“Are you married?” I asked.
She nodded meekly. “Yes, to an old warrior. He is quite the bore.”
“Is he now? Tell me about him,” I urged and slowly she started opening up to me about the oaf who had claimed her as his bride. I knew the man, he'd come to me many times praising my name and asking me to bestow gifts on the town. Begging for rain for his crops, for his animals to grow fat, for the enemy tribes to stay away. The few times the village had been attacked, the four of us had seen them off anyway. It was easy. We were their protectors and so they worshiped us. But I was growing tired of being worshiped.
“Sit.” I patted my lap and Kuwana shook her head in alarm. In truth, I only wanted to feel the warmth of her skin again. I wanted to take a bite out of life. And the only way I could was by getting as close to it as possible. “Please,” I urged and she moved swiftly, dropping onto my knees.
I pulled her to me, tracing the line of her collar bone with my finger and breathing in her earthy scent. She was a tantalising piece of humanity, coiled in my arms. She shivered as I inspected her. I wanted more. I wanted her heart to beat life through my own veins.
“Lord, you are great and kind, but I am afraid of you too,” she said, her warm breath floating over my neck and intoxicating me.
“Don't be afraid. I'd never hurt you.” I shut my eyes, leaning closer to listen to her beating heart. My mouth grew dry as the blood-lust rose in me, but I battled it away.
“Excuse me, brother,” Fabian's voice pulled me from my trance. He was shirtless, his hair long and loose and red markings were painted on his chest. He loved to take part in the village ways.
Kuwana sprang from my lap, dropping to her knees and flattening herself to the floor as Fabian stepped past her. He acted as if she wasn't there at all.
“We have a problem,” Fabian growled and I sensed a tension in his posture that concerned me. He snapped his fingers at Kuwana. “Go,” he commanded and she scampered away, darting down the golden steps out into the growing light of dawn.
“What's wrong?” I asked, rising from my throne.
Fabian took a measured breath. “The slayers are coming.”
A beat of silence. Two.
I came undone, grabbing Fabian by the shoulders. “How do you know this?”
“Some of the villagers have been fishing at sea the past three days. They returned just moments ago and speak of a great fleet heading our way. They say a fierce tribe of warriors ride in it. They fear for their own lives, but it is ours I'm more concerned about.”
“How could they find us?” I demanded, anxiety scraping my insides.
“The goddess, of course. No doubt Idun has led them right to us.” Fabian rested a hand on my shoulder, giving me an intense look. “We will face them together, Brother.”
“And we will lose,” I snarled. “Unless Andvari helps us, we cannot beat them now that they are gifted with Idun's power.”
“Then you must speak with Andvari,” Fabian begged. “You are the only one he listens to.”
I nodded, my heart growing weak at his words. I wondered how long we had until the accursed barbarians arrived. No doubt Magnar Elioson and his brother would be amongst them. They hungered for my death like madmen. If only they could see the control Idun had over them. That they were a slave to her like we were to Andvari.
“Let's go to the holy Kiva, the Shaman has a pane of polished glass. We can use it to speak with Andvari.”
Fabian nodded then suddenly wrapped his arms around me, taking me by surprise. I patted his back as he clapped mine. “We will always protect each other.”
I nodded firmly; despite our differences, our bond had never faltered in all our three hundred years of friendship. “Always.”
I rolled my shoulders back and tried to shake off the ache I felt across my spine. With little to do while we waited for dark, I’d spent most of the day sparring with Magnar and Julius and I was beginning to suffer the consequences of letting them use me as a punching bag.
The fire was dying out but there was no point in us building it up again; the sun was almost set and we were getting ready to head off. We had a long way to go, passing by the city filled with vampires before finally making it to the statue Julius had spoken of. I hoped he was right about it being a good place for us to lay low because heading closer to those creatures didn’t feel like the safest option.
I’d be closer to Fabian again too. The thought made doubt build in my chest. I was managing to keep a lid on most of the urges I felt toward him but I was worried that closing the distance between us would make it harder to resist.
I wondered if Montana was struggling with her bond to Erik too. She had barely mentioned his name since we’d been reunited and I was starting to worry that he’d done something to her which she didn’t want to recount. If moving nearer caused the bond to draw her towards him again would she be able to cope with it? It had been hard enough for me to spend a single day as the Belvederes’ prisoner. How had she managed to last so long?
I glanced across the fire at her but she’d fallen into an anxious mood as the sun had started its descent and I was letting her have a bit of peace before we had to leave.
I flexed my fingers, inspecting my reddened knuckles which had split in places. My opponents had hard faces rough with stubble and I was quickly finding out what that meant for my fists.
The air stirred as the door opened and closed again downstairs and embers twirled above the fire. Magnar appeared at the top of the stairs; he’d been out scouting for Familiars in preparation of our departure. There was no sign of Julius so I guessed he was still working on getting us a boat.
Magnar moved to sit beside me and took my hand in his. I glanced up at him in surprise as he started rubbing some green mush over my knuckles and the cuts tingled in response.
“What’s that?” I asked as he released my right hand and took my left.
“Just some mixed herbs to help you heal faster,” he murmured. “You aren’t Clan of War like us; we have an unfair advantage when it comes to healing.”
“Oh yeah I was thinking that must be the advantage you have over me. The fact that you’re three times my size is irrelevant,” I teased.
A smile pulled at Magnar’s mouth and he looked up at me, my hand still in his.
My heart thrummed wildly as I caught his gaze and I bit my lip as I tried to remember why the hell I’d asked him to give me space.
His fingertips shifted across my skin and brushed against the mark on my palm. I gasped as heated pain flared through me and snatched my hand out of his grasp before slapping him right across the face.
“I’m sorry,” I exclaimed as I sprung to my feet, cradling my traitorous hand to my chest. “I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s fine, Callie. You were hitting me a lot harder than that this afternoon.” He held my gaze for a moment then pushed himself to his feet.
“It’s not fine,” I breathed miserably.
He moved closer to me so that I had to tilt my head back to look up at him. He didn’t try to touch me again though and my heart ached, wishing he would and praying he wouldn’t in equal measures.
“You’ll figure this out,” he said quietly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You shouldn’t have to put up with this,” I replied anxiously. Why should he have to stand for me playing hot and cold with him? I knew I was being unfair but I felt helpless to stop it too.
“I’m fairly sure you’re worth it.” He looked at me intently for a moment and heat built in my veins at the promise in his eyes.
He finally released me from his golden gaze and handed me the remaining green mixture rolled in a leaf. “For your sister’s bites,” he murmured before walking away to begin preparing our meal. I let out a shaky breath and found Montana staring at me with a raised eyebrow.
I moved around the fire to take a seat beside her and rolled my eyes as she continued to give me that probing look. I passed her the herbs and she beg
an rubbing them onto the bite marks on her neck with a mutter of thanks.
“So when are you going to tell me about the two of you?” she whispered expectantly.
Magnar was on the far side of the room, filling a pot as he made our meal but it was nowhere near far enough away for me to start talking about him.
“He can hear you,” I breathed.
She frowned over at him, looking like she didn’t believe me. “How could he possibly-”
“I can,” Magnar confirmed without turning back to look at us.
Her mouth fell open and a line formed above her brow as if she were annoyed. “You know, living with you guys is a lot like living with Erik. He could hear every little-”
“What do you mean living with Erik?” I asked, catching her arm. “You never... I mean when you were being held there, did he force you to...” My eyes dropped to her stomach instead of saying the words out loud. I knew the Belvederes had said they had a rule about waiting until after the wedding to consummate it but she’d been there a lot longer than me. And after what that monster had done to Magnar’s people I couldn’t help but wonder if he wouldn’t have just taken what he wanted from her whenever it suited him. If there was any chance she could be pregnant already then how would we be able to deal with that?
Montana stared at me in confusion for several seconds then seemed to grasp what I was implying.
“No!” she replied suddenly. “Of course not. He’d never do anything like that to me; he’s not a monster.”
I opened my mouth to argue against her, wondering why the hell she’d defend him but then Fabian entered my mind. I remembered how sad he’d looked when he’d shown me what he’d done to the people of his village...
“It’s okay, Monty. I get it.” I reached for her hand and turned it over so that the silver cross caught the firelight. “This makes it hard to remember what they are.”
She started shaking her head, her eyes glimmering with some deep emotion and I wondered how much harder this must have been for her. I had my feelings for Magnar to counter the false emotions for Fabian. When I was caught up in the idea of the Belvedere brother, I could search my heart for the place the warrior had taken hostage and find myself again. She was caught adrift in the swirling emotions Idun had forced upon her. How could I expect her to fight them off when I was having so much trouble doing the exact same thing?
I curled her fingers shut, hiding the mark and wrapping my own hands over her fist. “We’ll find a way to break free of this curse,” I promised.
“But it’s not like that for me,” she replied and a tear ran down her cheek. “Erik is-” Her gaze slid across the room to Magnar whose shoulders were tense with anger and I could tell he didn’t want to hear anything more about the creature who had killed his father.
“What is it?” I pressed, sensing she was holding back on something.
She took a deep breath and shook her head, retrieving her hand from my grasp and wiping the tear from her cheek. “Nothing. It’s just so much has happened; the wedding and the mark... it’s a lot. But I’m okay. I promise.”
I opened my mouth to protest, knowing she was still concealing something but she got to her feet before I could convince her to confide in me.
“I need to pee,” she announced.
I watched her as she walked away from me and an ache built in my chest. She was hiding things from me. I knew it. And it carved a hole in my heart. We’d always shared everything with each other. I couldn’t remember once keeping a secret from her but now she was running from me instead of admitting to whatever truth burdened her.
I frowned at the mark on my palm and my rage against Idun built once more. Now her vile magic was driving a wedge between me and my sister too. That goddess had a hell of a lot to answer for.
I stared into the fire, losing myself to my thoughts as Magnar cooked our meal.
My mind kept catching on the look in Fabian’s eyes right before he’d bitten me in our dream. I knew I’d done the right thing in forcing him to see why we could never be together. He had to realise that Idun was just playing with us, toying with our emotions for her own vile amusement. He was a creature of the night. My sworn enemy. My predator... So why did I feel so guilty?
He’s a monster. He doesn’t have feelings so you didn’t do anything wrong. But why does that feel like a lie?
I lost myself to the endless cycle of my thoughts once more while Magnar continued cooking in silence.
Eventually, he handed me a bowl of food and I fell on it like a ravenous beast without bothering to look at it. He moved to sit across the fire and I couldn’t even blame him as disappointment built in my chest. Why would he want to be close to me when all I did was push him away? I was a damn mess and I wasn’t sure how the hell I was going to fix it.
Julius reappeared with Montana in tow and I frowned as I realised she’d been missing for longer than it took to pee. Now I was being a shit sister too. She looked calmer though, the weight I’d seen pressing down on her had lifted a little from her gaze. Julius has an amused look on his face and I got the feeling he was the reason for her improved mood. I wondered vaguely if their relationship might be turning into something more than friendship but I hadn’t seen any real signs to suggest it.
“I’m sorry if I upset you before,” I said as Montana moved to sit beside me, accepting her meal from Magnar with a word of thanks.
“It’s not that,” she replied, her eyes on her food.
“You know you can always tell me anything,” I urged gently.
She glanced up at me, her dark hair framing her face. “It’s just hard to explain everything that’s happened properly. I promise I’ll try but... there’s just so much going on at the moment and-”
“And we need to go.” Julius finished for her. “I know you two need time for a whole heart to heart. Probably while braiding each other’s hair... and bathing together... while I may or may not be watching-”
Magnar tossed his bowl at the back of Julius’s head and it connected with a dull thunk before clattering to the floor.
I couldn’t help but laugh as Julius gave us a wolfish grin.
“Well that last bit may just be a suggestion. But I’m game if you are. And either way, we need to get moving.” He shovelled the last of his meal into his mouth and moved away to finish packing our supplies into the bags.
Montana rolled her eyes at me as she hurried to finish her food too and I grinned in response. He was right though, whatever was bothering her would have to wait for now; we needed to get going.
Magnar walked towards me and handed me Tempest. I offered him a small smile as I accepted the heavy weapon once more. I missed Fury though. That blade had become a part of me somehow and no matter how many times I wielded Tempest, it would always be loyal to Magnar.
Greetings, Dream Walker, Tempest purred through my mind and I smiled as it made an effort with me. I guessed it was weird that I wanted to bond with Magnar’s blades but I had the strangest feeling that he’d care about their opinion of me.
Julius led the way out of the building we’d been using for shelter and I fell into step with Montana as Magnar took up the rear.
We crossed over the protection runes on the threshold and Magnar struck them out, using Venom to carve a line through the stone. I felt the safety they’d been offering fade from my skin and goosebumps rose along my flesh as the cool night air claimed me.
Julius started running and we hurried to keep up as he weaved a path through the ruins towards the river. The sound of the water called us on and moonlight glimmered overhead.
I kept my senses tuned in to Tempest but I couldn’t detect anything drawing close. It seemed we were alone for now.
We turned a corner and suddenly the river was before us. I stilled, my mouth dropping open as I spied the huge span of water. I’d never seen such a thing and I was afraid to head out onto it.
Julius kept moving to the waterfront and pulled a thick tarp from a wooden rowing bo
at which was concealed there. He shoved it towards the river and Magnar tossed his pack into it before helping him.
The boat perched on the water, bobbing up and down in the current as Julius held it in place.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked as Magnar helped Montana to climb in. “That boat is really small and there’s a hell of a lot of water here. What if we fall in?”
“Get in the boat,” Magnar commanded and I was struck with the power which bent me to his will.
I took a step forward then jammed my heel into the riverbank as I forced myself to stop. Julius’s mouth twitched in a smile as he watched me and sweat began to bead on my forehead as I refused to give in.
Magnar’s eyes glittered with fire and I ground my teeth as I took a second step. My fingers grasped the edge of the boat but I refused to move another inch.
The compulsion pushed at me more forcefully and I finally caved to it, jumping into the boat.
Montana’s eyes were wide as she watched me and she took my hand as I sat beside her.
“Good,” Magnar said and I couldn’t help but be pleased at how much I’d managed to fight his command. I was so over my fate being outside of my control and I was determined to break these ties which held me.
Magnar and Julius pushed the boat out into the water before leaping in beside us, splashing cold droplets over us as they did so.
“I’ve never seen a novice fight the compulsion like that so soon after taking their vow,” Julius said as he lifted an oar and began rowing. “You must really wanna get in my brother’s pants.”
Montana laughed and I flushed red as I failed to come up with anything to say to that. I fixed my eyes out over the water instead and refused to look at Magnar.
Nerves pulled at me again as we made it into the centre of the river and the current began to pull us along. A cold wind followed us and I tugged my new coat closer around my neck.
Between the current and Magnar and Julius rowing, we made quick progress along the river. Soon we were leaving the ruins behind and we crossed the boundary to the city. My skin prickled uncomfortably as we passed so close to the vampires’ homes. There were plenty of windows overlooking the water, some illuminated, suggesting the residents were home.
Age of Vampires- The Complete Series Page 87