An Isle of Mirrors (A Shade of Vampire #88) - Bella Forrest Page 0,21

to do?” Thayen wondered. “Clearly, they won’t stop coming for Astra, and they’ll keep trying to release their Isabelle.”

“True. But they’re also off by a few degrees,” Soul noted. “Some are accurate clones, like Isabelle’s. Others are… tweaked.”

“Voss’s clone has blade wings and Chantal’s has a vulnerability to fire,” I said.

“Jericho’s blaze hurt her, but it didn’t kill her.” Dafne nodded slowly. She glanced at the fire dragon, raising an eyebrow. “You can shift back now. It’s kind of weird being the only naked one. Well, half-naked, anyway.”

Thayen chuckled. “I think that’s exactly why he’s not turning. Someone else has his clothes, likely those in his crew.”

“Aw, Jericho is bashful.” I allowed myself a giggle.

Surrendering to the despair that had tested me earlier would’ve meant defeat. I refused to yield before these clones, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let them disrupt our way of life anymore. We’d just survived a heinous attack, but we’d also discovered a few changes in their strategy. They had tools and methods to fight us. That suggested they were better organized than we’d originally assumed.

Their failures had taught them to try different things, but they clearly lacked all the information they needed to succeed. As baffling as it all was, I found a glimmer of hope in knowing that they were essentially winging it, much like the rest of us.

Astra

(Daughter of Phoenix and Viola)

A few minutes later, we found a medical robe for Jericho to put on. The rest of his crew were still chasing down other clones. From what Jericho and Dafne told us, there had been at least four strange sightings, and nearby teams of GASP agents were spotted going after the slippery doppelgangers. Our biggest problem was with the communications channels. The earpieces weren’t getting through to anyone, and Telluris didn’t seem to be working, either.

I used my Daughter magic, deeply rooted in the natural elements, to conjure up a watery mist that spread through and around the burning hospital. The flames died out quickly. Considering we still had Isabelle’s clone to guard, we decided to stick together and head back to her room to make sure she was definitely okay in there. Soul and the witches might’ve put the mother of all wards on that box, but we still had to check. Besides, the others in the hospital who’d been present during the attack must have run out to warn everyone.

“We’ll be seeing some senior officers soon,” Dafne said as we moved through the long, narrow hallway leading up to the clone’s room. “I saw people running away from the hospital on my way here. They’ll figure out that the comms are down and start sending envoys to warn the civilians.”

“Plus, we still have the island-wide announcement system,” Jericho added, fastening the robe’s belt around his waist to make sure it didn’t flutter. “Thanks for jumping in, by the way.”

Dafne gave him a sideways glance. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just figured you’d rather hole up in the Black Heights or something.”

“Why?” the ice dragon replied, while Jericho began to fumble his words.

“Because… you’re the recluse type?” In that respect, the fire dragon was on to something. But given the circumstances, along with the fact that Dafne had been present when Isabelle’s clone had first tried to kill me, I wasn’t at all surprised that she’d chosen to stick around instead of heading back to the Black Heights.

“You’re not making much sense,” Dafne chuckled. “What happens in The Shade, anywhere in The Shade, concerns us all. Dad’s the one who doesn’t come out much, but I’ve been here since the beginning with Isabelle’s doppelganger. Obviously, I’ll do what I can to help police the island. You know, with the killer clones prancing around like nobody’s business.”

Jericho exhaled, unable to take his eyes off her. “You are absolutely right. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

“Meh. You fire dragons have a way of being judgy sometimes, with regards to my species, anyway.”

“Ice dragons make that easy,” Jericho shot back. I’d almost forgotten about this antiquated line of thinking. It wasn’t an issue anymore, but the dragons still brought it up once in a while to playfully poke another.

Dafne was actually amused. “See? Judgy. Proves my point.”

“I know Jericho has already said it, but thank you for stepping in when you did,” I interjected, offering her a smile. The last fight had rattled me, and I doubted I’d be okay anytime soon, but I had to push through. This was nowhere near