3. Callie

Iflinched as a knock sounded on the door. I’d been lost in my thoughts, trying to sift through the information I’d gained from Montana while our minds had been connected. Her pain at the loss of our father had been most present, but I’d gleaned some more from her too. The worst of which was what the vampires wanted her for.

“Callie?” Magnar’s voice came from beyond the closed door. “Are you decent?”

“I’m dressed if that’s what you mean,” I replied irritably.

I knew he was pissed at me for forcing him into this situation, but I was pissed at him too. He knew why I’d done it. And if he’d been so against the idea of me taking the vow then he should have made the implications clearer. How was I supposed to have known what would happen if he didn’t tell me? He’d dangled the carrot of my slayer gifts before me and forgotten to mention the price.

Magnar pushed the door open and walked towards me holding out a steaming bowl of food. I raised an eyebrow as I accepted it, the rich smell making my stomach growl.

“I thought you were angry with me?” I asked. His behaviour was giving me whiplash. Why was he getting me things like the bath, new clothes, and now a meal? It grated against the general pissed off vibe he was giving out and left me feeling on the back foot.

“I told you I’d never see you go hungry while you’re with me.” He sat on the other end of the couch, keeping a foot of space between us and not looking at me. Half of me wanted him to leave me alone again. The other half wished he’d move closer and... well no, the other half of me just wanted to kick him for lumping his anger on top of the heap of bullshit I was already trying to deal with.

I took a mouthful of the stew, and it danced over my tastebuds. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d tasted something so good and had to wonder how he’d managed to make something so delicious using the tinned goods he’d found lurking in this forgotten place. Magnar really knew how to cook.

I quickly spooned more into my mouth, satisfying the dull ache in my stomach, the clink of my spoon in the bowl the only sound to meet with the crackling of the fire.

“Besides,” Magnar added. “You’re my responsibility now.”

I bristled at the implication. “You make responsibility sound a lot like burden.”

Magnar grunted in a way that seemed like an agreement, his words burning through me and sinking into the pit of my gut. If he wanted rid of me so badly then that was fine.

I shoved the half-eaten bowl of food back at him and got to my feet.

“I’ve never been a burden on anyone in my life and I won’t be starting now.” I strode away from him out of the room, heading straight for the front door. I didn’t have my coat or boots, but I was too full of pain and anger to care. I’d lost my dad, run from everything familiar in my life, and had no idea how to start hunting for my sister who was being held at the mercy of a monster. I was done. So fucking done with all of it, and if Magnar didn’t want me with him any longer, then that was just fine by me.

A nagging voice in the back of my head told me I was being childish, petulant, and utterly stupid to be turning my back on the one man capable of helping me with all of my problems, but I stamped it out. My head was too full of everything that had happened to me, everything that had gone so horribly wrong, and I needed some space and fresh air to clear it. I didn’t want to be close to Magnar if all he was going to do was make me feel worse.

The mare poked her head around the kitchen door as I passed by, but I ignored her. It wasn’t like I knew how to ride anyway. Although as that thought crossed my mind, I was gripped with the sensation that I did know how now. My ancestors had ridden horses, and their skills were mine if I wanted them. But my anger drove those thoughts out of my head again as I stalked away from the animal.

I grabbed the door handle and wrenched it wide. Cold air washed over me, and I spotted the protection runes scratched into the ground outside. The sky was clear, and the moon hung low in the sky. Frost lined the grass and my breath rose before me in a cloud of vapour.

I took a step forward and slammed into something, nearly falling back on my ass. I caught the doorframe to right myself and swore as I tried to push past the invisible barrier again. But it was like shoving against a brick wall. I couldn’t leave.

I looked over my shoulder and found Magnar watching me as he leaned against a wall.

“Get rid of your stupid wards and let me go,” I demanded.

“It’s not the wards,” he replied tightly.

“Then what is it?”

“The vow. You can’t leave me or abandon your oath. Unless you wish to die to get out of it.” He folded his arms as I fought against the urge to scream, realising that I was trapped in this hell of a union whether I liked it or not. I slammed the front door instead, casting out the freezing winter air.

“So I’m stuck with you?” I growled.

“It would appear so.”

I hated how calm he was. I’d have preferred him to scream at me. To tell me all the reasons why he wouldn’t have chosen this situation and to at least share in my anger with the goddess over it. But his face was blank, betraying nothing of the writhing emotions which must have been eating at him just as mine were consuming me.

Part of me wanted to break down again. At least tears gave me an outlet for these feelings. Holding them in made me feel like I was going to break in two. My mind swam with memories of my father and the brief moments I’d spent connected to Montana, and the pain surged in me again.

“He’s going to force her to marry him,” I whispered, the true root of my outburst finding its way from my lips.

“Who?” Magnar asked with a frown.

“Erik Belvedere. That’s why he took her. It’s why they want me too.”

Magnar’s calm facade slipped slightly at the sound of that monster’s name. “How can you know this?”

“After I took the vow... I don’t know what it was, but it was like my soul broke free of my body. And all I wanted was to tell my sister what had happened. I found her, connected to her somehow, and I showed her what Wolfe had done. She showed me some things too. I know that’s what the Belvederes want her for.” I took a deep breath and pressed my palms to the door behind me.

“Dream walker,” Magnar murmured. “That is the gift of your clan. My mother could do such things. She could travel into people’s dreams while they slept and talk with them. Or send them nightmares. I never knew another of your kind to be so powerful, most of them could simply slip through dreams without being felt, unable to truly communicate with those they visited, but perhaps you were born with the fullness of your clan’s gifts, as she was.”

“I know it was real. He’s going to marry her.” My lip curled back in disgust. The vampires were dead. The idea of being forced to marry one of them set my skin crawling. I’d imagined all kinds of awful things happening to my sister while she was held captive by those beasts, but none so abhorrent as this.

“Why would a vampire want a human bride?” Magnar pushed off of the wall and took a step towards me.

“Because a human can bear him children,” I breathed, the horror of the idea stealing my voice.

Magnar stilled, his brow furrowing as he turned over what I’d said.

It was like a heavy weight had fallen upon my shoulders at the admission. Uttering the words was akin to confirming their truth. Though I hadn’t doubted the information Montana had passed to me in the brief moments when our minds had connected, I hadn’t wanted to believe it. She was so far away from me, trapped with no hope of escape. For all I knew, they could be forcing this marriage upon her today. She could be pregnant long before I ever made it to her, and then what? What kind of half-demon creature would she be burdened with carrying? Once he’d put it inside her, there would be no way for me to get it out again. What if we got there too late?

“I have never heard of such a thing being possible,” Magnar said eventually. “Are you sure that’s what she was telling you-”

“She saw them with her own eyes. The half-breed children. She showed me.” The memory of their too-beautiful faces and opalescent skin drew a shudder down my spine.

Magnar’s composure broke and he slammed a fist into the wall. I flinched at the sudden outburst as plaster shattered from it, cascading to the wooden floor in a heap.

The horses snorted in alarm, their hooves clattering loudly on the tiled floor of the kitchen.

He turned away from me and stormed back into the living room. The sound of something heavy falling over reached me, followed by the crash of breaking porcelain.

I edged after him, my heart fluttering nervously as the destruction continued. I peered through the door just as he launched a wooden chair across the room. It shattered against the fireplace, sending splintered wood flying in every direction.

A huge oak table big enough to seat ten people ran along the far wall, and he hurled it over too, knocking more chairs flying.

Magnar whirled around, his furious eyes landing on the tub of bath water, and I stepped into the room, cutting him off before he flooded the place. He stilled as he spotted me, his gaze burning with rage.

“Do their monstrosities know no bounds?” he growled.

I moved closer, feeling like I was approaching a wild beast. He stilled, allowing me to draw near to him, and I reached up to lay a hand on his cheek, needing him to put aside his fury and give me some hope before I fell apart entirely. He took a deep breath as he gazed down at me, a wild beast, stilled by the touch of a girl.

“We can stop this. Right?” My voice was small and filled with fear for my sister. I couldn’t let this happen to her. I had to find a way to prevent it.

“They will pay for their crimes in blood. I will never let them take you, Callie. I swear it on everything that I am. That fate won’t become yours. And we will do everything possible to save your sister from them too.” Fire swirled in his golden eyes, and I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around him, to break in his hold and let his promises steal away my terror.

But the irresistible urge to release him filled me instead, and my hand fell from his face. My anger at our situation flared as the vow forced me to step away from him, my mind whirling once again with the mountain of problems that stood before me.

My eyes fell on the devastation he’d caused, and a small, helpless laugh escaped my lips. “You really need to work on controlling your temper.”

“My brother Julius used to tell me the same thing,” Magnar replied as he followed my gaze. “We used to spar when he could see my rage building. It was the best outlet for my less desirable qualities.”

“So you’ve always been this angry then?” I asked.

“My life has given me a lot to be angry about. I can thank the goddess Idun for that. She never tires of testing me.”

I glanced up at him and I could see that chasm of sadness pulling him under once again. My own losses weighed so heavily on my soul that I wasn’t sure how to bear them. I couldn’t begin to imagine how he was coping with all he’d had taken from him. I still had Montana somewhere in this world, he had no one at all.

“And now she’s playing the same games with me,” I muttered. “Maybe I need an outlet too?”

I’d barely begun to touch on the pool of power my new gifts had bestowed on me, but I could feel them simmering beneath the surface of my skin, begging to come out and play. The idea of learning to use them filled me with longing. It was like an itch I was desperate to scratch; the more I thought about it, the more I needed to do it.

“You want to spar with me?” Magnar cocked his head as he considered the idea.

“I might pose more of a challenge than the last time we tried,” I replied hopefully.

“I’m responsible for training you now, drakaina hjarta. I won’t hold back, are you sure you’re ready?” His gaze roamed over me, and I straightened my spine.

“I’m ready,” I replied determinedly.

I could feel the memories of so many slayers dancing on the edge of my mind. It was like a well of knowledge just waiting for me to dip into it, like I’d lived a thousand lives already and all of them led me here.

Magnar’s posture shifted slightly. It was such a minute change that I was sure I wouldn’t have noticed it before, but everything about my senses seemed sharper now. He’d transferred his weight onto his right leg, and I could see the attack coming.

His hand snapped out, primed to grab my arm, but I twisted away from him before he could catch me, my ancestors guiding my feet.

A faint frown crossed his face, and I couldn’t resist the urge to smirk at him, the rush of that simple move igniting something deep within me.

“You’re asking for it now,” he growled, and a thrill raced down my spine.

Magnar lunged towards me again and I leapt back, avoiding him. I laughed as my gifts came to me as naturally as breathing. The smallest smile brushed across Magnar’s lips too and he hounded after me.

I backed up once more, but I collided with the couch. Before I could fix my mistake, Magnar caught me. I expected him pin me in place and tell me what I’d done wrong, but instead, he lifted me clean off of my feet and threw me over it.

I let my gifts guide my movements as I tried to recover from the shock of what he’d just done and managed to roll across the cushions, scrambling upright and regaining my feet as I hit the floor and made it to the other side of the room.

Magnar vaulted the couch, and I backed up quickly, my heart thrashing as I found myself at war with the warrior in him, the beast freed from his cage.

“Wait,” I gasped, retreating further, but he ignored me.

Fear raced through me as he drew closer; he was so much bigger than me, and I was starting to think I’d been hasty in suggesting this. I held a hand up as I tried to escape him, scrambling around a dresser and shaking my head in refusal, but Magnar only laughed.

“You said you wanted to spar,” he reminded me, and the look on his face told me he had no intention of backing off.

“I do, I’m just not sure I can-”

He darted towards me, and a curse escaped my lips as I twisted away from him and tried to run. The room was cluttered with broken furniture, and I jumped over the remains of a desk before grabbing a chair and holding it between us.

“Stop,” I begged. “I’m not ready-”

Magnar snatched the chair and launched it away from us. It shattered against the wall, and I gasped while he smiled like a wolf about to eat me whole. My heart was pounding with a mixture of fear and adrenaline. He was enjoying this. The son of a bitch was loving every second of my panic.

He caught me again and slammed me back against the wall, the impact knocking a picture frame from its place, making it shatter against the floor.

“Asshole,” I snapped, but he didn’t stop coming for me. “Shouldn’t you be instructing me instead of hunting me?”

Magnar towered over me, stepping closer, a wildness in his eyes which had my heart thrashing. Nerves prickled in my gut again, and I reached out for my gifts, begging my ancestors, or the gods, or whatever strange power I now claimed, to rise for me.

They flooded my flesh as if they’d simply been awaiting my call, knowledge which had been gifted from the slayers of my ancestor guiding my body into action, and I gladly let them show me what to do.

I ducked aside, then twisted forward, my hand curling into a fist. My knuckles connected with Magnar’s jaw as I threw my weight into the swing, and his head snapped back from the impact.

“Ah shit,” I gasped as I uncurled my fist and held my hands up in surrender, realising I’d probably just made this whole thing worse even if it had felt really fucking good to finally strike at the asshole for real. “I didn’t mean to, I just let my gifts take over and...”

Magnar started laughing. He pushed a thumb into his mouth, and it came out stained with blood. My eyes widened with surprise. I shouldn’t have been strong enough to do that.

“Good. Stop trying to resist them, and stop apologising. You’re going to want to hurt me by the time we’re done anyway.”

“What?” My eyes widened in surprise. “You’re not angry that I hit you? Because I kinda thought you might be about to kick my ass and spank me like a petulant brat.”

“You’re going to have to hit me if you want to learn anything, and I’m going to have to strike you too. That’s how this works. We can discuss the spanking later.”

“Are you serious?” I hissed, ignoring the spanking comment as my mind locked on the bit about him striking me. He was over a foot taller than me, and his arms held more muscle than my legs. I was pretty sure if he hit me, I’d die.

“You’re stronger than you used to be. You can take it.” Magnar’s eyes danced with amusement, and I could tell my momentary respite was over. But that would be a fuck no from me.

“Seriously, dude, I might be filled with memories of a load of dead people, but that does not mean I’m ready to take a punch from your meat cleavers. How about we just work on the me-hitting-you part and build up to the idea of you hitting me back in a few months or years or-”

Magnar swung at me, and I jerked aside, cursing him as he let his fist strike the wall beside my head, cracking more plaster from it to fall at our feet.

“That’s a no, in case I wasn’t clear enough,” he taunted.

Shit.

“Okay, okay, just stop. Give me a second,” I said, holding a hand up between us again and trying to ignore how little that would help me if he refused to listen.

“I’ll give you five. Then you’re going to do this, whether you like it or not. You took an unbreakable vow after all.”

I bit my tongue on the desire to curse him out, trying to dispel my fear as I watched those seconds count down in his glimmering eyes and reached for my gifts. The memories were too much all at once, but I didn’t need to hold them all within my mind, I just had to let them pass through me. It felt like opening a channel and letting the water flow, the current just strong enough to guide me without sweeping me along too fast. My posture shifted as I drew in the information I needed to continue this, hoping to hell that my ancestors knew what they were doing, because I sure as shit didn’t.

Magnar still held the advantage while my back was to the wall, and I could tell he wasn’t going to relinquish it, but that was okay.

“Ready?” he asked.

“No,” I lied.

I ducked low and aimed a punch at his kidney. He moved aside to avoid the blow, giving me the chance to get away from the wall.

I whirled around and managed to get my arm up as he aimed a punch at my head. My forearm rang with the impact of knocking his blow wide, but I was already moving on. I aimed a fist at his face, and he batted my hand away, but I followed up with a more powerful strike from my rear arm, which he had more trouble deflecting.

It was like falling into a familiar dance from there, and I trusted my body to know the steps, drinking in the knowledge I was offered and using it to learn the moves for myself.

Our movements got quicker, matching blow for blow as neither of us managed to land a hit, excitement thrumming through me as I held my own against the greatest slayer ever known. I was doing this. I was fighting. I was fucking unstoppable.

Energy danced along my limbs as my abilities swept through me, guiding my body, and a swell of exhilaration built in my chest. I was doing it, perfecting the moves I would need to take on every vampire who stood between me and my sister. I’d embraced my slayer blood, and I liked it.

Sweat began to trickle down my spine as I danced out of reach once more. I could feel a smile pulling at my lips. Every move I made came to me like I’d done it a hundred times before. It was as though I’d spent my life training to fight like this, learning every move until my limbs practically worked without thought. I was so fast. I was so strong. I was invincible and-

Magnar’s fist connected with my face so hard that it felt like the entire house had just fallen on top of me.

I was thrown to the ground and pain flared through me like I’d been hit with a sledgehammer. My breath was forced from my lungs, and the back of my head slammed into the wooden floorboards as I crumpled like a sack of shit.

Before I could so much as blink the haze of confusion from my eyes, he was on top of me, his fingers encircling my wrists as he pinned them above my head and held me there.

His weight immobilised me and his long hair fell forward as he peered down at me, his eyes glittering with amusement, my defeat undeniable.

“Do you yield?” he asked casually, not even having the decency to seem out of breath while my chest heaved and my heart thrashed frantically, sweat sticking strands of golden hair to my cheeks.

Okay, I am not goddamn invincible.

I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe as he crushed me into the floorboards. My mind spun from the injury to my head, and I could taste the blood which ran from my nose into my mouth. My gifts slipped away from me again as the floodgates closed, and I was pretty sure he’d broken my fucking nose.

I tugged pointlessly at my wrists, my bare feet scrambling against the wooden floor as I tried to think of some way out of his grasp, but it was clear that I was done.

“What the fuck was that?” I snapped.

“A girl playing at being a warrior,” he replied with a shrug. “It was cute.”

“Fuck you.” I yanked on my wrists again, but it did nothing.

“Do you yield?” he repeated.

“You broke my motherfucking nose,” I hissed, tasting blood from the injury.

“I barely struck you. Your nose is fine.”

“Fine? I’m choking on my fucking blood here!”

Magnar rolled his eyes, transferring both of my wrists into a single hand before taking hold of my nose between two fingers and squeezing it.

Pain flared at his rough inspection, and I thrashed beneath him, but he stopped as fast as he’d started.

“See? No break. Now stop bitching and yield. Unless you’re just stalling for time so that you can remain pinned beneath me?”

“You seriously won’t get off of me unless I admit you won? The fact that I’m bleeding on the floor beneath you doesn’t make that clear enough already?” I hissed.

“Apparently not.”

“Fuck you,” I repeated.

He grinned like a demon but didn’t move.

“Fine,” I snapped. “You win, I yield, you’re a living cunt of a sledgehammer and all that jazz.”

“A living cunt of a sledgehammer?” he mused. “You’re a sore loser.”

“No, I’m a crushed one,” I snipped, wriggling to try and get free, but that only served to make me grind against his hard body.

His smile widened, turning into something dark and feral, and I could tell he’d enjoyed the spar as much as I had - at least until the end. “Next time, I won’t go so easy on you.”

“That was easy?” I asked, realisation falling over me that I was not, in fact, a badass, gifted warrior bitch who didn’t need any training. From the look in Magnar’s eyes, we had barely begun.

“Yes, you cocky little mouse,” he said, his grin widening. “This is lesson one, and it will only get harder from here. You made your vow, and there’s no escaping it. You will be forged into a true slayer, Callie Ford, and your training will be the most gruelling experience of your life. Welcome to the consequences of your actions.”