V Games - Dead Before Dawn Read online

  “Whaasappening-elsings?”

  I grinned at him, his eyes blurry as they focused on me. Nothing had changed with him. And I was glad. My memories of my best friend had kept me going in the past. Now here he was, reminding me of all the fun ways we used to mess with each other.

  “I need your help with something.” I yanked him to his feet and his blanket fell to the floor, revealing that he was entirely naked.

  “Christ, James.” I grimaced, stepping away.

  “I can't sleep unless I'm naked.”

  “I remember.” I glared at him, recalling the time we'd gotten lost on an island in the Caribbean sea. We'd had to take shelter in a cave overnight. Not my fondest memory. “Don't you have your own room?”

  “Gave it to Thames, didn't I?” Jameson dragged on his clothes, clearly in no hurry. “What do you need help with?”

  I glanced toward the window where the sky was brightening. I didn't have much time.

  I headed past the bar into a large kitchen, rummaging through drawers until I found a sharp, silver knife. My gut sank as I gazed at it. But I didn't have a choice.

  Heading back to the room, I hopped up onto the breakfast bar and tugged my shirt off.

  “What are we doing exactly?” Jameson yawned broadly, moving to my side.

  I handed him the knife then pointed to my chest. “Ignus buried a tracking device somewhere around here.”

  Jameson wrinkled his nose. “Oh shit.”

  “Yeah.” I lay down, glancing at him. “So get on with it.”

  “What if they're already tracking us?” Jameson shot a look at the front door as if Abraham might walk in at any moment.

  “I don't think it matters. The Helsings know about Ulvic and his wolf pack. They're going to turn up here sooner or later.”

  “Right.” Jameson passed the knife from hand to hand. “So how deep is this thing?”

  I sighed, closing my eyes. “Deep.”

  “Great...wonderful...good fun...”

  “Just get on with it,” I said through my teeth, bracing for the sharp slice. When it didn't come, I opened my eyes, finding Jameson looking from my chest to the knife and back again.

  “Problem?” I raised a brow.

  He cracked his neck, positioning the knife tip at my sternum. “Nope...just another day in paradise.” He pressed down hard and I bit back a roar, my whole body tensing.

  Jameson glanced at me before continuing. A crack sounded and pain ricocheted through my chest.

  “Hurry. Up,” I snarled through my teeth.

  Jameson placed the knife down, looking disgusted all the while as he dug his finger into the wound. I bucked upwards, unable to fight the pain.

  Jameson extracted his finger, holding something tiny up to the light, his hand dripping blood.

  I dropped my head back, sighing as my body healed over. Jameson wiped his hand on a tea towel then chucked it to me. I rubbed the blood from my chest, swinging my legs over the side of the bar, relief rattling through me.

  “What now?” Jameson placed the tracking chip in the centre of his palm.

  “If they've already located me with it, there's no point breaking it. So I say we use it as a diversion.”

  Jameson nodded excitedly.

  I gazed at the window. “But dawn's almost here. So I'm not going anywhere until dusk.”

  “Can we afford another day?” Jameson's brow furrowed.

  It felt like old times. Us making plans to escape the English King's men. But there wasn't just me to think of now. There was Selena. And I'd never let the Helsings get their hands on her again.

  “Perhaps not. But dropping it in the middle of the ocean will do us no good. They aren't fool enough to fall for that.”

  “Leave it to me.” Jameson closed his hand around the chip with a mischievous grin.

  I trusted him implicitly so simply nodded my approval, jumping down from the bar.

  “Now go get in that shed before dawn turns you into fried chicken.” Jameson shoved me in the direction of the door.

  “Want me to find Cass on the way?”

  “Already dealt with.”

  I nodded, heading to the door.

  “Varick?” he called and I glanced over my shoulder, finding him running a hand down the back of his neck, his expression unusually vulnerable.

  “Do you think she likes me?”

  I snorted a laugh. “Cass? No.”

  “Why not?” he whined.

  “To be honest brother, you come on a little...strong.” I opened the door.

  “Strong?” he laughed. “I'm the most mellow guy I know.”

  “That isn't an accurate assessment of yourself.”

  He spat air. “I think I know myself pretty well, I've been around for over two hundred years now.”

  “Sure. Well, continue to do as you are then.” I exited the cabin, grinning to myself as I jogged down the steps, hearing his laughter following me.

  I knew Jameson well enough to know he wouldn't give up on Cass. He was like a dog with a bone when it came to women. He'd pursue them until they gave in – which was all of about five minutes in most cases. But I was pretty sure he'd bitten off more than he could chew when it came to pursuing a Vampire. Cass was no doubt still adjusting to the curse. She wouldn't have a moment to spare for entertaining a Werewolf's hounding. It had taken me nearly two hundred years to meet a girl who'd brought back my ability to desire. There was no reason to believe it would be any quicker for Cass.

  Snow was falling outside, the world coated in white, the soft flutter of falling snowflakes filling my ears. I headed into the woods, running in the direction of the outhouse. It was nearly a mile from the cabin, but I reached it in less than a minute.

  It was nothing more than a windowless, metal box. I banged my fist on the door, the noise resounding within in it.

  Kodiak opened the door a crack, stepping aside to let me in. I felt like I'd walked into a giant toolbox. Sharp implements hung around the walls and were slung over every surface, the place a complete mess. I frowned, finding Cass across from me in the dark space, perched on a worktop she'd evidently cleared by chucking everything on the floor.

  “Hey.” I nodded to her.

  “Come to join the party?” Cass lifted a brow, but her expression was dark.

  “Any food at this party? I'm ravenous.” Kodiak scowled, kicking a row of shovels and sending them crashing to the concrete. He had the kind of stature that spoke of the army; from his buzz-cut hair to his stiff posture. Apart from that, he was quiet, kept to himself. That could have just been his personality, or it could have been suspicious. I was yet to decide.

  I folded my arms, eyeing him dangerously. Perhaps bringing him here hadn't been the best idea. But he'd kept his word not to hurt the girls so far. And from what Thames had said, he'd tried to help her when the other Vs had turned on them back on the Isle of Lidelse.

  He held up his hands to me, showing his innocence. “I'm not going to eat anyone. I'm just saying. Surely you're both starting to get hungry?”

  Cass gave him a guilty look, turning to me. I shrugged and Kodiak narrowed his eyes. “Well some of us don't have a human blood-bag following them around.”

  Rage unfurled inside me and I flew at him, grabbing his neck. “You ever talk about Selena like that again, I'll break your damn spine.”

  I threw him against the wall and several garden tools clattered down around him. Kodiak straightened up, his pride clearly hurt as he unhooked a pair of secateurs from his already ripped jeans. “I'm just saying,” he muttered.

  “Well don't 'just say',” I snarled, my temper rising dangerously.

  Cass sighed loudly. “Chill out, will you? Kodiak has a point. We're gonna have to deal with it sooner or later. And I'd rather I don't get so hungry that I take a bite out of one of my friends.”

  My shoulders stiffened but I couldn't deny the truth of her words. Still, I wasn't going to share Selena's blood even if she offered it to them willingly. She w
as mine. And I didn't care how selfish that was.

  Maybe Thames would be willing to give them some. But even as I thought it, I knew it was a bad idea. Thames had been through enough at the hands of Vs. She'd lost her legs for Christ's sake. It wasn't fair to ask such a thing of her.

  I sighed, leaning back against one of the only bare walls. “We'll figure it out. Ulvic doesn't want us here for more than a day anyway.”

  “So what's the plan?” Cass asked, folding her legs up beneath her.

  “There isn't one yet,” I sighed, gesturing to our surroundings. “And if you haven't noticed, we're currently confined to a shed. So until it's dark again we're stuck...here...” I trailed off, a horrible thought sweeping over me.

  “What is it?” Kodiak hissed, his brows lowering.

  “What if the Helsings come? What if we're trapped in here, unable to help everyone?”

  Selena.

  I despised the curse then more than I ever had. At least I'd had relative freedom inside the Arctic Circle. Now, the sun would divide me from Selena for endless hours every day. And I wouldn't be able to protect her.

  A banging came at the door and I flung around, grabbing the handle, my muscles coiled like a loaded spring.

  “Are you mad?” Kodiak batted my hand away and I snarled at him. “The sun's up!”

  I nudged him into a corner behind the door, pressing myself against the door so I was protected as I opened it.

  The crack of sunlight was enough to burn my retinas and I immediately clamped my eyes closed. Someone barged inside and the door slammed shut.

  “Music,” Jameson announced as I opened my eyes, finding him holding a large CD player.

  “Did you deal with our problem?” I muttered, thinking of the tracker.

  He nodded with a mischievous grin. “Dealt with. Now sit back, relax, and get ready to experience the 1960s, from start to finish.”

  He swept several boxes of nails onto the floor and placed the CD player down, pressing play. Ulvic was not going to be pleased with the mess we'd made in here.

  Jameson looked to Cass hopefully and she rolled her eyes.

  He didn't seem remotely deterred, beaming around at us all. 'The Beatles' first number one hit, From Me To You, kicked off the start of their phenomenon.”

  I smiled, sinking down to the floor, resting my head back against the door. Jameson always served to lighten my mood. Even if we were damned. Plus, I took comfort in the fact that if the Helsings did show up, Jameson and his pack were here to defend the island. And that would have to be good enough.

  Kite

  “Plenus annis abiit, plenus honoribus.” The priest bowed his head, the moon shining on the bald patch atop it.

  In the shadow of the looming castle, the Helsings surrounded a grave. Ignus was no sore loss to the world. But I stood diligently at Abraham's side, his hand wrapped around the chain that led to my muzzle. I supposed I was one of the luckier Vampires. Even if what came next tonight would be hard to stomach. But I'd swallow it whole if it meant I kept my feet on earth another day.

  The balding priest scattered dirt across the shining black coffin in the open grave. The entire household staff had been gathered, dressed in black, keeping their heads bowed respectfully. I wondered how many of them actually cared Ignus was dead. One of the women from the labs let out a small sob and I couldn't fight the urge to tut.

  Liar. You can't have liked him.

  Ignus had been a disgusting creep. A sadistic little weirdo. The world was a better place without him.

  Mercy was dressed in an inappropriately short black dress but, of all the Helsings, she seemed the most affected by Ignus's death, continually wiping tears from under her eyes. Katherine was a statue, her eyes hard as stone as she gazed down into her son's grave, her golden hair billowing out behind her in the wind. Abraham's reaction was the one I feared the most. Because I knew what he was about to do.

  Beside us was what I hadn't wanted to face for the entire funeral – and I was still trying not to look. I finally failed. Rows of Vs were lined up, thirty in total, all with bags over their heads. Their hands were bound with chains that tethered them to metal posts planted in the ground.

  I fought a grimace, angling myself away from them.

  Suck it up, Kite. You're still alive. That's what matters.

  The priest finished his service and Abraham walked to his side, patting his arm. I was dragged after him by my chain, planting my feet before the priest who gave me a probing look. Something flickered through his eyes, something that didn't belong on this island. Pity.

  “Abraham, I know you have been through very much,” the priest said, his voice as frail as his appearance. “But to call a funeral so quickly when you haven't even had time to process your son's death-”

  “It is best he's in the ground,” Abraham said firmly. “I needed it to be dealt with.” His shoulders were tense, the only thing betraying the weakness inside him. The way he dealt with grief was fury. I'd heard it all the way back from the Isle of Lidelse. The boat ride had been grim. I'd been tied up with half the Vs they'd recaptured and watched as Abraham took them one at a time. I listened to their screams as he did god-knows-what to them. So long as it wasn't me, I was content. Well, perhaps content was kind of overkill when it came to my situation. But I was still alive. So I supposed I had to be grateful.

  “Abraham...” The priest tried to steer him out of earshot of the staff, but he stood firm. “Isn't it time you stopped all these games? You are toying with the devil's creatures. Soulless beings that are tormented by demons. Put them out of their misery. End this madness.”

  Like a shot, Abraham's hand came down on the man's shoulder. “I thank you for your service, Father. Truly, it was good of you to come so quickly.”

  “Abraham-” he tried again.

  “This is my birthright. As my father did before me, I will put Vampires under my heel. Where they belong. As a reminder to the world what we saved the human race from.”

  “And what of the humans you pit against them? Do they deserve such a fate?” The old man's upper lip was sweating now.

  My curiosity piqued and I stepped closer – a move that didn't go unnoticed by Abraham.

  “Prisoners, Father. Killers, wastes of good oxygen.” Abraham shrugged his heavy shoulders.

  “That is not for you to decide,” the priest said, suddenly stern, turning his face to the sky. Or God, as he probably thought. To me, God was a safety blanket. One I'd once prayed to when I was little and needed saving. He hadn't answered. So if he was up there, living in the clouds, my miracle must have gotten lost in the post.

  Abraham's hand hadn't lifted from the priest's shoulder. “I don't expect you to understand my work, Father. But I do expect you to stay out of it.”

  The priest visibly gave in under Abraham's intense gaze. I probably would have too, seeing as he looked like he was ready to murder someone.

  Abraham turned away, dragging me after him, but the priest's voice sailed to us, making my stomach clench nervously.

  Don't push him, old man.

  “Is it all about the money?”

  Abraham halted, but didn't look back. My eyes remained on him, my 'master', as his jaw ticked dangerously. You never take your eyes off a wild animal. And that was what Abraham was, through and through. I'd met people like him in prison, losing their shit at any moment, having shanks hidden up their sleeves, razor blades sewn into their clothes. I knew danger and he was it.

  “Daddy...” Mercy whimpered, moving closer. “Don't.” She offered me a passing look.

  Abraham's knuckles were white. I could see the urge in him to punish the priest for his insolence. Instead, he strode over to a heavy-looking box that sat before the bound Vampires. Wrenching it open, he pulled out three rifles, passing one to his wife and one to his daughter.

  They lined up before the Vs and Abraham linked my chain through a metal loop on his belt so he didn't have to release me. Not that I would have gone anywhere. Not
when the Helsings had three high-powered rifles and seemed ready to shoot anyone who made one wrong move.

  Mercy didn't lift her weapon, I noticed.

  “Every second V,” Abraham muttered before opening fire.

  My heart thumped into life, but all I felt was horror as I watched Vampire after Vampire crumple to their knees. Both Abraham and Katherine's shots were clean, efficient, perfectly aimed.

  I stared, endlessly, absorbing every death like it was my own. And suddenly I was doing something that wasn't like me at all. I threw myself at Abraham. I just needed a split-second distraction. Maybe I'd be strong enough to snap his neck.

  Maybe-

  He knocked me to the ground with a swipe of his arm, the barrel of his rifle swinging down to face me. I gazed into the endless black hole, seeing my death. A death I'd already faced. He'd dragged me back out of oblivion and put me here at his side. The girl who'd died twice, that's what I'd be. And no one would care. Not a single soul on this entire planet.

  I raised my palms in defeat, cursing my idiocy.

  “If one more V rises up against me, I'll kill the damn lot of you!” Abraham roared, whipping the gun back toward the line-up and pulling the trigger over and over.

  I shut my eyes, the earth vibrating beneath me. I felt every thump as the Vs hit the ground. Ignus's death had borne more death. And I knew it wasn't over. Far from it.

  ◐ ☼ ◐

  Abraham had a fistful of my hair, dragging me into a room back at the Helsings' castle. Apparently the chain attached to my muzzle wasn't worth using anymore. No, he was going to take out his anger on me. All of that pent-up, animalistic rage I sensed in him was going to be unleashed. And I'd just unwittingly decided to make myself the target.

  “Let me go, you pig!” my voice rang around the metal muzzle over my mouth, echoing in my ears. I despised the stupid thing. My senses were tenfold, so every time I spoke it sounded like a klaxon going off in my head. It reminded me of the prison alarm. Buzzing for breakfast. Buzzing for lunch. Buzzing for dinner. I'd hated that noise. And now it was following me into my afterlife.

  Abraham shoved me forward. He was impossibly strong. Easily enough to match my Vampire strength. Especially as I was kept half-starved. I was given just enough blood to keep me in line, but not enough to give me the strength to fight back. A lesson I'd just learned the hard way.