His gaze clouded over and he turned away from me to look up at the grey sky. “Forgive me Brother,” he muttered and I could hear raw pain in his voice. “I slept too long.”
This was a nightmare, it had to be. But the cold, steel box I was trapped in could only be real. I'd never seen anything like this in the Realm to even imagine it existed. I was chained to a hard metal bench, my hands and feet clad in cuffs.
I thought of Callie, praying she'd made it to safety. But even if she had escaped, did that really make her safe?
We'd been told stories of the ravaged world beyond the Realm's electrical fences. A relentless sun and scorching desert where birds waited to pick the flesh from your bones. That was to the south. But to the east? Who knew? The Elite were rumoured to come from there. Was that where I was being taken? Or was my destination more obvious than that? The blood bank.
My stomach turned over. Was Dad there? Why wasn't he with me if that was where I was being taken?
I thought of him strung up, barely alive, kept on a drip so he wouldn't die, but continuing to produce blood. If we were free-range in the Realm then the blood bank was the vampires' version of intensive farming.
God, not there. Anywhere but there. Please be okay, Dad.
I was jostled from side to side and the movement made me think I was in a vehicle, something Dad had told me about. A van maybe.
I cried out to whoever was driving, but no answer came. So I thrashed and kicked the metal floor, making as much sound as I could. It did nothing but ease some of the anxious energy flowing through my veins.
The vehicle made a rumbling noise and I jerked to one side as it stopped moving.
“State line, let me see your papers,” a voice cut through the air beyond the metal walls.
“Hey!” I called out instinctively. “Hey – who's there?”
The voice fell silent, then another deep male tone sounded from the front of the vehicle. “I've got one in the back from Realm G. She's bound for NYC.”
“You're heading to the airfield?” the man asked and I started slamming my feet to the floor again, making a cacophony of noise.
Bastards, all of them. How could they take me away from the only people I had in the world?
“Let me out!” I demanded but no one replied.
“Open up, let's get a look at her.”
My heart stumbled as footsteps closed in on the two doors at the back of the vehicle. As they opened, daylight fell over me but it wasn’t much more than a vague glow between the dark clouds. A drizzle hung in the air around the two men standing there.
No, not men. Vampires. Both were alluring and built with lean muscle.
I fell silent as I gazed at them and the one in a black uniform breathed in through his nose.
“Delicious,” he sighed and my skin prickled. Despite knowing I was a food source for these creeps, I'd never been looked at like I was a steaming hot meal ready and waiting to be devoured.
My eyes slid to a paved road behind them surrounded by a thick forest so green and bright, I was sure I'd never seen anything so vivid in nature before.
“Where are you taking me?” I demanded, keeping my tone strong.
“She hasn't figured it out yet,” murmured the one who I assumed was my driver.
The other one chuckled. “They keep 'em stupid in the Realms for a reason.”
“Wait-” I cried, but the doors slammed in my face again, drowning any more protests I might have been able to conjure. Fighting this was useless. They didn't see me as an equal; I was their inferior. They weren't going to let me go, no matter how much I begged. So I only had one option left: escape.
With my bound hands and feet, that wasn't a possibility right then. But they had to unshackle me eventually. Didn't they..?
At some point, I fell asleep. I didn't know if it was the lull of the van or the utter exhaustion creeping into my bones that won in the end.
I was only half-aware when the vehicle stopped moving again and the doors cracked open. Night time. My pulse ticked loudly in my ears. We never went out after dark in the Realm. The vampires were in their element beyond dusk...that was when people went missing.
A floodlight stood out starkly behind the dark figure climbing into the van. My heart hammered as I tried to get a good look at him and my driver came into view. He freed the chain that held me to the seat, but my hands and feet remained bound together as he drew me toward the doors. With inhuman strength, he lifted me into his arms and threw me over his shoulder.
Rage spewed through me and I slammed my shackled hands into his back over and over, but his only response was a musical laugh.
When he planted me down, I was turned to face an enormous, winged thing. Like a giant, ugly bird.
Another man approached, dressed in a dark red uniform with an emblem on his breast pocket.
Royal Guard. What did that mean?
My eyes lifted to his smiling face. “She's the last one.” He took my arm, drawing me away from the driver and tossing him a bottle which glinted red in the moonlight.
My heartbeat grew frantic as the new vampire tugged me along toward the giant bird thing.
“What is that?” I asked as we approached a woman in uniform. She was waiting at the bottom of a metal staircase that led up into the bird, her dark hair pulled back into a neat bun. Her glowing eyes landed on me and she cooed. “Aww, so cute.” She patted her knees like I was a stray dog and my nose wrinkled with distaste.
“You're such a soft touch, Maria,” the man holding me spoke.
“I don't know why we can't keep them as pets.” Maria pouted, gesturing for the man to take me up the stairs.
“Because we're not animals,” I spat at her.
Maria's eyebrows went skyward. “Oh, gwumpy little human,” she chuckled.
I glared at her as the guard tugged me up the steps. “What is this?” I whispered and he eyed me in surprise.
“An aer-o-plane,” he spoke slowly like I was dumb.
I suppressed a groan. My mind sparked with memories of the time my father had told me about the flying vehicles. The aeroplanes. I tucked that word away in my mind as I rounded into a row of seats. In every one of them was a human, bound in place. Men and women in a similar state to me with ragged clothes and hollow cheekbones.
The only feature that unified us was our youth. At a guess, I'd say no one there was more than twenty five. The youngest probably seventeen. The most frightening thing was that I didn’t recognise a single one of them. Callie and I had guessed there were other Realms, though the vampires had never confirmed it. But I knew everyone in my Realm, if not by name then at least by sight. These people were strangers and that hinted at the scale of the vampires’ oppression.
I was escorted toward two empty seats and shackled in place next to a man with a ragged mop of dark hair and a thick beard on his face. He smelt of sweat and mud. But I probably did too, so I wasn't about to complain.
My eyes travelled to the empty seat on my other side and I suddenly put two and two together. It must have been reserved for Callie. But they hadn't caught her.
Relief tumbled through my chest.
Keep running, don’t ever let them catch you, Callie.
The uniformed vampire gazed at everyone, seeming to count us. With a stiff nod, he banged on a door behind him and called, “All set for take off!”
The engine rumbled beneath us and the guard closed the door, locking it tight with a large red lever.
Fear rolled through me as the plane picked up momentum until we were hurtling along into the darkness. The window beside me only allowed a glimpse of floodlights as we whipped past them at high speed.
My stomach clenched. My pulse rose.
I glanced at the man beside me who seemed to be muttering prayers under his breath.
I was pushed back into my seat as we took flight and fear devoured me as we climbed ever higher. Wherever I was going I was leaving Callie and Dad far, far behind. And I didn't know if I'd ev
er see them again.
When the plane levelled out the guard pushed a trolley down the aisle, handing us each a small plastic cup filled with a syrupy orange liquid. My throat burned for moisture, but I hesitated to drink it, sniffing its saccharine scent, trying to work out what it was.
“Drink up!” the guard demanded when everyone had a cup in hand.
The man beside me brought the cup to his lips and swallowed the contents. “Better we drink it by choice, huh?” he whispered to me with a sad gleam in his eyes.
I sighed, gazing down at the syrup, certain he was right. “Is this really a choice?” I murmured and he reached over, resting a hand on my arm. Despite not knowing this man, the gesture was surprisingly reassuring.
“No, but it helps to pretend.” He gave me a ghost of a smile and I tentatively returned it. “I’m Frank.” He blinked heavily as I tore my gaze from his and looked down at my cup.
For a second, I considered not responding. But no one here knew my name and I didn’t want to be just another number in the masses.
“Montana,” I whispered.
Taking my cup, I gulped down the sweetest thing I'd ever tasted. It took less than a minute for me to realise I'd just unwittingly drugged myself. Wooziness washed through me and my eyelids felt weighted with lead.
As the pressing darkness took hold of me and dragged me down into a dreamless sleep, I felt Frank’s shoulder press against mine.
If I’m headed toward a terrible fate, at least I’m not alone
I couldn’t help but stare at the open landscape around me as we made our way through it. Our Realm had small patches of grass growing among the mud but nothing like this. My mind scoured Dad’s stories until I found the word I was hunting for. Meadow. I’d never seen anything so green. I wondered how it would look in the summer when the flowers were blooming.
My silent companion continued to lead the way. He hadn’t spoken since I’d told him what year it was and I wasn’t brave enough to breach the silence he’d built between us.
We’d left the ruins behind hours ago and though I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder repeatedly, I was beginning to believe that we’d actually managed to escape the vampires who’d been hunting me.
I wasn’t sure if I should thank my companion or not. He’d certainly saved my life from the red-haired vampire but I still felt a burning rage when I remembered the way he’d pinned me in place while my family needed help.
I was beginning to wonder if I’d been wrong to follow him. I didn’t know the first thing about him and the longer this silence stretched between us the more uneasy I felt about my decision. What if he was wrong about where the vampires had taken my family? What if he was just some crazy guy living alone out here who just wanted my company in his crazy guy shack?
That one might be a bit of a stretch Callie…
My mind went back to how easily he’d killed that vampire and my worries eased a little. Anyone who could do that would surely be able to free my family too. But I didn’t even know his name…
I shook my head to banish the worrying thoughts and tried to focus on my surroundings instead. I’d never been outside the Realm and the world was a whole lot bigger than I’d ever dreamed.
Everything was new to me, from the soft earth beneath my boots to the sound of the wind whispering through the bare branches of the trees. Even the smell was different here; away from the press of thousands of human bodies everything was so crisp. I’d never really smelt the rich odour coming from the pine trees which lined our meadow. Or the clean fragrance of the air which hadn’t passed through corridors of concrete.
The sun was dipping low towards the horizon and I bit my lip as I thought about what that meant. Night was the time the vampires were at their strongest. It was their time. No human could stand a chance against them beneath the light of the stars.
I pulled my new coat tighter around my neck. Though we hadn’t spoken in the time that had passed since he’d killed that vampire, we had looted an apartment. While he’d stocked up on food, I’d taken the opportunity to get myself some warmer clothes. It wasn’t the white coat I’d wanted but I’d begun to think that was a good thing; white wasn’t exactly a great colour for staying out of sight. The thick coat I now sported was deep blue and it still had the fur-lined hood I’d dreamed of.
Winter was well underway and as the sun dipped, the temperature plummeted. I’d never owned something like the coat before and the fact that I wasn’t shivering my ass off proved its effectiveness. The man-mountain had pulled on a thick grey cloak lined with fur which only added to his gladiator-like appearance.
My mind was beginning to teem with unasked questions. I was afraid to open my mouth but it was getting to the point where my curiosity was going to overrule my fear. We’d been walking for what seemed like an eternity and I only had a promise he’d made hours ago to make me think we were heading after my family. I needed to know how he knew where they’d be. And how he expected to get them out.
Somehow, I couldn’t voice my concerns though. The sadness that had seemed to fill him when he learned of the year was so constant that I almost felt it myself. If I hadn’t had enough of my own worries to last me a lifetime then I would have asked him about it already but that was breaking one of my own rules. Never ask personal questions. Don’t form unnecessary bonds.
He veered from our path and turned aside, making his way between the trees which lined the meadow. I followed carefully, breathing in the fresh green scent of the pines.
I had everything I’d ever dreamed of and my worst nightmare all at once. As amazing as all of this was, it didn’t mean anything without having my family here to share it with.
We walked through the trees for a short while, the pine needles crunching softly beneath my boots. I couldn’t help but look about in wonder and I even caught sight of an owl hopping between the trees, watching our progress. I paused to look up at the bird, a smile tugging at my lips. It seemed so carefree. I wondered why it found us so interesting and lifted my hand in a kind of greeting to it.
A flash of movement caught my eye and a small blade swept through the air, knocking the owl from the tree to fall dead on the forest floor. I let out a shriek of horror and ran towards the beautiful creature.
“What did you do?” I demanded angrily as my companion stalked towards me.
He bent down to retrieve his knife, not even offering me the courtesy of looking at me, let alone answering my rage. Before he could turn away, I grabbed his wrist and forced his gaze to meet mine. His golden eyes seemed dimmer than they had before, like something in them had broken.
“Why did you do that?” I spat, grief for the creature stoking my anger and lending me extra bravery.
“That was a Familiar,” he replied, his voice even and patronising. “I saved your life again.”
“A what?” The point where I grasped his wrist between my fingers was growing hot and I released him as I looked down at the dead bird.
“A beast whose soul is tethered to a vampire. Its sole purpose is to be their eyes and ears. A living, breathing spy.” He continued his original task of retrieving the knife and as he pulled it from the owl’s chest; the bird dissolved into dust just like the vampire had that morning. I recoiled in disgust and realisation swamped me.
“That’s how they always knew what was happening in the Realm wasn’t it? They had eyes on us all the time.” I couldn’t believe we’d never realised it. There were more than enough rats in the Realm for them to be watching every one of us. If I added birds and other animals to the mix then it was no wonder no one had ever been able to keep anything from the vampires.
He only nodded at me before replacing the knife in a sheath at his hip and continuing with our journey through the trees.
I guess we’re back to not talking then.
I followed him again but before I could question him on our destination, he led me out through a final group of pines and pointed me into a cave which was formed in the ho
llow of a large rock face. Once I’d stepped inside, he paused on the threshold and used one of his long blades to draw runes into the dirt outside it.
As he finished, a wave of warm air passed over me and a shiver raced down my spine. It wasn’t unpleasant but it sure as hell didn’t feel natural either.
“What was that?” I demanded, taking a step away from the entrance and further into the shelter of the cave.
“I’ve placed a ward on the entrance to this place. No evil being shall find us or be able to pass over it.”
I felt my eyes widening in disbelief but I couldn’t deny the strange pressure I’d felt when he’d carved those runes.
“What are you?” I asked suspiciously. He sure as hell wasn’t from the Realm.
“Something the world forgot and time left behind.” He turned away from me and started gathering firewood.
I took a step towards him to help but as I moved closer to the ward I had the strong urge to head back into the cave instead. Better to stay where it’s safe. Without really meaning to, I turned and headed back inside.
Eternal Reign (Age of Vampires Book 1) Page 7