Stunned that it might possibly happen, Dawn watched her mom carefully, trying hard to summon what she had once thought was so good about Jac. She caught a flash of kindheartedness. Maybe it was just an illusion but it was something.
“I know how much you’d be risking,” Dawn said, “but it’d be worth it. I’d know you were truly the mom I thought you’d be.”
With a small yet air-shattering demolition, the scales of Eva’s decision tipped.
Robbed of her defenses, Dawn kissed Eva’s hand, holding her face there and breathing in the scent she’d always hoped a mother might have.
Eva was going to do it. Or was this just another way to draw them in and then crush them at their weakest?
11:46.
Eva clung to her, but even in their reunion, Dawn could feel a tautness, a torn guilt for betraying her vows.
“They don’t know I have Frank,” Eva said, referring to the Underground. “So if I told them your missing father suddenly barged in here to rescue you, it would sound real. I could say I wasn’t here when it happened, and he overwhelmed Julia—”
“And he got back my weapons.” Was she pushing her luck here? “Isn’t that how it could’ve happened, Mom? Frank supposedly got back my weapons and he wheedled Breisi’s location out of your Servant. But what about Julia—?”
“She’s beholden to me. She’s kept secrets before and she’ll do it again.” Eva looked like she was being dragged toward a stake to be burned. “There’re ways of making her…forget…too. But remember, this doesn’t mean I’m letting you go. Not you or Frank. The Master will believe anything I say, and nothing about our future has changed. In fact…”
As Eva’s speech faded, Dawn could imagine her words.
In fact, what I’m doing for you now binds you to me.
She’d remember. “Where’s Breisi?”
“An abandoned field in the woods over at—”
“You’re taking us there,” Frank said from his spot on the floor. “We’re almost out of time.”
The vampire seemed even more torn now.
“Please,” Dawn said.
That was all it seemed to take. “I won’t be there to help you. I could never get away with that.”
11:47.
“Mom?”
Eva closed her eyes. “You have to know—the killer’s broadcast to the public wasn’t real. It was fed live into my TV, but it’s also being taped so it can be sent later to Limpet, after the deed is done. Breisi’s murder was never meant to be aired publicly, it was just a lure to get Jonah Limpet out of hiding.”
More goddamned luring, but so what? Eva had just confirmed that Breisi was still alive.
“We need to move,” Dawn said.
“Wait. You have to be prepared for Guards, even though they…Let’s just say you’re going to come out alive, okay? They’re positioned around the area to make sure the killer has the opportunity to take out Breisi, and then to clean up after her before going back Underground.”
“Just Guards? Why didn’t you guys bring out your higher-level vamps?”
“This isn’t the big stand, Dawn. Limpet isn’t meant to see the broadcast until the murder’s over. The Master wouldn’t dare send the better vampires for this little errand, not unless he knew your protective spirits would be around. But he knows that won’t happen—Breisi’s Friend was already taken care of and Limpet wouldn’t know where to send any others.”
Dawn wished Jonah would’ve had the chance to save Breisi: he’d always told them that he would take over if they found a vampire lair. That made Dawn think he could deal with a bunch of pissed off Guards in a blink.
But she knew there was no way Eva would allow Dawn to call him. She was taking enough of a risk already.
Eva continued. “This is all designed to provoke Jonah into showing himself and attacking the Underground—which he will when he finds Breisi’s body.”
Dawn held out her hands so Eva could take off her chains. Superhuman yanks on the steel links did the trick.
“Why was your broadcast live? Why not just tape Breisi’s death for us, too?”
Eva looked at a loss, as if she realized how selfish she was going to sound. “I knew I’d have to obey the Master’s whims. He wanted Dawn to see what could happen to a vampire hunter—it’s part of making the Underground a more attractive option than staying with Jonah. But showing Dawn the broadcast wouldn’t give away anything to Jonah, either: the Master doesn’t want Limpet to know that he’s the one behind Breisi’s death—that’s where the Vampire Killer takes the fall—but he knew Dawn wouldn’t be able to tell Jonah anything because I have her. I couldn’t get out of going along with this plan of his, so I ended up asking a favor from him instead…. I just wanted get my part over with.” Eva went to Frank, deftly liberating him from his chains, too. “I couldn’t sit here waiting for the murderer to finish. I wanted to move on and forget what was happening with the rest of them. And the Master liked that I want to forge ahead with life, so he agreed.”