The sound of the engine built to a whirring hum and a faint judder rumbled through the room. I gripped the arm of my chair as the train slid out of the station. Adrenaline pounded through me and my stomach swooped as the train picked up speed.
The view outside my window began to blur together, the valley slipping away quickly until we shot across a wide open field. I had to work hard to keep my breathing calm as the world raced by outside. My brain scrambled to keep up with the rapidly changing view. I could hardly comprehend the speed at which we must have been travelling.
My hand gripped the arm of the chair so tightly that my bones showed white through my skin.
We were moving so fast. I never could have imagined such a thing was possible.
As I fought to accept it, one clear thought found me and I clung onto it.
I’m coming, Monty. All the vampires in the world can’t stop me.
My heart began to slow again as the view outside became less daunting. The speed shouldn’t have frightened me. It was my ally.
The door behind me slid open and I jolted with surprise. I pushed myself to my feet and turned to face the Elite I’d met on the platform. Fury seethed angrily on my leg and I shifted my position slightly, hoping he wouldn’t notice it through the grey dress.
“Well that went smoothly. As expected,” he said as he leant against the door frame.
“Yes, everything went to plan,” I agreed, wondering why on Earth he’d sought me out.
“I presume your report to your master will reflect that then?” He folded his arms, drawing attention to his biceps as they bulged through his white shirt. I got the impression it was intentional.
“Of course,” I agreed.
“And just who is that?” he pushed. “Because we’ve never met before and I was sure I knew all of Count Fabian’s sirelings. So who exactly sent you here to check up on us?”
My pulse pounded in my ears and I swallowed nervously, hoping my statuesque face didn’t betray an ounce of my fear. “Who do you think?” I asked, not knowing which of the Belvederes was the most likely to be poking their nose into Fabian’s business.
“Of course. Count Erik is always hoping to find something he can use against my master,” the Elite sneered. “I should have known.”
“Well now you have your answer, I’d like to get some rest before we reach New York,” I replied icily, hoping he’d get the hint and leave me alone.
He nodded and glanced back out into the corridor but he didn’t leave.
“I apologise if I was a little... abrupt. It’s my job to see to my master’s best interests. I’m sure you understand.”
“Of course,” I agreed. My palms were growing slick and I clasped them together, hoping to hide the human reactions of my body.
“But there’s no reason for our sires to get between us.” He turned back to look at me and his face lit with a dazzling smile. “I’m Benjamin. Ben if you prefer.”
My mind raced with ideas of how I was going to rid myself of this vampire. He clearly had no intention of going anywhere and my skin crawled as I noted the look in his eye. The longer I was caught in his company the more likely it was that he’d catch me in a lie. I couldn’t let him discover what I really was but I just had to play along.
“Lauren,” I replied, my mind landing on the name of a girl I’d known in our Realm. She’d been mean and selfish so her name seemed fitting for a vampire.
His smile widened and he slid the door closed behind him, taking a step towards me. My gut plummeted as the immortal predator stalked closer. My gifts weren’t entirely reliable and I doubted my chances against one of the Elite. Even Magnar found them hard to defeat.
“This is going to be a long journey. I’m sure we could both do with a distraction to pass the time.” His gaze slid over me and my heart raced as I wondered how to get out of this situation without giving him what he wanted.
“How did you get that scar?” I asked, eyeing the silver line which marred his face. I hoped to stall him with conversation while I struggled to think of a way out of this which wouldn’t alert his attention.
He raised the eyebrow which was broken by the scar and gave me a lopsided smile. “Do you like it? In a world so full of beauty I’ve begun to think a little ugliness is quite becoming. I got it a long time ago in the Final Purge of the slayers. The one who gave me this faced a rather brutal end... Of course that was before the anti-biting laws came into force.” He sighed wistfully. “Were you around when we could drink from the vein?”
“Umm, no, I wasn’t,” I said, hoping he didn’t keep asking me questions because I really had no idea how to answer them.
“A shame... not that I’m saying we should go back to that of course. We all have to evolve.” He stepped towards me purposefully and I forced my mind away from the hunger in his eyes.
“Like I said, I’m tired so-”
“Don’t worry, Count Erik will never find out and there’s nothing like the thrill of sleeping with the enemy.” He prowled towards me and I shifted so that the chair was between us. I wasn’t sure if I should shut him down outright or feign interest. What if vampires didn’t take no for an answer? Maybe they were like animals who just took what they wanted by force. Nothing would surprise me.
“No thanks,” I said coolly. “I’m really not available.”
His gaze shifted to my hand where it gripped the back of the chair and he lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t wear your mate’s ring. He cannot mean so much to you if you don’t wish to declare your loyalty to the world.”
My mind swirled as I tried to figure out what he was saying. He must have thought I’d been telling him I was married or something of the sort. I quickly pulled the necklace holding my mother’s wedding ring out from beneath my dress to show him.
“I keep it close to my heart,” I said, hoping that the vampires clung to some sentiment like that. I doubted such monsters were capable of love but it seemed like they held onto the idea of it if Montana’s situation was any clue.
“Or you keep it out of sight so that you can pick and choose when you wish to remain loyal to him,” the Elite purred as he moved around the chair. I backed up but his mouth lifted as if we were playing some game.
“No. Really I-”
He shot towards me in a blur of motion, catching me around the waist and pushing me against the wall. He pressed his body to mine and my skin crawled from his touch.
“There’s no need to play hard to get. I won’t tell a soul...” He yanked on my dress and the material split up the side. His cold hand pushed inside it, meeting with the warm, human skin of my stomach.
My heart pounded with adrenaline. Fury screamed a warning. The vampire’s eyes widened in shock and confusion.
“What are-”
I snatched Fury from its sheath and slammed it into his heart before he could figure it out.
The Elite dissolved into dust and relief swept through me, swiftly followed by panic. I couldn’t be discovered. If someone realised he was missing then our whole plan might fall apart.
I stared down at his clothes and an idea filled me. If he’d come here looking to bed me then I could make it seem like that was what had happened.
A vase filled with yellow tulips sat on the table and I quickly grabbed the flowers out of it then tossed the water into the basin in the ensuite. I shook out his clothes and moved them out of the way before hastily gathering his remains into the vase. I tossed what was left of him into the toilet and flushed it, biting my lip. If I hadn’t been terrified that I might be discovered and killed at any moment then it could almost have been funny. He was a shit and I was flushing him away. A laugh burst from my lips and I shook my head to clear the stupid thoughts as I focused on my plan again.
I moved my attention back to his clothes. Unbuttoning his shirt, I tossed it over the arm of the chair then threw his pants on the floor beside the bed.
I kicked his underwear into the middle of the room, refusing to touch it with my
bare hand.
Next I pulled off my dress and threw it to the carpet too. It was ruined anyway and it would have looked strange if none of my clothes were present.
I crawled onto the bed and yanked on the sheets until they were a crumpled mess. I stuffed the pillows beneath the duvet and arranged it to look like two people could be concealed beneath them. Finally, I dropped the curtain to half hide the bed so that only the end of the bulging duvet could be seen.
I surveyed my work with satisfaction. I was certain that anyone looking into the room would believe we were in the bed. I just hoped they wouldn’t hang around to make sure.
I grabbed the long red coat and buttoned it up to hide the fact I wasn’t wearing anything beneath it then glanced at the clock. It was two thirty. I needed to find Magnar while I could still move about the train unnoticed.
My stomach was alive with nerves and I took a deep breath as I placed my hand on the door. Who knew how many vampires waited beyond the safety of this room? If they noticed anything amiss then I was done for. But Magnar was relying on me. And I wouldn’t let him down.
Julius had been deep in thought ever since Nightmare had spoken to us. He wouldn’t answer any of my questions and so far all he’d done was spew curses whilst pacing back and forth around the bell tower. I’d given up trying to speak to him and descended deep into my own thoughts.
It felt good that I’d been right to trust Erik. But that didn’t shed any light on what Nightmare had in mind for us. And what was I supposed to do now that I couldn’t even discuss it with him?
Instead, I was stuck in a tower with a guy who had a thousand-year-old vendetta against Erik. And even a way to break the curse wasn’t going to make him forget about his father’s murder.
I couldn’t take the idea that Erik had done such a terrible thing. But I’d only known him a short while. Even if I could trust him now, that didn’t mean he hadn’t done atrocious things in the past...
My heart was heavy with all of it. How in the world was I going to handle this?
A distant howl caught my ear and both Julius and I stiffened. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled to attention as another howl joined the first. Soon, an entire chorus filled the air.
“Give me your coat,” Julius demanded, striding toward me with purpose.
“Why?” I gasped, but he didn’t stop coming, bending low and wrenching it from my shoulders. “What’s happening?”
“Fabian has a pack of Familiars. Dogs. He’s been trying to catch me with them for weeks. But I’ve laid my scent all over these ruins for miles, they can’t find me. But your scent will lead them right here.”
I drew in a breath, rising to my feet. Being caught didn’t appeal to me. Not when I felt I was on the cusp of learning so much from Julius. If only he’d open up to me. And hell, I didn’t want to give up my freedom again anytime soon.
“What are you going to do?” I asked as Julius tied my navy coat around his muscular waist.
“I’ll lead them astray. And I’ll kill as many of them as I can.”
The barks of the dogs drew closer and my heart stuttered with anxiety. I rose to my feet, watching Julius as he took up his bow and tied a rope to an arrow. He stepped up onto one of the arching windows and tied the rope off on a broken metal railing jutting from the wall. He lifted the bow, aiming toward the building opposite, pulling the string taut as he tugged his arm back. He let it fly and the arrow sailed through the air, burying itself in a wooden awning on top of the roof. Julius promptly shouldered the bow and quiver.
“Right.” He turned to me. “You’re not going to do anything stupid like run off.”
“Of course not.”
“No, I know you’re not.” He snatched my wrists, using the long end of the rope that was tied to the railing to tether me in place.
Moving across the room, he picked up a sock amongst his things before returning to my side. “No screaming,” he said.
“Hey- don’t touch me with that!” I shouted, jerking away as he stuffed it in my mouth and tied it behind my head. I grimaced, praying the sock was clean as he stepped away, admiring his work.
“Lucky for you, I found a bunch of clean linen in the ruins a couple of days ago.” With a smirk, he took off his belt and looped it over the taut rope stretching between the buildings. I scowled at him, a heated anger flowing through me. He gripped the ends of the belt tightly then threw himself out of the window.
I gasped against my gag, leaning as far forward as I could to watch as he slid across the rope at high speed and landed with grace on the building opposite.
He vanished down a set of stairs and I gazed into the street, frantically searching for any sign of the dogs.
All was quiet, but trepidation niggled at my gut. They couldn’t be far…
A moment later Julius appeared, his hood pulled up as he moved into a shadowy alley opposite the tower, rubbing my coat across the wall as he went.
My breathing increased as he headed away and I tried to wriggle my hands free from the rope. It was no good. He’d tied it too well, leaving me trapped here.
Rage coiled in my gut. How could I have thought for a second that I was actually free? Now I was just someone else’s damn prisoner.
Eyeing the sharp piece of railing extending from the wall, I clambered up onto the stone ledge and rested the rope against it. I started rubbing it back and forth, determined to free myself.
If any of those dogs found me, who knew what they’d do? I still didn’t trust Fabian; he was the ruler of the Realms. Even if he hadn’t been responsible for Faulkner’s death, someone had still tried to kill me just days ago. And I hadn’t ruled him out. So I sure as hell wasn’t going to be a sitting duck if his Familiars found me.
The howls drew closer and I worked harder to break my binds, rubbing them back and forth as the rope frayed. With a snap, they fell loose and my heart swelled with triumph. Tugging the sock from my mouth, I knelt down on the ledge and gazed out at the road below.
The pounding of paws carried this way and I ducked low as the first of the creatures arrived. A huge black dog appeared with drool foaming at its mouth. Its powerful jaws looked capable of crushing bone and I shrank further into my hiding place as it padded alongside the tower. Lifting its head, it sniffed the air then darted down the alley Julius had taken.
My pulse thrummed in my ears.
What would I do if he was caught? Run from here? Or go back to the city? I racked my brain for answers, wishing Julius hadn’t taken Nightmare so I could call on it for help. It had told us Erik was important. But the other riddles it spewed didn’t make any sense to me. Monster made? Did that mean the vampires? Was it referring to Erik?
My thoughts tumbled over one another. I wished I knew more. And that Julius hadn’t refused to share his thoughts with me on the matter. I hated being kept in the dark. There were so many things I still didn’t understand. What had Nightmare been trying to tell me? What did it know?
Hours passed and the sun sank low behind the haze of clouds, lighting them in pink and amber tones. Though I was free, I hadn’t considered leaving the tower. I’d made my mind up. I’d wait for Julius to return and force answers from his lips.
Darkness engulfed the world but my eyes soon adjusted to the dim room around me. A cold wind was picking up and without my coat to keep me warm, I soon buried myself in Julius’ blankets.
After a while, a huff of exertion carried to my ears beyond the closest archway. My heart clenched but a moment later Julius hauled himself over the ledge and my fear ebbed away. “Shit. Where are you?”
“Here,” I said, sitting up from the pile of blankets to reveal myself.
He sighed his relief, moving toward me and kneeling down. “I should have known I couldn’t keep a girl of slayer blood bound with rope. But I’m glad you’re still here. You trust me then?”
“I guess…if Nightmare does.”
He grunted, then prodded my side. “Move over. It’s been a long time since I
had someone to share warmth with.” I didn’t miss his suggestive tone but wondered if he could see the glare I gave him in the darkness.
I shifted to give him room and he pulled the blankets across both of us, snuggling up close beside me.
“Are they gone?” I asked, shamelessly huddling against him, the heat of his body like a godsend.
“I laid trails all over the ruins and back into the city. They’ll be chasing their tails until sunrise. Most of them will be anyway. One of them got Nightmare in the eye.”
I sucked in a breath as he pressed something warm into my palm.
“Calm down, it’s just the blade.” I could hear the grin in his voice as my fingers wrapped around Nightmare’s hilt and a soothing energy rolled into me.
I cleared my throat, my cheeks growing warm. “So are you ever going to share your thoughts on what Nightmare told us earlier?”
Julius pushed his thigh up against mine. “Do you know about the prophecy?”
“The what?” I asked.
“Hm,” he sighed. “Okay let’s start from the beginning.”
“Alright,” I said, curious to hear his story.
“A god called Andvari is responsible for the vampire curse,” he revealed, making my heart pound out of rhythm. “Long story short, the Belvederes’ parents royally pissed him off and he cursed their children to hunger for human blood forevermore. But in order to do so, Andvari stole from a goddess called Idun. He fed the Belvederes her immortal fruit to create the curse.”
“Okay...” I breathed, trying to let myself believe such things.
Julius went on, “So Idun created us in retaliation. The slayers. We’re born to end the curse Andvari made. Which either means we have to wipe the vampires from the face of the earth or we have to break the curse by figuring out the answer to Andvari’s prophecy.”
“Which is?” I asked, a creeping sensation inching through me. Nightmare vibrated in my palm at his words, encouraging me to believe every one of them.
Age of Vampires- The Complete Series Page 58
