14. Montana

We started walking south, heading past the devastation Erik had caused with his incredible powers. Between him and Magnar, they were an unstoppable force. But it did little to ease my anxiety as Erik walked at my side, caked in filth and his shoulders shaking. Since he’d killed Memphis, he’d been stoic, barely saying two words to any of our group.

Julius and Clarice had found a few supplies before the attack. There was enough water and food to last the humans a while longer, but our biggest issue now was blood. And I was starting to see why Erik had been so anxious to convince me to drink from the slayers if it came to it. Which it surely had to now. We were down to our last few bottles and though Magnar had drunk from Callie, that didn’t make me feel any better about the idea of doing the same. Clarice had watered down the last of our supply, splitting it into the extra bottles she carried. But there was still only enough for a week at the most...

I walked at Erik’s side; it was pointless to ask him if he was alright. But I just wanted him to know I was there. Whenever he was ready to talk, I’d listen. And I sensed that time was drawing closer. The anger had left his posture but the defeat in him was somehow worse. He walked on as if he wasn’t aware of the world around him, his eyes glazed with dark thoughts that held him in their grip.

The road was endless ahead of us and my skin started to tingle as the clouds grew thinner above. We were far beyond shelter now and I feared what would happen when the clouds broke. If the sun beat down on the other vampires, they’d be depleted fast. And all the blood in the world couldn’t help them from that.

“Plan B, hm?” Julius muttered to Clarice, drawing to a halt at the front of the line.

Clarice looked a little guilty as she dropped the pack from her shoulders and unzipped it.

Everyone closed around her in a circle as she took four large backpacks from her bag. She gave her siblings an anxious frown, but didn’t explain what was going on.

“We found these back in the ruins,” Julius said, scooping one up and looking at Fabian.

“And your point is?” Fabian asked, eyeing the bag suspiciously.

“The clouds aren’t going to be here much longer,” Clarice said with a sigh. “Julius and I thought...well if you guys don’t mind...” She looked from me to the slayers and Magnar. “I think you’ll have to carry us in these.”

“I’m not getting in a backpack,” Fabian balked, looking horrified and a smile tugged at my lips.

Callie met my eye and my amusement grew as laughter bubbled from her throat.

The sun was making a good effort to break through the clouds and I spotted dark veins spreading out from Clarice, Fabian and Chickoa’s eyes. I turned to Erik, frowning as I didn’t find the same happening to him.

He looked up at the sun, his steely eyes reflecting the golden hues back at me. “What...”

The sun broke free entirely and Clarice gasped, steadying herself against Julius’s shoulder.

“Brother, holy shit,” Fabian breathed at Erik, his voice dry as the sun beat down on him. “You’re alright.”

Erik gazed down at his mud-stained hands, his brows pinching together sharply.

“Idun’s blood,” Callie said in awe. “It must have given you this gift too.”

“Well thank fuck for that,” Erik said, very almost breaking a smile. “There’s no way I was going to get in one of those.” He pointed at the bags and Magnar released a dark laugh.

“In you go then, Fabian.” Magnar picked one up and tossed it at him.

Fabian glowered, but the darkness around his eyes was growing thicker and I could see the decision in his gaze as he made it. “You are not carrying me,” he growled, pointing at Magnar.

“I wouldn’t carry you if you begged me to,” Magnar said in a low voice.

Clarice stepped into a bag, her lips pursed as she sat down in it. Julius knelt before her, releasing a chuckle.

“It’s not funny,” Clarice said as he drew the bag over her head.

“Not funny at all,” Julius said seriously, then turned to us with a bellow of laughter as he lifted the pack onto his shoulders.

Chickoa and Fabian climbed into theirs and Erik moved to carry his brother.

“I hate you right now,” Fabian called to him as Callie crouched down to close the top of the bag.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure you wish you’d had some of Idun’s blood when you had the chance,” Erik said as he lifted Fabian onto his back.

Chickoa sighed as Magnar moved to carry her, zipping the top over and shrugging her onto his shoulders as if she weighed nothing.

Erik angled his face to the sky, drinking in the light of the sun. I smiled at him, sensing a wave of peace flooding him at last.

“Fuck that feels good,” he sighed, his eyes opening and falling on me. His mouth hooked up at the corner and my heart danced with joy to see the glimmer of happiness on his face.

The cry of an eagle caught my ear and my gut clenched. I reached for Nightmare and sensed it was a Familiar as I spotted it high above.

“Looks like Valentina found us again,” Callie growled then lifted her middle finger at the bird.

Julius turned, bending over and pulling his pants down to bare his ass. “Oh look the moon’s out,” he said, shaking his butt as the eagle released another cry.

Laughter burst from my throat and Erik gave me a bemused look.

“I hope she saw what happened back there. She might be more cautious about attacking us in the future,” Callie said.

“Yes, we can hope,” Magnar chuckled, aiming a kick at Julius so he stumbled and hit the ground on his backside.

“Ow!” Clarice cried from the bag on his back. “What’s going on out there?”

“Julius is getting naked,” Erik said, releasing a breath of laughter that made my heart squeeze with joy.

“Oh, what a surprise,” Clarice replied as Julius rose to his feet and tugged his pants up.

“Should we kill it?” I eyed the bird cautiously but even as I said it the eagle soared away across the land, heading back in the direction we’d come from.

I eyed the horizon with a scowl. Valentina was somewhere out there, hunting us alongside her cruel followers. But maybe Callie was right; if she’d seen what Erik and Magnar were capable of now, she might call off her hunt.

“Let’s get off the road,” Erik said, his mirth falling away. “We need to lose her.”

“She has a helicopter,” Callie said anxiously. “How are we going to outpace that?”

“Run,” Erik answered, eyeing the two slayers. “Keep up. We’ll head off the road.”

He took off at a fierce speed and I sprinted after him as we veered into the expansive land to our left. There was a renewed strength in Erik’s stride as he led the way forward and Magnar powered along at his side.

Callie and Julius soon fell behind, but their slayer strength allowed them to run at a decent pace. I just feared how long we could keep this up.

We’d eventually moved so far away from the ruined town that if Valentina was on her helicopter she’d have trouble locating us again now. When the slayers tired, we slowed to a quick walk, but I kept my ear trained towards the sky, worried that the engine of the approaching helicopter would reach me.

When another hour passed and I started to relax a little, I fell into step with Callie, sharing a small smile with her as we headed on together. I eyed the bite mark on her neck and my brow lowered.

“Did it hurt?” I gestured to it as Julius went ahead of us to join the others.

“No...” She bit her lip guiltily. “I think I liked it,” she breathed and my eyes widened.

“You what?” I gasped.

Her cheeks flamed and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she turned her eyes towards Magnar. “We were kind of...in the middle of something when he did it.”

“Oh!” I laughed, shaking my head in astonishment. “Well...I like it too under those circumstances.”

She eyed me with relief spilling into her expression. “Erik bites you?”

I bit my lip, nodding and she released a musical laugh.

“Well now I feel slightly less embarrassed about it,” she said, linking her arm through mine. The scent of her blood called to me from her veins and I abruptly released her arm, stepping firmly away. After hours of running, my hunger had sharply increased.

She eyed me curiously, but I didn’t elaborate. I hated the idea of my sister knowing how much my fangs hungered to meet with her veins.

I cleared my throat, wanting to change the subject. My eyes fell on Erik up ahead and a heavy pressure built in my chest. “Callie...Erik won’t talk to me. I don’t know what to do. He’s grieving and I know he needs time but this silence...it’s killing me. Is it selfish of me to want him to open up if he doesn’t want to?”

Callie frowned heavily, turning her gaze to Erik too. “You’re not selfish, Monty. I’d struggle too if Magnar shut me out.”

A lump grew in my throat at her words and I found myself unable to reply.

She brushed her hand over my back with an apologetic look. “When Dad died, I got angry too. I took my slayer’s vow even though Magnar didn’t want me to. But he stood by me despite the fact I took that decision away from him. I’m so grateful to him for that.” She took a slow breath. “What I’m saying is, Erik needs you so much, like I needed Magnar then. Sometimes just being there is enough.”

“That’s what Chickoa said,” I murmured, knotting my fingers together. “But it makes me feel so useless...like I should be doing more.”

“Then do more,” she breathed. “Keep trying until he lets you in again. I know he will, Monty. Just hang in there.”

I sighed, feeling slightly better. We walked on and I set my mind on every footfall. One after the other, on and on and on.

After a while, Callie toyed with the ring on her finger then held it up to me. “Fancy seeing if it shows us anything new?”

I nodded, reaching out to brush my fingers over it and the moment I did, I felt my soul being ripped from my body and joining with hers.

We flew high up into the sky and I caught a glimpse of our group on the endless plain below before the world became a blur. We were rushing across the land, passing over the wasted desert which stretched for miles and miles then across a line of mountains. Eventually, a huge body of water became clear on the horizon and my gut fluttered with the glimpse of the sea. It sparkled under the sun, its colour so azure it outshone the sky.

We wheeled away from it over dense forest, swamps, then the holy mountain loomed high above the ground. A mass of clouds swirled at its peak, its presence washing over me as the power of that place dripped through to the core of my being.

The vision faded and I sucked in air as I was returned to my body beside Callie.

“Did you see the ocean?” I breathed and her eyes glittered with light as she nodded.

“It was so...big,” she laughed and I grinned, nodding eagerly.

“I hope we get to see it up close,” I said as energy flooded my body and guided my feet to a quicker pace.

Callie smiled serenely as we bathed in the afterglow of all we’d witnessed. “I hope so too.”