38. Callie

Magnar’s fingers tightened around my throat as he forced me down onto the floorboards. I struggled beneath him as he cut off my air supply and his eyes blazed with an intense desire for my death. The fire that burned in them was richest green instead of gold. Something had taken his soul captive and he didn’t even seem to recognise me anymore.

I threw all of my will into the ring on my finger, trying to block whatever was controlling him and bring him back to me. Power flowed from the golden jewellery but it swept past him like it was a sieve and he was made of sand. Whatever force had taken hold of him was stronger than the ring, or at least not subject to its commands.

My heart raced with fear as he kneeled over me, his weight crushing me to the ground. I threw punches into his kidneys, hoping to force him to release me, but he only gritted his teeth against the attacks, glaring down at me as his hands squeezed my throat even tighter.

I slammed my knee up between his legs and he reared back with a grunt of pain, finally lurching off of me.

I coughed as I scrambled upright, reaching out to him tentatively.

“Magnar? It’s me, it’s Callie, please.”

He stood and turned to me, his face set in a stony mask. “Callie?” he asked.

“Yes,” I breathed.

“I’ll remember that when my love asks me who I killed for her.” He swung his fist at me, and I cried out as I barely managed to avoid the blow.

He didn’t know me. He didn’t recognise me at all and as I danced between his fists, I quickly realised he had every intention of keeping that promise. He was trying to kill me. The man I loved wanted me dead.

I ducked beneath his fist again and drove my boot into his stomach, knocking the breath from his lungs. While he was doubled over, I punched him in the jaw, my knuckles ringing from the impact.

I turned away from him and tried to run to Montana who was barely managing to keep out of Erik’s grip. She kept calling out for the Belvederes, hoping they would come to our aid, but they were locked in a ferocious battle with the biters at the end of the hall.

Magnar charged at me and I couldn’t move fast enough to avoid his attack. He caught me around my waist and hurled me backwards over a thick banister, and I flew towards the level below. I screamed as I fell, curling my arms over my head just before I crashed into the floor.

Pain speared through my spine and I winced as I tried to push myself upright again.

Magnar peered over the banister then jumped down after me. The floorboards rattled as he hit the ground a few feet away and I rolled upright, drawing Fury reluctantly.

“Don’t make me use it,” I breathed, hoping that the smallest sliver of the man I loved could hear me.

Magnar laughed as he advanced on me again.

“I’ll use it to carve your pretty head from your shoulders then give it to my love as a gift,” he growled and the look in his eye told me he meant it.

A shiver raced down my spine as fear consumed me. I was no match for him and I knew it.

I could still hear Montana struggling with Erik above me and the distant sounds of the others fighting the biters reached me too. But right here, it was just me and him. Except it wasn’t him at all. And I wasn’t sure if it was worse if I let him kill me or if I ended up killing him.

I shook my head as I backed up, refusing to face the idea that there was no way out of this but death. I just needed to get away from him. If I could lead him towards the warring vampires then maybe I could escape him.

Magnar leapt at me and I ducked beneath his arm, driving Fury’s hilt into the side of his head.

He stumbled back a step and I swept my leg beneath his, knocking him to the ground. I slammed my foot into his side to slow him down then ran for it.

I clambered up the spiralling staircase as quickly as I could manage, my heart thundering in time with my footsteps as my bare feet hit the carpet.

Magnar’s hand closed around my ankle, and he yanked me backwards with a violent jerk so that I crashed into the stairs with a curse. He flipped me over so he could drive his fist into my face and light exploded before my eyes at the impact.

I kicked out at him, swearing as I tried to fight him off. I flinched away from another punch and the wooden step shattered beside my head.

My heart lurched desperately as I was forced to use Fury against him.

I swept the blade across his arm, making sure I didn’t cut too deeply, just enough to force him off of me.

Magnar lunged back to avoid the blade for the second time and I managed to get my foot between us, kicking him squarely in the chest and sending him crashing back down the stairs.

I scrambled to my feet, forcing myself to ignore the horrible sound of his body slamming into the floorboards at the bottom of the staircase as I scrambled to the top of the stairs once more.

I spotted Erik holding Montana against a wall half way along the corridor. He was slamming his fist into her stomach again and again as she cried out for him to stop.

“Get off of her!” I screamed as I sprinted towards him, Fury in hand. I knew I couldn’t kill him, but I’d do whatever else it took to incapacitate him.

Erik turned to look at me and his nostrils flared as his eyes lit with hunger. My heart leapt in panic as he lifted Montana into the air and launched her away from us, all the way to the far end of the corridor. She hit the ground hard and Erik sprang towards me.

I stumbled to a halt, glancing over my shoulder to see if I should try and lead him away. Magnar smirked at me as he made it to the top of the staircase, blocking my retreat and fear rolled through me.

I pressed my back to the wall as the two of them closed in on me, holding Fury before me as my arm trembled. I was calling on every memory my ancestors had to offer, every gift that I possessed and yet there wasn’t a single thing that I could think of to help me survive a collision with the two of them at once.

I turned to look at Erik and Magnar lunged, catching my wrist with a feral laugh. He slammed my arm back against the wall and pinned it there, keeping Fury out of the way as Erik closed in on us.

“Are you hungry, brother?” Magnar asked him and my lips parted in horror as I realised what he was planning.

“Always,” Erik replied darkly.

My heart pounded desperately as I tried to wrestle my way out of Magnar’s grip. How could he be doing this to me? He was offering me up like a fucking sacrifice to the creature who’d killed his own father.

Magnar laughed, grabbing my hair and wrenching my head to one side to bare my throat to Erik, using his bulk to immobilise me even though I continued to struggle against his hold.

A whimper of fear escaped me as my gaze met with the feral Belvedere’s and I saw my death reflected in his eyes.

The vampire growled at me excitedly as he lunged for my neck and I screamed as his fangs sliced into my skin. The pain of his bite was blinding as his venom flooded into my veins and an agonised cry fell from my lips.

Erik moaned in pleasure as he pressed his cold body against mine, pinning me to the wall while my blood flowed into his mouth at a terrifying speed.

Magnar released me without so much as a final glance in my direction and he turned away to chase after more prey.

My vision darkened for a moment as the pain of Erik’s bite claimed my senses again, but I gritted my teeth against it as I pooled all of my energy to fight it off, blinking against the dark and trying to come up with some plan to escape this fate.

Erik Belvedere was not going to kill me.