After Daybreak Read Online Free Page B

from any stake that would dare strike him.
    “But what about Faith?” Victor asks. “And Richard. Does Sin have them?”
    “No, no,” I rush to assure him. Faith is Victor’s sister. He sent her and his best friend, Richard Carrollton, to watch over me when I journeyed to Los Angeles to find out what I could about the Thirst and Sin. “They escaped using the engine of the Night Train. Along with Tegan”—my best friend—“and Ian Hightower.”
    “Hightower?”
    I sense his alarm. Ian Hightower is the most famous and deadly vampire hunter to ever live. More recently, he’s been the guardian of the Night Train.
    “Don’t worry. We formed an alliance with Ian,” I tell him.
    “That must have taken some convincing.”
    “Richard was quite persuasive, and his killing some of the Infected who got on board the train didn’t hurt. They’re probably back in the city by now, don’t you think?”
    “Probably.” I can sense him taking comfort in the knowledge that everyone should be safe. “If they made it out, what happened to you? How did Sin manage to capture you?”
    I tell him about Los Angeles, how the outer ring of the city is nothing but weak and hopeless humans and the inner ring is overrun with Sin’s Day Walkers. He was waiting for us. I explain that we tried to kill him, but he was too powerful and his followers too many. While the others escaped, I wasn’t so lucky. I couldn’t get to the train in time. Michael came back for me, but Sin’s legions surrounded us.
    “Why didn’t Faith and Richard stay back with you?” Victor asks, accusation in his voice. He told them that I was more important than anything else, even their own lives.
    “They couldn’t,” I say. “What we learned was too important. If they hadn’t made it, no one would know about Sin’s army.”
    Victor nods, swallowing his anger, washing it away with reason and sense. “Then tell me about the mountain. The throne. The ash. When I got there with Jeff, I had no idea what I was even looking at or why Sin would take you to a place like that. What did it all mean?”
    I’m not ready to go there yet. “It was nothing,” I lie. “Just a—”
    A thunderous sound echoes around me. The ground beneath my feet begins to tremble.
    Victor and I spin toward the commotion. I didn’t realize how far we’d wandered. We’re standing at the edge of town. People are starting to gather at its center. The door to the doctor’s house bursts open and George rushes out with Dr. Jameson and Jeff on his heels. Michael is striving to catch up, but he’s still weak from his wounds.
    “Come on,” Victor says, grabbing my hand.
    We run over to where George, Dr. Jameson, Michael, and Jeff are gazing at the growing dust storm in the distance. But what’s causing it?
    My mind races to Sin and his horde of Day Walkers. The thought of what they would do to the people in this town sends terror through me. Then I realize the car is what must have led them here. It’s loud, its lights serving as a beacon in the darkness—
    But it isn’t Sin. As the four horsemen gallop into town, they stop and let the air settle into stillness around them. The beasts beneath them neigh and paw at the ground.
    “Well, boys, it looks like the rumors were true,” the obvious leader says. He looks to be in his late twenties. Like him, each of his friends is cloaked in a long coat, chaps, and gloves. “A whole town, somewhere in this godforsaken desert, just waiting to be drained.”
    Licking his lips, he proudly displays his fangs.
    Beside me, Victor tenses and I know he’s preparing to attack, to protect these people who gave us shelter.
    George drops his large hand on Victor’s shoulder. “Don’t worry yourself. We can take care of these pests on our own.”
    He ambles forward with confidence. “Brave man,” Victor murmurs, but I know he’ll only honor George’s request up to a point. He won’t stand by while humans die.
    “You boys should just head on