As they fought the lessers, the engine rumbled to life beneath me.
“No!” I gasped as a Biter drove the truck forward. “Fuck!”
Clarice glanced back with desperate eyes, but four Biters crashed into her to stop her pursuing. The truck pulled away and I tried to roll to the end of the cab and break out of it. The sun followed my every move and hatred seared my veins.
Screw Valentina and her damn gifts.
She wasn’t just taking me, she was stealing me from Rebel. We’d already been apart too long after our marriage and I cursed Valentina for the injustice of it. If only I’d caught sight of her one last time, to see she was alright. To promise her I’d come back. That the full force of the sun itself couldn’t weaken me enough to stop me from returning to her.
I managed to get my chin on the wall of the truck, but the driver veered violently left and right, tossing me back to the middle. The chains cut into my skin and I roared my fury to the sky, swearing on every star in the solar system that Valentina was going to die at my hand. And her death would not be swift.
A prickle of realisation ran down my spine as the crowd of Biters parted and Valentina stepped out from between them, her gaze set on me.
“Oh husband,” she purred seductively. “When will you realise that I was always going to get what I wanted?”
I glared at her, holding my blades ready as a strong wind picked up. I gritted my teeth and stepped into it. She raised her hands, driving the gale towards me more forcefully until it was all I could do to stand my ground against it. I was trapped in the maelstrom as her cretins flanked me. The chain snaring my right arm blew out behind me, caught in the pressure of her gifts.
My blood flared with my desire to end her but I was immobilised until she released me from the storm.
I spied more chains amongst the Biters as they prepared to come for me again and I glared at them, promising them their deaths if they dared to try and take me.
I couldn’t hear Valentina’s voice over the wind but I could see her lips moving as she gave her followers instructions.
I tightened my grip on my swords, refusing to allow the storm to take them from me.
The wind dropped suddenly and the Biters leapt towards me with their chains but I was ready. I dove forward, rolling beneath the first chain before gaining my feet beyond it and turning my attention to the vampires who held it.
The closest one lost his head to Tempest and I kicked his decapitated body so hard that it slammed into three more of them, knocking them from their feet.
I whipped the chain attached to my right arm at the vampires in front of me, cutting them to ribbons with the powerful creation. I was sure such a thing must have been crafted by the gods and I cursed Idun beneath my breath as I fought on, keeping Valentina locked in my sights. This would all end with her death.
The vampire holding the chain to my left slashed it at me and I ducked beneath it, narrowly avoiding its touch. I was sure if it met with my skin then it would coil as tightly as the first and I refused to let that happen.
I righted myself and sprinted towards him as he dragged the chain back into his grasp. Venom cut though his chest before he could try and trap me again and the chain fell to the ground alongside his ashes.
I turned toward Valentina and she glared at me, lifting her arms to the heavens as she called on the storm for assistance. I sprinted for her but lightning arced from the sky, slamming into the ground between us repeatedly so that I was forced back.
The golden chain rattled behind me as another set of Biters took it up.
I turned to face them, daring them to test me.
Ten lessers shot towards me in a blur of motion and I raised my blades to defend myself. Just before they reached me, Valentina drove a gale into my back, forcing me to stumble forward.
The lessers pounced on me as a unit and I only managed to land one fatal blow before they swept my feet out from under me. I snarled in rage, hacking my blades at their legs as blood poured, coating me.
I kicked out, launching one of them away and using the space I’d created to roll myself upright.
My right arm jerked backwards as one of the vampires grabbed the other end of the chain and yanked on it. I twisted towards them, bringing Tempest around savagely and cutting into the lessers without taking a moment to aim. The blade sliced through flesh and bone as the vampires screamed and I closed in on the creature who dared to try and restrain me.
The vampire holding the chain hissed at me as she saw me coming. I snapped my arm back, wrenching the chain closer to me and forcing her forward several steps. Another lesser ran to help her hold it and I bared my teeth in anger.
I raised Tempest high, intending to carve through both of them but a second chain hooked around my wrist instead.
The Elite who held it shrieked with glee as he pulled the chain tight and it cut into my flesh. More vampires raced to grab both chains as they heaved them away from me, forcing my arms wide and immobilising me.
I bellowed in rage, my muscles trembling as I fought against the strength of so many vampires at once.
Valentina smiled in victory as she approached me and the rain fizzled out of existence.
“What a day this has turned out to be,” she said as her eyes travelled over me and she stopped just out of reach.
I strained against the chains once more, aching for her death as my swords burned hot in my palms.
“I had hoped to capture one king and now I’ve gotten two,” she said.
“I’d have thought that by now you would have realised that you can’t have me,” I growled. “Your desperation knows no bounds.”
“You should have married me when you had the chance,” she hissed. “Now you’re going to pay the price for that mistake.”
The chains kept tightening around my arms and I sagged my shoulders as I stopped resisting their pull. Valentina smiled victoriously, stepping a little closer.
“I always knew you’d bow to my will one day,” she whispered, leaning towards me as if we were sharing some secret.
I smiled at her and her eyes widened in horror as she reached for her gifts but she wasn’t quick enough. I kicked my foot into her chest so hard that she flew all the way back into the wooden platform, destroying it as her body collided with it.
I poured every ounce of my will into my gifted muscles and yelled a challenge as I started running after her, dragging the vampires behind me with the chains.
The powerful metal cut into my arms as I fought against its hold and blood poured from the wounds, sending the Biters into a frenzy.
Several released their grip on the chains and raced towards me instead, hungering for my blood. I stopped running and kicked out at one of them as she got close enough, sending her flying into the vampires who held the chain on my left.
The two who still clutched it widened their eyes in horror as I yanked them close enough to give me some slack so that I could swing Tempest for their necks. I removed the head from one and the second dropped the chain as he threw himself away from me instead.
I roared a challenge at the rest of them as I whipped the chain in front of me before slamming it into the Biters who were struggling to restrain my other arm.
The chain slackened and I smiled viciously as I set my eyes on the destroyed stage once more and sprinted for Valentina.
I spied the red of her dress amongst the broken wood but before I could deliver her death, lightning hit the ground in front of me with such force that I was thrown from my feet. I lost my hold on Venom as I slammed into the concrete and was momentarily blinded by the blast.
I rolled, trying to right myself but I was knocked off balance as the vampires seized the chains again, yanking them tight. I regained my feet but I was too late; too many of my enemies had grabbed the chains for me to fight them off this time.
I growled in anger as I felt something pop in my shoulder and I was forced to a halt.
My heart pounded a violent rhythm again
st my ribs. I couldn’t move. I thrashed against the chains but more and more of Valentina’s foul followers raced to help restrain me and even my enhanced strength wasn’t enough to combat their combined might as they pulled me in two directions at once.
A huge Elite approached me, forcing me to my knees as the rest of the vampires pulled on the chains so tightly that it felt like my arms could be ripped from their sockets at any moment. The chains themselves continued to cut into my flesh and blood flowed freely over my skin.
Valentina approached me again with a scowl on her face and another chain coiled in her grip. Blood ran from a wound at her temple but I could see that it was already healing and she paid it no attention.
“See how the mighty Magnar Elioson bows at my feet,” she snarled as she came to a halt before me.
“You can force me to kneel but I’d never bow to you, whore,” I spat.
She whipped the chain towards me and it snapped into place around my throat. Valentina tugged on it and it began to tighten, cutting off my airway.
The Elite kicked out at my left hand, knocking Tempest from my grasp and I felt the weight of the blade’s presence abandoning me like a blow to the chest.
She smiled wickedly as she took a step closer and pulled on it again so that I was forced to scramble to my feet or risk the damned chain choking me to death.
“Look at me,” she hissed, tugging the chain so that I lowered my chin in response to her command.
My eyes met hers and I was filled with the deepest pit of hatred as she surveyed me.
“You’re mine,” she whispered, stepping closer. “And I can do anything I want with you now.”
“And what is it you want?” I growled, the chain around my neck making it hard for me to speak.
“Right now?” she asked and her eyes lit with a feral desire. “I’m hungry.”
My muscles tensed a moment before her teeth met with my neck. She held the chain firmly, immobilising me as her venom flooded into my flesh and my blood poured into her mouth. Revulsion spewed through my body as she groaned in pleasure.
Her free hand slid across my chest as if we were locked in an embrace and my skin crawled beneath her touch.
Inside I was trembling, quaking and burning with a rage so intense I wasn’t sure anything would survive the depths of it. But I was trapped, unable to fight back as she drank her fill of my life force.
She finally stepped away, smiling up at me as my blood stained her lips. “Come dog,” she mocked as she pulled on the chain around my neck and I was forced to follow her.
The battle raged on behind me but I couldn’t even turn my head towards it as she drew me away. My heart thundered violently as my mind raced with a thousand ways I’d like to kill this creature before me.
Valentina forced me into the back of a truck and the Biters secured my chains so that I was unable to move an inch.
“That’s it!” she cried as the engine started up beneath me. “We’ve got what we came for. As soon as I’ve gotten him away, I’ll give the signal to retreat!”
The Biters cheered in response and she gave me one last, smug look before leaping from the truck and racing away ahead of it.
The vehicle started moving and I craned my neck to look back at the fight, hoping to catch a glimpse of Callie or my brother.
I’d never felt so helpless as this. Never known a fear like it. It wasn’t that I was afraid of death. I was afraid of what I was leaving behind. Somewhere out there Callie fought on and I had the greatest sense of dread that I might never see her again. That thought alone was worse than death. We’d had so little time. I wasn’t ready for it to be over yet.
I’d fight a thousand battles just to have one more moment in her arms. And if that was what it was going to take then I’d do it.
The cry of the battle flooded over us and we turned toward the end of the alleyway. “Is everyone okay?”
Callie nodded. “The last time I saw them they were. Let's go finish these bloodsuckers.”
I smiled as we ran together, sprinting out of the dark into the raging fight between the Biters and our friends. A thick mist was swirling over one area of the battle, hiding the far side of the square.
My throat tightened as the scent of blood filled my nostrils. Callie's own wounds held the same mouth-watering tang, so I was certain it belonged to a slayer.
“This way!” I yelled and Callie ran at my side as we pushed through the mass of bodies.
The Biters grew frenzied as my sister neared them, diving forward to try and sink their teeth into her. I slashed out at a female, throwing her away from Callie and my sister tackled another one to her left.
I locked my hand around the blonde female and she scratched her nails down my arms. I growled my anger, pushing her back and bringing up Nightmare. Her eyes glinted as the blade's golden hue reflected in them. She retreated in fear and I tried to take chase, but she sped away into the surging battle, disappearing amongst them.
I turned to find Callie in a smoking pile of ash and she sprang to her feet, tossing the Biter's clothes from her.
I hunted for the scent of slayer blood again and finally, I found the source. The mist lifted, evaporating and revealing a raging fight beyond it. Julius and Clarice stood back to back, fighting the monsters who came at them. Beside them Fabian and a beautiful blonde Elite were bringing a beefy male to the ground, working together to end him.
Julius's neck was torn and blood coated his shirt. My heart squeezed as I took off toward him, hearing Callie following as we tried to reach them. The flow of Biters was easing, many of them dead, their remains scattered to the wind. I hunted for Erik amongst the last of them, but couldn't find him anywhere.
Fear sped through me as I cut down another Biter with Nightmare and jumped to Clarice's side.
“Where's Erik?” I demanded, tearing a vampire from her arm. She slammed a deadly punch into his chest and the man dissolved with a wail.
Clarice wiped a smear of dust from her cheek, frowning as she looked at me. “They put him in a truck.”
“What truck?!” I gasped, my heart tugging sharply.
“It went that way.” Clarice pointed, kicking another Biter to the ground and diving onto her.
I had no more time to ask questions as Callie stumbled into me and I spotted four Biters attacking her.
I screamed my defiance, joining her side as we fought them. My mind spun with worry for Erik, but I couldn't do anything except try to stop the Biters before I searched for him.
Callie slammed Fury into one of them but the Biter caught her by the waist, uprooting her. I slashed at his side and he dropped her, clasping the wound with a hiss. She hit the ground, rolling and snatching out his legs from under him. With a fierce blow from Fury, she finished him off.
I punched and kicked two males as they tried to get hold of me, but they overwhelmed me in seconds, yanking my arms behind my back. I screamed bloody murder as they pulled one of my arms so hard that my muscles ripped. I knew what was going to happen and I couldn’t stop it. I struggled desperately, a panicked cry escaping my throat.
With a horrifying wrench, my arm tore clean off.
I screamed so hard my throat was rubbed raw. The wound throbbed, the sensation like serrated knives driving into my shoulder. I was immobilised by the shock of it. It was pain in its purest form, my nerve endings alight with hellfire.
I hit the ground, rolling in a filthy puddle as blood spilled out around me.
I’m dead. This is it. I can’t get up.
The two Biters laughed and I blinked up at them through watery eyes, realising they were twins. Male, dark, huge and splattered with my blood. One of them placed their foot on my chest, taking hold of my other arm and pulling with all his might.
I groaned and tears of agony rolled down my cheeks as I tried to get free. The other twin grabbed hold of my left leg and fear swallowed me as I realised they were going to pull my limbs off like wings from a fly.
I released a cho
ked noise, kicking out as I tried to keep them back. But they were Elite. Fierce and well-trained. I simply couldn’t get up. And I feared I was seconds away from joining the other dead vampires, carried away on the wind as nothing but ash.
“ARGH!” Julius crashed into the one holding my arm and I gasped my relief.
I curled my hand into a fist as I sought out my courage.
Be strong. Get up, Montana. Get up!
Julius threw punches into the beast's face but the Biter reacted as if he were made of stone. With a rumbling laugh, he slammed a punch into Julius's gut and he wheezed through his teeth.
I kicked out with my free leg, a newfound strength filling me as I fought to keep the other twin from disabling me further. My foot connected with his groin and he stumbled back, giving me a moment to right myself at last. I spotted Callie in a fierce battle with Fabian at her side, the two of them raining down hell on the Biters who surrounded them.
I scooped up Nightmare, woozy as the huge male stomped toward me. He bared his fangs and I bared mine right back at him.
“Countess.” He grinned, cracking his neck. “Shame there's no human blood left in your veins to suck out.”
“Lucky me.” I slashed at him with Nightmare, but he dodged the attack, darting toward my injured side and slamming his knuckles into the wound.
I bit down on another scream, jerking backwards to evade a second blow. I spotted my severed arm in a puddle of blood and anger cascaded through my chest like a waterfall. I let the animal part of myself take over, lunging forward to meet my opponent. His fist collided with my head, knocking me off balance, but I managed to slice Nightmare across his abdomen. He clutched the wound with a look of dawning comprehension.
I didn't hesitate to finish him, forcing Nightmare into his solid chest with as much strength as I could muster. The tip pierced his heart and he turned to dust which tumbled through the air. The rain swept him away like he’d never even existed and satisfaction dripped through my veins.
I gritted my teeth against the pain in my shoulder, hurrying toward my arm and picking it up with a grimace. I'd seen others heal from this before so I knew what to do. I placed the torn edges of flesh against the wound and my skin started to bind together. I sighed in relief as the pain dulled a fraction and a cool sensation ran through my shoulder, moving down the limp arm. My fingers tingled and slowly, my nervous system reconnected to the limb. I flexed my hand, but my wrist bone was shattered and a new wave of pain found me.
Age of Vampires- The Complete Series Page 121