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Authors: J. A. London

BOOK: Blood-Kissed Sky (Darkness Before Dawn)

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I’m just grateful that we were able to become friends again after we separated.

Once we finish off the soup, I set both mugs on the table and return to the cot. “You try to get some sleep.”

Reaching across, he touches my leg. “Are you okay? Sin and that old vampire in the cave laid some heavy stuff on you. Just so you know, I don’t believe any of it.”

I don’t either. It’s just not possible. “Thanks. I’m fine.”

“I mean, your dad would have told you if you were … you know, a vampire.”

If I was a vampire.
I squeeze my eyes shut tightly against the obscene thought. I shoved back everything I was told. I wasn’t ready to deal with it—not while Michael was bleeding, not until we were safe. Octavian, the ancient vampire in the mountain, claimed to be the last full-blooded vampire of the Montgomery clan. He claimed I was one of his descendants.

“Sin said I was a dhampir. Not exactly a vampire. More like some half-breed freak. But Sin has done nothing but lie to us. Why believe him now?” Especially when the truth could be so painful.

Michael pulls back his hand, rubs it on his jeans. He probably doesn’t even realize what he’s doing—wiping me off his skin. He still hates vampires as much as I used to. He lies down. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired.”

“Me either.” I hear him snoring before I’m fully stretched out on the mattress, my eyes on the beaded doorway. I can’t sleep, not for a while yet. I want to trust these people, but Sin has destroyed my ability to trust. He let us go so easily. What if he knew about this place? What if he has already made its citizens his disciples?

But if they answer to him, then why not just admit it? Take us captive?

Beyond the walls that surround us, I can hear the movement of people as they work: hammering, scraping, shuffling feet over the ground. It all sounds normal, safe. I fight to keep my eyes open, to remain on guard, but the past few days and the horror of last night have taken their toll.

If I give in and sleep, I could also reach out to Victor. Victor, the Old Family vampire who changed my life and worked his way into my heart. After being terribly wounded during a fight, Victor was forced to drink my blood in order to survive. Now we have a connection where we can visit each other’s dreams. I shy away from the thought that this bond may be proof of my vampire heritage. What’s important now is finding Victor.

I relax and succumb to sleep.

I feel like I’ve been floating forever. Then I find myself at a place that starts my heart racing.

The mountain.

I’m inside the cavern where Sin brought us, where I met the Old Family vampire who claimed to be my ancestor. The area is awash in blues as the moonlight spills in from a hole in the top. I see the throne where the ancient vampire sat. Now there is nothing except a pile of ash. The sun poured through earlier and destroyed his body.

A forlorn figure is kneeling before the throne, his fists clenched, his head bent.

“Victor!”

He turns toward me, and without a second’s hesitation we embrace each other. Although I’m in his dream, I can feel him. He’s solid, comforting.

“Dawn, you’re alive. I was so afraid.”

“I’m fine,” I assure him. “But how are you here?”

Releasing me, Victor paces before the throne, combing his fingers through the ash of the vampire who once sat there.

“Jeff and I were here,” he says. Jeff served as my bodyguard at the Agency. “After you came to me in the dream and told me Sin had taken you, I left Denver with him as soon as I could. But we were too late.”

He throws a handful of ash onto the ground in frustration.

“We were so close …” he whispers.

“It’s okay,” I say. “Our blood kiss has brought us together again. In this place.”

Victor nods, still investigating the throne and its ashen king. “What happened here, Dawn?”

I rush toward him and grab his shoulders, forcing him to stare into my eyes with his deep blue ones.

“I’ll tell you everything when you find us.” There’s no time to discuss it now. Our dreams are so fragile that either of us might wake at any moment. We’ll lose our connection and the ability to communicate. “Michael and I are in a town, not too far from here. To the southeast. You’ll see a windmill. Come for us.”

“What about Sin? Does he know where you are?”

“I don’t know,” I say.

I touch his face. The bristle along his jaw scratches my fingers. I’ve never understood how I can experience all these sensations when we’re together like this. “I need you, Victor. Please, get to us as soon as you can.”

“I will,” he says, and I feel him move sharply.

It’s like his body is being pulled from me by some invisible string, jerking him across vast distances. My hand passes through the empty air where he stood just a moment ago.

He’s woken up, breaking our connection. He’ll find me. I know it.

I walk over to the throne and stare at what remains of the ancient vampire.

What if I
am
a descendant of the lost vampire family—the Montgomerys—as Octavian claimed? It changes everything if I’m no longer human. What world do I fit in? The humans won’t want me, and since the Old Families signed a death warrant to eradicate the Montgomerys, I’m pretty sure the vampires won’t want me either.

Like him, I may be cast out, forced into hiding, and left to live my life alone.

Other Works

THE DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN NOVELS

Darkness Before Dawn

Blood-Kissed Sky

About the Author

J. A. LONDON
is the mother-son writing team of Rachel Hawthorne and her son, Alex London. Rachel has written many novels for teens, including the popular Dark Guardian series. Alex, a recent graduate with a degree in Historical Studies, enjoys combining history and fiction to create unique worlds. The Darkness Before Dawn series is their first joint project. You can visit them online at www.jalondon.com.

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Copyright

HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Cover photograph © 2013 by Derek Brewster
Cover design by Sammy Yuen

Blood-Kissed Sky

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-0-06-202066-6

EPub Edition © NOVEMBER 2012 ISBN: 9780062202758

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