Varick
I returned to the castle as was expected between the rounds. Nothing had changed. The men were still gambling in the auditorium, the giant screens were still playing live footage of the games. The only thing that was different, was me.
I'd never gotten emotionally involved in the games before. And perhaps 'emotional' was the wrong word for how I was feeling right now, but I certainly felt something.
I hoped that Selena arrived at the next checkpoint safely. I hoped that she wouldn't act recklessly in today's game. I hoped she wouldn't lose her stake again.
But apparently, Selena was hell-bent on forgoing her only weapon in other ways today. After witnessing her snap it in a bear trap, I was livid.
Anger was something I knew well, but that kind of fury was rare. How could she be so stupid? Vienna was done for the second she'd stepped on it. Or so I'd thought.
V blood. The trick I had taught Selena. And hell, I even kind of admired the way they'd all pulled together and saved the girl.
But this had to stop. I wanted Selena for her blood, nothing more. When all this was over, if she made it through alive, the Helsing's would let me have my fill of her. And that's what all of this 'hoping' was about. It had to be.
Abraham knew I was getting desperately hungry. He saw it in my eyes the second I walked in the door. The Helsings were Hunters at heart, but nearly three hundred years had passed since they and the other Hunters had gotten the Vampire population under control. The modern-day Helsings were a figment of what they'd once been. But the blood was there, the power they held in their veins. It wouldn't take much for a Hunter to return to his roots.
I ran my tongue across my canines. Perhaps one of these spectators would make a move on Mercy and I could subtly rat him out to her father. Maybe then he'd let me have a feed.
I pushed away the idle thought, moving to the seating area where I could watch the game in peace.
Selena was still with the group she'd chosen as allies. For the most part, they were a strong team, but that Vienna girl was trouble. She was dead weight. I'd watched her in the first round, making it to the lighthouse on blind luck alone. The fact she was still alive today was due solely to the actions of the others.
My eyes swivelled to Angelina, the curvy blonde who'd stolen Selena's dress. She and Kite had teamed up, the two of them already closing in on the checkpoint. Another hour or so and I'd return to the island to meet them.
My burning throat was causing me grief. A few more days and I'd be losing my mind, starting to become like the Vs out in the game. I'd been pushed to my limit healing Selena of her wounds, standing so close to her blood, it was intoxicating, like nothing I'd ever smelt before. Sometimes, my own strength surprised me.
I considered the types of punishment I'd be given and whether it was worth the risk. A shot of silver was certainly bearable for the sake of a precious drink. But something like this would serve a more severe punishment. They might contain me for a while in the holding cells. Let me starve for even longer. Face the sunlamps and the daily shots of silver, and when I was as weak as the Vs in the game, they'd chuck me onto the island with the rest of them.
No, it wasn't worth it. For all the blood in the world, I had to bide my time.
Ignus appeared at the foot of the seating area, grinning at me as he approached, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his tan corduroys.
“Hungry, V?” he taunted and I grunted a response. Ignus would be in charge one day, but until then, I didn't offer him the same respect that Abraham squeezed out of me.
“Mother doesn't like you eyeing the spectators like they're fresh meat. It freaks them the hell out.”
My eyes roamed over him. Skinny little runt. How would a kid like that fair against a V? But he was pure Helsing. He probably had skills not even he was aware of. Not that I'd be reminding him of that any time soon.
“Unless you've come over here to slit your own wrists in a blood offering to me, I suggest you keep walking.”
Ignus laughed. I'd always hated his laugh. It was one of those repetitive cackles that gets right under your skin. “Actually, I might have a snack for you...”
My interest peaked and my expression must have betrayed this to him, because he laughed again in his irritating 'a-ha a-ha a-ha' style. “But I need a little favour first, hm?”
I would have sighed if I hadn't been expecting it. The only way I ever got extra scraps around here was by doing favours for the Helsing kids. Ignus and Mercy were master manipulators, but I had to give it to them, they knew how to conduct business behind their parents' backs. And I could always cash in on it, seeing as they entrusted their secrets to me.
“What do you want?” I growled and he took an almost imperceptible step back.
He stole a brief glance over his shoulder. “See the twit over there in the breeches?”
My gaze swung toward the man and I took in his youthful appearance, his muddy blonde hair and thickset boots, army style. He certainly stood out amongst the suited men.
Ignus snapped his fingers before my eyes to grab my attention and rage flashed through me.
“Who is he?” I asked, grinding my teeth.
“Name's Ulvic Hund. I'm doing business with him, but he hasn't delivered his end of the deal.”
I sat back in my chair, disinterested. “What kind of business?” I knew Ignus well enough to know any business he got involved with was dodgy.
“That's between me and Ulvic.” Ignus gave me a slanted grin. “I just need you to give him a little bit of...encouragement, to fulfil his end of the deal.”
“And I'm guessing Mummy and Daddy don't know about this little deal of yours?” I smirked at him and Ignus glowered.
“I'm offering you blood, V. So long as you don't kill the guy, you have my approval.”
“And what if your father finds out I've been biting spectators? Who do you think is going to the cells for it? You or me?”
Ignus sighed, stamping his foot in a childish manner. “You have my protection, Varick. I give you my word. I'll take full blame if you're caught.”
I shrugged, pretending I wasn't that bothered about the blood. But my throat was aching, constricting further and further by the second. “The word of a Helsing isn't much to go on.”
Ignus started to turn red, glaring at me as if I were a badly trained dog refusing to sit on command.
“I'll set it up for you.”
I stood, rolling my shoulders and Ignus shrank before me. “You'll be there. So if your parents show up, you can't weed out of the blame,” I demanded and, after a beat, he nodded.
“Fine.” He strode away, heading toward Ulvic and clapping him on the shoulder.
I checked the screens, finding Selena and her group resting in a copse. I didn't have long before I had to head to the next checkpoint, but if there was even the smallest chance of a drink, I was going to hold out for it. Maybe then I could get Selena off my mind once and for all.
After a few minutes, Ignus led Ulvic from the room, winding through the crowd and passing through the heavy wooden doors toward the western tower.
I followed at a leisurely pace, knowing I could catch them in seconds. I followed Ignus's scent of sweat, garlic and lavender soap toward one of the old smoking rooms where the guests enjoyed cigars and whiskey as if they were living in the 1920s.
Hunter blood was notoriously appealing; after thousands of years of war, it was if Vs had a evolved to find their blood extra appetising, craving their deaths more than any other human. Though apparently not Selena's...
Ulvic was already puffing on a cigar as I silently slipped into the smoking room. His scent was inviting, the warmth of his blood calling to me.
Ignus sat opposite him in a red velvet armchair with cherry wood handles, curving beneath his rested elbows.
“I want your entire stock,” Ingus was saying. “We can't run a proper test with just the one.”
I could only see the back of Ulvic's head as he sat in his chair, sipping from a crystal glass of whiskey. “Can't do it, Ignus. Perhaps in a year or so, when the batch is properly tested.”
“It's clear it works,” Ignus demanded, his eyes sliding to me. “Money isn't an issue.”
“You're not the only Hunter offering me money, Ignus.”
Ignus stood, his eyes narrowing to slits. “No, but perhaps I'm the only one willing to threaten you for it.”
Ulvic choked a laugh into his drink. “Threaten me?”
Ignus gave me a nod and I moved in a flash, dragging Ulvic up by the neck and wrenching backwards so his head hung over the chair. As he cried out, starting to flail in my hold, I didn't waste a second. The animal in me took over and I let it, desperate to sate this craving that was tearing at my insides.
As my fangs pierced the skin of his neck, he screamed. Hot, delicious blood flooded down my throat and I lost all sense of myself. I felt the man's life fading like a dimming bulb, but it was nearly impossible to restrain myself. Ignus roared at me to stop and somehow I managed to recall the memories of the cells, the sun lamps, the way my skin cracked and dried beneath them.
I yanked my canines free, snarling at Ignus whose hand was fisted into my shirt. Ignus backed off, reaching for the metal control in his pocket, holding it out in warning.
I wiped the remaining blood from my mouth as Ulvic slumped down into the chair, unconscious.
“You've killed him!” Ignus roared and I shook my head. The slow thump of Ulvic's heart reached my ears. I tore open my own wrist with my teeth and rested the wound against Ulvic's gaping mouth.
Ignus watched in horror as Ulvic regained consciousness and the bite mark on his neck knitted itself together.
“Go,” Ignus hissed at me and I wasted no time in obeying, having gotten what I needed.
My throat relaxed as I headed out of the castle, on my way to the next checkpoint. My blood rushed with heat and I regained my senses. The shame washed in at what I'd done and I saw myself in my mind's eye as a monster feeding on that man. Everything around me sharpened and the pounding in my head finally melted away.
At least tonight, Selena wouldn't tempt me. I was fed at last and that should make this game a whole lot easier.
I quickened my pace toward the north-eastern coast. The first girls could arrive within an hour, but the end of this round was always bloody. The game was about to weed out the weak from the strong. And I tried to ignore the hope I was still feeling that Selena would make it to the checkpoint alive.