21. Callie

Iran to my sister’s side as we dove into the cover of the forest and Fury screamed warnings in my mind. I’d never known the blade to get so worked up about Familiars before and a deep dread pooled in my gut as I sensed that something was really wrong.

Erik and Magnar moved together, waiting for the rest of us to go on ahead before following at the rear of the group to protect us.

Montana caught my hand and we started running. I couldn’t match her pace but she pulled on my arm, urging me to move faster as we ran down the steep hill.

I glanced over my shoulder, trying to spot the others but I’d lost sight of everyone within the trees.

My heart hammered in panic as we ran on and I stumbled as the ground sloped away at an impossible angle.

I gasped as I tripped over my frozen feet, colliding with my sister and knocking the two of us to the forest floor. She cried out as we started rolling and I wrapped my arms around my head.

My limbs tangled with Montana’s as the rocks beneath us battered my bones and the world was reduced to a spinning whirlwind around me.

We slammed to a halt and pain raced through my body as I crashed into Montana.

She screamed in agony as she took the brunt of our collision and I rolled away from her in panic as I looked up at the huge tree we’d crashed into.

Montana hissed as her body fought to heal the devastating wound to her spine where she lay twisted against the towering trunk.

“It’s okay, Monty!” I breathed, fighting off the pain of my own injuries as I hurried to help her.

I dragged her away from the tree as her legs failed to move and her face scrunched in pain at the horrific injury.

I rearranged her legs so that they lay straight and tears glimmered across my vision as she cried out, squeezing her eyes shut.

I leaned over her, gripping her hand as the pain of my own injuries clamoured for my attention.

Something wet stained my cheek and I raised a trembling hand to my face as a drop of my blood fell between us, landing on her chin.

Montana gasped, her nostrils flaring as her eyes snapped open and a savage hunger filled her expression.

“Get back!” she warned, slamming a palm into my chest and knocking me off of her as she scrambled away on her elbows. I fell back on my ass into a heap of brown leaves from the force of her shove but I pushed myself back to my knees quickly.

“It’s okay, Monty,” I insisted as she groaned in pain, her body healing slower than it should have.

She needed blood and my veins were full of it. I wasn’t going to see her suffer when I held the answer just beneath my skin.

“It’s not,” she wailed desperately, her gaze flicking from my eyes to the wound on my cheek to my eyes again as she fought against the hunger which battled to claim her.

A chorus of animal howls started up through the trees and I looked about desperately, realising I’d lost Fury in my fall.

“This isn’t a negotiation,” I snarled as I scrambled towards her.

Montana shook her head desperately as I moved to kneel before her. “Please don’t make me, Callie, I can’t bear it if I-”

“We shared a womb, Monty,” I snapped. “My blood is yours anyway.”

She reached out to warn me back but I batted her arm aside with the aid of my gifts before pressing my wrist to her mouth.

Montana clenched her teeth, tears squeezing from her eyes as she fought off the desire to bite me with all of her might.

The howling came again. Closer this time.

“Now, Monty,” I urged.

A sob escaped her lips before her fangs burrowed into my flesh.

I gritted my teeth, refusing to so much as flinch as her venom washed into my veins and fire flamed under my skin.

The next sound to escape her was a moan of longing as she grabbed my arm with both hands, holding me against her as she drank with the desperation of a starving soul.

Another tear slipped from her eye and I reached forward to brush it aside, her skin cool against the pad of my thumb.

“It’s okay, Monty,” I breathed as she drew more and more of my blood from my body into hers. “I’d do anything for you.”

A guttural snarl sounded far too close to us for my liking and I twisted my head around as I tried to search for the source of it.

Montana didn’t seem to have noticed as she continued to feed, lost to the bloodlust of her kind. But I didn’t pull my arm away. I trusted her just like I trusted Magnar. She’d stop when she’d had enough. She wouldn’t take too much.

A huge crash sounded between the trees and branches broke as heavy footsteps pounded towards us. Something big was heading right for us and my heart leapt as I scoured the hillside for my blade.

Montana released me suddenly, springing to her feet with lithe fluidity just as a lumbering black shape burst between the trees.

My lips parted in horror as the huge bear bellowed aggressively and I scrambled upright, fighting against a wave of dizziness as I stood too quickly.

Montana hissed like a cat, dropping into a fighting stance as she snatched Nightmare from her hip.

The bear’s eyes were two black pits of hell where a vampire had taken root in the place that used to house its soul. I had no doubt that Valentina was the one responsible for creating this monster and fear trickled down my spine while it swung its gaze between me and my sister as it tried to decide on which of us to attack first.

The howls of the other Familiars carried between the trees again and adrenaline trickled through my limbs.

Montana didn’t give the bear the option of picking between us as she sprang forward in a blur of motion with Nightmare aimed straight for its throat.

The bear roared, spittle flying as it stood on its hind legs, swinging a thick paw at my sister’s head.

Montana managed to avoid the blow, swiping her blade across the bear’s shoulder as she twisted aside.

I ran to help, ducking beneath the bear’s paws and aiming a kick at its chest, hoping to break its ribs with my enhanced muscles.

The bear roared, rounding on me and lunging for me with its jaws wide.

Montana leapt onto its back, wrapping an arm around its thick neck as she drove her blade between its shoulders.

The bear bellowed, swinging around to try and dislodge her and it slammed into me, knocking me aside.

I tumbled through broken branches and fallen leaves and something hot brushed against my fingers.

I smiled savagely as I grabbed Fury and leapt to my feet again, shaking my head to clear it as darkness momentarily curtained my vision.

Montana was still clinging on, stabbing the bear again and again as the possessed creature bellowed in rage and fought to throw her off.

It reared back onto its hind legs and I darted towards it, releasing a battle cry as I slammed Fury upward with all of my might.

The blade sang with joy as it found the animal’s heart and Montana fell on top of me as the creature exploded into ash.

I released a laugh of surprise as Monty wrapped her arms around me and I hugged her fiercely in return.

“I’m so sorry I had to bite you,” she breathed.

“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. But 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 in the ground 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 newly formed gouge in the ground 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 instantly, 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 found 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.