13. Callie

Isat in the plush armchair, peering out of the window at the platform as the train rumbled to life around me. A shiver raced down my spine as a soft vibration built beneath the floor at my feet and I swallowed a lump in my throat as I tried to remain calm.

My heart fluttered with a mixture of fear and excitement. I’d never ridden in any kind of mechanical vehicle before, and I had no idea what to expect from the train once it got moving.

I pressed my hand against the material at my thigh where Fury was now strapped to my leg. The blade’s constant anger at its proximity to the vampires flooded through me and I smiled. It was nothing if not consistent. But despite its bloodthirsty urgings, I wasn’t stupid enough to head out into battle with the monsters who surrounded me.

I watched as lesser vampires hurried back and forth along the platform, double checking that everything was ready for our departure, calling out to one another and seeming more human than I’d ever seen their kind before. Not that they had any warmth to them, or any redeeming qualities that I’d noticed, but the vampires in the Realm had always been so stoic, almost ethereal, never hurrying, more like statues than living creatures. Not that they were living. But the vampires who were working to prepare the train for departure were hurrying, looking hassled and even irritable occasionally, their faces actually showing emotion from time to time. I wasn’t really sure what I’d thought vampires spent their days doing when they weren’t monitoring the Realm, but I guessed I’d expected them to be lounging about drinking our blood all day, not employed with monotonous jobs.

In the time I’d spent waiting with my heart rioting in my chest, no cry had gone out to say that Magnar had been discovered, and as the vampires closed the train doors, I felt a knot of tension release in my gut. We’d done it. Both of us were onboard the train and the vampires were none the wiser.

I expelled a long breath.

A silver clock hung on the wall beside the door of the opulent room, and I glanced at it for the hundredth time. One minute until two. Idun said her gift would wear off at midnight, so I needed to find Magnar before then. We would have to find a place to hide for the remainder of the journey once we’d poisoned their blood supplies and my gift had faded. If I was honest, I was longing for that moment, far preferring the idea of hiding from them to lurking in plain sight like this. Spending time among them felt anything but natural and I couldn’t wait to separate myself from them as soon as I could.

I got to my feet, my nerves making me too jittery to sit still. I paced back and forth once, then realised I could be seen through the windows if any of the vampires on the platform looked my way, so I stopped myself. I glanced around, uncertain what to do before my gaze landed on the door in the corner of the room. I escaped into the ensuite so I could pull myself together without the risk of being observed.

The bright lights illuminated my unnaturally perfect face in the mirror as I leaned against the closed door and tried to quiet my thundering heart. I scowled at my reflection and the creature who stared back at me looked utterly terrifying.

Despite how helpful my Elite features had proven, I was more than ready to regain my own face. Nothing about the way I appeared seemed natural to me, not the exact symmetry of my features or the way my golden hair hung perfectly. I didn’t even think it was appealing. It was the face of a monster. A pretty lie designed to lure prey. And the sooner I was back to myself, the better.

I released a breath, pushing away the anxiety which had been trying to take a hold of me and focusing my mind on the task at hand.

You can do this, Callie. Buck the fuck up.

I left the bathroom and reclaimed my chair beside the window, finding the platform almost abandoned. Only a few vampires remained, and they were backing away from the train as doors slammed shut and calls went out. The guards held their guns at the ready as if they still expected something to go wrong, their eyes on the trees which stood beyond the platform. Little did they know there was already a snake in their midst, their enemy within the heart of their operation.

The sound of the engine built to a whirring hum and a faint judder rumbled through the room. I gripped the arm of my chair as the train slid out of the station, fear clogging my throat and making me swallow thickly.

“It’s perfectly safe,” I muttered to myself. “Dad sent me here. He wouldn’t have done that if it wasn’t safe.” Despite the words being designed to calm me, adrenaline pounded through my limbs and my stomach swooped disconcertingly as the train picked up speed. The desire to run gripped me, but there was nowhere to run to now.

The view outside my window began to blur together, the valley slipping away quickly until we shot across a wide-open field. I had to work hard to keep my breathing calm as the world raced by outside, my eyes skipping from point to point as I tried to take it all in. My brain scrambled to keep up with the rapidly changing view and I could hardly comprehend the speed at which we must have been travelling.

I gripped the arm of the chair so tightly that my bones showed white through my skin.

We were moving so fast. I never could have imagined such a thing was possible, and I couldn’t help wondering what would happen to a person who fell from something travelling at this speed. Nothing good. That was probably why the windows didn’t open. But that didn’t stop me imagining the train crashing, or simply speeding right off the tracks, or just burning up from moving so fucking fast.

As I fought to accept what my brain was seeing, one clear thought found me and I clung onto it with all I had, using it to push back the panic and free myself from it.

I’m coming, Monty. All the vampires in the world can’t stop me.

My heart began to slow again as the view outside became less daunting. The speed shouldn’t have frightened me. It was my ally. It meant that I would be with her all the sooner.

The door behind me slid open and I jolted with surprise, a spike of fear racing through me as a vampire stepped into the room. I pushed myself to my feet and turned to face the Elite I’d met on the platform, uncertain what he could possibly be here for.

Fury seethed angrily where it was hidden against my leg and I shifted my position slightly, hoping he wouldn’t notice the shape of the blade through the grey dress.

“Well, that went smoothly. As expected,” he said as he leaned against the door frame, his gaze roaming over me slowly.

“Yes, everything went to plan,” I agreed, wondering why on Earth he’d sought me out and what the fuck I could do to get rid of him again.

“I presume your report to your master will reflect that then?” He folded his arms, drawing attention to his biceps as they bulged through his white shirt. I got the impression it was intentional.

“Of course,” I agreed.

“And just who is that?” he pushed. “Because we’ve never met before, and I was sure I knew all of Prince Fabian’s sirelings. So who exactly sent you here to check up on us?”

My pulse pounded in my ears, and I swallowed nervously, hoping my statuesque face didn’t betray an ounce of my fear.

“Who do you think?” I asked, not knowing which of the Belvederes was the most likely to be poking their nose into Fabian’s business.

“Of course. Prince Erik is always hoping to find something he can use against my master,” the Elite sneered, taking the bait and providing his own answer. “I should have known.”

“Well, now you have your answer, I’d like to get some rest before we reach New York,” I replied icily, hoping he’d get the hint and leave me alone.

He nodded and glanced back out into the corridor, but he didn’t leave.

“I apologise if I was a little... abrupt. It’s my job to see to my master’s best interests. I’m sure you understand.”

“I do,” I agreed.

My palms were growing slick, and I clasped them together, hoping to hide the human reactions of my body. I might have looked like one of them but the longer he spent here, the more likely he was to notice the flaws in my disguise.

“But there’s no reason for our sires to get between us.” He turned back to look at me and his face lit with a dazzling smile as he dropped the haughty attitude. “I’m Benjamin. Ben if you prefer.”

My mind raced with ideas of how I was going to rid myself of this vampire. He clearly had no intention of going anywhere, and my skin crawled as I noted the look in his eye, the way his gaze was tracing its way down my body. Hell to the fucking no. I needed to get rid of him. All the time I was trapped in his company, the more likely it was that he’d catch me in a lie. I couldn’t let him discover what I really was, but I had to play along until I found the right thing to say to get him gone.

“Lauren,” I replied, my mind landing on the name of a girl I’d known in our Realm. She’d been mean and selfish, so her name seemed fitting for a vampire.

His smile widened and he slid the door closed behind him, taking a step towards me. My gut plummeted as the immortal predator stalked closer. My slayer gifts weren’t entirely reliable, and I seriously doubted my chances against one of the Elite regardless. Even Magnar found them challenging to defeat.

“This is going to be a long journey. I’m sure we could both do with a distraction to pass the time.” His gaze slid over me, and my heart raced faster as I tried to think up a way to get out of this situation without giving him what he wanted because fucking a bloodsucking, reanimated corpse was definitely not on my to-do list.

“How did you get that scar?” I asked, eyeing the silver line which marred his face.

I hoped to stall him with conversation while I struggled to think of a way out of this which wouldn’t alert his attention.

He raised the eyebrow which was broken by the scar and gave me a lopsided smile. “Do you like it? In a world so full of beauty, I’ve begun to think a little ugliness is quite becoming. I got it a long time ago in the final purge of the slayers. The one who gave me this faced a rather brutal end...Of course, that was before the anti-biting laws came into effect.” He sighed wistfully. “Were you around when we could drink from the vein?”

“Umm, no, I wasn’t,” I said, hoping he didn’t keep asking me questions because I really had no idea how to answer them.

“A shame. Not that I’m saying we should go back to that, of course. We all have to evolve.” He stepped towards me purposefully, and I forced my mind away from the hunger in his eyes.

“Like I said, I’m tired, so-”

“Don’t worry, Prince Erik will never find out, and there’s nothing like the thrill of sleeping with the enemy.” He prowled towards me, and I shifted so the chair was between us. I wasn’t sure if I should shut him down outright or feign interest. What if vampires didn’t take no for an answer? Maybe they were like animals who just took what they wanted by force. Nothing would surprise me.

“No thanks,” I said coolly. “I’m really not available.”

His gaze shifted to my hand where it gripped the back of the chair, and he lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t wear your mate’s ring. He cannot mean so much to you if you don’t wish to declare your loyalty to the world.”

My mind swirled as I tried to figure out what he was saying. He must have thought I’d been telling him I was married or something of the sort. I quickly pulled the necklace holding my mother’s wedding ring out from beneath my dress to show him.

“I keep it close to my heart,” I said, hoping the vampires clung to some sentiment like that. I doubted the monsters were capable of love, but it seemed like they held onto the idea of it if Montana’s situation was any clue.

“Or you keep it out of sight so that you can pick and choose when you wish to remain loyal to him,” the Elite purred as he moved around the chair.

I backed up but his lips lifted as if we were playing some game. Cat and mouse with a vicious animal probably wasn’t a good idea.

“No. Really, I-”

He shot towards me in a sudden motion, that unnatural speed taking me off guard as he caught me around the waist and pushed me against the wall.

He pressed his body to mine, his grip tight around my waist and his muscles firm with tension.

My skin crawled from his touch, and I fought to keep the revulsion from my face.

“There’s no need to play hard to get. I won’t tell a soul...”

“I’m not playing,” I growled. “I seriously don’t want-”

He yanked on my dress, ignoring my words, and the material split up the side, his cold hand pushing inside it, meeting with the warm, human skin of my hip before I could even begin to curse him out.

My heart pounded with adrenaline. Fury screamed a warning. The vampire’s eyes widened in shock and confusion, and I was all out of options.

“What are-”

I snatched Fury from its sheath against my thigh and slammed it into his heart before he could figure it out.

“Motherfucker,” I hissed as the Elite dissolved into ash before me, his stunned expression breaking apart and scattering across the floor amidst the heap of his clothes.

I shuddered, relief sweeping through me at the ease of that strike, but it was swiftly followed by panic. I couldn’t be discovered. If someone realised he was missing, then our whole plan might fall apart before we even got close to New York.

I stared down at his clothes and an idea filled me. If he’d come here looking to fuck me, then I could make it seem like that was what had happened.

I hurried to lock the door to my room, glancing out into the corridor to make sure no other vampires had been alerted by that altercation and sighed in relief as I found it empty. With the door secured, I moved back into the room and made a hasty plan.

A vase filled with yellow tulips sat on the small dining table and I quickly grabbed the flowers out of it then tossed the water into the basin in the ensuite. I shook out Benjamin’s clothes and moved them out of the way before hurriedly gathering his dusty remains into the vase.

I glanced around in search of somewhere to put him, then grinned to myself as I found my answer and tossed what was left of him into the toilet. I flushed it, biting my lip against the bark of laughter that rose in my chest at what I’d just done. If I hadn’t been terrified that I might be discovered and killed at any moment, then that would have been fucking hilarious. He was a piece of shit and I was flushing him away like one. The laugh found its way past my lips, and I thought of Dad and Monty, knowing what a kick they’d get out of that too.

The amusement turned to pain, and I shook my head to clear the mixture of mirth and grief-filled thoughts as I focused on my plan again. I needed to finish this before any more vampires appeared, and I had to find my way to Magnar who must have been far past the point of uncomfortable by now.

I moved my attention back to the vampire’s clothes as I continued with my plan. Unbuttoning his shirt, I tossed it over the arm of the chair then threw his pants on the floor beside the bed.

I kicked his underwear into the middle of the room, refusing to touch it with my bare hand, but making it look convincingly like he’d stripped off in the throes of passion.

Next, I pulled off my dress and dropped it to the carpet too. It was ruined anyway, and it would have looked strange if none of my clothes were present.

I crawled onto the bed and yanked on the sheets until they were a crumpled mess, then I stuffed the pillows beneath the duvet and arranged it to look like two people could be concealed beneath them. Finally, I dropped the curtain to half hide the bed so that only the end of the bulging duvet could be seen from the doorway.

I stepped back and surveyed my work with satisfaction, certain that anyone looking into the room would believe we were in the bed having just fucked the life out of each other. Or the death out of each other. Or whatever gross things it was that bloodsuckers did to each other while naked. I just hoped no one would hang around to make sure.

I grabbed my long red coat and buttoned it up to hide the fact I wasn’t wearing anything beneath it, then glanced at the clock. It was two-thirty. I needed to find Magnar while my gift from Idun held and I could still move about the train unnoticed.

My stomach was alive with nerves, and I took a deep breath as I placed my hand on the door, ready to head out into peril once more. Who knew how many vampires waited beyond the safety of this room? If they noticed anything amiss, then I was done for. But Magnar was relying on me. And I wouldn’t let him down.

Besides, I was starting to get a taste for this kind of danger.