V Games (The Vampire Games Trilogy Book 1)

by Caroline Peckham

  I dropped off the last step, brushing the creases from my shirt that his fist had made. “Now, now, Abraham. We both know you'd be hard pressed to do that. I'm your obedient little pet, remember? You wouldn't want your buddies to think otherwise.”

  He gave me a cold stare through his deep blue eyes. “Even a dog needs a kick every now and then to keep it in line.”

  I growled at him, baring my teeth. “Go ahead. Kick the dog.”

  Abraham moved strategically in front of me so his towering height just about blocked me from sight of the room.

  “Fetch Mercy for me. She hasn't shown her face since the game started. I need her out here, talking to our clients.”

  “You mean flirting money out of them,” I growled. Mercy had recently turned eighteen, and her father had no shame in flaunting her beauty in front of the spectators. It worked like a charm.

  I, however, was less fond of the girl. She'd taken it upon herself to taunt me for her own amusement, trying to tempt me into wanting her like she did every other man that passed through this castle.

  “Just fetch her,” Abraham snapped before walking away.

  With a final glance at Selena on the towering screen, I headed up to the east tower, in no particular hurry to see Mercy.

  When I knocked on her door, she called, “Come in!”

  I pushed inside, finding the girl sprawled out on the golden sheets of her bed in nothing but a lacy bra and knickers. Her endlessly blonde locks flowed around her like a silky pool.

  “Get dressed, your father wants you downstairs,” I demanded, turning on my heel to leave.

  “Stop,” she commanded and my shoulders tensed as I paused in the doorway. My senses were rife with her blood. She was the only one of the Helsings who didn't rub garlic oil onto her skin. Another temptation for my benefit. The little witch.

  But the only reason I wanted to sink my teeth into Mercy's neck, was to get my revenge on the family I despised more than anything in the world.

  Mercy swung her olive-tan legs over the bed, moving toward me, shrugging on a see-through sliver of chiffon she evidently deemed a robe.

  As she approached, her wide, sea blue eyes swept over me. The remote that all of them carried hung around her neck on a silver chain. She was encouraged to keep it there by her father who believed her to be the most appealing to me. And I had no doubt I could kill Mercy if I wanted to. She let her guard down often, all in the name of exerting her power over me. She knew I'd never touch her, I'd be signing my own death warrant if I did.

  “I thought they might send you,” she said with a smirk, pulling up her coral-pink lips.

  “Is that why you were laid out on the bed like an afternoon snack?” I remarked, baring my teeth so she backed up, but only half a step.

  The flitter of fear in her eyes turned to excitement. She was perhaps the most twisted of the family, drawn to the danger in me. But she was playing with fire and she knew it.

  “Don't worry, Mercy.” I sneered. “I'd sooner drink sewage water than your blood.” I wanted to my words to dig at her, but we both knew how much I craved her blood.

  She twisted a strand of her hair around her finger, her brow furrowing in offense. “Come on, Varick.” She stepped closer, splaying a hand across my chest. “There must be some man left in there.” Her hand sailed lower and I caught her wrist at my waistband, crushing it in my fist.

  She let out a squeak of pain, but I didn't let go. “I'll tell Father,” she warned.

  “You'll tell him what? That you flaunted yourself in front of me?” I released her wrist and she cupped it in her other hand, looking wounded.

  “The other men look at me, why don't you?” She pouted, looking very much the teenager that she was.

  “Because the only reason I'd ever touch you, Mercy, is to drain every drop of that delicious blood of yours.” I stepped forward but she stood her ground.

  Sweeping her hair aside, she bared her neck. “Prove it.”

  I rolled my eyes, but my tongue burned with thirst. “Go downstairs. I won't ask you again.”

  She played with the tassels on her pathetic excuse for a robe, regarding me. “What will you do if I say no?”

  “Throw you over my shoulder and deliver you to your father as you are. Dressed or not.” I shrugged. “I don't really give a damn.”

  She huffed, storming away from me and grabbing a blood-red dress from the ornate wardrobe. Slinking out of her robe, it fluttered to the floor as she pulled the dress over her head. It was hardly much less revealing than if she had remained in her underwear, but I didn't really care. I wanted to get back to the auditorium. For all I knew, Selena could already be dead. When the Vs attacked, they didn't waste much time in killing their victims. Not until they'd fed a little, at least. Then the nastier side of the game came out. It was probably a blessing for some of the girls to have died first. Because if a V caught them after they'd been fed, they were more likely to toy with their food.

  They weren't stupid, they knew the Helsings and their vile clients were watching. And some of the Vs revelled in putting on a show for them.

  When we returned to the auditorium, Mercy melted into the crowd, immediately descended on by the lustful onlookers in the room.

  Abraham stood upon a stage at the far end, clasping his hands together. “Good evening gentlemen. Tonight, the contestants will arrive at the first checkpoint. In order to let both you and they rest, the time they spend there won't be broadcast.”

  A murmur of assent went up. “No doubt they'll need a good rest for tomorrow!” called one of the regular game attendants, his shiny, slicked-back hair catching my eye. Brice Edgewater was an Australian beef farmer who had more money than grains of sand on his million acre farm in the outback. It was his third year at the games and he had a streak of picking the winners.

  Abraham gestured to me with his chin. “Varick will be heading out to meet the girls and prepare them for tomorrow.”

  I stood, making my way through the crowd. The men shifted out of my way with haste, tucking the tails of their coats beneath them. I took my time, basking in their fear. Mercy brushed her fingers over my spine, showing me off to the men as her glorified pet.

  I shrugged past her, meeting Abraham as he descended from the stage. “The supplies are waiting at the lighthouse. Make sure any girls who survive are well rested for tomorrow.”

  He gave me a hard stare and I sighed. It was always the same old warnings, as if I would betray him and drink from the competitors. I wasn't fool enough to do so. I knew the value they held to the Helsings and I wasn't going to risk my own neck for the sake of a drink. No matter how desperate I became.

  “Of course, sir.” I gave him a mocking bow of my head, moving past him toward the exit. Slipping through the wooden door, I picked up my pace, speeding through the castle toward the bridge.

  I knew I was making haste for another reason. I didn't want to waste a second not watching the game. Every moment I was away from the screen, was another moment a V could have stumbled upon Selena. Could have drained her body of life, left her slumped in the snow like a beautiful, broken doll. Ever since I'd first smelled her blood at the British prison, I couldn't force her from my mind. She'd inched her way into my body like a splinter under my skin. No doubt it was due to the desperate hunger I was currently a slave to. The Helsings had been stingier than ever before this game. I should have been fed two weeks ago, but still they denied me blood.

  The lighthouse was on the western coast, on a splinter of rock that protruded from the island. It had long since been retired, but the structure still remained; it had originally been built to warn trade ships of the rocky shore. But no ships took this route any longer. The Helsings had made sure of that.

  I had over ten hours before time ran out to reach the checkpoint. But in the past, some of the girls would make it there in a few hours. It was a bold tactic, but it often worked. The Vs spent the first couple of rounds weeding off the weaker prey. Much as they were a s
lave to this game, their enjoyment of the hunt meant they wanted the game to continue for as long as possible. The final rounds were always a blood bath. And though the girls didn't know it, sometimes there was no survivors in this game. The last one to the grave would take the metaphorical crown, for all the good it did them.

  I made my way across the frosty landscape, skirting the edge of the island so I wouldn't run into any of the girls. But from time to time, I smelt them on the wind, a mixture of sweat, blood and tears. Someone was injured, and it wouldn't be long before they were hunted down. Even a paper-cut was a death sentence out here. Bodily odours could be covered well enough with mud, or the pungent sulphurous steam of the hot springs on the southern shore. But our senses were finely tuned to the metallic scent of blood, so much so that I could smell a drop of it a mile away.

  With the island rife with animals, however, from wild wolves to the caribou in the northern forest, our senses were dulled slightly. I supposed the Helsings had planned it as such, to give the girls a slither of a chance.

  I reached the towering white lighthouse and hurried across the rocky outcrop in a burst of speed. Wrenching open the metal door at the bottom, I hurried up the twisting stairway. At the top, another door parted me from the room inside. The place was damp and cold, disused since the previous games last winter. It was my job to make it comfortable for the girls and I was certain to make that a priority, as soon as I'd projected the footage on the far wall.

  The game flashed to life and several boxes split across it, the hidden cameras trained on the surviving contestants. It took me three seconds to locate Selena and a small sigh passed my lips as I spotted her alive, still inside the cave. But she wasn't alone.

  Selena

  “Ergh, just my luck for it to be you here,” Kite snarled as she stepped into the cave.

  My hackles rose and I felt instinctively protective of the safe space I'd found. Behind her, was a girl with mousy brown hair and an equally mousy face. Her wide, hazel eyes and small, button nose gave her the appearance of a creature stuck in the headlights of an oncoming car. Her dress was a dark grey, unlike the navy blue of Kite's. It occurred to me that it was an unfair advantage for us to be wearing darker colours, whilst other girls attempted to hide the bright dresses they'd been given to wear.

  Kite had her stake clamped in her hand and blue blood, so dark it was almost black, dripped from it in thick globs.

  “Did you kill one of them?” I gasped as the girls moved closer, dropping down in front of the dying embers of my fire without a word.

  I got to my feet, feeling anxious to leave the cave in case they had led one of the Vs here.

  “Yeah. It's not that hard.” Kite shrugged and the other girl shifted closer to her.

  “What's your name?” I addressed the stranger.

  “Tiffany,” she replied in a small voice. “Kite saved me.”

  “I wouldn't call it that,” Kite snipped. “That V came at both of us. I was saving myself.”

  “Still...” Tiffany took her stake from her bag, chucking it onto the fire. “I couldn't do it.”

  “Idiot,” Kite muttered, but spared no time in stoking the fire with the toe of her boot. She turned to me with a smirk that skewed her pretty features. “Why are you still hanging around on this corner of the island anyway?”

  “I just thought...” I couldn't finish my sentence, not wanting to admit the truth. I dropped down across from them as the heat of the fire tempted me in.

  Kite's smile grew. “You thought the other girls would draw the Vampires away so you could take a safe stroll to the checkpoint.” I scowled at her and she tapped her temple with a satisfied smile. “Great minds think alike.”

  My morals were thoroughly shaken by her words. I didn't want to admit that that was why I was holing up here a little longer than I should have.

  The wind picked up outside, drawing the smoke out so it filtered into the sky.

  I held my hands above the fire, warming my numb fingers. Tiffany played with the cuff on her wrist, twisting and turning the hologram of the map that was projected above it.

  Kite glanced at it. “We should move soon.”

  “We have hours,” Tiffany insisted.

  “The quicker we get there, the sooner we're safe,” Kite snapped and I couldn't help but agree.

  “As soon as the fire burns down, we'll go,” Tiffany said and we nodded our agreement.

  Having Kite as an ally didn't appeal to me one bit. But if she'd killed a V already, perhaps she was useful to have around. Her fight wasn't with me any more, but that didn't mean I wouldn't stop watching my back around her.

  The wind howled beyond the cave, loud enough to be heard over the streaming river.

  My stomach grumbled loudly and Kite rolled her eyes. “Hungry, puppy?”

  I ignored her, taking out one of the energy bars from my bag. It was wrapped in black paper with a large H printed on it. The hard oat bar inside didn't look particularly appealing, but I was too hungry to complain, wolfing it down in two bites.

  As the fire flickered out, I tried to prepare myself mentally for moving beyond the cave. Already, it had become a sanctuary of sorts and my instincts urged me to stay there. But Kite was right, the sooner we got to the lighthouse, the better. I just hoped Cass had the same idea. I prayed she was still alive, making her way to safety as quickly as she could.

  As we readied to leave, I stamped out the remains of the fire and slung my pack over my shoulders, pulling my ebony robe over it.

  “A black dress seems like the best deal,” Kite muttered, eyeing my clothes. “I reckon someone likes you back at the castle.”

  I spat a laugh, going to reply when a voice stopped me dead.

  “Three little piggies, standing in a cave. Three little piggies, thought they would be safe.”

  I snapped around to face the smiling Vampire in the cave entrance. He had a mop of grizzly dark hair that hung lankly around his gaunt face. His bright blue eyes were sunken and bloodshot and his lips were drawn back to reveal reddened gums and sharp yellow teeth.

  My heart stumbled as I gazed at him, none of us making a move.

  He breathed in deeply, his nostrils flaring, his eyes landing on me. “My, my, something smells good in here.”

  “Go,” Kite hissed, but I was frozen to the spot.

  She readied herself in a fighting stance, grinning back at the V. “Come and get your cut of bacon, then.”

  My hands trembled as I prepared to run. Tiffany was twitching with how much she was shaking, clinging to Kite's side like a monkey to its mother.

  The V lunged at us in a blur of movement and Kite moved almost as fast, shoving Tiffany into his outstretched arms.

  A scream tore from her throat that sliced to my core. I cried out in horror as Kite darted past me, fleeing from the cave.

  Tiffany was dragged to the ground in a swirl of grey material and blood splattered across the wall.

  There was nothing I could do. Nothing but run.

  My legs moved before I even realised I was running and the cold air engulfed me as I sprinted from the cave. Kite was nowhere in sight, but I didn't care. I wanted as far away from her as I did the V.

  I charged in the direction of the waterfall, clambering up a muddy hill beside it.

  By the time I reached the top, I was soaked and panting harder than I ever had in my life. I orientated myself on the map then kept running, fleeing into a thick forest, the tree trunks whipping past me, flashing in my periphery.

  I didn't stop until I physically couldn't run any longer, dropping down behind a large pine and resting my back against the trunk. I gulped down the freezing air, crushing my knees to my chest as I tried to catch my breath enough to be quiet.

  The snow hadn't reached the ground of the forest and it was relatively dry beneath the canopy. The smell of pine needles flooded my senses, a smell I'd once loved. I focused on the peace of the wood and the chattering of small mammals above, assuring me I was in no im
mediate danger.

  I took the bottle of water from my pack, drinking nearly half before I forced myself to save it. I shut my eyes, reminded of the pine air freshener that hung in my mother's car. We'd only ever take her car when we were going somewhere nice. The park was where we took refuge from my stepfather, stealing a few hours of happiness, playing on the swings and soaking in the laughter of the other children.

  I clung to the image and opened my eyes, calculating my next move. Tapping my cuff, I orientated myself on the map. The coast was west of the forest and I was thankful I could remain in the dark wood for now. So long as the buzz of life surrounded me in the forest, I convinced myself no Vs could be close. Standing, I started walking at a brisk pace, moving as quietly but as quickly as possible. From time to time I checked my heading, but I never stopped moving.

  The trees were dense and the snap of twigs around me was so regular that I soon stopped jumping at the noise. My own boots sounded as loud as thunder as I walked, but there was nothing I could do about it.

  As the trees thinned and the moonlight illuminated the snow beyond the forest edge, my heart rate picked up. The second I was out of the trees, I'd have no cover. What if the Vs were waiting out there to pick off the girls as they appeared?

  I paused by one of the final trees, tucking myself behind it and peering out. Another twig snapped behind me and I ignored it, staring out at the snowy field before me. Grass peeked through the top of it, so I knew the land was flat.

  The hairs raised on the back of my neck and I snapped around, overwhelmed with the feeling of someone watching me. It was irrational, because of course people were watching me. A hundred men betting on me living or dying, I didn't know which.

  My eyes flitted from tree to tree, every fluttering leaf causing my heart to jolt. But if a V was waiting there, surely they would have attacked me by now?

  I forced my eyes back on the field ahead and stepped out into the snow. In the distance, I could just make out the coast where several black rocks jutted into the sky. Moving to the nearest pine tree, I snapped off a branch with a fan of needles on one end.