An Isle of Mirrors (A Shade of Vampire #88) - Bella Forrest Page 0,43
around.”
“We need to sound the alarm, right?” Richard asked with a heavy sigh.
“Yeah. Tell as many people as we can,” I said.
Chantal raised a hand as though we were still in class. “One problem, though. Without the Reapers, how do we tell the fakeys from the realsies? I mean, ‘paladin’ works for the ones the Reapers have already tested, the ones we’ve taught the safe word, but the rest? Sheesh. Judging by the number of clones we last saw coming through, I’d dare say there are more of them now than before.”
“True, but they’re coming in without disposing of the originals,” I replied. “My guess is they’re counting on the confusion they cause to take us down. I think we just need to be careful. Anyone acting weird, even the slightest feeling that something might be off… I don’t know, we’ll have to be on the lookout.”
We’d gone from wondering about Isabelle’s doppelganger to a full-on invasion in less than a day, and I feared the growth of this problem would be exponential and fatal to many of those we loved.
Footsteps startled us. We turned around just as Serena and Draven ran out from a cluster of old oak trees and sprawling bushes. Their clothes were dirty and crumpled, partially torn and bloodied. They were both panting but relieved to find us here. “Thank the stars,” Serena managed, nearly falling over. Richard rushed to her side and helped her up, while Chantal got close to Draven. He looked like he was about to collapse, too. They must’ve been through some kind of living hell.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“Where are my mom and dad?” Richard added, giving Draven a troubled look. “You were supposed to get to the Great Dome.”
“We tried, believe me,” the Druid replied, rubbing his face. “They attacked us. A whole bunch of them, looking exactly like us.” His gaze darted everywhere except to meet mine. “It was weird and horrible. Every magic shot I threw out came back with a vengeance. They look like us, they have our powers, they have abilities and gadgets on top of that… we were overwhelmed.”
“My parents?” Richard insisted, fingers digging into Serena’s shoulders. Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked up at him.
“I’m sorry, honey…”
“Wait. You’re sorry? For what?” Richard demanded, edging closer to panic. I’d seen him like this before, and the last thing we needed was him spiraling out of control. Richard was a strong young man, but just the thought of losing his parents or anyone in his family was enough to send him off into a furious frenzy. He could still function, but he had little to no self-control left.
Something dawned on me. Something we’d overlooked, mostly because of the confusion in our circumstances. “What’s the safe word?” I asked.
Draven and Serena didn’t seem to hear me at first. Chantal was checking the Druid for wounds, but she couldn’t find anything despite the blood on his clothes. And Serena was sobbing, trying to give Richard some truly awful news, only… I wasn’t sure there was any truth in this entire scene.
“What’s the safe word?” I asked again, raising my voice.
“The what, now?” Draven replied.
In an instant, Richard, Chantal, and I knew what we were dealing with. At least our original plan had worked in this respect. Draven’s copy cried out when flames burst from Chantal’s hands and nearly burned him to a crisp. He managed to jump back before it did too much damage. I leapt at him, my wings spreading and flapping for that extra push.
Richard tackled Serena’s clone. Everything happened so fast. Too damn fast. I found myself kicking and punching the Druid’s doppelganger, while Chantal and Richard took on Serena’s. The original was a powerful and capable sentry, and her double was just as dangerous.
Draven’s copy rammed his fist into my side, and I howled from the pain. He grabbed my hair and whispered something as he jerked my head back in a powerful motion. His palm pressed onto my chest, sending sharp and burning sensations through my ribcage. I tried to fight back, but whatever he’d done to me had rendered me limp.
“Voss!” Chantal screamed.
I went down like a tree that had just been cut at the base. Hard and heavy. Unable to stop. I landed on my side, the image twisting before me. Unable to even think about a possible resolve, I could only watch as my friends continued to fight without me.