"Fae fire," he explained. "It happens at dusk. Magic in the air glows under the dying rays of the sun."
"It's so beautiful," I said as I watched the sky light up with the magical light show.
"Are you hungry?" he asked as we walked by a bakery.
The sweet smell of fresh bread filled my nose. My stomach grumbled. "Sure, I can eat."
The smell was almost overpowering as we walked through the doors. But what was worse was that I could no longer see the fae fire outside. I felt a bit silly, but I tapped Calder on the shoulder. "Can I wait outside? I want to watch the sky some more."
Calder looked over me and towards the door. I could see the hesitation in his eyes, but when the smile spread across his face, I knew I would get what I wanted.
"Promise me that you will not wander from the storefront. I am not supposed to leave you alone."
I nodded vigorously and practically bounced out of the door and into the cooling night air. The sun was nearly down now and the fae fire had changed colors from incandescent oranges and reds to more muted but far more mesmerizing blues and greens.
I paced back and forth in front of the store as I watched the lightshow above my head.
I smiled up at the sky as I thought of the past two days. I'd had lunch with a handsome vampire. He bought me shoes and I got my hair done. Now we were about to eat dinner under an enchanted sky. In any other circumstance, this would have been the best date I'd even been on.
But when I craned my neck too far back, the collar bit into my shoulders, a constant reminder that no matter how much I was enjoying the moment, I was still a prisoner here. If it hadn't been for that, I might have lost myself in the moment. In an odd way, the collar was keeping me grounded. Every time the metal choker touched my skin, a vision of Sam would pop into my head.
Voices from behind me caught my attention as I stared into the sky. It wasn't the voices themselves that peaked my interest, but what was being said. Or rather, the fact that I couldn't understand the words that were being spoken. I turned around and looked at a cluster of half a dozen vampires huddled in the shadows behind the bakery and the building next door.
Why couldn't I understand their words? I thought that was what the language enchant was supposed to fix.
One of the group caught me staring and they scattered. All but one of them anyways. A large vamp with sunken eyes and bulging muscles slowly and deliberately walked towards me. His hair was spiked and colored blue. As he walked, electricity seemed to arc from the tips of his hair.
I backed up towards the bakery, but as I turned towards the door, I noticed a second vamp from the blue hair's group had moved between me and safety. My pulse quickened as the men closed in on me. I caught a glint of metal in the hand of one of the vamps as he approached.
Was that a knife?
With nowhere to go and the men closing in on me, I did the only thing I could think of. I screamed.
"Calder! Help!"
The vampires charged as I screamed. The blue haired vamp raised the knife above his head as he closed with me. I dropped to my knees and threw my arms above my head. There was nothing else I could do. This was it.
I heard a grunt and a thump as something hit the dirt. A second later and something far heavier slammed to the ground. I opened my eyes just in time to see the head of the blue haired vamp roll past me, his hair spikes flashing and sparking wildly, with his face a mask of shock. Three feet away lay the rest of him, a headless corpse in the dirt, still clutching the dagger in his hand as his blood seeped into the ground.
I turned to see the other vampire sprinting away as fast as he could down the street, but something flashed through the air and a scream pierced the night as he fell to his knees, hands grasping for something buried in his back.
What the hell is going on?
Calder stepped out of the shadow of the bakery door and walked calmly across the street to retrieve his short sword. It had buried itself into a wooden post. The gleaming blade was marred with blood, which he wiped off on the jacket of the headless body in the road. He slid the sword back into its sheathe and walked in my direction.
"Go inside and stay there Miss Olivia. I will return in a moment," said Calder as he walked right by me and towards the vampire down the street who was trying to crawl away.
I ran to the bakery door but before I went inside, I turned around to see Calder pull a small knife from the back of the crawling vampire. He kicked him over with his boot and dropped a knee into his chest. It looked like they were talking but I couldn't make out the words at this distance. I slipped inside when I saw Calder stand up and head my way.
When he walked into the bakery, I couldn't help but throw myself against him. My arms wrapped around his body and I pressed my head into his shoulder. I couldn’t stop shaking and the warmth of Calder's body against my own was chasing away the chill that was spreading through me.
"Thank you Calder. They were going to kill me."
Hiss hand ran through my hair before resting on the back of my head. He pulled me close and relief flooded trough me.
Calder will keep me safe.
But even as I had that thought, guilt spread through me. A voice in my head told me to push myself away from my vampiric knight but I couldn't. This felt right.
"They wouldn't have killed you. They were going to take you."
I lifted my head from Calder's shoulder. "How do you know that?"
"I asked the wounded one in return for his life. They were going to bring you to their Lord. He would have killed you."
My thoughts flashed back to Sam and the vampires in the woods. "Lord Morescu?"
Calder shook his head. "These ones used weapons. This was Lord Sammael. He likes to attack from the shadows instead of seeking honorable confrontation."
"I would have been dead either way. You saved me."
Calder rubbed my back before leading me to a table. He sat me down then took the seat across from me. "Tell me what happened."
I told Calder everything I saw. He watched me intently most of the time, but I caught him looking over my shoulder towards the door more than once. I glanced behind me, but no one was there. When I finished my story, it was his turn to talk.
"Call me faster next time Miss Olivia. There are only a few reasons to mask a language like you described and none of them are good." He stood up and held out his hand like a gentleman. "We need to return to the castle. It is not safe out here any longer."
My pulse quickened as I took his hand. I tried to tell myself that it was because of fear, but fear didn't make my knees weak and my nipples pucker. I couldn't keep lying to myself. I was falling for Calder.
"Stay close to me Miss Olivia and keep an eye on the shadows. They will try again."
As we left the bakery and stepped out into the night, I grabbed Calder's hand and held it tightly. He looked confused for a moment and his body tensed at my touch, but when he saw my smile he relaxed. His hand wrapped around mine and squeezed gently. My body tingled.
I could die tonight, I thought as we walked hand in hand towards the castle. Killed on a world I wasn't born into.
Half way to the castle and I started to relax. Maybe they had given up. I dropped my guard as my attention waned. What was I doing? I couldn't have feelings for Calder. I loved Sam. It didn't matter if he wasn't here right now. I couldn't just latch onto whoever was closest to me.
I was almost too late before I noticed the man in the shadows to my left. I didn't even have time to scream before long fingers wrapped around my arm. I squeezed Calder's hand in fright but that was enough. I heard the sound of his sword slide from its sheathe and the movement of air above my head as the blade swung in an arc above me.
The vamp who grabbed my arm staggered backwards clutching his face. Calder pulled me closer and whispered quickly into my ear. "Run and do not look back Miss Olivia. Make for the gate."
"But..."
"Listen to me and run!" Calder pushed me away and my legs pum
ped as fast as they could as I made a beeline for the massive wooden gates. A noise above me made me look up. A vampire jumped from the roof of a building, his eyes glowing red as he fell towards me. He would have caught me if not for a sword flying through the air.
With a sickening thud, Calder's short sword bisected the leaping vampire and he fell to either side of me. The sword hit the ground and slid through the dirt before coming to rest against the base of a tree. I turned around and looked for Calder, but all I could see was a group of vampires closing in on the spot where I'd left him.
I couldn't leave him. I didn't care about the King, but Calder had saved my life. More than that, he had been nice to me when he didn't have to be. He had spared Sam and my father. I had to do something.
Calder's sword. I ran and grabbed it before rushing right back to where he had left me. As I moved closer, I could see him now. A dozen vamps in dark cloaks had surrounded him. Three were sprawled on the ground but the rest had formed an ever shrinking circle around Calder. His silver armor was stained with blood and he held a pair of small daggers in his hands as he turned in circles and swung at anyone who got too close.
I knew I should have stopped and ran the other way. This was suicide. But I couldn't keep running.
Instead, I lowered my shoulders and held the sword out in front of me as I charged towards the group while screaming at the top of my lungs.
My shoes weren't made for running. While still yards away from the group of vamps, one of the straps on my sandals ripped apart from the strain and I lost my balance. I fell to the dirt and the sword flew from my hand before landing a few feet short of the group. The gathered vampires laughed and a few of the black cloaks broke off to collect me.
I struggled to my feet but my ankle wouldn't support my weight. All I could do was watch as the vampires approached, but it turned out that watching was all that Calder really needed me to do.
With the group around Calder distracted by my sudden appearance, he struck quickly. In a flash of silver and red I watched as four vampires dropped together, each clutching their open throats. Calder had moved so fast I hadn't been able to follow his strikes. And he wasn't done yet. His hands shot out from his sides and the pair of knives he was holding flew from his fingertips before embedding themselves in the chests of the final two stunned vampires.
With the six around him taken care of, Calder ran towards the three closing on me. In one swift movement he scooped his sword up without slowing down and threw it, end over end, at the group approaching me. The blade hit home and the monster in the middle of the approaching group fell forward with a gasp as the sword plunged into his back.
His buddies turned but it was too late. Calder was airborne with his arms outstretched. His razor sharp fingertips cut through the soft skin of the neck of one of the vamps. He tucked into a ball and rolled across the ground before popping to his feet and reversing directions.
The last vamp standing had a fighting chance. Face to face with Calder, I watched as the two traded blows, each blocking and redirecting the deadly strikes away from their own bodies. But Calder was faster. While the vamp in the black robe was busy watching Calder's quick hands, Calder lashed out with his foot and caught the robed vampire in the knee. It bent in a way a knee was never meant to move and the man dropped to the ground. He was done fighting.
We didn't wait around to question the survivors. Calder picked up his sword then helped me to my feet. When he saw I couldn't walk, he picked me up in his arms and held me as I wrapped my hands around his neck.
"You should have kept running Miss Olivia. That could have gone badly."
I pushed my head against Calder's shoulder and held onto his neck a little tighter. "I couldn't just leave you alone."
"Well, I appreciate the assist. But trust me next time."
"Okay, I will." I pulled my head away from his shoulder. "And Calder?"
"Yes Miss Olivia?"
"My friends call me Liv."
*****
Back in the throne room, I watched from a bench against the wall as the King and Calder talked in hushed tones. I'd occasionally catch a word or two and from what I could make out, they were talking about the various vampire lords in the kingdom. The King was smiling as he patted Calder on the back and walked towards me.
"You have done splendidly girl. Two different lords moved against you and now I know who has turned traitor. Your services are no longer required."
What did that mean?
"Does that mean I can go home?"
"Sure, why not," said the King as he waved a hand in the air and turned towards Calder.
My heart lifted at the King's words, but a moment later the blood in my veins ran cold as I heard hushed words from the King in a language I couldn't understand. Calder's warning from earlier ran through my head.
There are only a few reasons to mask a language like you described and none of them are good.
I looked at Calder just as he turned to look at me. Whatever the King had just said, it wasn't good.
Calder responded in the same confusing tongue as the King and in moments they were arguing loudly. But the argument stopped as soon as the King pushed Calder away and raised a hand towards me. His hand closed and the collar around my neck started to tighten.
No!
"Obey your King or I will find someone who will!" yelled the King.
Calder dropped to a knee and bowed at the King's feet. A moment later, the collar around my neck loosened and air flooded back into my starved lungs.
"Calder? What's going on?"
Calder kept his head bowed while the King spoke. "Go ahead First Fang. Tell the human what is about to happen. Tell her what you're going to do to her."
In a quiet voice, Calder told me. "I've been ordered to take you to the gardens and remove your collar."
Something's wrong. Why is he acting like this is bad news?
"So what is wrong?"
"Go on, tell her Calder. Tell her what that really means," said the King.
"The collar does more than you know. It protects you from this world. Without it, Thiea would flood you with its magic and you would shift permanently. You would fade away and become a beast."
The horror of his words sunk into me. I'd wanted to become a wolf my entire life, but not like this. "Please Calder. Don't do it."
"I'm sorry Miss Olivia," he said as he grabbed my arm.
"Please Calder! Don't do this! I'll be like Aoife! Don't make me like her!"
His grip on my arm loosened for a moment, but the King coughed behind us and Calder pulled me to my feet. My ankle burned as I stood but the pain didn't matter much anymore.
"Don't worry so much my girl," said the King, "In a few days time, you won't remember any of this. You'll be happy because you won't know any better, I'll be happy because I'll have a werewolf in my private zoo, and Calder will be able to visit you any time he wants so I imagine he'll be happy too. Isn't that right Calder?"
"Yes Sire," he said as he pulled me towards the doors.
"Ohh and Calder. When you are done in the gardens, take a group and go visit Earth. I want you to raze Black Bear to the ground. Too many wolves know of the Blood Rite now. Fix the problem."
"Noooo!" I screamed. I fought against Calder's grip but his hand was like a vise.
Calder turned back to face the King. "My King, I swore that no harm would come to Olivia's friends if she came peacefully. We've rooted out the traitors. None of this is necessary!"
"I don't care what you promised the girl. I've given you an order. Obey it!"
Calder's hand loosened as he squared his body. "No."
The King looked shocked. "What did you say?"
Calder turned his head and whispered, "Get ready to run. I'm sorry Liv."
But before Calder could turn back around, I was lifted off of the floor with a startled scream as the collar pulled me skyward. I held on tightly to the metal ring as the King shook his outstretched hand back and forth, dragging m
e through the air like a rag doll.
"You forget that I can hear her thoughts boy! But you're in luck. I've changed my mind. I think I'm just going to kill your new friend instead. I can always get a werewolf from Black Bear for my gardens."
The King's hand closed and the collar choked me again. With darkness clawing at the corners of my vision and the sound of my own blood thundering in my ears, I watched Calder charge the King with his sword drawn.
The King dodged Calder's wild swings with ease before knocking the sword from his hand and striking out at Calder's chest with his spear-like fingers. The chest plate Calder wore seemed to stop the blow for a moment, but only a moment. The King's fingers sank through the metal and into Calder's chest as the younger vampire screamed in pain.
My body convulsed as I tried desperately to breathe. My head pounded but through the pain, a single thought formed as the darkness threatened to overwhelm me. I saw the vampires from earlier stare in shock at my appearance. The distraction that saved Calder's life.
I filled my head with the thought of train whistles and car alarms. Fire drills from when I was a child and the sound of nails on a chalkboard. The King's hand slapped against his head and I fell from the air. I tasted blood as I struggled to smile. As my lungs filled with air and my mind cleared, I continued the mental assault.
"Now Calder!" I yelled as I filled my thoughts with car crashes and honking horns.
With a strike to the King's elbow, Calder freed himself and slid across the floor to pick up his sword. The King held out a hand to stop him, but instead of thwarting the strike, the sharp sword took the hand clean off.
My mind went blank as I watched Calder strike with brutal efficiency. The King regained his senses but it was already too late. Calder's sword took the King's other arm off at the shoulder and with a backswing, the older vampire fell to the ground, missing his left leg below the knee.
The King was screaming and Calder was calling to me while I stared dumbfounded at the carnage in front of me. Body parts littered the floor and Calder leaked blood from five jagged wounds in his chest. He was holding out his hand and trying to wave me over.
The Pack - Shadow Games Page 4