Vampire Apocalypse #2 Cataylst (20 page)

The wind whipped the sound around, so that
without the visual, Kahli wasn’t sure where the vamps were. Or
Will. She was sure Reggie sent Will after her. Dashing up another
hill, Kahli reached the top and threw herself over the crest,
sliding down the other side. When she stopped slipping, Kahli
pushed herself off the ground, and kept running.

The orchard. Where was it? The Queen’s garden
was to the South of the palace. That’s where she was, Kahli was
sure of it, but she didn’t see the orchard or the roses. Just more
white hills. Exhausted, Kahli rounded another hill and saw it as
she slipped down the other side—the ice castle from the Purging—the
one she’d climbed and taken the flag from. She’d found it.

Running as fast as she could, Kahli made it.
Quickly, she glanced up and down the wall trying to find the
guards, but there weren’t any. The hair on the back of her neck
stood on end and her stomach turned to ice. She stood still as a
stone, her wide green eyes slowly moving through the darkness. The
twisting in her stomach told her that the King was near-by, even
though she couldn’t see him.

Will chose that moment to slam into her. He
forced Kahli to the ground, sheltering her with his body. “Stay
down,” he hissed in her ear, his gloved hand covering her mouth.
Heart beating wildly, she looked up at him. “Someone’s here.” Will
lifted his hand from her mouth and put a finger to his lips
indicating she should stay silent.

When Will stood, he crouched, moving closer
to the wall. Kahli followed him at first, thinking she was just
being silly. The King lived here. He might still be inside. Surely
that was all she was reacting to, but the closer they got to the
wall, the sicker she felt. When her feet stopped moving, Will
managed to get ahead of her and saw the hole in the wall. He turned
back to Kahli, his eyes sparkling in the waning moonlight. She
didn’t move. Will gestured for her to follow, but she shook her
head.

She threw a thought at him, hoping he’d
realize why they shouldn’t go any further.
The King. Don’t go
this way, Will. The King is here.

Will’s brow crinkled, as he looked back at
her. He gazed at the wall one more time and when he looked back, he
held up a single finger and mouthed,
Wait here
. Looking down
at his belt, he removed something and handed it to Kahli. It was a
slender metal flashlight. It was so dark, but turning it on would
be insane. It would be like sending up a beacon, telling every
vampire within the palace grounds exactly where she was. Kahli
looked at the flashlight, and then back up at him.

Will stepped away before she could stop him.
Kahli shook her head and held up a hand, willing him to stop, but
he didn’t. Will disappeared through the hole in the wall. Pulse
pounding, Kahli forced her feet forward, toward the King.
Swallowing hard, she neared the hole. Every hair on her body stood
on end. Her skin was hypersensitive. The flutter of her heart made
her body shake. Fear pulsated through her body. The King was close.
He was here, he did this to the wall. Being near him was suicide.
And yet, Kahli couldn’t stop moving toward the hole in the wall.
Stepping softly, she leaned forward and looked through. Will was
standing over a lump on the ground. It was a dead vampire. Black
inched out from the body like jagged arms of ink.

Looking around nervously, she walked up
behind Will and put her hand on his shoulder. He sensed she was
there before she did it. Although he was looking at the body, she
saw his gaze lift for half a beat when she entered the garden. “The
King did this. He’s here. I feel him.”

Will nodded once, and looked over his
shoulder at her. “I can’t turn back.” It sounded like an apology.
Kahli swallowed hard. Taking his shoulder in her hand, she turned
him around. His eyes were filled with sorrow.

Meeting his gaze, she said, “I know.”

His voice was barely a breath, “My loyalty is
forced. I have no choice.”

“I know, but you can’t go into the palace,
Will.” Kahli didn’t know why she knew, but if Will went in tonight,
he wasn’t coming back out. Both hands were on his shoulders,
holding him tight, “Please.”

He shook his head, a crooked smile laced his
perfect lips. “I don’t get the choice, Kahli.”

“I’m not giving you a choice, Will.”
Desperation shot through her body. Kahli pulled him close, wrapping
her arms around his neck, still clutching the flashlight in her
hand. She slammed her body into his, kissing him like she thought
she’d never see him again. Her heart beat harder when she leaned
into him. His scent filled her head and she breathed him in. Will’s
arms lifted and wrapped around her waist. He kissed Kahli back, his
hands holding her firmly against him. Will’s lips tasted like snow.
They were smooth and cool. She wanted to stay there like that, just
the two of them, but there was no other option. Whatever was going
to play out inside of the palace walls could have to do so without
Will Tatum.

Pulling back from the kiss, Will looked at
her. “Kahli,” he breathed, his eyes liquid blue, smiling at her
like she intended to keep him in the garden with kisses. Guilt made
her hesitate, but she had to. The flashlight came down on the back
of his head, hard. Will’s eyes rolled back into his head when the
metal struck. His shoulders slumped as he fell forward.

Kahli caught him, and lowered Will to the
ground, pulling him toward the pile of dead vampires. “I’m so
sorry, but I can’t lose you.”

She moved the vampire’s bodies and slid Will
into the pile. Arranging arms and legs, she positioned them so that
they covered Will. Their blackened blood smeared across his white
suit like a line of tar. Kahli noticed the ripped out throats, the
King’s signature, and made sure Will’s perfect neck couldn’t be
seen beneath the pile of arms and legs. Will breathed softly, but
no one would notice, at least she hoped they wouldn’t. By the time
Will woke up, this would be over, and things would fall in his
favor, or they wouldn’t. But at the very least, it gave him a
chance to live that he didn’t have tonight if he continued doing
what Reggie wanted.

CHAPTER 30

Cole was leading a group of anemic humans out
into a snow storm during a palace siege. In the back of his mind,
he knew it was crazy, but he didn’t leave anyone behind. They
followed close behind him, scurrying down the hallway like scared
mice. Cassie was on his heels. “Cole, they’re not used to this. You
have to slow down,” Cassie huffed, trying to keep up with him. His
long legs made his stride longer than hers, and he was practically
running.

“Can’t. You know that. If they fall behind,
they get left behind, and from what I heard in the control room,
they don’t want that.”

“What do you mean?” she asked in hushed
tones, as Cole’s eyes darted up and down the corridor, expecting to
see a vampire at any moment. He clutched a metal stake in his fist,
his bicep bulging.

“I got hold of the Captain earlier and she
told me something rather interesting. If the Queen is defeated
tonight, we all get our heads lopped off. Every last one of us is
to be executed. The Queen doesn’t want to leave any loot for the
new monarch.” Cassie’s mouth dropped open in horror. He glanced
past her, watching the others hurry toward them, before asking her,
“You still want me to show them mercy, Cass? They treat us like
animals. Turns out the palace lifespan isn’t as long as we
thought.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. It was Cole’s way of
gloating, of saying he was right.

Cassie felt weak. She didn’t think of the
vampires as oppressors. There were good and bad vampires, at least
she thought there were, but this made her sick. After the forced
Pairings and now this—they didn’t care if their precious humans
lived or died. Everything she thought about them shattered like
cheap glass. Cassie shook her head like she was trying to dislodge
old facts and let the new ones settle in place. When she looked up
at him, her brows were pinched tightly. The voice he heard was
laced with scorn and didn’t sound like Cassie at all, “I’m sick of
this. Kill them.” The words felt like acid dripping from her
tongue. The others heard her say it.

Chaucer was directly behind Cassie. His face
pinched in surprise to hear something like that come from Cassie’s
mouth, but he didn’t comment on it. “Cole, tell us what to do.”

Cole jerked his head, indicating that Chaucer
should walk next to him. As Cassie followed behind, she heard them
talking about how to use the weapons. As they moved through the
palace, Cole used what he found—wooden moldings, a sculpture with
sharp metal tines, chair legs—anything that could be used to maim
or kill. Cole showed Chaucer how to hold it, how to swing to get
the best leverage. “You get one shot. If you blow it, you won’t
live to get another. Even in their diminished state, the vamps are
still stronger than most of us.”

Chaucer nodded, “So, how is it that you’re
stronger than the rest of us and no one noticed?”

Cole glanced at him as they walked swiftly
through the palace. The Southern half of the palace was filled with
rolling hills, iced gardens, and frozen trees. If they were going
to escape, that was the exit they needed to use. Oddly, as they
progressed through the palace, the hallways were empty. The Queen
must have called the remaining guards to her side, because they
didn’t see any. Each step towards the South exit made Cole’s heart
pound harder and harder. This was like Deliverance Day.
Determination shot through him, straightening his spine. This time
Cole would save more than Cassie. Glancing back at her, Cole saw
Cassie brandishing a stake and showing one of the girls how to use
her height to her advantage. A trace of a smile lined his lips.

Chaucer’s question didn’t surprise him.
Although Cole didn’t feel compelled to answer, he told the guy, “It
was intentional. Up until the Purging, no one knew. Kahli kind of
blew my cover. The vamps noticed and started requesting my
blood.”

“Are you wild,” Chaucer asked, dark brows
pinching together, “like Kahli?”

Cole laughed, but it sounded hollow and
bitter. “I’m nothing like Kahli.”

“Could have fooled me. You both seem to think
you’re invincible, but Kahli acts like that because she doesn’t
have to worry about getting a scrape and bleeding to death. Come to
think of it Cole, I’ve never seen you bleed, never noticed feeding
marks on you… How’d you manage that?”

“You talk too much, Chaucer. Knowing less
will keep you alive tonight. Besides,” his dark eyes flashed, as he
looked back at the guy, “paper cuts are the least of your worries
tonight. You’ll get your neck slit if you worry about something so
minor.”

Chaucer grumbled, nodding, and dropped the
questions. Cole wasn’t in the mood for explaining why he was
different. It was a secret he managed to keep from Cassie all these
years and he wasn’t about to spill his guts to Chaucer. Cole held
out his arm as they neared the end of the hall. The group behind
him stopped. Complete silence filled the air. The hairs on Cole’s
neck prickled, standing up one at a time. He shook his head at the
group and signaled for them to stay behind.

His eyes met Cassie’s for a moment and held
her gaze. One day he wouldn’t be around to protect her. One day,
he’d round a corner and his luck would run out. Then there’d be no
one left to watch over Cassie. They nodded at each other. Cole
looked away. He couldn’t think like that, not now. Too much was at
risk.

Gripping his weapon in his fist, Cole’s heart
pounded hard as he rounded the corner.

CHAPTER 31

Sophia called the entire guard to her side.
Her brother was approaching from the front, but that wasn’t what
unnerved her. The Captain of her guard disappeared hours ago. No
one had seen her since. The woman was either dead or a traitor.
Either way, Sophia wasn’t taking chances. All remaining vampires
were armed and called to the throne room where Sophia sat on her
dais in the center of the room. Vampires surrounded her on all
sides, ready to fight.

Certainty washed over the Queen, as she
counted her loyal vampires again and again.
Let them come
,
she thought. Then this entire charade could end. It gave Sophia a
chance to demonstrate her power. No one would doubt her after this.
No one would challenge her for centuries. With the human blood
running through her veins, she was stronger than anyone who would
dare challenge her, the King included.

A Regent vampire stood to her left. It was a
position of power, a place of respect. The vampire was pale and
thin with tousled dark hair and a scattering of scruff along his
jaw. Sophia thought James looked unkempt, but it’s not like she
could instruct him to dress properly, not right then. Many of the
Regents were dragged from their rooms, from their homes, and
ordered to protect the Queen. Those who refused were executed.
Sophia didn’t earn her throne by being patient.

James didn’t look at the Queen. He stared
straight ahead, his hands wrapped around a shotgun. At one time
vampires couldn’t be killed by such silly weapons, but now they
were weak. A knife to the throat or a shot to the head stopped them
swiftly, and to make sure that they didn’t awaken again, Sophia
burned their bodies until only ashes remained.

Sophia’s eyes were locked on James, “Do you
remember the first Deliverance Day?”

James looked over his shoulder at her and
bowed his head slightly before answering, “Yes, my Queen. I was
there, fighting for you.”

Sophia straightened in her throne, a pleased
smile snaked across her ruby lips. “I thought so. That day ended
well. The humans were saved and things finally shifted into our
favor. I intend to keep things that way.” Sophia wanted a mirror,
but her reflection faded more and more each day. She wondered if
she looked regal enough to be sitting there, commanding all the
vampires surrounding her. A pang of irritation shot through her.
While it was safer to wait here, Sophia hated waiting. “This is not
how we won Deliverance Day,” she said smoothly.