Page 17 of Cruel Vampire King

I brought the skull down hard, smashing open the waterlogged bone. Then I picked the pendant out from inside the remnants. It was a pentagram in shape, with a circle inlaid, touching all the edges. A star sat in each of the corners. The inside had the image of an eye in the center of a hand. It was all made from a bronze-colored metal that shone with a golden gleam when turned at certain angles. The pendant hung from a thick iron chain that was just showing signs of rust.

“By moon and blood,” Greyson breathed. His eyes widened as he leaned forward. “You got it? How did you get it?”

“It was in the kelpie’s lair,” I answered.

Ysara whistled. “So we’re the bastards that all the other teams are going to be coming after, then.”

“But we found it. Why…” Thessa trailed off and shook her head. “That’s a stupid question. Nobody wants to be hunted down by the vampires for sport.”

A heavy grimness settled over us. Dark thoughts threatened to creep in, and I shook my head hard, banishing them again. Now wasn’t the time for me to worry about the future.

“Let me see it,” Greyson said, holding out his hand.

I reflexively pulled it closer. He lifted one sculpted brow and smiled at me, as though amused by my actions.

“We still have to get out of here together,” he reminded me. “If any of us double-crosses the others, it’s an automatic death sentence.”

That was true. I shook my head again and handed it over. “We should find a new campsite. One that’s more easily defended than this. The others will see the fire and come after us.”

“I suppose it only took two nights to get to the lake,” Ysara murmured as Greyson studied the pendant. “With the food, we’ve been able to scavenge so far…” She nodded once and started to kick dirt onto the fire. “We don’t need the kelpie meat to stretch out our store. Ya’ll, come help me.”

Thessa and Kael both began to toss dirt onto the fire. I remained sitting where I was, watching them; my near-drowning still left me exhausted. The fire flickered and hissed. The smell of the roasting Kelpie dissipated as Ysara took the flank off the fire and dragged it into the woods. It occurred to me, then, that by doing this, we were marking ourselves as the ones with the artifact. Who else would be in such a hurry to leave as to abandon food?

There was no point in thinking about that now. What was done was done.

“Hold on,” Greyson said suddenly. He twisted something on the pendant and let out a stream of curses.

“What is it?” I pulled myself up and leaned close to him. His skin was warm. The smell of the woods, smoke, and bergamot clung to him. Surprise rippled through me as I pulledin the pleasant scent. Had he brought cologne with him? Odd choice… or was this his natural scent?

Greyson held the pendant in his open hand. He’d opened it up, revealing intricate wiring. A computer chip? I leaned in closer, frowning.

“Why would they put a chip in it?” Thessa asked.

“It’s not just a chip. There’s a strong magic around this thing. And if I…” Greyson wiggled his fingers over the device and murmured a word in Elvish. A holographic image sprang up from the artifact. It was an image of Wickham Forest, but far more vast and more detailed than the first map we’d been given.

My stomach swooped as my eyes traced over the map. The lake wasn’t the heart of the woods at all. “There’s a colosseum in the center of the forest,” I murmured.

Thessa opened her mouth and closed it again.

“Then we’re not leaving the forest at all,” Kael said. His shoulders slumped. “We have to get there. But the first map we were given—”

“I thought it was strange that Wickham Forest was so small,” Thessa whispered. “The Gods would never accept such a tiny portion of the kingdom.”

We all stood in silence, staring at the artifact. Finally, Ysara went back into the forest and dragged back the flank. She set it back on the fire and went about building it up again. I studied the new map. We were still very close to the edge of the forest. It would take us several days to get to the colosseum in the heart of Wickham Forest.

I had to admit, even though part of me was furious for this trick, I was impressed. Everything had been so easy thus far we’d let down our guard. Acted in haste. The devastation on ourfaces as reality sunk in would make good TV. How many viewers did our channels have now? I wondered if anyone was rooting for us. How many bets were placed on our survival?

“I’ll take first watch tonight,” Thessa said, throwing back her shoulders. “I wasn’t hurt in the fight.”

Kaela and Ysara nodded. Greyson turned the map off, closed the pendant, and held it out to me. I took it gladly. Our fingers brushed, and he turned his hand and held onto mine.

“I can use some magic to help you heal,” he offered, his thumb stroking over my knuckle.

Surprise rippled through me. Using magic was meant to weaken the user, something that took time to replenish. Wouldn’t he be better off letting me weaken, putting me in a more vulnerable place if we were attacked? Better they kill me than him, especially since the time when we were going to kill each other was drawing even closer.

His cool gaze softened, and he pulled his hand away. “If you’re not comfortable, I understand.”

Not comfortable? With the attention? The place he moved his thumb over my skin tingled slightly. Nothing in comparison to the feelings that had gone through me when I hallucinated Luken touching me, but… but this was real. And Greyson wasn’t a murderous bastard.

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