Age of Vampires- The Complete Series

by Caroline Peckham

  “Valentina?” Magnar asked in surprise, his gaze sliding over her new form with unveiled disgust. “What have you done to yourself?”

  “We are betrothed, Magnar,” she said, her voice silky as she stepped closer. “And yet you chose to sleep for a hundred years. How else could I have been here when you woke? You made a promise to wed me.”

  A tinkling laughter filled my ears and I sensed Idun was still near, amused by their interaction. The sound set my teeth on edge and the hairs raised along the back of my neck. I wasn’t sure if the others could hear her or not. None of them reacted to the laughter if they could.

  “I presumed that you would live out your years while I slept,” Magnar growled. “I hoped you’d find love with someone else.”

  “Someone else? But I made a promise to you Magnar. It’s etched into my skin.” She brushed her fingertips across a tattoo which curled above her heart and as I looked at it I realised it was a twin to the one Magnar hated.

  “You cannot think I would still marry you?” Magnar asked in disbelief.

  Julius released a laugh. “You say still as if you might have gone through with it once. I don’t think that was ever the case.”

  Valentina’s eyes flashed dangerously and Julius schooled his expression.

  “You swore an oath to me. Or have you forgotten that now that you’ve found a new toy to play with?” Her gaze landed on me and a cool breeze gusted around us.

  “I’m not anybody’s toy,” I growled. I didn’t trust this bloodsucker no matter who she’d once been and I didn’t like the way she looked at Magnar as if he belonged to her.

  “I hope you don’t feel special?” she asked. Her gaze dripping over me full of disdain. “You won’t be the first whore I’ve had to chase from his bed.”

  My gaze slipped to Magnar as a sense of unease filled me. Just how many women was she referring to? Was I just another number to add to some long list?

  “You won’t speak to her like that,” Magnar growled. He drew Tempest from his back and stepped towards her, clearly intending to end her now.

  “We need her, brother,” Julius said softly, laying a hand on Magnar’s arm.

  “You think we should trust one of them? She’s a parasite now; there’s only one thing to be done with them.”

  Fear flickered in Valentina’s gaze but she fought hard to cover it.

  “Wait,” she breathed, raising a hand as Magnar advanced on her. “Do you really intend to break your word to the goddess?”

  “I swore to marry a woman. I also swore to destroy every vampire in existence,” he replied, his voice dangerously low. “I ended my own father’s suffering in much the same way. What makes you think I’d stay my hand for you?”

  “After everything we’ve been through together?” she asked, backing away from him. “This is how little you respect your word to Idun?”

  “It is you who has disrespected their oath. You swore to remove vampires from this earth not add to their numbers.”

  Magnar lifted his sword but he froze suddenly. It was as though his muscles had seized up and he’d lost control of his body. Julius attempted to move towards him but he froze too, a look of panic gripping his features. My heart leapt as I tried to step towards them but found myself rooted to the spot.

  A feeling like icy water ran along my limbs as I stilled as well. I couldn’t lift my blade or raise a fist. I couldn’t so much as turn my head. All I could do was stare in horror at Valentina as she padded towards Magnar on bare feet.

  Idun’s grip on my soul tightened and I felt like a fist was squeezing my heart.

  “I told you Magnar, you must fulfil your promise to me before I will break your betrothal.” Idun’s voice echoed around us and a shiver raced down my spine.

  Valentina’s mouth lifted into a radiant smile as the goddess protected her from Magnar’s wrath. She closed the distance between them, pushing up onto her tiptoes as she ran a hand along the side of Magnar’s face. Anger prickled through me as I was forced to watch.

  “I loved you so much,” she breathed, gazing into his eyes. “We could have had it all. I gave you my heart Magnar Elioson but you broke it time and again. This was your last chance.”

  “I never wanted you when you were mortal, Valentina,” he growled. “And if you truly thought for a second that I’d want you like this then you are utterly deluded. I’d cut my own heart out sooner than I’d give it to you.”

  She hissed at him, baring her fangs and revealing the monster which lay behind the mask. “Did you think I would just let you leave me alone, shamed and abandoned while you ran off to chase glory in the future?”

  “I didn’t much care what you did. So long as it wasn’t with me,” he replied and I couldn’t help the surge of pleasure I felt as the sting of his words hit her.

  “Well as you have taken so much from me, perhaps it’s time I returned the favour,” she whispered, placing her hand on his chest. “Goodbye for now, husband.”

  She pressed closer to him, leaning in until her lips met his. I could see the rage dancing in his eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck, moulding her body to his.

  A feral kind of anger built in me and I longed to rip her off of him and smash her beautiful face against the sole of my boot.

  A breath sighed across the back of my neck, releasing my muscles from Idun’s control.

  Power flowed through my body as rage flooded me and I ran at Valentina with Fury raised to strike her heart.

  She heard me coming at the last second and turned just enough for my blow to catch her shoulder instead. I buried Fury deep into her flesh and she spun away from me with a scream of outrage.

  I caught her long hair in my hand, yanking her back before she could escape. I lost my grip on Fury as it remained lodged in her back so I slammed my fist into her face instead.

  Magnar and Julius remained frozen in Idun’s grasp, forced to watch as our battle played out. I could sense the goddess’s amusement as I fought to destroy the vampire who had once been a slayer.

  Valentina howled like a banshee and threw her arms around my waist, tackling me and sending us both crashing to the ground. I yanked on her hair and ripped a chunk of it out at the roots.

  Valentina screamed, managing to get on top of me. She straddled me and squeezed with her thighs to keep me beneath her.

  Her fist slammed into my face and I tasted blood as my cheek collided with my teeth.

  I punched her solidly in the stomach, forcing her to double over so that I could get my hands around her neck.

  I was going to kill this psychotic bitch. I squeezed so hard that something popped and she threw her weight back, breaking out of my grasp and leaping to her feet as she coughed.

  I jumped up too, spitting the blood from my mouth as I prowled after her.

  She ripped Fury from her back and threw it at me. I twisted aside, managing to catch the loyal blade as it passed my ear.

  Kill her, it hissed, longing to pierce her heart.

  Valentina’s eyes widened and she turned to flee.

  I raced after her, my feet swift over the crumbing ruins as she sped away between the wreckage.

  Magnar called out to me as I left him behind, frozen alongside his brother. But I couldn’t let her get away. She needed to pay the price for what she’d become. She would die for abandoning her vow and joining the bloodsuckers.

  As she weaved from side to side, grey clouds filled the sky and thunder crashed overhead. I glanced up, missing the feeling of the sun on my skin as the unnatural storm built in intensity.

  I rounded a final corner and stopped suddenly as I spotted her standing in the centre of a wide open space. A male vampire stood beside her, his mouth parted in a grin which revealed his sharp fangs. If it was possible, he was even more stunning than the Elite. His hazel hair was pulled back into a neat tail at the base of his neck and his black suit was immaculate.

  My gut told me who he was. I was standing face to face with one of the Belvederes
.

  My breath caught in my throat as my eyes stayed fixed on his ethereal beauty. Something like him shouldn’t exist. He was unnatural, enticing and terrifying all at once. I wanted to turn and run screaming from him but he held me captive in his gaze. I was struck with the sense that it would be more dangerous to run from him than it would be to stand my ground.

  “How nice of you to save me the trouble of hunting you down, Callie. Valentina’s Familiar told me where to find you but I didn’t expect you to come running to me like this,” he purred and his voice was smooth and alluring. A little bat fluttered around his head and it came to rest on Valentina’s outstretched hand for a moment as she smirked at me.

  “I’m pretty sure I’m the one hunting you,” I replied, my voice low and filled with a confidence I wasn’t sure I felt.

  “So it’s true? You’ve taken your vow?” His eyes were alight with curiosity as he took a step closer to me.

  My heart leapt with fear.

  “Maybe you’d like to see how my training is coming along?” I offered as Fury practically vibrated with the desire to kill this vampire who called himself royal. I widened the channel which connected me to my gifts, letting them flow into me like never before as I prepared to take him on.

  “Maybe you can show me once we’re wed?” His eyes glittered as they slid over me in a way that made me feel naked. I wanted to hide from his gaze and hope that he would forget he’d ever seen me at all.

  “I’d sooner die,” I growled.

  Lightning flashed overhead, illuminating the crumbling buildings which surrounded us. More vampires than I could count lay waiting within each window and doorway. Fear flickered through me and I wondered if I might stand a better chance if I ran.

  “You are quite the specimen,” the Belvedere said as he began to prowl towards me. His movements were fluid and feline. I planted my feet in anticipation of a fight. I wouldn’t let him take me. No matter what happened, this monster wouldn’t get his hands on me. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a beautiful human. Wouldn’t you agree, Valentina?”

  Thunder crashed violently overhead. “She’s nothing special, Fabian,” she spat dismissively but I didn’t miss the anger which flashed in her eyes at the comment.

  “Come now, jealousy doesn’t suit you. Look at the colour of her hair. At those stunning eyes which just want to drink in the whole world. And her mouth... I could take a lot of pleasure from that mouth alone.”

  Thunder boomed again and the wind picked up furiously. I shivered in my thin shirt, cursing the loss of my coat as rain flooded down from the heavens.

  “I get it. You want to screw her. You don’t have to pretend she’s something special in the process.” Valentina glared at me as if I was responsible for the things he’d said and I swallowed back the fear that grew in me. I was a slayer. I didn’t need to fear the likes of her.

  “Cat got your tongue, Callie?” Fabian asked. He ignored the pounding rain as it drenched him, sliding his jacket from his shoulders and tossing it aside. The water quickly turned his white shirt transparent and it clung to his muscular frame indecently. I got the feeling that was meant to be for my benefit and my lip curled back in disgust.

  “I have nothing to say to you, bloodsucker,” I growled.

  His eyes lit with excitement and he smiled at me in a way which seemed like it was meant to be flirtatious. It only made me want to stab him more.

  “Hurry Fabian,” Valentina interrupted anxiously. “Who knows how long the goddess will hold the brothers? My bargain with Idun won’t buy us much more time.”

  “It would be my pleasure,” he replied hungrily.

  He shot towards me in a blur of motion and I barely had time to react before he was upon me. He seized my arms but I’d already prepared for it and I slammed my shoulder into his chest, throwing him off balance.

  I gave my body over to the memories of my ancestors as he tried to grab me again and I twisted away from him.

  As he advanced, I ducked low and stabbed Fury at his thigh. He slammed a hand into the side of my wrist and I cried out as the force of it resounded through my bones.

  “Callie!” Magnar bellowed from somewhere close in the ruins and my heart soared as I realised he’d been released from Idun’s grasp.

  “Here!” I yelled as I leapt away from Fabian.

  He hounded after me with a deadly desire in his eyes as I managed to evade his grasp again and again.

  In the corner of my eye, I noticed vampires flooding out of hiding as they moved to intercept Magnar and Julius.

  Fabian drove me back, forcing me further from the other slayers as I tried once more to land Fury in his chest.

  The rain slammed down on us, running over my face and pooling beneath my feet. I slashed my blade towards his stomach and he batted my hand aside.

  “Come on, you know you can’t beat me. You may as well stop this,” Fabian said, leaning close to me.

  I couldn’t resist the urge to swipe Fury towards his throat and he snarled as he caught my arm, dragging me against him.

  I tried to fight my way out of his grip but his fingers locked on my elbow like iron.

  “Please let me go,” I breathed and a smile graced his lips as I begged.

  He tugged me closer and I forced the resistance to sink out of my body as he reeled me in. “That’s better,” he purred.

  Once I was sure he thought he had me beaten, I released my grip on Fury in the hand he held immobilised and caught it in the other, driving it towards his heart. He lurched away from me at the last second but the blade still drove deep into his stomach.

  Bright red blood gushed over my hand as he shoved me out of his arms. I staggered back but managed to stay on my feet.

  “Shit,” he hissed as Fury burned his skin and the stench of smoking flesh reached me.

  Before he could remove the blade, I turned and fled. My boots pounded through deep puddles as I ran as fast as I could, locking my sights on Magnar and Julius as they fought the horde of vampires dividing us.

  I sped towards them, mourning the loss of Fury as I raced across the concrete.

  Tempest swung in a high arc as Magnar bellowed a challenge and my heart lifted with hope. He was so close. I only had to reach the two of them and I knew we would be able to fight our way out of this.

  My face collided with something impossibly solid and I cried out as strong arms gripped me. I looked up and found another Belvedere staring down at me. His blonde hair was pushed back in a boyish quaff and his lips lifted in an amused smile as he resisted my attempts to break away from him.

  “Got ya.” He grinned.

  He yanked me against his chest, clamping me in place with one arm while pulling something from his pocket.

  I screamed as I spotted the needle and started thrashing against his hold. I bit down on his arm, tasting something sickly sweet as I broke the skin. I spat to remove his blood from my mouth and he shoved the needle into my neck.

  “Sorry about this,” he muttered as my limbs relaxed and my heart thrummed like a hummingbird in my chest. “We’ll break the curse together, you’ll see.”

  “No,” I breathed as darkness curtained my vision and he pulled me into his arms. “No...”

  I played Erik the video of Valentina on her phone and he watched with a mixture of emotions skewing his expression. We sat side by side on the cream sofa in the bedroom, the air thick between us since my admission. That I wanted Erik to love me. And I wanted to love him back. Yet…I hadn’t said it. Something had held my tongue. And I had a deep fear in my heart that it was to do with my father. I felt like I was betraying him. Spitting on his grave after he’d died at the hands of a vampire. How could I ever allow myself to love one of them? But how could I ever stop..?

  Erik reached to take the phone from me but I pulled it away, swiftly tucking it into my pocket.

  He pursed his lips. “I think it’s time you told me where she is.”

  “I think it’s time you stopped bossi
ng me around.”

  He fought a smile, but I could see that I was getting under his skin. And I liked it. I wanted to burrow in and make a home there. But hell, I really shouldn’t have.

  “I kept up my end of the deal,” he pointed out.

  “Not all of it. I still have to go back to Julius.”

  His eyes flashed with hurt. “I thought maybe you’d changed your mind after…” He cleared his throat and I shifted awkwardly in my seat.

  “Well…I haven’t. I can’t stay, Erik. I can’t live like this anymore.”

  He sighed and I could tell he was about to give in. Lightning flashed beyond the window, stealing our attention. My heart doubled its pace and I rose to my feet, moving to the balcony as a sheet of rain swept over the house.

  “No,” I gasped, wrenching the door open and stepping out onto the balcony. A cold wind battered my cheeks as I gazed toward the city. The clouds were thickest over the ruins and seemed to swirl in a dangerous storm.

  Erik joined my side and his hand landed on my arm. I jolted, suddenly feeling trapped. If Valentina had been caught, did that mean Julius had been too? Or what if he was lying in the rubble somewhere, his body lifeless and cold?

  I couldn’t bear it. Panic seized me and I backed away from Erik as he turned to me with the storm reflecting in his eyes. I no longer had any leverage on him and my world was spinning wildly out of control.

  His phone rang in his pocket and he took it out, lifting it to his ear, his eyes remaining on me.

  “Fabian?” he answered curtly. After a beat, he pressed his thumb to the screen and his brother’s voice emitted from the phone.

  Relief spilled through me. Erik wasn’t going to go back on his word. He was letting me in to his world and offering me the information I was desperate for.

  “-since you disappeared off the face of the earth this morning, the rest of us have dealt with saving the entire city.”

  “You found Valentina?” Erik guessed and I took an anxious step toward him, the hairs on the back of my neck creeping to attention. I had to know if Julius was alright. That he wasn’t dead because of the plan we’d made together.