The Pack - Shadow Games by Jessica Sorrento Read Free Book Online Page B

against
his head and I fell from the air. I tasted blood as I struggled to
smile. As my lungs filled with air and my mind cleared, I continued
the mental assault.
    "Now Calder!" I yelled as I filled my
thoughts with car crashes and honking horns.
    With a strike to the King's elbow, Calder
freed himself and slid across the floor to pick up his sword. The
King held out a hand to stop him, but instead of thwarting the
strike, the sharp sword took the hand clean off.
    My mind went blank as I watched Calder strike
with brutal efficiency. The King regained his senses but it was
already too late. Calder's sword took the King's other arm off at
the shoulder and with a backswing, the older vampire fell to the
ground, missing his left leg below the knee.
    The King was screaming and Calder was calling
to me while I stared dumbfounded at the carnage in front of me.
Body parts littered the floor and Calder leaked blood from five
jagged wounds in his chest. He was holding out his hand and trying
to wave me over.
    "Liv! Come here!"
    I moved slowly to his side and looked down at
the broken King at my feet. He was pushing himself away from us
with his one good leg while leaving a bloodied smear across the
otherwise spotless floor.
    Calder pressed his sword into my hand but I
didn't close my fingers around the hilt.
    "You have to kill him Liv. It has to be
you."
    I stared at him with wide eyes. "What are you
talking about? Why can't you do it? I can't kill someone!"
    "You are bound to him! If you kill him or he
kills you, the other lives! We don't have much time Olivia. Kill
him now and I will keep you safe."
    "I can't! Damn it I can't do this!"
    "This is the way of our world. It is bloody
but it has to be done!" Calder took me by the arm and pulled me
over to the King. He planted a boot against his neck and pressed
the sword back into my hands. But he didn't let go. Instead, he
wrapped his fingers around my hands and held me tightly.
    "Close your eyes Liv."
    I shut them tight and with a sudden jerk,
Calder pulled my hands downward. I heard a choked gasp below me,
and then Calder let go of my hands. I stepped back and the sword
slipped from my fingers. When I opened my eyes, I saw the silver
weapon standing upright, buried halfway to the hilt in the chest of
the King. It was over.
    I could hear distant screaming and banging
against the large wooden doors of the throne room. Calder pulled me
up and looked into my eyes.
    "Olivia, I need you to trust me right now. Do
you trust me?"
    I nodded, unable to form words.
    Calder took my hand and turned it palm up
before taking one of his pointed nails and pricking each of my
fingers until a bead of blood formed on each. He repeated the
strange ritual on his own hand, then pressed our bleeding fingers
together. It felt like my fingers were on fire as he held our hands
together.
    Calder closed his eyes and bowed his head.
"By the grace of Thiea, I pledge myself to you." He opened his
eyes. "Now you Olivia. Say the same words."
    Calder's eyes filled with fear as I stared at
our hands, then the bloodied King, then back at the door. What was
I doing?
    "Now Liv! Say the words!"
    "By the grace of Thiea, I pledge myself to
you," I said.
    Warmth spread through my hand then down my
arm before engulfing my entire body. The feeling burned away my
worry and filled my head with nothing but happy thoughts. I had
only the vaguest sense of Calder pulling me along towards the empty
throne as blissful waves rolled over me.
    The doors opened and a dozen armed men burst
in. They all wore the same uniform as Calder, and each was armed.
They formed a semi circle around the throne as Calder slowly sat
down. I stood by his side as he spoke to the gathered guards.
    "I am Calder, son of Orman. Hear my words and
obey your new King!"
    The gathered guards dropped to their knees
and bowed their heads.
    "Clear the throne room," he said with a
commanding voice. He pointed towards the remains of the old king,
"And dispose of