Age of Vampires- The Complete Series

by Caroline Peckham

  I just had to hope that the price of her assistance wouldn’t be too high.

  We travelled into the city and the pale daylight was soon drowned out by the shadows of the huge skyscrapers. We moved away from the central roads where the darkness was heavier and only a few vampires roamed the area. As we arrived outside an enormous building with imposing stone pillars supporting the entrance-way, trepidation seeped through me.

  Sabrina stepped out of the car, glancing up and down the street before gesturing for me to follow. I jumped out, gathering my coat around me as I gazed at the menacing structure.

  The driver rolled down his window, looking to me. “Tell Count Erik to call us when you're ready to go home.”

  I nodded, irritated that Erik had told me I was free now when I clearly wasn’t.

  I followed Sabrina up the stone steps into the fluorescent light of an entrance hall. Several guards stood sentinel against the walls. An iron door between two of them was the only way forward and Sabrina promptly guided me toward it.

  “Count Erik summoned his fiancée,” Sabrina told the guards and my gut swirled at hearing the word again. Fiancée. I had to have that conversation with Erik soon. Did he really expect me to marry him? If he did, he was going to be sorely disappointed.

  The guards opened the door for us, bowing low as we passed. I scowled at them, feeling very much like a bird in a gilded cage.

  We walked down a dreary corridor and an officer greeted us in a navy uniform. She had short hair and a sharp nose. A large gun was at her hip and a sword was strapped to her back; she exuded an aura of authority that made my skin prickle.

  “Just this way, Miss Ford,” she said, opening another security door and guiding us through it.

  The officer pressed her finger to a panel beside a door on our left and it slid open. I followed her into a dark space with a window overlooking another room. Inside it, Erik had his hands around Wolfe's throat as he held him against a concrete wall.

  My breathing stuttered as I absorbed the sight, moving as close to the window as I could get.

  “Please – I wouldn't betray you, master,” Wolfe begged, his voice sounding through a speaker on the wall beside me. “The girl is lying! How could she possibly know such a thing to be true?”

  Erik threw him across the room and he smashed into the opposite wall, crumpling on the floor like a rag doll. He groaned, nursing a wound on the back of his head. Wolfe rose cautiously to his feet and I spotted blood staining the wall. Fear was etched into his beautiful face and I revelled in the sight.

  Nightmare emitted a sense of satisfaction against my side.

  Erik stalked towards him, his shirt spattered with bright red blood and his knuckles wet with it too. “Lie one more time and I'll turn you to ash, Wolfe,” he snarled and I felt I was seeing the darkest side of Erik, the layers of his beauty peeled back to reveal a beast within.

  Wolfe raised his palms and I noticed he was shaking as he tried to keep Erik away. “Please, please, your highness. Her father tried to escape from the blood bank, I was only trying to stop him. To bring him here as you asked. I may have been too rough, I may have injured him -but he was alive when I last saw him. If he is dead, it wasn't my intention. You know how fragile humans can be.”

  I bared my teeth, fury tangling with my veins. “Liar!” I shouted at the glass, but if either of them heard me they didn't show it.

  I sensed Sabrina shifting closer to me, seeming uneasy.

  “So you admit it?” Erik growled. “You bit him? You drank from a human?”

  Wolfe cowered, looking left and right as if the answer would appear out of thin air. “I- I was injured. I needed blood. I wasn't thinking straight,” he pleaded his case, but it wasn't convincing.

  Erik threw a punch to his gut, making Wolfe double over and cough blood. He groaned, stumbling back to get away but Erik kept coming, throwing another punch to his head before snatching his collar and slamming him into the wall.

  “It is illegal to drink directly from humans,” Erik spat.

  “Forgive me, sire!” Wolfe wailed. “It won’t happen again.”

  “No it won’t,” Erik said. “You’re finished, General.”

  Wolfe tangled his hands in Erik’s shirt. “No -please. I’ll never drink from a human again.”

  “It’s too late,” Erik hissed.

  Wolfe shrank back, shaking his head and a darkness filled his eyes. “They’re beneath us, why does it matter? Why should I be punished for it?”

  Erik slapped Wolfe hard across the face, splitting his lip wide. Wolfe snarled his fury, touching the wound as it slowly healed. “I have been loyal to you for hundreds of years! How can you be so unforgiving!?”

  Erik glared at him for several long seconds. “Because I know this isn’t the first time. You have a taste for it, don’t you, you piece of shit?”

  Wolfe slowly nodded. “I am a slave to it, your highness. It's the curse. It has taken root in me. Please help me recover.”

  “We're all a slave to the curse, Wolfe. Our nature may drive us to bite but we must be better than that,” Erik said in a low tone and my breath stalled at his admission. Was he always fighting the urge to bite me?

  Erik continued, “The curse doesn't guide our actions. You made your choice and it was the wrong one.” He moved toward the door then glanced back. “We aren’t done here.”

  Wolfe cowered against the wall, holding his head in his hands as Erik exited the room and slammed the door.

  My pulse rose as I stared at Wolfe's broken form. He was pathetic. Vile. And he deserved every ounce of pain Erik had given him.

  The door beside me opened and Erik stepped into the room, his eyes landing on me.

  “Come on,” he commanded and I moved toward him, mildly irritated by his order as I walked into the corridor.

  “Out,” he barked at Sabrina and the officer and they promptly obeyed, following us from the room.

  As Erik turned away and I kept to his side, Sabrina tried to follow us. He glared at her in warning. “Stay here. No one goes in that room and no one comes with us, understand?”

  She nodded, falling still as Erik led me around a corner out of sight.

  We approached a door where a guard was standing and I quaked with my hunger for revenge.

  Erik took my hand as I gazed at the door, desperate to go in there. He turned me toward him with a dark look in his eyes. “His death is yours.” He reached for the guard, plucking a serrated knife from his hip and placing it in my palm.

  I startled at the icy feel of it, but nodded firmly. I could do this. For myself. But most of all for my family.

  Erik reached out and brushed a lock of hair from my face and my heart softened a fraction. I pushed him away, needing to remain cold and not let any ounce of warmth into my chest.

  Erik stared at me a beat longer. His mouth twitched as if he wanted to say something more. Instead, he opened the door, leading the way inside and I stepped into the room where Wolfe awaited us.

  “Master, I beg of you-” Wolfe started.

  “Quiet,” Erik snapped, stepping aside so Wolfe’s piercing gaze landed on me. His eyes fell to the knife in my hand and his lower lip trembled.

  “What’s going on?” he whispered to Erik, but he didn’t reply, simply shut the door and moved toward Wolfe at a slow pace.

  Erik took his arm, hauling him in front of me and shoving him to his knees.

  “No! Count Erik, please!” Wolfe howled, gazing up at me with a fear that I drank in with pleasure.

  “You killed my father,” I hissed and Wolfe shrank back against Erik as I shifted toward him. “Admit it,” I ordered and Wolfe stared at me in horror.

  “How can you bring her here to kill me?” Wolfe begged Erik. “She’s a slayer, master! Our sworn enemy!”

  “Yes she is. And she will be your end,” Erik snarled.

  Wolfe struggled but Erik held him with ease, gripping his hair in his fist.

  Let me help you, Moon Child.<
br />
  I dropped the steel blade to the floor, reaching into my coat and taking out Nightmare.

  Erik raised a brow. “I can’t hide anything from you.”

  I kept my eyes on Wolfe, the gold glint of Nightmare reflecting in his eyes.

  “Get away from me, whore!” Wolfe bellowed. “She has beguiled you with her tempting body, sire-” Erik slammed his face into the ground before hauling him upright again, his nose dripping blood.

  I stepped closer, raising Nightmare, a tremor rolling through my body.

  I had to do this.

  “This is for my father,” I breathed as tears scorched the back of my eyes.

  No, I can’t cry. I must be strong.

  I let the blade guide my movements and aimed it directly at Wolfe’s heart. Gathering my strength, I took a breath and released all of my pain into the strike, bringing it forward at speed.

  “STOP!” Strong arms surrounded me and I was yanked backwards so Nightmare met nothing but air. Alarm made my heart flutter and I lost my grip on the blade, the hilt clattering as it hit the floor.

  “What the fuck is this?!” Fabian roared as he locked me in his hold.

  I struggled against him but it was useless. My heart sank toward my stomach and anger flared through my gut.

  “Erik, explain yourself this second,” Fabian barked and I spotted Sabrina marching into the room, looking unsure of how to act as she assessed the two brothers.

  “Wolfe drank from a human. He killed the father of my fiancée,” Erik said, shoving Wolfe to the floor and slamming his boot to his chest.

  “So you brought a human here to kill him?!” Fabian roared, his voice resounding through my bones. “The punishment for such a crime is banishment, not death. And certainly not death by a Courtier’s hand.”

  Erik bared his fangs, looking deadly as he pressed his weight down on Wolfe. “She is no longer just a Courtier and Wolfe disobeyed a direct order.”

  “It is still not enough to have him killed! Are you insane, Erik? This could start an uprising in the city!”

  My heart juddered. Was that true?

  “An uprising, brother? Isn’t that what you want anyway?” Erik hissed, a terrifying look in his eyes. “I know what you’re planning. You want to take power. You want me dead.”

  “You are losing your fucking mind. How many times do I have to tell you I did not try to kill you!?” Fabian shouted.

  I clawed at his arms but he wouldn’t let me go.

  “Unhand her,” Erik spat. “She isn't yours to touch.”

  Fabian shoved me away from him and I stumbled to the floor. Erik snatched my hand, dragging me to his side and my heart tripled its pace. “So many of my men have died, Fabian,” Erik growled. “Do you really expect me to believe you’re not behind it? That you weren’t involved in the bomb that killed two of the Courtiers? A bomb that was meant for me?”

  “Listen to yourself,” Fabian snapped. “Why would I set a bomb to kill you? I know it wouldn’t work.”

  “I know it’s you!” Erik roared. “I have intel. Hard fucking evidence.”

  “From who?” Fabian demanded, his face skewing in confusion.

  “That is none of your business,” Erik said, recomposing himself and pulling me tighter against him. “Although I am sure you are aware of those I have had watching you, because half of them have ended up dead. Faulkner did not string himself up in a tree and gut his own stomach, did he Fabian?”

  “Faulkner?” Fabian gasped. “You think I had him killed? My own men have died lately, Erik, I am obviously not involved.”

  “Your men are dead because I retaliated,” Erik hissed and a shudder of fear went through me. They looked ready to rip each other apart.

  Fabian shook his head, a dark comprehension filling his expression. “You fucking idiot, Erik. By the gods, how could you be so stupid?”

  “You strike at me, Fabian, and I’ll strike back,” Erik snarled, but there was a hint of doubt in his tone. I gazed between the two of them, trying to work out if Fabian was telling the truth.

  “I am not the culprit,” Fabian insisted. “But I know who is.”

  “Who?” Erik whispered, clutching me firmer.

  “I…” Fabian’s eyes moved to me. “We should talk in private.”

  “You can speak freely in front of her,” Erik said and I gazed up at him in surprise.

  Fabian looked down at Wolfe who had fallen still on the floor. “Not here,” he said then gestured for us to leave the room.

  Erik stepped off of Wolfe, moving around him and dragging me down in front of him.

  “Apologise,” Erik snapped at Wolfe, but at the same time forced my hand toward Nightmare beside him. I grabbed it quickly, stuffing it in my coat. Panic scattered through me. What if Fabian had already seen it?

  “I’m s-sorry, sire,” Wolfe stuttered at Erik.

  “To her, idiot,” he muttered.

  I stood upright, hugging my coat tight around me. My pulse drummed in my ears as Wolfe’s cold gaze moved to me.

  “Sorry,” he whispered so lightly I barely heard it.

  Erik booted him in the ribs before snatching my arm and tugging me out of the room past Fabian.

  Sabrina followed us, keeping close to my side, her eyes darting between us as she awaited orders.

  A ping sounded from Erik’s pocket and he took out his phone, gazing down at the screen. His brow creased and his right eye twitched with anger.

  “What is it?” I asked and Erik hesitated a moment before showing me the screen.

  A video played, revealing Callie beside a group of trees. The slayer was with her, killing a vampire with a large sword. My heart pounded out of rhythm. I reached for the screen just as the video ended, pausing on Callie’s expression as she glared at the camera filming her. A blade was in her grasp, stained with blood. It looked just like Nightmare. Her hair was caught in a breeze, loose and more golden than I’d ever seen it. She looked…incredible. A force to be reckoned with.

  “You’re still trying to catch her,” I stated, my heart clenching.

  “I’ll bring her to you,” he muttered, but a shadow passed through his eyes that tied a knot in my gut.

  Fabian stepped into the corridor and Erik promptly stuffed the phone into his pocket, leaving me with an imprint of my sister in my mind. She was okay. Still alive. And fighting against the vampires like an angel of death.

  Holy shit…

  “Call the car and take Montana home,” Erik rounded on Sabrina.

  “I want to hear what Fabian has to say,” I said, dragging my thoughts back to now.

  Fabian glowered as he slammed the door behind him.

  “I'll ensure he repeats everything to you,” Erik snarled. “I’m going to follow in Fabian’s car.”

  Fabian’s upper lip curled back. “I’m not going anywhere with you unarmed.”

  Erik shrugged. “Bring a weapon then, brother. But if you attack me, I will win.”

  We’d ridden for hours through the woods in silence, slowly making our way northeast towards the train station. Magnar’s arms were loose around me. He was searching for something but he didn’t tell me what it was. Every now and then he would call out for Idun, demanding she appear to speak with us. But so far there was no sign of the goddess.

  The sound of running water reached me and the stallion raised his head hopefully as he turned towards it.

  Magnar let him have his way and he upped his pace to a trot in anticipation of a long drink. The mare whinnied excitedly as she followed and I couldn’t help but smile at the simplicity of their problems. If only water were the only thing I needed.

  The further we went, the louder the roar of the water became.

  “What is that?” I asked as the sound filled the space between the trees, drowning out everything else.

  “Have you never seen a waterfall?” Magnar asked.

  “I’ve never seen much of anything,” I reminded him. “There was no free-running water in the Realm. We
had to go to the bath house to wash and we were given rations of drinking water.”

  “The Belvederes have a lot to answer for,” he growled. “It is one thing to have seized power but to have robbed you all of your freedom so completely is beyond words.”

  “Well I’m free now,” I reminded him. “Thanks to you.”

  His grip around my waist tightened. “I’ll show you the world, Callie. Nothing will ever be kept from you again,” he murmured.

  I wasn’t sure what to say in response to that but before I had to come up with something, we made it through the trees and found the river.

  My mouth fell open as I spotted the waterfall cascading over a sheer drop on the far side of a large pool. Moss-covered boulders lined the edge of the waterfall and the greenery around it rose up towards the cloudy sky. It was beautiful. I never could have imagined such a thing existed.

  The horses waded straight into the shallow water which lapped against the shore and bent low to fill their bellies.

  “We should take advantage of this while we can. We’ll bathe and refill our water supplies while the horses have a rest,” Magnar said, sliding from the stallion’s back and raising his arms to catch me.

  I didn’t need his help dismounting or even riding the horses anymore now that I had access to my ancestors’ memories but I’d kept that information to myself. I slid down into his arms with a small smile.

  Instead of placing me on my feet he pulled me close to his chest and wrapped his other arm beneath my legs as he waded back out of the water, saving me from soaking my boots. I put my arm around his neck and studied his profile as he carried me to shore. I could have sworn his eyes were dimmer today. Sometimes they sparkled with the heat of the sun and other times they burned like the simmering coals of a dying fire. He was still so sad. And I knew that me taking the vow had made things worse for him.

  “I’m sorry, Elder,” I breathed, that damn word replacing his name yet again. “About taking the vow.”

  He sighed. “This is what you were born for, Callie. I shouldn’t have asked you to sacrifice that for me.”

  He placed me on my feet on the riverbank and turned away as he began to remove his clothes.