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

would think to look
for me at a bar. Perpetually sober Mik drinking? Katiya would
probably die of laughter.
    I turned
the next corner and waited a moment, then peered out to see Lucas
heading in the opposite direction. No doubt he'd be running off to
find Ash. A sharp drop of cold water landed on my nose. I looked up
to see more following, illuminated in the glow of a nearby lantern.
They fell slowly at first but were soon picking up their pace. I
took off in the direction of the barracks bar, hoping to make it
there before the skies opened up.
    *****
    The rain
was forgiving, holding back until I reached the bar. The warmth
inside stung my damp, cold skin. I went to the bar, taking up a
stool at the far end. As I hoped, the place was almost empty. A few
small groups of friends sat at some of the round tables, their
voices barely audible over the sound of music from the speakers
placed around the room.
    Hans was
working behind the bar, as always, his back turned to me while he
wiped down an already sparkling clean worktop. I guess keeping busy
helped to pass the time. From the back I could see his wiry, grey
hair was starting to thin, leaving a small bald patch on top of his
head. His eyes caught mine in the mirror behind the rows of spirits
and liquors. Most of the human race had been obliterated a century
ago, but humanity would be damned if it didn't reinvent a vast
range of alcohol during that time. It certainly wouldn't have been
one of my priorities.
    "Well, if
it ain't Mikhail. Ya all alone tonight?" His eyes scanned the room,
probably looking for the rest of my squad.
    "Just
me," I replied.
    "What can
I get ya?" A good question. Having never drank alcohol before, I
was unsure what would be good.
    "A pint
of this," I said, pointing to the nearest of the large pump
handles.
    "Bad
day?" Hans asked as he poured the drink. "Don't think I ever saw ya
drink anythin' but ginger ale before." He placed the glass in front
of me. The clear, golden liquid sloshed against the sides,
underneath the white foam that decorated it. A small trickle
meandered down the side of the glass, pooling at the
bottom.
    "Yeah,
something like that." I gave Hans my payment and lifted the glass
to my mouth, sipping at the sweet liquid, my throat tingling with a
surprising warmth. It was a far more pleasant experience than I
imagined it would be. I lifted the glass further, indulging in
bigger mouthfuls until I had to stop and gasp for air.
    "So,
what's troublin' ya, lad?" I looked up to meet his eyes, set in a
rounded mass of defined wrinkles and bristly grey-black whiskers.
"Ya graduated not long ago, didn't ya? Trouble on ya first
mission?" I had to hand it to him. His mind was sharper than I
would have guessed. Perhaps, that came from working around people
all the time.
    "I killed
someone," I answered before going back to my drink.
    "Ah, say
no more." Hans turned to pick up a shot glass. He reached up to the
top shelf and picked off a brown glass bottle, from which he poured
a dark-brown liquid. He set the glass in front of me and I looked
at him, confused. "On the house."
    I lifted
the glass to my lips, intending to sip it at first.
    "Ya're
gonna wanna knock that back quickly. Trust me."
    The smell
alone was enough to make me feel light-headed. It smelled of pure
alcohol, and something I couldn't quite put my finger on. I
swallowed it in one gulp, figuring I may as well do as Hans
suggested. I coughed, the bitter, spicy shot coating my throat in a
layer of fire. That was more like what I expected alcohol to be. I
downed some more of the pint in an attempt to douse the flames at
the back of my throat, though it only calmed them.
    Hans
looked down at my empty glass. "Another?"
    I nodded
and handed him the glass.
    "Look, ya
ain't the first, nor will ya be the last guy ta come here and try
ta forget the fact that ya killed someone," he said, his hand
pulling back the pump once more. "But let me tell ya somethin'.
Gettin' wasted might help tonight, but