Age of Vampires- The Complete Series

by Caroline Peckham

  Blood poured from his mouth, his tongue swollen and half severed. “Ged away you thucking bitheth! Dyou'll pay for diff!”

  As Callie approached, he swung a fist at her but she evaded the blow with grace, dropping low to grab Fury and planting it directly between his legs. His screams hit my ears so hard I winced, but satisfaction sprawled through me. We had the upper hand. We were taking down the beast who'd haunted us and making him suffer in the process. Just like Dad had suffered in Wolfe's hands.

  My sister twisted the blade in his groin, glaring straight into his eyes. “You're a monster,” she snarled, ripping Fury out. His pained yells were the only sound I could hear and they sparked a thirst in me that could only be sated by his death.

  He stumbled past her, suddenly trying to run and I sped after him. He was faster than Callie, but not fast enough to escape me.

  I tore Nightmare across the backs of his knees and he fell down in a heap at my feet. Callie raced to my side, her jaw set.

  “You're dirt,” I growled, kicking him so he rolled over to look up at us.

  “And you're dead,” Callie grinned darkly.

  He clasped the wound between his legs with a pained whimper. “Thuck you and your thilthy, worthleth father!”

  With a scream of defiance that was echoed by my sister, we drove our blades into his heart at once.

  Wolfe exploded into ash and the hammering rain swept him away so nothing but his clothes lay on the ground. Callie's eyes glimmered as she looked at me. A moment of sweet relief passed then we closed the gap between us, embracing hard.

  “He's gone,” she groaned her happiness and I squeezed her tighter as bliss flowed through me.

  A tear tracked down my cheek as I bathed in the afterglow of what we'd achieved. Justice was dealt and it felt so damn good.

  I pushed through the crowd of bodies, delivering death to any Biter who came at me as I kept my gaze locked on Valentina.

  I left Julius behind as the vampires swarmed between us and he was engaged in another fight. It didn’t matter though; all I had to do was get to her. My goal was in sight and I wasn’t going to leave here without completing it. Valentina had spent too long in her undead form; she needed to die. Permanently.

  I was surrounded by lessers and Venom and Tempest bathed in their blood as I carved a path into existence.

  She hadn’t noticed me yet but I was sure when she did she’d turn her storm against me, so I had to make the most of my advantage. I just needed to get close: I’d spent years encouraging her to hone her battle skills but she’d always relied too heavily on her gifts. She thought they made her untouchable. I was about to show her how wrong she’d been about that.

  Behind you! Venom hissed.

  Strike high, Tempest urged in agreement.

  I spun around, twisting my blades through the air as an Elite launched herself at me with her own sword drawn.

  Venom knocked her blade aside and Tempest cut into her chest before she crashed into me.

  I absorbed the blow with a growl of rage as I threw my elbow back into her jaw. She was knocked aside but a lesser catapulted onto my back as I was left exposed.

  His teeth grazed my neck and I dropped Tempest before catching him by the hair and dragging him over my shoulder. I slammed him to the ground in front of me and drove Venom between his ribs as he screamed for mercy.

  The Elite rushed at me, locking her arms around my waist as she attempted to throw me to the ground. I twisted, stumbling back a step before I managed to right myself and I kicked at her knees, sweeping her legs out from under her. She fell, swearing as she landed on Tempest where it lay on the concrete and the blade began to burn her.

  She tried to roll away but I kicked her back, pressing my foot down on her chest so that she was stuck on top of the blade as it burned her flesh from her bones. She shrieked in pain, clawing at my leg as I used Venom to cut through several lessers who attempted to help her.

  I looked down at her as she cursed me and I snarled, letting my face be the last thing she saw before I plunged Venom through her heart.

  I stooped to retrieve Tempest from the pile of clothes she left behind and the blade greeted me excitedly as I clasped it in my hand once more.

  I looked towards Valentina again just as she turned and spotted me. Her mouth fell open in surprise and I could have sworn she looked happy to see me. I bared my teeth at her as I began running to close the distance between us.

  The wind caught in her hair and I leapt aside just before her lightning strike hit the ground where I should have been.

  “Catch him!” she cried, pointing me out to more of her vile followers.

  The Biters raced towards me and I noticed some of them holding a length of golden chain as if they thought to snare me with it.

  I laughed at the absurdity of it. “You think if you chain me you might be able to drag me down the aisle?” I mocked as Valentina whipped up the wind around me.

  “You will regret scorning me Magnar Elioson,” she swore and lightning hit the ground behind me.

  The heat of it flared across my skin but I didn’t flinch. If she wanted me alive then I had no need to fear her theatrics.

  “I regret many things,” I replied loudly. “But never that.”

  I ran to meet the Biters as they raced for me. I slashed my swords towards them, leaping into the middle of them as they sought to overwhelm me. But I was a Blessed Crusader, I had no reason to fear a group of lessers such as these especially if they were foolish enough to try and trap me instead of killing me.

  I danced between them, laughing as I evaded every desperately grasping hand and delivering deadly blows with my swords.

  The vampires who held the chain approached cautiously, holding it out as if they thought I might actually be contained by such a thing.

  I swept the head from the final vampire to have come for me then turned to face them with my arms held wide.

  “Come then,” I taunted. “If you truly think you can hold me then do your best.”

  The vampires shot towards me in a blur of motion. The first to arrive snarled, whipping the chain forward so that it coiled around my right arm. I laughed as I yanked on it, forcing him towards me so that I could slam Tempest into his heart.

  He disappeared into a cloud of dust and I shook my arm to knock the golden chain free but it didn’t come loose.

  The second vampire approached me and I decided to use the chain for my own purposes. I whipped it towards him and the heavy metal slammed into his skull, breaking bone as he was knocked from his feet.

  I charged after him and swung Venom down to finished him off.

  I looked for Valentina again but she’d abandoned the platform and I’d lost sight of her to the crowd on the far side of it.

  I cursed and placed Venom on my back before trying to remove the chain from my other arm.

  Pain seared through my wrist as I pulled on it and I scowled as it tightened instead of coming free.

  More Biters started to come for me but they stopped suddenly and just stared instead. I frowned at them in confusion, preparing to cross the gap between us myself.

  Idun’s tinkling laughter filled the air around me and I stilled as I looked about for the deity but she didn’t appear.

  Now now Magnar, she sighed and her voice was full of disappointment as I felt her breath against my ear. You didn’t think I’d just let you change the rules did you?

  “What have you done?” I growled, glaring at the chain as I noticed the power which resided in it flaring against my skin.

  I’ve decided to bet on someone else for a change.

  I was forced to the ground by a raging storm that seemed hell-bent on keeping me in place. Clarice had intercepted a group several paces ahead of me and I gritted my teeth, pressing my hands to the ground and battling to get up.

  You can't take me, Valentina. The wind may be your ally, but I have the fiercest warriors at my back. And You. Will. Fail.

  A thick fog surr
ounded me, pressing in on either side and the Biters around me withdrew into it. I lost sight of Clarice and anger blazed in my chest as I was cut off from her.

  As the pummelling wind eased, I gained my feet and hurried toward the mist. The second I ran, the clouds opened up above me, allowing a single shaft of beating sunlight down on my head. I shouted my rage as its rays fell over me and my body immediately weakened. My shoulders fell lax and my limbs ached as I took another desperate step forward, determined to escape the light. Wherever I moved, it followed, keeping me trapped within its powerful rays.

  The mist shifted and Valentina stepped out of it with a keen smile. She was flanked by four Biters holding the thick chains they'd been trying to bind me with before.

  I snarled at her, raising my sword to defend myself.

  She laughed softly. “You're under my control now, Count Erik,” she said. “You've lost. Accept it. You’ll find this a lot less uncomfortable if you cooperate.”

  As I inched forward, the shaft of sunlight shifted with me, never touching her disgusting followers and keeping them strong. They were Elite. And though I may have managed to take them on before, I was weaker than them with ultraviolet light seeping into my veins.

  “What do you want from me?” I growled. I wouldn't give up. There wasn't a chance in hell I'd be going anywhere with this depraved woman. But my chances of facing her and winning were pretty slim under the influence of the sun.

  “I don't want to ruin the surprise,” she said with a grin, ushering her people forward.

  They ran at me with the gold chains in their hands and I snarled to keep them back, swinging my blade in a menacing arc. They evaded my attacks, dancing around me, trying to get close. Two of them grabbed one of my arms, moving faster than I could in my weakened state. I threw the butt of my sword into one of their faces and slashed out at another, but a female caught my free arm, wrenching the blade from my grip with a yell of victory.

  The chains were thrown over me and I roared a challenge, wheeling around to try and keep them off. They wrapped them around my throat, my stomach and finally snared my arms. Anger flared in my chest but there was nothing I could do. I was an animal caught in a trap.

  Stepping back, the Biters yanked the ends of the chains and I toppled over, slamming into the ground. I winced against the sunlight, trying to roll to escape it, but as I moved the chains tightened around my body as if they had a will of their own.

  “You've scorned the gods, Erik,” Valentina said with a lilting laugh. “They're helping me now. The more you struggle against those chains, the tighter they'll become.”

  “Fuck you!” I bit at her, rolling my shoulders to try and loosen myself from them. The chains coiled around me like a python, squeezing my limbs so fiercely I was immobilised.

  “Get him in the truck, I'll deal with Magnar,” Valentina commanded and the mist moved around her people, keeping them shielded from the sun as they hoisted me into their arms. Valentina headed away at a fierce stride, leaving us alone.

  The fog parted, but the sun remained shining down on my head as they sped toward a pick-up parked at the edge of the street. The sounds of battle still carried to me and my heart nearly broke at how much I was letting my family down, my wife.

  The Biters dumped me in the back of the truck. I roared between my teeth, managing to move my legs enough to smash them into the side of the vehicle’s walls and dent the metal.

  One of the Biters produced a gag, hopping into the back of the truck and bending down to put it in my mouth. As he reached out for me, I reared up and bit his hand, catching one of his fingers in my mouth. I clamped my teeth down, biting as hard as I could until I broke through bone. He screamed in agony, stumbling backwards as I spat his severed finger at his feet. His blood tasted like piss and I hacked up the rest of it beside me.

  “You piece of shit.” He landed a kick in my ribs and they broke under the viciousness of his attack. He kept kicking and kicking and the more I fought to get away, the tighter the chains became.

  The Biter grinned down at me, picking up his finger and pressing it to the bloody stump on his hand so it knitted back together.

  “You're no one's ruler now,” he laughed.

  I ground my teeth against the ache in my body, glaring up at him with acidic hatred. “I'll remember your face. Your death is coming for you, asshole.”

  His grey eyes flickered with darkness, but then his mirth masked it. “Yeah? Well my queen will make sure that never happens.” He booted me in the chest and I released a hiss between my teeth, my anger growing out of control.

  “Your queen's dead too, mark my words,” I said evenly.

  A yell sounded above the battle and I recognised Clarice's voice. “Erik, where are you?!”

  I looked to the Biter with a deadly smile then shouted, “HERE!” just as his foot met my jaw.

  I groaned, unable to heal with the sun beating down on the truck. But I didn't give a damn as Clarice burst through the mist and her eyes wheeled to me. She sped forward and the Biter jumped down to intercept her with a battle cry. Before they met, a rogue lightning strike tore the ground apart and my sister hit the ground.

  “No!” I writhed in the chains, managing to sit upright so I could see her again, but every move I made had them snaring me harder and my bones were starting to face the pressure.

  Several more Biters poured from the mist and fell onto Clarice in a frenzied attack.

  Horror pounded through me as I lost sight of my sister beneath the mass of rebel vampires. My heart couldn't take it. I couldn’t help. I was useless. Stuck here like a tethered dog.

  “Get off of her!” I bellowed, but it was pointless. So there was only one thing I could do. “Hey! Fabian help!” I roared, praying my brother was close enough to hear.

  A huge figure burst out of the mist and my brows pinched together as Julius appeared, splattered with blood, his sword coated in it too. He spotted the brawling mass and dove forward, stabbing and stabbing. One of the Biters caught him by the neck, biting deep into his throat.

  He bellowed in anger, shoving her to the ground and finishing her with a fierce strike of his sword.

  Clarice battled to get up but too many of them were holding her down, ripping at her flesh, ready to end her.

  “Julius!” I shouted in a panic and he dragged two Biters off of Clarice by their collars, wheeling them away from her before ramming his blade into one of their chests. The other one dodged his attacks. He was Elite, feral and strong and I didn't know how well the slayer would fare against him.

  Julius rotated his shoulders, grinning as he lunged forward to kill his opponent. The Elite danced aside, sprinting around Julius and slashing his nails down his spine. Julius cried out in pain, turning to try and spear him with his sword. The Elite was too fast, taking him to the ground with a growl of hunger.

  “No!” I yelled, furious that I couldn't help as both Julius and my sister were incapacitated.

  A furious cry filled the air and I spotted Fabian and the Elite, Danielle, tumbling from the mist with several Biters in tow. Fabian slammed his fists into their faces, over and over, but their numbers were overwhelming.

  Danielle darted toward Julius, kicking the Elite off of him and planting her sword in the Biter's chest before he could rise.

  Julius sprang upright, nodding to her before running to help Clarice.

  He threw a heavy kick into a Biter's leg and he toppled sideways with a yell of panic. Julius thrust his blade into his chest and dust burst around his feet as the bastard died.

  He cleaved his sword through the final Biters holding my sister with vicious blows of his blade. I released a breath as Clarice appeared at last, shoving the clothes off her with a groan.

  Julius dragged her upright and she gazed at him disbelief, her hand staying in his a beat too long before she yanked it away.

  “You're welcome,” Julius said with a raised eyebrow.

  Clarice nodded, looking confused as she turned towar
d the truck, sprinting to help me. Relief filled me as she approached, but she had to hurry. Fabian and Danielle were barely holding off the horde running our way.

  “Get me out of these chains,” I demanded, not wanting to move again in case they started biting into my flesh.

  Clarice jumped into the truck, kneeling down and taking hold of them. She gasped, withdrawing her hand immediately. “They burn.” She turned her palms over in horror then wheeled around to face Julius. “Come help. Maybe slayers can touch them.”

  He sprang up too, kneeling before me and touching the chains. He swore, retracting his hand as well.

  “Shit,” he snarled, curling his hand into a fist before bringing his sword forward. He pressed it against my leg, gently easing it under the chain. The blade cut a hole in my pants and it burnt like hell as it met my flesh. I snarled between my teeth to weather out the sensation.

  He gave me a wary glance.

  “It's fine just hurry the fuck up,” I commanded.

  Julius wrenched the blade sideways to try and break the chains, but his sword snapped instead, the end clattering onto the truck bed.

  “No!” he cried his grief. “My baby!” He picked up the end, horror lacing his features.

  “What the hell are these made of?” Clarice gasped.

  “The gods created them, they're helping Valentina,” I said with a scowl.

  Julius looked like he was about to cry as he cradled the two pieces of his sword to his chest.

  “Get me out of here,” I snarled, not having time for his ridiculous display as Fabian released a shout of pain.

  “Grab his shoulders, don't touch the chains,” Clarice encouraged the slayer, taking hold of my ankles.

  Julius sheathed the two pieces of his blade just as the swarm of Biters broke past Fabian and Danielle, sprinting toward us.

  The storm raged harder and a harsh wind pushed against us. I despised how useless I was as Clarice and Julius abandoned me and leapt from the truck to meet the fight. The rain battered down on everyone but me as I sat in the single shaft of light in the whole town.