Age of Vampires- The Complete Series

by Caroline Peckham

  “I’m not if it means I can hug you again,” I replied as I crushed her in my arms. “Besides, I was the one who broke your back in that fall.”

  “You’re definitely heavier than you used to be,” she agreed with a chuckle.

  More howling picked up between the trees and I released her as our moment of victory paled into terror again.

  “We need to get off of this mountain,” Montana breathed. “Everyone else will have continued down the trail.”

  I nodded my agreement as I concentrated on Fury’s sense of the world around us. It was still casting warnings about Familiars but none seemed to be too close to us in that moment.

  “Come on then.”

  We ran through the trees until we found the trail which led through the mountain pass and started down it as quickly as we could manage without risking another fall.

  The sound of coyotes howling was echoing off of the steep rock faces all around us and it was impossible to tell how close they might be.

  We rounded a sharp corner and I stumbled to a halt as Montana grabbed my hand.

  A pack of twelve huge coyotes stood barring the pass. Their teeth were on display as they snarled and saliva dripped from their jaws. Their eyes lit with the excitement of the vampires who were controlling them as they spotted us and my heart plummeted in fear.

  I took a step back then another as the earth started trembling beneath my feet.

  Montana gasped as she almost fell and the coyotes sprang forward. Before they could close the distance to us, the rumbling grew louder and the ground split apart beneath them.

  The pack howled as they plummeted into the huge crater that had opened up and my mouth dropped open as Erik ran out of the trees and sagged to his knees on the far side of it, drained by the use of his powers.

  The wind trailed through my hair, pulling it downhill towards him and his gaze snapped up, filled with a desperate hunger as my scent washed over him.

  “Erik,” Montana begged, moving before me as he leapt to his feet, the thirst clawing against his self control.

  Magnar sprinted out of the trees, his shirt half shredded from his encounter with the Familiars. He snarled a warning at Erik as he slammed into him, immobilising him before he could approach me.

  More howling echoed along the pass behind us and I looked around in fear as the Familiars came for us again.

  “We have to jump,” I breathed, eyeing the chasm before us.

  Montana nodded fearfully, taking my hand as we raced towards the edge.

  My boot hit the lip of the canyon and I propelled myself into the air with my sister at my side.

  My stomach swooped as I looked down at the unending drop beneath us and we soared across the chasm.

  We crashed to the ground before Magnar and Erik and I released her hand as I rolled to absorb the impact of my landing.

  Magnar held Erik against the rock face as the hunger burned in his eyes and I scrambled forward, holding my wrist out for him.

  Magnar snarled angrily but he didn’t stop me from presenting my flesh to the man my sister loved. Erik’s eyes met mine for half a second before his fangs pierced my skin and I could sense the regret he felt at what he was doing to me.

  He swallowed deeply as the seconds dragged on, gripping my arm and holding it so tightly it hurt. I could feel the blood being pulled from my body in a way that made my head spin. A soft whimper escaped my lips and Magnar ripped him off of me again, throwing him back with a growl of rage.

  Erik hissed, dropping into an aggressive stance as he regained his feet and Montana shot towards him, holding a hand out in an attempt to subdue him.

  My breath caught in my throat as Erik and Magnar faced off as if they were enemies again for a moment and I felt like I was transported back in time.

  The urge to feed slowly slipped from Erik’s gaze and he shook his head to fight off the last of the bloodlust.

  “Thank you,” he breathed, his eyes on me.

  Magnar’s posture relaxed slightly and he pulled me under his arm.

  “It’s fine,” I replied though the burning in my wrist was now almost unbearable.

  I rubbed at the two bite marks on my skin as I tried to remove the venom and Erik quickly pulled a bottle of water from his pack, tossing it to me so that I could wash the wounds. I fumbled as I tried to catch it and Magnar snatched it from the air a moment before it could hit the ground. He released a heavy breath and twisted the cap off before cleaning the bites for me gently. Relief spilled through me as the pain subsided and I took a quick drink from the remaining water.

  “The others are ahead of us,” Erik said as he eyed me with concern. “We need to go.”

  I took a step forward but I stumbled as I did so. Magnar released a low growl and swept me into his arms as dizziness swamped me.

  “Let’s get off of this fucking mountain,” he snarled, not giving the others the option to voice an opinion before he shot away down the trail, carrying me with him.

  We powered on, putting as much distance between us and the mountain range as we could. Valentina was hot on our trail, I could sense it in my bones. We were pushing ourselves to our limits to lose her, but we had no choice. It was a race to escape; if she found us in this state we were dead.

  We were running on fumes and with each passing day me and the other vampires only drank a third of a bottle of blood each. I'd lasted well after my drink from Callie, but now the hunger was back and it was starting to drive me to madness. She'd refused to let anyone drink from her for a couple of days after Erik and I had taken so much, and I couldn't blame her. But now Julius was having to provide for us all and it wasn't nearly enough.

  We sloshed through wetlands for miles and the beating sun meant we had to carry Chickoa, Fabian and Clarice again. The heat was unrelenting and Callie and Julius were struggling more than ever as they waded through the knee high mud and battled under the sun's intense rays. It might have been winter but it sure as hell didn't seem like it in this place.

  Sweat beaded on Callie's brow and I shifted towards her, taking her hand. “Let me carry you,” I urged. Magnar had offered more than once but he already had Chickoa on his back and despite his strength it didn't make sense to burden him with more than we needed. My hands were free as Julius had insisted on carrying Clarice and I so desperately wanted to help.

  “I can manage,” she said breathlessly. “I don't wanna be a-” She stumbled, falling toward the mud with a cry and I lunged forward to catch her.

  I pulled her upright, turning around and offering her my back. “Get on,” I insisted and she sighed, lacing her hands around my neck and jumping up to wrap her legs around my waist. I supported her thighs then started wading through the bog, able to move fairly easily if I kept my pace up. My feet didn't sink in quick enough if I kept going, placing foot after foot as I followed the group.

  Hours passed and we finally left the wetlands behind, meeting a forest instead and heading into the shadows.

  Callie jumped down from my back, thanking me.

  We paused in the clearing as everyone dropped their packs and let the others out.

  Clarice stood up from the bag beside Julius, wrapping her arms around him. He drooped with exhaustion and his butt suddenly hit the ground. He'd powered on for so many miles with Clarice on his back while hauling himself through the bog. It was a miracle he hadn’t succumbed to exhaustion sooner. Clarice dropped down beside him and Callie took a bag from her shoulders, hurrying forward to give him water.

  “Fuck mud,” Julius panted heavily, snatching the water and drinking deeply.

  As Erik opened the bag for Fabian, his brother sprang out of it in a blur of motion. His fangs were bared and he suddenly sprinted toward Callie and Julius with a cry of desperation.

  “Stop him!” Erik shot after him and I ran forward to grab him, fear lancing through me.

  Magnar got there just as Fabian's fingers caught Callie's hair. He threw him with all his might into the woods. Chickoa scre
amed, clapping a hand to her mouth. Trunk after trunk snapped and fell as Fabian was launched so far away that a distant crash finally sounded as he hit the ground.

  “Fucking hell. Rein it in, Magnar!” Erik snapped at him, tearing into the woods after Fabian.

  I stared around at the group in horror, unsure what to do.

  Chickoa glared at Magnar, shaking her head. “You need to control yourself. What if he's dead?” her voice cracked and emotion welled in her eyes.

  Magnar turned sharply toward Callie to check she was alright, ignoring everyone’s frustration with him. He ran his hand along the side of her face and his gaze was filled with so much love that I couldn’t find it in me to be annoyed with him. He hadn’t drunk in days and I knew he was approaching breaking point too.

  A second later Erik returned with Fabian in his arms and relief sped through me that he was still alive. Almost anyway. His head had been torn off and his chest was caved in.

  Erik grumbled his irritation as he laid Fabian on the ground. He looked over at Callie and Julius. “He's going to be even worse now after I wake him up.”

  “How about we don't wake him up then?” Magnar suggested, folding his arms.

  “We can't leave him like that.” Clarice ran toward her brother, kneeling down to stroke his lifeless face.

  “I'm not giving any more blood until I've caught my breath,” Julius said stiffly.

  “I'll do it.” Callie moved forward, but Magnar caught her arm.

  “No,” he said in a gruff tone.

  An argument broke out and I shut my eyes, the pounding in my skull driving me toward a cliff I didn't think I'd come back from. The bloodlust rose and I took a wary step away from the group, pressing my spine against a tree.

  “I'm putting him in a bag,” Magnar insisted.

  “Stop it!” Clarice cried and I heard a scuffle then a pained oomph.

  I opened my eyes and found Clarice on the ground at Magnar's feet. Julius shot in front of him, throwing a punch at his face. Magnar didn't react physically but his face contorted in confusion.

  “What the fuck?” Magnar bit at him.

  “You shoved her,” Julius growled, snatching Clarice's hand and pulling her to her feet.

  “She got in my way,” Magnar defended himself. “I only pushed her aside.”

  “You have the strength of an ox!” Julius berated him and my mouth parted as I watched the brothers fight for the first time ever. And over a vampire no less.

  “I'm fine,” Clarice said sharply, stalking away from them.

  Erik had moved in front of Fabian defensively and his eyes locked with mine across the group as if he was desperate for me to find a solution to this situation.

  I stepped forward, forcing down the lump in my throat and heading around the slayers to Fabian on the ground.

  “It's up to Callie,” I said, looking to my sister.

  She stepped past Magnar and his shoulders stiffened but he let her approach as she knelt down before him.

  “Help me hold him down, Rebel,” Erik said, angling Fabian's head against his neck and pressing down on his shoulder with his free hand. I held his other arm and Magnar’s shadow fell over us.

  “I'll restrain him,” he offered.

  “We can manage together,” Erik said curtly. “And I don't think he'd appreciate you touching him right now.”

  Magnar released a huff and backed off. I increased my weight on Fabian as his head stitched back onto his body.

  Callie cut her wrist and held the wound over Fabian's mouth. The smell trapped me in a cage I couldn't get out of. I shut my eyes, but that somehow made it worse so I opened them again and forced myself to look at my sister's face instead of the blood. Erik's eyes were on me with the same intensity.

  Fabian reared up beneath us, digging his fangs into her arm and holding her wrist in place.

  Callie winced, but didn't pull away. We all knew she had to give him enough, though it practically killed me not to take any for myself.

  I will not hurt her again.

  I am strong.

  I can control this hunger.

  Erik grabbed Fabian's hair, yanking his head back when he was sure he'd had enough. Fabian started thrashing and roaring, desperate for more and both me and Erik fell onto him to hold him down as Callie backed away.

  Slowly, he stilled beneath us, dragging in a slow breath as his wounds healed.

  I heard a crash and turned, spotting Magnar uprooting a tree and cursing his anger.

  “What’s wrong with him?” I whispered and Erik gave me a frown.

  “It’s a mate thing,” Erik said in a low tone. “He’s possessive over Callie. Allowing a vampire to feed from her goes against every instinct in his body. Would you like it if a female vampire bit me?”

  At his words, a fierce wave of jealousy seized my body and I shook my head ferociously, making Erik grin.

  Fabian groaned heavily, thumping his head back on the ground. His eyes travelled across all of us and landed on Magnar. “I'm sorry. I can't handle the thirst like my family can. I just...” He shook his head and pain flared in his eyes.

  Magnar nodded stiffly, the tension easing in his posture.

  I relaxed my hold on Fabian and fell down to hug him gently. He'd lost a fight to the curse. It wasn't really him. I knew that as well as every vampire in our group did. And maybe Magnar was starting to understand that too...

  When I released him he rose to his feet.

  “Here, fill a bottle,” Callie said, holding out her wrist and Clarice grabbed the funnel and a bottle from her bag, placing it beneath the flow of blood.

  The bottle slowly filled then Clarice took a few sips, breathing a sigh of relief. She passed it to me and I threw an apologetic look at Callie before tipping the bottle into my mouth.

  Holy hell, I'll never get enough of this.

  When everyone but Magnar had had a drink, we prepared to leave again.

  “Callie, stay behind me,” Magnar said, directing the rest of us to go ahead. “I'll protect you if anyone loses their mind again.”

  Callie sighed, but no one complained as we started walking under the shelter of the thick canopy above. I fell into step beside Erik and his fingers brushed mine, sending a rush of energy into my veins. After my drink, my skin felt overly sensitised and I revelled in his touch.

  We'd barely had a moment alone since we'd left the mall. But the love between us had somehow grown fiercer. We'd overcome an obstacle in our way and I knew we could handle anything the world threw at us. Every graze of our hands, every lingering look was a promise I was desperate to fulfil.

  “Not far now,” he said, eyeing our surroundings. “We'll be crossing into Florida soon.”

  I smiled, the idea of truly ending this curse such a tantalising thing that it almost didn't seem possible. “What's the first thing you'll do as a human?”

  He threw me a smirk and I nudged him playfully.

  “Well after that, I want to take you home, lay in the sun and eat every new food I've seen produced in this world over all these years and never had the opportunity to try. What's pasta like?” he asked and I grinned, thinking back on how many pasta meals I'd had in my life. It was about the most exciting thing we'd been given in our rations in the Realm. It was kind of sad that Erik had never tried it.

  “It's um...chewy and soft. It goes well with tomatoes. My dad used to make this great sauce. He found some wild basil growing on the edge of the Realm once and planted it in a pot in our kitchen. It gave the food this kind of...tang.”

  Erik gave me a sideways smile. “What else did you eat?”

  I shrugged. “Bread...beans...rice. We had to make everything last so we often made stews and soups with whatever we had left. We had to bulk out our rations with water so they never had much taste but the basil always improved it.”

  He frowned as he realised how starving we'd really been. The regret in his eyes told me he'd never forgive himself for that. But I didn't want to dwell on the pas
t now, not when we were so close to changing our future.

  “A beach!” Clarice cried excitedly. “And the clouds are back out!” she cried her joy and we raced after her through the trees.

  The crash of waves and the briny scent of sea salt had filled the air for the past hour and I was beyond excited to see my first glimpse of a sandy beach.

  Erik tore along at my side as the eight of us crashed through the undergrowth. Sand hit my boots as we broke out onto the white expanse. The sun was low behind the clouds, painting them in pastel tones that set the sky on fire.

  I stumbled to a halt, my mouth parting in awe as I gazed across the incredible sight. The sand stretched away from us in both directions and at the edge of it was a sea as blue as sapphires.

  I knelt down, pushing my fingers into the soft sand, delighting in the strange feel of it.

  Callie dropped down beside me, grinning from ear to ear as she dug her fingers in too.

  “I love it,” she said and I laughed, flicking some at her.

  “Come on guys!” Julius whooped and I turned, spotting him stripping down butt naked and sprinting into the sea.

  I raised a brow at Erik as he dragged his sweater off and started unbuckling his pants. Callie was drooling as much as I was as she stared at Magnar stripping off too.

  They turned before we got an eyeful and I giggled wildly as the two of them sped into the sea together.

  Chickoa sat against a palm tree, shaking her head. “Boys,” she muttered.

  Clarice ripped her own clothes off and my mouth fell open as she turned to us in all her curvaceous glory. “Come on girls, don't be shy.”

  She bounded off into the sea and Julius stared at her from the water, frozen in place as waves crashed against his broad shoulders.

  We rose to our feet, but Callie's eyes drifted to Fabian who was wading into the sea as nude as the others.

  “Er...” she said cautiously.

  “Underwear?” I suggested and she nodded, releasing a laugh.

  Callie whipped her shirt off and discarded it in the sand.

  I dragged mine over my head too and tugged down the yoga pants.