Varick
I had a plan. A stupid plan. Probably suicidal. But when were my plans ever not suicidal?
I made my way across the island at an easy pace, rushing through the dark trees and across the plain of grass that ringed the amphitheater; just a hulking shadow beneath the moon. The place stank of blood and death, making me salivate and simultaneously feel sick.
Yes, I was Selena's snake; my outward appearance smooth and quiet, but one bite and death was simple, inescapable. And instead of keeping away, I was marching toward her.
I wasn't entirely myself; an urge was driving me, overwhelming the thirst. And that was a rare experience which I knew I couldn't resist.
I met with a huge fence of silver, slicing a corner of the island off from the rest of the land, making it into a 'safe zone'. If you counted being locked in a hotel with the Helsings as such.
I paced up and down it, looking for weak links, but its craft was infallible. I checked every mile of it, gazed up at its twenty foot height and knew I couldn't jump it. I tried digging next, burrowing out a hole and checking how deep it went. Too deep, that's how far.
They'd built a giant chicken coop, keeping out me: the fox. But I was more cunning than a fox. And more determined too. Tonight, I was getting in. I just prayed I didn't lose myself to the crazed frenzy foxes were known for, killing everything in their path.
Couldn't go under it. Couldn't go over it. Couldn't go through it.
That left one option. One which had doom written all over it. But I was fairly sure the Helsings weren't watching me now, in the dead of night. They'd never had reason to fear the Vs getting into their nest, because they had kill triggers to stop us.
So with the inevitability of my demise in mind, I headed to the coast closest to the hotel. I jogged alongside the fence, never slowing, always moving until the crash of waves reached my ears.
When I met with the cliff, I didn't hesitate, I jumped.
Plummeting a hundred feet felt like nothing to me. No swoop of my gut, no adrenaline. I hit the water hard, hard enough that it might have broken bones on a human, but I was impervious to it, kicking out and swimming away from the cliff into calmer waters.
Vampire or not, I'd always been a good swimmer. It came with the pirate territory. Being raised on the sea had its advantages, so now I was even swifter than your every-day V.
The hotel sat back from the cliff, beneath it was a private beach for the spectators. I gave it a wide-birth, spying some party-goers on the beach, drinking and singing around a fire, burning driftwood on the sand.
My tongue scorched with the desire to destroy them. How easy it would have been to wash up onto that beach and rip out their singing tongues, give them a taste of the blood they craved from the games.
Bad idea. This was a stealth operation. In and out. But it did give me ideas. If I could swim here, so could the other Vs. And that image was accompanied with a silky feeling sliding through my gut. The Helsings had gaps in their security. A fact that I duly noted.
Continuing around the shore, hidden by the clouds as they swept over the waning moon, I aimed for a sheer cliff that no one in their right mind would step too close to on a windy evening like this.
I dragged myself out of the water onto the rocks at the foot of the monstrous climb I was about to undertake. Digging my fingers into the stone wall, I made my own footholds and started upwards, my biceps flexing and stretching as I pulled myself up. The best climbers amongst humans would have had trouble with the route I was taking. But to me, it was easy. Even if I fell, death wouldn't have awaited me below.
Each foot I scaled filled me with a burning desire. A fire growing hotter by the second in my chest. Because every inch I climbed brought me closer to Selena.
As I hauled myself over the clifftop, crouching low to be sure I wasn't seen, I drank in the milky moon and the shimmer of its beams on the rolling sea.
Before me was a resort made for kings. Typical Helsings, showing off their wealth.
Splayed out in front of the vast hotel was an area where hot tubs sat in private stalls, bubbling and steaming, little fairy lights strung up above them. All were empty now as I wound my way through their shadows.
As I met with the outer wall of the hotel, I huddled against it, taking out the tablet that connected me to Selena. Due to the nature of the game, the thing was pretty much bomb proof, so a dunk in the sea had done no damage.
I was probably about to scare the hell out of her, so I figured a warning text wouldn't do any harm. I found three messages from her and guilt twisted my gut.
I tapped out a message, muttering curses as I had to continually erase the mistakes my large thumbs kept making. Finally, I pressed send and the message whizzed away.
Keep your window open.
-V
A reply flashed up immediately as I slunk around the walls, clinging to the shadows.
Why? What's going on?
I forced the tablet into my soaking jeans as I heard men approaching. Ducking low behind a potted tree, two men stumbled out of a side door, laughing, lighting up cigarettes as they clung on to each other for support in their drunken state.
I tongued my canines, desperate to end them. But instead, waited for them to disappear in the direction of the beach, chortling and joking together.
Moving around the building, I came across a section of hotel rooms, reaching high up into the night, their windows barred. Silver? I hoped not. The precaution was probably in place to stop girls trying to escape, not stop Vs from getting in, considering the spectators' rooms weren't protected. No, they were putting blind faith in their other defenses. A mistake that I hoped to take advantage of more than once.
One of the windows slid open, high up above me on the fourth floor. And I smelt her, her tempting scent rushing over me like dynamite exploding on my tongue.
I cracked my neck, assessing the climb. The wall was smooth and white, but I could use the windows to assist me if the bars were safe to touch. Walking toward the first, I silently reached upwards, brushing my fingertips over the bars.
A grin settled over my face as I found they were cool, hard iron. Easy.
Pulling myself up, I ascended by shimmying up the bars, then launching myself toward the window above. Within a few seconds, I'd reached Selena's room, clinging to a bar with one hand.
She gasped as we came face to face, clapping her hands to her mouth. I tried not to pay attention to the fact she was wearing next to nothing and instead on forcing a gap open in the bars.
“Evening, sweetheart.” I tried out an easy smile, but Christ was my heart racing. And not from the swim, or the epic cliff climb, or even the thought of being caught.
Because of her. Within reach. Two, painfully close feet away.
The iron bars wrenched apart as easily as if they were made from rubber and I awkwardly slipped between them, squeezing my large form through the space, not wanting to damage them beyond repair.
I landed with a thud in front of Selena and she took a measured step away from me.
Doubt stabbed at my chest. Perhaps I should have taken into account her feelings on this late night visit.
But before I could apologise or retreat to the window, she flung herself at me. I suddenly noticed how frozen I was. Her warmth was like a forest fire, chewing at the lifeless bark of my skin. I clutched her to me, resting my head on hers and she soon started shivering.
I pulled away, my clothes having soaked her to the bone. Her night gown was turning see-through and she gasped in alarm, grabbing a robe that was slung across the end of her bed and hurriedly pulling it on.
I'd already diverted my eyes to the ceiling, unsure what else to do with myself. And very surprised that I was definitely affected by the few clothes she was wearing.
“Sorry,” I growled, angling myself away from her. Her tiny hand slipped into mine, drawing me back to face her. She was smiling, her eyes wrinkled from exhaustion, but her expression shining with happiness. Not the way I was usually greeted with sneers, screams, or people damning me to hell for all eternity. Probably why I liked her so much was that she actually liked me back.
I was feeling about seventy percent human tonight, thanks to her blood. Much more than usual and it definitely helped that I didn't need her blood right then. Otherwise I would have been foolish to come. It would have been too much of a risk.
“You're frozen,” she breathed.
I nodded once, stiff. This wasn't quite how I'd imagined this reunion unfolding. But then again, I wasn't sure what I'd been hoping for. I'd been driven by some unknown urge, like a dog desperate to get back to its master after getting lost on a walk in the hills.
“I don't feel it,” I said, sliding my hand up to her wrist so her pulse drummed beneath my fingertips. “But I feel you.”
She shivered and I extracted my hand. I was making her cold and that wouldn't do.
I noticed her tablet peaking out from beneath her pillow and was warmed by the thought of her safely curled up here, talking solely to me.
“Shower,” she insisted, pointing to the bathroom.
I followed her orders, heading away, wanting to warm up enough for her sake. She left me to it and I truly felt the heat of the water sliding over my skin, relishing every second of it in my more human state. When I was done, my body was heated through, enough for her to touch me without retreating.
My clothes were sodden so I laid them to dry over the radiator which was pumping out heat into the space, wrapping a fluffy white towel around my waist.
I returned to the room where Selena sprang up from the bed. She seemed on edge and I feared that I was scaring her. Her eyes scoured my chest and it took an age for me to realise why she was looking at me like that. Her pale cheeks were rose pink and I started to regret coming here even more. I was making her uncomfortable. This wasn't exactly a gentlemanly thing to do, showing up here unannounced in the middle of the night and stripping off. Then again, the circumstances weren't exactly normal.
“My clothes are drying.”
She cleared her throat – more than once – before answering. “Right. Course. Makes sense. You er- swam here?” Her voice was high and I couldn't fight the smile that was pulling at my lips.
I nodded and she nodded in response, her eyes dropping to my chest again.
Desire was a dormant volcano in my chest, but still I felt it there, brewing under the surface, rumbling with promise.
Selena dropped down onto the bed as I moved to a grand armchair across the room, scowling at the busts of the Helsings' heads sitting in each corner.
Selena cursed, gazing at them anxiously. “I thought there might be cameras in here.”
I strained my ears but the buzz of technology didn't ring in them. “There isn't,” I confirmed and she seemed to take me at my word, relaxing.
Before I sat down, she patted the bed. “You came all this way. Please, sit with me.”
My throat tightened as I moved closer, her intoxicating scent calling to me. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and I sat at her side, my hand resting inches from hers.
My stomach knotted as her fingers wound into mine and she sighed. “You're warmer.”
“Good,” I growled, squeezing her hand.
“I'm glad you came,” she breathed, her cheeks colouring again. I wasn't sure I'd ever seen her like this.
Her fingers crept up my arm to the three scars that remained there from my human life.
“These...where are they from?” she asked, her light touch leaving rivers of heat in their wake.
“My mother was killed when I was a baby. She was holding me in her arms, protecting me below deck while my father's ship was under attack. A cannon ball took out the hull and the shrapnel killed her, sliced my arm open too.”
She hissed between her teeth, her brows knitting together. “I'm sorry.” She tugged me closer, the action so feeble in comparison to my strength, but held all the power in the world over me. I leant in, knowing what she wanted but scarcely sure I should give it to her.
My lips brushed her forehead instead and I murmured against her skin which tasted as sweet as honey, “This is inappropriate, Selena. And I don't want to overstep any lines with you.”
I pulled back and her fingers dug into my arm, her lips parted as quickened breaths rolled past them. “Stay.”
She was asking more of me than she knew and Christ if it was undoing me.
“You made a promise,” she said with a timid smile. “Aren't you going to keep it?”
My heart woke up for a few beats as our conversation from earlier drifted into my mind.
What made immortality worth it?
But as I sat there, weighing down the bed, feeling as though I was acting entirely above my station around her, I didn't have the guts to answer.
“Keep your promise,” she whispered and I felt her breath drift across my skin as she moved into my arms. I froze as her fingers ran tentatively up my spine.
“Selena,” I warned, but her mouth met mine and I drowned in her. For a moment we were two teenagers, devouring each other, lost as the space closed between us until there was nothing but skin keeping our hearts apart.
“Tell me,” she insisted.
I couldn't get the words out. You, dammit, you make it worth it.
Her silken neck called to me, the colour of snow, her pulse pounding like raindrops in my ears. But I didn't need it. Her blood was tempting, but it was nothing compared to her beauty in that moment.
Her lips traced my jaw line and my heart rate shot upwards. Emotions hit me like an earthquake in my chest. Things I hadn't felt since I'd been human, brightening the shadowy spaces where the monster lived inside me.
I gripped her fingers, pulling them to my mouth and trailing my lips over them.
“If you knew what I'd done in this half-life...if you'd seen me at my worst, Selena...” I didn't know why I was talking her out of being with me, when it was all I wanted in the world.
Her hands wriggled their way from my grip, sliding down over my heart. “Do you wish you'd never been turned?” she asked, barely a whisper, but I caught it all the same.
I hung my head, resting my hands over hers, unable to answer as I crushed my lips together.
She held me tighter and I turned into her, unable to resist a second longer.
Tentatively, she leant in, kissing my chest, right where all the pain was unfurling beneath my ribcage. Her lips were like the brush of a feather.
“Do you wish you'd lived out your life? Fulfilled your dreams? Had a family?” There was an ache in her expression that resonated in me.
“Yes,” I replied, then cupped her cheek. “And no.” I didn't let myself kiss her again, although I longed to, knowing being close to her gave me a freedom like nothing I'd ever experienced. Instead I settled on plastering my lips to her knuckles for a brief moment.
“Why did you come?” she changed tact.
A smile hooked up the corner of my mouth.
“Wait here.” I stood, walking to the bathroom, needing to offer Selena more decorum on my part. Steam hung in the air and my clothes were practically dry already. I tugged them on, finding them better off for having been dunked in sea water. The stains of blood and mud had faded, but there was nothing I could do about the holes ripped in the shirt.
When I returned to the room, Selena was standing at the window, her robe gathered around her.
“I'm going to talk to the other Vampires,” I revealed. “I'm going to try and get some allies amongst them.” I hadn't wanted to send my plan in a message, just in case they were being monitored. If the Helsings knew we were planning to escape, they'd kill us before we even got the chance.
Selena turned to me, and her large, doe-eyes widened. “Do you think that will work?”
I shrugged, honestly not having the answer. “It could go either way,” I admitted. “But they're prisoners too. At least some of the better fed Vs will remember that.”
“They need blood,” she said thoughtfully and I read in her expression what she was suggesting.
“No, Selena,” I warned. “You're not getting involved with them.”
She glanced toward the door. “Some of the girls might help. What if we could convince them to give the Vs blood? As a peace offering.”
I shook my head, unable to believe what she was saying. “It's too dangerous.”
“Who says we have to get near them?” She had a wild look in her eye as she moved to a mini fridge, grabbed out a couple of miniature bottles of champagne and held them up to me.
“No,” I growled through my teeth. “Not happening.”
“We just pour out the champagne and give you the bottles of blood-”
I cut her off, “I said no.”
I snatched the bottles from her hands, my chest rising and falling in my anger. She gazed at me, trying to read my expression. But I couldn't tell her why I felt so angry. Because it was irrational. For all intents and purposes, it was a good idea. I simply couldn't stomach the thought of another V drinking her blood.
“Varick,” she said softly, moving tentatively closer. “We should do this.”
Her expression was inescapable and totally disarming. Christ, when was the last time a girl looked at me like that?
A lump rose in my throat and I cleared it before answering. “If the girls agree, I'll take the bottles.”
She beamed and heat filled my chest.
“But not yours,” I added in a snarl. Harsh, maybe. But I didn't care, walking away before she could try and change my mind.
“I really think-”
“It's that or nothing,” I cut across her.
I kept my back to her, moving to the window and the door clicked shut, sounding her departure. I wasn't exactly proud of what I'd done. It was entirely selfish. But I couldn't fight the need to keep Selena to myself.
I strained to hear her talking with one of the other girls, but the walls were well insulated. Probably a good thing, seeing as I hadn't been particularly cautious about keeping my voice down in the last five minutes.
The door soon opened and I turned to find Selena with three girls walking in behind her. Selena introduced them as Twyla, Thames and Veta.
All of them but Thames seemed to be disturbed by my presence.
“I won't hurt you,” I said, aware that it probably wouldn't make any difference to how they felt about me.
“Selena trusts you so...” Twyla gave me a hesitant smile.
I wasn't equipped for niceties so my face remained expressionless.
Selena walked to my side, turning and linking her fingers with mine. The girls stared at us like Selena had just taken the hand of Ignus Helsing and declared she was marrying him.
“Perhaps we should have eased into this meeting,” I muttered to Selena, but her fingers only squeezed mine in answer.
“Varick's a friend. He won't hurt you. The Helsings have used him to run the games for years and now they've forced him to play himself after he helped me escape the Helsings' castle.”
Thames stepped closer, tilting her head to the side as she approached. “So what's the plan?”
“Well...as you can see, some Vs are human when they've been fed well.”
“Human is a bit strong,” I cut in but Selena shot me a look.
“If we feed the other Vs, then they might revolt against the Helsings. They could help us escape,” she explained.
Silence rung out for several seconds and I almost lost hope.
“This Vampire seem good. I give blood,” Veta said, shrugging and rolling up the sleeve of her dressing gown.
“Just like that?” Twyla hissed at her.
“Yes. I want off island, do you not?” Veta stepped forward, offering herself up as the first sacrifice.
“Great.” Selena moved from my side, grabbing the champagne bottles and heading into the bathroom. Not one of the girls smelt remotely like Selena and seeing as I'd recently fed from her, I was confident I could handle the scent of their blood, even if it was spilled in front of me.
Veta headed into the bathroom and the other girls followed. Selena had plugged up the sink and was instructing Veta to hold her wrist over it.
“This seems a little uncouth,” I said, moving to Veta's side. The other two girls parted like the red sea to let me through.
I took hold of Veta's wrist as gently as I could. “Do you mind?” I asked and she shook her head, her black and electric green locks dancing around her face.
As softly as I could, I pricked her wrist with my canines, dropping her hand over the sink, proud of myself for not having tasted even one drop.
Selena shot me a smile, evidently picking up on the fact too.
When Veta had given a little blood, I opened my wrist and let her drink. Selena didn't seem as keen on that part of the ritual. But after several minutes, each of the girls had given enough blood to fill three of the small champagne bottles. Which would certainly be enough to bring back a bit of sense into a decent amount of Vs.
Selena passed me the bottles and I tucked them into my waistband as we returned to the bedroom.
“So say you get some Vs to cooperate. What then?” Thames asked, cocking a brow.
Selena chewed her lip before answering. “Well...we need to get the Vs together in one place, close to the spectators...”
I thought about it for a moment and Selena frowned, looking between her friends.
“The Redeeming,” Thames gasped, clapping her hands excitedly.
“Are you crazy?” Twyla demanded, shaking her head. My thoughts were on a similar wavelength. But Thames had come up with a fairly decent suggestion. If I could stomach the fact that Selena's life would be at risk, that was.
Selena turned to me, her eyes bright with hope. It knocked all the fight out of me. I could see she was never going to back down now. And if I made her, then no doubt the Helsings would make sure she was killed anyway.
“Tomorrow, I'll make sure my rating drops below a two,” Selena said and my heart thumped with anxiety. “Then, if I make it to the evening...I can make a stand with the Vs.”
“And how are you gonna do that?” Twyla asked, placing a hand on her hip. “Even if you get to the Redeemin' and the Vs cooperate, their ain't no way out of that pit.”
A knot in my chest unravelled as I looked at her. If she was going into the Redeeming, I'd be following. And even if it marked the end for us, I knew that was the better option than going out without a fight.
“We'll work it out,” I growled, looking to Selena.
She nodded, fixing me in her gaze. “We'll find a way.”
Twyla looked hesitant, shaking her head. “It's such a risk.”
“Being in the game is a risk,” Selena snapped. “Don't you want to get out? Don't you want revenge?”
Twyla nodded slowly. “Course I do.” She tongued her lip ring for a moment. “Well the more girls you have at your side, the better, right? So I'll do somethin' drastic to drop my ratin' and get into the Redeemin', too.”
“No,” Selena said, her face paling.
“And me,” Thames agreed.
“No,” Selena said through her teeth.
“I am with you till end.” Veta stuck up her chin.
The girls stared her down and I had to admire their bravery. A silent truth was left unsaid, that this was probably a suicide mission. But if I was going out of this world, I was damn well going to do it at the side of the girl who'd given back more life to me than I ever knew was possible.
I moved to the window, intending on getting this plan into action as soon as I could. I needed to find a way to break out of that pit. And I wouldn't rest until I had.
Selena followed me, her eyes begging me to stay, but her pride not letting her ask. And I was glad, because I knew I would have succumbed to those words.
“See you tomorrow,” her tone was full of hope and I longed so much for this to work. For her sake more than mine.
I didn't dare move, drawn to her like invisible fibres were woven between us.
“Good night,” I breathed, not giving myself a moment longer to hesitate and slipping out the window. I bent the bars back into place and dropped to the ground.
There were still a hundred things that could go wrong. And the fact that there were still capsules in all of our heads, ready to take out each and every one of us. But we'd figure it out. We had to.