tsunami.”
“Knowing what it did to my brother, I agree.”
“Then I want you to find out everything you can about it.”
“How?”
“Take the Night Train out to Los Angeles.”
“Los Angeles?” I’ve never been beyond the Denver walls, except to visit Valentine Manor. To travel on the Night Train, to head west to the coast—I don’t know whether to be terrified or excited by the prospect.
“Sin mentioned that he came from there,” Clive says.
“It could’ve been a lie.”
“And it might not have been. All of this is tied together somehow. I want you to find the threads. In Los Angeles, you’ll learn about the Thirst, learn how they’ve dealt with it—because the few reports we get from the LA Agency don’t mention any rampaging vampires—and bring that information back. And if it’s true that Sin came from out there, you may learn something about him and his Day Walkers.”
“What about Eris’s threats? What will she do when she discovers I’ve left the city?”
“If you’re not here, she gains nothing by attacking the city.”
“She might do it out of spite. I don’t think it’s worth it.” Enough people have died because of me.
“I won’t hand you over,” Clive says, his voice stern. “I’ll tell Eris that you snuck out of the city without my knowledge after she made those threats. If anyone is to blame, it’s her. Trust me, Dawn, dealing with vamps isn’t new to me.”
He takes another sip of his drink.
“No one can know about this mission,” he says. “Not Rachel or Michael or Jeff. When Eris finds out you’ve disappeared, she may begin questioning them. I want them to have plausible deniability. Just leave Rachel a note telling her you’ve left town.”
I gnaw on my lower lip, thinking this all the way through. I understand the need for caution, but—
“They’ll be worried about me.”
“I know,” he says, as if realizing how many people this will affect, how many sleepless nights this will cause. “They won’t be the only ones.”
I know he’s referring to himself. He’s always treated me like a daughter, and now he’s sending me away. For my own safety, yes, but maybe into even greater danger as I investigate the Thirst.
“I’d send someone else if I could,” he says, as if reading my mind. “But even if Eris never came, I wouldn’t let anyone else go out there but you. Because I don’t trust anyone as much as I trust you, Dawn.”
Tears sting the backs of my eyes, but Clive’s stoic demeanor inspires me to put up a brave front.
“I have some arrangements to make,” he says. “I’ll come to your apartment when the Night Train comes in and explain how we’ll handle getting you to LA without anyone knowing. I want you to be like a ghost.”
Chapter 10
B y the time I hit the lobby, I’ve shored myself up not to reveal anything to Victor. He’s always been able to sense when things are going on with me, and I need to make sure that he doesn’t suspect that I’m about to leave town. My best defense is a heated offense, so I draw on the anger that hit me when we were in Clive’s office.
I push my way through the door to the outside. He’s leaning against the side of the building. When he sees me, his face lights up and I almost lose my resolve. But I hold firm.
“Lock me in a room? Seriously? You thought I would go for that?”
He grimaces. “I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you.”
“How about my going insane? Because I would do that if I was contained. I nearly went crazy in the hospital.”
“Sin is a danger.”
“Then catch him.” I know it’s unfair to lash out about that, because he’s doing everything he can. My words are meant to distract, so he doesn’t ask about the conversation I had with Clive after he left.
“Vampires can sense other vampires,” he says, “but we can’t sense the Day Walkers. My hunters are frustrated. They don’t know what to look for, how to track
“Knowing what it did to my brother, I agree.”
“Then I want you to find out everything you can about it.”
“How?”
“Take the Night Train out to Los Angeles.”
“Los Angeles?” I’ve never been beyond the Denver walls, except to visit Valentine Manor. To travel on the Night Train, to head west to the coast—I don’t know whether to be terrified or excited by the prospect.
“Sin mentioned that he came from there,” Clive says.
“It could’ve been a lie.”
“And it might not have been. All of this is tied together somehow. I want you to find the threads. In Los Angeles, you’ll learn about the Thirst, learn how they’ve dealt with it—because the few reports we get from the LA Agency don’t mention any rampaging vampires—and bring that information back. And if it’s true that Sin came from out there, you may learn something about him and his Day Walkers.”
“What about Eris’s threats? What will she do when she discovers I’ve left the city?”
“If you’re not here, she gains nothing by attacking the city.”
“She might do it out of spite. I don’t think it’s worth it.” Enough people have died because of me.
“I won’t hand you over,” Clive says, his voice stern. “I’ll tell Eris that you snuck out of the city without my knowledge after she made those threats. If anyone is to blame, it’s her. Trust me, Dawn, dealing with vamps isn’t new to me.”
He takes another sip of his drink.
“No one can know about this mission,” he says. “Not Rachel or Michael or Jeff. When Eris finds out you’ve disappeared, she may begin questioning them. I want them to have plausible deniability. Just leave Rachel a note telling her you’ve left town.”
I gnaw on my lower lip, thinking this all the way through. I understand the need for caution, but—
“They’ll be worried about me.”
“I know,” he says, as if realizing how many people this will affect, how many sleepless nights this will cause. “They won’t be the only ones.”
I know he’s referring to himself. He’s always treated me like a daughter, and now he’s sending me away. For my own safety, yes, but maybe into even greater danger as I investigate the Thirst.
“I’d send someone else if I could,” he says, as if reading my mind. “But even if Eris never came, I wouldn’t let anyone else go out there but you. Because I don’t trust anyone as much as I trust you, Dawn.”
Tears sting the backs of my eyes, but Clive’s stoic demeanor inspires me to put up a brave front.
“I have some arrangements to make,” he says. “I’ll come to your apartment when the Night Train comes in and explain how we’ll handle getting you to LA without anyone knowing. I want you to be like a ghost.”
Chapter 10
B y the time I hit the lobby, I’ve shored myself up not to reveal anything to Victor. He’s always been able to sense when things are going on with me, and I need to make sure that he doesn’t suspect that I’m about to leave town. My best defense is a heated offense, so I draw on the anger that hit me when we were in Clive’s office.
I push my way through the door to the outside. He’s leaning against the side of the building. When he sees me, his face lights up and I almost lose my resolve. But I hold firm.
“Lock me in a room? Seriously? You thought I would go for that?”
He grimaces. “I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you.”
“How about my going insane? Because I would do that if I was contained. I nearly went crazy in the hospital.”
“Sin is a danger.”
“Then catch him.” I know it’s unfair to lash out about that, because he’s doing everything he can. My words are meant to distract, so he doesn’t ask about the conversation I had with Clive after he left.
“Vampires can sense other vampires,” he says, “but we can’t sense the Day Walkers. My hunters are frustrated. They don’t know what to look for, how to track
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