8. Montana

Iheaded back to the house with a pressing weight in my chest. I couldn’t find Erik and I suspected he didn’t want me to look for him. Dawn was drawing in and he’d soon have to return to the house anyway. I hated knowing he was out there alone with only his despairing thoughts for company but the more I pushed him to open up to me, the more space he put between us.

I reached the house, finding Julius and Clarice returning from their scout.

“Find anything?” I asked nervously, but their expressions didn’t give me much cause for concern.

“No Familiars,” Julius yawned. “I’m gonna get some sleep.”

Clarice and I followed him inside and the scent of smoke filled my nostrils from the fire. It filtered out of the broken window, but the strong smell made my nose wrinkle. As my eyes fell on Callie and Magnar curled up together beside the flames, a smile captured my lips. My discomfort at the smell was worth the peaceful look on my sister’s face a million times over.

Julius dropped down onto a moth-eaten sofa, propping his head up on his hands.

Fabian was staring at Callie intently and I sensed something was going on. “What?” I questioned and his gaze moved to me as if he hadn’t noticed I’d arrived.

“Callie’s going to Valentina’s dream to find out where she is,” he said, and my heart lifted with hope.

“Oh,” I said in surprise. “That’s a great idea.”

“So long as Valentina’s asleep and not about to storm down our front door,” Clarice said anxiously.

“Don’t worry, baby, I can sense if her and her biters get too close.” Julius patted the hilt of Menace while Clarice frowned at the casual nickname he’d used without even the trace of a joke. He noticed our attention on him and promptly shut his eyes, hugging Menace to his chest.

I threw Clarice a grin and her cheeks paled with embarrassment before she moved back to the door, resting her back to the wall beside it.

“So she can just walk into people’s dreams?” Chickoa questioned and a smile spread across my face.

“It’s her slayer gift,” I explained and Chickoa nodded slowly, her brows lifting.

Callie stirred and I rushed to kneel before her, squeezing her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open and a wicked smile gripped her features.

“Well?” I asked hopefully.

“She doesn’t know where we are.” She sat upright, turning to check on Magnar’s still form before eyeing the room again. “And now she’s having one hell of a nightmare.”

Julius gazed at her through hooded eyes and I could sense how close he was to falling asleep. “That’s good,” he mumbled. “Sleep time. Snooze…dreaming about food. Fresh potatoes…” His eyes shut again and Callie snorted a laugh.

“How far away is she?” Fabian asked, his shoulders tense.

“She’s a few days behind us,” Callie said, her brows drawing together. “But she has a helicopter ready to go as soon as her Familiars locate us.”

“We shouldn’t waste any more time here than necessary,” Clarice said. “Get some more rest, Callie.”

My sister nodded, giving me a comforting smile before dropping back down beside Magnar. She placed her head on his chest and his arm hooked around her automatically, drawing her closer.

I moved across the room, laying down and hoping to get some rest myself. But with Erik outside somewhere, I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep until he returned safe and sound.

“Dawn’s close,” Chickoa whispered so she didn’t disturb anyone, peeking through a gap in the curtains.

The door opened and Erik strode in, bringing a weighted presence with him. His expression was empty and his eyes shadowed.

Clarice explained about Valentina and he nodded stiffly before moving to lay down beside me without a word.

I tried to catch his attention, but he shut his eyes, leaning his arm back to cup his head with his hand and feigning sleep.

I released a shuddering breath, trying to will my body to get some rest. My fingers brushed Erik’s and his hand flexed then curled around mine. My limbs relaxed from his touch and I willed sleep to come for me.

“If the clouds are out, I’ll wake you guys in a few hours,” Fabian said. “We need to get supplies and move out of here.”

I mumbled a response in agreement, curling up beside Erik and aching for the fullness of his embrace. But I had to settle for his hand holding mine tightly; a promise that there was still a chance to make everything right again. And for now, that was enough.

Someone nudged me in the side with their boot and I groaned, dragging myself from sleep. Erik wasn’t beside me and I found Julius standing over me sheathing his swords.

“Clouds are out. Time to go,” he breathed and I nodded, the drowsiness ebbing away fast and my vampire strength flooding my veins.

He pulled me up by the hand and I looked to Callie and Magnar beside the dying fire with a pang of concern.

“We’re leaving them alone?” I asked, spotting Chickoa and Clarice heading out of the door.

Fabian remained, looking anxious as he stared down at the two of them. “I can stay here and keep watch.”

“We need you out there,” Julius said firmly. “The quicker we gather supplies, the sooner we can leave.”

Callie rolled over and mumbled, “I’ll keep him asleep, just go.”

“Swear it,” Fabian insisted and I moved to draw him away, wanting my sister to get as much rest as possible.

“Yeah, yeah,” she murmured, burrowing closer to Magnar again as her face fell still as if she’d just passed out.

“That’s good enough, come on,” Julius demanded, heading across the room and through the door.

Fabian hesitated but I gave him an encouraging look and he followed me outside.

The clouds were out, hanging low in the sky, stretching boundlessly into the distance. They were eerily still, the wind dead around us and the world achingly quiet. I wondered if Odin was still watching us now or if he’d turned his gaze away from our group. How much did our predicament really affect a divine being like him?

The others were gathered on the road and I remained at Fabian’s side as they started moving along it at a fierce pace. No one wanted to stay in this place longer than necessary, but we wouldn’t get far without supplies. I just hoped we could find some food and water for Callie and Julius in these barren ruins first.

“I’m starving,” Fabian muttered, rubbing his throat as we jogged after the group.

My own tongue was prickling with need and I eyed the bag on Clarice’s back hopefully. “We can drink soon.”

“Yeah...” Fabian cleared his throat and I looked to him questioningly. “But I’m used to three bottles a day.”

“That much?” I asked in horror.

He nodded stiffly. “I spent a lot of time hungry back before we built the empire. And I swore I’d never go hungry again after we made the Realms.”

“Right,” I clipped in anger. “But the humans could go hungry while you kept yourself well-fed?”

Fabian threw me an apologetic frown. “It wasn’t always like that. We made too many vampires, too many mouths to feed. And vast areas of the land were ruined for farming after the Final War. A lot of the bombs dropped were chemical based. They left many of the fields unable to bear crops for the humans...”

I pursed my lips, dissatisfied with his answer. “But all that food was left untouched in the ruins. What about that?”

“The empire is still new, I know our system was flawed, but I started trying to improve things before Valentina took over,” he growled.

“Only because you wanted to impress Callie,” I muttered.

Fabian’s eyes slid to Chickoa up ahead then back to me. “Well, it’s not about that now. If we break this curse I fully intend to build a better empire.”

“What changed?” I asked.

“Callie reminded me of what I’d been lacking in life. I’d been obsessed with making the empire great, but I’d forgotten about the individuals.” His brow furrowed and he reached out to rest a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry you suffered in your Realm, Montana.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, his words meaning a lot to me after everything my family and I had endured. Though they would never be enough to undo what had been done.

I glanced over my shoulder, eyeing the endless plain that stretched toward the snow-capped mountain range in the distance.

“I want to be on the road by midday,” Erik barked back at the group. “Pick up the pace.”

We did as he said and I brushed my fingers over Nightmare’s hilt, hoping it would let me know if Valentina’s Familiars were close. It hummed angrily but it was often set off by the presence of the Belvederes. It was hard to decipher anything beyond that.

A creeping feeling ran up my spine that had nothing to do with my blade and everything to do with my instincts. But I had to have faith in my sister’s dream; Valentina wasn’t close. So why did I get the feeling that something else was?