The Pack - Shadow Games (3 page)

"Ohh calm yourself you stupid girl. If I
wanted you dead I would have killed you days ago."

I pressed a hand to my burning cheek and when
I pulled it away, blood coated my palm. I stared at the King's
feet. "Why am I here? What are you going to do to me?"

"Do you know what the Blood Rite does? Do you
know what you and your little wolf boy started?"

I shook my head and kept my eyes glued to the
floor.

"That rite is ancient magic. Our two worlds
coexist but are kept separated. We have learned to cross over for
short periods of time, but the rite rips a hole through the
barrier. You are draining power from our side to feed your own
selfish desires. And while the rite is active, I am vulnerable. If
you die, I die."

My head shot up. "What? Then why were you
trying to kill me?!"

Calder answered this time. "We never wanted
to kill you. We were trying to keep you safe. You've started a war
Miss Olivia. We are all lucky that I found you before the others
did."

"What others? How does killing me kill
him?"

"The magic of our world flows through the
King. While the Blood Rite is active, you siphon that power. Power
that is used to keep him safe. To keep this kingdom from crumbling.
There are other vampire lords who would kill you quickly, and
anyone else in the way, to assume the throne."

I could see real worry on the King's face.
"This has happened before hasn't it? Kings have died because of
people like me."

"Smart girl," said the King as he played with
a side of meat on the table. "We live for a very long time. Coups
are the only real way to transfer power within the clans. But we
have a plan. One that will keep this kingdom safe for a long time."
The King turned to Calder. "Go ahead and tell her."

"The other lords know we have you. They
assume we will keep you locked up. Instead, you will accompany me
on a trip outside of the walls. When word gets out, we will find
out who the traitors are."

I was stunned. I was a pawn in a power
struggle in a world that wasn't mine. "So I'm bait? You're just
going to dangle me in front of bloodthirsty vamps and see which one
bites?"

The King nodded. "To put it plainly,
yes."

"And if I say no?"

The King's hand rose from his side and I felt
the collar pull me upwards. I stumbled to my feet and pulled on the
metal ring. "Stop! I'll do it! I'll be your bait!"

The King's hand returned to his side and the
magical pull ceased. He smiled at me. "Glad you have found reason.
Now go with Calder and find my traitors."

Calder tugged on my wrist but I hesitated to
leave the room. I stared longingly at the table full of sweet
smelling food and licked my lips. But another tug on my arm made it
clear that it was time to go. Calder led me from the throne room
and back into the hall where he stopped and turned to me.

"So Miss Olivia, since you have been thrust
here against your will, I shall allow you to pick our
destination."

My stomach rumbled and I knew instantly where
we should go. "Where's a good place to eat?"

*****

We didn't have to go far for food. Calder led
me to the common hall where a few guards sat around scattered
tables. Servers flitted in and out of the room bringing trays of
food and drinks to the seated patrons. A waitress practically ran
to our table when she saw Calder. He spoke a few words that I
didn't understand before she disappeared into the kitchen.

"What did you say to her?" I asked. "And what
language was that?"

"I asked her to bring something of everything
and that was the language of our kingdom. I apologize for speaking
in a tongue you do not understand. It was rude."

It had never even crossed my mind that the
vampires would have their own language. But then again, everything
that I had thought I knew about vamps had been wrong. I wondered
what else I didn't know.

We sat quietly at the table for a few long
minutes. The silence was eating away at me as I bounced my foot
under the table nervously. My stomach rumbled again as the smell of
food from another table drifted in our direction.

"So Calder, tell me about yourself," I said
in an attempt to distract myself from my increasing hunger.

"What would you like to know Miss
Olivia?"

That was a good question. "Well, umm, when
were you turned? Where were you from originally?"

"I do not understand your question."

"You know, where were you born? What did you
do before you became a vampire?"

Calder smiled. "I understand now. Your world
seems to know only false things about my people."

"Shit. I'm sorry if I offended you."

He shook his head, setting off another wave
of golden sparks in his hair. "No, I am not offended. Meeting you
is as much a surprise to you as it is to me. You are the first
human I've even spoken to for any length of time. When our paths
cross, there is usually not much to say."

The meaning of his lasts words took a moment
to sink in. "You mean the only time you meet humans is when you
kill them?"

"When required. There is much you do not
understand about this world, or yours for that matter."

Calder's stoic attitude was starting to get
on my nerves. "Well, I seem to have nothing but time. Why don't you
go ahead and explain how the world works to little ol' me."

"I ask again then, what would you like to
know?"

"Well, you still haven't told me how you
became a vampire."

"I was born a vampire, the same as all
vampires before me. You do not become one."

"Well is anything humans know about your kind
correct? Can you turn into a bat? Does silver hurt you? How about
garlic?"

"There are a few shape shifters in the
kingdom, but they are not true vampires. And none that I know of
turn into bats." Calder rapped his knuckles against his
breastplate. "Silver does not hurt us. Garlic likewise."

"Holy water? Wooden stakes? Fire?"

Calder shook his head. "Whatever may kill you
will kill me. We are not so different Miss Olivia."

"Well what about the fangs? Why do you have
them if you don't drink blood? Why do you bite people?"

"Many animals have fangs. Wolves for
instance." Calder opened his mouth wider than humanly possible. His
jaw clicked as it unhinged. He pushed one of his long fingers
against the tip of his fang and when he pulled the finger away, a
bead of dark brown liquid rested where the tooth had touched his
skin.

"Poison, much like a snake. It induces
paralysis and drowsiness."

"So you bite people to knock them out?"

"More or less. One cannot fight back if one
cannot move."

"Wait, so why do werewolves grow stronger
from vampire bites? How does that make sense?"

Calder sighed and looked around for our
server. "You ask a lot of questions. It is not the poison that
makes them stronger. It is the magic held within the liquid. Your
kind draws power from our side, but only in limited quantities.
When you are exposed to pure magic, it can have... interesting side
effects."

"My... father... told me the night you took
me that sunlight kills you. Is that true?"

Calder shifted in his seat. "In a way. I
would rather not talk about that."

A line of servers approached our table before
I could press Calder for anything more. Tray after tray was laid
out in front of me and I stared with wide eyes as the intoxicating
smells mingled in the air. My mouth watered and as soon as the last
plates were put down in front of me, I dug in.

Nothing was familiar, but everything tasted
amazing. Meats and fruits piled high on my plate and I ate greedily
using only my hands. After days without food, I didn't even think
of how I might have looked to everyone else around me. It wasn't
until the pangs of hunger subsided that I glanced up from my plate
to see Calder staring at me with a look of embarrassment.

I dropped the hunk of meat that I had been
ripping apart back onto my plate. "Ohh geez," I said with my mouth
still full. Embarrassed, I chewed quickly and swallowed the food
before trying to talk again. "I'm so sorry Calder. I was just so
hungry."

He waved his hand and picked up a shank of
meat as well. "Food is meant to be eaten. Enjoy."

We didn't leave the table until every serving
tray was empty. My stomach hurt but I was happy for the first time
since I woke up this morning. I smiled at Calder and he returned it
with a grin of his own. For a moment I lost myself in his good
looks.

"Ready to return to you room?" he asked as he
held his hand out to help me from the table.

I nodded and dropped my hand into his. His
skin was warm to the touch and when he helped me up, he pulled me
close enough that his breath tickled my cheek. For a moment I
thought he was going to try and kiss me, but Calder stepped back
quickly.

A tickle between my legs and a vague sense of
disappointment at the distance Calder put between us set me on
edge. I wasn't upset that he had pulled back. No, I was upset that
I felt anything at all other than relief. I loved Sam! I'd only
been away from him for a few days and already I was having feelings
for someone else.

Right? Was that what was happening?

I looked at Calder and the tickle grew
stronger. My nipples hardened under my dress and I dropped my eyes
to the floor. This couldn't be happening. Calder was the enemy! He
had taken me from Sam and set my house on fire! He was a killer, a
monster. Not human. Why was I feeling this way?

"Miss Olivia? It is time to go," said
Calder.

"Huh? Ohh okay."

I followed him back to my room. No, my prison
cell. It may have been decorated but that was what it truly was. I
wasn't a guest here. I was a pawn. I couldn't forget that.

"I will come for you in the morning Miss
Olivia. May your rest be peaceful," said Calder as he stepped from
the room.

I dropped onto the bed, not even bothering to
undress. These weren't my clothes. I didn't care if they wrinkled.
I slid under the silky sheets and stared up at the ceiling trying
to sort out what I had learned so far, but my mind kept circling
back to the strange attraction I was having for Calder. And every
time it did, I would immediately picture Sam. I would get back to
him. I had to get back to him.

I drifted off to sleep and dreams of Sam I
together in the woods filled my head again. But when he laid me
down in the grass and leaned down to kiss me, a dark shadow fell
over us. A flash of fangs and the surprised face of Sam as his body
went stiff filled my head. My love slumped to the ground next to me
while Calder, my vampire jailor, wiped a trickle of blood from his
mouth before leaning down to kiss me in Sam’s place.

I woke up in a cold sweat, my heart beating
in my chest. My breath came quickly as I fought to keep myself from
panicking.

It was only a dream. It wasn't real. It was
only a dream.

But even as I repeated those words over and
over in my head, I found myself wondering what Calder looked like
under his armor. My body tingled at the thought before I could push
it away.

"I love Sam!" I screamed into the empty room.
"Sam! I love Sam!"

The golden waves and pimento eyes of Calder
filled my head. I beat my hands against the soft mattress and threw
my head back against the pillows as I sobbed. I tried to picture
Sam in my head, but thoughts of Calder kept flashing through my
mind. This couldn't be happening! Had he put some kind of spell on
me?

"I love Sam."

I had to get out of here. I had to get back
to Black Bear. I had to get back to Sam before I lost him
forever.

*****

"So where are we going today?" I asked as
Calder and I walked down the hall.

"Today we will be going out into the town.
Please stay close to me."

"Do I have any other choice?"

Calder chuckled. "No. I guess not. But keep
your eyes open. There are people in town that would do you
harm."

"Kill me to kill the King. I remember."

"So I promised you that if you lived the day,
I would take you to get enchantments. Would you like that?"

I tried to picture myself with the glowing
hair that I saw on most of the vampires I'd met so far. I couldn't
imagine what I would look like, but I was curious. If I was going
to be locked up in a tower for the rest of my life, I might as well
look good. "Yeah, let's do it Calder."

"As you wish."

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when the
massive wooden gates of the castle opened and I saw Calder's world
for the first time, but I did know that I wasn't expecting to be
assaulted by the warm rays of the sun.

I threw my hands over my eyes as the bright
light overwhelmed me. "Damn Calder, you could have warned me it was
going to be so bright out."

"I thought humans were used to sunlight."

I dropped my hands slowly, letting my eyes
adjust to the harsh daylight. The warmth of the sun felt wonderful
on my skin but I didn't understand how this was possible. "You told
me sunlight kills vampires."

"I told you yesterday that I would rather not
speak of it."

I turned to Calder, intent on getting some
kind of answer out of him, but as soon as I saw his face, I burst
out laughing. His armor was blindingly bright in the sunlight and
his hand still rested on the hilt of his sword. His hair pulsed
with golden energy and his handsome face still drew me in like no
man I'd ever met. Calder cocked is head to one side and frowned as
I tried to stifle my laughter.

"What is so funny?" he asked.

I snorted. I couldn't help it. Calder looked
like a knight out of a story book, but the dark sunglasses that hid
his eyes were so out of place that I couldn't stop the fits of
laughter that racked my body. The coke bottle lens held together by
a golden frame just looked wrong. A vampire in sunglasses. It
shouldn't have been so funny, but after the week I'd had, I needed
a good laugh.