11. Callie

Fury burned hotter than I’d ever felt it as we finally closed in on the train station. I could feel the vampires as we approached them, the blade warning me each time a group of guards came near. We changed our path multiple times as we travelled through the forest to avoid discovery, always one step ahead of them, thanks to our weapons.

It seemed like too much security to me. As far as I knew, no one had ever successfully escaped the Realm before. And even if they had, a human would pose no threat to the vampires. So the only reason for their patrols which made sense was that they were expecting us. I guessed after burning down the blood bank, this was the next logical place for us to come. We’d destroyed a batch of blood while we were there, and Wolfe had killed the humans they’d been using to harvest it. I could only imagine that this supply train was desperately important to the bloodsuckers now. And I couldn’t wait to obliterate it.

The sun was concealed behind dark rain clouds and thick shadows filled the space between the trees, but the woodland was beginning to thin, letting more light in up ahead.

Magnar pulled the horses to a halt, and I sighed heavily as he slid from the stallion’s back. This was it. We couldn’t get any closer with the horses in tow. It was time to set them free.

I dismounted too, patting the stallion on the neck in thanks for all he’d done for us.

Though I hadn’t spent long with the beautiful creatures, parting from them filled me with sadness. They’d become a part of our little group. The four of us had travelled for miles and spent hours in each other’s company. Sending them off to face the unknown left a pit of sorrow in my gut. Where would they go? What would they do now that the whole world was open to them?

The mare moved towards me, leaning low as I stroked her nose affectionately. She nuzzled me, her deep eyes almost seeming sad too. Like she knew this was goodbye.

Magnar removed the packs from her back then took the reins off of them. They watched us calmly, waiting while we prepared to set them free.

“So this is it?” I asked, and Magnar nodded.

“There’s no way to bring them, Callie. We need to do the rest of this on foot.”

I knew my misery was a little over the top, but I couldn’t help it. The horses had been better friends to me than most of the humans I’d known in the Realm. And once we walked away from them, I knew we’d never see them again.

“Run fast and stay free,” I whispered as I stroked them both one final time, a lump of emotion building in my throat.

I stepped back and Magnar placed a hand on my shoulder, guiding me away. We headed on between the trees, and I glanced back as the sound of their hoofbeats drew my attention. The stallion took the lead as he trotted away, and the mare whinnied as she hurried after him. I watched them go with a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. I could have sworn they understood that they were free now and that they were happy about it too. It was all I’d yearned for since forever, so what was there truly to be sad about?

I brushed a single tear from my cheek as I turned back to face the trail, focusing my mind on what we needed to do now.

“You have a softness in your heart which you try to hide,” Magnar murmured.

“I don’t think so, Elder.” I grimaced as that stupid title slipped past my lips.

Instead of growing used to that word replacing his name, I was finding it more infuriating each time it happened.

“That is because you’ve been forced to spend your life denying it. You built walls to keep people out so that their loss wouldn’t hurt you, but the only reason it could do so is your capacity for love. If you were not capable of it, then you wouldn’t have had to shield yourself from it. You are prone to love and kindness. I just hope becoming a slayer doesn’t steal any more of that from you,” he replied.

“Why would it?” I asked.

“We live a hard life. We’re ruthless when we need to be and fierce in the pursuit of our goals. Sometimes such things grind away the goodness within you. I have lost more than I ever could have imagined in my hunt for the Belvederes. It has corrupted the good in me and left a tarnish on my soul. So much so that sometimes I doubt the path I chose,” he admitted.

“I know that you’ve lost more than I could ever comprehend,” I replied slowly. “But you are good, Elder. You saved me when I didn’t even want to be rescued. You’ve protected me despite the fact that I’m practically a walking target for the vampires to aim at. Hell, you even offered a psychopathic vampire a fair fight after you disarmed her. I’ve never met anyone who would do a fraction of what you’ve done for a stranger. I’m not sure I’ve met many people who would go so far even for someone they loved. It’s just not what people do. At least not anymore. Without you, I’d be lost now; chained to a monster who wants to marry me and force me to have demon children with him. Because of you, I know we’ll save my sister from that fate too.”

Magnar didn’t reply but he touched a hand to my shoulder, and the darkness in his gaze lifted a little.

I kept close to him as we crept through the trees towards the train station. We still had a long way to go, but with Fury reassuring me, I wasn’t worried about being discovered. At least not yet.

***

We crouched low in the long grass at the top of a sweeping valley. Far below us, the train was waiting at the station. It lay poised like a snake, its white paintwork glimmering faintly in the dim sunlight which made it through the clouds, glinting like wet scales.

At least thirty vampires stood guard around it, watching the area closely. Instead of the blades they often carried, they held heavy machine guns and eyed the shadows with suspicion, making sure no one approached.

Halfway along the platform, huge grey boxes were being loaded onto the train.

I tugged at the collar of my dress uncomfortably. We’d found a store leftover from before the Final War on our way here and had raided it for clothes suiting my disguise as one of the Elite. The grey dress and knee-length boots looked like the kind of thing I’d seen them wearing when they’d visited our Realm. I’d found a long, red coat to wear over it, and though it wasn’t quite like the robes a lot of them wore, I was confident I would pass for one of them.

My porcelain features, courtesy of Idun, were more than enough to disguise me anyway. All I had to do was act like I knew exactly what I was doing and walk straight into the thick of them. And if for any reason it didn’t work, I knew they wanted me alive. So I should have the opportunity to escape if it all went to shit.

“I think we need to figure out a way to get you into one of those boxes, Elder,” I said as the vampires continued to load the train.

There was no other way onto the sleek vehicle that I could see, and we needed to get Magnar inside somehow. Hopefully once he was onboard, I could just stroll on. I’d have to figure out a way to release him from the box once the train was moving.

Magnar grunted in agreement, though he didn’t sound too thrilled about the idea.

“Let’s hope they’re big enough,” I mocked. “We wouldn’t want to be discovered because of your oversized ass.”

“I think you know well that it isn’t my ass which is oversized,” he replied roughly, and I bit my tongue on a reply to that insinuation.

“So you think you’ll fit?” I pushed.

“I’m sure I’ll fit somehow. The more pressing issue is going to be getting down there unnoticed.”

I nodded, watching yet another patrol of vampires marching across the valley, swords and guns ready to take out anyone who approached.

“What if we caused a distraction?” I suggested. “Set a fire like we did before?”

“We don’t want them to suspect anything. We need to do this without them noticing us at all,” Magnar replied, shaking his head.

I bit my lip, running my thumb over Fury’s hilt. The blade was beside itself with so many vampires close, urging me into action. It hungered for their deaths and was clearly disappointed with me for holding back.

“Well, I could be the distraction. I can just walk down there, turn all eyes to me and make a fuss about them not doing their jobs properly. While they’re looking at me, you can find a way in,” I suggested.

“Are you ready to walk into that vipers’ pit?” he asked, eyeing the patrolling vampires with distaste.

“Are you worried about me, Elder?” I asked, turning to look at him, a smirk dancing on the edges of my lips.

“I’m responsible for you,” he replied dismissively, not looking at me. He’d barely laid eyes on me since Idun had bestowed this gift on my features, and I could tell he hated it.

“Well, I’m a big girl. I’m sure I can manage.” I gripped Fury briefly in my pocket to steal some courage from it. “I’ll see you down there.” I rose to my feet, and Magnar caught my hand as if he was going to stop me from leaving.

“Be careful,” he warned, his golden eyes finding mine.

I gave him a faint smile. “When am I not?”

I pulled out of his grip and began walking purposefully down into the valley, steeling myself for what I was about to do. My thoughts fell to Dad for a moment, and the choking grief made me still in my tracks. The pain was achingly deep, and I knew it would be everlasting. The loss of him was still so impossible to believe.

I took a steadying breath, thinking of his parting words to me in a dream that was etched into my memory, never to be carved out. If his soul was somewhere out there, joined with Mom’s, they were surely watching now, urging me on. They’d believe I could do this, even if they feared for my safety too. And that thought was all it took to keep walking.

It was only a few moments before the vampires spotted me, some of them raising their guns.

“Who’s there?” a male shouted as he pointed a rifle at my face.

“Finally, one of you sees me,” I replied, throwing as much disdain into my voice as I could. I just had to front this out and hopefully they wouldn’t realise what I really was. “It took you long enough.”

The lesser vampires glanced between each other nervously as I closed in on them.

“I’m sorry mistress, you should have been spotted sooner-”

“Yes. I should have,” I growled. “I shouldn’t have been able to get within five miles of this place without being discovered, and yet here I am.”

I made it to the foot of the valley and paused before them. The four guards shifted nervously under my scrutiny and my lip curled back in distaste.

“I’m going to inspect the rest of this operation, and I hope for your sakes that I don’t find any more failures.”

“Of course, mistress. I’ll send extra patrols into the forest now, and I’ll show you anything you wish to inspect.” The male vampire waved his companions away and they darted up the hill.

I hoped Magnar had moved on already, but I couldn’t risk looking back to check. If they discovered him, then this whole plan would fall apart. My gut swirled with concern for the slayer. He might have been unstoppable in battle but there wasn’t much he could do against a gun.

“Lead the way,” I snapped as the vampire hesitated. He hurried to comply and set a fast pace towards the train station.

I focused on keeping my steps silent as I walked. The vampires’ boots made no sound as they passed over the ground, and I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. But I didn’t really need to worry myself about it; my gifts guided me on swift feet, and I swept through the grass with ease.

He mounted the platform, and I followed him up, pausing to survey the train.

“She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” the vampire gushed, following my gaze. “The finest bullet train ever created. She’ll make it to New York in just under twenty hours.” My heart leapt at the prospect. In less than a day, I’d be close enough to help my sister. Perhaps we really could make it in time to rescue her before the wedding.

“Why are you spouting facts instead of showing me the cargo?” I asked, lending some steel to my tone.

“Of course.” The vampire bowed his head and hurried along the platform. We moved between the lesser vampires, and they all nodded respectfully as I passed. I kept my chin high and ignored them, my heart fluttering with nerves, but the disguise continued to fool them.

When we reached the point where they were loading the cargo onto the train, I stilled. Another Elite was watching over the work, his eyes narrowing as he noticed our approach. He was tall with hazel hair cropped close to his scalp and his face was deeply alluring. Strangely, for one of their kind, a scar cut through his eyebrow, continuing down over his cheek. I didn’t even know it was possible for their skin to scar, and there was something about the break to his perfection that was hard to look away from.

“What are you doing here?” he asked without bothering to greet me.

“Isn’t that obvious?” I asked in response, hoping that it was, because I had no real answer if not.

“Prince Fabian said we wouldn’t be needing any further assistance.” He glared at me like he was offended by my presence.

“I guess he changed his mind,” I replied lightly. “If you want to question his actions, then be my guest, but I doubt he’ll appreciate it.”

The Elite glowered at me, then sighed. “Of course I won’t disturb His Highness over something so minor. You may as well take over here; I need to check in with the patrols.”

“You might want to keep a closer eye on their work,” I said as he began to move away. “I made it into the valley before they spotted me. Who knows what the prince will make of that.”

The Elite hissed, baring his fangs in anger before sprinting away so quickly that it set my pulse racing. I guessed some lesser vampires were about to be in a lot of trouble, and I had to fight to keep the smile from my face at the thought, hoping he gave them hell.

A group of lessers were transporting the boxes of cargo onto the train, but they kept their heads down as I turned my attention to them.

I walked further along the station, moving around the heap of crates towards the back of the pile. I tried to spot Magnar in the shadows, but there was no sign of him. Worry stirred beneath my skin, but I ignored it, trusting in his skills and knowing that the most important thing I needed to do was keep up this ruse. The guard continued to follow me, and I stopped suddenly, turning to glare at him.

“You’re dismissed,” I snapped.

He opened his mouth as if he might protest, and I raised an eyebrow, hoping he wouldn’t push me because I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d be expected to do if he did.

“Of course, mistress,” he said, bowing his head. “You only need to call me if you require any further assistance.”

He turned and headed away along the platform and I watched him until I was sure he wasn’t coming back. Relief seeped through me as I was finally left alone, and I released a heavy breath. They didn’t suspect me. Idun’s magic was working.

I eyed the lessers who were loading the train, but they seemed keen to avoid my attention and were putting all of their effort into their work, keeping their backs to me as much as possible. Which just so happened to be perfect.

I wetted my lips and stepped between the crates, trying to remain casual while inspecting the boxes for a likely spot to hide a seriously big bastard. I reached out to lift the lid of one and found stacks of material within it. I frowned as I released it, moving on to check another crate. This one held coils of copper wire. I’d been expecting blood, maybe some bat cages, coffins, or little photos of lifeless bloodsuckers laying on sun loungers in the middle of the night, but these were just normal supplies, not even that vampirish at all.

As I made my way to the far edge of the platform, I found more and more items which I guessed had been gathered from the area, left over after the Final War. I supposed the vampires had uses for them, but I began to wonder where the blood was if it wasn’t here. None of the crates were refrigerated, and I had to assume it would need to be kept fresh. Which meant they must have been loading it somewhere else.

“Callie?”

I paused as I heard Magnar’s whisper and turned slowly, trying to spot him. A flutter of movement caught my eye, and I made my way between the crates until I discovered him.

“You made it alright?” I asked, eyeing him for any sign of injury.

“Your arrival distracted them enough to let me slip by,” he confirmed.

“We need to get you into one of these crates,” I said, glancing around to make sure no one was paying me any attention.

“There’s some empty here,” he replied. “I’ve already stowed our things.”

I squeezed through a narrow gap, checking over my shoulder to make sure we were still alone and joined him beside the empty containers. They’d been left a little way back from those that were waiting to be loaded onto the train, but Magnar had already shifted one closer.

He pushed the lid aside before vaulting into it. The space inside was just big enough for him to lay down with his legs curled against his chest in a foetal position.

I grinned down at him as he forced himself into the uncomfortable space.

“I’ll get you out as soon as I can,” I promised.

“I’m sure you aren’t enjoying this at all,” he replied dryly.

“Absolutely not,” I agreed as I shoved the lid back into place, locking him within the crate.

I removed Fury from my pocket and carved a line into the side of his box and the one which held our bags so that I’d be able to locate him again on the train.

I replaced the blade as soon as I was done and headed back towards the other side of the platform, closer to the train. The lesser vampires were working quickly, and the stack of boxes were being moved fast onto the train.

“How much longer do you expect this to take?” I asked, throwing as much irritation into my tone as possible.

“We are well on track to finish within the hour, mistress,” replied a female with thick, curling hair. “Are you going to travel back to New York with the delivery?”

“Of course I am,” I replied, relieved that she seemed to expect this.

“Would you like me to show you to a suite on board?” She seemed eager to please me, and I took the opportunity to use her to my advantage because I had no fucking idea what to do from here.

“Yes, thank you.” Her eyes widened in surprise at the thanks, and I hurried to cover up the mistake. “Are you waiting for an invitation to proceed or just planning to stand here all day?”

“Sorry, mistress, right this way.”

She headed off along the platform, leading the way to a set of doors near the front of the train. I glanced back at the crates of cargo which were still being loaded and hoped it would be easy to find my way back to them once I was onboard.

The vampire moved inside, and I followed her, making an effort to keep my features neutral as I was surrounded by more luxury than I’d ever seen in my life.

Red carpet led the way down a long corridor, and we began to pass smooth white doors with gold numbers painted on them. The vampire kept going until she reached door nine and slid it open for me.

The room inside was bigger than the one I’d shared with Montana back in the Realm. To the left of the door was a double bed with a thick comforter, and a blue curtain was pinned back beside the bed which could be used to conceal it. To the right was a table with two padded armchairs and an open door which led to a small ensuite.

I stepped in, frowning at my surroundings and working to hide the anger rising in my gut. The vampires travelled in better conditions than those I’d been given to live in for my entire life. This thing was just another reminder of why I was so determined to see them fall.

“I can have a chalice of Realm A delivered,” the vampire offered. “Warm, if you prefer?”

My lip began to curl back, and I forced it to stop before she noticed I didn’t have any fangs.

“No,” I snapped, wanting rid of her as quickly as possible. “That won’t be necessary, I intend to rest a while. Just make sure I’m not disturbed.”

“Of course, mistress. We should be all set to leave within the hour. Just call me if you need anything before then.” She bowed her head and backed out of the room, closing the sliding door between us.

I let out a long breath as I sank down onto the bed, suppressing the laugh which threatened to bubble up from my chest. I’d just tricked a bunch of bloodsuckers into thinking I was one of them with nothing more than a taste of a magical apple and fancy new dress. My life was officially unbelievable.

So far, so good.

Now all I had to do was wait for the train to depart. Then I’d have to figure out how to release Magnar on a train full of vampires without any of them noticing. Simple.