Vampire Apocalypse #2 Cataylst (17 page)

Will ignored Reggie, but yanked Kahli down
when she tried to reach past him again. “I’d like to get there
without a tree in my head, Kahli.”

She huffed and sat down, “He’s taking us to
the front of the palace! They’ll shoot us and ask questions
later.”

“Shows what you know,” Reggie hissed at her,
glancing briefly before narrowing his gaze on the road again.
“Which is nothing, by the way. The Queen has scouts on this road.
She’ll know we’re coming long before we get there. And with the
insane way Sophia was acting yesterday, she’ll wait to kill me
until she sees why I came back. Then I offer up the two of you, and
I’m her favorite sibling again.”

“You’re her only sibling,” Kahli muttered,
folding her arms over her chest and slumping back into the seat.
Her gaze cut to Will. He wasn’t acting like himself, but then
neither was she. Somehow, they had to get out of the truck.

Reggie grunted, but Will cut him off before
he could say anything else, and asked, “What’s the plan after you
get inside? Are you just going to walk straight up to her and stab
her?” His dark brow creased as he looked over at the vampire.

Reggie shrugged, “Sounds good to me.”

“No it doesn’t,” Will sighed loudly and shook
his head. “If she’s expecting an attack, she’ll be ready.”

Reggie lifted a tapered finger from the
steering wheel, and formally announced, “Ah, yes, but I’ve had more
of that creature’s blood. I should be stronger, by far.”

“Should be,” Will said firmly. “I wouldn’t
base my life on a guess.”

“It’s not a guess. Kahli told me how many
times she was called for tastings, and I know my hideous sister
couldn’t manage to swallow more than a drop at a time. I did the
math, William. I know that I’ve had more than her.” Reggie spoke
with the regal authority of an aristocrat.

“So, you’re willing to bet your life on
that?” Will asked.

“It’s not a bet. It’s a fact.”

“Then let me ask you this—did you ever stop
to think why you managed to swallow Kahli’s blood, but the Queen,
the strongest vampire in the world, couldn’t?” Will’s question
jolted Reggie. His foot lifted from the accelerator as a dazed
expression came across his face. The truck began to drift off the
road. The pitch of the shoulders on the road were so slanted from
snow and ice that hitting it would be like hitting a wall.

“Steer!” Kahli screamed and reached for the
steering wheel again, throwing her body across Will’s to grab at
it.

Reggie snapped to life, and jerked the truck
back before it hit. Will wrapped his fingers around Kahli’s waist
and set her back in her seat. She frowned at him. “So, it’s okay if
he crashes us?”

“No. I prefer to get there in one piece. It’s
been a while since I was able to go anywhere without getting
covered in blood.” Will smirked as he said it. Kahli’s eyes slide
over Will’s face. She was having difficulty getting a read on him.
His emotions were jumbled like a ball of yarn. There was no clear
feeling, just a tangled mess.

Reggie added, “There’s a simple, red-headed
reason for that.”

Kahli scowled, and looked at the door as she
pressed her lips tightly together. Her gaze lowered to the door
latch, and lingered there. It was long enough for Will to realize
that she was thinking about jumping. Will took her hand in his
before Kahli reached for it. “Please don’t jump out the door. Then
I’d have to jump out after you and I’m really not up to it right
now.” He smirked, rubbing her hand in his, not hiding his feelings
toward Kahli from Reggie. When questioned later, Reggie would find
out anyway…if there was a later. At the rate Reggie was going, he’d
be lucky if they got the Queen’s palace alive. As it was Reggie was
driving like a madman. The truck was bouncing along the icy road
with the back fishtailing, as they turned onto another blindingly
bright road. The way the sun shone down at this time of day made it
difficult to see. The ice reflected the light back up into their
faces, illuminating everything like they were standing under a
massive search light.

Kahli smiled at Will sheepishly. It was the
most girlish look Will had ever seen on her face. Will wanted to
reach out, press his hand to her cheeks, and kiss her. It was
perfect, until Reggie muttered, “So, you can tame the beast? I knew
you were good for something.”

Before Kahli could say anything, Will turned
to Reggie. Cutting Kahli off, he said, “The Queen might be more
powerful than you think.”

Reggie’s voice changed from certain to
irritated, “Just let me handle my sister. I know things you don’t,
all right?”

“Such as?” Will promoted, not thinking that
Reggie would answer him. The vampire was strange. He never acted
predictably. Reggie probably thought it was too mundane to behave
in a normal fashion.

Reggie tightened his grip on the steering
wheel, making his knuckles crack. Finally, he growled, “All those
fights you saw over the years, well, guess what? They were staged.
STAGED, as in fake. As in not real.” Reggie glanced at Will, but
Will didn’t speak. He knew Reggie was holding back for some reason.
Now he knew why. Reggie rolled his eyes, his gaze narrowing as he
looked out the windshield. “Sophia’s insane, in case you haven’t
noticed. She’s weaker than I am. I let her win.”

“Why?” Kahli asked, her lips pulled back in
disgust.

Reggie arched a dark brow at her, like she
was a moron. “Blood. She gave me extra, sometimes it was even
fresh.” He scoffed at her, “Why else would I do anything?” Will
knew Reggie well, and had no doubt that he was telling the truth,
but he could sense there was more to the story. Reggie continued,
“Sophia has been staging those fights for years. She wanted to make
the other Regent thought she was stronger and more fearsome that
she actually was. It kept her from real fighting, from dealing with
challengers that would try to take her throne.”

While that may have been true, Will knew she
was strong and merciless. He’d been by Sophia’s side since he was
sold to Reggie. The Queen favored his looks and his wit, so Will
had gotten access and heard things that no one else knew. Reggie
had been able to pry most of those secrets from him due to the
runes. Ownership was nearly all of the law, but one rune trumped
them all, and no one knew he had it. Reggie had no idea how deep
Will’s debt was, neither did Sophia. While the King thought about
branding him with another rune, he never did. At least that was one
person Will didn’t owe a damn thing, but at the same time, Will
couldn’t escape his bonds without the King. There was a reason for
all those years of favors, all those things he’d done that he
shouldn’t have. Loyalty, runes, and blood compelled him. Will’s
hand tightened around Kahli’s.

When neither of them spoke, Reggie blurted
out the obvious, “You know you can’t save her, William, so why have
you allowed yourself to grow attached to this one?”

The way he said,
this one,
made Kahli
glance at Will. The expression on her face made her thoughts
transparent—there were others?

Damn you, Reggie
, Will thought. “I can
do what I like, as long as I’m loyal to you, so what do you care if
I favor her?”

Kahli’s green eyes sparkled like gems. They
darted between the two as they spoke, but she said nothing. Will
could feel a pulling sensation in her gut like he was hurting her,
stretching her too far, too fast. There was no time to deal with
that now. There was no way to explain what he was and what he’d
done. The part that Will wanted to reveal the most was the one
thing he could never say. It was the thing that would destroy any
chance they had of being together. His thumb brushed the rune on
the back of her wrist as he thought about it. Kahli was promised to
someone else. Reggie was right, even if the vamp didn’t know
why.

“Just don’t do anything stupid, and stop
drooling on her,” Reggie responded not looking at them.

“I’m right here. You can act like it.” Kahli
said and leaned back in her seat, folding her arms across her
chest.

Will laughed.

Reggie responded, “Yes, I don’t see how we
could forget. You are the one that caused all these problems. It
seems fitting that you’re the one to end them.” Before Kahli could
say a word, Reggie broke formality and blurted out, “Oh, shut up
and listen. This is what we are doing once Sophia’s guards find
us.” Reggie began to speak, filling in bits of information that
Will suspected and other things that he already knew. Kahli
remained leaning against the door, looking bored, but her sharp
gaze didn’t fool him. She was listening, trying to figure out every
scenario, looking for a way to win—to escape. No matter what Kahli
said or promised, she was wild and no wild creature willingly
surrendered their freedom.

CHAPTER 27

Cassie’s heart pounded in her chest, as she
walked to her Pairing. Two guards accompanied her, one trailing
behind to make sure she didn’t try to run away. Cassie was somber,
watching her bare feet fall one in front of the other, as she
followed the guard in front down the long hall. Each of the girls
was taken out one at a time. Alice was escorted away first. She was
beautiful, but the sullen expression in her eyes made Cassie’s
heart break. There was no way to stop the Pairing.

As they walked down the long hall, two maids
entered and started to pull the long drapes closed to keep out the
night chill. Cassie watched them do it as the last rays of light
spilled through the floor to ceiling glass. This was the last time
the sunlight would touch her face. After tonight, she’d be a
different person. There was no way she could go through with this
and remained unchanged. Lowering her gaze to the carpet, Cassie
knew Cole was neck-deep in his escape plan by now. She hoped that
sacrificing herself gave him the chance he needed to get away
undetected. No one was watching for him this evening. He wasn’t
Paired with anyone.

As they neared the room where Brent was
waiting, Cassie’s stomach turned to lead. She shivered, even though
the palace was warm. Her steps became smaller, resulting in slower
movements. The guard at her back pressed a hand to her shoulder and
shoved. “Hurry up.”

Cassie stumbled forward. She hurried, not
wanting the vamp to touch her again. His hand felt like a rotten
apple. The outside was still smooth, but the muscle beneath was
soft. Her stomach twisted, threating to heave. Cassie steeled
herself and kept walking. She ignored the tension in her throat
that was choking her, ignored the rising bile, ignored her
trembling hands, and held her head high. She chose this path. It
was her life and this was what she decided to do. It was best for
her and Cole.

“No regrets,” she whispered to herself when
they stopped in front of a large wooden door. The dark wood was
carved with cherubs and swags of flowers that existed when the
world was warm. Blinking, she stared at it for a moment. Before the
guard had a chance to open the door, Cassie reached for the handle
and twisted. “No regrets,” she said more firmly and walked
inside.

Her chest felt so tight that Cassie could
hardly breathe. Stepping further into the room, she looked around.
The ceiling was made of black glass. It was smoked, tinting the
panes gray, so that it didn’t draw attention to the row of windows
that lined the ceiling of the room. Cassie swallowed hard. A poster
bed with a slatted headboard was in the center of the room, the
windows directly above. There were a few vampires looking down at
her. She could make out their shapes through the glass. Cassie
ignored them and walked toward the bed. She didn’t see Brent. For
some reason, he wasn’t here yet. That was odd. Cassie always
thought that they brought the girl in second. There were things
that the vampires told the males they had to do to make sure they
did their job right. That included the location of rope, amongst
other things to make their encounter more successful.

Cassie stopped when she reached the bed.
Turning slowly, she looked around the room. The walls were
perfectly bare, nothing but black paint. A lamp flickered on a
nightstand next to the bed. When examined more closely, she could
see that the flame was contained within a safety housing. It was a
safe-lamp, made from glass that wouldn’t shatter and oil that
wouldn’t burn if the lamp was damaged. Cassie bent over to watch
the flame dance, wondering how they lit the thing in the first
place.

At that moment, the door behind her creaked
open, and Brent said, “Stay just like that and things will go well
for you.” His voice dripped down her spine like ice. Cassie
straightened and turned quickly, her hands flying up to cover
things that she didn’t want to reveal. Brent laughed, “The vamps
took a little extra time with me. They think you and I are a good
pairing, Cassie. And I told them I’d do whatever it takes to make
this happen. So what’s it going to be? The easy way?” He grinned
wolfishly and Cassie’s pulse shot into heart attack territory. A
piece of rope appeared in his hands. He snapped it, and it made a
loud cracking noise as he moved toward her. “Honestly, I prefer the
rope.”

Cassie’s spine straightened. Her heart
pounded relentlessly against her ribs, telling her to run, but she
didn’t. Cassie forced her arms to her sides and held Brent’s gaze.
She moved toward him slowly, gracefully. The only thing she didn’t
plan for was her voice, but when she spoke she didn’t recognize it,
“Honestly, I’ll let you do whatever you want as long as this
Pairing is successful. The girls told me that there are certain
things you need to do to make sure it is.”

Brent stopped in his tracks, his jaw fell
open. Cassie grinned in response. “You’re going to let me?” he
asked, baffled.

Cassie folded her arms over her chest,
forcing her cleavage higher, before throwing her hip out. Brianna
had done it so many times. It made her figure look curvy. “Why
wouldn’t I?”