him; I don't want to wonder if maybe he's right that not all vampires are the same.
Victor backs up a step, as though he realizes that I need distance between us.
"You're right about it being some kid at the school. Before I came here, I checked it out. I couldn't find any sign of a vampire nesting there."
"You would say that, though, wouldn't you? I'll just have Michael check it out, if you don't mind." Even though I no longer believe it was a vampire. I'm just being stubborn. Victor does that to me.
"So even when we agree, you're going to argue with me?" he asks.
"Pretty much, yeah. I don't trust you. I don't like you. I don't want you in my life. How can you not get that?"
He releases a sigh of frustration. "Okay, then, let me get the info I need and I'll go. Is there anything else you can tell me about the vamp that was killed tonight?" he asks, his voice solemn, almost sad, as though he's finally accepted how very much I dislike him. For some reason, that bothers me, as though I've hurt him. I have to remind myself that he's a vampire. He doesn't have feelings. I swallow hard. "His throat was nearly ripped out. A stake through the heart. That's all we know right now."
He moves to the edge of the balcony, away from the pale light coming from my room. Still, I can see him gripping the rail and bowing his head. He whispers something that sounds like thirst, but I'm not sure.
I ease toward him slightly. "What?"
He shakes his head. "Nothing. I need to see him. Where did they take him?"
"The disposal morgue, but you won't be able to get in."
"Let me worry about that. Where is it exactly?"
I give him the address.
"Thanks," Victor says.
I'm unsettled by his gratitude, by this entire visit, actually. "Why is all this important?"
"Hopefully I'm wrong and you'll never have to find out."
"What does that mean?"
"I can't tell you."
Before I can object, he throws a leg over the railing, disappears over the edge. I rush up and look over, but I can't see him. Vampires are like cats. The drop, even from this high up, won't hurt him.
As I turn to go back into my room, my gaze falls on a long white box with a red ribbon resting on the balcony chair. I hesitate, then pick it up and carry it into my room. I lock the door behind me.
Studying the box, I notice the corner of a card sticking out beneath the ribbon. I remove it gingerly, as though I'm expecting it to explode.
For when you next face the night.
Setting the stake I picked up earlier back on the nightstand, I fold my legs beneath me on the bed and tentatively begin unwrapping the box. I can't remember the last time someone gave me a present. My parents, maybe. On my seventeenth birthday. Inside the box is a belted holster made of the finest supple leather. I slide out what it holds: a shiny stainless-steel stake. Its balance is perfect, and the light glints off its surface as I turn it.
I can't believe that a vampire would give me such a nice weapon, one that I could use to kill him. Moving to the mirror, I wrap the belt low around my hips, secure the buckle. Perfect fit. I fasten the holster to my thigh with the leather strips. I yank out the stake. It slides free with an ease that thrills me. But why did he do this? Why am I touched? He's a vampire. My enemy. I take it off, shove it into a bottom drawer of my dresser, and cover it with T-shirts. I back up until my legs hit the bed, and then I plop down.
If the gift were from Michael, I'd be ecstatic, because not even a diamond necklace would have pleased me more.
I know I should tell Rachel, but I'm determined to face Victor on my own terms, and going to Rachel feels like … defeat. I refuse to be defeated.
Still, it's scary how well Victor Valentine knows me.
That night Victor invades my dreams. I roll over and Michael replaces him. We kiss, but when he pulls away, it's Victor again. I see his fangs just a moment before they plunge into me. And then I wake up. Sweaty, breathing hard, trembling.
I scramble out of bed, walk onto the balcony, and stare at the fading moon. The sky turns gray, then blue. The sun finally begins to rise. Chasing away the darkness and monsters.
And yet I can't help but feel that both are still lurking nearby.