An Isle of Mirrors (A Shade of Vampire #88) - Bella Forrest Page 0,58

of us, yes. I understand. Very good thinking,” Dad said approvingly with a slight smile. “Well done.”

Some of us were together again—I was grateful to have my parents back—but Astra was understandably terrified, wondering about her mother and grandparents. Phoenix promised her they would eventually find them. “For the time being, we need to stick together and move forward,” he said.

“Speaking of sticking together, why were you all gathered here?” Soph asked, trying to steer the conversation away from Viola’s unknown whereabouts. Mom had already suggested that she was out there, much like Hazel and Tejus, trying to figure out where to go next. The clones had done a marvelous job of breaking them up, but they hadn’t defeated us yet.

“We were trying to ascertain whether it’s time to enable the covert ops,” Dad said. “Given these trying times, I figured Hansa and Jax could get the protocol going.”

“Wait, covert ops?” I replied. “What covert ops are you talking about?”

“A long time ago, after we destroyed Ta’Zan, Sofia, Hansa, Jax, and I sat down and put together a task force,” Dad explained. “It was kept secret over the years, with only a few aware of its existence. The agents remain dormant until needed. Once the protocol is activated, they will begin implementing secret defense measures throughout The Shade. We designed the program in case of an invasion. We didn’t want another Ta’Zan to come along and think he can destroy us.”

Corrine smiled. “It’s actually brilliant because maybe ten people know about it, all of us elders. Not even Ben or Rose were ever made aware of its presence.”

“Not for a lack of trust, mind you,” Mom interjected. “We just felt it was safer to have it classified. Given what we’re dealing with now, I’m sure you see the benefit of such secrecy.”

“I most certainly do,” I replied. “But with our comms down, how will you be able to get the protocol going? How are the agents activated? And who are they?”

“And what does the whole operation actually entail?” Astra added.

Dad took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “The lack of comms isn’t an issue. It’s a visual signal, and it will be launched by Corrine. It will be visible for an entire day from any part of The Shade. As soon as the sleeper agents see it, they will be activated. It’s a complex work of magic, courtesy of Corrine and Ibrahim here…” He paused to look at Astra. “Once they’re activated, the agents are to report here to the Great Dome for further instructions. Hopefully, by then we’ll have another Reaper or two coming in to help us. You’ll be overwhelmed otherwise. The operation itself was never fully defined, since there were so many possible scenarios to consider. In this case, verifying originals is paramount, so that’s what we’ll focus on.”

“It’s really a defense protocol,” Mom added. “It’s the best we can offer to counter the current threat.”

The more I thought about it, the more concerned I became. Yes, it was the best we could do, but it wasn’t enough. The clones were highly prepared and ridiculously well organized. They had weapons and devices unknown to us, capable of shattering our defenses and reducing many of us to bumbling messes. “We’re not prepared for something of this level or amplitude,” I said. “I mean, who could see it coming, right? Without additional testing capabilities, how will the Shadians differentiate between originals and clones? This will inadvertently impact the civilians.”

“I’ll launch the covert ops signal. That way we’ll have forces headed this way. Maybe the clones don’t know about this protocol,” Dad replied. “Meanwhile, you need to go out and catch or destroy as many of these clones as you can. You need to keep verifying Shadians with Astra and sending them over here. If we form a defense cluster around the Great Dome, it’ll keep the clones away. I doubt they’d be foolish enough to attack us where we’re strongest.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Liana said, hooking an arm through Cameron’s. “Meanwhile, my man and I will go find Lumi. Hopefully, we’ll get the original and not a doppelganger who tries to pulverize us both. Lumi has a way of reaching out to Nethissis. More Reapers are needed, and I see no other way of getting the word out to them.”

I agreed. “I’ll keep the team as it is, if they’re willing.” Glancing around, I noticed Jericho, Dafne, and Soph were grinning like devils. They weren’t just willing. They