Vault 81 Novels & Stories

There was a lightening at the end of the tunnel, which grew brighter as we drew near. "Just be careful," Verus instructed, his voice barely a whisper. "And if anything happens, get out. I'll take care of Rick and Zac." "Not on your life," I answered as we drew near to the tunnel's end. "I'm not leaving without them." Verus nodded, as we stepped into a brightly lit, open room, with a landing on the second floor overlooking the great room, but we were quickly stopped by three more vamps with Uzis. More of Drake's henchmen, I was sure. "Hold it right there, V," a tall vamp with an earring said in a deep baritone. "What do you think you're doing, bringing her here?"

“Encrypted accounts. Biometrically sealed. Guarded by mercenaries that don’t know who they’re working for.” “Not for long,” Bain said, nodding to the earpiece. “On my mark.” Inside, the main elevator opened with a ding. A woman in a red coat—one of Vulture’s plants—stepped out, heels clicking sharply. Two guards turned to stop her. She smiled. And slit their throats in a heartbeat. Bain and Vulture moved in seconds later, their team sweeping through the vault with suppressors and thermite. Security cameras crackled and shorted as Vulture tapped into their system.

Aiden said, his voice dropping into a register that made even Ignis hesitate. As they rounded the final bend, a glimmer of artificial light pierced the gloom. It wasn't the warm, amber glow of the city’s lanterns, but the cold, clinical, blue light of the Vault. The entrance to the archive stood before them—a massive, vaulted door etched with the symbols of the Silver Moon, now glowing with a faint, pulsing energy. "We’re here," Vane whispered, his voice trembling. "The Silent Vault." "It’s not silent," Ignis said, placing his hand against the door. He recoiled instantly, his skin sizzling as if touched by a branding iron. "It’s screaming."

I stayed quiet, staring at the sheets, afraid that if I spoke, I would shatter completely. The door opened again, and a young man stepped inside. Tall. Extremely tall. I think he was the driver. August acknowledged him with a short nod, barely sparing him a glance, before turning back to me as though no one else existed in the room. “This will be your new guard,” he said. I pushed myself upright immediately, panic rushing through me in a hot, dizzy wave. “No,” I said quickly. “No. Absolutely not.” August pressed me back against the pillows with one hand. Firm, controlled, not rough, but strong enough to make it clear that resistance was pointless.

The Client can only provide logistics. My watch buzzes against my wrist. A notification. Encrypted alert. I look down. My pulse spikes. SMART GRID ALERT — GHOST ACTIVITY DETECTED Location: Hunt Capital HQ — Sub-Level 5 Vault Status: Unauthorized Access — Power Off-Grid I open the alert. Check the timestamp. 11:36 PM. Two minutes ago. Someone is in the vault. Right now. The building has been dark for three weeks. No power. No access. But the motion sensors are battery-operated, independent of the grid.

“The Sovereign Heir is present. But the King is missing. Initializing 'Judas' Counter-Measure.” "What?" my father roared, spinning toward Silas. "What is it doing?" "The Vault isn't a safe, CEO," I said, a slow, lethal smile spreading across my face as I felt the violet fire returning to my blood—hotter and hungrier than ever. "It’s a mirror. And it doesn't like what it sees." The violet light from the Vault didn't hit me. It hit the monitors. It hit the scanners. And then, it hit the live feed of the swamp.

Immediately, twenty elite North wolves slipped out of the ship, moving like shadows into the surrounding alleys to secure the perimeter. Faith stepped out onto the concrete floor, her silver eyes scanning the darkness. “Leo, can you open the elevator shaft?” Leo walked over to a dusty wall panel. He didn't even use a tool. He just placed his glowing blue hand against the metal. Beep. Beep. Click. The heavy floor grates slid open, revealing a dark, vertical tunnel that dropped straight into the earth. “The server bunker is at the very bottom,” Leo said. But Vance has a security team waiting at the vault's main entrance. We can't use the elevator basket. It’s a trap.

I cried out. He reached us just as another wave of gunfire erupted. Damien pulled me down behind a low concrete barrier. Reyes collapsed beside me, his breathing ragged and wet. Blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth. He looked at me with surprising clarity, as if he had been waiting for this moment. “Take this,” he gasped, pressing something cold and hard into my hand. A keycard. Thin, black, with a small silver strip. “Vault… beneath Manhattan. Old subway station. Code is your wedding date. Victor’s real secrets are there. Everything.”

“I’m going to win. But I’m not going to let him kill you yet. You’re too valuable to me as a corpse.” I called Victor on the secure line. “Prepare the Vault. Not the office vault. The hyper-secured site in the Catskills. The one with the independent air supply and the lead shielding. I’m bringing a guest.” “She’s staying there until I say otherwise. No outside comms. No Julian Vance. Just my security.”

7%. Suddenly, the red indicator light on the ceiling panel stopped pulsing—freezing into a solid, brilliant crimson glare. The hum of the server racks died out entirely, plunging the vault into an absolute, suffocating silence. The green monitor didn't go dark, but the file tree vanished, replaced by a live video stream from a wide-angle lens hidden above the service door downstairs. On the screen, the iron-reinforced oak door was wide open. Standing in the gravel turnaround, his long wool overcoat buttoned to the chin against the mist, was Victor Hawthorne. His hands were tucked neatly into his pockets, his silver hair perfectly straight as he looked directly up at the brick tower. Behind h