Vampire Apocalypse #2 Cataylst (13 page)

The servant bowed low again and rose,
avoiding the Queen’s eyes, she said, “The Pairings have been
announced and the humans have not protested in any way. They talk
and chatter, but nothing more.”

“Very good. And what of the Pairing Rooms?
Have they been properly supplied? We only have one opportunity to
do this. If they’re missing anything, we won’t have another
chance.” Sophia’s voice trailed off as she glanced past the maid
and out the door beyond. Brows pinched together she said, “The
siege will begin by morning. I can feel it.” Sophia’s gaze drifted
back to the woman. The maid had no sense. She continued to smile as
Sophia spoke. Anger surged through Sophia. Her eyes were fixated on
the side of the vampire girl’s face. Sophia’s nails clutched the
arms of her throne to keep from bounding down the stairs and
strangling the girl.

The maid nodded, “Yes, Your Majesty. The
rooms have ample supplies. Instructions have been left with the
males about how to proceed if the females protest. It was made
clear how to procreate with an unwilling female, without bruising
or wounding her. Penalties for bruises, abrasions, and other wounds
were also posted.” As the vampire spoke, she clasped her hands
tightly in front of her. Her slender body was stiff, rigid with
fear. The smile finally fell off her face.

“And the females that remain, were they given
instructions as well?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. They were told to comply.
Failure to do so will result in binding. Women who inflict injuries
upon themselves to get out of the Pairing will not be sent to the
infirmary. They will be denied medical attention until they
cooperate. The women were all informed.”

Sophia’s lips pulled back into a snake-like
smile, revealing pearly white eye-teeth. They ached for blood. This
made her very happy. It’d been centuries since her fangs worked
properly. Since she began drinking Kahli’s blood, Sophia could feel
them coming back to life. It was like part of Sophia awakened and
she didn’t intend on losing it. “News of the wild girl or
William?”

The servant lowered her gaze and shook her
head. “Nothing yet, but they are hurrying, Queen Sophia.” Glancing
up, she added quickly, “The new Trackers vowed to find her before
nightfall. She will be safely in your court by twilight. They
assured me of this and made it clear that I was to tell you, they
will not return until the girl is in hand.”

Sophia breathed in deeply, letting the words
rang in her ears. The movement filled her bodice, pressing her
chest firmly against the low neckline of her gown. The jewels at
her throat rose slightly until she exhaled. Sophia stared straight
ahead, her spine perfectly straight. The Trackers would find Kahli
and then she’d never let the girl out of her sight. As for William,
she had plans for him.

“Very good,” Sophia finally said. The servant
looked up when silence filled the room. The Queen’s eyes narrowed
on the girl’s face. “After the Pairing, we will keep the fertile
females. The rest will be handed over to the Trackers on my word.
Separate them from each other, but do not tell them a thing. Do you
understand?” The girl nodded. “Good. We will keep the strongest
here to sustain the palace staff and the Regent. The rest are to be
given to each Section that pledged loyalty when I deem it is time.”
Sophia paused, her lips pressed together into a thin line before
she spoke again, “And, Chastity…”

The servant looked shocked that the Queen
knew her name. “Yes, your Majesty?”

“If we do not survive the night, if I am
assassinated by my foolish husband,” Sophia spoke calmly as her
lips twisted into a thin smile, “I want you and your staff to
slaughter every last human in the palace. All of them, do you
understand? No one survives.”

Chastity nodded, “It will be done as you
wish, my Queen.”

Sophia smiled.

CHAPTER 19

Will heard the blast, but was so taken with
Kahli that the change didn’t register. He thought the burning runes
under his skin were from her touch. Too late, he realized the true
reason for the runes burning—Reggie was near.

When the rock exploded, Will tried to shield
Kahli, but they were torn apart from the blast. She was launched
toward the opening. Before she was out of reach, Will shoved Kahli
past the falling ceiling. Then, he was blasted backwards across the
room. Will watched Kahli fall. The ceiling above them cracked open
and debris rained down. Large sheets of ice and rock fell swiftly,
crashing into the floor with a deafening CRACK. The table where
they’d been sitting was flattened. The metal chair legs snapped
like toothpicks and went flying across the room like shrapnel. The
final blast sent down more of the ceiling, trapping Will under a
massive stone of jagged concrete. Frozen earth continued to cave in
from above, burying Will alive.

Then it fell silent. His heart raced, echoing
in his ears. The boulder pinned him to the floor. Before he had a
chance to call out to her, Kahli screamed. Will’s heart felt like
it would explode as it banged into his ribs. Holding his hands to
the rock, Will tried to squirm out from beneath the stone. Kahli’s
blood made him stronger, otherwise he wouldn’t have had a chance.
Pressing his hands against the side of the massive piece of
concrete, Will pushed. It rocked slightly. Will worked frantically,
trying to get to Kahli before they were gone, before she was taken
by Reggie.

After what happened, he doubted the Regent
would allow Kahli to live. Will rocked the stone until he moved it
just enough to pull free. Will stood swiftly, his hands floating up
to his sides. Snowflakes floated through the air, pure white, until
they slipped lazily into the shadows. Before he could take a step,
the ground beneath Will pitched sharply. He blinked, trying to stop
the sensation from overwhelming him. When he looked down at his
leg, it was covered in blood. Blinking again, Will held his hands
to his head, pressing against his temples and closing his eyes, but
it didn’t help. The room spun wildly and brought him to his knees.
Will roared as he fell, trying to fight what was happening to him.
The crack to his head, the wound on his leg, they both crippled him
when Kahli needed him the most. Falling to his hands, Will looked
up in time to see Kahli pulled over the ledge, screaming. Reggie
restrained her and dragged Kahli away. Before Will could blink
again, the world faded to black.

__

When Will awoke, he heard something familiar.
Warm breath washed across his face, followed by a rank scent that
could only mean one thing. Wolves. Will’s eyes shot open to see a
white wolf hovering over him. The animal’s black lips were pulled
back into a snarl, but she didn’t attack. Will moved slowly,
pulling his body away from the animal.

“Easy,” he said in soothing tones. “Easy,
girl.”

The wolf stared at him with amber eyes, its
head cocking to the side slightly. Will’s pulse roared in his ears.
Slowly, he pushed away from the mouth filled with fangs. Will
watched the wolf, wondering if Kahli felt the same way about his
fangs. His stomach sank when he thought of her. He was supposed to
protect Kahli, keep her safe. Will cursed, and pushed up slowly.
His leg and head had healed on their own, but the blood must have
attracted the wolf.

Glancing at the remains of the safe house,
Will saw the silver foil packets scattered across the ground. One
packet was right next to his foot. He bent slowly, reaching for it.
The wolf’s hackles raised, her fur blowing in the wind. Will didn’t
have time to deal with this, and he had no weapon to kill the
animal. Like all wolves, this one was hungry. Will’s fingers
brushed against the packet. He tore it open and tossed it to the
wolf. Her jaws snapped at the foil as it fell in front of her.
Growling from deep within her throat, the wolf looked at Will like
she was ready to jump on his chest and rip open his throat, but the
scent of the packet distracted her. The beast blinked like it was
confused, and then lowered her head, sniffing the packet. Will
didn’t move. He waited until her nose was inside the foil, her long
pink tongue licking out the contents with vigor. The wolf didn’t
notice him slip away.

CHAPTER 20

“What are you going to wear?” someone asked
Alice, but the girl just stared into space. Giggles broke out
around her. Alice stood and walked away. Before Cassie could go
after her, Brianna asked her the same thing, “What about you,
Cassie? What are you going to wear tonight?”

They’d been talking about it when she walked
into the room. Cassie sat on one of the couches acting like she was
excited about the idea of Pairing up with one of the guys. There
had been only one other time she had to be so deceitful and that
was on Deliverance Day.

Smiling, Cassie shrugged, “Oh, I don’t know.
What do you think I should wear?”

Brianna lit up, and bounded over to Cassie.
“There is this lace dress in the wardrobe. I tried to take it once
for a dinner party, but Miriam said it was only to be worn during
the Pairing.”

Cassie nodded, bobbing her head like it was a
good idea, “That sounds pretty.” She glanced out the window, but
the other girls’ giggles pulled her attention back to the room.

“It’s not pretty, Cassie. It’s sexy. The
dress covers you, neck to ankles, but what makes it sexy is the
key.” Brianna was smiling so hard. Cassie wondered how she could be
excited about something that would kill her. Pairings led to
babies, and childbirth wasn’t something that was survivable. Not
for them. Not for Brianna, who bruised so easily. Cassie didn’t
understand the girl’s excitement. Wanting to get called for a
Pairing was a death wish. The other girls giggled. “Wait here,”
Brianna said, patting Cassie’s knee. “I’ll go get it. Miriam
already pulled it out.”

While Brianna grabbed the gown out of her
room, Cassie smiled at the others. “Exciting, isn’t it?”

They all nodded, but it didn’t seem like any
of them were as happy about the Pairing as Brianna. Cassie felt bad
for them. Even if Cole managed to get her out, the others would be
left behind. Brianna came back into the room with a length of black
lace draped over her arm. Grinning, she held it up for Cassie to
see.

The gown was Cassie’s size, and Brianna was
right, it wouldn’t have worked for a regular dinner. As Brianna
held the gown up, everyone could see why. The light shined through
the lace. There was nothing under it, no lining to conceal
anything. Brianna grinned devilishly and handed the dress to
Cassie. “See, I told you it was sexy. It’ll make you feel pretty,
and Brent will be able to see all of you straight through it.”

The girls began to giggle and squeal. Cassie
tried to keep her plastic smile on her face. She held the dress in
her hands and looked down at it. The lace was beautiful and
delicate, and completely see-through. Her stomach turned to acid as
she held it, thinking of what would happen to her if Cole didn’t
find a way out.

“Someone go grab, Alice.” Brianna said,
irritated. “We need to talk about the best ways to do this. It’s
supposed to be fun.”

“I’ll get her,” Cassie offered, as she stood
and walked away, leaving the dress behind. Wandering into the
hallway, Cassie looked up and down the corridor, but Alice wasn’t
in sight. Cassie picked a direction, her stomach twisting into
tight knots. Before she realized it, Cassie had her arms folded
tightly across her chest and was scowling at no one. Stopping in
front of a window, she looked outside. The world was white. The
wind was whipping the dry snow into the air, blinding the guards
below to anything not directly in front of them, but they still
paced the perimeter, looking, watching, and waiting.

“Cassie,” Cole said, walking up next to
her.

Cassie didn’t look at him. Instead, her gaze
remained on the guard below, “There are more than there were
earlier.”

“I know,” Cole said softly. He took her by
the elbow and turned Cassie toward him.

When she looked at him, Cassie saw so many
things, but the most glaring was hope. The emotion danced in his
eyes, making it difficult to look at him. How Cole could have hope
now was beyond her. “This isn’t the same as before, you know. There
were a handful of vamps we had to get past that day. It’s not the
same this time.”

“No,” Cole said somberly, “it’s not. There’s
more at risk, too. Cassie, I’d planned to do this if you were
selected for the Purging. I had it all worked out, but I didn’t
plan for this.” He pressed his lips together and stepped toward the
large window. Looking out to the grounds below, he said, “It’s
worse than last time. You’re right. But that means it’s even more
important to leave.”

Cassie pressed her fingers into the crook of
Cole’s arm and pulled him around. She’d been thinking about it all
morning. “You should go without me.” When he opened his mouth to
protest, Cassie cut him off. “No, listen. I’m a liability. I’ll
slow you down. You’re stronger than me, less anemic.” Cole was
about to hush her. She could tell he wasn’t even listening.
Straightening her spine, she yelled in his face, “The vamps already
know how strong you are, that you’re not like the rest of us! Don’t
tell me to shut up, because I won’t! Damn it, Cole! Listen to me!
You might be able to pull this off twice, but I was lucky to live
through it once.” She drew in a deep breath, and her voice
softened. “I can’t run again. I won’t survive.”

“Cassie, don’t say that. You’re as strong as
you think you are.” He sounded desperate. Cole gripped her elbows,
trying to talk sense into her, but Cassie pulled away.

“I’m safe here, Cole. I might not like the
things they make me do, but I’ve done them before. I survived then.
I can survive now.” Cassie’s face took on a vacant expression, like
she was remembering something painful, something she wanted to
forget. She stepped back to the window and gazed through the
panes.