He smiled with her as they stood and walked hand in hand to the other slaves, still gathering bodies. It was a grim sight, but after everything they’d seen already, a dead body to Liam was a much happier sight than another one charging at him from the darkness with fangs ready to tear him apart.
Chapter 7
Victoria hissed into the predawn light, pacing back and forth in front of the abandoned shack they’d found to use as shelter. There was a cellar around the back where the others already were, making ready to sleep during the day, but her mind was restless, thinking about Bastian and what he was doing right then. Had he found the fresh pool of blood she had left for him?
Was he turning into the monster she always knew existed within him?
Soon they would meet with more vampires who had been sent to ensure Bastian made it to the master. She only needed him to follow her for two more nights and then she would have him. She so badly wanted to kill Catherine and be finished with the pathetic mortal, but sadly she still needed her to draw Bastian into her trap. It was getting harder with each passing day.
All Victoria saw when she looked at the woman was Bastian holding her, kissing her, touching her in ways that she wanted Bastian to care for her again. Catherine had taken everything Victoria wanted from Bastian.
Suddenly Victoria was famished again and knew exactly where she could quench her thirst. She stalked towards the cellar, fangs out and ready to cause Catherine more pain.
***
It was the middle of the day, or maybe later. Catherine couldn’t tell by the small amount of light filtering down through the cellar door. Her stomach protested in hunger, but at least she had been given water, albeit only a few mouthfuls, but it would have to be enough. Victoria and the others were still asleep, thankfully. Her neck still ached from the last brutal feeding and she was getting weaker. Victoria had used compulsion on her again, but Catherine had been ready for it this time.
She had no idea if it would work or not, but Catherine had thought of Bastian the entire time. Victoria’s commands echoed around her thoughts, but once her gaze was turned away, Catherine’s mind filled once again with Bastian and her need to get to him.
There was no way to tell how long she’d been awake, but she’d been working at her hands ever since, the fidgeting from the day before more of a struggle. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get her feet to move or not when the time came to run, but she was not going to sit through another night with these monsters, dragging Bastian farther away from his island and safety. She’d listened in on the conversation between Haddie and Victoria, but the pain had made it hard to focus and she only heard a few things.
What she did know was tomorrow night they were going to meet up with more vampires.
If Catherine was going to get away from them, it had to be right now.
She pulled her arms, wiggling her hands against the bonds, trying not to curse and grunt with her movements. Her wrists started to come free. During Victoria’s last feeding, she’d jerked Catherine’s arms hard enough to loosen the rope that held her wrists. It was all Catherine needed.
Once one hand was free, she quickly pulled the other one out and rubbed her raw wrists, wincing. She tried to stand, but Victoria’s orders flashed through her mind and her legs refused to work. She had to move. Catherine focused, begging her legs to work with her, needing a muscle to twitch, anything, but still nothing.
Catherine bit her tongue to stop from cursing out loud and closed her eyes. Bastian. She thought of him earlier when Victoria had placed the compulsion on her. Now, she thought of his arms around her, how he held her with such a strong and protective hold like he would never let her go. Their last words to each other had been harsh. She had smacked him across the face. He had wanted her to keep her humanity, because he loved her.
And she had felt that love so many times over, crashing against her from a look, a touch, his lips on hers. A fulfilling warmth pouring off his cold as stone body.
Catherine opened her eyes and glanced down at her feet. She was standing.
Tiptoeing her way towards the cellar ladder, she kept her eyes trained on the sleeping vampires that Victoria had allowed in the cellar. The rest she’d forced to seek shelter elsewhere. Catherine didn’t know what she would be walking into, but there wasn’t time to debate her next move. The light from the sun faded and by the time she reached the cellar door, it had fallen dangerously low.
If the other vampires were close, she didn’t see them. Catherine took one last deep breath, the last dregs of Victoria’s compulsion slipping from her body, and raced off into the jungle. She held her skirts tightly in her hands, running as fast as she could without sprawling across the ground. If she could find the coast, well then she didn’t know, but the coast at least would let her see how far they’d actually come on this wretched journey.
Sweat dripped down her back and face, matting her hair to her head as she ran. The urge to scream Bastian’s name tore through her, but she remained silent. It would do her no good to wake the others with the noise and bring them all down on her. No, she would have to find her own way back to him…before he fell into the trap laid out by Victoria.
I’m sorry, Bastian, she thought fiercely, her feet stumbling over the roots of trees, her skirts tearing with each step. I am so terribly sorry.
A single tear slipped from her eye, but she wouldn’t let anymore fall. Find Bastian, that was all she had to do. Through the trees, she spotted water and heard the waves crashing in when she slid to a stop. The coast was close.
But behind her, the sun fell, resting barely on the horizon. A scream of rage reached her ears and Catherine’s blood ran cold. The vampires were awake.
They were coming for her.
***
Bastian and Tula pulled the boat up onto the sandy shore then hurried into the trees on the island. It was the next largest one, following the path they hoped Victoria followed to reach the mainland. Bastian bent to check for tracks when Catherine’s voice whispered against his ear.
“Catherine.”
Tula looked around quickly. “They’re here?”
“I heard her voice,” he said quietly. He listened intently, but there was only the crashing of waves behind him. It had been nothing, just his dire need to see her again—“There it is again.”
“You hear her?”
“I believe I’m hearing her…she said my name, Tula. She said she was sorry.”
“For what? Victoria is the one who started this, not Catherine.”
Bastian’s hands curled into tight fists at his sides. “No, but we fought over whether I should turn Catherine. Then she was taken from me. I should have listened to her.”
Tula gripped his friend’s arm tightly. “You did not know this would happen.” He peered closely at Bastian’s face. “If you are hearing her, maybe there is more to this woman than you first believed.”
“Such as?”
“I do not know, but one hears rumors every now and again, of those in deadly situations finding out something more about themselves. There is a chance Catherine has that something more,” Tula suggested quietly.
“Then we need to find her before Victoria discovers what Catherine may be able to do.”
I am here, Catherine, his thoughts whispered when Tula walked away. I am here and I’m coming for you soon, my love.
“Bastian, here.”
He hurried over to Tula and found the man staring down at two sets of tracks leading into the jungle. Only two sets.
“These are not from Victoria, the track is too large.”
“No,” Tula said. “But if she were meeting someone else…I believe we have come to the right island.”
“Then let us find these bastards.”
Tula led the way, finding the tracks as they ventured deeper into the jungle of the island. Before long, they reached the heart of it and Tula held up his hand. Bastian had smelt it too. Blood and not animal blood. Human. Someone whimpered and his i
nstincts reared, ready to charge in, but Tula forced him to stay back.
“It may not be Catherine,” he whispered. “Calm yourself.”
Bastian’s mouth opened wide, flashing his fangs and snapping his jaws, but he nodded and forced himself back a step. “I will wait here.”
“Good, do not move.” Tula crept low and disappeared into the shadows. Up ahead, there was a faint glimmer of firelight. Whoever was here, was not worried of being discovered and Bastian knew he would enjoy making them pay for that mistake soon enough.
A few tense moments later, Tula reappeared at his side. “There are two vampires and three humans. One appears dead, but the others are still alive.”
“Only the two?”
“I found no sign of others.”
“This is Victoria’s grand trap, two vampires?” Bastian shook his head.
Tula raised his brow. “There may be more nearby, but I do not think we should waste time searching the entire island for them.”
“No, you are right. Why search when we can simply ask?”
Tula’s dark grin mirrored his own and together they slunk back into the trees, moving closer to the fire and the two vampires currently feasting on their catches. Blood covered their faces and fronts. The smell remind Bastian he had not fed since leaving the main island. His fangs throbbed in hunger, but he could not feed, not yet. Tula circled around to the other side and they both crouched down, waiting.
“These island girls, they always hold so much flavor in their blood,” the red headed vampire said through a mouthful. The girl was still in his lap, tears streaming down her face, but her mouth clamped shut. “We should stay here and not return to the mainland with the others.”
“The master would not be pleased with your decision,” the second vampire, a brute of a man muttered, kicking the dead human farther from him as he dragged the other woman to his lap. She fought, screaming until his eyes flared red and he told her to shut up. “I hate it when they scream so much.”
“Does tend to ruin the meal,” the first said. “This vampire he’s having Victoria fetch, what do you think he can do?”
Bastian frowned at the question. He couldn’t do anything. He was exactly like them, wasn’t he?
“I don’t know. The master doesn’t share his secrets with me or you. That woman…I don’t know why he ever let her go. If she were human, I’d have taken her by now.”
“I heard from Anton she likes it on the rougher side.”
“Yes, for the man. Did you see the way she left him? I would need to teach her a lesson or two.”
“If she returns with this Bastian of hers, you may not get to. Victoria belongs to him and no one else.”
Bastian bristled. What had Victoria said to these vampires about him? Who was their master? He shifted in the undergrowth, anxious to break cover and find the answers he needed to know. The larger vampire opened his mouth wide and clamped down hard enough on the woman’s neck to break it. Her eyes froze open in terror and pain as the light faded from them and the vampire drained her dry in mere moments. When he finished, he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and tossed the body aside with the other. The living girl shuddered at the sight, but she could do nothing, but watch.
Bastian had seen enough. He straightened and strode into the firelight of the small camp. “Good evening, gentlemen.”
The vampires shot to their feet, snarling and snapping their jaws at him, the still living woman rolling onto the ground and almost into the fire.
“You, how did you get here?” the red head asked.
“Why? Do you not want me here? I thought this greeting party was for me,” Bastian said, stepping closer. “After all, is that not why Victoria has you lying in wait?”
The vampires looked at each other, not sure what to do next.
Bastian’s eyes narrowed on the brute with the blood still dripping from his fangs. “I would like some answers.”
He lunged forward as Tula charged out from the other side. Bastian tackled the brute to the ground easily. He was young, barely a few years turned and weak for one his size. Tula scuffled with the other, but Bastian only had eyes for the one his grasp. He pinned the man to the ground, slamming his face into the dirt over and over until his struggles to get free slowed.
Bastian’s arm around his neck kept him immobile. He hissed in the man’s ear, “Now then, after the way I saw you treating those you feed on, I know how you like it. Rough. Tell me what I want to know and maybe I will not be as rough on you as you were with her.”
“With who, you bastard?”
“The women you killed for sport.” Bastian dragged the man up to his knees and turned him to face the two dead bodies.
Tula had the other vampire under his foot, face slack. Bastian frowned, but the older man shrugged. “He was not as cooperative as yours.”
“Is he alive at least?”
Tula kicked the vampire hard and he grunted, but his eyes remained closed. “Yes, he is.”
Bastian smirked then turned his attentions back to the vampire in his arms. “Answers, you were going to give them to me.”
“I will not tell you anything.”
Bastian grabbed the vampire’s arm and twisted, popping it easily from his shoulder. The man yelped, but bit back the rest of the noise until Bastian twisted even harder and the skin began to tear around it.
“Who is your master?”
The brute shook his head once until Bastian twisted even harder, the arm barely hanging on by the bone. “He’ll kill you for this!”
“I thought he needed me alive. Is that not what you just said this whole chase was about? Who is he?”
“I will not say.”
Bastian frowned and with one hard yank, tore the vampire’s arm free. He tossed it onto the fire as the brute screamed and raged, blood falling from the wound and puddling on the ground.
“Shame,” Bastian mused. “Now then, shall I continue with the other arm or will you answer my questions?”
The brute hung his head and muttered under his breath. Bastian’s grip on his neck tightened, his rage over the last few days had been building. Soon he knew he would not be able to hold back.
“Speak up, I will not ask again.”
“We do not know his name. Only call him the master.”
“What does he look like?”
“He has black hair and a scar across his face, that’s all I know! I’ve only seen him once, when he turned me—it’s the truth, I swear it! Let me go!”
Bastian’s arm tightened around the brute’s neck even more. “Let you go? I never said I would let you go.” He lowered his mouth to the vampire’s throat and ripped it out. Blood covered Bastian. The vampire collapsed dead on the ground.
His friend lifted his head. He yelled and tried to scramble backwards.
“Now then,” Bastian said, wiping blood from his mouth on his arm, “are you going to be helpful or would you like to join your friend?”
His eyes stared at the dead vampire next to him. “I don’t know anything.”
“Your eyes say otherwise,” Bastian mused. “Tula, if you please.”
Tula lowered his mouth to the vampire’s neck, ready to take a chunk out of it, when he screamed for him to stop. “Wait! I don’t know much but I can tell you what I’ve heard! That’s all, please! Don’t kill me!”
Tula stopped and Bastian crouched down so he was eye level with the vampire. “Speak, now.”
He licked his lips and nodded slowly. “The master…we only know that he came from France and he’s old, at least three hundred years.”
“Nothing else about him?”
“He’s been creating and finding vampires from all across the globe,” the vampire whispered. “Building an army, but I don’t know why. They started in France and Spain, England, then they came here.”
Bastian frowned. “Why now?”
“I swear I don’t know. I was only made a year ago.”
“And why is he after me specifically?
”
The vampire didn’t answer right away and Tula’s fangs were at his neck again. “I don’t know! He found Victoria in England and she mentioned you. I don’t know why, I truly don’t.”
Bastian ground his teeth. Who was this man and why was he interested in him? The scar on the face…the vampire who told him how to turn Victoria did not have a scar. Was it his maker who had come back to find him?
“Where is Victoria going?” Bastian asked.
“She’s meeting with the master on the mainland, in a small settlement on the outskirts of the Spanish territory.”
“Very well. You will remove your compulsion from this woman,” Bastian said, gently raising the woman so their eyes could meet. The vampire nodded frantically and his eyes flared as they gazed upon the woman. He told her she was released from him and she immediately started screaming.
Bastian pulled her close, telling her she was going to live. “Tula, take care of him for me.”
The vampire screamed, but it did not last long…Tula ripped his throat out. The woman whipped around to watch, eyes wide and her whole body shaking.
“There is a boat,” Bastian told her quietly. “Take it and leave this place.”
She sat there, stunned, watching the blood soak the ground and run towards her. Bastian waited for her to move, but when the shock still remained, he snarled behind her. She leapt to her feet and took off for the coast.
Bastian took the head of the burly vampire, yanking it free before he could heal. “We will wait for them here,” he told Tula. “Burn the bodies.”
“What of this master, who is he?”
As they dragged the two bodies of the vampires closer to the fire and piled them on, watching the flames quickly work to devour their dead flesh, Bastian grit his teeth, baring his fangs wishing it was Victoria burning in that fire.
“This master they speak of, I believe he is my maker.” Bastian hung his head low, deep in thought.
“He sounds powerful and dangerous.”
“I suppose he is. It does not look good for me or Catherine,” he said. “We must make ready. They said tomorrow night is when Victoria was set to meet them.”
SV02-06. Slave to a Vampire Page 15