“Don’t doubt yourself, Brother. I certainly never have,” Julius said firmly.
“I’ve never doubted you either,” I replied, pulling out of my brother’s arms and laughing at our overt display of affection.
He clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to leave a bruise.
“No more of this moping shit,” he said bracingly. “We’ve got enough real problems to deal with.”
“That’s true enough,” I agreed with a smile.
“Like the fact that you have laid claim to the only remaining mortal woman we know. Do you realise how pathetic that makes me feel?”
“Are there no other issues that concern you at this moment?” I asked in amusement.
“None so pressing,” he sighed in exasperation as he leant back on his elbows. “You know I haven’t bedded a woman in a thousand years. A thousand years!”
I laughed, punching him in the bicep playfully. “You’re an idiot. You were asleep for all those years. I'm sure if you hadn't been, the women of the world would have been semi-satisfied by you while they pined for the better looking brother.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Magnar. When I was put into that slumber, the women of our clan wept with the knowledge that they’d never again know the level of pleasure I was able to provide them.”
“And their husbands cheered with the relief of knowing they’d never again have to chase you from their tents.”
Julius laughed and I smiled as I thought about our people. I hadn’t allowed myself to think about them much since I’d awoken but I missed them horribly whenever I did. It was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that they’d all been lost to time so long ago. Elissa, Aelfric, even their children would have grown old and had lives of their own. And I missed my mother most of all. I guessed I’d never know how their lives had panned out. Or how they’d ended.
“I don’t know if I would have agreed to come if I’d known the future held no women,” Julius joked.
“No women for you,” I teased in response.
“Well I suppose that seeing you this happy is worth the sacrifice,” he said with a sigh. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look at a woman the way you look at her.”
“That’s because I haven’t,” I replied. “Callie is… everything I’d given up on having. From the first moment I saw her racing towards a group of vampires unarmed in the name of helping her family, I knew she was it. I just didn’t believe I could truly have her at the time.”
“Well happiness suits you, Brother. It’s been too long since I saw what it looked like on you.”
The door eased open and Callie slipped back in. Her cheeks were damp with tears but a hopeful smile lit her face.
“She’s alright?” I guessed, getting to my feet.
“Yes,” she breathed, moving towards me and slipping into my arms. “Better than alright. She sounds good, really good and I…” she trailed off as her arms tightened around me and I got the sense that she was afraid to voice what she’d been about to say.
“Go on,” I urged, trailing my fingers through her golden hair as the feeling of her body in my arms made my soul hum contentedly.
“I told her I want to see her.”
I glanced at Julius as doubts crept through me and he shrugged unhelpfully in response.
“Are you sure that that’s the safest thing to do right now?” I asked.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” she demanded, leaning back to frown up at me. I could see that she’d already made her mind up and my jaw ticked with irritation. She was so damn wilful sometimes and though I loved it about her it also drove me insane.
“Probably because you’ll smell totally tempting to her right about now,” Julius supplied casually.
Callie glared at him, pushing her way out of my arms as tension grew in her posture. I didn’t want to release her but she didn’t really give me any option.
“Montana would never hurt me,” she snapped.
“Well, human Montana wouldn’t have,” Julius agreed.
“You sound just like Erik,” she muttered and tension licked down my spine at the mention of that creature’s name.
“Why were you talking to him?” I asked irritably. We may have called time on our conflict but I found it hard to imagine any real way for us to work together on solving the prophecy. At least not face to face. My hatred for him still burned as strongly as ever and leaving him and his evil brother alive had been one of the hardest things I’d ever done in my life.
“Well if you must know, I went to his dream last night.”
Silence followed her statement and my hands curled into fists as I tried not to let my anger get the better of me.
Julius sucked in a sharp breath and I glared at him as he got to his feet.
“That’s my cue to leave,” he said hastily. “Because this domestic is about to turn violent.” He passed me and moved outside as fast as he could without actually running.
“Before you start,” Callie said. “Will you at least hear me out?”
I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering what she expected me to say. “Fine,” I bit out, folding my arms as I waited to hear her story.
Callie sighed dramatically as if she thought that I was the one who was behaving unreasonably and she dropped down to take a seat beside the small fire.
She raised an eyebrow, waiting until I lowered myself down beside her and she gave me an assessing look before she spoke.
“When I fell asleep last night, I went in search of my sister like we’d planned but she wasn’t sleeping-”
“And Erik Belvedere was?” I growled, realising why she would have been tempted into approaching him. She’d been distraught with worry and he would have held the answers she so desperately needed.
“He was,” Callie confirmed. “And once he’d told me that Montana was okay, he asked to show me something else; something that I think you should know.”
“I have no interest in anything that parasite had to tell you,” I replied.
“He didn’t tell me; he showed me.”
I sighed heavily, sensing she wasn’t going to let this drop until she told me what she’d found out. “Showed you what?”
“How he came to turn your father into a vampire,” she breathed.
I stared at her, wondering how on Earth she could have come to discuss such a thing with him. Why would he show her that? But I was curious despite myself. I’d always regretted the fact that I hadn’t been present for that battle. Always wondered if my presence there could have made any difference at all. Callie seemed to sense the fact that I wanted to hear more and she reached out for my hand before continuing.
“Before the battle, Erik had locked himself away from the world, trapped himself inside a cave and refused the call of blood for two hundred years. He was trying to deny his nature. Trying to pay a debt in suffering so that the gods might release him and his family from their curse-”
“And you believed that?” I scoffed. It was true that Erik hadn’t been sighted for hundreds of years prior to that battle but I highly doubted he’d been doing anything so noble as that.
“It’s true,” Callie said firmly. “I saw it. I felt what he felt, he showed me true memories and I don’t believe he could have lied to me there no matter if he wanted to or not.”
I frowned at her. My mother had always said the same of her gifts. No man could lie to a Dream Walker. They had a window into your soul and while they visited you, you could only show them the truth.
“Well he obviously decided to abandon his sacrifice,” I growled.
“He didn’t. Fabian came and got him when the battle began. The rest of the Belvederes needed his help and when he arrived at the battlefield he was starving, insatiable. And Andvari seized control of him.”
“You mean to say the god had a hand in it?” I growled angrily, wondering why that even surprised me. It seemed the deities lived to heighten our suffering. Every foul thing in my life always led back to them one way or another.
Callie nodded sadly. “By the time Erik regained his senses only your father was left alive. He was mortally wounded and he was murmuring about his love for his wife and his sons. Andvari whispered a line from the prophecy in Erik’s ear, making him believe that turning your father might be the answer to solving their curse.”
“How could he possibly believe such a thing?” I demanded but a crater was opening up in my chest. My hatred for Erik Belvedere ran in my veins, it had moulded me into the man I was. If he had never planned to send my father back as a monster in the hopes of destroying the last of my people. If he’d never intended to murder hundreds of my kin. If he hadn’t even had control of his own flesh at the time… I shook my head unable to chisel away at my hatred for him.
“You know how convincing the gods can be when they want something,” Callie said softly. “Your father was the first human Erik ever turned. He never planned to do it. I don’t know if that changes anything or if it changes everything…”
I stared into her deep blue eyes as I tried to make sense of what she was saying. It was so much to take in. I had no idea how to process something like that. It altered the most monumental moment of my life. It meant so many things could be viewed differently. But it also didn’t change others. I just didn’t know where to begin with unravelling it.
“Thank you,” I breathed finally. “For telling me. It can’t have been easy for you to see all of that.”
Callie shifted onto her knees and moved before me, trailing her fingers along the side of my face.
“I’m so sorry that that happened to your father. But when he thought his life was over, all he was thinking of was you and your family.”
I held her gaze for a long moment and she leaned forward to press a soft kiss to my lips. I pushed my fingers through her hair as I pulled her closer, wanting the reassurance of her touch. I didn’t know what to think about what she’d said but I did know how I felt about her.
She melted against me, moving into my lap as she trailed her fingertips down my chest and my blood rose beneath the pressure of her body.
“Is that true?” Julius asked as he stepped back into our shelter. He obviously hadn’t gone very far and had been listening in to our conversation.
Callie pulled away from me to look at him and I reluctantly let her go. “Yes.”
Julius nodded thoughtfully and I could see the same confusion warring in his eyes as I felt.
“So what now?” he asked.
“Now we have to go and see my sister,” Callie said firmly.
I shook my head. “I really don’t think we can risk-”
“It’s not a risk,” she interrupted stubbornly. “But if you're that worried about it then feel free to stay here while I go.”
I released a growl of frustration as I realised this wasn’t a negotiation. “And how exactly do you expect us to get to her in a city full of vampires?”
“Easy,” she replied with a smirk. “Erik’s going to pick us up.”
I sat on the bed in soft pyjamas, watching like a pervert as Erik pulled on clothes after his shower. I couldn’t get enough of him. I didn’t know if it was our time apart which drove this passionate, insatiable desire for him, or if it was always going to be like this. I couldn’t picture a day when I wouldn’t want him this much.
He walked toward me with a grin, tugging down the hem of his shirt to conceal his defined muscles.
“My eyes are up here, Rebel,” he mocked and I bit down on my lip as I smiled. “Have you forgotten I have a head attached to my body?”
“Erik!” I laughed. “You’re the one who pounced on me in the woods earlier.”
“That was to stop you running away. And I’m pretty sure it was you who took things further first.” He smirked and a hungry shiver darted down my spine at the memory.
“Alright maybe that’s true,” I said with a laugh. “Sorry I got carried away.”
He held his heart as if I’d wounded him. “Sorry? By the gods, you don’t need to be sorry. Feel free to drag me back into the woods any time you like.”
I laughed again and he halted before me with a slanted grin. As my eyes dropped to Nightmare beside me, my thoughts shifted to Callie and the slayers. They’d be on their way here now, but we had hours to kill before they arrived. And there was only one thing I wanted to do with that time, but an even more pressing issued filled me.
“So...maybe you could fill me in on this whole vampire thing? I feel like my soul has been planted in a loaded gun.”
He took my hand, pulling me up with ease and twirling me under his arm. My feet moved with grace as if they knew what to do before I did. I’d never been so assured in my movements before. My body reacted before my mind did.
“Well, your dance moves have improved,” he jibed and I rested my hand on his shoulder as I raised a brow.
“I was always a wonderful dancer.”
He laughed. “That is painfully untrue.”
“Do you miss my clumsy human ways?” I asked.
“No, because now I get to do this.” He shoved me back against the wall and my spine collided with it.
“Hey!” I glared at him. “You’re happy you can push me around without hurting me? How very gentlemanly of you.”
He caught my waist, tugging me close again. “I never said I was a gentleman.” He grinned keenly, eyeing my mouth, but I darted out of his arms, spinning back to face him with a triumphant smile.
“You’re only turning me on more by running away. Remember what fleeing from me resulted in earlier,” he said with a lustful glint in his eyes.
“You’re getting greedy,” I teased, retreating as he hounded after me. “I think you’ve had quite enough of me for one night Erik Belvedere.” My toes curled against the floorboards as I stopped moving, knowing I was just as desperate for more of him too.
He halted, folding his arms with a sideways smile. “Alright, dear wife, perhaps you have a point. We should focus on something more constructive.”
I pursed my lips, giving away my disappointment. “Like what?” I asked.
“You need to learn how to handle that body of yours,” he said. “In some other ways,” he added with a devilish expression.
“Okay…” I waited for him to go on and he moved forward, taking my hands. The runes on our palms met and electricity pounded between us. “Your nails are one of your best weapons. They’re razor sharp against your enemies.” He slid his hand up to my biceps. “And you might still look fragile, but you’re strong. You’re my sireling. Meaning you’re more powerful than any vampire sired by an Elite or less.”
I nodded, eyeing my pristine skin with awe. “Does this mean I have to call you master now?” I asked with a mocking grin.
“Only in the bedroom,” he said, barking a laugh.
“No deal,” I giggled. “Not unless you call me your highness.” I jutted up my chin, enjoying the way his eyes roamed over me.
“That doesn’t sound so bad.” He slid a hand to my face, sliding his thumb into my mouth and brushing it over my canines. “These are your best weapon of all.”
I pulled back from him. “I can’t bite someone,” I said in horror. “I won’t.”
“If it came down to a fight with an enemy, you would have to,” he said, his eyebrows pinching together.
I glanced at Nightmare where I’d left it on the bed. “I have my blade, that will always protect me.”
He pressed his lips together. “The thirst is your biggest enemy anyway. You cannot resist drinking. If you do, you will succumb to it and sink your teeth into the nearest human neck you can find.”
I knew he meant the slayers and my gut knotted at the thought. “I’ll drink the bottled blood,” I sighed. “I’ll do anything to stop that from happening.”
“Good,” he said, his tone lightening. “Have you had any more thoughts on the prophecy? You seem to be pretty good at working it out.”
“Nightmare helped,” I said, knowing I couldn’t really t
ake the credit for it. “The blade seems to know the answers. Or at least...it guides me toward them.”
Erik nodded as his gaze fell on the slayer blade. “Then ask it,” he urged and I didn’t miss the longing in his voice. He wanted this curse broken as much as I did.
I headed to the bed, dropping onto the mattress and folding my legs beneath me as I took Nightmare into my palm.
Moon Child, it purred happily as I caressed it.
“What more can you tell me about the prophecy? What is the debt paid?” I asked.
A debt paid rights wrongs of old.
“But what is the debt?” I pleaded.
In a holy mountain the Earth will heal. Then the dead shall live and the curse will keel.
I sighed heavily, looking to Erik as he stood at the edge of the bed with a desperate hope sparkling in his gaze.
“It’s just reciting the prophecy to me.”
“Make a guess. Maybe it can answer if you’re right,” he prompted, looking like I held all the answers he’d ever needed. And I wished I did.
“I don’t know…” I gazed down at Nightmare with a frown.
Erik crept onto the bed, kneeling before me. “My parents spoke of a ring. Andvari was hunting for it. I believe the one Callie possesses is the one he was looking for. They stole his treasure and hid it in a mountain. But when my siblings and I sought it out, we couldn’t enter.”
My frown deepened as I tried to find the answer hiding amongst his words. “So the debt could just be returning the ring to Andvari at the holy mountain?”
Erik’s eyes glazed with thought. “It seems too simple…”
“But what else could it mean?” I begged of him, but he didn’t have a response.
I turned my attention to Nightmare, pressing my will into it and attempting to search out the secrets it held.
“What’s the debt?” I whispered again.
The debt is that which will be lost.
“The ring?” I asked. “The ring was lost.”
The debt is that which will be lost, it repeated and I gave up, placing the blade on the bed beside me.
Age of Vampires- The Complete Series Page 109
