Age of Vampires- The Complete Series

by Caroline Peckham

  Erik switched the light off and I released a slow breath as I willed my heart rate to slow down.

  I hated myself in that moment. Because I knew with a terrifying certainty that I was slightly, minisculely attached to him too.

  The horses’ hooves clip-clopped loudly along the hard tarmac as we headed down an old highway into a small town. I could feel Magnar’s tension coiling through his rigid posture where he was still pressed against me on the stallion’s back.

  Night was drawing in quickly and we still hadn’t found a place to make camp. Though the horses had sped our journey south, we now had the added difficulty of finding a shelter big enough to house them as well as ourselves.

  Although Magnar had wanted to avoid the town when we’d first spotted it, I’d convinced him otherwise. The area we’d been travelling through had held few houses and the town was the first real sign of anything from the old civilisation that we’d seen in hours. I had the feeling that it was our only chance to find a building large enough to house us for miles around and Magnar had begrudgingly agreed.

  It was the largest group of buildings we’d come across so far that hadn’t been destroyed by the bombs in the Final War. Dead leaves had gathered along the kerbs, husks of rotting cars blocked the streets. The whole place screamed its unnatural silence at me. It should have been full of life but instead it was abandoned and eerie.

  A raven cawed from the top of a lamppost and I flinched as I stared up at it with mistrust.

  “Is that one of their creatures?” I asked in a whisper as the bird’s gaze followed our progress along the street.

  “No. Its soul is clean. When you have seen as many Familiars as I have you’ll be able to recognise them easily. They don’t move or react naturally and their eyes shine silver in the light. You see how the vampires can make you mistrust everything though?”

  I nodded. The more I learned about the vampires the more reasons I found to fear them.

  As the cluster of concrete boxes grew around us, a feeling of unease started to settle on me. In such an enclosed space with so many things to hide in and between, it was hard not to imagine eyes peering at us from every darkened corner.

  I placed a hand on Fury but the blade was quiet, almost seeming to sleep. That was the best reassurance I could get that no vampires lurked nearby but I couldn’t help but continue to feel uncomfortable.

  “How were such places created?” Magnar murmured behind me and I twisted in his arms to get a look at him. His brow was furrowed with either concern or confusion and I wasn’t sure which worried me more.

  “You mean the buildings?” I asked, following his gaze to an old sign which was shaped like a giant brown cowboy hat.

  I tried to sound out the words splashed across it but the swirling yellow text was illegible to me with my limited reading capabilities and I couldn’t make out anything after the big capital R.

  “They are so square.” Magnar continued to frown at them and I smiled.

  “I think they used machines to make the bricks and stuff.” I’d had little success in explaining much about mechanical things to Magnar. My own understanding of them was so limited and he’d had nothing like them in his own time. It was easy to forget just how strange the world must have been to him. He’d found himself plucked from the reality he’d grown up in and dumped into the ruins of a civilisation beyond anything he ever could have imagined.

  He didn’t ask anything else but I could sense his continued unease.

  “What about that?” I asked, pointing to a huge building with heavy metal shutters barring the windows. The sign above the door was written in clearer script and I frowned at it as I forced the letters to become words. “Su-per mar... market; I think that’s a store where they sold food.”

  “This is where they held the market?” Magnar asked, grasping onto the word that made sense to him.

  “I think so. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find something they left behind before the Final War,” I added hopefully. We’d eaten the last of our supplies that morning and my stomach was pitifully empty. Hunger was a feeling I was well used to but it was one thing that I hadn’t had to deal with since my escape from the Realm and I hadn’t missed it.

  Magnar guided the horses into the concrete space before the supermarket and dismounted in front of the glass doors. He led the stallion to a metal post and tied the reins before turning back to help me.

  I swung my leg over the animal’s back and slid down. Magnar caught me before my feet could hit the ground, his hands shifting the material of my coat up and brushing against the skin on my lower back. A spark of energy danced across my body at his touch but he released me as soon as my boots were on the concrete and we stepped apart.

  I bit my lip and tucked a strand of my long, golden hair back behind my ear. I hadn’t braided it since I’d washed it in the river and I was enjoying the feeling of leaving it loose. In the Realm I’d always been afraid of it attracting attention but now that I was free I could do what I liked with it.

  Magnar pulled Tempest from his back and cautiously approached the glass doors. I followed his lead and released Fury but the blade slept on, unaware of any threat nearby. I wanted to ask Magnar if I could rely on the blade’s assessment of the situation but he was already pushing the door open.

  I stayed several steps behind him as we entered the store and the massive space opened up around us. There were aisles and aisles of shelves lining what looked to be one huge, open area. Magnar moved away to check the shop was clear but my gaze fell on something which stopped me from following.

  I moved forward with a smile pulling at my lips as I recognised the picture on the wrapper. Chocolate. A whole shelf was stacked full of it, just waiting to be devoured.

  I grabbed a bar as long as my forearm and jogged after Magnar into the depths of the store

  I hurried down the aisle I thought he’d chosen and upped my pace in excitement to share my find with him. Halfway along the aisle, I paused as a rack of lightbulbs and flashlights caught my eye. I knew Magnar had never seen electricity in action and my vague explanation of it couldn’t compare to seeing it for himself.

  I grabbed a flashlight from the display, ripping off the cardboard packaging before starting after Magnar again.

  As I ran out at the far end of the aisle, someone tackled me, lifting me off of my feet before propelling me around and pressing me against the wall. A squeal of fear escaped my lips.

  “Have you forgotten everything you learnt about stealth already?” Magnar growled as he held me still and my heart leapt. It was almost pitch black this far from the doors and I could only make out the outline of his silhouette so it was hard to tell if he was really annoyed or just teasing me.

  I tried to force my heart rate to slow as I relaxed knowing it was only him.

  “No. But Fury doesn’t think there are any vampires nearby and I found something I wanted to share with you.” I smiled encouragingly, hoping he’d see the funny side and be tempted by my offer.

  His grip on me slackened as he sighed but he didn’t step back to release me.

  “You shouldn’t rely on that blade entirely. Your own senses shouldn’t be ignored in favour of blind trust. The runes help it to sense when a vampire is close but they found ways around the runes in my time. When the Belvederes realise I'm back, I’m sure they will remember some of the tricks they used to use on us.”

  “Okay. Lesson learned.” I didn’t bother to point out the fact that if any powerful vampires were that close to me then I didn’t stand a hope in hell of escaping them anyway. “But you have to try this.” I ripped open the wrapper and broke off a piece of chocolate for him.

  Magnar still didn’t move so I sighed dramatically and lifted the square of sugary goodness to his mouth. He reluctantly accepted it and I could tell he was still thinking about telling me off for my clumsy approach. My fingers brushed against his lips and I pulled back, heat clawing at my cheeks. At least I could hope the darkness concealed my blu
sh.

  As he started chewing, his muscles relaxed and his grip on me loosened further.

  “Isn’t that the best thing you’ve ever tasted?” I asked enthusiastically as he swallowed.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Something they used to eat before the war. It’s called chocolate. I couldn’t have you thinking everything about this time is bad.”

  “It isn’t all bad,” he replied evenly and a tingle ran along my spine at the implication. He looked away from me, towards the front of the store. “I should bring the horses inside and place the wards. It’s nearly nightfall.”

  “I found something else,” I added quickly before he could leave. I pulled the flashlight from my pocket and flicked it on.

  Magnar released me and stepped back suddenly.

  “By the gods,” he cursed and his hand strayed towards a knife at his belt.

  I stifled a laugh and bit my lip. “It’s just an electric light. Like I told you, remember?” I turned the flashlight off again and held it out to him.

  He eyed it suspiciously and clenched his jaw before holding his hand out to accept it.

  He turned the flashlight over in his hand and I slowly leant forward, placing my finger on the button. He watched as I pressed it and the light came on again. Only the faintest flicker in his gaze gave away how disconcerting he found the little device. He lifted it higher, shining it along the closest aisle before switching it off.

  “I’m sure this will be useful,” he said eventually, though his tone made me think he’d sooner throw it away than keep it.

  A smile pulled at my lips and I reached out and took it from him. “I can look after it, if you’re worried it might bite you or something.”

  Magnar caught my wrist before I could pull it away from him and brushed his thumb across my slayer’s mark. “If you’re going to mock me you might want to remember that I can put you on your backside in the blink of an eye,” he warned, his tone playful.

  “Not before I can flash my scary light at you,” I replied, flicking the flashlight on and off.

  Magnar chuckled and shook his head. I stayed put as he released me and walked away. Something about knowing that I was going to be leaving him soon made the tension between us feel stronger than it had before. But the more I told myself to keep my distance, the more I found myself seeking him out.

  My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten and I stuffed a lump of chocolate into my mouth, savouring the creamy taste as I started to hunt the shelves for something more nourishing.

  It turned out that the store held more than we ever could have hoped for. Though a lot of the food left lying on the shelves had rotted away years ago, much more of it hadn’t. We’d enjoyed a meal made up of all the different things we’d found in more packets and cans than I could count.

  Bags of porridge oats had made a meal for the horses too and the large animals were now wandering the aisles contentedly.

  Magnar had lit a fire in a huge metal bin to keep us warm and the building was big enough that we didn’t have to worry about the smoke.

  We’d also found an aisle filled with bottles of water. There was so much of it that I’d claimed some so that I could wash and found a quiet corner of the store to do so. I had even found some soap and it wasn’t like the scentless communal bars we’d been given in the Realm’s bathhouse; it smelled good enough to eat. I’d taken a while to decide on a scent and had eventually settled for strawberry. They even had a special soap for my hair! The picture of the woman on the bottle had told me what to do and I scrubbed half of the contents through my waist-length locks before using two bottles of water to rinse it back out again.

  On my way back to the fire, I found an aisle filled with clothes. I grabbed armfuls of the different materials greedily before settling on a bottle green shirt which hugged my figure and felt as soft as butter. I added new underwear and a pair of black leggings to the ensemble and revelled in the feeling of being truly clean.

  By the time I rejoined Magnar, I was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. He’d washed too and his long hair glistened with moisture as he sat shirtless beside the fire. The wounds he had gained from the vampires were all healing incredibly quickly apart from the two bites given to him by the Elite.

  I took a seat beside him and watched as he inspected the row of tooth marks on his right arm.

  “You’re not about to develop a taste for my blood are you?” I teased, although a small part of me was afraid he might. There had been plenty of rumours about how someone became a vampire and getting bitten was pretty high on the list. Though I guessed he would have been more concerned about the bites if that were the case.

  “It is rather more complicated than that to turn a mortal into a monster,” Magnar replied and I couldn’t help but feel relieved. The idea of becoming one of them was about the worst thing I could imagine and I was glad it couldn’t happen easily. I’d rather die than be a vampire.

  “How does it work then?” I asked, a morbid fascination gripping me.

  “A human has to drink their blood as well as being bitten,” he replied with a sneer of disgust. “It’s like being infected with a disease as well as their venom.”

  “That’s it?” I raised an eyebrow curiously.

  “Then they have to die. It doesn’t matter how so long as the heart is intact. Nothing else is fatal to them. They can fuse severed limbs back into place; even heads with some help. Only a direct blow to the heart will end them.”

  “That’s… so gross,” I said, not knowing what else I could say about a creature that could stick its own head back on.

  “Indeed. Nothing about them is natural. They are an insult to the living.” He continued to inspect the row of tooth marks on his arm and I leant a little closer to see too.

  “So why isn’t your super-healing working on the bites then?”

  “Just as my people developed ways to combat the vampires’ power, they developed ways to resist us. Their teeth hold a venom which stops blood from clotting so that they can drink freely from their victims. It also combats the innate ability in my blood to heal. While that venom remains present, my body can only hold the blood back but cannot force the wounds to mend. Now that I have flushed them with water, they should heal well. I am just making sure no venom remains.”

  “You can see it?” I asked as I looked at the bite mark again curiously.

  “It shines like moonlight. A mark of the curse which ties them to the hours of night. Look, I missed some.” He held his arm out to me and tilted it while pointing at one of the puncture wounds. The flickering light of the fire highlighted a glimmer of silver within the wound.

  Magnar lifted a bottle of water and tipped it over the area, flushing the bite clean. When he inspected it again, all of the venom was gone and I could have sworn the skin around the bite already looked less inflamed.

  “Do you need help with the one on your neck?” I offered. He clearly wouldn’t be able to see it to check the venom was removed properly.

  He regarded me for a moment and I got the feeling he wanted to refuse. “Thank you, that would be helpful.”

  I smiled as I shifted closer to him and he tilted his chin up so that I could inspect the injury. I could instantly see that this injury was a lot deeper than the one on his arm. The flesh was torn around the holes the vampire had punched into his skin and despite his gifts fighting against it, some blood still trickled from the wound.

  I couldn’t believe he’d been suffering with the pain of it for over a day and hadn’t said a word.

  “Why didn’t you ask me to help you with this before?” I scolded.

  “We couldn’t spare the water and I could take the pain,” he replied dismissively.

  “I would much sooner have gone thirsty for a day to save you from suffering,” I said irritably. It was ridiculous to put himself through such a thing.

  “And I would sooner not see you going without food or water. Especially as that is a burden you have
had to bear before.” His gaze flicked to my too-thin figure and I shifted uncomfortably.

  “It’s something I’m more than used to. It wouldn’t have been a problem,” I replied dismissively.

  “It would be a problem for me. While I am with you I will do all I can to make sure you are provided for. You will not convince me otherwise.” His gaze was firm and I sighed in defeat as I turned my attention back to the job of tending his wound.

  I moved to kneel before him and picked up the bottle of water. His gaze met mine for several long seconds before he turned to look at a point beyond my head.

  I started to pour the water over the bite and his fist clenched tightly in his lap. I’d never seen him show a reaction to pain before and the sight made my stomach twist uncomfortably.

  “Sorry,” I breathed.

  “You weren’t the one who tried to rip my throat out,” he replied lightly, raising one huge shoulder like it was some kind of joke.

  “Well if you had just kept your swords in hand instead of offering her a fist fight...”

  He laughed and the deep rumbling sound of it pulled a smile to my own lips.

  I began to rinse the wound clean again and tried to ignore the tension in his body. I was so close to him that it was beginning to make my heart beat faster. It might have helped if he’d had a shirt on. Having his muscular body inches from mine was making indecent thoughts flash through my mind.

  It can’t happen. We’re on different paths.

  I bit my lip to stop myself from looking down at his chest and forced my eyes to stay fixed on the bite.

  “You smell like strawberries,” he said, his voice rough with an emotion I couldn’t quite place.

  “Is that a bad thing?” I asked.

  “No.”

  I wasn’t sure how to answer that so I kept my attention on the bite instead of replying.

  He tilted his head, blocking the light so that I couldn’t see what I was doing. I reached up and caught his chin, lifting it slightly with my fingertips. The rough stubble lining his jaw scratched against my thumb as I shifted my grip and I bit down harder on my lip to distract myself from it. The point where our skin touched sent sparks of energy racing right back to my thumping heart.