“There. Now what?” I snarled.
A whirring noise sounded as a hatch opened in the wall. I spied two keys and one curved, silver blade inside it.
“You'll need de keys to free dem,” Rockley said.
I wiped the heated tears from my cheeks, snatching the items from the hatch and stuffing the keys into a pocket in my dress.
Oh god, am I ready for this?
It was all happening too fast. I wasn't remotely prepared.
“Ready...steady...” Rockley announced and the door behind him swung open. “Run.”
Cass
I darted through the doorway and it slid smoothly closed behind me. My fate was sealed. I had no choice but to play this game. But my focus was thrown by seeing my family. I hadn't seen them for years. They'd stopped visiting me in prison. I'd told them to stop coming. I couldn't bear the way they'd looked at me, knowing what I'd done. But that didn't mean I didn't love them.
The maze split away before me, the walls metal and grey. I gazed upwards, spying a huge stadium of seats spiralling up high above me. Only a few seats were filled amongst the masses, the onlookers clearly guards. Rockley Jones gazed down at me from a spectators' box that jutted out from the stadium, lit up from the inside. Silas was at his side, looking pale. The other man with them made my throat constrict. Ulvic Hund.
My heart lifted a fraction. Did that mean Jameson was here?
I had no time to dwell on that possibility, so I gave them a death glare before picking a path to the left, running down it at full speed. Sounds carried to me from around the maze; piercing Vampire shrieks and the clicking, sucking noise of a Reaper.
I gripped the blade tighter in my hand, pushing my legs harder. Adrenaline poured through my veins. I had to get to my family. I tried to picture where I'd seen them on the map, but I'd been too shocked to focus properly. Vaguely, I recalled my brother had been somewhere to the left and my father to the right. So I took the next left turn, figuring I must have already been closer to my brother.
I fought the urge to cry out to them, knowing it could bring a host of hungry creatures in my direction. But as I thought it, a wailing shout filled the air and I quickened my pace, recognising my brother's voice.
I'm here. I'm coming.
It was one thing to hurt me, but to hurt my family was too much. I had to get them out of this place. I tried not to guess how long they'd been prisoners to Rockley, or what he might do to them even if I managed to save them.
I turned corners left and right, his anguished cries guiding me forward.
As I rounded into a dead-end, my heart slammed into my throat. A Vampire had my brother pinned to the floor. He was still alive, fighting the V tooth and nail as it fed from his shoulder.
I brought the silver knife up high, leaping forward and yanking the V's head back by its scraggly hair. It screeched angrily and I didn't waist a second, slamming the knife into its temple. Blackish-red blood oozed, dripping down onto my brother's face. I threw the Vampire aside and Curt gazed up at me as if he'd seen a ghost.
My brother looked different to the last time I'd seen him. His dark crimson hair was shorter, his arms thick with muscle. He's been barely more than a waif the last time I'd seen him, his body devoured by the curse of heroin. A thick metal collar was locked around his neck, the same as mine.
I reached for his hand and he jerked away, gazing at me in disbelief, horror.
“It's alright, it's me,” I whispered.
“Cass?” he breathed, shaking his head. “How...how are you here? You're dead. The police said you were dead.”
I lowered to a crouch, taking his hand. “They lied,” I whispered.
In a sudden movement, he grabbed my arm and yanked me into his chest, crushing me against him. “Jesus, it really is you.”
I hugged him, tears gathering in my eyes, relief spilling through me.
“Are you alright?” I asked and he nodded against my shoulder.
“Apart from being chained here and eaten alive by that...thing.” He kicked the dead Vampire away from him and I realised Rockley hadn't even offered him the courtesy of an explanation about Immortals.
I fumbled in my pocket, pulling out the two keys and trying each of them in his shackles until the padlock opened.
“Where'd you get those?” Curt asked, shaking the cuff from his ankle.
“We're in a game,” I breathed, the sound of movement catching my ear beyond the wall behind us. I lowered my tone further. “There's no time to explain. Dad's in trouble.”
“Dad's here?” Curt gasped, evidently not getting the cue to keep quiet. I pressed a hand to his mouth, listening to the maze. Perhaps I was the only one who could hear the movements, my Hybrid senses giving me an advantage.
“We need to move.” I removed my hand from his mouth and he rose to his feet.
Wiping a line of blood from the blade, I held it up to his lips. He grimaced, looking confused.
“You need to drink it. It'll heal you,” I promised.
He didn't look convinced.
“Trust me,” I urged and he tentatively wiped the blood from my finger and held it to his mouth. I nodded my encouragement and he took a breath before licking it clean. A moment later, the bite on his neck healed and his eyes grew wide.
“What the hell is happening?” he whispered.
I moved forward, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I'll explain when this is over.”
He frowned, suddenly dragging me into his arms again and squeezing me tight. My heart swelled at the feeling of being reunited with him after so long.
“It's good to see you, sis.” He released me and I nodded.
“You too.” I glanced over my shoulder. “We need to find Dad.”
Curt headed down the passage and I followed, adjusting the knife in my grip as I took the lead.
“I should go first,” Curt said. Trying to protect me, as he always had. He was one of the only reasons I hadn't gotten into drugs when I was younger, never allowing me to try the stuff. My past attachment to him was still surprisingly present.
I released a very small laugh. “Trust me, I should lead,” I said.
He rubbed shoulders with me as a compromise and we headed further into the maze. We met a forked path and I shut my eyes, listening. I wondered if it was worth shouting out to my father. Curt evidently didn't have the same hesitation as he bellowed, “Dad! Where are you?”
My heart rate spiked, but then a reply came.
“Curt?” Dad cried. Far away, but somewhere to our right.
Shrieks sounded down the passage ahead of us, but that was where we needed to go. I grabbed Curt's arm, tugging him in that direction, throwing caution to the wind.
A mass of bodies were moving through the maze: the slap of bare feet, the hissing of Reapers. My blood turned to ice at the sound of chattering teeth.
Shadows danced at the end of the corridor and a Reaper floated ethereally from the darkness.
“Taste...” it said in a rattling breath, its empty eye sockets gazing blankly toward us.
My gut spiralled as it dropped to all fours, speeding toward us.
I pressed Curt back, lifting the blade higher in my palm.
“Cass-” he tried to halt me as I dove forward to meet the attack.
My heart thundered in my ears. I had no choice but to engage it and pray I was strong enough to win.
I slashed the knife toward the Reaper's chest, but it lurched backwards, moving like an apparition. Its dark cloak flapped around its bony body, its hollow eyes set on me. “Taste.”
I dove forward again, slashing, left, right, centre, trying to hit a target. Any target. A limb, a throat, something. But it moved like the wind, dodging every attack. Its skeletal hand clamped down on my arm, sending goosebumps sprawling up my neck. I gripped its thin wrist and twisted sharply. With a loud crack, the bone broke and the Reaper sucked in a rattly breath, darting away. It flew around me in a gust of wind and I turned, shouting, “Curt!”
/> He didn't move in time, slumping back against the nearest wall, his eyes wide with fear. The Reaper shot forward and took a bite out of his arm. Curt yelled, throwing heavy punches, and managing to strike the Reaper in the face. It fell back, but its body was shifting, changing as it licked the blood from its lips with a blackish tongue.
The Reaper sprouted dark crimson hair from its head and its cloak curled around it, morphing into the white t-shirt and jeans my brother was wearing.
I ran toward it, lifting the blade high. As the Reaper's form changed entirely and Curt's body appeared, it kicked out my legs. I fell atop it, slashing the blade across its chest. The Reaper had my brother's strength, but that was all. And I was a Hybrid, stronger than him by far. It had made a stupid mistake.
I straddled it, lifting the blade with both hands and ramming it down hard between its ribs. The Reaper groaned and died, going slack on the floor, an ooze of green blood trailing out around us. Its body shuddered and returned to its skeletal form, just a bunch of broken bones beneath me.
“What the hell?” Curt gasped.
I turned, finding him on the ground, his back to the wall, his eyes wide. “It was me. That thing was me.”
“It's a Reaper,” I said, but knew it wasn't nearly enough of an explanation.
“What?” Curt balked, shaking his head. “What does that even mean?”
I took his hand, dragging him to his feet and he raised his brows at my strength. He stepped back, his gaze fearful. “What are you?”
Dad wailed, the sound cutting through the air like a knife.
I gasped, fleeing in that direction, hearing Curt following. “Dad!” he yelled. “We're coming!”
“Shut up,” I snapped, leading us down another passage. It was long and seemed to stretch on for an eternity before us. It couldn't be the right way. Dad's shouts and curses filled the air and I turned around, running back the way we'd come and taking a left turn.
Curt barely kept up, but I threw glances over my shoulder to assure me he was there.
My jaw dropped at the sight ahead of me. I rounded into the dead end, finding Dad on the floor, his hands over his head. He was under attack from a flock of crows, all flapping their wings and pecking at his skin.
I ran forward, waving them off, but they took sharp pecks at me too.
“Get away,” I hissed, kicking out at those hopping across the floor.
Curt helped Dad to his feet and we managed to keep the birds back with enough clapping of our hands and hissing. I wielded the blade at them and they backed up, seeming to know what that meant.
I dropped to the floor where Dad's leg was chained to the ground, fishing the final key out of my pocket and slipping it into the lock. The padlock came free and Dad shook off the shackle, grabbing my arm and hauling me to my feet.
“Cassandra?” he breathed, shaking his head. I eyed the metal collar around his neck with a writhing feeling in my stomach.
“Yes, Dad. It's me.”
He looked the same as he had all those years ago. Unshaven, his red beard shaggy and his hair lank. The only difference was that he'd put on a bit of weight. Which had to be a good thing, since he'd always been skin and bones.
He dragged me into a fierce hug and Curt threw his arm around me too, crushing me between them. I fought back the emotion rising in my chest at being reunited with them. The scent of home washed over me, making my heart squeeze. Under any other circumstance I would have been thrilled. But this game wasn't over. And I had no idea what more Rockley was going to throw at us.
The crows were circling again and I gazed up at them with a frown. I didn't understand their place in this maze, but I guessed Rockley had them under his control somehow.
I spotted a giant digital clock hanging above the maze, a timer running down on it. We only had twenty minutes left.
“We need to get out of here,” I urged, slipping out of their arms.
“I don't understand, what is this place?” Dad asked, glancing up at the clock, then at the empty seats surrounding us.
“It's a maze, and we have to get out,” I said. “That's all that matters right now. If we don't, we die.”
Curt visibly swallowed, gesturing for me to go ahead. “Lead the way, sis. Seeing as you've morphed into a badass.”
I fought a smile, nodding as I darted back into the passage we'd come from. I was careful not to move too fast, knowing my family wouldn't be able to keep up. But we didn't have time to waste.
I didn't even know where to begin looking for an exit.
“I know how to get out,” Curt announced, surprising me.
I turned back, giving him an expectant look.
“My old maths teacher taught me the trick.” He placed his left hand on the wall beside him. “It might take longer this way, but if we follow one wall, left or right, we'll always get out.”
“Are you sure, son?” Dad asked anxiously, glancing up at the clock.
“We don't have a better option,” I said, resting my hand on the wall. If Curt was right, we might still get out in time. But what if it took so long that we ran out of time?
“We need to move fast,” I said, leading the way forward at a jog. “As quick as you can manage.” I kept my hand on the left wall, following the twists and curves of the maze. Sometimes we met dead ends, but if we kept our hand against the wall and turned back, we always found another way forward. Curt had never been great at school considering his drug habit and I half-wondered if this was one of the only snippets of information he'd retained.
Just as I turned into a dark corridor, a weight collided with me. I was thrown back into my dad, crying out with the strength the attacker used.
I brought the knife up as the skinny female Vampire pressed into me, snarling and snapping her teeth near my face. I shoved her back with a grunt of effort and my dad braced my shoulder. I dove forward, slamming my blade into the Vampire's skull, but the moment she died, another one fell atop me. I gasped as I was knocked to the ground, rolling beneath the male, his eyes hungry and bloodshot. He had more clothes on than the last V, but seemed wilder, more fierce. As I brought up the blade, he sprang to his feet, turning toward my brother and father, sniffing the air.
“No!” I cried out, scrambling to my feet.
The V slammed into my father, sinking his teeth into his neck. Curt jumped onto the Vampire's back, trying to pull him off. As Curt wrenched back its neck, I took the opportunity to slice my blade across it. Blood spurted.
Curt slumped back as the weight of the V knocked him to the ground. I kicked the Vampire off of him, slamming my blade into its temple to finish the job. I panted as Curt jumped to his feet, darting past me toward Dad.
He was on the ground, gripping his bloody neck, his face turning horribly pale. There was so much blood that panic rose in me like a volcanic eruption.
I ducked down to the dead V, dipping my fingers into the wound on its neck. I ran to Dad, pressing the blood to his mouth before he could complain.
“Cass-argh!” He tried to push me back, but I was stronger.
“Drink it,” I demanded and he trembled, falling still before doing as I said.
He shuddered as he swallowed, easing his hand away from his neck, gasping as the wound knitted over.
“You'll be fine,” I promised, dragging him to his feet.
“I don't understand...Jesus, am I high?”
Curt laughed nervously, clapping his back. “Not unless I am too.”
“Come on,” I urged them forward.
Ten minutes left.
They moved into action and a swell of pride filled me at their resilience. I couldn't imagine how this seemed to them. I had spent my whole childhood seeing them out of their minds on drugs, weak, unable to even lift themselves from a chair at times. They must have been off the stuff for a while to have this kind of stamina.
We continued to follow the left wall, running our now bloody hands across it.
A grunting noise sounded up ahead and I held
my hand up to halt the others. I glanced back, pressing a finger to my lips as I crept toward the dark passage where the noise was coming from. We needed to go that way. I glanced into the space, spotting a hunched over back with jagged bony spikes running up its spine. I grimaced, unsure what I was looking at.
It had webbed hands and overly long arms that dragged along the ground. I shrank back, fear gripping my heart. I glanced at my family, finding my resolve in their eyes. I had to get them out of here.
I stepped into the passage, stooping into a fighting stance as I readied the blade in my hand.
The creature sniffed the air then turned sharply. Its face was barely human, its nose two slits, its mouth fish-like and puffy. Its eyes were round and bulbous, dilating as they spotted me above its prey – a V. It ran forward with grunting breaths and I willed my legs forward, preparing to intercept it.
It ran at speed, bending over as it used its arms to move along faster. It let out a screech that burrowed into my skull, sending a wave of pain shooting through my head.
I hit the floor, holding my ears, trying to stop the horrible sound My head was surely going to explode. The mutant creature scurried to my side and tore at my dress, ripping a hole in it and pressing its cold lips to my stomach. It started sucking like a leech and panic poured adrenaline into my veins.
Not my baby, you freak!
I started stabbing, wildly and without care. Bluish blood splashed over me, hitting my eyes, blinding me, but I never stopped stabbing. Screaming, I ripped and sliced the creature's flesh.
It fell still long before I slowed my assault and a hand on my shoulder made me jump.
I gazed up at Curt, wiping the blood from my eyes. He reached out for me with a shaky hand, looking at me like I was a complete stranger.
Dad kicked the vile creature from my legs and Curt helped me up. I was shaking from head to toe.
Curt's gaze fell to my exposed, rounded stomach; a circular bloody mark lay where the mutant's mouth had been.
I wiped the blood away. It wasn't too deep. I'd stopped it in time, thank God.
“Let's go,” Curt said in a hoarse voice, glancing up from my bump.
Wolf Games: Severed Fates (The Vampire Games Book 6) Page 5