7. Callie

Isat beside the fire as the silence thickened with tension around me. I could feel Fabian’s eyes on me and I ignored his gaze for as long as I could but as the minutes dragged on and his attention didn’t waver, my irritation with him grew beyond the point where I could hold it in.

“Just spit it out,” I growled, lifting my eyes to meet his over the flames.

Fabian pursed his lips, running a hand through his hair so that he pushed it away from his face.

“A long, long time ago, I was just a human man,” he said slowly and I frowned in confusion. I’d been expecting him to start up about force feeding Magnar again and I had no idea where he was going with this. “And as a mortal being, my body was easily sated in all of my desires. But if food was scarce my stomach would growl and groan, my body would weaken and I would feel tired. If water ran low, my tongue would swell and my thoughts would grow fuzzy. Perhaps those things might have driven me to kill if I came across someone hoarding what my body needed and they were unwilling to share it, but the curse doesn’t work like that. When the thirst begins, it is like a tickle in the back of your throat which niggles at you, drawing on your attention more and more. Irritating but somewhat easy to ignore. But then it becomes painful, the ache draws your attention from everything else no matter how hard you try to fight it off. You might think of anything, anyone in the hopes of forgetting about it. But it won’t go away. You grow weak but not in the physical sense that a mortal would from a lack of food; you grow weak of mind. Things start to matter less. You begin to lose sight of what’s important to you. Your emotions spiral out of control. You are quick to anger. And with that anger your basest instincts rule and aggression will win out. Every. Time. It becomes harder to see the people around us for who or what they are to us. Particularly if that person just so happens to have a heartbeat-”

“I know you think he can’t handle this,” I interrupted. “But that isn’t your choice. Maybe he will give in to the blood lust. And maybe he won’t. Magnar isn’t just a vampire. He’s a Blessed Crusader too. And there isn’t much in this world that holds power over him.”

“Blood holds power over him,” Chickoa said softly and I turned to her with surprise. I’d thought she was standing with me in defending Magnar’s decision on this but now it sounded like she was siding with Fabian. “I’m not saying that we should force feed him but I don’t think you should kid yourself either. He needs blood now just as you need oxygen. If you fell beneath the surface of a pool, you might be able to hold your breath for several minutes. But in the end, your body would force you to take a breath. Even though you know that it would drown you. Even though you know that you would die, you’d still do it. Not because you wanted to give in but because at some point your body would take that choice from you. And that’s what will happen to him sooner or later.”

I shook my head in denial but her words lit a deep fear beneath my skin. If it really was just a matter of time before Magnar lost control completely then I knew what it would mean. There were only two sources of blood anywhere close to here and he loved both of them dearly. If he attacked Julius or me then I wasn’t sure how he would cope with it. What if it meant he couldn’t face the prospect of continuing his undead life anymore? Breaking could equal his death if he couldn’t cope with what he did to one of us.

“You need to convince him to drink before the decision ceases to be his anymore,” Fabian stated, his gaze skimming over Magnar as he slept on beside me. Every now and then he’d inhale deeply but it wasn’t regular and the long pauses between breaths were more than a little eerie.

“Even if I accept what you’re saying,” I said hesitantly. “This isn’t up to me. Magnar never should have been a vampire and the fact that he agreed to stay as one is a damn miracle. I don’t want to push my luck by forcing him to do something which he can’t come to terms with.”

“I imagine he will find it easier to come to terms with drinking by choice than he would by accidentally murdering you or his brother,” Fabian replied darkly.

“He would never kill one of us,” I hissed.

Chickoa exchanged a glance with Fabian and I ground my teeth angrily as I realised they didn’t agree with me.

I pulled my hair over my shoulder and ran my fingers through it, drinking in the heat of the flames as the aching cold finally began to leave my bones. My thoughts were tumbling over and over and I didn’t know what was for the best. Even if I accepted what they were saying, I didn’t see how I was supposed to convince Magnar to take a drink. It went against everything he stood for. How could I expect him to simply abandon all of that because I’d selfishly asked him to remain this way for me? And what if he refused? What if he chose death instead of blood? I didn’t think I could cope with that possibility and my mind recoiled from the mere thought of it, but I knew it might happen.

A tear slid past my defences and I quickly swiped it from my cheek, not wanting the vampires to see my distress.

“It’s clear how much he loves you,” Chickoa murmured and I looked up at her again. “But the curse isn’t him. Giving in to it or not isn’t a choice. The only choice is in when and how he does it and how he feels about it afterwards. If there’s anything you can do to help him come to terms with it more easily then that’s all we’re suggesting. Because if he hurts one of you then he may not be able to forgive himself.”

I let out a heavy breath as I looked at the beautiful woman across from me. If there was one thing I knew about her then it was that she’d had more than enough years to deal with the consequences of living with regrets. And if what she was saying was true then perhaps it would be in Magnar’s best interests for me to convince him to drink when he woke. He’d already lost control once and I imagined that he’d only be more desperate to satisfy his thirst when he woke from the sleep I’d forced upon him.

“I’ll see what I can do,” I muttered in defeat and both Chickoa and Fabian sagged in relief at my words. I guessed knowing that the member of our group who wielded the strength of the gods was about five seconds away from losing his shit at any given second was no fun. And getting him to drink would be doing the whole group a favour in the long run.

“You should get some rest,” Fabian said, his brow furrowed with concern. “Who knows how long we’ve got before Valentina catches up to us again.”

“We haven’t seen any of her Familiars since that one last night,” I replied with a shrug. “So hopefully we’ve got a bit of a reprieve.”

Chickoa looked at me like I’d just said something fascinating and she shifted closer to Fabian.

“I just thought; we should be deploying our own Familiars to counter hers,” she said excitedly. “We could figure out how close she is and perhaps even intercept some of her creatures on their way to spy on us?”

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Fabian purred and he pushed himself to his feet, offering Chickoa a wide smile. She almost smiled back then turned away quickly, tilting her head towards the roof as she seemed to listen for something.

“I think I can hear pigeons roosting up there,” she said before slipping out of the door.

“How do you make a Familiar?” I asked Fabian curiously as we waited for her to return.

“You’re about to see it for yourself. Have you always been this impatient or is it a recently formed attribute?” he asked in reply.

“Always, I think,” I replied with a smirk. “Though knowing that we’re being hunted definitely makes me more so. If any moment could be our last then why wait around for anything?”

Chickoa returned with a triumphant smile on her face and she moved to sit beside Fabian while cupping a startled looking pigeon in her hands. She held the bird out and Fabian slit his finger open on one of his fangs before pressing the wound to the bird’s beak.

“Wait a second,” I interrupted suddenly, as I realised what he was about to do next. “Are you going to kill that poor bird?”

Chickoa shifted guiltily and Fabian raised an eyebrow at me with disdain. “I think the life of a pigeon is worth the sacrifice in return for the knowledge we might gain on Valentina in return.”

“Don’t!” I said, half rising to my feet as I took in the terror which filled the bird’s eyes. “There’s a better way.”

“Such as?” Chickoa asked doubtfully.

“If Valentina’s sleeping I can go to her. I can find out what she knows about our plans and make her tell me how far behind us she is.” The idea of heading into Valentina’s Dreams again stirred a deep sense of unease in my gut but I could do it. The dream world was my domain and I had no reason to fear her there. Besides, I’d happily do it in return for the freedom of that little bird in Chickoa’s hands.

Fabian’s mouth twitched in amusement and he plucked the bird from Chickoa’s grasp. “Go on then, Pigeon Queen, let’s see what you can find out,” he mocked before moving towards the door and releasing the bird into the night.

A deep sense of relief settled over me as I watched it flying away and I offered him a genuine smile despite the fact that I could tell he thought I was ridiculous. But I’d spent my whole lifetime at the mercy of creatures far more powerful than myself and I’d seen my own fear in that pigeon. It had been entirely at the vampires’ mercy and I knew exactly how that felt. But now it was free just as I was and I turned my mind to the task at hand instead.

I tried to ignore the fact that both Chickoa and Fabian were looking at me like I was insane and I moved to lay down with Magnar.

The floor was hard and cold but I tucked myself beneath his arm and laid my head on his chest as I closed my eyes.

Magnar shifted in his sleep and his arm wrapped around me as he drew me closer. Fabian inhaled sharply but I didn’t respond; Magnar was still under the influence of my power and he wouldn’t wake until I released him from it. But even when he did, I wasn’t going to hide from him. I’d be right here with him and I guessed I’d have to try and talk to him about the blood situation too.

But before any of that, I had a date with a monster.

I tumbled into Valentina’s dream and quickly wiped away anything she’d designed for herself. I summoned images of all of my friends, dressing us in fine black robes and placing crowns upon our heads. She hated our group because of the position she so desperately craved and though she might have taken hold of the city I knew her pursuit of us was partly out of fear now. She knew that any one of us would gladly take her power from her and she hoped to eliminate us before we got the chance.

I advanced across a grand throne room which I recognised from my time in the Belvederes’ castle. Valentina sat on a throne at the centre of a raised dais, dressed in rags as I willed her to be.

She laughed as I approached and I moved to stand before her, flanked by my friends.

“You still see yourselves as more powerful than me?” she taunted. “Even though you’re running from me like a bunch of snivelling cowards?”

I shrugged dismissively. “We have more important issues than you to deal with at the moment. Besides, we killed a goddess, so why would you ever think we’d be afraid of you?”

“Idun?” she breathed, and I could tell she hadn’t been sure about that.

“That bitch got too involved in our affairs,” I growled. “And she learned the price of her interference, just as you will if you continue to follow us.”

“We aren’t following,” she growled. “We’re hunting. Slayer blood tastes so much better than any other and we have the right to bite in my Scarlet Empire.”

I swallowed back the flicker of fear I felt at her words. “So you’re chasing us across the country because you’re hungry? Poor Valentina,” I mocked.

“Well I quite enjoyed having Magnar as my own personal blood slave and I intend to return him to that role soon,” she goaded.

I fought back a smile at that; she didn’t know about Magnar’s transformation yet and I wasn’t going to be giving her that information either.

“And I’m sure if you try to take him again, he will enjoy ripping your black heart from your body,” I replied darkly and the false Magnar I’d conjured stepped towards her, drawing his blades. She shrank back and he laughed at her as he drew closer.

“Show me where you are,” I said softly but my words were laced with the power of my kind.

Valentina gritted her teeth but she couldn’t resist the weight of my gifts. The scene around us shifted and I found myself standing in a darkened room where a sleeping Valentina lay unawares.

“Nice try,” I murmured as she attempted to hide the details of her whereabouts.

With another nudge from my gifts, Valentina revealed the rest. I recognised the ruins not far from the farmhouse we’d fled hours ago. She was with a large group of biters and they had sent Familiars out to hunt for us in every direction but so far they hadn’t figured out which way we’d gone. It looked as though the eagle Magnar had destroyed hadn’t managed to send the information of our whereabouts back to her either and a deep sense of satisfaction filled me. She didn’t even know which direction to take yet. A helicopter sat waiting to transport them when they found us though and that was more than a little concerning. No matter how far ahead we got, she’d be able to catch up quickly with that thing. But for now she didn’t know which way to go so I could take comfort from that.

“Thanks for that,” I murmured as Valentina scowled at me. “Sweet dreams.”

I conjured nightmares into existence to haunt her and I smiled darkly as I withdrew from her consciousness and the sound of her screams followed me.

I wrapped her in the clutches of my power and I was sure that she would be stuck inside that nightmare for several hours before she’d be able to break free.