The Corvin Chance Chronicles Complete Box Set

by N. P. Martin

  With my new spear, I was able to start killing the vamps at a distance, piercing their hearts, turning them to ash on the spot. As I speared one vamp, I would use my magic on another, sometimes causing their heads to explode, other times managing to use that unseen magical force to rip their hearts from their chests. Soon, I was in a kind of trance as I focused on nothing but killing, enjoying the bloodlust so much that on a few occasions, I ripped out throats with my teeth, baying loudly after I’d done so as if in victory. Despite the overwhelming number of vamps, it soon got to the stage where I had complete confidence in my new and extraordinary vampire powers, to the point where I even remember thinking, Why would I want to give this up just to be human again?

  I was almost disappointed when I finally dispatched the last of the vamps; disappointed that I couldn’t carry on killing. Adrina stood staring at me for a moment, her sword dripping with blood. All around us, there was nothing but piles of ash, the only evidence that the vamps had ever been here. I was so elated and flushed with my new powers that I completely forgot about Darrick. It wasn’t until I heard a clapping sound coming from the front door that I turned around and saw it was him. He came walking into the house slowly, clapping his hands as he did so.

  "Quite the performance," he said as he strolled in, looking around at the piles of ashes everywhere, as though the remains of the vamps meant nothing to him. "It seems like someone is enjoying being a vampire."

  His eyes were on me as he said it. My bloodlust was still up, my need for violence still coursing through me. Without giving it a second thought, I rushed at him with the spear, the point aimed at is chest. If I’d been thinking more clearly and less animalistic, however, I wouldn’t have rushed in so hastily, for Darrick casually stepped to the side and grabbed a hold of the spear, the two of us staring at each other for a second before he suddenly turned the spear to the side and used it to hit me in the chest. The blow was so powerful it lifted me right off my feet and sent me sailing back until I landed hard on the staircase, the edge of the stairs cracking against the back of my skull. In a daze, I sat up to see that Darrick now held the spear, and that my former confidence had now taken a serious dip. Having no wish to rush at Darrick again, I merely sat where I was as he stared up at me.

  "Did you really think you would kill me with this?" he asked, tossing the spear to one side, which as soon as it landed, reduced in size again, becoming the short stake it was before. Darrick laughed at me, as if he thought I was nothing, no better than the disposable vamps he had sent in before him. "Perhaps it’s best I’m here to kill you. Foolishness is a trait I can’t abide in anyone, most of all in one of my own children."

  "I’m not your child," I snarled at him.

  "Stop now, Corvin. Compared to me, you are a child in every sense." His eyes then turned to Adrina for the first time since he entered the house, as if she was only now worthy of his attention. She had backed off by this time, and now stood near the bottom of the stairs as if in defense of me, though I knew it was because she was wary of her brother, if not outright afraid of him. "Isn’t that right, Adrina?"

  Adrina said nothing as she stared at her brother, perhaps out of sheer defiance, perhaps because she had nothing to say to him, I didn’t know. Either way, Darrick merely smiled at her silence.

  "Still the talkative one, I see," he said as he casually strolled further into the house, broken glass crunching under his boots. "It’s been a long time, sister. What brings you back?"

  Adrina kept her silence.

  "Oh come now, sister," Darrick said, letting his head fall to the side slightly. "If you’ve come home to kill me, then just say so. I promise I won’t be mad." He smiled as if he was enjoying himself.

  "I’m here to take my home back," Adrina said finally, her voice steady, though a note of uncertainty seemed to have crept into it now, as if she wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

  "Take it back?" Darrick stopped in the middle of the entrance hall. "It was never yours in the first place, half sister. You have no birthright to anything, not the way Constantine and I do."

  "Mother wanted me to lead, not you or Constantine. I have a connection to this land that you will never have."

  "It’s stepmother, not mother," he spat. "And you weren’t even born here. Your Druidic bullshit has made you entitled, Adrina. If you’d just known your place, you would never have been banished."

  "My place? Under you as you raped me, you mean?"

  Darrick stared at her for a long moment. "That was a long time ago. You needed punishing."

  Sick fuck, I thought.

  "Punishing for what, Darrick?" Adrina said, anger in her voice now. "For not being a spoiled brat like you and Constantine were? For giving a shit about things other than power and infamy?"

  "Yes, because you’re so much better than us, aren’t you, Adrina? The good little vampire girl who could do wrong in her stepmother’s eyes. The girl who thought she could be a stinking Druid as well as a vampire. The girl who thought she could take what was rightfully ours!" His eyes were blazing at this point, and I thought he was going to attack her, but he soon calmed down as he stared at her coldly. "You made a big mistake coming here again, Adrina. I won’t let you escape this time, and neither will Constantine."

  "Where is he?" Adrina asked him almost mockingly. "I see he’s still getting you to do his dirty work for him."

  Darrick glared at her as if wiling himself not to attack her. "Believe me, sister, I didn’t need Constantine to send me after you. I have enough of my own motivation to do so."

  "Because you hate me so much," Adrina said, standing defiantly now.

  "Not hate you, sister," Darrick said, stepping a little closer. "Despise you."

  "Believe me, Darrick, the feeling is mutual."

  "Well, at least we know where we stand then, eh?"

  At that point, two more vampires walked into the house, dressed immaculately in dark suits. Not vamps, but higher vampires. Darricks so-called Lieutenants. One was a woman, the other a man, both of them having blond hair and the same piercing blue eyes. In fact, the more I looked, the more I saw they both looked identical, as if they were twins. Both of them came forward to stand either side of their master, their attention mostly on me as I continued to sit on the stairs.

  "Backup, Darrick?" Adrina said. "You can’t handle us yourself?"

  "The twins aren’t for you, Adrina." He switched his gaze to me for a second. "They’re for him. I just don’t want to be bothered by him as I’m killing you."

  I don’t know how old the twin vampire Lieutenants were, but I sensed they were powerful. Some instinct told me I would be foolish to face them both at once head on, so before they could even approach me, I jumped up and moved at speed up the stairs, darting across the landing and down one of the hallways before ducking into one of the many bedrooms near the end of the hall.

  Once inside, I stood with my back against the wall, breathing hard as I tried to think of a plan. Sooner or later, one or both of the twins was going to enter the room I was in, so I needed to prepare some kind of attack. As I didn’t have my stake on me, the attack would have to be either magical or with my bare hands. As I stood waiting, I decided to see if my former human magic was still accessible. "Invisibilis factus!" I whispered, smiling slightly when I saw that my body was beginning to turn invisible. It didn’t completely disappear, however. I was still vaguely visible, but I hoped I was now unseen enough to give me the edge I would need.

  Outside, I heard footsteps walking down the hallway, as whoever was out there started to open every door as they searched for me. "You’re being foolish if you think you can hide," the male vampire said, his northern accent strong. "We’ll find you eventually."

  We? I could only hear him outside, which meant his twin sister was probably searching the far hallway. At least that meant I would have a chance at taking he guy down first before his sister made an appearance.

  It wasn’t long before he reached the final room, th
e one I was in. As the door handle opened slowly, I prepared myself, focusing on conjuring as much vampire magic as I could muster.

  The door was pushed open and it swung into the wall beside me. A second later, the vampire Lieutenant stepped inside the room. As expected, he didn’t notice me at first, especially as the room was quite dark, the only light coming from the half moon outside.

  Slowly, I raised my arm as I got ready to unleash my magic. The vampire must have then sensed me behind him, for he spun around quickly, his fangs bared. But before he got a chance to do anything, I focused everything I had into trying to make his head explode. He cried out in pain and shock at first, but then soon began to push back with his own dark magic.

  "You think you’re stronger than me?" he sneered as I felt the pain of his counter-attack enter my skull. "I don’t think so."

  Despite his arrogance, I could still see I was hurting him. No matter how old or experienced he was, magic is still magic and I’m no novice when it comes to it. Dark or light, wielding it is all the same. In fact, his overconfidence had left cracks in his defense, which allowed me to slip my own attacking magic through. "I am stronger than you," I said, now fully visible again as all of magic—vampire and human—was now directed at him.

  The arrogance on his face was soon replaced by pain as I took a step toward him, and even though it felt like my skull was about to explode, his underestimation of my strength and magical expertise had allowed me to get the better of him, tipping the power balance in my favor.

  Until his twin sister entered the room and saw what was happening.

  She immediately rushed me and slammed me against the wall, breaking the connection I had with her brother. With a sneer on her face, she gripped the back of my head with one hand, using the other hand to turn my chin as she tried to break my neck. Knowing I would be done for if I didn’t do something, I unthinkingly reached inside my jacket until I felt the gold medallion there. Some instinct was telling me to use it, so I took it out and planted it against the twin sister’s forehead, pressing down hard as she started to scream. Her hands left me as she staggered back, the smooth skin of her forehead now burnt and blistered. When she fell to her knees, she carried on screaming as if acid was eating into her skull.

  Her twin brother stood staring at his sister in shock, probably wondering what the hell I had done to her. To be honest, I didn’t have a clue. Clearly, the medallion had power beyond what I thought it did.

  Seizing the opportunity I had created for myself, I immediately resumed my magical attack on the twin brother again, this time with renewed confidence and vigor, walking toward him with my hand outstretched, forcing my magic onto him before he got a chance to react this time. He tried to counter me, but I was too far ahead of him, and seconds later he was down on his knees gripping his head, his red eyes burning as he glared at me defiantly, both of us waiting for the inevitable moment when his head would simply explode. Which it did, showering me and his twin sister in blood and brains.

  "NOOO!" the sister screamed, the pain of watching her brother die seemingly greater than that of her physical pain.

  "You should’ve left me alone," I said, wiping blood from my face just as the brother collapsed into a pile of burning ashes.

  "You’re dead!" she screeched, and jumped to her feet as if she was going to attack me.

  I still had the medallion in my hand, which I now held out in front of me like a crucifix. It’s a myth that vampires fear the crucifix, but if they did, I’d imagine their reaction would be a lot like the sister’s is now, cowering from it as if the very sight of it caused them physical pain. Which also led me to wonder why the medallion didn’t seem to be harming me in any way, apart from a slight burning sensation as I held it in my hand. Surely it should be hurting me as well, I thought, since I’m also a vampire?

  But whatever the reason for my seeming immunity to the medallion’s effects, it didn’t matter, not right now. There’d be time later to figure that out, providing Darrick didn’t kill me first, of course.

  "Stay back!" I said to the sister.

  She hissed at me in response. "I’m going to rip your fucking heart out!"

  There was no way she was going to let me leave, not without trying to follow through on her threat, which only left me with one choice.

  Rushing toward her, I planted the medallion on her forehead again, eliciting fresh screams from her as I drove her back into the wall. Then I drew back my other arm and punched her as hard as I could in the chest, my fist breaking through her sternum, my fingers soon gripping her unbeating heart and ripping it clean out of her chest. Taking a step back, I stood there holding her dripping heart in my hand as she stared at it in shock.

  "Darrick will rip you to shreds!" she screamed, defiant till the end.

  "We’ll see," I said, and then placed the medallion onto her heart, which immediately began to burn and sizzle like bacon in a frying pan, before finally bursting into flames; and as it did, she soon lit up as well, her body burning so fast it was reduced to ashes in mere seconds.

  Amazed at the power of the medallion, I stood looking at it for a moment before putting it back inside my jacket, suddenly remembering that Adrina was still downstairs with Darrick.

  Leaving the room, I went down the hallway and stopped by the edge of the balcony, peeking my head around the corner so Darrick wouldn’t see me. For the time being at least, he probably assumed his twin Lieutenants had done their job and killed me.

  In the entrance hall, the fight between him and Adrina seemed to have stopped. As I looked, I saw Adrina lying in the middle of the floor, a huge pool of blood around her that soaked into the surrounding ashes already there. She didn’t seem to be moving all that much. Darrick was standing over her, his own face bloodied, but for the most part seeming fine. "Before I kill you, I’m going to punish you," he said to Adrina as he began to unbuckle his belt. "Just like I used to."

  The sick bastard was going to rape his own sister before killing her, I realized with disgust and dismay. I couldn’t let that happen, but I also knew the second I made an appearance on the stairs, Darrick would see me. Then he would probably proceed to kill me, as he was about to do to Adrina. There had to be another way to stop him.

  As I grew more frantic by the second, I soon spotted the stake lying near the front door. If I could get the stake and attack Darrick with it before he saw me, I could end him. He’d be busy with Adrina, I thought. If I was careful, I could pull it off. Shit, it was the only plan I had, so what did I have to lose?

  As fast and as silently as I could, I went down the hallway from whence I’d come and went back into the bedroom. Crossing the room, I opened the large sash window and immediately jumped out of it, landing a second later on the gravel below. Then I made my way as silently as possible to the front door, peeking around the corner to make sure Darrick wouldn’t see me when I made my move. As it happened, he had his back to me, having turned Adrina over onto her front so he could better administer his punishment as he saw it. The stake lay about six feet to the right of the door. If I was quiet enough, I could grab it and then attack Darrick before he knew what was even happening.

  It’s now or never…

  "You brought this on yourself, you know," Darrick was saying to Adrina as he pulled down her trousers. As he kept talking, I started to creep into the house, through the door and across the floor, doing my best to avoid the broken glass that was everywhere.

  "You should’ve stayed away," Darrick went on, with Adrina barely moving beneath him.

  The stake was in my hand now, and I willed it to extend as it did before.

  "This hurts me more than it hurts you, sister…"

  The stake was held firmly in both of my hands now, and I pointed it like a spear at Darrick’s back as I prepared to rush him with it.

  "Actually, that’s not true. This doesn’t hurt me at all. It will hurt you, though…"

  Time to fucking die asshole…

  An involuntary s
cream left my mouth as I charged toward Darrick, covering the distance between us in barely a second, fully expecting the stake to pierce through his back and into his black heart.

  But that’s not what happened.

  Darrick was much quicker than I gave him credit for. Or perhaps he had known I was there all along, I don’t know. Whatever the case, he spun around just in time to clasp the extended stake in both hands, stopping it inches from his chest. "You continue to surprise me, Corvin," he said with a wolfish grin on his bloodied face. "I really didn’t expect you to kill the twins."

  I said nothing as I tried to force the point of the stake into him, but his grip was too strong for me. This is it, I thought. He’s going to kill me now.

  With his belt hanging open and his hands still firmly on the long stake, he began to walk forward, pushing me backward as I maintained my own grip on the metal. "Time to make a choice, Corvin. You can either join me or I can kill you. Which is it?"

  "Fuck you!" I said, sick of his arrogance.

  "Defiant till the end, just like your father."

  "Shut up!"

  "He wasn’t the man you think he is," he said, continuing to walk forward, both of us stubbornly refusing to let go of the stake. "Your father was far from the noble gentleman you still think him to be."

  "Shut up! You’re full of shit!"

  "Am I?" He smiled. "Let go of the stake, Corvin. Come back with me to the castle and I’ll tell you exactly who your father was. I’ll tell you what kind of—"

  His words were suddenly cut off as his face registered shock, and for a second I didn’t know why until I realized that the stake was now stuck in his chest. I was so fixated on him and what he was saying that I didn’t notice Adrina rush up behind him and push him onto the stake. And as I felt his grip weaken, I pushed the stake even further into him.