Dawn."
The voice is low, almost ominous, but I recognize it and press a hand to my chest to calm my thudding heart. "God, Sin, I didn't even see you there. You startled me."
"Did I? I'm sorry."
His voice has taken on a strange scratchy quality. I have the image of smoke coming out of his mouth as he speaks. Almost like he's been dying since he was born. There's a creepiness to him that has never been there before, too, as though the darkness is shifting him into something else.
With his palm against the wall in front of me, he leans in, and in the dim light I can see him smile. "Dawn Montgomery," he says, "the delegate who never wanted to be. Following in your parents' sainted footsteps."
I tried for Vivi's and Michael's sakes to warm up to Sin, but now he's making me angry. Yes, I never wanted to be a delegate, but I have since embraced my duties, and I don't like him mocking my parents. "Shut up, Sin. You don't know anything about my family."
I shove him, but he doesn't budge.
"I know your poor brother died while you hid in a closet. What were his last words to you? 'Don't be afraid of the dark'?"
I can't find my breath. It's impossible for him to know that; I've never told anyone Brady's final words. Not Rachel, not Michael, not Vivi. They've been burned into my mind alone.
"But his words were little comfort, I'm sure. Are you still afraid of the dark?" he asks.
My chest feels leaden. Why is he saying these things? Where did he learn them? I want to tell him to get the hell out of my way. But all I can manage is…
"How … how could you…"
"Know that? Poor Dawn. Still that little girl trapped in a closet."
"What kind of game are you playing here?"
"I can hear your blood rushing through your veins. So fast. So strong. So … tempting."
I try ducking past him, but he moves his arm down and swiftly brings his other one up to trap me with unnatural strength"Let me go," I say, keeping my voice strong despite the sudden fear coursing through me.
"But I haven't thanked you yet," he says.
"For what?"
"For the death of Lord Valentine."
How could he know that? It's still a secret.
"What are you talking about?"
"It's a pity I didn't get to kill him myself. How I hated him."
I laugh. "You've never even met him. Do you have any idea who the Bloody Valentine is?"
Sin smiles. There's something very, very off about it.
"Do you have any idea who I am?"
Tension crackles in the air.
"From the moment I was born, I've been known only as Sin. My father wasn't very kind when he named me. You see, I was a bastard child. A mistake. A freak accident, he said. He beat it into me every day and every night. He said I was evil incarnate. I was a monster in his eyes. Ironic when you consider that he is—excuse me, was—the greatest monster of all."
"Your father?"
"Murdoch Valentine."
My heart slams against my ribs. "No, no, he can't be—"
"But he is. Or was, I should say."
He lowers his head to my neck and I hear him inhaling deeply, can imagine his nostrils flaring as he's scenting me. When he straightens, a pair of awful fangs appear in his mouth.
"That's not possible," I say. "You… I've seen you walk in the sun." "So you have. I'm the first vampire in history to be born a Day Walker. The sun has no power over me. Imagine what I could do with an army of Day Walkers following me. Worshiping me. I can rule not only the humans but the vampires."
"You're the son Valentine sent for?" Valentine's dangerous weapon. Locked up with a score of teenagers. And me.
"Yes. He thought I would do his bidding where Victor would not. His plan was to take over Denver from the inside. I've slowly been turning Night Watchmen to our cause, making them into the ultimate beings. You see, whoever receives my blood receives my gift as well. They are vampires, but are no longer cursed to walk only in the night and fear the sun."
I struggle against his grip, but I might as well be caught in a bear trap.
"Tonight is perfect," he continues nonchalantly, like we're talking about the music. "This stupid little party couldn't have been any better suited for me. An entire gathering of idiotic and impressionable teenagers. It's just what I need to begin the next step. Victor took care of our father. And soon, my special project will take care of Victor."
"Special project?" I manage to get out. "What are you talking about?"
"You call him Hoodie."
A vampire who appeared when the sun was out. I assumed he was hiding in the shadows, under the dark clouds. But he didn't need to. Like Sin, Hoodie isn't afraid of the sun.
Oh, God. And Victor doesn't know. He doesn't know that Hoodie is after him. He doesn't know that even during the day he won't be safe from him. I have no way to warn him.
"If my Night Watchmen, who can walk in the sun, are my children, then Hoodie is … my favorite creation. He's perfection."
I'm about to scream, but as if he can sense it, his hand comes up and presses against my jaw and neck. It won't keep me from crying out, but the message is clear: Scream and I'm dead. Still, I can fight with words. You need an Old Family witness to make a legitimate claim to the Valentine throne."
He laughs. "Do you really think that's my goal? Something as pathetic and paltry as that?"
"Why come here, then? Why help your father after he banished you?"
"Anything that caused strife in the family was in my best interest. I hear Father wounded Victor greatly in their battle. And Victor, being the noble idiot that he is, didn't drink from you to restore himself." Sin trails his finger along my unwounded neck. "So Victor is, at this very moment, weakened. And I want Victor dead."
"He's had plenty of time to recover. He'll be a formidable foe."
"I think he kept from you how badly wounded he truly was."
"I won't let you hurt him."
"Such devotion. I can't wait until it's directed my way."
"Never," I ground out. "You'll never be anything to me."
"You're so wrong, Dawn. I'll be everything."
"I'll die first."
Sin remains completely calm. "You aren't seeing the whole picture yet, Dawn. You don't understand how well you fit into it."
He leans in again and smells my neck. I cringe in disgust.
"Victor's death will serve me well, but not yours. You're very, very special. In time, you'll see just how special you are."
"Why not kill Victor yourself then, huh? Why do you need to send a lackey to do it?" "I'm needed elsewhere tonight. But rest assured, before the coming dawn, he'll be dead."
Sin lowers his hands and gingerly places them on my shoulders, like a friend helping a mourner standing over the grave of a loved one.
"Poor Dawn. You think everything's been taken away. But you have so much more to lose." With a quick movement, he presses me against the wall, and I expect to feel his fangs burying themselves into my neck despite his earlier words. But instead, he leans close to me and whispers, "By the way, your brother tasted delicious."
"Wh … wh … wh…"
He lets me go and I fall to the floor. I feel like I might sink all the way through it, past the basement and sewers, farther and farther until I hit the earth itself and then go through that. I'll fade away, disappear forever.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I'm aware of his striding away. And then the darkness of the hallway engulfs me again and it seems to last an eternity. My brother's final words play over and over like a mantra that'll protect me. But it's tainted now, corrupted by the image of Sin feeding on him.
I was looking at the thing that killed Brady. And I've never felt more powerless.
"Dawn!"
I come back to the real world, and Michael is holding me. "Dawn, are you okay?" he asks.
I nod.
"Talk to me. Say something," Michael urges.
"Don't be afraid of the dark...."
"What?"
I shake my head violently, feeling the shock wear off. My surroundings become familiar. I clutch Michael's shirt. "Sin. He's a vampire."
"Did you hit your head or something? He and I do half our workouts in the sun—"
"He's a Day Walker."
"A what?"
"He can walk in the sun!"
"Dawn, I know you haven't always gotten along with Sin, but I think you've gone a little far this time."
"No." I struggle to my feet. "We have to stop him. We have to get help." I pull out my cell phone. No signal.
"Can you get a signal?" I ask frantically.
He checks his phone. "No. That's weird. It's usually not a problem this close to the tower."
Unless Sin had it disabled.
I grab Michael's hand and start dragging him toward the party. The music suddenly stops. I hear a few cheers. Then Sin. "Thank you, thank you."
"He's taken the stage," I say, quickening my step.
"Dawn, you're overreacting."
I stop and face him. "Michael, trust me, please."
He shrugs and doesn't argue as I push on. When we finally get into the main room, I look toward the stage. I was right. Sin stands tall above everyone else.
He isn't the same anymore, and I feel so stupid for ever being tricked. His mannerisms have changed, now reflecting the centuries-old vampire within. He's shed his teenager image and put on the appearance of someone older, someone wiser, but with his fangs once again hidden from view, no one in the audience knows they're looking at an Old Family vampire. I glance around at the Watchmen standing near the doors and at the edge of the room. Will they help or have they been compromised? Are they Sin's Watchmen?
"Could I have Vivi up onstage, please?" Sin asks, and she quickly hops up to join him. She beams with excitement, and my heart is going a thousand miles a minute.
"We've gotta get her off of there," I say.
"Dawn, this is insane—" Michael begins, and I know he doesn't believe me. Why should he? Sin's greatest weapon is his charisma.
"As I'm sure you are all aware, the blood you donated has already been distributed and consumed by the vampires on the outside," Sin says.
Some in the audience boo and hiss.
"I know, I know," Sin says. "It's a losing battle, isn't it? You give and give and give. And you'll have to give forever, won't you?"
Silence sweeps through the room. Sin's voice has taken a turn for the serious, and people are paying attention to this sudden, and strange, spectacle. I turn to Michael and see that even he's mesmerized.
"You're young now. Maybe too young to realize how long a lifetime of blood giving is. But there is a way out. A way I'm willing to offer everyone in this room."
Sin snaps his fingers. As two Night Watchmen begin walking toward the stage, parting the crowd with ease, my worst fears are realized. He controls them.
I start pushing my way through the crush of bodies. They won't budge, almost in a trance as Sin speaks. But I fight to get through. Maybe if I can reach the stage myself, I can distract Sin. Maybe … maybe I can destroy him.
"These gentlemen took my offer months ago. They were smart; they understood that a life of giving is no life at all. The age of altruism has passed. The age of greed is upon us. The barren sands that surround this world, created by the falling bombs of your tiny species, can no longer render beautiful flowers."
The Night Watchmen arrive onstage. They unravel their black masks, and then smile. Their fangs, razor sharp, catch the light, leaving no question as to what they are. I'm so close now, and when I glance at Vivi, her eyes reveal her terror.
The audience gasps, threatens to get out of control, but Sin's voice brings calm.
"Those who know me have seen me walk in the sun. They have seen me soak up its rays, bathe in its glory. These men, these vampires, these Lessers, enjoy the same fruits. I can give you immortality as a vampire, without asking you to forsake the sun. No one can do that except me."
Sin opens his mouth, grabs Vivi with one arm, and plunges his immense fangs into her neck. Her scream is high-pitched and brutal, one that I already know will haunt me forever.
I try to rush forward, but the crowd's panic carries me farther from the stage as I stare in horror.
He drinks from Vivi and there's nothing I can do. He pulls his fangs out and a line of blood and saliva runs from the open wounds. When he drops her, she falls to the ground like a rag doll.
Wrenching out a knife, he slits his wrist and holds it up to reveal the blood flowing. It's an offering to everyone here, the nectar of a new god.
"Who's next?" he asks.
That's when all hell breaks loose.
Around the room, the other Night Watchmen have pulled off their masks and revealed their fangs. More screams sound as they attack.
The mob threatens to crush me in its wake. My immediate fear is of being knocked down; I know that if I hit the ground, they'll trample me, and I'll never have a chance to get back to my feet, to fight this monster before us. Valentine's monster.
Shoulders and elbows batter into me, and I nearly lose my balance, but a familiar hand settles on the small of my back.
"Come on!" Michael yells.
Without any regard for the others around us, he pushes them roughly away, holding on to me as he bulldozes his way through.
People rush to the door, maybe hoping that their combined weight will break the hinges or warp them enough that they can pass through. But not only is the padlock holding the door tight, it's strong—meant to hold back vampire attacks from the outside. Nobody wagered on their already being inside.
Sin's devilish laugh rings out across the crowd, louder even than the mob of stomping feet. The evil travels from him straight through my bones.