“I must find somewhere away from the sun, and soon.” She sniffed the air and looked around as if trying to gauge her direction.
“Oh, no.” Caitlin sighed.
“What’s wrong, Caitlin?” Alice asked.
“I’ve just realized that if Mary-Anne’s going to be our leading weapon on this mission, we’re pretty much fucked. What kind of soldier only comes out at night? Might have to look at trading you in for a badger. Or a hedgehog.” She watched Mary-Anne carefully, feeling braver and braver every day and loving how easy it was to wind her up.
“A soldier that could rip off your head and drain the blood so quickly you wouldn’t even be able to say—”
“Ma?” Caitlin interjected.
Even Mary-Anne laughed at that one.
“Exactly,” Mary-Anne said. “But in all seriousness, I must go on ahead. I won’t be able to keep your pace without exposing myself to the sun, and as much as the world bites big donkey scrotum right now, I’m almost positive I want to stick around and see what you’ll end up doing with it.”
“Where are you going to go? You know you’re my compass, right? I don’t know the way,” Caitlin suddenly realized she sounded panicked and did her best to bring confidence back to her voice for those following close enough behind to hear their conversation.
“It’s easy,” Mary-Anne said, pointing ahead and slightly to their left. “Keep on straight in that direction. Don’t falter, and you should be at the old airship within less than an hour. I may or may not be there at that point, depending on how fast I can run and how much I can carry at once.”
“Carry?” Alice chirped.
“What are you up to, Ma?” Caitlin said, her mischievous grin growing wide.
“I’ve got a plan, Kitty Cat,” Mary-Anne responded as she turned and dashed straight into the trees. There were audible gasps behind from certain members of the group who caught her running away and were stunned by her speed.
“Okay, Kitty Cat is much too fucking far!” Caitlin shouted after her.
A bone-chilling screech called back from somewhere far off in the distance. The group began to shuffle in panic. A sudden realization dawned on Caitlin. They were still in the thick of the Mad-infested woods, and their vampire protector had fucked off to Lord only knew where.
It was now down to her, Ash, and Alice to protect the herd.
As she kicked Shitallion’s side and got him moving again, she couldn’t help but notice Ash glancing sideways at Alice’s cleavage, which admittedly pretty much hung out of her traveling garb.
Caitlin rolled her eyes. What the hell am I going to do with these children?
Chapter Sixteen
Abandoned Airship, Silver Creek Forest
Mary-Anne wasn’t at the husk of the ship when the group arrived, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t left presents.
Lots and lots of presents.
Putting aside the gasps of awe that had escaped their lips when they saw the colossal shipwreck emerge through the forest trees, the folks of New Leaf—now Caitlin’s mini-battalion—all marveled at the gleaming pile of swords and weapons that glinted in the golden rays of the morning sun.
Caitlin realized immediately where they had come from. Mary-Anne’s plan must have been to sprint as fast as possible back and forth between her manor and the ship itself to provide everyone with enough weapons to at least protect themselves should a horde of Mad attack—or even just a little baby one.
Hold on. Were there babies somewhere out there? Crawling around, mindlessly hunting for flesh?
Caitlin pushed the thought away. It was far too gross to even think about.
Still, she couldn’t believe it. Mary-Anne must have had an armory or store of some kind at her place. The same place from which she had fetched Caitlin’s sword on the day when she had nearly been chow food for the Mad. How many more of these did she have lying around? It was a wonder that the governor hadn’t discovered the store and looted them yet.
“Where did she find these?” Ash asked, marveling at the blades. “These are unlike anything our blacksmiths could craft. They are from the old world.” He ran a finger along the edge and recoiled as a line of blood rose to the skin. “Still sharp, too.”
“Make sure you get on your knees and thank her when she’s back,” Caitlin said, comparing them to her own blade. Thankfully, none matched the craftsmanship of hers. “Hopefully, she’ll be back soon so we can.”
But Mary-Anne didn’t manage to complete her final journey back to the wreck before the sun began to burn hot in the sky. That left Caitlin, Alice, and Ash to watch over everyone to make sure that they all behaved themselves.
“Get yourselves rested. There are sleeping quarters in the back, though they’re pretty basic,” Caitlin announced. “And no touching anything sharp or capable of killing anyone until I say.”
There was a chorus of “Aw. man!”
“What do you mean by basic?” A portly woman with fiery red hair and freckles painting her cheeks stood with her hands on her hips. She looked weary but still feisty.
“It means there aren’t any beds, but you can at least shut the door and escape the daylight.”
Not everyone went to sleep straight away, of course. There were a few there who explored the ship, wandering along the vast deck which stood at a crooked angle, making the whole thing more of a climb. There were some who stayed awake simply to talk to Caitlin and share their thanks and enthusiasm for being able to join her on her journey.
They shared horror stories of the governor’s men. They spoke of rumors and tales they had heard which, by all accounts, seemed too nasty to even contemplate. Stories of babies fed to the Mad, stories of rape and famine, and stories of heartache and pain reminded her of all the reasons why she had made this choice.
Caitlin listened with attentive ears, but by noon, she was exhausted. She set up a watch schedule with Ash and Alice, and they alternated throughout the day. Caitlin was the first to sleep, suddenly overcome with tiredness.
She whistled for Jaxon to follow as she headed towards the ship.
At the back of the hull, beneath a panel with a rusted iron ring which Caitlin pulled with greater ease than she had managed the first time she had found it, she eased herself below deck and found herself in the cellar. She passed through a room that was dark apart from the silver cuts of light which made their way through the boards above. There were empty kegs to her left and right which she wandered past until she found her way to a door almost camouflaged with the walls. She entered and found herself in the remains of the old captain’s quarters.
The room was a luxury she still couldn’t believe was possible, the only room on the ship with linens and pillows for the bed. She curled up on top of the sheets and spent a good fifteen minutes doing her best to pull the dried blood and muck from Jaxon’s fur.
Eventually, they both slept.
Silver Creek Forest
Kain could smell it a mile off—the scent he was looking for. Something which he still couldn’t believe his nose could detect from this distance, and after so many years, too.
Where are you hiding? he thought to himself, strolling at a leisurely pace now that the sun was out and he could see his way. He wasn’t hungry anymore. Had found a nice selection of forest critters to kill, cook, and munch earlier that morning. Now, all he could think of was finding them.
He made his way through a clearing and stopped when he saw a deer. The sight was beautiful, really. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen something so magnificent simply standing there in the sunlight. Kain was used to living in the carcasses of the old cities. They provided places where there were plenty of shadows in which to hide, and so everyone did. Every street and every road was a booby trap for some kind of vamp, Were, or human.
It’s a dog eat dog world out there. He laughed.
God, he was funny.
He left the deer to its own agenda, sneaking around the clearing so quietly that the creature had no
idea anything had been watching at all.
As the sun rose and began to fall, Kain made steady progress towards the scent. By early afternoon, he saw it ahead. A large manor loomed up out of the trees. Several parts of its roof had caved in, and the garden was incredibly overgrown.
Just like a vamp not to trim their bush.
He made his way to the door. It creaked as he pushed it open. Inside, it was dusty and cobwebbed, and there was something else now, a smell which made his heart beat faster.
The smell of Madness.
Not fresh Madness, mind you. No. He could tell that from miles away. That didn’t mean he shouldn’t be careful.
Kain took the stairs one at a time, making extra effort to avoid any spots that creaked. He vividly remembered the last time he had snuck up on a vampire and how that had gone.
Carter Manor, Silver Creek Forest
Mary-Anne felt better than she had in months. So good, in fact, that it had been hard to fall to sleep when she had arrived back at the manor. Her body still buzzed from the fresh injection of blood she had drunk from the guards, and she felt like she wanted to rediscover her powers. She desperately longed to smash through walls, run at speed, and go on the hunt.
She had almost forgotten how much fun it all was.
But eventually, she had slept. Though she hadn’t had time to make her way back to the others at the airship, she had piled a load of what she considered to be her “silverware” by the back door, ready to journey out the minute she was able.
Swords, katanas, daggers, axes, and more—her relics from times long gone now. With each one she’d plucked off the wall, she had been thrown back to a time when she had first encountered it. A dagger she had collected on a journey to New York, back when the airships hovered, and the vampire blood business was rife. She had only been a young vamp then but had managed to avoid being caught and drained by humans for sport and nourishment.
An axe from a time she had found refuge in the back of a woodcutter’s house out in the forests.
A katana from an overly confident human drug lord with tattoos and several scantily-clad women at his side.
That was a fun one.
They were all there in her weapon collection, like a photo album of gore that only she knew the stories behind.
Mary-Anne thought about it all as her eyes flickered and her breathing went deep. It would take a lot to wake her from this slumber. This was the deepest she’d now slept in years, thanks to Caitlin and her friends.
Which was probably why she almost didn’t hear the werewolf walking into her chambers.
Almost.
Kain’s heart raced. He couldn’t believe it. He’d heard rumors vamps had fallen into extinction. They’d either been killed off by the blood trades of the Second Dark Ages or destroyed by the Madness. He hadn’t seen it first-hand, but Kain had heard stories of the destructive forces of Mad-infected vampires. The affliction coursed through their blood faster than any human, affecting their nanocytes and forcing the vamp to go on a rampage so deadly that they might as well have set off a bomb in the center of a town.
But this one wasn’t dead. Nor was she Mad. This one was…peaceful.
Kain crept over to the edge of the bed and watched her in the dark. Though he had never been attracted to vamps before, he couldn’t help but scan his gaze over the curves of her body as they rose and fell.
She was pretty. Slender. He almost scolded himself for staring, then stopped.
He was a hot-blooded male after all.
He leaned closer, listening for her breath. Wondering how long she had been asleep for—
The vampire’s eyes shot open. Two orbs of glowing red. “Boo!”
Kain jumped back, and in that second, the vampire had him pinned against the wall by his throat. Her grip was like iron.
God, he had forgotten how much he hated vamps.
“Wait. Wait!” he croaked, struggling to breathe.
“You know it’s never smart to sneak up on a lady like that.” Her gaze burrowed into Kain’s. “Especially in the middle of one’s beauty sleep.”
Kain held her wrist with both hands. “’Lady’? Is that what you’re calling yourselves these days?”
“Something like that.” The vampire released Kain, and he stumbled as his feet touched the floor.
He rubbed his throat, his own eyes pulsing a mild amber as he tried to hold back his automatic response to being threatened.
“Now, who are you? Tell me what it is you are here for. The last encounter I had with a Were was…how do I say this? Unsavory. To tell you the truth, I believed you all gone.” The vampire’s eyes calmed, suddenly curious. “I thought you were all gone.”
“That’s kind of the reason I tracked you down.” Kain stood as tall as he could, though he knew that his skinny frame—compared to this vampire’s body—would never win any contests. “My name is Kain Sudeikis, and I am a nomad. A wanderer. I’ve traveled far with no place to call home, avoiding danger and keeping to myself at all costs.” He studied her once more. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard that there was a vampire living somewhere out in the woods. I had to try and see it for myself.”
“And who told you of my existence?” the vampire demanded.
“Uh-uh. You know my name, you give me yours first.”
Her eyes blazed. For a second, Kain felt he might have gone too far until he saw the corner of her lips tweak up into a wry smile. “I forgot about the personalities of Weres. Stubborn fuckers.”
“Speak for yourself,” Kain said, rubbing his neck idly. “You nearly squeezed my throat so tight my head would’ve exploded into crimson confetti.”
“Force of habit.” The vampire shrugged. “Name’s Mary-Anne.”
Kain held out his hand in an offer of a handshake. Mary-Anne looked at it and shook her head.
“Suit yourself,” Kain said.
“Now, tell me what you know.”
“I don’t know much,” Kain started as he explained what had happened to him over the last few weeks. He revealed how he had been asleep in a hollow in the forest when he had been taken by a large group of men in leather armor and dragged back to Silver Creek. Mary-Anne listened intently when he spoke of the governor and his fixed agenda for the UnknownWorld—a voyage of discovery to try and collect as many Weres and vamps as possible to work on his side. He finished with the ranger he had shared a jail with and Sullivan who had helped him.
“And so, when I finally did escape, I figured I’d try to find you. Trisk has put a target on your back, and I thought it only fair that I find you and give you the heads up. Loyalty amongst the UnknownWorld, after all. Especially in these mad times.”
To his surprise, Mary-Anne started laughing.
“What?” Kain said, scratching his chin.
“I appreciate the concern, Were. But I’m just fine. My manor is already full of the governor’s intruders I’ve dispatched. The humans who live near here, unless they rise up together, don’t stand a chance.”
They laughed together then, chatting idly about the world they both knew. Eventually, the conversation turned to Silver Creek. They both took a seat on the floor, Kain with his back to the wall and Mary-Anne against her bed.
“Tell me, what is this governor like?” Mary-Anne said. “I’ve heard so much about him that I feel like I should at least have a picture in my head by now.”
Kain laid his head back against the wall. “Imagine a flabby little baby that can barely stand because of the rolls around its feet and arms.”
“Mmhmm.”
“Now imagine a six-foot version of that, only no one ever wiped this baby’s chin or taught him any manners.” Kain paused, remembering the wicked grin on the man’s face as he had held the trigger down on the taser. He shuddered as he recalled the electricity rocking through his body, forcing out his inner wolf.
If only he could’ve had him then and there. He almost regretted not ripping out his throat as he sprinted past him in that moment of
surprise.
One day, he thought. One day…
“Sounds like a delight to be around.” Mary-Anne fought back a yawn and stretched her arms.
“Am I keeping you up?” Kain chuckled. “I know how much you vamps like to sleep away the beautiful sunshine.”
Mary-Anne yawned again. “We do. So, if you’ll excuse me, you’ve disturbed my slumber long enough, and I need at least another hour of beauty sleep if I’m going to be of any help to anyone come dark. The guest room is free if you wish to lay down your own head, though I suggest that whatever it is you plan on doing now, you should probably get to it sooner rather than later. The governor’s men know of this place’s existence. They’re probably already planning a raid as we speak. I can handle the heat and run if I need to. I know it’s been a few years, but I’m not sure exactly what a Were is capable of these days.”
“I can hold my own,” Kain said, puffing his chest until he realized that he didn’t know what his next move would be.
What had his plan been after finding Mary-Anne? He’d been on the road by himself so long now that he wondered what was next. He had almost given up hope of finding others like him since leaving his pack, never quite sure who to trust in this world. But now, maybe that could change. It almost seemed a waste to abandon a vampire after so many years of almost being certain they were gone.
Much worse, to abandon one with such a sense of humor seemed a damn shame.
The sound of china breaking came from downstairs. They both turned to look at the door.
“I’ll go with you,” Kain blurted in an effort half to demand and half attempt to not offend Mary-Anne.
She eyed him cautiously, looking him up and down almost insolently. “You’re a little skinny for a Were. But you could be a large sight better than the rest of them out there. Tell you what—you help me clear the vermin from downstairs while I sleep, you can tag along. Deal?”
Kain took a deep breath through his nose and smiled as he identified the intruder downstairs as merely another human suffering from the Madness. “You’re kidding, right? Give me a challenge.”
The Caitlin Chronicles Boxed Set Page 16
