Dawn of Darkness (Daeva, #1) by Daniel A. Kaine Read Free Book Online

Velcro strap open and
threw his head-guard to one side. As I lay there, all I could think
of was how close I was to beating him. In the year we had been
training together, I had never been as close as I was then. And I
blew it. I gritted my teeth in frustration. Next time would be
different.
    "You
ready to hit the showers?" Ash asked. He stood over me, one hand
held out.
    "Whatever," I grumbled as I reached out and was pulled to my
feet.
    We made
our way back to the locker room, discarding our protective gear
into the basket on the way out. I decided not to shower at the gym,
instead choosing to head back to the dorms for a real shower. I
pulled on my jacket and gathered the rest of my belongings into my
gym bag.
    "I'm
heading back for a long, hot shower," I called out over the noise
of the running water.
    "Okay,
I'll see you back there."
    Outside
was cold and pitch black, save for the soft glow emanating from the
windows of the nearby buildings and an occasional street lamp. The
sky was overcast, the moon hid behind a blanket of silver-lined
clouds. I walked on autopilot, down the dimly lit short-cut to the
dorms, planning the rest of my evening. I would shower, grab
something to eat, and then settle down with a book until I felt
ready to sleep.
    It was as
I approached the end of the alleyway that a dark figure ran around
the corner into me, dropping the papers he was carrying. He
apologised and I mumbled under my breath that he should watch where
he was going. Regardless, I bent down to help gather the loose
sheets. A quick glance at one of the papers told me they were blood
reports, most likely from the research department.
    The man
was about my size, though better built. He wore a navy jacket, the
hood pulled close around his head. Strands of what I could only
describe as silver hair spilled out of the hood, falling over his
downcast eyes. I handed him the few sheets I had collected and he
thanked me, keeping his head down the whole time, as if trying to
avoid eye contact. With that he raced off into the night, to
complete whatever errand it was he was on. Strange guy, I thought.
I shrugged it off and continued on my way.
     
     

Chapter
4
    Six days
passed since graduation, and not a single mission came up. Or
rather, there were none they deemed worthy enough of their newest
superhuman squad. Ash was called back to General Marsten's office
twice during that time. He wouldn't say much about it, only that
they needed to debrief him on why someone had wanted to kill
him.
    We
gathered at our usual spot, in one of the small meeting rooms on
the ground floor of the main building, where Sergeant Locke was
waiting for us, his hands clasped firmly behind his back. He raised
himself onto his tiptoes, and back down again repeatedly as he
waited for the last of us to fall into line.
    "Okay. I
know the five of you have been itching for some action," he said,
"but there's been little activity outside the city. As a result,
very few missions have been approved by the council. However, I
managed to snag one of the lower priority missions, so you can get
some experience out in the field."
    I don't
think any of us cared what priority the mission was given. This
wouldn't just be our first mission, but also our first time outside
the city walls. When I was younger, I often tried to climb the
ramparts surrounding Rachat, to steal a quick look at the world
outside. Unfortunately, they were too high for a mere runt such as
myself, and a guard always found me before I managed to make any
significant progress. I gave up on that pursuit eventually.
Everything we had seen of the outside world came from books, and
now we would be able to go beyond the walls and see it for
ourselves. The excitement amongst the group was
palpable.
    "Your
mission is to survey the ruins west of Rachat." Sergeant Locke
pointed to a map on the wall. "The council has deemed it necessary
to expand the city, so you'll be going to make sure it's safe
before the techs can go