Wolf Games: Severed Fates (The Vampire Games Book 6)

by Caroline Peckham

  Jameson took the note, unfurling it in his palm and I leant closer to read the message.

  I came for you, but you were gone. I'm praying that means you escaped.

  Meet me in the casino. I have your family.

  -Silas

  “It's from Silas.” I looked to the others. “He's a friend. We can trust him.”

  “How do we know he wrote this note?” Jameson scrunched it up in his hand.

  The bird wobbled precariously on his outstretched arm.

  Selena dipped a hand into her pocket, taking out a similar note. “Someone called Silas wrote us this.”

  She passed it to me and I held it next to the new note, comparing the handwriting.

  “It's his,” I said, my spirits lifting. “Let's go.”

  “What if it's a trap?” Mekiah growled. “We need to get out of here as soon as possible.”

  Nadine shared a concerned glance with Reason. I didn't want my actions to get them hurt. This was my choice. But I could see in Selena and Varick's eyes that they weren't going anywhere.

  “I'm not leaving my family,” I said firmly. “If you want to go, then you should.” I gestured for Mekiah to leave, but he remained rooted to the spot, looking to Jameson.

  “Alpha?” he asked, his broad shoulders tensing.

  “Cass is my mate now, so she's part of this pack,” Jameson said and the wolves immediately fell into line.

  “We stay together then,” Mekiah replied, seeming completely at ease with that decision.

  Satisfied, I led the way forward, hurrying up another few levels before heading through the door and guiding everyone into the red-walled casino.

  The crow took off from Jameson's arm, flapping its wings as it soared across the room and landed on a little old man's shoulder. Beside him was Silas, Curt and my father.

  I gasped in relief, running to them, hugging my family.

  “Are we getting out of here?” Curt asked hopefully. He looked surprising well all things considered.

  “Yes.” I beamed, my heart aching at the thought. We were so close to freedom.

  I turned to Silas, taking in his white shirt, speckled with blood. “How did you get them out?”

  Silas shrugged. “You know me, resourceful.”

  “Thank you,” I breathed, relief filling me.

  “You're not usually one to get your hands dirty,” Jameson poked at him as he moved to my side.

  The old man chuckled darkly. “I suppose I was of no help?”

  Silas smirked. “Like I said, resourceful. I freed Dresdon here and his birds took care of the guards.”

  I glanced at my father who was sweating profusely. He looked like he had when I was a little girl, hankering for his next hit.

  A loud bang sounded from the floor above us and everyone tensed.

  “Let's go,” Varick growled. “I don't want to be here when those Watchers start searching the place.”

  “The Watchers are here?” Silas asked in alarm.

  I nodded, letting Varick explain as we started moving back toward the stairwell. Before we reached the door, two people burst through it. Jameson looked ready to tear off their heads, but relaxed at the sight of Mercy with a young man I didn't recognise.

  “Baby Helsing.” Jameson beamed, pulling her into his arms. She was so small, she was immediately diminished by his folding muscles.

  She pushed away from him, her bright blue eyes frantic. “The Watchers are here.”

  “They're here for him,” Varick snarled at the man beside her.

  “We need to hide,” Mercy urged, glancing into the casino over our shoulders. “They're after Colt. But if they find me, I'm screwed too.”

  “We're not hiding, we're escaping,” Jameson announced.

  “Is that possible?” Colt asked, his heavy brow dropping down to shadow his silvery eyes.

  “If we hurry, come on,” Selena said, ushering them in the other direction.

  No one complained. We headed into the stairway, charging back down, letting Selena and Varick guide the way toward the exit they'd discovered. Jameson stayed at my side and with every step we took, hope bloomed in my chest.

  We're getting out. We're going to be free at last.

  We ran into the corridor we'd found Selena and Varick in previously and they led us to the door at the far end of it.

  The air shuddered around me and a chill spread over my skin, warning me danger was close.

  Varick slammed to a halt as a dark figure twisted into reality before us, the air seeming to bend and morph around them. A man appeared, barring our way to the door. He was dressed in black armour with a jackal mask on his head, covering every inch of his face. He held an axe aloft, looking sharp enough to cleave a person in two.

  “The prisoner is here,” he spoke in a gravelly tone, but the words resounded through the entire resort, echoing back to us like his voice was capable of moving through the air itself.

  His long snout angled toward Selena and a heavy breath sounded from within his mask. “Selena Grey. Enemy of the Hunters.”

  Varick shifted closer to Selena, raising his gun to point at the Watcher. “Let us pass.”

  The Watcher shifted his attention to Varick. “Hm.” He lifted his axe, gazing across our group. “A fine catch. Most of you oppose the Hunters, and you shall pay the price. Come quietly, and your lives will be spared.”

  My lungs compressed as panic fluttered my heart.

  “Not gonna happen.” Jameson lifted his pistol and fired.

  The Watcher shifted like lightning and the bullet planted in the door behind him, ripping through it with a loud crack.

  He moved in a flash, raising his axe and charging toward Jameson like a deadly storm. I cried out, lifting my own gun, pulling the trigger again and again. The Watcher evaded the bullets, bringing his axe down hard.

  Silas shoved Jameson aside and the axe split the ground apart between them. The Watcher wrenched it free and everyone in the group started firing their weapons. The bullets that managed to find their targets pinged harmlessly off of the Watcher's amour.

  Dresden cried out, “Devil!” and his flock of crows swarmed toward our assailant, circling and pecking him. But the attack was useless, no skin was on show and if our bullets couldn't penetrate the armour, there was no way their beaks could.

  The Watcher raised his arms wide, small sparks spraying from his armour as the bullets impacted.

  The air around us shifted and the lights dimmed and flickered. I was plunged into darkness, my feet leaving the ground. I flailed before me, trying to find something to hold onto, then my feet slammed into the ground and my eyesight returned. Somehow, our group had been transported to the golden entrance hall where six more Watchers awaited us, standing in a crescent around a bloody man on his knees. Rockley Jones. My stomach lifted. He was beaten and bruised, his mouth swollen and dripping blood. Piles of dead guards were strewn across the room, their spilled blood mingling with each other's.

  A woman at the centre of the Watchers wearing a huge headdress gave us an appraising look.

  My heart sunk like a stone.

  She moved with grace around Rockley Jones, approaching us. No one fired. It was clearly pointless anyway. I stared at her, waiting for her next move, crows flapping in my periphery as they returned to Dresden's shoulders.

  “Compliments to you, Azrael,” she spoke to the Watcher who had captured us.

  He bowed his head before joining the rest of the jackal-masked men.

  The woman paused before us, her cold eyes assessing as they swept over us. “I am the Priestess Mortifer. High ruler of Dødstårn. There are many amongst you who have betrayed the old laws. But some of you will go free today.” She pointed at my father and Curt. “Humans, you will not be harmed, your presence here is of Rockley Jones' doing.” Her eyes travelled to Silas then the Werewolves, all but Jameson. “And you four have caused no harm as I see it, but I sense a wrath in you that must be stilled. Remember the laws and heed this warnin
g.”

  None of them answered, glaring back at her, seeming as ready for a fight as the rest of us. My eyes were set on Rockley. I wanted him dead; I'd never seen him at this much of a disadvantage. And after what he'd done to me, I needed my revenge.

  Mortifer's eyes moved from my friends to me. Her gaze slid to my belly and she sucked in a quiet breath. “The Oracles have spoken of you, Cassandra Hollins. You carry within you a cursed child. A boy. One who shall seek to overthrow us in time. But that can be avoided...”

  My heart hammered furiously beneath my rib cage. A boy? Was she telling the truth? Did she really know something about my baby?

  I shared a concerned look with Jameson and he side-stepped closer to me.

  Mortifer pivoted to face the other Watchers, evidently having no fear about turning her back on us. “You shall be spared today Rockley, for the good you have done in the past. But do not forget your place in this world. You will be closely observed from this day forward.”

  Not if I have anything to do with it.

  “Of course, forgive me, my lady. But please spare my son. Take the others, but not him,” Rockley begged, pushing himself up to sit. He seemed angry, desperate, his eyes wheeling from Colt to Mortifer.

  “You would protect a man who has broken a hundred laws? Killed our kind? Brutally and without mercy?” Mortifer asked, her voice slicing through the air like a blade.

  Rockley began to tremble, bowing his head. “I do not forgive his actions. But as a father, I cannot bear to see him imprisoned. Hunters do not survive Dødstårn. You know that by taking him you are serving him a death sentence.”

  “Immortals die there too, Rockley. He will have the same chance as them.”

  Rockley bowed his head, giving in.

  “Accolt Jones.” Mortifer's eyes swung to him. “We've searched for you for a very long time. And now I see you are keeping the company of other traitors.” Her eyes slid over Mercy who stiffened.

  “We're not going with you,” Mercy breathed, lifting her gun.

  I could sense this was about to escalate and a tingle of anticipation ran down my spine.

  Mortifer released a tinkling laugh, glancing around the room. “There is one more traitor missing,” she snarled. “Where is Ulvic Hund? I have word that he is here.”

  “Ulvic?” Rockley questioned, getting shakily to his feet.

  At the mention of his name, Jameson's back straightened and my heart quickened.

  Mortifer turned to Rockley. “The Helsings informed us of his misgivings before their untimely demise. He assisted Selena Grey and her allies in releasing hundreds of Vampires on a crowd of humans on the Isle of Lidelse.”

  Rockley ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I don't know where he is.”

  I tensed, wishing he was here so I could sink my teeth into him.

  “No matter.” Mortifer turned toward us once more, raising her arms either side of her. “We'll come back for him.”

  I knew, in that moment, we were done for. She was going to take us. Arrest us. Send us to some Immortal prison where I would have to birth my child.

  Not if I can help it though.

  I started running, not thinking as my eyesight began to blur. I took a knife from my hip. If bullets didn't hurt these Watchers, maybe a blade could.

  “Firefly!” Jameson shouted. He was close, just on my heels.

  Mortifer whipped a hand sideways to stop me. I ducked it, bringing the blade up toward her pale throat, adrenaline surging. She caught my wrist at the last second, the point of the knife touching her collar bone. A single line of blood ran down from the cut, but not nearly enough.

  “You dare try to kill me?” Mortifer snarled, bending my wrist hard until it was on the point of breaking. I released a whimper of pain and the blade clattered from my hand as Jameson collided with us, trying to pull me away. Mortifer lifted her sword, swinging it at Jameson.

  “No!” I screamed, lurching toward him, heart pounding.

  An explosion tore through the room. I staggered from the blast, stumbling into Jameson and we crashed to the floor, avoiding the swipe of Mortifer's sword. My pulse sky-rocketed.

  Jameson held me close as my ears rang and my vision trembled. Gunfire rattled around the room.

  Our friends were firing, but they weren't the only ones. Confusion gripped me as I tried to work out what was happening.

  Beyond us, at the far end of the lobby, people were pouring out of the golden lift doors. Brendan led the line. Behind him were our friends. Nirena, Darrell, Twyla-Rae, Sakura, even Decon who'd we'd saved from Rockley's old resort. Behind them was another line of Immortals, all armed to the teeth. The Vampires looked different, their skin warmer, flushed with a human kind of glow. I didn't have time to wonder why as Jameson dragged me to my feet and we stepped forward to help the fight. Silas ran to my side, firing his rifle again and again.

  My hands trembled with adrenaline as I lifted my gun, joining the barrage of fire against the Watchers. They weren't hurt by the attacks, but it held them off, stopping them from getting too close too fast. A hole was ripped into the floor in front of the Jackals. They held their axes high, letting the bullets ricochet off of their armour as they stepped around the hole to intercept Brendan and the others. We weren't hurting them, not even a little.

  “Selena!” Brendan cried. “Run!”

  Someone jumped up from behind the reception desk and my heart lurched at the sight. Ulvic bloody Hund. Coward.

  He fled past us and I turned my gun toward him, panic rearing through me at the thought of him escaping. Mortifer stepped into my way, raising her sword to fight me.

  “No!” I gasped in alarm, lurching backwards to avoid a swing of the blade.

  A ping sounded as a small metal object bounced between us, landing before Mortfier's feet. Fear sped through me as my eyes fell to it. A grenade.

  Someone dragged me backwards and threw me to the ground as the blast tore through the floor.

  I glanced over my shoulder, finding Silas holding me down, panting in my ear. It took a moment for me to regain my senses, my breaths coming in ragged pants.

  Mortifer had teleported to the other side of the room, joining the Jackals as they cut down our allies. I wanted them to run, to escape.

  Several of the Immortals had fallen, their bodies bloodied and mangled on the ground, but I couldn't tell who was amongst the carnage.

  “We have to run,” Silas breathed in my ear.

  Hands hauled me upright and I found Jameson there, his eyes pinned on Silas. “Did you just throw a grenade at my girlfriend!?”

  “Not at her,” Silas growled.

  “He saved me,” I said quickly, pushing away from both of them.

  Ulvic was at the lift, leaping inside. The doors slid across.

  No.

  I spotted Brendan being shielded by Sakura and Darrell. He had his hands raised, chanting something loudly. My mind whirled. We had to get out of there.

  “Stop him!” Mortifer cried, making a beeline for Brendan. Colt sprinted toward her, looking like he was planning a rugby tackle. Mercy tore after him, firing a gun someone had given her, the shots ringing off the heads of the Jackals.

  Mortifer swung her sword high above Sakura's head. She flinched, but the sword never fell. The air twisted and writhed around us. The Watchers started to disappear with screams and cries of frustration.

  Mortifer turned as Colt crashed into her, but her form shuddered and trembled as if she was about to evaporate. She grabbed Colt by the arm and swung toward Mercy in the same movement. In a flash, the three of them were gone.

  Silence fell in the wake of the Watchers' absence. My heart hammered in my chest.

  “No!” Rockley cried. “My son!”

  My eyes wheeled to him, bloody and broken on the floor. Unarmed.

  I tore toward him at speed, murder on my mind. Rockley spotted me coming, scrambling to his feet and sprinting toward the reception desk.

  Someone grabbed my arm, for
cing me to a halt. I turned, finding Jameson there. His eyes were wild. “We don't have time.”

  I gazed longingly after Rockley as he made it to the lift doors that led back into the resort. Lifting my gun, I took a measured breath and pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed into his shoulder. He cried out in anger, stumbling into the lift, the doors closing smoothly behind him. Jameson pulled me away as disappointment rolled through me.

  He dragged me into a run and we sped toward Brendan and the others, my heart pattering out of control.

  “What did you do?” Jameson demanded of Brendan.

  Brendan opened his hand, revealing a black symbol burnt into his palm. “I banished them. But not for long. I closed the Ianuae Magicae in this area. But it won't hold. We have minutes at most.”

  Selena ran forward, throwing her arms around him.

  He squeezed her tight then led us toward the lift. “Everyone – this way!”

  We ran after him, the survivors all piling into the lift. I eyed my friends. Everyone I loved was alive. And that was a small miracle. But I couldn't help but be angry with myself for letting Rockley go.

  Jameson and I were squashed into the back of the lift next to Silas.

  I eyed my family, thankful they'd survived the onslaught. Dad pressed close to Curt, holding onto him like he was the only solid thing in the world.

  “So you saved Cass,” Jameson muttered to Silas as the lift rose upwards, making my stomach spin from the speed it was moving.

  “Of course,” Silas muttered.

  “Thank you,” Jameson said through his teeth like it pained him to do so.

  Silas eyed him for a moment, a grin tugging at his mouth. “Are we having a moment?” he whispered.

  “Yeah,” Jameson muttered. “Why does liking you hurt so much?”

  Silas chuckled. “Cass never found it that hard.”

  Jameson's lips pursed. “It's gone. I hate you again.”

  Silas's laughter rang out and I shook my head at them.

  “How did you get here so fast?” Varick asked Brendan.

  “My Viden friend had a plane. And it was damn lucky she did, or you'd all be in prison by now.” The back of Brendan's neck turned red.