CHAPTER NINE - BREAK OF DAY

In the cold and the dark, Julian swore he heard humming in his head. A sweet humming in a male voice, rather like a lullaby.  It wrapped around his mind almost in an embrace. He drew his knees against his chest and tightened his arms around them as he shivered.  It was chilly in the lowest level of a parking garage in the abandoned building.  

The building boom had come to their town and then busted rather spectacularly leaving several half-finished high rises dotting the downtown.  It was to the nearest of these from the hospital that he had fled as the sun began to rise. He’d wanted to go home, but he hadn’t dared, because maybe Balthazar or his Acolytes would be waiting for him there.

You must hide yourself from the light. Find a place that is black and secure. Curl down there and sleep. You will wake again when the night reigns.  

He didn’t know if this was Daemon’s voice or his own mind figuring out that sunlight was bad, very bad for him now.  A sunbeam had passed across his shoulder blades and even through the material of his shirt he had felt his skin ache.

That’s one myth about Vampires proven true. Can’t be out in sunlight.  Check.

He’d run down trash strewn stairwells to the lowest level of the structure.  Concrete floors, ceilings and walls. Dirt surrounding the whole thing. No light. His heart rate had lowered as the darkness seemed to bathe his still twitching skin.  Even though there was no light down in the bowels of this underground parking structure, he could still see as if it were bright daylight. He saw too much actually.

His eyes flickered at the slightest of movements.  Often it was just a piece of trash, stirring in the breeze, that had caught his attention. He didn’t understand why or how fast food wrappers seemed to inhabit abandoned places. Other times when a movement caught his attention, it was a rat, whose eyes glowed redly at him, reminding him of bright jewels.

And like Daemon’s eyes. But his are volcanic red. The red of deep fires in the earth.

He’d shook himself when his thoughts had drifted to Daemon once more. His conflicted feelings were an anathema to him.  A confounding anathema.  He had to handle things on his own. He’d always done so. He didn’t need Daemon to hold his hand. So he’d found a corner, as far away from the stairs as possible, and hunkered down on a flattened cardboard box.  Though the box smelled faintly of liquor, his nose told him that no homeless person had taken to squatting down there, not in a long time anyways. He was alone.  He was as safe as he could be right now

Balthazar has people in the hospital. Humans serving him.  Who is to say that he doesn’t have people in the police department, too? Who am I kidding? Of course, he does!  The cops that talked to me about Mom and Dad likely worked for him.  I just hope that Christian’s okay.  Dr. Stone won’t be able to hurt him with all those people around.  He’s got to be safe until I can get back to him.

With that thought, Julian checked his phone to see when sunset was.  Luckily, it was fall and the sun was setting earlier and earlier every day.  He set his alarm for ten minutes before sunfall.  If he actually slept that would give him time to fully wake up and be on his way back to the hospital the moment darkness fell.

He curled up like a cat on the cardboard, trying to get comfortable, feeling like he never would.  The strength that had coursed through his limbs was draining away as the sun rose, but he was still awake, still vibrating with all that had happened.  

Vampires are real.  I am becoming one of them. But I will die before the transformation is complete. Vampires are real.

That was the first line of the video he’d made just a few hours ago.  Thinking of the video had him rocketing upwards.  He had to stop it from playing. He still wanted to expose Vampires, but that desire was tempered now as the only way to save Christian was for him to become one.  Outing Vampires would out Christian and put his friend in greater danger.  He quickly accessed the back of their site and turned off the timed auto-post.  If Christian wanted to expose them after … after things were sorted, that would be his best friend’s prerogative.

I’ll be dead so it won’t matter either way for me.  Unless there’s something after this life … Maybe Mom and Dad are in some alternate plane of existence. Waiting for me.  I wonder if it will hurt when I die.  Daemon didn’t say exactly, but I think it’s going to hurt.

He laid back down again. He’d dreamed of discovering his parent’s killers for so long. For having proof of one of the fantastic things that they had believed in. But never had he considered it would end like this, with his being a Vampire, Christian being a Vampire, and him waking a sleeping Vampire King.  

And, of course, never before was he so attuned to his mortality. He and Christian had been in life and death situations before, but always these times had been brief and terrifying. This waiting to die business, watching the clock hands shear away the moments of his life, was worse than he’d imagined it would be.  

And here he was, in the dark, in the cold, all alone, and knowing he was going to die very, very soon.

He squeezed his eyes tight, hoping no tears fell. He was determined not to feel sorry for himself. He’d lived his life as if every day had mattered. He’d been extraordinarily lucky in having a bestfriend like Christian and the love of Christian’s parents after his own were gone.  And though they had been stolen from him too soon, he’d had his own parents for twelve glorious years.  His life had been good.  And giving it up for Christian was the way he’d want to go. He’d just wanted a little longer.  

Just a little longer.

Or a lot longer.

But that wasn’t to be.

He wished for a crazy moment that he and Christian could be Vampires together. It would be the ultimate adventure in some ways.  They’d have eons of time to explore and learn.  They’d be there to see the most amazing discoveries.  They’d have the ability to truly know subjects down to their bones.  

If only ...

He wrapped his arms around his calves and rocked. That was when the humming in his head had started.  Like the voice that had told him to seek darkness, he wasn’t sure if this humming, this lullaby, was real.  There were no words and when he reached for the sound mentally, it retreated like a startled animal.  So he just “sat” there then in his mind and the music had come back.  It drew him like a crooked finger into sleep.  He drifted in the darkness and then fell into full sleep with amazing quickness for him. Normally, insomnia plagued him, but not that time.

He started to dream, almost immediately, of Nightvallen. He was gliding through its night-shrouded streets.  The twin moons that never seemed to move in the night sky poured their healing light upon him.   It almost felt like his feet were not touching the ground as he moved through the city as if he knew it like the back of his hand.  He passed from a wide boulevard into another magnificent square.  At the far end of the square sat a palace.

Palace was the only way to describe the structure he was approaching. Like the rest of the city it was made of that same, beautiful pale stone, but, like Daemon’s tomb, it was accented with gold.  There was a huge golden dome a jutting circular front section of the building.  There were two huge doors, twice his height, also made of gold with elaborate leaf and vine designs embossed into the surface.

The doors that had remained closed to him in real life, opened to him now effortlessly.  Julian’s heart hammered and he held his breath as the doors swung inwards noiselessly. He was going to see what was inside this magnificent place. Or, at least, he was going to dream he was.  

He was not disappointed by what his made up.

The doors opened into a soaring rotunda. A mosaic, done in black and white marble, of a giant infinity symbol graced the floor. Overhead was the interior of the incredible golden dome. Scenes of men and women riding horned horses after strange and terrible creatures with slavering fangs through endless woods were embossed on the dome’s outer edge. It was a hunt. But not a human one.

He wanted to look more closely at the walls where more carvings, graceful and alien, populated the walls, but he found himself heading instead towards another flight of stairs, one of two in the rotunda, that curled arm-like around another set of double doors. These arched doors Julian guessed might lead into a throne room.  But he was already up the stairs and striding down a long hallway before he could think to open them to see.

He guessed that his destination was at the end of the long hallway where another set of double doors stood. Etched upon them was another infinity symbol. There was a blood red runner laced with golden thread on the floor. There were portraits done in what looked like oil paint on the walls.   But he did not look long enough at any of them for him to see if their features looked like anyone he knew of or if his mind had just created a series of Daemons.

Like the other doors had, the doors at the end of the hallway opened of their own accord.  The room was vast, one open space with no walls to divide it up.  From the doors his gaze swept over the space. He immediately recognized it as being a bedroom.

There was a bed big enough for six people to sleep in. It was layered with silk sheets, thick velvet comforters in dark blues and purples and fur blankets with strange markings on top of that.  Plump pillows, also in silk, were piled high against a rich, wooden headboard.  Black, heavy curtains were tied around the posts on each corner.  No coffins for these Vampires.

I’m dreaming of a plush bedroom because I’m sleeping on a cardboard box, Julian thought, mirthlessly.

He stopped moving in the dream. There was this sense of watchfulness in his attitude as if he thought he heard something, but wasn’t sure and was listening very carefully.  Julian frowned.  Had he heard something? No, he didn’t think so.  

He started moving again, going over to what was clearly a dressing area. There were several thrown open wardrobes stuffed with clothing as well as more clothes that were thrown almost carelessly over the backs of low, plush chairs.  But these clothes were nothing like what Julian wore. Where he favored jeans, cargo pants, Henleys, and hoodies, all in breathable cotton, these clothes were made of silk, velvet and leather.  A lot of leather.  He saw boots, too, from low calf to mid-thigh, all made of leather or suede.  No set of Timberlands in sight!

Definitely not my style!

He thought this just as he was in the middle of sliding on what were very supple black leather pants.  Again, he stilled in the dream and listened carefully.  This listening session was longer than the other, but, finally, he went back to dressing in an outfit he wouldn’t be caught dead in.  A black silk shirt came next that just wrapped along his torso and tied at his waist.  He felt like he was wearing water, because it was so cool and slick against his skin. Black, knee-high leather boots were next. They fit perfectly on his feet without any pinching or rubbing.  And, finally, to top things off, he put on an ankle-length leather coat with a high collar. It drew in at his waist and then flared out around his legs with a slit in the back.

Black, black and more black. Black is the new black, I guess.

He stilled again, but this time a voice that was not his own asked, Julian?

Julian froze.  Daemon?

That was when he realized that he wasn’t dreaming. He was seeing through Daemon’s eyes.  The Vampire King was in Ever Dark, likely in his own bedroom, in his palace. The clothes, the incredible bed, the gold and marble everywhere made complete sense now.  Julian was dazed with wonder that he was able to see through Daemon’s eyes during a dream.  He’d felt slightly disconnected from “his body” in the dream, but he’d believed it was just a dream so it hadn’t really bothered him. But now he understood why.  This wasn’t his body. He was just traveling along with it.

Daemon sank down into one of the chairs as if his legs could no longer hold him.  He was quiet, staring out of the set of nearest French doors to a balcony bathed in moonlight.  Julian remembered the tossed clothes on that chair and felt a bit puckish.

You should maybe clean up the place.  I guess there are no servants there to iron your stuff, Julian joked weakly.

When I went to sleep, all left Nightvallen.  Only a few of the Immortals were to return to see that I was fed, Daemon explained almost absently as if he couldn’t believe they were speaking.

How long ago was that?

Millennia.

Millenia -- you’re kidding!

No.

Did you mean to sleep that long? Or did your followers just abandon you to sleep forever? Julian couldn’t help with the questions. He was a natural seeker of knowledge and some part of him was fascinated with Daemon.

I was supposed to woken when … The timing was … fanciful. But I was certain that my people would wake me before now, Daemon admitted, a touch of unease threading through his voice.  I do not hear their minds.  I see no evidence that they have been here in a very long time.

Maybe they died.

Daemon let out a low snort. They are called Immortals for a reason, Julian.

Yeah, but you killed those other immortal Vampires, Julian pointed out.  The thing was that Daemon was not like those other Vampires. While Julian had still been able to see the humanity in the other Vampires, he felt that Daemon had never been human somehow.  It was a simple difference but Daemon’s red eyes as opposed to the silver eyes of the other Vampires seemed a clear differentiator to him.

They are our children, not us, Daemon confirmed that the Vampires and the Immortals were different.  Daemon rubbed his hands over his pants as he spoke as if the material soothed him somehow.

What’s with all the leather?  I mean leather pants are sort of the stuff you see in bad porn. The joke fell flat as Julian remembered Daemon’s body and, especially, those long, muscular legs.  The thought of those legs sheathed in soft, supple leather wasn’t funny at all.

I like the feel of it. Leather and silk and velvet. Clothes are a sensual pleasure.  Yours looked … utilitarian. I hope that this is not the style of your time for males.

Utilitarian?!  Actually, I guess that’s fair.  That’s what I wear when investigating secret Vampire cities where you need to run your ass off.  Julian found himself unable to say more as he thought of Christian in Selene’s clutches.  The gun he’d lost somewhere in Ever Dark. Not that it would have been all that useful he knew now.

How – how are you?  How are you … feeling?  Daemon’s voice was stilted and somewhat disjointed as he asked this.

Julian realized that it was shock.  Daemon was shocked that they were speaking again. Why are you freaked out that we’re talking?

Had Daemon thought he would be dead already? A cold dread filled Julian’s stomach.  Hadn’t the Vampire King said he had two days?  Or was it that Christian had only two days?  He needed those days to help Christian!  He needed those days for himself!

I did not believe you would be able to reach through our Master-Fledgling bond to me in this way, Daemon answered slowly as if measuring each word before he said it. The others never could.  

You mean the others that took your blood and … died? Julian didn’t like to think of himself among others that didn’t make it.  And it sounded like Daemon didn’t wish to speak of them either.

He has to speak to me. I’m one of these fledglings.  Well, sort of. I’m sure he knew the others that he gave his blood to. He must have wanted them to spend eternity with him.  He knew that I wasn’t going to make it from the get go. He didn’t even delude himself into thinking I could. Maybe he didn’t – doesn’t – even want me to, Julian thought to himself.

Yes. Short. Succinct. Curt.

Does that … Hope sprung in Julian’s chest and seemed to lodge in his throat. Does that mean that I’m not like them?

You are asking me if this means you will not die from my blood, Daemon cut through his prevarication.

Y-yeah. I guess I am.

I wish I could tell you something different, but I do not believe it means that. It just might mean that you could … last longer than the others.  The end result will undoubtedly be the same.  But that will likely make things worse for you, Daemon was gentle, but somehow business-like.

That made it harder to freak out and scream like he wanted to. It seemed to demand a likewise response that was professional, too.  But Julian had never let others set the tone for his responses to things.  He had acted in a way he had believed necessary. Which was why when he was brushed off again and again about this parents that he hadn’t stopped asking – or rather, demanding – for further investigation to be done.

You do not know that for sure. I could be different than the others. I could … make it, Julian said with a fierce determination.  The earlier weight of inevitability was lifting. He’d always defied the odds.  Why not now?

No, I do not. But … the odds are not in your favor. I do not wish to give us … to give you … false hope, Daemon answered in that neutral, but gentle way.

Julian tacked to a related subject as he felt he would not win this one with Daemon. Only his continued survival or death would show which of them was right.  

Why did you cut me off when I left Ever Dark? I felt you watching me, but you didn’t say anything.  Yet you did … did hum, didn’t you?  A little while ago? You meant me to hear that? Julian demanded.

I – I did. I could feel your distress.  Your pain.  Your loneliness, Daemon answered. I had no idea that you would be able to connect to me like this in sleep though.  I thought we would be mostly cut off from one another with you on Earth.  This -- this continued connection will make it more difficult.

For whom?  I’m the one that is dying.  Worried you’ll have to watch me do it?  Julian couldn’t help the bitterness in his voice. He tried to remind himself that this man – this Vampire – had no duty towards him other than what he had already done. So why was this sense of betrayal so sharp and deep?  You’ve seen lots of people die, I bet.  You killed those other two Vampires without a thought.  You don’t even know me.  What’s one more stranger’s death to you?  Even if you have to -- to be connected to me like this when it happens?

Daemon was silent, but Julian could feel that he was biting his tongue.  Obviously, Julian’s death did mean something to him though he couldn’t think why.  

You are angry with me, Daemon finally said.  

Daemon could evidently tack to a different subject, too.

There were so many things that Julian wanted to say in response  to that statement.  He wanted to deny it.  Angrily, of course, which would dilute the truth of his own response.  He wanted to snap that he didn’t know Daemon enough to be angry with him.  He wanted the Vampire King to get over himself.  But conversely, he wanted to tell Daemon what a bastard he was for abandoning him, for not being there for him until the bitter end.  But … why?  Why did he expect, let alone, want this stranger with him?

Once I’m with Christian again, I won’t feel this way about Daemon.

The Vampire King heard these thoughts and asked sharply, What do you mean when you’re with Christian again?

Julian was stunned into silence as he realized that thought had not been private. He thought to not answer.  But then he realized that was foolish. Maybe Daemon would have some knowledge of this Balthazar.

I brought Christian to a hospital. He felt a momentary sense of confusion from Daemon and realized that the Vampire King wasn’t sure what that was. It’s a place where people go to be healed by science.

They will not be able to help him. I told you the only course –

I know!  But he needs to be cared for while I look for another Vampire! Julian answered just as sharply as Daemon had before.  But he softened his tone as he realized it was his own guilt for leaving Christian in the hands of Dr. Stone that caused his spike in emotions, I needed to leave him somewhere safe, but it ended up being the worst place possible.  Balthazar – the guy who sent Selene and the male Vampire after Christian and me – has an Acolyte at the hospital. This Acolyte figured out what happened to Christian – I mean he thought that I had bit Christian but he got the general gist of things. He knows about Vampires and --

You were forced to leave Christian with him as the sun was coming up? Daemon had somehow read ahead in his thoughts.  

Yeah.  It was a disaster. I fought this guard and … Look, the deal is that I need to get Christian out of there and still find a Vampire to turn him, Julian finished up.  But the damned sun is out.

Perhaps it is good that Christian is in this Balthazar’s hands. He may turn your friend -

What part about sending those people to kill us don’t you understand? Julian growled.

Daemon sounded amused as he retorted, Only the woman wished you harm. The man was just following her lead and thought her bluffing.

How -- how did you know that?  Could you read their minds like you can mine?  Julian felt a prick of jealousy, which was absurd.

Only surface thoughts.  If I had been … stronger, fighting would have been unnecessary. I would have been able to make them tell us everything, Daemon sounded almost regretful.

Yeah, well, if wishes were horses and all that.  Julian tried not to sound even more regretful.  There was nothing to do about the past.  

Are you angry with me for failing you? Daemon asked carefully.

No, it’s not like that.  His feelings about Daemon were a mess when they should have been crystal clear.  I don’t know. It’s doesn’t matter. Look, you did me a solid by giving me a way to save Christian. You don’t owe me anything else.

Owe? Daemon’s tone was unreadable, but it wasn’t a dismissal of him owing Julian something, which had Julian’s mind flipping.  I could not … not come with you.  I am too weak to pass over to Earth.

I’m not saying you should have. I can handle this by myself, Julian answered.

But it would be easier if I were there, Daemon pointed out, sounding resigned.

Would it?  You don’t know what a hospital even is, Julian pointed out. The whole world is going to be pretty alien to you.

True, but I am a quick learner.  And even though most of these Vampires might not have been in existence when I went to sleep, I know their kind, Daemon said.

I bet you do.  

There was a brief silence and then Daemon said, You will be waking soon. I do not think this connection will last - or, at least, be as clear - then.  So may I give you a piece of advice?

Julian was shocked that he had slept so long, but he swore he could feel the sun’s power waning with every moment.  Sure, whatever you’ve got I’m glad to have.

Daemon paused and then said, Though I may not be a clear voice in your ear when you wake, I will … I will still be there.  So when you feel something, some indication about what you should do, even if it goes counter to your own thoughts … do it.

Julian frowned.  You mean follow my instincts?

He could almost hear the dark smile in Daemon’s voice as he replied, Yes, Julian, for those instincts are me, talking to you and trying to keep you safe.

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