“We did what you asked,” Callie said, turning to Andvari once more as she pushed away that incredible knowledge and faced our final task. “Now break the curse.”
I nodded eagerly, stepping forward with longing.
Andvari's face twisted as if in confusion. “But my dears, you haven't paid the debt.” He placed the ring back in the recess where it belonged, eyeing us intently.
I shook my head furiously. “The ring is the debt.” I pointed at it and he moved toward me, stepping through the stone plinth as if it were made of nothing, before brushing his fingers over my cheek. His touch was icily cold and I felt it like a deadly kiss stinging my skin.
“No, it is not,” he said, his eyes swinging between us as if awaiting something else.
“What is it then? What more do you want?” Callie demanded, her posture tensing with fury.
“A riddle perhaps to help you work it out?” Andvari offered, then went on before we agreed. “What is endless, cold and dark? What creeps up and seizes hearts? What are wounds that cut too deep, a mortal in the clutches of eternal sleep...what is it, my loves, a hangman comes to reap?”
A word came to my lips, my body racked with fear as I prepared to give him the answer he craved, the answer that sealed our fates and stole everything – everything- from us.
“Death.”
As the girl I loved and her twin were consumed by the mountain, an echoing gong sounded across the plain around us. It was like an announcement for the gods and I felt the air swarming with unseen power as countless deities swept closer to watch us.
This moment was important enough for all of them to be present. I heard the heavy footfalls of the giants, the cry of a war horn and the laughter of Loki the trickster. I stared up at the skies in wonder for a moment before turning my eyes from the heavens. The gods may have been watching this exchange but this was a battle for men.
I bellowed a challenge as the Biters swarmed towards the six of us and I raised my swords above my head as I dove into the fray.
My brother and Clarice stood ready to hold back the left flank while Fabian and Chickoa stood against the right.
Erik and I drove into the centre of the line.
The ground writhed beneath us as Erik wielded his powers over the Earth.
Valentina stood in the middle of her followers, dragging a storm from the heavens at her bidding.
I ran forward and the ground shifted beneath me as Erik built a staircase out of rocks at my feet. I sped up it as the jagged earth carved through every Biter it hit, tearing them apart and dragging their remains into the foundations of the structure. I raced up and up, spearing between the middle of Valentina’s army on a platform they couldn’t reach.
At the top of the stairs, I leapt forward, my swords held above my head as I roared a challenge and dove towards Valentina, promising her death with every fibre of my being.
She looked up as I plummeted towards her, her eyes widening in horror as she took in my immortal form and the cataclysmic power Erik wielded.
Valentina raised her arms and a battering gale slammed into me, throwing me off course before I could impale her upon my blades.
I smashed into the midst of her army, tumbling over and over, crashing through flesh and bone before I skidded to a halt surrounded by my enemies.
I swung my blades before I even made it to my feet again, carving through the legs of any vampires unlucky enough to be that close to me.
The Biters leapt at me, recovering fast from the initial shock of my landing. I was swarmed by a mass of bodies, pressing me to the earth, biting, punching, kicking, stabbing.
But my flesh was like steel and the injuries they caused me healed almost as soon as they were created. I managed to flip myself over beneath the press of their bodies and forced myself to my feet with all of my enhanced strength.
Vampires were tossed away from me, slamming into each other and falling back as I swung Venom through their ranks, casting them to ash in droves.
Tempest bayed for its chance at blood in my left hand and I spun forward, granting its wish as bright red fluid coated both it and me.
The vampires started backing away from me, raising guns as they tried to take aim between their comrades.
I shot forward as the gunfire rattled out, my vampire abilities combining with my strength and allowing me to carve right through the heart of their army like a battering ram. A handful of bullets found my flesh but I ignored the searing pain as I began to heal. The only wound that could stop me would be one to my heart and I didn't intend to stop for anything less.
I held my blades at my sides as I ran, causing death and injury on a colossal scale without even needing to take aim.
The ground rattled beneath my feet as I closed in on Erik again and I cried out to him, trying to locate him within the crowd.
“Magnar!” he bellowed in response and I searched for him in the mayhem.
Hammering rain fell from the sky as Valentina built her storm and lightning struck the ground before me as I turned towards the sound of Erik’s voice.
The Biters scattered at her command and I spotted her across the plain, smiling wickedly as the heavens split above my head.
I cried out, charging straight for her at an impossible speed as her lightning slammed into the ground again and again. She missed me time after time and I felt the heat of the strikes crashing into the soil at my back as she underestimated my speed.
Her lips fell open as I made it within a meter of her, springing forward with Tempest poised to cleave her body apart.
Lightning slammed into me before I could land the hit and I crashed backwards into the earth with fire ripping my veins apart. I dropped my blades as electricity shot through the metal, burning the flesh from my palms.
Valentina shrieked with glee as she advanced on me and lightning forked from the sky again. Three, four, five bolts slammed into my body as she raised her hands to the heavens and my spine arced beneath her onslaught. Even the intensity of my ability to heal struggled to counter the ferocity of her attacks.
The sky split open above me once more as lightning raced directly for my heart but before it could strike me, a shelf of earth exploded from the ground beside me, curving over me and absorbing the blow, burying me in the safety of the soil.
Dirt covered me, cloying, pressing, suffocating but my undead body didn’t need to breathe.
Valentina screamed in terror beyond the mound of earth which contained me and a savage smile pulled at my face.
I lay still for several seconds as my body healed the extensive damage done by the lightning and my limbs flooded with strength once more.
I started clawing at the earth, digging, dragging, raking it aside as I pulled myself out of the grave which had saved me.
Light spilled through the soil as I reached the surface and I wrenched my body towards it like a corpse rising from the ground.
Valentina was desperately battling Erik’s gifts ahead of me, a savage wind pummelling against the rocks and gravel he drove at her.
Her gaze turned to me for a moment and horror filled her eyes at the sight of her betrothed ascending from the dirt, filthy with blood, gore and soil.
I bared my teeth at her as I charged forward again, snatching my blades from the ground as I went.
Erik saw me coming and a ferocious grin lit his face as we moved to face her together. This woman had chained us to her will, mind, body and soul. But she was about to find out why you shouldn’t keep monsters as pets.
Power was leaking from my body from every bone, every fibre, every sinew. The thirst was growing, demanding I pay it attention as I weakened under the use of my immense gifts. But I wouldn't bow to it, I wouldn't buckle to it before this was done.
Magnar cut through the Biters as they closed ranks in front of Valentina. Shoulder to shoulder, fangs bared, faces contorted and snarling.
Nothing but determination filled me. This battle would be my last and I would bathe in the glory of
its victory alongside my family.
A yell of fury cut the air apart as Clarice ripped through our enemies' bodies with nails and teeth alone. Fabian and Chickoa worked as a unit in my periphery, tearing through the masses like demons sent straight from the pits of hell. Valentina had come to this fight prepared, but she'd underestimated the force of our combined strength.
They were baying for our deaths and nothing else, while we fought with the yearning, screaming hunger of a thousand years under the gods' rule. We were done losing to anyone and no matter how few of us there were. We. Would. Win.
I wielded my gifts to take hold of the forest at Valentina's back as she conjured another storm. The clouds rumbled with her rage and lightning flashed menacingly in the rippling darkness above. The roots of the trees tore from the ground under my will, shooting toward her and catching her legs before she could bring another lighting strike down on our heads.
She yelped in fright as she hit the ground and I battled to hold her down, the tangle of roots gripping her limbs.
Magnar slashed and ripped through the onslaught of Biters, cutting a path toward her. I stepped forward with a roar of might, the ground shuddering ferociously beneath my feet. A ripple of energy passed across the land as the goddess’s gifts lent more power to my body. I curled my hands into fists, drawing blood on my palms as my nails sliced my flesh open. The vines around Valentina grew tighter, tighter, tighter.
Four Biters slammed into me at once and I dug my heels into the earth as I absorbed the blow. I smashed my fists into their faces. Teeth broke, blood spewed. The ground tore apart around me and a chasm slashed the earth open at my feet in a ring, creating a platform at the heart of it where only I could stand. My assailants fell to their deaths, tumbling into the belly of the earth with wails of horror.
I fell to one knee, gritting my teeth while I willed my body to hold out as I tried to regain control of Valentina. The Biters hauled her out of the net I'd created and she fell against them, stumbling back with the promise of retreat in her eyes.
“Magnar!” I yelled to him as he launched a male vampire into a tree and impaled him on a broken branch.
He turned to me with blood pouring down his brow, but it wasn't his.
“She's going to run!” I bellowed, pointing to Valentina as she struggled to heal from her injuries. The sky lightened, her powers ebbing away.
Magnar nodded stiffly, swinging his swords as red and gold flashed on the blades.
I shuddered as my throat burned and a haze drifted into my mind. The bloodlust fell on me like a ravenous beast and I willed it away with all my heart.
Not now!
Magnar fought with all his strength, but the sheer numbers held him back, giving Valentina a chance to flee into the forest.
“No!” I roared my fury as she darted between the boughs.
I ground my teeth, trying to rise but finding myself immobilised by the pain that racked my body. My senses shifted to something purely animal, the hunger growing in me and begging to be sated.
A waft of the most delicious scent in the world drifted under my nose and my muscles seized up as I fought off the urge to seek it out. Because there was only one person left that it could belong to. And I would not hurt Julius. I refused to drink ever again.
The blood drew closer and a heavy grunt sounded as the platform I knelt on trembled with the impact of someone's feet.
His scent slammed into me all at once and I looked up to find Julius there, his brow dripping sweat and his face flecked with the blood of our enemies.
“No – get back!” I begged, lurching away, but he fell to his knees before me, lifting his wrist under my nose.
“One last drink, Erik. End this,” he begged.
My eyes locked with his and I knew what he was sacrificing, how much he was willing to give to win this fight.
“NOW!” he commanded and I dug my fangs into his wrist, feasting on his blood.
I took mouthful after mouthful, far too much, enough to flood energy into my veins. Julius hissed through his teeth, placing a hand on my back.
“Take all you need,” he growled. “Take it and finish this!”
I swallowed again and again, the sweetness intoxicating me, setting my body on fire like pure sunlight was pounding through my blood.
I yanked my fangs free, rising to my feet with all the strength of the gods tearing through my limbs. Julius sagged to the ground, clearly woozy. Clarice ran toward us, diving onto the platform and snatching hold of his hand.
“Go!” she hissed at me and I didn't hesitate, knowing I had to make use of the incredible offering Julius had given me.
I ran forward, diving off of the platform and hitting the ground on the other side. I caught a Biter by the throat, forcing jagged rocks up from the dirt beneath us and slamming him onto them. He turned to ash as the sharp stones ripped through his body and I ran on, speeding toward the masses Magnar was fighting alone.
I sprinted into battle at his side, slamming my fists through chests and crushing hearts between my hands. Blood coated us and the sky grew dark once more as Valentina gathered another storm as she sped away from the fight. The clouds swirled above us in an ominous coil and with every passing second I knew she was getting further away. Abandoning this fight and throwing her force into the cosmos to try and finish us off as she left.
Lightning poured from the sky, the electricity in the air making every hair on my body stand on end. I killed another Biter with my bare hands, gathering the dirt around our feet, weaving it around Magnar and me as I tried to protect us from what was about to come. The lightning flooded the ground around us, taking out Biters so they exploded to dust, creating a fog of death.
I brought huge vines up from the ground, shooting them into the air so they absorbed the lightning. They charred under the force of the electrical current running through them, falling to ash. The scent of burning flesh, bone and foliage snared my senses.
I spotted Fabian on the ground, crawling backwards as he nursed a searing wound on his arm.
The Biters closed in again, their faces dark and twisted. Our deaths sparkled in their eyes as more and more of them surrounded us. An endless army. And no matter how strong we were, I feared how long we could hold out against so many.
Montana shifted closer to my side, her arm brushing against mine as we stood in the face of the god who wanted our lives.
“Yes,” Andvari purred with glee. “Death should pay for life. Don’t you agree?”
“There must be something else,” I protested as my heartbeat thundered in my ears. “Something else you want in place of our lives?”
I refused to accept what he was saying. That we’d come all this way, sacrificed so much, defeated all that was stacked against just to find the cost of salvation was so high.
“Nothing holds value equal to the souls of sun and moon,” he purred. “It is a high price for the lives of many a foul creature, I will admit. But if you want the curse broken then that is the price.”
His voice held no room for negotiation, no option to offer anything less. He had his sights set on our souls and I knew nothing else would ever be enough to clear this debt.
“No,” I breathed, taking a step back. My life waited for me beyond this mountain, the man I loved, everything I’d ever wanted was just beyond the walls of this infernal cave. How could I abandon all of that when we’d fought so hard to claim it for our own? We’d barely had a taste of freedom and never even sampled safety. Was this really all we got to take from life?
Montana’s eyes slipped to mine, a tear tracking down her face and her gaze filled with a desperate kind of acceptance.
“Not her,” I snarled, pointing at my sister. “She’s already died once for this curse. I won’t let her do it again.”
“Undead is not quite dead,” Andvari commented. “Though her heart has ceased to beat, her soul remains right where it always was.”
“If it’s a soul you want then have mine,” I snarled.
“No!” Montana cried, catching my arm as I took a step towards the god. “I’m already dead, Callie. I’m on borrowed time as it is. He can have me and you can still-”
“As touching and noble as all this talk of sacrificing yourselves to save the other is, that isn’t the price I require. I do not wish for half a payment; your souls are linked to each other’s. You are two halves of the same whole and the price of ending this curse is the complete set. Sun and Moon.”
“No deal,” I growled, pushing Montana back a step. I refused to let him have her. She was too good to die like that. She was the kind one, the forgiving, honest, sacrificing one. And she’d given too much to this already. I wasn’t going to let her die in this hole beneath the ground for the sake of some curse which was never our responsibility to begin with.
“You may be interested to know your time is running short if you wish to save your friends,” Andvari murmured.
The huge mirror behind him rippled like it was made of water and suddenly I was looking at Magnar as he was slammed into the mud by the fury of Valentina’s storm. Lightning struck him again and again and his cries of pain cleaved my heart in two.
Erik appeared a moment later, hurling lumps of earth through the air with the full force of his gifts but a swarm of Biters fired on him with rifles and he was knocked from his feet, blood flying.
A choked sob escaped Montana’s lips and she pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle it.
Clarice, Julius, Fabian and Chickoa fought valiantly side by side at the entrance to the cave but the numbers were vastly against them and it was only a matter of time before their ranks would break and they would be overwhelmed.
“How about a sweetener?” Andvari asked as the vision faded and the mirror returned to pale glass, though nothing was reflected back to us in it.
“What?” I breathed, a lump forming in my throat as I scrambled to think of any way out of this that didn’t end with my sister’s death.
Age of Vampires- The Complete Series Page 185
