Survive the Dawn (13 page)

“I have not touched that in years,” he said, answering the question in her eyes. “She gave it to my father when he was a very young man. It has been handed down to me. It was to be read first, upon her death. I have a more recent letter for you.”

Sebastian nodded and broke the seal, then took out the paper. It was a letter from Tatiana, written in her hand.

My darling Sebastian,

By your reading this, you know I have been destroyed by
Nicholae
. It was my wish, as you recall, that I transfer my power to you in the age-old ceremony of our kind held before the elders and
Nicholae
. The ceremony to welcome you as the next in line, Sebastian. You were, and are, the chosen one. You are the only one who has my blood flowing through your veins. You are now part of the royal bloodline, my darling. Your proper place among the hierarchy is well in hand. The elders Marcellus and
Kasandra
agreed, only
Daciana
is the holdout. She has always sided with
Nicholae
, after all.

I trust you still have the ring in your possession, and you have not worn it as I had instructed you. Please, go now. Wear the ring and all will be revealed to you. My blood and the blood of our ancestors lies within it. Do not be afraid of the visions and what you will see. Never take the ring off. Wear it always.

Go, my darling. Mr. Scanlon will give you the remaining information. Your time is at hand. As much as you may not wish it, it is your destiny now. To leave it in the hands of
Nicholae
would mean the advancement of the world of vampires at the expense of the mortals who would easily be destroyed. Do not let that happen.

You must find a way to survive the dawn and live among them. You were right in this quest.

If I could ever remember my humanity and forget the existence of the undead, over an ocean of time and a thousand years, I would always remember you. You were my weakness, my darling, and my strength.

Tatiana Messalina

Without a word, Sebastian walked over to the desk, opened the drawer, and took out the ring box. She opened it and held the ring up as if examining it. “Tatiana said to put this on and all will be revealed. I am the chosen one.”

Alex said nothing as she watched Sebastian, who smiled sadly. “There is no turning back now, Alex. My destiny is clear. It is not of my choosing, but there is much too much at stake now.
Nicholae
, left unchecked, will destroy anything and anyone to gain the power that Tatiana had, the power that I now will have.” She looked down at the ring.

“Sebastian, are you sure?” Alex asked. “What—?”

Sebastian put up her hand to stop her and smiled. “Alex, this is beyond you and me. I would like nothing more than to forget all of this, but I cannot. Please, love, understand.”

“I do. As much as I can.” She glanced at Mr. Scanlon, who offered a smile of resignation.

“It is their way, Dr. Taylor. We, as humans, have no real understanding. However, I will tell you that Tatiana Messalina was a great force, whether vampire or mortal. It is her blood that flows through Sebastian and only Sebastian.”

Sebastian looked down at the ring, then at Alex. “The time has come, Alex.”

She examined the ring one more time, noticing the etching on the ring was hollow, not solid; the rough edges could be felt on the inside of the ring. She instinctively knew which finger to place the ring: the middle finger of her right hand. With the ring in place, she felt the edges pierce the flesh of her finger, causing it to bleed. The blood trickled through and mingled with the filigree etchings of the ring.

While Sebastian gazed at the ring, the etchings moved and swirled. Her body began to tingle, her blood felt increasingly warm as it flowed through her veins. She could feel it pulsate with every beat of her heart. The ring now became solid and the etchings molded together with the ring, as if it became one with Sebastian.

Suddenly, a jolt of energy slammed through her. Visions flashed through her mind. They leapt from decade to decade and century to century; they galloped through her vision so fast she could hardly keep up. She saw Tatiana in Rome, surrounded by naked men and women—the decadence that was Rome. She saw
Nicholae
in Romania, slaughtering, butchering innocents in his quest. The bloodletting made Sebastian wince as she watched. She saw people from ancient times, before Tatiana and
Nicholae
; people in black robes, in circles, standing around a bonfire, chanting. She saw rituals with helpless bodies strapped to altars. The carnage was nearly too much for her.

She saw Tatiana and herself. They were in her chambers, lying in bed. Sebastian’s naked body was partially hidden by the white satin sheets. Tatiana was in a long flowing robe.

Sebastian now remembered the time. How could she have forgotten this?

It was the sixteenth century after being with Tatiana for more than a century; Tatiana made the decision of her succession.

It was a night of unbridled sex. Sebastian now lay in bed, watching as Tatiana left the room and came back with the box. She sat next to Sebastian and took her hand, palm up, then cut Sebastian’s palm with her nail; it started bleeding.

Doubt rippled through Sebastian for an instant. She wasn’t sure what was happening but trusted her. Tatiana took her hand and placed it on the box.

Sebastian felt the box move, vibrating and pulling on her hand. When Sebastian removed her hand, the crystals had become red, but there was no sign of the blood Sebastian knew had to be there. She looked at Tatiana for an answer. Without speaking, Tatiana said:
It remembers. Now it also remembers you.
Tatiana then gave her the ring.
Never wear this until the time comes, Sebastian. It will unlock the power, your power. Only you can unlock this now. It will remember only your blood—only yours.

In the next vision, she saw Leigh and
Nicholae
in their clandestine meeting before Leigh came to Chicago. She saw Nina with Tatiana standing by a doorway in Tatiana’s bedroom. Tatiana handed Nina a box.
“See that Sebastian gets this, Nina. Sebastian and no one else. Go quickly.”

She saw Tatiana on the balcony, saw Damien and the others circling her. She heard her cry for vengeance and watched as Damien’s sword delivered the final blow.

The visions ceased and she opened her eyes to find Alex and Mr. Scanlon watching her.

“Sebastian?” Alex asked. “Is something supposed to happen to you?”

Sebastian looked down at the ring; there was no blood. She flexed her hand and looked at the confused faces. “How much time has passed?”

“Time?” Alex looked at Mr. Scanlon.

“A moment. A few seconds if that. You just now put the ring on your finger,” he said cautiously.

Alex was quickly at her side. “What could have possibly happened in a moment?”

“A thousand years, Alex,” Sebastian said solemnly. “More than a thousand possibly.” She looked at Mr. Scanlon. “Nina has the box, Mr. Scanlon.”

“Why, how?”

“Tatiana knew she was going to be killed. Nina was to give me the box,” Sebastian said. “I saw it all, but I didn’t see what happened after that. This may explain why we can’t find Nina.”

Her mind still reeled as she remembered the visions: centuries of bloodletting by
Nicholae
and Tatiana. The years of battling each other for supremacy, finally becoming reluctant partners in the hierarchy.

“Perhaps Nina is guarding the box for you,” Mr. Scanlon said, breaking Sebastian’s thought.

Sebastian looked down at the ring on her finger and shook her head. “Then why did she not give me the box on our first meeting when she came to me in Chicago?” Sebastian said. “No. Nina, I’m afraid, is not an innocent. Tatiana was near the end. She was old and careless and trusted Nina.”

“The louse,” Alex said.

“Eloquently put, love. You’re right, however. I fear Nina is indeed a louse.”

“She’s a rat in the vampire woodpile.”

“Yes, love,” Sebastian said.

“So what do we do now?” Mr. Scanlon asked nervously. “I have here the remainder of what is to take place to complete the transference of power.” He held up the other envelope. “You were to have the box in your possession.”

“What is in that box, Mr. Scanlon?” Alex asked.

He let out a dejected sigh, and as he sat back, he took out his handkerchief to mop his brow.

Sebastian watched the old man and felt a pang of sorrow for him. He had this task thrust upon him. She knew the feeling well.

“This is none of your doing, Mr. Scanlon. You have done what Tatiana required of you.”

He let out a rueful laugh. “Yes, you’re beginning to understand your powers, Sebastian. You read my mind. That’s exactly what I was thinking.” He took a deep breath. “The box contains the amulet that hung around Tatiana’s neck since the day she became part of your hierarchy. The amulet encases—”

“The power of a thousand years,” Sebastian said as she toyed with the ring on her finger. “Tatiana said this ring would unlock the power. Whoever has the box will realize it is of no use to them.” She held up her hand. “Without this.”

“What do we do?” Alex asked.

“We find Nina.”

Chapter 11

“A private jet?” Carey asked as she gazed out the window at the dissipating Chicago skyline. “What the hell do you do for a living?”

Nina laughed as she sat across from her. “Unimportant, Detective.”

“Where are we going?”

Nina poured scotch into a glass and pushed it in front of her. “Equally unimportant. However, since you’re so sweet, we’re going to Paris to refuel. Now drink up, you’re beginning to bore me.”

“Paris, France?” Carey asked as she took the glass.

“No, Paris…” Nina stopped and shook her head. “This is too easy. Yes, darling, now sit back.”

Carey sat back and looked out the window again. Her mind raced as she tried to piece all this together. What did Nina take from the warehouse and why was it so important? She knew Dr. Sebastian was behind all of it; she could feel her anger mounting at the thought of it. Alex was with her, Carey was certain of that—but where?

As hard as she tried, she could not remember. There was too much that clouded her brain. However, when the image of her lying on some bed flashed through her mind, she dismissed it, along with the wave of nausea that accompanied it. She shivered uncontrollably now as she swallowed the bile that rose in her throat. Suddenly, she saw them out of the corner of her eye and swatted them away. She tried to concentrate on getting Dr. Sebastian and Alex and not the dark night as she lay on that bed. Carey shook her head and looked to see Nina watching her with a smug grin.

“Irritating, isn’t it?” Nina asked casually.

“What?”

“Hating that you can’t remember, then hoping you never do.”

Carey said nothing as she looked out the window once again, absently swatting at the air. Fucking bitch, she thought.

“What exactly do you remember?” Nina asked. “Not that I care, you see, but perhaps some conversation will make this long flight through Europe less tedious. And what the devil are you swatting at?”

Carey stopped and shivered. Nina sighed in an irritated fashion. “I don’t remember much,” she answered, controlling her anger. “The last thing I remember is being at a bar, thinking about Alex…” Her voice trailed off as her gaze darted about. “There was a woman—”

“There always is, my pet,” Nina said with a wry laugh.

“Why did you call me that?”

Nina gave her a curious grin. “What? My pet?”