An Isle of Mirrors (A Shade of Vampire #88) - Bella Forrest Page 0,1

the agenda for the meeting,” I replied. “Supplying our agents with weapons and spells they can use to defend themselves and to capture incoming clones. Gah, I can’t believe this is really happening…”

Kailani offered a shrug, her dark brown curls dancing over her shoulders. “Hey, let them come, if they wish. I’ve got the room warded up like crazy. Only Draven, Serena, me, Astra, Soul, Kelara and Thayen are allowed in. And thanks to Soul and Kelara, we’ve got additional death magic wards to ensure that only the originals can set foot inside. That was no easy feat.”

“Unfortunately, we are all you’ve got in terms of Reaper assistance,” Soul said, joining the conversation as he and Kelara returned from outside. He didn’t look happy. Only the two of them remained, though the entire First Ten crew had been here less than an hour ago. “Our other siblings may be free, but they are still undertaking the occasional task for our maker. They were just summoned back by Death. An urgent matter, she called it, without any regard for what’s going on here. Then again, she did warn us not to get friendly with the living…”

“A force of habit, I presume,” Kelara added. “Soul and I barely convinced her to let us stick around. She wouldn’t tell us what was so urgent, either. Anyway, we’ve reached out to other Reapers but have yet to receive answers. Time wasn’t too happy about being called back. He said I should keep a telepathic line open and reach out if there’s an emergency, and he’ll try to sneak away, repercussions for disobedience be damned. I tried to get Death to send us more people, but she’s not interested in your problems. Not for the time being, anyway. She did ask that I keep her posted.”

“Typical.” I scoffed, leaving my seat and settling by the glass panel. I took a moment to watch Isabelle’s clone. Had Soul not confirmed that she was a fake, I would likely have been ready to accept that our beloved Isabelle had really gone off the deep end. It was a terrible feeling to have, and the guilt only amplified as I wondered where she was. They’d taken one of our own.

The clone seemed calm, hands cuffed to the tabletop with charmed links and a plethora of death and Word spells, just to be sure. I had a vague sensation that this would somehow end up being bigger than all of us, but I couldn’t put my finger on how, exactly, or what the incoming shift entailed. But there was a huge change coming, and I doubted we were ready for it.

“The reorganized patrols will have a redefined scope,” I continued, setting the topic of Death aside as I moved my focus to Rose and Caleb.

“They’ll be combing for portals and any other anomalies. Basically, if there’s anything out of place, even if it’s a crooked blade of grass where there shouldn’t be any, they’ll look into it. Unfortunately, this is the best we can do right now,” Rose added.

“I wish I could do more,” Astra said.

“You’ll be ready when we have another clone to test,” Soul replied. “It’s only a matter of time. Richard’s doppelganger failed his mission, and I expect others will follow in his footsteps.”

Something else bothered me. “Isabelle is missing, so I can assume it’s how whoever made the doppelgangers got her DNA and copied her. But Richard is here. How’d he get a clone?”

“That’s a good question.” Concern darkened Kailani’s gaze. “The culprits must have infiltrated The Shade somehow. Either they’re invisible or shape-shifting, pretending to be one of us… I don’t know, but it’s making it even harder to trust our current reality, if you think about it. I mean, if we can’t see our enemy, if we don’t know who they are or what they can do and how… damn…”

That was a frightening thought indeed. Looking around, the others’ expressions told me we were all on the same page as to what this meant. Maybe Isabelle and Richard were not the only ones who’d been doubled by whatever nefarious methods were used, and there was a chance we may deal with more of their kind, soon enough. Soul was right. If Richard’s copy had failed in his mission, others modeled after us might follow.

Stan and Ollie, Soul and Kelara’s faithful service ghouls, moved slowly as they took up their guarding positions by the clone’s door. They were dark and quiet, even gloomier than