Bite of Vengeance (Shadows of War #3)

13. Kali

Chapter 13

Kali

M y back was killing me. I shifted against the bars of the cage, uncrossing my legs and stretching them out. My eyes drifted to the newest blood stain on the cement from when Amaros ripped the vampire’s heart out. That had happened nearly four days ago, and if I wasn’t at the Pen, then I was locked in this damn cage.

Which was fine with me, since Amaros had come to the Pen with me every night. I couldn’t do anything when he was glued to my side. I’d only seen Viggo a couple times when he took me to the bathroom to shower or brought food, and he never said a word to me. I was sure it was because there were ears on us, but I was going crazy not knowing where Zan was.

I let out a groan, closing my eyes. Something was wrong with me. Not that I’d admit that to anyone in this house. The last two days I’d been stuck in a daze. My head was hazy, and pain had been sweeping over my entire body. Cracking my eyes open, I stared at the untouched packaged food that Viggo had brought me hours ago. I had no appetite. I was sure this had something to do with my transition, but there was no one here I trusted enough to talk to.

My heart panged when I thought of Zan again. If he were here, I’d ask him. His words to his father echoed in my head. He chose me . Over his father. Over everything.

My ears pricked when I heard footsteps on the stairs. My hearing was improving daily, and I was aware that Amaros had vampires posted at the top of the steps around the clock. But none stayed in the room with me. Probably because he didn’t want me to entrance them. The fact that I had the ability to control vampires’ minds still had me reeling. It had come so naturally that I hadn’t even known I was doing it at first.

Viggo appeared at the bottom of the stairs, and I stayed sitting. Partly because I had no interest in going anywhere, and also because I wasn’t sure I had the energy to stand.

His eyes darted to the full plate of food. “Why aren’t you eating?”

“I’m not hungry.”

My voice sounded weak even to my ears, and Viggo frowned as he crept closer to the cage. I warily eyed him, wondering where his father was. I used to think I could possibly trust Viggo, but not after what he said when he was under Amaros’s entrancement.

Viggo sighed, unlocking the cage door. “Get up, Kali.”

“Why?”

“You don’t want to go to the Pen?”

“Usually your father comes to get me. Where is he?”

“He had to go somewhere.”

That got my attention, and I sat straighter. “He’s not on the property?”

“No. There are some things he wants done his way.”

Viggo strode into the cage, his intense stare making me scowl. “What?”

“You don’t look good,” he muttered. “You need to eat.”

“I’m fine.” As if to prove it, I slowly stood up, swallowing the pain of my throbbing head. Once I was on my feet, I leaned against the bars, crossing my arms. “See?”

“Right.” He met my eyes for a split second before looking away and motioning for me to leave the cage.

Forcing one foot in front of the other, I only made it a few steps before grabbing onto the bars for support. I sucked in shallow breaths before asking the question that had been plaguing me. “Have you heard from Zan?”

“No. But I hope you eat before I talk to him because he’s gonna blame me if he finds out how bad off you are.”

“I’m not hungry,” I mumbled.

“Or you are…” he trailed off.

“What does that mean?”

“Maybe it’s not food you need. You’re a Shadow , Kali.”

“I know that,” I snapped.

He arched an eyebrow. “You’re not human anymore. We don’t need food to survive. We drink blood. You’re showing symptoms of needing to feed. After your little show with entrancement, I figured it wouldn’t be long.”

His words had my heart plummeting. It was something I’d already thought of, but didn’t want to admit. As much as I loved the power of being a Shadow, drinking blood would be proof that I wasn’t my old self anymore. I was like Zan. Like his brothers. Like Amaros. I was becoming the creature I used to despise.

I attempted to walk again, only to grab the bars to steady myself after just a step. Dizziness swarmed me, and in my heart, I knew Viggo was right. I needed blood. My gaze swung to him as he entered the cage, concern etched on his face.

“I don’t want to feed,” I whispered hoarsely. “What if it changes me?”

“It will,” he answered with a shrug as he averted his eyes from me again. “But not in a bad way. All that power and strength that you can’t control? Feeding will only make you stronger.”

I studied him curiously. “Why won’t you look at me?”

He let out an uneasy laugh. “What are you talking about? Come on, let’s get the hell out of this room.”

“Viggo, look at me,” I demanded.

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Because you can entrance vampires,” he said slowly. “And I have no idea if you can control my mind. I’d rather not find out.”

A small laugh escaped me. “You’re scared of me.”

Just like I expected, his eyes cut to mine as he glowered at me. “I’m not scared of you.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m not exactly sure how I did it,” I admitted quietly. “And right now, I don’t think I have the strength to do anything.” I hadn’t even been able to walk out of the cage in all this time because I was so weak.

My words caused the tension he was holding to deflate. “Good. I don’t want you to try.”

For the first time in days, amusement filled me. “I won’t make any promises.”

He didn’t share my humor. “I know you won’t. I’m one of your only friends in this place. Don’t ruin it.”

I scoffed. “Friend? I heard what you told your father when he entranced you. Your loyalty is to him . You’re not a friend, Viggo. You’re an enemy, just like Amaros.”

He shot forward, and was in front of me before the words left my mouth. Shock coursed through me when he crowded me against the bars of the cage.

“If I didn’t say that, then I wouldn’t be here right now,” he hissed under his breath. “You’d be surrounded by my father’s most trusted. I stayed here to watch over you—for Zan.”

“You can’t lie under entrancement,” I ground out. “You won’t choose to help me, not if it goes against Amaros.”

“I was able to say that because it was the truth,” he murmured in a low voice. “My loyalty remains with him because I know that if it wasn’t, then my brother’s life would be in danger. Because I believe that going against my father would result in Zan getting killed. I will always do what I need for my brothers.”

He paused, his eyes flitting toward the steps as if making sure there was no one close enough to listen. My pulse spiked when he met my gaze again.

“I still believe that my father will succeed in taking over,” he whispered bitterly. “I don’t think PARA or the Clovers stand a chance. Until that changes, then yes, it’s the truth that my loyalty is to him. Because it keeps Zan alive. Keeps Pax safe. I’ve known that my father can entrance me my entire life. Do you really think I haven’t thought about what to say if he forced answers out of me?”

I opened my mouth, only to close it again. His answer was not what I was expecting. Did that mean I could trust him? I wasn’t sure.

“Let’s go.” He backed up, wrapping his hand around my upper arm. “Amaros wants you in the Pen tonight.”

I didn’t push him away as he led me out of the cage only because I wasn’t sure I could even walk on my own. My energy was depleting more with every step I took. We slowly ascended the stairs, and I ignored the vampires roaming around the main floor.

“Jasper,” Viggo called loudly as we passed the rotunda.

The young-looking vampire appeared seconds later. “Yes?”

“I’m hungry. Bring me a meal. I’ll be in the Pen.”

I forced myself to remain silent. A meal meant blood to Viggo. Was he going to make me feed? I wasn’t sure I was ready.

“Yes, sir,” Jasper gritted out, giving Viggo a small respectful nod. I had a feeling he didn’t like receiving orders from Amaros’s sons.

Viggo kept his hold on me as we left the house and walked down the narrow trail. The moon was hidden behind clouds tonight, but my sight had improved so much that I could see nearly as well as if it were bright out.

“Just because Amaros isn’t here doesn’t mean you can try anything,” he informed me. “He’ll be back in a couple days. Don’t do anything tonight that will piss him off. You’ll only make it worse for yourself.”

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for the warning.”

While I had no plan to help Amaros with what he wanted, I still wasn’t sure how I was going to get off this property. How I could protect all the Shadows that were locked in the Pen. Or how to keep Warner from being killed if I went against Amaros. Right now, I would keep doing what I had since my birthday. Train the Shadows how to fight, and hope we’d be strong enough to win a fight against the vampires.

Once we arrived at the Pen, four vampires stepped to the side so Viggo could unlock the exterior door. When we were inside, he released me to slide the deadbolt and open the second door. The instant I entered, the Shadows stopped what they were doing. The blonde Shadow smiled as she pushed through the crowd. Her name was Rya, and I’d gotten to know her best.

She’d been on this property her entire life. Her father was a Shadow, and her mother had been a human who worked in the house. She’d died in childbirth, leaving Rya with no memories of her. Many of the other Shadows had similar stories. A couple of them were actually from human cities and were rescued before PARA could kill them. Though, I wasn’t sure this existence was any better, but I was hoping to change that soon.

Rya’s smile faded when she looked at Viggo. “What is he doing here?”

“Show some respect,” Viggo growled, his voice menacing.

“It’s fine,” I assured her. “He’s better than his father.”

She didn’t argue, but her frown made it clear she didn’t like Viggo. With good reason. They all despised Amaros. They saw Zan as a threat since he’d spent years trying to force them to obey. She crept closer, her eyes traveling over my face.

“Are you okay?” she asked, worry filling her eyes. “You look pale.”

“She’ll be fine,” Viggo spoke up. “Go ahead and do whatever it is you do when she’s in here.”

“Your father wants them trained to fight,” I bit out. “They lack the skills since you kept them locked in here for years.”

If my words bothered him, he didn’t show it. “I’ll train them today since you’re not up for it?—”

“I don’t think so,” Rya hissed, her eyes darkening. “We don’t listen to you.”

“Yeah, yeah, you listen to Kali.” Viggo’s eyes slid to me. “This is what you want, isn’t it?”

I glared at him. He knew I didn’t want the Shadows to learn how to fight for Amaros. But I still wanted them to learn skills. Whether it came from me or Viggo, it didn’t matter.

“Let him,” I ordered quietly, looking at Rya. “I’m not up for it today. I’ll watch.”

It was clear that Rya and the surrounding Shadows weren’t happy, but they didn’t argue. They trusted me, and I didn’t want to disappoint them.

With a tight grin, Viggo sauntered away from me, into the middle of the room. The Shadows gave him a wide berth, most of them openly glowering at him.

“Don’t kill him,” I reminded them loudly. “He’s a Kane.”

Rya stood at my side. “We could take him. And Amaros. There are more of us than them.”

“I know.” I looked at her. “But we can’t—not yet.”

“Kali.” Viggo’s voice was full of warning, and my eyes cut to him. “Don’t.”

I didn’t respond. He was the only one who heard my words other than the Shadows. I learned a while ago that this entire building was soundproof to keep the Shadows from listening. The vampires outside had no idea what I was saying.

“Okay, who’s first?” Viggo taunted, slowly turning in a circle. “Who thinks they can beat me?”

An excited murmur ran through the crowd, the Shadows not bothering to hide their bloodthirst. For a moment, doubt swept through me. They listened to me, but I wasn’t sure if they’d be able to resist killing a Kane when he was tempting them.

A Shadow stepped into the makeshift circle as he pushed his brown hair out of his eyes. Viggo sized him up, a small grin playing on his lips as he slipped off his hoodie and tossed it to the floor. They circled each other, neither of them willing to throw the first hit.

“Why is he here?” Rya asked under her breath. “Where is his brother?”

“Not here,” I mumbled, falling against the wall when another wave of dizziness hit me.

She frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I think I need blood,” I forced out.

She bit her lip. “We don’t have any blood bags.”

“I know.”

Amaros didn’t like that they were at their full strength with unlimited blood. He didn’t say it in so many words, but it was obvious when he had the blood bags taken out of the Pen.

“Get him,” one of the Shadows screamed, turning my attention back to Viggo.

Both were breathing hard, and Viggo had dried blood from a freshly healed cut somewhere on his face. His lopsided grin was still on his face, making me think he wasn’t trying that hard. The Shadow scowled, determination lining his features. He lunged at Viggo, wrapping his arms around his waist and taking them both to the ground.

Their moves were quick, and while I could keep up, watching it only made my head pound worse. Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I turned to see Jasper entering along with a man I didn’t recognize. His blank stare, and complete lack of reaction, made me believe he was a human who was entranced. Jasper grabbed his arm roughly, striding closer to me.

“Look, he brought dinner,” someone called out.

“One little human isn’t enough for all of us.”

“He’s mine.”

Their words faded into the distance when a scent filled my nostrils, making me freeze. The smell was different from anything I’d ever experienced. It wasn’t exactly sweet, but it was delicious. So much so that I pushed off the wall, trying to search where the scent was coming from.

“Back off,” Rya snapped, shoving one of the Shadows back. “He’s for Kali. She needs to feed.”

Viggo went still, surprise making his lips part when everyone stepped back, bowing their heads in respect. The Shadow fighting him saw that advantage and attacked his throat. Viggo let out a hiss of pain, black blood seeping from his neck as he ripped the Shadow away and put him in a headlock.

“Viggo, don’t?—”

A crack filled the air, cutting off my words when he broke the Shadow’s neck. My fingers curled into fists, anger washing through me as I watched his body hit the floor. My eyes darted to Viggo, and I caught him watching me curiously.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I ground out.

He cocked his head. “Protective of them, Kali? I didn’t kill him.”

“Sir,” Jasper spoke up, pushing the human forward. “Here you are.”

“Thanks, Jasper.” Viggo snatched his hoodie and used it to wipe the blood off his neck. “Go ahead, Kali. Feed.”

Apprehension filled me, and I snuck a glance at the human. “I want a blood bag.”

Viggo tsked as he got closer. “You need to learn how to feed from a vein. Blood bags won’t always be an option.”

“I’m fine,” I said, breathing from my mouth, attempting to ignore the addictive scent filling my nostrils.

“You’re lying,” Viggo chastised, his voice teasing. He was enjoying this entirely too much. “You can smell his blood, can’t you?”

I didn’t respond, noticing that every pair of eyes were on me. Some were shooting hungry glances at the man, but none of them pounced. They were leaving him alone so I could feed. Viggo stepped up behind the human, and leaned down, biting the side of his throat. Red blood dribbled down his skin, and I nearly lunged forward when I smelled it.

Viggo pulled away, licking blood off his lips. “Come on, Kali. You’ll like it, I promise.”