Age of Vampires- The Complete Series

by Caroline Peckham

“I'll escort you back to the castle.”

  “It's fine, I know the way back.” I suddenly longed for time alone.

  He surveyed me for a moment then nodded. “Alright. But no detours, trouble.”

  I smiled and he bent down, placing a soft kiss against my cheek without aiming for my mouth this time.

  My skin felt singed when he stepped away. He gave me a look of longing then rushed after the woman at high speed. I stood there in the woods, totally alone, wondering if I should have tried to go with him for the sake of Erik's plan. But he probably wouldn't have let me anyway...

  I glanced back in the direction of the castle, but something drew my feet along the path Erik and Paige had taken. After a few hundred yards, their voices carried to me and I pressed myself against a tree, glancing around it. They were sitting on a blanket on the lawn beyond the woodland, laughing about something.

  My jaw tightened as I watched and I became overly aware I was acting like a stalker.

  Maybe I could go over to him and tell him about the Chancellor’s death?

  No, stop being creepy and turn around.

  I gathered my pride from the ground, hurrying back through the trees and the castle soon came into view.

  The halls were quiet as I headed inside and my skin prickled with a strange sensation. I jogged upstairs, intending to return to my room, but the feeling wouldn't subside. I felt...watched.

  I eyed the corridor, searching, but there was no one there.

  Maybe I’m being paranoid.

  Continuing toward my room, I quickened my pace, wanting to put a closed door between myself and the quiet hallways.

  Before I stepped into my room, a rat scurried across my path. I'd seen plenty of the creatures in the Realm, but I wouldn't have expected to find one here in the immaculate castle. I watched as it paused a few feet away then glanced back, looking directly at me.

  “Shoo,” I hissed, wafting my hands.

  “Vermin in the hallways,” a malicious voice cut into me. “Tut. Tut.”

  I turned sharply, coming face to face with General Wolfe and my gut clenched violently. His cold blue eyes weren't on the rat, but me. “What will we do about this infestation?” he mused.

  I clasped the door handle behind me, desperate to escape this vile vampire. But the moment I tried to open it, he moved toward me in a flash, slamming his hands either side of my head and crushing me to the door.

  “Get off me!” I cried, hoping someone might hear me.

  His hand crashed against my mouth and a wave of terror flowed into my veins.

  “No one's here. It's just you and me. And I've been wanting to have this conversation for a while.” I hated how beautiful he was, how cruel something so perfect-looking could be.

  My throat was too dry, my knees too weak. But I didn't want this bastard to see me cower.

  “I'm going to remove my hand, if you scream I'll make sure you regret it,” he growled, his lifeless eyes drilling into mine.

  I nodded and he released me, but kept me caged within his arms. “Five vampires were killed outside of your Realm, human. Your sister was present when it happened, now tell me how that could be possible.”

  My heart thudded harder. His words unfolded in my mind and I shook my head, having no answer for that. Callie couldn't have killed them. It was impossible.

  “I don't know,” I breathed.

  “Hm,” he grunted with a false smile. “I think you do know. In fact, I think your family are hiding a nasty little secret.” He snatched my right arm, dragging up my sleeve in the exact same way Valentina had done yesterday. He turned it left and right, inspecting it under his nose.

  “What are you looking for?” I demanded, fighting to keep my voice steady.

  He dropped my arm, reaching into his robes and producing something wrapped in a sheet of thick leather. Unfolding it, he revealed a curved golden blade with runes inscribed on the hilt.

  Fear took me hostage and I leant harder against the door to try and put some space between us.

  He won't hurt me. The royals wouldn't allow it.

  But the royals weren't here, so how could I be sure?

  “Take the blade,” Wolfe commanded, offering it to me on the unfolded sheath of leather.

  I shrank back, shaking my head. What the hell?

  “Take it!” he barked and I reached for it, having no choice.

  I took hold of the hilt and it immediately warmed in my palm. Wolfe eyed me closely and I wondered what he was waiting for. Did he want me to attack him? Maybe he wanted an excuse to kill me. But why would anyone believe I'd attack an Elite?

  The blade seemed to hum with energy and I gasped as a strange voice entered my mind. Nightmare.

  It vibrated quietly in my palm and the urge to strike Wolfe overwhelmed me. I fought it back, knowing that would equal my end.

  “Well?” Wolfe snapped.

  “Well what?” I whispered, refusing to tell him what I'd heard or how this weapon felt.

  “Is the blade hot?” he snarled.

  My lower lip threatened a quiver. The blade seemed to whisper to me, don't tell him the truth. I must have been going crazy. Perhaps it was just my voice I was hearing. Either way, I knew in the depths of my soul I needed to do as it said.

  I gazed at Wolfe for a few more seconds then constructed my face into confusion. “What do you mean hot? It's a knife so it feels cold like any knife.”

  His fingers twitched as if he wished to touch the blade himself but couldn't.

  “Do not lie to me.” He shoved a finger in my face.

  “I'm not,” I insisted, praying I was convincing him. He placed the sheath of leather over his palm and I could tell how much he didn't want to touch the blade.

  “Give it to me,” he ordered.

  As I handed it over, I purposefully dropped the handle so it touched his exposed wrist.

  “Ah! You little bitch,” he hissed, quickly wrapping the knife in the leather.

  I eyed the burn on his wrist with a thrill dancing in my chest. Whatever this blade was, it was designed to hurt vampires. And that made it my new best friend.

  As he stowed the dagger beneath his robes, my heart ached with longing like it wished to be reunited with the weapon. My fingers tingled from the loss of it and my right forearm began to itch.

  Wolfe lowered his head so he was nose to nose with me. “You will show me your arm again in a few days, then we'll see.”

  My heart nearly stopped as he forced me harder against the door. My back began to ache from the pressure. His hips dug painfully into mine.

  I ground my teeth, refusing to beg. His gaze willed me to crack, but I wouldn't. Not ever.

  Finally, he released me and relief tumbled through my chest.

  Wolfe stepped back, lifting his angular chin. “Your sister will be caught soon. If you wish for her to arrive here without any little accidents happening, I suggest you keep this to yourself. Tell Count Erik I questioned you and I'll make sure she is gutted on her journey here.”

  Fear burrowed into my heart. I glared at him, wishing I could hurt him in the way he'd hurt me and my family. If only I had that blade and a place I could drive it into his chest without anyone noticing.

  He turned on his heel, marching away and I half-fell into my room. My hands balled into fists as I fought the urge to scream my rage. My forearm continued to tingle and I wrenched up my sleeve, eyeing it for some reaction. Nothing...

  I shut my eyes, wishing I understood what had just happened.

  Light flooded my vision followed by a glimpse of swaying trees. Birdsong and the rush of wind through a thousand leaves filled my ears. Golden hair danced around my face, tickling my cheeks.

  “Callie?” I whispered aloud, then the vision faltered and I found myself on my knees in a cold sweat.

  I gathered myself up, trying to still my racing heart. I pulled my hair into my hands, eyeing it closely. Dark curls gazed back at me. I blinked hard, feeling a little dizzy. Maybe my mind was play
ing tricks on me. But the feel of that heated blade had been all too real.

  What did Wolfe know? What was he trying to prove?

  I dropped into the velvet armchair, folding my legs beneath me. A heaviness fell over me like my body was trying to will me to sleep. I finally gave up trying to stay awake and was pulled down into dreams of a forest and the sense that I was somehow achingly close to my twin.

  Cold stone walls surrounded me. I was alone, the one beating heart in a room filled with the dead. They stared at me with their too-beautiful faces and eyes full of hunger. They smiled but I could only see the sharpness of their fangs in the gesture. I touched a hand to my neck as if that might protect me from them.

  The iron-cold eyes of a stranger found me but instead of feeling fear, my heart leapt with excitement. He was like the one solid point in the centre of the room. While the rest of them circled me like a pack of dogs searching for weakness, he stood still, waiting for me. If I could hold on to him then I might just survive.

  I ran towards him, reaching for him but the faster I moved the further he seemed to retreat. And the rest of the monsters were getting closer. They closed in on me, blocking my view of him until I couldn’t see him at all. I instantly forgot what he looked like.

  I could only see his eyes in my memory. His iron gaze burning its way through my soul. Trying to burrow into my heart.

  “No!” I gasped as I shoved myself upright, the last dregs of sleep clinging to me.

  I squinted around in confusion, trying to figure out where I was. I reached out for Montana like I had a million times before when her bed had been right beside mine and she’d always been so close to me. Now she only seemed near in my dreams.

  I dropped my hand to the flattened grass and took a deep breath as I ran my fingers through it. She wasn’t there, I couldn’t do anything to help her.

  I glanced around at the small space we’d slept in and shivered. We’d made camp under the feeble shelter created by the broken carriage. It was barely big enough for the two of us to lay in. But after an awkward evening where neither of us had acknowledged the weird moment that had passed between us and effectively made it a hundred times weirder, I’d escaped into sleep as early as I could.

  The last I’d seen of Magnar was when I’d turned my back on him and closed my eyes, willing sleep to take me so that I didn’t have to concentrate on the inch of space which separated us.

  He was nowhere to be seen now.

  I rubbed my skin where the manacles still encircled my wrists. Magnar had managed to cut the chain free using the axe but without the key I was stuck with these bracelets for the foreseeable future. The idea made my heart flutter with discomfort but I forced the feeling aside. We had bigger problems to deal with.

  “Magnar?” I called hesitantly, wondering if he was having trouble sleeping again. He always woke before me and I wasn’t sure he’d ever fallen asleep before I had either. In fact I couldn’t really be sure if he slept at all. Maybe lying in slumber for a thousand years meant he didn’t need sleep anymore.

  There was no reply so I pushed my coat off of me and shifted onto my hands and knees. I crawled towards the dim sunlight which shone between the broken axles of the wagon’s wheel.

  A thin tarp fluttered in the wind, lifting a little and giving me a view of the clearing outside. I reached out and pulled it aside.

  “Magnar?” I called again, looking around uncertainly.

  There was still no response so I crawled out into the cool air, stepping over the runes he’d scratched into the soil last night, careful not to disturb them. If any more vampires came for me I intended on leaping straight back under the cart within their protection.

  Birdsong called to me on the far side of the clearing so I headed towards it, wondering if the slayer had gone to check for any signs of more vampires.

  I passed the spot where he’d killed the Elite, her robes a blood-stained heap on the ground.

  My mind wandered as I walked, sifting over the details of my dreams. Though trying to do so felt like examining grains of sand. Each piece was impossible to line up with the next. The more I tried to find meaning in them the more confused I ended up. Sleep wasn’t the escape it used to be. My dreams were plagued with thoughts of Montana and the vampire who tormented her.

  I only hoped that it didn’t mean she was being tortured by some psychotic immortal in the blood bank but the idea that it might be the case put me into a sour mood.

  I made my way between the trees, pausing as I tried to decide if I should call out to him. My gut prickled uneasily as I looked left and right. Where would he have gone? Why didn’t he tell me?

  A bunch of wide leaves sat to my left, the morning's dew gathering on them in little puddles. I stooped low and lifted one to my parched lips, tipping the water into my mouth. It was sweet and cold, sending a chill racing down my spine and quenching my thirst.

  I pushed my sleeves back and splashed some more of the water over my face, shuddering against the chill as I rinsed my skin clean.

  “You should have stayed in the safety of our shelter.”

  I flinched in surprise and looked up to find Magnar standing between two thick pines, watching me with an eyebrow raised in disapproval.

  “Holy shit Magnar, you shouldn’t sneak up on people like that!” I pushed myself upright and scowled at him. “Where have you been?”

  He stepped between the trees, closing the distance between us before dangling a silver key in front of my eyes. “I thought you might prefer to remove your new jewellery.”

  “How did you find it?” I asked, my irritation forgotten as I offered him my wrist and smiled widely.

  “I merely searched the robes of the dead vampires.” He shrugged as he tossed the first manacle to the ground then took my right hand to repeat the process.

  My heart lifted as the iron cuffs left my skin. I’d been a prisoner for too much of my life and being stuck in the shackles had felt like a reminder of what I’d wanted to leave behind.

  As he dropped the second cuff, he turned my hand over, brushing his fingers along the slayer’s mark on my flesh. Goosebumps rose in response to his touch and I glanced up at him hesitantly, wondering what he was thinking.

  “Thank you,” I said, hoping he could hear how much I meant it. Though I wouldn’t have wasted my breath complaining about it, the idea of being stuck in those shackles had been weighing on me all night. It was like he’d known how much I needed to be free of them and had gone to the effort of making sure I could be. I’d never had anyone care about me like that aside from my family.

  “It was no burden. I had to retrieve our supplies anyway.” He shrugged, releasing my arm and headed back towards the clearing.

  I followed quickly, noticing the two packs which hung over his shoulder. We’d hidden them before our failed ambush on the vampires and I’d presumed they’d been lost far behind us. I guessed I needed to stop underestimating Magnar’s abilities.

  “So, I’ve been thinking it might be an idea if I had some knowledge of how to wield Fury,” I said hesitantly.

  “You wish for me to teach you how to kill a vampire?” he asked without looking back at me.

  “Well, yeah. I mean, I know I won’t be able to learn much before we get to the blood bank but surely having one or two moves under my belt would be worthwhile. I mean, it might just save my life. Or yours.”

  Magnar let out a deep chuckle as if I’d been joking and heat rose in my cheeks.

  “I cannot teach you the ways of my kind unless you take your vow… but I suppose a few basic lessons would not be going against the will of the gods.”

  “Really?” I asked hopefully, a smile finding its way to my face. The idea of facing a vampire with a better chance of holding my own against them lit a fire of excitement coursing through me.

  We made it back to the overturned wagon and Magnar dropped the packs.

  “Draw your blade,” he instructed as he unclasped his cloak and hung it over the ca
rriage.

  I pulled Fury into my hand and it seemed to hum with excitement.

  “Move quickly, strike for the heart. Try not to overthink things. Let the blade guide you; it knows what to do.” He removed Tempest and Venom from the sheaths on his back and placed them onto the cart too before stooping and retrieving a long branch from the ground.

  “What’s that for?” I asked, frowning at it.

  “The vampires carry swords. Imagine it’s a sword.” His eyes danced with amusement and I bit my lip as I began to wonder what I was getting myself into.

  “Why don’t you just use one of your blades instead of a stick then?”

  “Because a blow from one of my blades could cut you in two and I’d sooner avoid killing you.” His mouth twitched and I was struck with the desire to wipe the smile off of his face. I frowned down at the blade in my palm, sure it was responsible for the violent thought.

  “Shouldn’t I use a stick too?” I asked. Fury was much smaller than his blades but it was sharp enough to skin an acorn. I was sure getting stabbed by it would be no fun at all, especially as he’d instructed me to aim for his heart.

  Magnar’s reply was a deep laugh and I ground my teeth as I moved closer to him. Fury wanted to punish him for mocking me and I was beginning to feel the same way.

  I stepped towards him and he smacked the stick into the ground between my feet. I lurched back in surprise, looking up at him with a frown.

  “Stay light on your feet, don’t stomp.”

  “I don’t stomp,” I objected.

  I stepped forward again but his stick slammed down, crushing my toes. I bit out a curse but he swung the stick again, aiming for my other foot. I hopped back, dancing away as he continued to aim for my toes.

  Each time I placed my foot back down, the stick was there; it caught my feet more than once, sending pain racing through me.

  “Why aren’t you trying to kill me?” Magnar mocked as he drove me further and further back.

  I had no time to even think about the blade in my hand as I tried desperately to avoid the blows aimed at my feet. I squealed more than once as my toes were crushed. He moved so quickly, it was impossible to avoid him.