“Fine.” Erik ran a hand into his ebony hair, mussing it up. “I give you my word that if you do what I ask of you, I will free your father from the blood bank.”
My gut clenched tightly, my pulse thumped a frantic beat. Would he really do that? The word of a vampire was dirt to me, but what other choice did I have?
“And what about my sister?” I asked icily.
He shrugged. “When she is caught, I will ensure she doesn’t end up in the blood bank as well.”
“Or hurt,” I snarled. “Or punished at all.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Agreed.”
A frown weighed down my brows as I considered what he was offering. Could I trust him? Maybe not. But if there was even a small chance that he would keep his word, I had to do as he said.
I lifted my chin, my decision made. “What do you want me to do?”
Erik’s face split into a dark grin. “You're going to pick Fabian at the ball. But before that, you're going to make him want you so badly, he'll be begging you to choose him.”
I stared at him for several long seconds as those words sunk in. First, relief swept through me at knowing this heartless beast didn't in fact want me at all. But then the reality of what he was asking descended on me. I'd barely flirted with a boy in my entire life. From a very young age, I'd known I would never choose to bring kids into the world. And the idea of falling in love with someone who might be dragged away to the blood bank at short notice had never been on my to-do list. So how on earth was I going to pull this off?
You have to, Montana. It could save Dad and Callie.
I took a slow breath, then nodded. “Okay, but I don't um...I'm not exactly sure how to do what you're asking.”
He cocked a brow in amusement. “I do love when you're on the back foot, Rebel. It's rather entertaining. Are you telling me you don't know how to seduce a guy?”
My heart hit full speed in a matter of seconds. My cheeks flushed despite the ludicrousness of being embarrassed about this in front of a damn bloodsucker. Why did I care what he thought of my flirting skills? But my burning face told me I did.
I fumbled for the right answer in my head, trying to regain some of my pride. “Well he's not just any guy. He's a royal vampire.”
Erik rubbed his bristly chin, his fingers barely concealing another grin. I wanted to smack his smirking face, but I'd probably have ended up with more than a bruised hand for it.
“Well you'll be spending all day with me tomorrow so I'll be sure to give you some pointers.” He stood, throwing me a wink that was more demeaning than flirtatious.
“Oh how grateful I am, your mightiness,” I muttered.
“The pleasure will be all mine, I'm quite sure.” His boyish smile grew and a light flared in his eyes for the first time since I'd met him. This was a real smile, nothing like the empty grins he threw around at people. And it stoked a small fire in my gut.
As he stalked toward the door, I threw myself back on the pillows, resigning myself to a broken night's sleep and the promise of another hellish day in Erik's company. Not much to look forward to, but now that I had hopes of saving my family, the hollowness in my chest had fleshed out again. And that was what I had to hold onto.
The sound of running water called merrily to me and I managed to find the energy to up my pace despite the fatigue that had been slowing me down for the last few miles. The ruined city had given way to rolling fields interspersed with woodland. My throat was way past parched and we had gotten through the last of our drinking water after our run-in with the vampires the day before.
“Beyond the next ridge,” Magnar promised. I bit my tongue against pointing out that he’d said that about the last ridge too. The water definitely sounded closer now so I was inclined to believe him this time.
We made it up the hill lined with brown grass and thick mud and finally found the stream on the other side of it.
I dropped my bag with a groan of longing and crouched down to scoop the ice-cold water into my mouth. Magnar followed suit beside me and we satisfied our thirst in silence.
I sat back and sighed as my belly sloshed contentedly. My scalp was itching from days of leaving my hair tightly braided so I leant back against a tree and started to unravel it.
When I finished, I ran my fingers through it and left it hanging loose around my shoulders. I looked up to find Magnar watching me and heat clawed at my cheeks unexpectedly.
“You have the sun in your hair,” he commented. I was pretty sure it was meant to be a compliment but I didn’t understand it.
“What?” I frowned at him. Over the last few days I’d gotten used to the strange way he said things but some of the stuff he came out with still confused the hell out of me.
“Your hair is the colour of the sun. You shouldn’t hide it away, it will bring you luck.”
“But it won’t if I tie it up?” I teased. “That seems like pretty dubious luck to me.”
He shrugged and offered me half a smile then pulled his cloak from his back and removed his blades, carefully laying them on top of it. I raised an eyebrow as he started to unbuckle his jerkin and pulled it off to reveal his toned, muscular body. His bronze skin was marked with various scars and tattoos and I itched to ask him about them.
He noticed my attention and paused with his hand on his belt. “Does it offend you if I bathe? It seems like we should take the opportunity while we have it.”
I tried to clear my throat then shook my head. “No, I mean yes, wash. That’s a good plan.”
He kicked off his boots and removed his trousers next. As he made a move to take off his underwear too, I quickly interrupted him. “Maybe leave something to the imagination there Magnar,” I laughed. “I’m not sure I’m ready to see all of you.” I waved my hand in the vague direction of his crotch and laughed again, hoping he would get the message about unnecessary nudity without feeling the need to question me on what I meant. Heat crawled across my cheeks and I was sure that he could clearly see the blush which lined them.
His eyes glimmered with what looked almost like mischief but he blinked and it was gone. He nodded, leaving his underwear on as he waded out into the water and I was left wondering if I’d imagined it.
He made it to the middle of the icy stream and crouched down to dunk his head beneath the water. I cast furtive glances at him from beneath my lashes as the water ran over his body. It wasn’t like it meant anything; I’d have to be blind not to notice how attractive he was and it wasn’t as if I liked him aside from appreciating the shape of his body.
He was still a total ass most of the time even if he had saved my life more than once now. The few things we did have in common were far outweighed by our differences. We had literally grown up in different worlds. Once we ran out of things to tell each other about the places we came from I doubted we would find anything else to discuss.
He turned away from me and I stole a look at his broad back. The tattoos which marked his skin almost spoke to me. Like they were written in a language I used to understand. I frowned at the ridiculous thought; I couldn’t even read words written in English so I knew there was no way I could read those symbols.
As I continued to stare at him, I grew more sure of my understanding of them. They were runes just like the ones carved on the hilts of his blades. They spoke of power, devotion, honour and love.
Magnar turned towards me and I followed the path of the tattoos which marked his chest. They curved around his muscles as if he’d been born with them patterning his skin rather than having them added in ink.
I frowned in concentration as I studied a small line of runes which ran beneath his heart. The words promise and bound filled my mind as I looked at them and I bit my lip in confusion.
“Callie?” Magnar asked.
I flinched and looked up at him guiltily as he tilted his head in a way that made me feel like I’d just been caught staring. Which I supposed I had.
“Sorry,” I coughed awkwardly. “I was
just trying to decipher your tattoos and I couldn’t work out what that one meant.” I pointed at his chest and he looked down at the one I’d selected.
His lip curled back in distaste and he rubbed a thumb over the tattoo as if he wished he could scrub it from his skin.
“That is the mark of a decision I did not make for myself. I had hoped that after waking from my sleep the stain of it might have been removed from my skin. I can no longer keep that promise anyway. But it would seem that the gods still hold me to it despite the fact that I can no longer go through with it. Or perhaps they’ve just left it there to remind me.”
“What promise?” I asked before I could stop myself.
Magnar hesitated like he couldn’t decide whether to tell me then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter now. The person I made it to is long since dead so perhaps some good has come about from my situation after all. Aren’t you bathing as well?”
The sudden flip in the conversation was enough to make me drop the subject. He clearly didn’t want to talk about it and there was no reason for me to push him on it. My eyes dropped to my lap while I tried to focus on his question and I plucked a piece of grass from the riverbank, twirling it between my fingers. “Oh, I just thought I’d wait until you were done.” And until you’d gone somewhere else so that you wouldn’t be looking at me.
“We shouldn’t linger too long; the sun will set soon and we need to find somewhere to spend the night.” He started to scrub at his long hair and I nodded in defeat as I shrugged out of my coat.
I wasn’t looking forward to submerging myself in the icy stream but we’d only ever had cold water for washing in the Realm so it was nothing new.
I yanked my shirt off quickly, trying to ignore the bite of the cold wind against my exposed skin. I took my own advice and left my underwear on, silently grateful that it was black and wouldn’t turn transparent on me.
I sucked in a deep breath and held it as I plunged into the freezing water. I knew from experience that it was better to get the dunking over with fast so I ignored the protests of my shivering body and ducked down so that every part of me was submerged.
I gasped as my head broke the surface again and quickly started scrubbing at my hair and skin to remove any dirt.
I kept my back to Magnar, not wanting to know if he was tempted to look at me too. I was painfully aware of the way my bones showed through my skin and I doubted he would be overly interested in looking at the consequences of the poor rations I’d eaten in the Realm.
I dunked myself beneath the water once more to remove any final dirt then quickly rang out my long hair.
As soon as it was done, I raced back to the bank and hauled myself out again. I squealed in surprise as I came face to face with Magnar but his eyes were locked on my arm.
I followed his gaze and frowned as I spotted the strange red mark on the inside of my right forearm. It was like a curved blade with a small diamond beneath it. It almost looked like it had been burned onto my skin.
“What the-” I began but Magnar caught my hand in his before I could continue and raised it up to look at the mark.
“I knew I felt it,” he murmured as he traced his fingers over the reddened skin. I flinched as he touched it, expecting it to hurt but he was gentle, gazing at the mark as if he didn’t quite believe he was seeing it.
“What?” I asked in frustration. I half wanted to pull my arm out of his grip but I remained still as his fingers skimmed across my skin again, raising goosebumps in their wake.
A freezing wind gusted around us and I started shivering violently. I was soaking wet and almost naked. It wasn’t the most ideal way to be standing about in the depths of winter.
Magnar released me and pointed to my clothes. “Get dressed. We must find shelter for the night and then we have much to discuss.”
I didn’t need any further encouragement to put my clothes back on as another wind swept around us. I quickly fished fresh underwear out of my pack and turned my back on him to change into it before pulling the rest of my clothes back on over the top. I zipped my coat up last and pulled the hood tight around my face, more grateful than ever for the amazingly warm garment.
“Come.” Magnar turned and led the way along the stream in silence. I wanted to ask him what the hell was bugging him but the set of his shoulders told me I wouldn’t be getting any answers yet.
He set an even faster pace than usual and the difference in our strides had me half jogging to keep up with him. I cursed him under my breath, knowing he could hear me and not caring as he charged on.
Finally, a little house came into view along the stream’s bank near the foot of the valley.
The daylight was quickly bleeding out of the sky and it wouldn’t be long before night fell around us.
As we approached the little building, we started gathering firewood to see us through the night. The silence was tense between us as Magnar refused to discuss whatever was on his mind and I grew more irritated by having to wait for answers.
Eventually we made it to the building and headed inside. Everything was covered in a layer of dust but other than that, it was comfortable enough. There was a small fireplace in the living area and Magnar left me to build the fire while he headed back outside to place wards by all of the entrances to keep the vampires away.
While I waited for him, I searched the tiny kitchen and found a few cans of sweetcorn and kidney beans as well as a sealed bag of breakfast cereal which didn’t even taste stale. I heated the beans and corn over the fire in an attempt to make them more appetising and dished them up with the cereal to create a strange but perfectly edible meal.
Magnar reappeared and accepted his meal with a nod of thanks. I waited for him to finish eating it but when he still didn’t start talking, I cracked.
“Are you going to explain what this means then?” I asked, shoving my shirt sleeve up and brandishing the mark at him, fearing he might deny it was there if I didn’t prove it.
In response, Magnar pulled his jerkin over his head and held his own arm out to show me. On his inner forearm, the exact same mark stood out against his skin. His was pale, almost silver like an old scar with a touch of something more powerful to it.
“This is a slayer’s mark,” he said slowly, giving me a moment to absorb his words.
“You mean I... you...” I frowned at the mark on my arm. Apart from its pink appearance it was an exact twin to the one on his skin. “But how? I mean my dad is just... Dad. And Mom never even tried to fight back against the vampires. Not even when she was dying and they came for her. Neither of them were secret vampire hunters-”
“You have slayer blood running in your veins from one parent or another. They probably never even knew they had it. Not everyone with our blood chooses to join the order. Some natural born slayers left us and married humans, had normal lives. You are most likely descended from one of those. But for your mark to have awakened, the call of it must be strong in your blood.”
“I felt a pain in my arm right after I killed that vampire who was trying to catch me,” I said, remembering the searing burn. At the time I hadn’t been able to spare it any attention and afterwards so much had been going on that it was driven from my mind entirely.
“Embracing your slayer nature awakened some of your gifts.”
“Gifts?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about finding out that my blood was different from other people’s but I couldn’t deny the spark of excitement it ignited. If I was even the smallest bit like Magnar then I might have a chance to fight back against the vampires. It could be enough to get my family safely away from them.
“To some degree, each generation of slayer passes on their own knowledge and training to the next via their blood. If you train, you will feel things that you haven’t been taught yourself. Your senses will heighten, your reactions will get faster and once you learn to trust the instincts of your ancestors you will be able to fight the vampires as an equal.” His gaze burned with purpose and I could te
ll that he was hoping I would embrace this part of me.
“You say if I train?” I asked carefully.
“To some degree this gift is yours whether you embrace your calling or not. I can help you learn to use it and you will be stronger for it. But I cannot train you fully unless you decide to take the vow. The true extent of your gifts will not be realised until then.”
Age of Vampires- The Complete Series Page 14
