“You didn't – now go!” she screamed as she kicked free of my arms and started running. The girl was nuts. And damn, did it make me hot for her.
Silas sprinted after her and I followed, hot on his heels, keeping up the back of the line.
The racket above us was enough to confirm we were being followed. The creaking branches and creepy chanting was an even bigger clue.
I didn't let Silas slow for one second, despite the fact he was dripping blood. If these things hunted by scent, I didn't know how we were going to lose them. But my own prayers were answered as Cass shouted, “Waterfall!”
I slowed as we emerged up on a high cliff, looking out over a vast expanse of water, illuminated by a flash of lightning. A huge waterfall poured over the cliff opposite in froths of white foam. The sound of it rushed into my ears, roaring like an animal.
“Do you think it's safe to jump?” Cass asked, glancing back at me.
I rammed my shoulder into Silas and he fell over the edge, crying out in shock as he plummeted into the water below.
“Jameson!” she gasped, darting to the edge to try and spot him.
Silas resurfaced with a shout of fury.
“Yeah it's safe.” I gestured for Cass to jump, fighting a grin. “Knees to chest please,” I said, eyeing her stomach.
She rolled her eyes before canon-balling off the edge. I took a running leap, opening my arms and full-out swan diving into the water. I hit my mark like a pro, gliding under the water with all the grace of a dolphin.
The water was refreshingly cool and washed the mud from my body in an instant. As I breached the surface, I pointed to the waterfall, glancing back up at the bank we'd jumped from. Rain hit the water like bullets around us, obscuring my vision.
“Swim under!” I shouted above the roaring storm.
Neither Silas nor Cass resisted my order, immediately diving under the waterfall. I took a breath, swiftly following as a dark shadow appeared up on the cliff.
I didn't reckon those Reapers would fair well in water. But that big monkey-troll thing might have risked it.
I didn't stop swimming until I felt the pressure of the waterfall ease overhead, coming up for air. The cave was large and narrowed into a tunnel, disappearing into the darkness. Result.
I dragged myself up onto the rocks where Cass started to nurse Silas's wound.
“I need something to bind it with,” she said as I moved closer. It was clear that claw marks had caused the wound on his neck, not a bite. So at least there wasn't another Reaper-Silas wandering around out there somewhere.
“Here.” Silas pulled his shirt over his head and holy-hell was his body screwed up. Tiny scars ran all over his chest in neat little rows.
“Woah, what happened to you, dude?” I dropped down, rocking back onto my heels.
He looked to Cass then dropped his eyes. “I had an accident when I was younger.”
I tutted. It was an obvious lie and the look in Cass's eyes told me she knew the truth. “Yeah, let's continue to keep things from me then. That's a great idea.”
Neither of them answered me.
Cass used the shirt to make a tourniquet around Silas's shoulder, stemming the bleeding. The roaring of the waterfall became the only noise between us.
I stood, rolling my shoulders, my pride hurt by their little 'Silas and Cass's Secrets Club'. I headed toward the back of the cave, checking out the dark tunnel. It seemed to go pretty far and I wondered if it might offer us a passage away from the Reapers. I could picture them all out there, waiting for us to reemerge. Creepy. With a capital C. Actually, capital everything. With an exclamation mark.
To distract myself, I whistled as I moved, thinking of my iPod, now lost to the ocean. What a waste. Better than it getting stolen by Lynch though. When was the next time I was going to hear good music again?
I started singing Hotel California under my breath. As I moved further into the narrow cave system, my mind drifted to Mercy. God only knew what was happening to her back at Alfric's house in the care of a guy like Lynch.
Hang in there, Baby H.
Mercy
100 years ago
I often ran barefoot around the castle. If mother saw me, she'd order me back to my room to put on shoes. But I loved the feel of the smooth flagstones beneath my toes. And the way I could move as silently as the wind between the corridors.
The castle was enormous, and sometimes I still stumbled upon passages and rooms I'd never seen before. There was even a secret staircase behind a tapestry in the east wing. That was where I crept to now, slipping behind the tapestry of red and black thread which depicted our family crest: a white eagle perching atop a pile of fanged skulls. Vampires were an important part of our family history. Daddy said us Helsings saved the Vs from their cursed lives. They were the undead, their human soul still trapped inside an eternal, sin-ridden body. Killing them sent their souls to heaven or hell. Wherever they belonged.
I took a box of matches from the sleeve of my thick-knit jumper, striking one as I stepped into the gloom of the hidden stairwell. It spiralled down below me and an icy wind stirred around my toes. A thrill danced through my body as I started down them, as quiet as a mouse.
Down, down, down, passing other secret doors, even the back of a painting I could push through if I wanted. It would lead me to the kitchens where the servants made everything from sweet red jelly to prime-cooked steak. The smell of pastry crept into my nose and my stomach grumbled hopefully. But I wasn't in the mood to eat.
Another couple of flights led me down to the dungeon beneath the castle. It was immediately colder. Autumn was waning and I knew the V Games would begin again soon. And Daddy was hoping to have his new pet ready this year. He wanted to present his Vampire slave to the spectators. Not that he'd told me that. I'd overheard him telling my brother. Ignus was only a few years older than me, but he'd already finished his next growth cycle, making him look eighteen now. I was still stuck looking like a child, but I aged quickly during the cycles and in another year, I'd look at least sixteen. I couldn't wait. I'd been stuck looking like an eight-year-old for nearly five years now. But in my mind, I felt older. And when my looks matched my mind, perhaps Daddy would include me more...
At the base of the secret staircase was a passage, leading toward the Vampire cells. Screams reached my ears, making me pause. A tremor went through me. Fear, excitement. Both.
I crept along the narrow space, knowing I was running parallel to the corridor beyond it in the prison. It came to a dead end where the passage turned into another stairwell. One which was so dark, it sent a chill through to my core. I'd never been down there. Sometimes the wind rolled through it in such a way that it sounded like a groaning beast.
I kept my distance from the damp stairwell, moving to the wall where a small hole let a circular beam of light into the space. I pressed my eye to it and spotted Daddy standing over one of the Vampires. He was actually in a cell with a V. My Daddy was so brave. I couldn't imagine getting so close to a Vampire. But one day I hoped Mother would show me how to fight them.
“How much more Varick?” My Daddy commanded of the Vampire. He was the one Daddy wished to tame, I realised. I had never seen his face without blood on it, his unruly hair coated with it, too. I chewed on my lower lip, anxiety rippling through me.
Varick groaned, pushing himself upright. He looked pale, his eyes sunken. He looked almost as starved as the Vs in the surrounding cells. The ones who were kept for the games. I'd never seen a round of the V Games before. But I hoped perhaps next year I'd be allowed to at last. Mother said it was a grown up game, but Ignus was allowed to attend now, so surely they'd let me watch it soon?
Daddy had something metal in his hand, silver and wet with blood. I squinted to see better and Daddy uncurled the chain in his hand. With a powerful strike, he whipped Varick across the chest. Blackish-red blood dribbled from the wound as Varick hit the floor once more. He coughed hard and a little pang of sympathy ran through me, alm
ost imperceptible. But there it was. Mother would have laughed if I'd told her I had sympathy for a Vampire.
What I didn't understand, was why Daddy was trying to tame a V at all. Weren't we supposed to free their souls from their bodies?
The V Games supported our family, Mother had told me. I understood why we kept Vampires for that purpose. And in time, they would surely die anyway. But why was Daddy so determined to tame one of them? And by punishing Varick, wasn't Daddy punishing the human soul living inside him too? I had to tip-toe to keep my eye pressed to the hole. As I shifted, I spotted Ignus approaching the cell. He opened the cage door, crowding in around Varick on the floor. He had a strange contraption in his hand. It looked like a gas mask, but it was metal, with a chain dragging from it.
“Are you sure this will work, son?” Daddy asked. “Your inventions have failed before.”
“Not this one. I'm sure, father. You will be able to guide him like a muzzled dog.”
“I don't know,” Daddy sighed. “Perhaps I cannot tame a V after all.”
“The fact we are standing in a cell with one without it fighting back, is a testament to your efforts. I believe you are close and that this may help. Once he's out of this cell, he'll understand it is better for him to behave.”
“Alright,” Daddy conceded. “Get it on him.”
Daddy gripped Varick's arm, heaving him up into a sitting position. It was then I got a good look at his face. He looked half-dazed. Blood glistened on his chest. His eyes were deepest green, flecked with red veins. I pressed closer to the cold wall, watching as Ignus clamped the contraption over Varick's mouth, buckling it at the back of his head.
“The inside is steel, but the outer edge is silver, so he can't break it off,” Ignus explained.
Daddy tugged on the chain attached to a ring beneath the mask. Varick was yanked to his feet. It surprised me that he was as tall as my father, perhaps even slightly taller. If this Vampire was well-fed, he would be a fearsome thing to fight. My grandfather had caught him, but he'd given up trying to beat him into submission when he'd grown ill. After his passing, Daddy had taken over the cause, trying to achieve what Grandaddy hadn't been able to.
Daddy pulled on the chain, encouraging Varick to step out of his cell. The only clothing he wore was a ragged pair of trousers. Nearly every inch of his pale skin was speckled with blood.
Ignus beamed with pride. “We'll have the servants dress him.”
“It's only a few weeks until the Games begin, I would like him to be working for us by then,” Daddy said, stepping closer to Varick who was gazing around the corridor as if unable to believe he was free of that cell. “If you behave, you will be given blood regularly.”
Varick's eyes snapped back to Daddy's, gleaming with thirst. “Blood?”
Daddy nodded and Ignus plucked a shining bottle from his trouser pocket. It was small, not enough to sate a large Vampire like Varick. But perhaps that was the idea. To keep him just sated enough so he wouldn't be able to fight back.
Ignus opened a hatch in the front of the collar with a small key. Then he dropped it back into his pocket, handing Varick the bottle of blood.
Varick hesitated, seeming to wonder if this was a test. But as Daddy gestured for him to take it, Varick snatched the small bottle, uncorking it and pouring the lot through the hatch. He sighed his utter relief, dropping his head forward.
Ignus snapped the hatch shut and Daddy gave him a proud look. Jealousy itched at me. I wanted Daddy to look at me like that.
As they encouraged Varick along the corridor, I lost sight of them. My heart danced and leaped in my chest. I turned on my heel, running back to the staircase and sprinting up it. I wanted to see the Vampire walking around our castle!
I darted through a door concealed in the wall, slamming it shut and running in the direction Daddy would arrive from. As I heard their footsteps on the stairway, I ran toward a line of portraits on the wall, pretending to admire them. I clenched my toes, excitement rattling through me.
Ignus arrived in the corridor first, his eyes arrowing toward me. “Mercy, go back to your room.”
“No,” I said immediately, planting my hands on my hips. I glanced over his shoulder as Daddy appeared behind him, the Vampire still out of sight. Daddy paused, his eyes narrowing as they spotted me. “Do as your brother says, sweetheart.”
“But Daddy-” I started, but Mother's harsh voice cut through the air.
“Shoes Mercy! How many times do I have to tell you!”
I turned to face her as she emerged from the games room across the hall. I wasn't allowed in there. But I'd caught glimpses of poker tables and plush armchairs once.
Mother's eyes were fierce, piercing blue and her full lips were pressed hard together. I cowered away, backing up toward the nearest stairwell. I tried to argue, throwing another hopeful glance toward Daddy, but he was keeping Varick hidden. Maybe because of all the blood on him. But surely I'd see him soon anyway?
“Now!” Mother barked at me and I scampered away, running upstairs, a scowl gripping my features.
I never get to do anything fun around here.
*★*
I woke to thoughts of my family. My mother, my father, my brother. All of them were dead. I felt the weight of grief like the weight of the moon pressing on my shoulders. It was hard to shake the feeling of guilt over their deaths. I'd actually assisted the people who'd murdered them. But all I'd really wanted was to take a stand against my family's ways. To stop the V Games, the death, the blood sports.
Despite knowing I'd made the right choice, I felt alone in that decision now. As much as Jameson had tried to help me integrate back at The Sanctuary, I was never going to be accepted there. The whispers that had followed me in the hallways, the stares. It was all a reminder of who I'd once been. And I couldn't exactly blame them for looking at me the way they had. I may not have wanted to be a Helsing anymore but by blood, I always would be. I'd played my part in the V Games, even if it was only in allowing it to continue for so many years. How many girls' lives could I have saved if I'd made a stand sooner?
Perhaps that's why I wasn't as terrified as I should have been in Alfric's home. In a sense, I felt I deserved this. Maybe karma was taking a bite out of me for all the bad stuff I'd done. And I kind of wanted it to. I'd gotten off lightly for my crimes. And something about this pain held a sense of justice in it...
The door to the attic opened and I didn't flinch, expecting it to be Colt arriving to change my bandages.
It wasn't.
Lynch strode across the room, glaring down at me in my small bed. “Bathroom break,” he announced.
Colt usually carried me to the lower level so I could use the toilet. And something told me I did not want this man's hands on me.
“Where's Colt?” I asked pathetically and Lynch's moustache twitched.
“None of your business.” He leant down, scooping me roughly into his arms and my screaming bladder forced me to stay quiet.
Downstairs, he walked me into the tiny bathroom, planting me roughly on my feet. I gasped as my broken leg moved automatically, trying to brace me. Pain shot into my knee and I crashed to the floor, just managing to elevate my bad leg before it hit the dusty floorboards.
“Two minutes,” Lynch barked before turning on his heel and marching out of the room. He left the door wide open, giving me a view out onto a small balcony above the staircase.
Mould bloomed on the walls and ceiling, the smell of it floating into my nostrils. I winced as I dragged myself backwards and manoeuvred myself onto the toilet seat. It was the sort of toilet I would have either refused to use in my past life, or squatted over to keep as far away from as possible.
A cobweb took the place of the toilet roll on the rack beside me. Colt had at least given me tissues and privacy. This was plain abuse.
I buried my face in my hands as I peed, the tinkling sound seeming like the loudest noise in the entire universe. What my mother would think if she could see
me now...
I heard Lynch chuckling out in the hall and the back of my neck burned with shame. Awkwardly, I shimmied back into my torn jeans, hopping onto one foot. I didn't wait for Lynch to come and fetch me, hobbling back out into the hallway, using the heel of my foot on my injured leg to keep my balance.
I clung to the door frame. It was only then I realised the difference the V blood had already made, given to me in secret by Colt. I couldn't have rested an ounce of weight on my leg the day before. But now...
Lynch stepped into view, his beetle-like eyes dropping to my bandages. I let out a groan of pain, just in case he suspected anything.
He dragged me into his arms and carried me back upstairs. He was only slightly more gentle when he placed me down on the bed. I perched on the edge, steadying myself with my hands.
Lynch tilted his head, seeming to assess me. “Better change those bandages then.”
He picked up a wad of them, moving to the end of the bed. His eyes travelled shamelessly over the bare skin of my thigh where my jeans were torn. I had to stop him touching me. I couldn't bear it. An idea came to mind and just before he placed his hands on me, I said, “The smell's getting better, I think, but you'll need to wipe up the puss before you put clean dressings on.”
Lynch hesitated, as I'd hoped. His nose wrinkled as he eyed my leg and I quickly went on. “Sometimes you have to squeeze it out if-”
“Alright,” he cut me off sharply, steeping away. “Colt's better at this shit anyway.” He chucked the bandages down, heading back to the door, slamming it as he went. His voice rattled through the house as he called for Colt.
A moment later the front door slammed and I heard voices outside. Pushing myself up, I found I could use my leg a little as I made way to the dusty window on the far side of the room. I pushed it open as far as it would go – which wasn't nearly enough that I'd ever be able to climb out of it – and took in a lungful of the crisp, Norwegian air.
I gazed down to the porch below, just catching sight of Colt standing before the steps, his skull bandanna in place over his mouth.
Wolf Games: Island of Shade (The Vampire Games Book 5) Page 8