Bite of Vengeance (Shadows of War #3)

44. Zan

Chapter 44

Zan

I let out a groan, blinking my eyes open slowly. Until I remembered what happened. I sat up, ignoring the throbbing pulse echoing in my skull. Last thing I remembered was trying to go after Kali until someone shot me in the fucking head. I had no idea how long I was out. My clothes were soaked, and rain was still coming down, but it wasn’t as heavy as before.

“Don’t fucking move,” someone ordered from beside me.

I turned my head to see not one, but four soldiers aiming guns at me. My jaw clenched, and I didn’t move a muscle as I glared at them. While I wanted nothing more than to find Kali, I needed to wait until I knew I wasn’t going to get shot and knocked out again. I tilted my head slightly, throwing my hearing. In the distance, an alarm was blaring in the direction Keeva had dragged Kali.

My heart beat unevenly as panic swept through me. She was alive, at least I knew that. If she wasn’t, I’d be able to feel it. Pax’s yell had my head whipping to the side, and I jumped to my feet, only to stumble back when one of the assholes shot me in the shoulder. Pain flared down my arm, but at least these bullets weren’t loaded with hawthorn. Or Kali’s blood, thank fuck.

“Stay there,” the soldier demanded, his voice shrill.

My eyes cut to where my brother was, and rage coiled through my limbs. Pax was surrounded by soldiers who were taking turns beating on him while shooting him to make sure he couldn’t fight back. I couldn’t hear or see Viggo anywhere, but he had to be hurt if he wasn’t trying to help Pax.

“You’re all fucking dead,” I spat out, my words earning me another bullet that tore into my ribs.

“We should just kill him,” one soldier said, nerves coating his voice.

“Those aren’t our orders.”

“Reinforcements are coming. They should be here soon.”

“They’re gonna blow the whole building,” one of them muttered, acting as if I wasn’t listening to every word. “We need to get the fuck out of here.”

Building? The one Kali was in?

“Move.” One of them came up behind me, shoving the gun into my spine.

It wouldn’t take much to turn around and rip his throat out, but I let him shove me forward because it brought me closer to Pax. The crowd of PARA soldiers was large, but they were all uneasy, I could feel it. There were no more vampires or Shadows. The vampires had fled when Amaros fell. The Shadows had followed Kali and Keeva into that building.

As I was pushed forward, my eyes widened when I spotted my father. Amaros Kane had been the most feared vampire in this world. But now? He was beaten so bloody that the only reason I knew it was him was from his scent. Though it wasn’t the same since he was human. Which was still a mind fuck.

One soldier was behind him, holding him under the arms to keep him upright. Others were taking turns hitting him, their laughs mocking. I swallowed thickly, my emotions warring inside me. My father deserved every bit of what was happening to him. But seeing PARA doing it had my blood boiling. They’d do the same to me and my brothers. They were already doing it to Pax, and I had no idea where Viggo was.

Amaros was barely conscious, and from what I could tell with all the blood covering his face, at least one of his eyes was swollen shut. His heart was beating erratically, but it wasn’t very strong. If they didn’t stop beating him, he wouldn’t last much longer.

“Zan.” Pax’s strained voice cut through the air, making my fury grow.

I met his eyes as he swiped a hand over his mouth to wipe blood away. His wounds were healing quickly, but that would only last so long if he didn’t feed.

I forced myself to stay still when they hit him again. “Where’s Viggo?”

“Shut up,” the soldier behind me snarled, shoving the gun harder into my spine.

Before I could do anything else, the air was filled with a sharp whistling noise. Even the soldiers halted, looking up to the sky where bright lights were now shooting through the darkness and rain.

“Fuck,” I muttered.

The ground shook with the explosion when the missile hit one of the buildings in the city. Faint screams from the humans reached my ears just before another explosion took out a row of vehicles near us. The soldiers surrounding us looked at each other, fear glinting in the eyes of the ones who weren’t wearing the goggles.

“We need to get out of here,” one of them yelled.

“That wasn’t the order.”

“Who fucking cares? They aren’t waiting.”

“We’re supposed to wait until they come to get him.” The soldier who was standing in front of Pax jerked a nod at Amaros.

“I think they’re worried about those sisters,” another one whispered. “I heard Roman earlier. He specifically stated that this place will burn before either of them get away.”

“Shadows. They’re coming.”

Yells of panic combined with shots filled the air as the thick group of bodies began to disperse. I spotted Rya through the smoke that was beginning to filter in the air from the explosions. More Shadows were behind her, and they were easily making their way through the soldiers to get closer to us.

“Take him. We’re leaving.”

Two of them grabbed Amaros, dragging him away. I spun around, knocking the gun out of the man’s hold before gripping his throat and pulling off his goggles with my other hand. His eyes flared with terror as I locked gazes with him, getting him under my control.

“What is PARA planning?” I growled. “With Kali.”

“They want to take her,” he said blankly.

“And if that’s not possible?”

“Kill her. Along with all the Shadows who follow her.”

“Why?”

“She’s too much of a risk.”

I broke the connection when there was another deafening explosion. Fear clawed at my chest when I looked at the building that Keeva and Kali had disappeared into. Part of it was on fire and crumbling. The broken metal was sliding off the cliff and into the ocean. Since the guy was no longer under entrancement, he began fighting in my hold, and I grabbed the sides of his face, twisting until his neck snapped.

My chest grew tight as I heaved in breaths. I was close to fucking losing it. I needed to find Kali. She was in danger, I could feel it. A suffocating weight crushed my body, making panic cling to me.

“Good, you’re alive.” Rya came into sight, staring at me. “Kali sent us to help you.”

Dread coiled through me. “Is she in that building?”

“Yes.” She hesitated. “Her and Keeva were fighting. But they can’t kill each other, right? Go find her. We’ll help your brother get out of here.”

Pax. I whirled around, seeing him in a heap on the ground. He was still alive, but someone had staked him enough times that he was too weak to get up. A few Shadows were near him, fighting with soldiers. I spotted Amaros not too far away, still being carried by two men.

Indecision tore through me. Every part of me was screaming to get to Kali, but I couldn’t leave Pax here alone. Rya promised to help, but he was my brother. And Amaros? He couldn’t leave here alive. Even if he was human, it was too risky. Kali would be in danger if he survived. I cursed under my breath when another missile hit right near the building Kali was in. Smoke was getting thick, making it harder to see.

“Hey—”

One of the soldiers who was holding Amaros yelled, but it was cut off when a bullet hit him in the forehead. He crumpled to the ground as Viggo appeared and shot the other man. Our father fell to his knees, choking out short breaths. Viggo glanced at Pax, worry splashing his face for his twin. A second later he spotted me, and he gave me a small, relieved grin.

“Go get your girl,” he said. “I’ll take care of him and get Pax out. There are trucks outside the city that are shooting the missiles. They aren’t stopping until this place is nothing but dust.”

The Shadows were everywhere, dealing with PARA soldiers. Though by now, most of the humans were fleeing as the city burned. Whoever was calling the shots didn’t care who survived this. They were trying to kill as many vampires and Shadows as they could. They’d lost control. In their eyes, it would be better to destroy as many as possible rather than try to build the Shadow army they’d wanted.

Amaros raised a shaky hand, grabbing Viggo’s leg. “Son. Help me.”

I froze, knots twisting in my gut. A muscle in Viggo’s jaw ticked as he slowly gazed at our father. He looked nothing like the monster we’d grown up with. Right now, he was a bloody, weak mess.

“Viggo—”

“Shut up, Zan,” he cut me off sharply. “Go get Kali.”

I scowled. “You don’t have to do this. It’s on me.”

He ignored me, and my heart constricted painfully. The reason we were here was because of me. I chose Kali, and my brothers chose me.

“Son,” Amaros said hoarsely, his voice barely recognizable.

Viggo blew out a shaky breath, and grabbed his arm, hauling him to his feet. He was so weak that he couldn’t stand without Viggo holding him. Pax was watching, still lying on the muddy ground as his wounds slowly healed. PARA wasn’t even paying attention to any of us anymore as they tried running. Although, the Shadows were bringing down as many as they could. Rya was still standing next to me, her eyes spitting hatred at Amaros.

“Heal me,” Amaros demanded weakly.

Viggo didn’t reply as he gripped the collar of Amaros’s shirt and tore it off him. Covering his bloody chest was a black, stiff cloth and it was strapped to his shoulders. I knew from experience that it was a steel plate to protect his heart. It never even crossed my mind to think he would have worn that since he hadn’t used it since the war had ended years ago. It was probably the only reason he was still alive after how badly the soldiers beat him. Amaros protested when Viggo undid the straps, letting the steel fall to the ground.

“What are you doing?” Amaros hissed before choking on blood that was dripping from his mouth.

Viggo stepped in front of him, meeting his eyes. “I’m sorry, Dad. My loyalty is to my brothers. It always has been. And if you walk away from this? Even as a human, they would never be safe from you. Zan and Pax deserve a life—one that you can’t destroy.”